Cruise the South Pacific (ex Sydney) from $798 per person (Internal Room, twin share). Leaves 22 Feb 10 Nights.
https://secure.royalcaribbean.com.au/cruises/10NightSouthPac…
Also
12 Nights South Pacific & Fiji Cruise from $899 per person (Internal Room, twin share). Departing Sydney 4 Mar 2017
https://secure.royalcaribbean.com.au/cruises/12NightSouthPac…
Click on the link and scroll to the bottom to see what's included
I'm pretty certain it does include food.
However you have to pay to eat certain venues.
This applies to most of the cruises I've been on.
It does include food. On this ship there is an all you can eat buffet open for breakfast, lunch and dinner (the Windjammer); the main dining room (the Sapphire Dining Room) which is open for breakfast (made to order off a menu), buffet lunch and a three course dinner (from a menu that changes every night), all you can eat frozen yoghurt by the pool, fresh pizza and a selection of cakes, sandwiches and pastry’s from the café available (I think) 24/7. It does not include drinks other than water, ice tea, coffee, tea and some juices. If you want soft drink or alcohol, you'll have to get a drinks package or pay per drink (packages start from about $12 per day for soft drink only).
There's four venues on this ship that require an extra cost to eat - Johnny Rockets diner which is $7 per person per visit; Giovanni's Italian restaurant, and Chops Grille Steakhouse, these two had varying cover charges, on sea days they did lunch for between $20 to $40 per person but dinner was always the same, more expensive, fixed charge. These places were all you could eat, you could order however much you wanted off the menu for no extra cost. Izumi is the Japanese restaurant on board which had al la carte pricing, starting from about $7 per dish. There's also Starbucks coffee and Ben and Jerry's ice cream at the cafe which you have to pay for.
Just wondering, did anyone know if the baby under 2 can stay with us on the same bed? (buy only twin share?), thx
I believe this is one of the pet peeves I have with cruises, they all charge for child of any age. I was told by them I needed to book 3 people for 2 adults and an infant. Generally children under 2 do not need to pay gratuities.
The other option is to wait for one of those 'children sail free' sales.
You'll probably need to get a room with bunks even if your baby sleeps in your bed. If your baby is under 12 months you may not be eligible to sail at all. The charge for a third person can be less but often the rooms which accomodate three or four are more expensive than the double rooms on these sales. Also note that babies aren't allowed in the pools and spas. Some have a dedicated pool for babies. The cruise my family did on RC in the Caribbean had a baby pool but the US ships tend to be much bigger than those which come to Australia.
my infant 18 months old, i dont mind to pay for my infant but can i need to book 4 beds (quad) but only fill with 3 person only? thanks
Lol, it's a cruise, of course it includes food.
How would you even pack your own food for a 10 Night Cruise hahha
Access denied.
Wtd did i just watch
Why did I get downvoted? I was getting an "access denied" message and it reminded me of The Lawnmower Man.
Lesson: don't mess with the bogan, cruise-going internet public. They'll take your internet points away.
Royal Caribbean charge for gratuities too but may not be included in this price?
This really isn't such a big deal as our fares for the March 10 night cruise were $720 p.p with $300 onboard credit per cabin.
Same route too.
Gratuities are additional and are considered a requirement, it operates on a US basis.
Gratuities are NOT included in those fares. A fee of usd $13.50 (aud17.70) per night will be levied against each passenger prior to disembarkation. SO budget another $170 aud.
Technically gratuities are discretionary, but in practice it's expected passengers will pay.
On board credit can not be used to pay for gratuities.
I think we can all agree that gratuities suck.
Yes. They shouldn't be built into the fare as they are for P&O.
Ash2000, I have just booked this cruise for my parents. As I am not familiar with cruising, I had no idea what gratuities were. During booking, I just left that section as zero. I thought it was optional extras. Are you able to tell me what my parents should expect prior to disembarkment? Ie, will staff ask them to pay a set amount? Thanks
Looks like gratuities are now included (2017). See link below. Bargain!
Gratuities are now included in the fare, and have been for several weeks. Additional tipping is discretionary.
"new bookings made December 12, 2016 and onwards, on sailings departing on or after January 15, 2017."
Edited to add this also includes Celebrity Cruises.
Have you got a link for that?
@ash2000: Omg yes. This is an amazing price for sure then. For our 12 night cruise back in December we paid about $200 each extra for gratuities.
Royal are changing their system with Aussie cruise fares to a one advertised fare price for Australian cruise fare purchases. Aussies don't get gratuities or respond well to hidden/extra costs
We had our gratuities refunded, just ask at the service desk. They expect Australian customers to not pay them as they are disembarking from an Australian port, returning to one and the vast majority are Australians onboard.
