Wastegirl

On the Diamond and I understand still on the Golden they have Scoops, so maybe it's still on the ships that are only here part of the year. Personally I would rather pay for really good ice cream than pig out on soft serve.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I agree Mic, our last trip on the Eden showed us that we could enjoy drinks as we wanted them without breaking the bank. However on a drinks package you tend to go 'that was a great cocktail, let's try another' [emoji5].

However on Celebrity I would only sail if their drinks package was included as a deal as their drinks + gratuities are soooo expensive.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

But the OP is on the Aria and the drinks package is different for P&O and it does not include coffee. I've had it on both Princess and Celebrity and you are right they are far more flexible.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Drinks on board are reasonably priced and coffee made by baristas as opposed to the buffet type is not included in the drinks package. I did a tot up from our last cruise where we had drinks when we wanted them and we were lucky if we spent $80 a day for the two of us, let alone the $79 per day for one. You would have to be a heavy drinker for the drinks package to be of value.

For instance beer around $8, cocktails $10 to $12, mixed drinks $8 to $9. A reasonable bottle of wine $30, by the glass $6 and up. Also the expensive cocktails and wines are not included in your package. Don't forget to take advantage of the bottled water deal in your room.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

On the Eden and therefore I assume all their ships, they have kiosks where you can make cash payments. I found it a great option as I would put in some cash and keep an eye on what I was spending via these kiosks and if I spent anymore than I put in I could top it up. On the last night I just checked for the last time and made sure I had a zero balance.

Of course if I had something late that night or first thing in the morning that small amount might go to credit card unless I went to the passenger services desk and checked as I can't quite remember if the Kiosks were available on disembarkation day.

So basically they take credit card details like any hotel just in case you leave the ship owing money but if you keep your balance up to date, you should zero out easily.

Of course if you don't have a credit card I'd call P&O direct before you leave to set up a cash account. Most cruise lines put a hold on a certain amount on your credit card so they wil most likely ask that you put a down a cash deposit.

One tent was run by the official tourism organization, so we went through them. Very professional. But you can tell pretty well by looking at their set up, staff and condition of their buses. Some people took local taxis with many of them looking quite dodgy, so if you go that way look at the condition of their vehicle as a start. The people on the whole are really friendly, especially the local Fijians.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

When in Lautoka we did the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, a lovely orchid garden, really enjoyed it. On the dock there were lots of tour operators, including reputable ones, offering a great range of tours. We just walked around Suva, wouldn't recommend that as it is not a interesting place, did not take a tour there so can't make any recommendations.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Did not see any solar panels, not that I was looking for any, with such a small population (under 200) it might not be economical unless donated. When I looked in the school there didn't appear to be any modern technologies, in fact they even sat on the floor, minimal tables and chairs, but that might have been a cultural thing. However DVD's don't take up much room, so you could take them anyway but make your main focus non tech stuff. I am sure they would be appreciated. I always make sure we spend money so we are helping with their economy, even if we really don't need anything.

Which cruise line are you going with, I understand P&O Aust have a comprehensive assistance program for their ports of call and they might be able to advise what is best to bring.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Having been to Dravuni twice, gorgeous spot, friendly residents, but I am pretty sure no electricity let alone a DVD player. I suggest you take something more practical and less high tech as the it is subsistence living.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thanks for the comprehensive list, really helps

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Out of interest how much money would you need for the islands, Alotau and Rabul. Not knowing their pricing I have no idea what to exchange. Thinking you would purchase maybe a couple of drinks and some souvenirs but you wouldn't need much more. Would the equivalent of $50 AUD in kina per port be enough?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We are staying in a hotel at present on the coast. You know when COD is bad when your DH comments 'doesn't this room remind you of a balcony stateroom' and then you ask this morning 'what time can we disembark'.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We did Kalbarri National Park outside Geraldton - looked like Outback to me

Also Port Hedland is about as rough and ready and outback as you can get, red dust everywhere.

The do a tour out of Darwin, love those Ant Hills :)

You will see plenty of outback on your cruise, the outback is not necessarily in the centre of Australia, it can be around the edges as well.

