Live from Coral Princess - the Benchwarmer Cruise 8th October

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, Tripmode33 said:

Happy Anniversary. You shouldn't have to deal with this stress on a short cruise. Relax and enjoy now.

We board the Coral tomorrow for a short two day cruise to Brisbane, while others will stay on. I will watch our Bayou Reservation tomorrow on boarding in case it disappears. I imagine a substitute bottle of wine wouldn't be met with much joy when you already have a drinks package.

You should be OK as a good percentage of the passengers will be doing the Round Australia itinerary like us. I'm not sure what the split will be but I think more cabins are usually allocated to the Sydney roundtrip than the Brisbane roundtrip. 

[arxcards]

Thanks for the anniversary wishes. Even our door is being nice.

 

[NSWP]

41 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Gorgeous day in Eden today. A beautiful little town while the sun is shining.

 

Nice pic Geoff. Have they got the mini markets out at the pier and the food vans out? You might get a decent pie or fish and chips, lol. As if you need it. The Horizon Court awaits !!!

[NSWP]

30 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

You should be OK as a good percentage of the passengers will be doing the Round Australia itinerary like us. I'm not sure what the split will be but I think more cabins are usually allocated to the Sydney roundtrip than the Brisbane roundtrip. 

Pretty much a sell out your 28 dayer, Julie. Bon Voyage again. The staff must all know you and Rolf by now, lol. 

[arxcards]

29 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Nice pic Geoff. Have they got the mini markets out at the pier and the food vans out? You might get a decent pie or fish and chips, lol. As if you need it. The Horizon Court awaits !!!

Burger, chips, bourbon & coke at the grill.

 

Markets and a coffee stand. Food vans might have popped up a bit later than our return. Nice coffee and a shop browse through town.

[discoseabear]

You know your on a booze cruise with empty cocktail glasses are left on top of the hand sanitiser machines, room service trays are left in the hallways and when a third of the users of the Horizon Court don't wear face masks. This has only happened since the Sydney to Eden passengers borded.

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, NSWP said:

Pretty much a sell out your 28 dayer, Julie. Bon Voyage again. The staff must all know you and Rolf by now, lol. 

Thanks. Yes, quite a few of the staff recognise us now.

 

It was almost sold out when we booked but one very nice cabin popped up for sale so we decided to grab it. 

[arxcards]

3 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Thanks. Yes, quite a few of the staff recognise us now.

 

It was almost sold out when we booked but one very nice cabin popped up for sale so we decided to grab it. 

The team of Coral Princess is awaiting the A team to return. Francois will be happy to see you back aboard.

 

Pays to dig the heels in once in a while. Crown Grill a la Bayou was awesome tonight. Plenty of OBC translated into what would otherwise be a pair of overpriced Effy Pearl earrings, but we disembark with a skinny bill and pretty happy about the way things panned out. 

[MicCanberra]

Glad you got to enjoy your evening celebrating in style,

[Cbtours]

13 minutes ago, arxcards said:

The team of Coral Princess is awaiting the A team to return. Francois will be happy to see you back aboard.

 

Pays to dig the heels in once in a while. Crown Grill a la Bayou was awesome tonight. Plenty of OBC translated into what would otherwise be a pair of overpriced Effy Pearl earrings, but we disembark with a skinny bill and pretty happy about the way things panned out. 

Glad it all panned out in the end. All the best. We’ll do our best to make you proud 😂😂😂😂

[yes!yes!yes!]

16 minutes ago, arxcards said:

The team of Coral Princess is awaiting the A team to return. Francois will be happy to see you back aboard.

 

Pays to dig the heels in once in a while. Crown Grill a la Bayou was awesome tonight. Plenty of OBC translated into what would otherwise be a pair of overpriced Effy Pearl earrings, but we disembark with a skinny bill and pretty happy about the way things panned out. 

did you take any photos of the food?

[arxcards]

13 hours ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

did you take any photos of the food?

Barb did. I will have to check what she has on her phone. I know she was keeping a log of her drinks as well.

[arxcards]

18 hours ago, discoseabear said:

You know your on a booze cruise with empty cocktail glasses are left on top of the hand sanitiser machines, room service trays are left in the hallways and when a third of the users of the Horizon Court don't wear face masks. This has only happened since the Sydney to Eden passengers borded.

Happy to confirm we were none of the above. Princess is not much of a target for booze cruisers, as it pretty much shuts down service at midnight. 

 

I would agree in kind though, but see it as more of a bogan cruise than a booze cruise. Watching video clips from Splendor last week, and that is a very boozy ship on short cruises - and maybe the longer ones too.

