KWofPerth

4 hours ago, Dawn T. said:

We live in Central Florida and have always cruised the Caribbean from Florida ports.  Next March (2019), we are branching out and flying to Sydney, Australia for a 9-night South Pacific cruise on the Ovation of the Seas.  I have a few questions.  I'm sure I will think of more questions as the trip gets closer!  For now, here are my questions:

1)   When is the best time to book the flight for the best price?  

2)  Hotel recommendation in Sydney to stay pre-cruise.  We plan to arrive several days before we cruise.  We would like to stay somewhere near the cruise port, which is near the Sydney Opera House (based on our research).  We want a hotel that is reasonably priced, not the Ritz, but not a roach motel either.  

3)  Restaurant recommendations in Sydney.

4)  Transportation recommendations in Sydney.  Rent a car?  Uber, etc.?  Public transportation availability?

5)  Are U.S. dollars accepted or should we exchange for local currency?

6)  What is South Pacific weather like in March?   

Any tips or hints are welcome for both Sydney and the Ovation.  This will our first cruise on a Quantum class ship.  Thanks!

I have previously stayed at the Holiday Inn in an area called The Rocks. It's literally walking distance to the terminal and the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is mid-range pricing too. I highly recommend this location.

This October I'm staying at the Amora Hotel which is only 800metres from Circular Quay. Also reasonably priced.

If staying at The Rocks, there is a pancake house that is great for breakfast or dinner, though I can't recall what it is called. Google will probably assist.

US dollars no good in Australia I'm afraid, but in the SP there will be places that accept them.

I can't disagree F1guynz. Mid-winter cruises to the South Pacific would be ideal. As it is, we can only do that by being disloyal to Royal !

For anyone wishing to embrace their inner child, RC is running a competition in which the winners will participate in a Hide & Seek game onboard Ovation of the Seas while docked in Sydney on 18 Feb 2018. The winner of the hide & seek will then win a family cruise and $10,000.

Details here  http://www.10yearsofroyal.com.au/hide-and-seek/?utm_source=RCI_Web&utm_medium=Banner&utm_campaign=Hide_and_seek

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Poolside towels provided on check in check out basis. Bathroom towels sorted as well. In short no need to pack any towels at all unless you have a favourite :) 

On the other hand, if you want to make a big scene out of it, approach the Cruise Director and ask if he/she can set aside a few minutes of time in the theatre one night. Get him/her to call you and your gf up on stage, play dumb, and then when you're up there, get down on bended knee, etc.

No harm in asking

First of all, congratulations and good luck!

Finding a quiet place on deck at sunset would be my suggestion. You get epic sunsets (and sunrises) out at sea, so if you're looking for a more intimate moment, that's what I would do. Possibly at the bow or stern somewhere.

Again, good luck!!

I booked my next cruise over the phone (too many bugs online). Myself, wife and 2 kids in interconnecting rooms.

No problems so far, though the cruise is still 12 months away. However credit where it's due to RC - a few weeks after booking, they contacted me to advise that my two children had been re-priced (I forget the reason) and they reduced our payment by $55 per child.

On 14/10/2017 at 12:14 AM, Bazza said:

6 - Offshore excursions - not much choice on the RC lists - looking at some of theirs but also using Tripadvisor to find my own - anybody got advice/experience/tips for tours in Dunedin/Wellington/Napier/Picton in New Zealand, Brisbane/Darwin in Australia or Kuala Lumpur please?? 

Hi Bazza,

I've been to Wellington for a brief overnight stay and just enjoyed walking around town. Loads of restaurants, bars and cafes.  However the Te Papa Museum comes highly recommended. Next time I visit I intend going there.

Can't help you with the other ports unfortunately (except Sydney, do the Bridge Climb!).

I would definitely recommend a medical certificate for anyone who finds themselves in this position. You'd hate to be turned away at embarkation. The cut-off is if a woman reaches the 24th week at anytime during the cruise. The RCI policy states 'no cruising for you' if this is the case.

You could possibly get through the embarkation process without any staff realising (or asking, for fear of causing offence), but if any misfortune befalls you onboard, you leave yourself open to loss of insurance and who-knows-what other legal surprises?

6 minutes ago, mom2mybugs said:

Yes, and you check the boards so often that the isn't enough time for posts to show up!  Jane

So true!

...the first thing you do when you wake up is log onto RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com to read the latest post

I think there's a podcast episode in here somewhere @Matt - What to Expect when you are Expecting - Cruising Edition.

