Pass The Parcel Or Pass The Buck – Why Australia Can’t Cruise While The Rest Of The World Is Enjoying A Renaissance

[MicCanberra]

Even Cunard are not enforcing their policy very strictly, at least they didn't  when we were on the QM2 in 2015.

[OzKiwiJJ]

12 minutes ago, NSWP said:

You don't need to wear Tuxedo on Princess these days, casual attire in MDR on formal nights, even though they request minimum dark suit and tie for men.     Cunard and P&O UK are still trying to hang on to tradition like suit and tie in MDR on formal nights. 

Quite a few men still wear tuxedos on Princess on formal nights, or suits but sometimes without ties, but it is getting more and more casual. The concept has changed from traditional cruising to floating resort holidays. Sad in a way as it loses its uniqueness.

[MicCanberra]

I don't  mind wearing a tux but it is so much easier to pack and travel / tour without one.

[OzKiwiJJ]

12 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I don't  mind wearing a tux but it is so much easier to pack and travel / tour without one.

It's not so much of a problem for us when cruising from Sydney return. We've got out packing down to a fine art by now, but does add a bit extra when having to calculate flight baggage allowances. Still, it's doable.

[MicCanberra]

We often tie in the cruise overseas with land travel and tours, so it can be an issue with only 2 or so formal nights but travelling for 6 or 7 weeks.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I just had a horrid thought - I hope I haven't lost the knack of packing after this hiatus from cruising. 😯

[MicCanberra]

1 minute ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I just had a horrid thought - I hope I haven't lost the knack of packing after this hiatus from cruising. 😯

Nevermind, it will be fun relearning it again.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 minute ago, MicCanberra said:

We often tie in the cruise overseas with land travel and tours, so it can be an issue with only 2 or so formal nights but travelling for 6 or 7 weeks.

We use a combination of bags - spinners with overnight bags that sit on top. When we do big overseas trips the formal wear goes in one of the smaller bags so doesn't need to be accessed until needed. 

[mr walker]

8 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

We often tie in the cruise overseas with land travel and tours, so it can be an issue with only 2 or so formal nights but travelling for 6 or 7 weeks.

Yes we have had that also. 10-12N on land, moving hotels every 1 or 2 days, ahead of the cruise means managing your luggage to suit. We try to cross pack, not cross-dress, when possible. So just a versatile sports jacket & tie for me, and as Julie suggests, we tried to keep the 'cruise-only clothes' in the one bag, & could leave that in the car at some stops.

[OzKiwiJJ]

6 minutes ago, mr walker said:

Yes we have had that also. 10-12N on land, moving hotels every 1 or 2 days, ahead of the cruise means managing your luggage to suit. We try to cross pack, not cross-dress, when possible. So just a versatile sports jacket & tie for me, and as Julie suggests, we tried to keep the 'cruise-only clothes' in the one bag, & could leave that in the car at some stops.

Cross-packing is very sensible, especially when travelling by air. That way if one bag goes on a detour by itself you've usually got enough to get by. 

 

When we did the big road trip earlier this year we used a number of smaller bags. We'd planned stops with laundry facilities and all the bags came out of the car at those places, then we repacked them for the next stage of the trip. It worked very well.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Also our spinner bags are expandable and the first rule is never leave home with them expanded! We've only broken that rule once. US flights have different baggage rules to all the rest - the limit is on the number of 23kg max bags, not on overall weight. Since I knew I would be doing some serious shopping in the US we took an extra spinner bag, and the overnight bags were packed in two of the spinners, which then had to be expanded. We left home with three check-in bags and came home with five. 🤣 It worked very well!

[ollyoeno]

On 9/29/2021 at 3:35 PM, Emoliash said:

Also considering the majority of the staff on the ships are not Australian means it is difficult to argue the jobs line. However it does drive jobs in tourism and other port jobs. CLIAs own figures state the industry is worth over four billion annually so not to be sneezed at. Maybe Joel needs to get some other industry organisations onboard like the Tourism and Transport Forum and start a campaign 

Marjie has done a better job of sticking up for the rights of workers, true

[NSWP]

22 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Even Cunard are not enforcing their policy very strictly, at least they didn't  when we were on the QM2 in 2015.

Yes, in March 2017, on QM2, Sydney to HK on formal night there were a couple of men in the Brittania Restaurant (MDR) with Adidas Track Suit tops on, their excuse for a jacket, lol. They got in to dine. The world cruising Brits in their dinner suits and bow ties gave them a glare lol.  I like the term 'Dinner Suit' rather than Tuxedo, the latter is a word derived from the Land of the Free.  Many Brits wore a suit and tie for dinner every night and I saw a bloke in his blazer and tie at breakfast one morning, partaking of his kippers and black pudding, lol.

