Carnival coming to Aus.

[emum]

I feel a little traitor-ish posting this, but we received a special promo offer for the new Carnival sailings out of Australia, starting late 2012 (we've sailed P&O several times, hence the special offer).

In any case, if anyone is interested in cruises, you can check the ship out at Carnival.com.au

Cheers,
Sally

 

[HappyFingers]

yeh i got one as well

 

[Travel Mum]

I was excited when I first found out that the Carnival Spirit was coming down our way but now I'm far more excited to know that Royal Caribbean are sending mega-ship Voyager of the Seas down here!

 

[BecBennett]

What are your experiences with cruises? I've always wanted to go on one, but I've seem some pics that show extremely crowded and hectic looking decks before, that make me worry...

A pool is no fun if you cant move about in it...

 

[Travel Mum]

I love cruising - so relaxing! You can unpack everything out of your suitcase yet visit different ports each day. All the food is included so looking at menu prices and worrying about how much you are spending.

 

[shushh]

I am a cruise addict. I too find it a relaxing way to travel especially with kids! The best part is not to have to worry about packing and unpacking and getting the next mode of transport.

People tend to drift off/disperse and do their thing during the cruise and so I haven't found any activity overly crowded. As for pools, it does depend on the season that you are cruising. Some cruise ships also have more pools than others.

 

[hellosue]

I am a cruise addict. I too find it a relaxing way to travel especially with kids! The best part is not to have to worry about packing and unpacking and getting the next mode of transport.

People tend to drift off/disperse and do their thing during the cruise and so I haven't found any activity overly crowded. As for pools, it does depend on the season that you are cruising. Some cruise ships also have more pools than others.

From a person who has never been on a cruise to a "Cruise Addict" have you been on cruises from Aust and if so how do they compare with US cruises?

Would love to go on Disney Cruise but have 2 teenages 14 & 16 not sure if cruises suit these ages. Please give your opinion

 

[australiankaren]

Awesome re royal Caribbean sending down one of it's larger ships.......we did freedom of the seas and the big boats are awesome.

The great thing re Royal is they have junior suites at a little more $$ than balcony and are still cheaper than Disney.

I have already got my travel agent in the USA ready to book us in feb 2013 when bookings open......

this will save $7K in airfares flying to orlando so more cruises in a year

re; the teens, you'll never see them during the week except when they come back to change...

 

[shushh]

From a person who has never been on a cruise to a "Cruise Addict" have you been on cruises from Aust and if so how do they compare with US cruises?

Would love to go on Disney Cruise but have 2 teenages 14 & 16 not sure if cruises suit these ages. Please give your opinion

I think the cruising scene in Australia has improved a lot since the "good" old days of fairstar the fun ship. I have been to the pacific islands (eg noumea) on P&O. It was ok but that was a long time ago. Their standards may have improved by now.The Princess lines and the Royal Caribbean lines are actually not bad. Other than the ones which are usually here, most lines usually send a ship to Australia as part of a round the world trip or for a limited season. So it is possible to experience beautiful ships like the diamond princess and new ships like the celebrity solstice, or lines like HAL, and crystal. And especially now that RCCL are sending one of their mega liners here permanently, my interest has definitely been captured. Then I guess it comes down to itinerary and how much you like the pacific islands, NZ and cruising to Australian destinations! Some also leave to move on to Asia for something more interesting.

As for teenagers, my answers would only be a best guess based on talking to other passengers with teenagers. But they seem to love it. I walked around and into the teen area, and they are quite well catered for with their own "hang-out" space. There is a separate area for tweens (11-13) and for teenagers 14+. If your children are big Disney fans then I think they'll love it. The ships are safe and they now have wavephones provided in each stateroom so you can communicate.

Awesome re royal Caribbean sending down one of it's larger ships.......we did freedom of the seas and the big boats are awesome.

The great thing re Royal is they have junior suites at a little more $$ than balcony and are still cheaper than Disney.