I (and my wife of course) were in a somewhat similar position. Our sailing date - booked 12 months in advance - was slightly after the 24th week of pregnancy, resulting in us choosing to bring forward our cruise date. As this was an inter-generational cruise, we had to re-negotiate for a credit for deposits already paid for other family members. We also required a Doctor's certificate confirming how many weeks pregnant my wife was.

Anyways, just thought there might be some material for a podcast :)

Also, congrats @Great_Canadian...

On 30/05/2017 at 7:12 PM, F1guynz said:

We have booked a GS Explorer for March 2019 for 9 nights up to the Islands. We looked at Ovation which is doing the same cruise 2 weeks later but a GS cost $4000 more. Not good value for money in my opinion. We are on Ovation later this year but RCI charge such a premium for sailing on her I think it will be a one off.

I agree that Ovation seems overpriced. Some of the feedback I've come across has not been glowing, either.

So personally, Explorer sailings hit the sweet spot. Booked an October 2018 trip out to New Caledonia in an interconnecting interior for my family, plus treated my oldies to a cabin nextdoor. So no Grand Suite for me

Yay at last, Aus/NZ cruises are loaded.

For some reason the 16 Nov 2018 cruise isn't showing up (had my eye on that one, among others). Hopefully just a bug in the website.

2 minutes ago, F1guynz said:

I have printed copies of the last ones at home. I will compare these to the latest ones tonight and see if there are any differences.

Looking forward to booking next week

I had a copy saved on my hard drive and just compared the two (too much time on my hands!!).  There are no changes. So one wonders what the delay was all about.

Ditto with booking next week!

4 minutes ago, F1guynz said:

Here is the link to the updated itineraries

https://secure.royalcaribbean.com.au/media/pdf/reports/170522_RCI_201819_ProgramRelease_FA_Consumer_AU.pdf

 

Thanks F1guynz. The sailings that I was eyeing off on Explorer are exactly the same as published a few weeks ago. Are you aware of any changes in the itineraries?

From Facebook, for those STILL waiting for the Australian itineraries -

The wait is over! 2018/2019 new season sailings on sale next week...

Our new summer season cruises will go on sale next Tuesday, 30 May with favourites Ovation of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas all returning with a variety of fresh itineraries to destinations throughout Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific, French Polynesia and Asia.

Make sure to mark it in your calendar!

From Facebook...

The wait is over! 2018/2019 new season sailings on sale next week...

Our new summer season cruises will go on sale next Tuesday, 30 May with favourites Ovation of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas all returning with a variety of fresh itineraries to destinations throughout Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific, French Polynesia and Asia.

Make sure to mark it in your calendar!

I looked up the Sydney port schedules yesterday. The 2018/19 summer berths have now been updated to remove Voyager and place Explorer into the dates that were published a week or two ago.

Interestingly however, Voyager is still showing up in late 2019 and beyond. There's a number of ways this could be interpreted, but my guess is that the Port Authority is still negotiating for all 4 ships (Voyager, Radiance, Explorer and Ovation) to be based down under from 2019/20 on.

11 hours ago, F1guynz said:

Their comment "manoeuvring their mega-ships around the world is a mighty task at times" doesn't quite make sense to me. They already announced what the itineraries for Australia / South Pacific would be and it seems it is pretty straight forward to get the ships to Australia from Singapore/China and Vancouver,

Also as they are taking bookings for all the other regions that know what ships they have available for this region.

I wonder if there are now back room negotiations to get Voyager back to Australia for 2018/19 season as the financial impact of having one less ship would be pretty significant for the tourism industry. I think it came as a bit of a shock to everyone when they pulled Voyager from the market and now the ports are scrambling to come up with a solution.

Time will tell I guess.

 

 

This was my thought too, though it would be a bit late in the day to re-arrange things I would've thought.

On 11/04/2017 at 1:34 PM, PocketsRN said:

Anyone have an idea when they're gonna be releasing the new South Pacific itineraries?  I figured they would've been included with the Australia dates last week, but they didn't. 

Here it is -

17_4_27_RCI_201819_Programme_Release_Trade_FA.pdf

For anyone like me who is waiting for the South Pacific and NZ itineraries, here we go...

17_4_27_RCI_201819_Programme_Release_Trade_FA.pdf

19 hours ago, MegNason said:

Any advice on purchasing massages from the spa?  Is it better to purchase in advance or wait until onboard?  

No direct experience myself, but Matt - in his podcasts - suggests that you can get a good bargain on port days. It also doesn't hurt to ask in advance what deals are coming up.

11 minutes ago, PRC said:

Apparently there's issues all over the region.  

 

Auckland's pushing back:

 

http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11848618

 

Ouch. Stinging article!