Sydney Ports update

[MicCanberra]

49 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Personally I’ve never seen much value in the perks, doubt I will ever get enough cruises up with Princess to get the few bucks OBC, if it was nights I’d be fine.

 

Diamond/platinum/elite lounge, as a non drinker nothing really there for us. Free laundry, have the detergents they use, much prefer to do a load myself with my own detergent, free mini bar, again as a non drinker who always has the soft drink package nothing really there for me.

 

 

Like I said, some lines' perks are better than others.

[MicCanberra]

50 minutes ago, NSWP said:

You can exchange the Elite mini bar for 'softies.'   I exchange most of it for little bottles of Dewars Scotch - for medicinal purposes, mixed with Canada Dry for when the seas play up.

Nice one,  that medicine.

[NSWP]

In my humble opinion The best Full English brekkies at sea are on P&O UK.  Even ye olde black pudding appears and fried bread for those who partake of such a delicacy.  Not a hash brown in sight, that would be sacrilege.  Bubble and Squeak yes, hash browns no, an American thing, but I do like them on Princess.

Edited June 21, 2019 by NSWP

[banzaii]

3 hours ago, NSWP said:

I bet the Diamond Club is jam packed on the Aussie cruises.🍷🍸🍺

 

Belive it or not with 28 cruises under my belt we have never set foot on a Royal Caribbean Line ship, closest relative was Celebrity Solstice.

 

2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Yes, they can get full. X and Royal have reciprocal rights so Elite gets you into the club.

Just chatting with a mate who was telling me about some US based RCCL cruises he was on with 1/3 of the manifest Diamond or higher.  How big is the diamond lounge? 

[MicCanberra]

34 minutes ago, banzaii said:

 

Just chatting with a mate who was telling me about some US based RCCL cruises he was on with 1/3 of the manifest Diamond or higher.  How big is the diamond lounge? 

When there is that many, they move the lounge elsewhere like vintages or such. Bearing in mind that your card is also loaded with 3 free drinks (in the happy hours) at any bar or in the MDR.

[Chiliburn]

7 hours ago, NSWP said:

Back in 2005, we did Pacific Princess 'Theatres of War Cruise.'  Brisvegas, Rabaul, Honiara Iwo Jima, Guam, Saipan, Okinawa, Hiroshima, ending in Osaka. Great, loads of war history and visits to sites.

 

BTW, what is wrong with Princess, it is my favoured cruise line, 22 and counting.  You 'Come Back New.' 

Nothing wrong with princess 

As others said the loyalty thing gets you in .to be honest it works better for Royal Caribbean.

Multi nationals don’t have loyalty to anyone.

But you get a few free drinks,some snacks in your cabin and just it’s a  WANK.

 

But friends and family are into the thing and you meet some very interesting people in the lounge.Not just your usual tourist. Last cruise there was a fellow who clocked up 1500 nights on Royal Caribbean. 89 YEARS OLD.and looked 70.

I  asked what his secret was ,he said a bottle of wine and a pull every night.

 

 

[MicCanberra]

1 minute ago, Chiliburn said:

Nothing wrong with princess 

As others said the loyalty thing gets you in .to be honest it works better for Royal Caribbean.

Multi nationals don’t have loyalty to anyone.

But you get a few free drinks,some snacks in your cabin and just it’s a  WANK.

 

But friends and family are into the thing and you meet some very interesting people in the lounge.Not just your usual tourist. Last cruise there was a fellow who clocked up 1500 nights on Royal Caribbean. 89 YEARS OLD.and looked 70.

I  asked what his secret was ,he said a bottle of wine and a pull every night.

 

 

It is not a secret anymore but words to live by?

[Chiliburn]

10 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

It is not a secret anymore but words to live by?

As he said,as the waiter was poring another glass of wine,a man needs to have a hobby.

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, Chiliburn said:

As he said,as the waiter was poring another glass of wine,a man needs to have a hobby.

Sounds more like a vocation for him though.

[The_Big_M]

10 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

Personally I’ve never seen much value in the perks, doubt I will ever get enough cruises up with Princess to get the few bucks OBC, if it was nights I’d be fine.

 

 

 

 

It is nights: 31, 51, then 151.

[GUT2407]

1 hour ago, The_Big_M said:

 

It is nights: 31, 51, then 151.

I was referring to the OBC you get after x number of cruises, I think it’s 20 cruises for the first level of that, and no daily equivalent. From memory it’s only about $20 or 25 anyway.

 

where as you are referring to Gold, platinum, Elite etc where it works on either number of days or number of cruises.

[Chiliburn]

3 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

I was referring to the OBC you get after x number of cruises, I think it’s 20 cruises for the first level of that, and no daily equivalent. From memory it’s only about $20 or 25 anyway.

 

where as you are referring to Gold, platinum, Elite etc where it works on either number of days or number of cruises.

The loyalty system is more for the benefit of the company.

For a few bits and pieces the costumer gets all fuzzy and keeps coming back.

 The discounts and onboard credit are based on full fare but aren’t on a discounted price.

Edited June 21, 2019 by Chiliburn

[MicCanberra]

3 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

The loyalty system is more for the benefit of the company.

For a few bits and pieces the costumer gets all fuzzy and keeps coming back.

 The discounts and onboard credit are based on full fare but aren’t on a discounted price.

So you can normally get a cruise for cheaper than the full fare and therefore would rarely get the OBC?

[DDG 41]

Sorry for bringing this topic up again.

Does anyone know since when Pacific Adventure could get under the Sydney harbour bridge as she is scheduled to only dock at white bay for the season?

[Russell21]

On 6/22/2019 at 4:58 AM, Chiliburn said:

The loyalty system is more for the benefit of the company.

For a few bits and pieces the costumer gets all fuzzy and keeps coming back.

 The discounts and onboard credit are based on full fare but aren’t on a discounted price.

I'm afraid you are mistaken about that as far as my experience has been, some discounted prices maybe, but not a blanket statement.

[MMDown Under]

On 6/16/2019 at 10:50 AM, Chiliburn said:

It used to be the North Americans want to escape the cold but there’s a growing trend for escaping the heat .

Friends who used to live in Sydney,which now live in Oklahoma ,Told me the summer is becoming unbearable and they come back to Sydney in July.

 

 There’s talk Royal Caribbean is exploring that market.

I think you are on the money!  As America gets hotter in the summer, more Americans will want to cruise in their summer to escape the heat.  

I just received a summer accommodation special from my NYC accommodation for the first time.  

Australia will finally get winter cruising as a result.  

With increased cruising from Australia, cruise lines need to book Sydney asap to obtain berths. 

[Toryhere]

I find the topic of perks fascinating, because it reveals the need for complexity and one upmanship that seem to drive so many of us.

On SeaDream you get to be a club member after you’ve taken one voyage with the line. However, there seem to be no actual perks or status attached to being a club member. Occasionally they will have a members’ only cocktail party, but on many sailings the members form the majority of the passengers, so they don’t bother.

One thing I have noticed is that the passengers on luxury cruise lines prefer that everyone gets the same high level of service. However, in that situation people begin to seek perks in subtler ways. Thus, the American couples we travelled with on our last two voyages made sure that we always had one of the best tables in the outdoor dining area each night.