We paid no gratuities- organised this on the first day. We did generously tip our room attendant and our dinner time waiter & head waiter.
I cannot see how anyone wants to spend their holidays trapped on a boat and not seeing the world we live in.
you're obviously never been on a cruise before. You should try it out. Pretty cool and fun.
I'm honestly interested about why
This is the way I see it.
You on board a boat with people exactly the same as you (middle class Westerners)
You dock at a port at the same time as thousands of other tourists.
You dock for a very short period of time and have no opportunity to go inland or experience a place.
But then I'm someone who goes on holidays to warzones, so there is probably no seeing eye to eye on it.
Next you'll be complaining about how all your travel spots are flocked with thousands of tourists…
Oh please, give it a rest. I'm an experienced traveller, been to 50+ countries in my time, and I'm so sick of the wanky attitudes of some experienced travellers. Get over yourselves. Go holiday in a warzone. I did it by accident and wouldn't do it again, and I'm sure people stuck in a warzone don't want vulture-like visitors purposely coming through so they've got another notch on their belt and another tale to tell at their safe local pub when they get home.
It's horses for courses. I've never been on a cruise and I'd like to. Now I work 60 hour week the thought of sitting in the sun and someone bringing me a drink sounds like a nice break.
Accident. Clearly have little experience. Travel in warzones requires a lot of careful planning and consideration of risks and of what risks are possible and what are just downright stupid.
You want a medal for working hours. I work 50+ hours as a professional and also another 30+ hours of university. I take trips every opportunity I get but never do I get the urge to want to behave like the.pretentious person you come across as.
[@sparathecat]Tourists are a good thing for a place. But the generally culturally insensitive crowd that frequents cruise ships is not.
I work 50+ hours as a professional
I spend way more time than that on Ozbargain every week.
I'm not sure how the cruise pricing works… i'm clicking through the fiji one just to see a few things, and they've got an 'Ocean View Stateroom = 1571 per person' and an 'Ocean View Stateroom Guarantee = $983 per person'. Thats all thats listed on the page, and the Guarantee just says 'we'll pick one of the above rooms for you'.
Why wouldn't you just choose the second option for near half the price?!
Not sure where you are getting your prices but have another look. The $1571 will be for two.
john71 on 07/02/2017 - 18:55 Comment score below threshold.
Guest 1
Cruise Fare 687.00
Taxes & Fees 211.76
Guest 2
Cruise Fare 687.00
Taxes & Fees 211.76
Average cost per person 898.76
Grand Total
1,797.52 AUD
As far as I can tell, the first one you list lets you pick your stateroom. The second one lets them pick your stateroom, which might be towards the back of the boat, or have the view partially obscured etc. I might be wrong but that's my reading of it
If you give me a link I will check it out.
Is Wifi included or even available at all?
They have internet for your devices. I could only find the cost as at September 2015
http://www.traveller.com.au/the-cruise-director-gjj6pk
"Royal Caribbean now offers unlimited internet packages that cost $US20 per day for one device and $US30 for two. Its Quantum-class ships have the fastest connections because the cruise line has its own satellite system (O3b)."
I have a friend who works for RCI, she tells me they ping employees 80c/min for internet access. Ouch. Not sure if there's plans available. Have a break from technology, leave all of your tech stuff at home…
There are package that you can pre purchase that works out to around AUD$12 per day for a single device.
There are compulsory tips to pay
What are some examples of those?
13.5 USD daily gratuity (rip offs) will be automatically add to your onboard account.
This is not true any more. Gratuities are now included in the advertised price.
Thanks for the info, I just checked RCI website and yes, no more compulsory tips to pay effective recently. The following is source info:
With this change, guests will pay a single inclusive cruise fare incorporating all main meals, accommodation, kids club, entertainment and activities. Passengers will continue to have the option to provide a discretional additional gratuity.
The new cruise fares begin on new bookings made December 12, 2016 and onwards, on sailings departing on or after January 15, 2017.
Its a great change. I assume its industry wide for Australia, either way i think we should all let the cruise companies know we like the changes when ever possible. A nice change from things like the $20 per person credit card fee i got hit with yesterday when booking 4 flights on the scoot deal in one transaction….. being charged $80 to buy their product WTF.
Cheaper to purchase from Cruise Sale Finder
http://www.cruisesalefinder.com.au/royal-caribbean/explorer-…
How is $818 cheaper than $798
I've always wondered with the drinks package, what if one person has it but the other doesn't? Can the other person take sips of the person's drink with the package? How much is that policed?
Not really a bargain.
I'm not well researched in this area but you sound like you know your stuff, so thanks for the advise & links to better deals.
I won't go ahead with the holiday now, even though it has over 60 votes.
I have booked the 12 night cruise last night but I have not received any email confirmation or info.