 

But getting back to Princess, these days in MDR on formal night one bloke dressed in his Tuxedo could be sitting next to a bloke in T shirt and jeans, it is fact. But it does not look right.

Edited September 30, 2021 by NSWP

[MicCanberra]

In way way, I don't really care what other people wear as it doesn't  really affect my dining experience or the quality of the food, service, etc. 

 

However, it does lower the ambience slightly seeing some people disrespecting the rules/guidelines and if they happen to be at my table, they are disrespectful of me and it may affect the service to me.

 

One issue is it does make me think the staff are too weak to turn someone around to get changed. This may be due to many reasons such as, avoiding a confrontation on what is just a guideline, ensuring people have a good cruise, keeping people returning for more cruises, and keeping the tips up.

[SinbadThePorter]

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

But getting back to Princess, these days in MDR on formal night one bloke dressed in his Tuxedo could be sitting next to a bloke in T shirt and jeans, it is fact. But it does not look right.

 

I never pack anything other than casual wear for a cruise. I don't like to carry suits and I don't like wearing suits while I'm on holiday. It negates the entire idea of a holiday.

 

So I don't go to the MDR on formal nights, because that is the purpose of formal night. Which means that I'm exiled to the buffet, which I resent.

 

What I would like to see is Princess allowing one of their three MDRs to remain casual on formal nights. The other two restaurants could have a properly policed dress code and everybody would be happy.

[GUT2407]

On 9/29/2021 at 2:47 PM, NSWP said:

Lobster yes, Caviar no.🦞

Was only reminiscing with Mrs Gut last night about the days of Lobster and getting caviar on your prawn cocktail, ohhh how things have changed, at the moment I’d settle for a feed at the Rissole.

 

[GUT2407]

On 9/29/2021 at 3:32 PM, OzKiwiJJ said:

I actually got to have caviar served the proper way once, in a glass bowl over ice with the traditional accompaniments. It was very nice.

 

Gee where did ya get served that.

[MicCanberra]

13 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

So I don't go to the MDR on formal nights, because that is the purpose of formal night. Which means that I'm exiled to the buffet, which I resent.

 

What I would like to see is Princess allowing one of their three MDRs to remain casual on formal nights. The other two restaurants could have a properly policed dress code and everybody would be happy.

Another option is one of the Specially restaurants, these are not formal on formal nights.

[GUT2407]

They say a road map to international travel is coming today

[SinbadThePorter]

24 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Another option is one of the Specially restaurants, these are not formal on formal nights.

 

I've tried specialty restaurants, but I haven't found enough to like with the ones with set courses.

 

Alfredo's is very good, and it's my go to on formal nights if it's on the ship, but probably doesn't count as a specialty restaurant.

[OzKiwiJJ]

39 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Gee where did ya get served that.

On Crystal Symphony when we did the Panama Canal cruise in 2018. 

[SinbadThePorter]

Australia set to reopen international borders after 18 months

 

"Australia is poised to reopen its international borders from November to again allow its citizens to come and go without seeking permission as states close in on key coronavirus vaccination targets."

 

It should be possible to take a foreign cruise once this comes in. Although we are now going into the Northern winter so options may be limited.

Edited October 1, 2021 by SinbadThePorter

[GUT2407]

32 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

On Crystal Symphony when we did the Panama Canal cruise in 2018. 

How it should be done, haven’t tried Crystal, when you have to stay local and no flying there are a few lines that offer very little. Silverseas is another that falls into that category.

[Aus Traveller]

44 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

Australia set to reopen international borders after 18 months

 

"Australia is poised to reopen its international borders from November to again allow its citizens to come and go without seeking permission as states close in on key coronavirus vaccination targets."

 

It should be possible to take a foreign cruise once this comes in. Although we are now going into the Northern winter so options may be limited.

'Borders open' doesn't mean the government will allow large cruise ships into Australian waters.

 

WOW! I don't believe it! I have been locked out for several days - I don't know why. 😕I don't think I have been in the naughty corner. 😁This post has actually appeared. For days I have the message to either register or sign in, but I hadn't been able to sign in. This post just went on as normal. Great!

Edited October 1, 2021 by Aus Traveller

[OzKiwiJJ]

18 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

How it should be done, haven’t tried Crystal, when you have to stay local and no flying there are a few lines that offer very little. Silverseas is another that falls into that category.

That's one of the annoying things about all of the luxury lines, they just blow through our region doing a few one way itineraries. Flights are always involved which increases the cost. ☹