I have already got my travel agent in the USA ready to book us in feb 2013 when bookings open......

this will save $7K in airfares flying to orlando so more cruises in a year

re; the teens, you'll never see them during the week except when they come back to change...

Do you by any chance know the details of the repositioning cruise for the Voyager of the seas coming to Australia? We are interested in a cruise coming back to Sydney as it would be a great and relaxing way to end a holiday but I can't seem to find details of the dates and ports.

 

[emum]

My advice would be to steer clear of P&O Aust. They are not a patch on most of the o/s lines. Disney were fabulous, and I'd be willing to try RCCL once they're set up here.

As for teens - different kids enjoy different things DD1 avoids the kids clubs like the plague, however she LOVED our Disney cruise - often hanging out with one of her siblings, by herself, or with mum and dad. DS, on the other hand, loves the kids clubs, and I would guess will continue to love them.

HTH- I'd do a longer reply if I weren't on the itouch.

Cheers,
Sally

 

[shushh]

Sally, you know I don't think we ever bumped into each other despite being on a 15 night cruise together! I meant to ask you how you and your family enjoyed your holiday?

And thank you for actually spelling out the point of what I was going to say but forgot to because I started waffling...P&O are not up to the standards of Princess and RCCL.

 

[emum]

Hi Belinda - I've switched to the computer, as typing on the itouch does my head in !

Actually, we sat very close to each other every night we ate in Triton's - I just got very crowd shy once we were onboard - didn't want to approach you as there was so many of you guys ! Here's the evidence.... (don't tell DD1 - she'd be mortified ! LOL !)

I actually didn't really "meet" any DISers once onboard (with the exception of one family who had to disembark in Aruba with a medical emergency), for many personal reasons.

We LOVED our trip. I knew we would - Disney are yet to disappoint us. We ended up buying into Aulani too, as I foresee many more Disney holidays ahead of us. our only problem is now trying to fit holidays in with DD1 and the last 3 years of high school (and once that's over, we've got another three kids to get through ).

Cheers,
Sally

 

[Mum from oz]

I have gotten my other half hooked on cruise holidays so maybe I can convince him to do this one year.

 

[shushh]

Hi Belinda - I've switched to the computer, as typing on the itouch does my head in !

Actually, we sat very close to each other every night we ate in Triton's - I just got very crowd shy once we were onboard - didn't want to approach you as there was so many of you guys ! I actually didn't really "meet" any DISers once onboard (with the exception of one family who had to disembark in Aruba with a medical emergency). There were many reasons why.

We LOVED our trip. I knew we would - Disney are yet to disappoint us. We ended up buying into Aulani too, as I foresee many more Disney holidays ahead of us. our only problem is now trying to fit holidays in with DD1 and the last 3 years of high school (and once that's over, we've got another three kids to get through ).

Cheers,
Sally

I was afraid I was going to find out that it was because I was oblivious! Oh Sally, I'm so sorry! And there I thought I was listening out for Aussie accents. Obvious not hard enough! You should have come and say hello!!! It would have been nice to meet up. I know the numbers are intimidating though...Never mind! Hopefully there will be a next time!

And hurray for Aulani!

 

[shushh]

I have gotten my other half hooked on cruise holidays so maybe I can convince him to do this one year.

Welcome home and great update! Hope the move went well. Cruise holidays are definitely the way to go!

 

[australiankaren]

hi again

I think re: repositioning , it will be coming from Europe, as that's where it seems to be based at the moment.

Royal Caribbean is fantastic, they really do cruising in style, and even though the ships are HUGE, you never seem to be crowded or overrun with kids...as a matter of fact, on freedom we didn't really see any kids except up on the basketball court....the kids programs seemed to keep them entertained 24/7.

I just hope the word doesnt get out too soon about how great it is, as I'd hate to be unable to get a cabin
But we def need a decent cruise line down under...and the itin to fiji/ tahiti looks like ticket...rather than old people new zealand

Roll on 2013....