Just finished a B2B from Adelaide to Fremantle, then Fremantle up to Broome and back, 6 and 8 days respectively. On the Adelaide to Fremantle leg the Casino was open as the cruise started in South Australia. However once the cruise officially started in Western Australia the Casino was closed for the whole trip.

We were told it is something to do with Western Australian legislation that any cruise departing and returning to Fremantle could not open the Casino, why I don't know. Heard people saying it was something to do with the Casino in Perth having a monopoly on this sort of thing. There was some grumbling about this by the locals :)

There is a fridge in the balcony staterooms and suites on the Aria and the Eden. The fridge in our cabin worked very well. On our recent Eden trip we often brought our wine back to our cabin to finish. A brandy and dry was about $8. They did not sell it by the bottle but then I did not ask.

We had one of these on starboard side, very quiet, no passing traffic, look straight down onto the water and great balcony. Fantastic room. If you are on the port side just make sure you are forward rather than right over the stage.

Just back from the Eden. Entertainment Director is Pablo, his assistant is Karl and then there is Marius. Pablo and Karl are from the UK and Marius from South Africa. On our cruise they were great, seen out and about all the time, the Morning Trivia was a hoot and so popular it was in the Show Lounge (Marquee Theatre).

All three of them bounced off one another and Karl did the first night show in the Theatre and was very entertaining in his own right.

Pablo mentioned he had worked on Royal Caribbean and was loving the smaller ships as there was a lot more interaction with the guests.

Now my pet peeve is when people 'quote' 6 photos and several paragraphs, repeating everything again. While I can understand this if you are quoting something on page 54 that someone said on page 3, but when it is within the same or next page it really irritates me.

Elise

As I said - Easy.

For my first response I leave my signature information intact, but if I keep going in a thread I turn my signature off. Easy to do, just scroll down when doing a reply to Additional Options. In the first section called Miscellaneous Options untick 'Show your signature'

Pat

Don't know if your spell check went haywire but its Adelaide :D

Looked at Groovy Grape - standard tour, you get a good glimpse of the Adelaide Hills, then onto the Barossa through the backroads. However two of the wineries mentioned are big commercial wineries. So if you are a wine aficionado the wine tastings will only be so-so but the wineries are set up for tourists.

I can't recommend a tour company as we live close to several Adelaide wine regions and just visit by car, never done a tour. However may I suggest that you look at a different region, McLaren Vale. The wineries there are more boutique, the right tour will pass you through Adelaide, you will see some good coastal scenery and you might even do one that includes a trip to Cleland Wildlife Park.

Nevertheless Groovy Grape have a good reputation on Trip Advisor. Keep in mind the time of year you are travelling as in the middle of our summer it can be very hot and dry and in our winter from April to October all the grape vines will be bare of leaves.

Princess do not have theme nights, just formal nights. You don't have to get done up in tuxedo and ballgown, a jacket and tie for the men and a nice cocktail dress for the ladies is fine. But if you want to go the 'whole hog' you can.

Before worrying too much about shipping wine to Barcelona from the US you should check Spain's customs requirements first. Some countries while they might allow you to bring a couple of bottles of wine in on your flight will not allow you to ship wine via a courier company into their country unless you jump through a lot of hoops.

May I suggest you check our Terry from Ohio's blog, he did the GBR and KI prior to his cruise on the Solstice, so similar to what you want to do. Here is a link.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

I was very disappointed in my Princess model. Have our HAL models, our Celebrity models and on our first cruise on Princess, the Diamond, went to get our model. Shock Horror :eek: it is half the size (admittedly half the price).

I toddle up to the counter and ask the girl serving there 'is this the only model, do you have the larger size'. Her prompt answer was that they no longer have the larger model and this is the size from now on. Imagine my disappointment when I got home and there are my ships in the study with this incy wincy little Princess Ship:( It just throws out the whole structure of the display.

But I did like the little Princess Bath toy, now I have fridge magnets, ship's models and a bath toy in the bathroom :)