 

Lots ditch masks on a short cruise, as there is little consequence - if they catch it, they are home before testing positive. Different for longer cruises, as nobody wants to spend a week confined to their cabin. The CD made infrequent announcements, but if the staff refused service until they masked-up, those passengers might get the hint.

[OzKiwiJJ]

The issue is not people not wearing masks in the bars and seated dining areas which is where most of the servicing is. It's not wearing masks while moving around the ship, especially in the lifts, in the theatre and in crowded lounges for things like trivia, bingo, and various shows.

[timtam2]

Im just off Coral this morning. I am disappointed at the laxity of mask enforcement. The staff tick the boxes about making the announcements but there is no follow through. Although I did see the guy in charge of the Horizon Buffet block an obviously hungover bogan from entering without mask. He decided to go elsewhere.

     I was travelling with my elderly mum who has health issues. First day in the lift, 2 ladies went to enter maskless.  I indicated to my mask that they were needed. I got the Dorrie Evans response..."Nobody told me, nobody said that. "  except the signs on the wall at the elevators perhaps?

    My other big issue was the mobility seating at the rear of the theatre. There are obviously elderly and frail people seated there, all wearing masks. Lights go out, the latecomers all stagger in, usually maskless and fill the empty seats in those rows. Princess no longer has a staff member on duty at the rear of the theatre to monitor this or to eject noisy drunks or troublemakers. Not good. 

[arxcards]

Oh well, it must have been a booze cruise after all.

 

On the train home on Tuesday, I was concerned that I was starting to come down with something, which is a concern since we are off again next Wednesday. Turns out I might have had one cognac too many on the last night, and I just had a teeny hangover.

 

All good, and feeling fit again. I will take a look at what photos I have, and hopefully add some tomorrow.

[NSWP]

9 hours ago, arxcards said:

Oh well, it must have been a booze cruise after all.

 

On the train home on Tuesday, I was concerned that I was starting to come down with something, which is a concern since we are off again next Wednesday. Turns out I might have had one cognac too many on the last night, and I just had a teeny hangover.

 

All good, and feeling fit again. I will take a look at what photos I have, and hopefully add some tomorrow.

Better have a RATs Geoff. You have to keep well for next week.

[yes!yes!yes!]

10 hours ago, arxcards said:

Oh well, it must have been a booze cruise after all.

 

On the train home on Tuesday, I was concerned that I was starting to come down with something, which is a concern since we are off again next Wednesday. Turns out I might have had one cognac too many on the last night, and I just had a teeny hangover.

 

All good, and feeling fit again. I will take a look at what photos I have, and hopefully add some tomorrow.

Did you feel you got value for money with the premium drink package?

[arxcards]

4 hours ago, NSWP said:

Better have a RATs Geoff. You have to keep well for next week.

Random Alcohol Tasting's?

Edited October 13, 2022 by arxcards

[arxcards]

3 hours ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

Did you feel you got value for money with the premium drink package?

For a short cruise, yes.

The package was partly refunded as well, as the door prizes was disabled - maybe they now have restrictions on domestic cruises.

 

The package was redeemed well past the price, with 2 x specialty meals each + 6 photo prints plus digital dl's of all 12 photos. We only had around 1/2 dozen drinks over the plus cap price, so extra benefit if you like espresso Martinis or XO cognac.

 

A plus package is all we would be interested in for anything over 5 nights.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

For a short cruise, yes.

The package was partly refunded as well, as the door prizes was disabled - maybe they now have restrictions on domestic cruises.

 

The package was redeemed well past the price, with 2 x specialty meals each + 6 photo prints plus digital dl's of all 12 photos. We only had around 1/2 dozen drinks over the plus cap price, so extra benefit if you like espresso Martinis or XO cognac.

 

A plus package is all we would be interested in for anything over 5 nights.

I'm rather fond of that XO cognac and it's only $4 above the Plus limit so very good value. 😊

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I'm rather fond of that XO cognac and it's only $4 above the Plus limit so very good value. 😊

I was a little too fond of that XO cognac on Monday night. The aroma is contagious.

[yes!yes!yes!]

5 hours ago, arxcards said:

For a short cruise, yes.

The package was partly refunded as well, as the door prizes was disabled - maybe they now have restrictions on domestic cruises.

 

The package was redeemed well past the price, with 2 x specialty meals each + 6 photo prints plus digital dl's of all 12 photos. We only had around 1/2 dozen drinks over the plus cap price, so extra benefit if you like espresso Martinis or XO cognac.

 

A plus package is all we would be interested in for anything over 5 nights.

I thought it would only be good for a short cruise.

 

[yes!yes!yes!]

Have you found the food porn yet?

I never got to try the Bayou 

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

Have you found the food porn yet?

I never got to try the Bayou 

I know Barb has a few. Just need to get the phone out of her hand long enough to snag them.