Has anyone else NOT received any confirmation?
Did you set up an Crown & Anchor account on their website. If so, is the booking shown in your account?
I didn't setup an account at first and was not prompted to do so. I have just set it up using the same email address and other details and nothing is showing up.
They are probably flat out. I booked another trip last week and it hasn't shown up. Although, I did book through an agent.
You were right, the email came in around 24 hours after booking and all is well.
Connected the reservation to the account and now can see it online.
Thanks. :)
Just a heads up for anyone that has jumped on this deal or is thinking about it, once you get on the ship Royal Carribean charges EVERYTHING in USD. The official currency of the ship is USD, and while this is not necessarily a bad thing (the on board prices are still reasonable considering the currency conversion) it can be a bit of a shock once you get off and you look at your bank statement and see a charge for about 25% more than you expected. There aren't really any signs on board warning you of this and they don't make it that obvious so I feel as if this is something that most people wouldn't realise until they get home and see the bill.
Also, don't pay your onboard account in cash AUD, you will get a very poor exchange rate. If you're going to pay in cash on board, take USD with you. If you're going to have your onboard account charged to your card, don't opt for the Royal Carribean rate, go for the option that lets your bank dictate the rate, you'll be better off for it.
On a related note, take AUD with you if you intend to pay in cash at the ports of call. The ATMs only dispense USD which was also at quite a poor exchange rate.
And one more thing, in terms of duty free prices, Port Vila had the best prices for duty free, so hold off and spend your money there if you're doing the 10 day cruise. We paid $27 for a 1L bottle of Jack Daniels and Smirnoff 1L was $16 a bottle in December. Purfume was also quite cheap there too (better than the Priceline 50% off prices here from what I saw). Noumea and the liquor store on board had very similar prices, still very cheap in comparison to Aussie standards, but not as cheap as Port Vila. Port Vila also had a bigger variety than both Noumea or on board.
If you book and know you will spend $ onboard the best way is to call up and pre buy on board credit you will get a better exchange rate any unspent $ will be sent back to you .
Can anyone provide any insight for people who haven't cruised before and are concerned about motion sickness? Does the water get choppy on this route?
Modern Ships have special stabilizers that greatly decrease the movement compared to the old days. You can read about it here
http://cruisedeals.expert/how-cruise-ship-stabilisers-work/
It's summer so unless you hit a cyclone you should be fine. :-)
Read this link for some useful info.
http://www.travelvax.com.au/latest-news/28-hints-and-tips/17…
Get a pack of Kwells to have on hand
http://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/74906/Kwells-Adults-1…
They also have one for Kids.
http://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/73692/Kwells-Kids-12-…
I am quite easily motion sick (I get motion sick when I'm a passenger in a car, on trains and on ferries or other smaller boats) and the first cruise I went on with P&O I was sick the entire time, but despite that I decided to go on a second cruise with Royal Caribbean on the Allure of the Seas. I packed excessive supplies of sea sickness tablets but we'd been at sea for about 6 hours before I realised I forgot to take them, I didn't take any the entire cruise and was fine. I went on Explorer of the Seas last December and took tablets with me, I was ok the first couple days but ended up taking some on about day 3. Hours after I took them the Captain came over the loud speaker to say we were headed towards stormy waters and we would be diverting course, so it was probably less me reacting to the natural movement of ship itself and more the bad weather we were sailing towards. I took them for a couple of days but didn't at the end of the cruise when the weather cleared and I was fine.
Moral of my story: I believe the bigger the ship, the less likely you will get sick. Also, if you cruise and there's bad whether its more likely you'll get sick, this isn't something you can predict so you might as well take precautions with you just in case. If you're thinking of cruising out of Australia and this is something you're worried about P&O have the smallest (and oldest) ships that cruise out of Australia and Royal Caribbean have the largest (and most modern), Carnival is somewhere in between. Also, storm season in the South Pacific is between February and April, one of the reasons why cruises are so cheap this time of year is because of that. So that might be something to bear in mind as well if you're concerned.
My bet is you'll be fine, I'm especially sensitive and by the most part I was fine on both the Royal Caribbean cruises I've been on. As rthomson said below, the ships have good stabilisers, you barely feel the ship moving and most likely not even notice you're moving unless you look outside. The seas don't get 'choppy' as they do on ferries. It's more of a gentle rock if you feel it at all, and its actually super relaxing if you can slightly feel it in bed at night and be rocked to sleep. Cruising is great, you can take it from someone who had a terrible first time cruising experience that motion sickness is not something that should hold you back.
The tablets I take are called Avomine. You can get them over the counter at any chemist:
http://www.yourdiscountchemist.com.au/avomine-25mg-10-tablet…
Thank you for sharing your experience :)