BoopTennis

i see your blog but having a hard time finding the post from Dec 2010?

Thanks to everyone for all the great information.  This helps a lot. Thank you for those that sent links also that are very helpful.

So you need a Myki card for any time you take a tram (or bus?) 

If we use Skybus at all on our stay should we purchase tickets in advance?

For taxi should we use cash or credit card? 

Thanks again!  

Also we are spending several days in Melbourne before the cruise. We fly into MEL and have plenty of time to get to our hotel in the southbank area. Would Skybus be a good option for that transportation?

How does uber compare to taxi?

What is  recommended for best/quickest transportation from Melbourne cruise port to MEL airport? There are 2 of us. We will be on Golden Princess disembarking on Wednesday February 12. We have a noon domestic flight out of MEL (to SYD) so want to get there with time to spare. 

I’ve read that there might be a lot of waiting time using Princess transfers. 

Is taxi best option?

7 minutes ago, billco said:

Are you sure the Sip and Sail isn't included? The sale banner may not be shown. Try doing a simulated booking and see if the promotion doesn't show.

You were right. Just checked again. Had to go all the way to the end of the booking to see Sip n Sale! Still not worth it to me tho. Thx for showing me what to check!

I found this odd. I checked my New Zealand cruise in January for any price changes when Sip n Sail came out. No Sip n Sail. Price per cabin went up +$1000 from the previous day!! No promo. Ship doesn’t look even close to sold out. Isn’t that unusual?

Thank you!

Does this Beverage Package cover drinks on Princess Cays port stop?

We have a big family group going with 7 cabins.  Can anyone confirm if one Medallion can be programmed to open 3 different cabins (mine plus kids and other family members traveling with us)?

Tauranga is one of our port stops next February on Princess. 

Considering 1) renting a car on our own and driving to Rotorua area to see geysers and mudbaths etc or 2) take an independent tour to the glowworm caves 

any comments or recommendations which to do?

I’m the OP but would agree with cheride.  We did not run into mosquitoes anywhere. 

No shots required 

We spent time in the library to play cards. There were several board games and books but I didn’t really pay attention to the selection 

casino as said above was small but had enough tables and slots for my husband lol. 

We had a great time

Hi. Our grandson hung with adults part of the time but also found kids his age on the ship to swim and play ping pong etc. he did not do kids club activities this time although he has in the past. I think that was because he was at the very upper age of one group and just a month or so too young to be in the next age group 

I think it would be interesting to see the difference in booking price (and promo) for the exact same voyage depending on buying it from US site (where gratuities are add-ons) vs Australia site where gratuities are included in the fare. 

12 hours ago, Coral said:

I can tell you that I paid for my cruise a week before final payment with insurance. My cruise fare went down on the real final payment date. My TA did re-fare my cruise (I lost a lot of OBC but it was worth it) and my Princess insurance went down in price. Princess refunded my credit card for the difference in price of the insurance (plus the cruise cost).

Thx- did the start date or “purchase date” for your insurance change?

What happens if I pay for my Princess insurance prior to final payment (in order to start the 60 day look back period) but then later refare the cabin price to take advantage of a better Princess price or promotion? Still all before final payment. But will such a refare mess up my Princess insurance? Lose it or change the date for lookback period? I have booked directly with Princess, not through a TA. 

13 minutes ago, Doug R. said:

I was on the Regal in January with the medallion enabled. Magnets still stick to doors.

Thx!

2 hours ago, Haboob said:

 

Regal, at least, uses very recognizable WiFi access points in the hallways and her stateroom doors have

non-metalic centers to be transparent to her 5GHz WiFi.  There was no WiFi antenna in my stateroom

-- I looked and looked until I finally noticed that most of the door was non-metalic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So the doors are not metal anymore?  Magnets won’t stick to them now?

Yes. Your steward has to do it though

Thanks. We settled in on a cruise that takes us to dunedin, akaroa, wellington, napier, tauranga and auckland. Any recommendations appreciated. So excited!

The new May deal is not better for my Jan 2020 cruise that i booked a month ago. Higher cabin price and lower OBC even including free gratuities.  Oh well. 

I don’t care for the policy either for refundable OBC like military credit. If you don’t spend it on board, they refund that credit to you later, but I assume now it’s a lower dollar amount than on a non-Australian cruise. But it is what it is. Not going to stop me from enjoying my first cruise down-under. 

Yes

I agree that Crooners on the Island is awesome. Such fun martinis

I like this thread. No need for anyone to criticize any questions anyone asks