$72 a night for Cunard is ridiculously cheap, you'd normally only get P&O or Carnival super specials for this price.
12-Night Cunard Cruise to New Zealand Departing Sydney on 1 Feb $1730 (2 Passengers) @ Ozcruising
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LCruiseKing on 19/01/2024 - 09:35 ozcruising.com.au (6111 clicks)
Last edited 19/01/2024 - 10:15 by 1 other user
Last edited 19/01/2024 - 10:15 by 1 other user
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Go to your local leagues club. Stay there 24/7 for 5 days.
That's a cruise, but it's thousands of dollars cheaper.
I've done my fair share of travelling overseas to many places when I was younger. Every time I came back home from a trip, I was completely exhausted and needed a few more days to recover from my exhaustion.
These are the steps and experience I have to go through for each of my holiday trips.
The time needed to plan the itinerary. At least a week for me.
The effort to sit on the plane for 8 hours+ to reach my destination. I am always hoping that no babies or small children are sitting close to you, so I can catch some snooze.
Upon arriving to my destination and touring around I often experience the two-price system where local people pay cheaper price and tourists pay a much higher price, while consuming the exact same food. Literally, this is a scam, and there are other countless scams similar to this. It's not much, but it's annoying.
Safety. This is my number 1 concern when I travel overseas. Not all places are safe after dark, in some places not even in broad daylight.
Jet-lag is an absolutely inconvenient when arriving or returning back home from a long flight. I never experienced that when I got off the cruise. My body was adjusting to the climate and time zone slowing as the cruise ship made its way home or destination.
Overall cost, the toally amount of money that I spend on plane tickets, accomodation, food, drinks, tips, activities, souvenirs etc. is usually at least triple the cost of going on a cruise.
When I went on a cruise trip, I just packed my bag and checked in. Everything else was taken care of. Now I fully understand the relaxation cycle "Eat, Play, Sleep and Repeat"
I hope this helps.
Thankyou!
My parents went on a Cunard cruise recently.
They said it was extremely snobby and there were many areas that you couldnt go to unless you were of a certain room class. And it was very expensive. And full of old people-they arent young themselves but the average age seems to be around 80.
That certainly wasn't my experience…
I'm not one to dress up, I'm more at home out in the bush or the deserts, I went to Big-W and bought some cheap dress pants and shirts for the cruise, I didn't feel out of place in the main dining room or theatre.. Through the day jeans and polo or t-shirt are fine
The crowd is older, mainly 60 to 80 I guess, I'm early 50's, there weren't many my age or younger but that wasn't an issue… NO KIDS which was great, there was maybe 6 on board and they were very well behaved, only ever saw them with their parents…. Most the people I spoke to were fairly down to earth, I only spoke to a couple of people that were 'acting' a bit snobby, you could see straight through it, it was all an act, playing the part of being on a classy ship…
Average passengers like us have access to 90+ of the ship, the only areas we're not meant to go it the first class 'Grills' restraints and lounge right up the top of the ship, you wouldn't even know they are there unless you went searching for them, they really are small areas…
As for expensive, I spent next to nothing onboard, a few drinks… There are some extra restraints that cost money but there's really no need to use them considering how great the food is in the main dining room, and then there's the buffet, bulk food, most was ok, things like steaks & roasts were overcooked and very tough, 95% of the food was perfect though, massive variety of food… Edit: and then there's the free room service 24/7….
Good review except your spelling of "restaurants" is making my eye twitch haha.
lol, my bad, dropped letters then let spell checker deal with it… What a mess… sorry.
restraints
What kind of themed cruise were you on exactly lol
A fun one, it sounds like
I feel so sorry for those kids.
They have cages to lock the kids in, they're all good ;)
https://i.postimg.cc/B6jhFwLG/vlcsnap-2024-01-19-13h19m57s16…There's 2 kids clubs for different aged kids, people speak quite highly of them:
https://www.cunard.com/en-au/activity-types/children/childre…I very rarely saw the kids that were onboard, when I did see them they seemed to be happy and enjoying themselves, it seemed to be a big adventure for them…
I did a 14 day Cunard cruise to NZ last month, no complaints, impressive ship…
Be mindful of the service fee…. $14.50usd per person per night… You can request not to pay it at the start of the cruise…
Whats this service fee? What do you get if you pay it, or not pay it?
Its like tipping in the USA. It does nothing.
Yep, it goes to cabin stewards, room service people, kitchen staff, and such…
@FLICKIT: Can you just tip the staff that helped you while you leave ? Or is the service fee the only way to tip?
@Dealking: I tipped our cabin steward cash, he seemed very appreciative, you don't really see the others…
Some people claim all those staff/crew just get a fixed wage, and the 'service charge' doesn't actually go to them, it just goes into the company coffers, but I don't know….
@FLICKIT: Exactly, I would rather tip the cabin crew in cash, and feel better about it rather than paying a service fee.
Its normal I'm the yachting. cruise industry to tip the crew. Tipping your stews would mean the chefs, people who run the sports and leisure activities miss out on the tip.
What did you think of the restraints?
They hold you down well.
Some cruise companies now make the service / hotel fees "mandatory" and can't be opted out unless there were exceptional circumstances
It's not an issue with Cunard, just ask at the Pursers desk, very easy…
The daily fee is optional but should be left on as it makes up a sizable portion of the crew's wage. The total is supposed to be divided to all the crew onboard including the people who do not interact with customers such as cooks and laundry.
If you want to tip the people attend to your room or table, tip them separately.
Why don't they just increase the price of the cruise by the $14.50 per day and pay them appropriately? I mean I know why (because they're a shitty company, and want to advertise the cruise as cheaper) but I don't like the idea of supporting it…
The company don't need to pay taxes on tips.
We went on our first cruise from a deal we found in ozbargain. It was on P&O to mystery island and New Caledonia for 7 nights and we paid like $400 odd pp for an interior room. Definitely would never go for interior room again. Worth upgrading to at least an outside room if not a balcony.
$400 odd pp for 2 people?
Per person
I’m asking how many in your cabin.
$400pp for 4 people in one cabin isn’t as good as 2 people in one cabin.
what was the issue with interior?
Felt like you were trapped. No natural light whatsoever.
That and sharing with 3 other ppl.
How does it work in terms of kids?
I've two kids, one 1 yo and another 3yo and I can see that 3/4 people rooms are sold out.
I wonder the same. Thought of booking 2 rooms and it would great if we get the rooms next to each other.
I don't think it would be as enjoyable with kids that young.
its not bad as everyone thinks. as long you feed them let them swim, quite easy
'As long as you feed them' lol
Went on a cruise to papua new guinea last year…one of the best trips I had…
with Cunard ? how was the food?
Was with p&o….very nice for the price..was a good deal ..think $500 for 7 days or something
Mix of middle age to elderly ppl.
Overall 9/10 experience
And we were snorkelling with the ship in the background sunny weather.
Good they had all cusines
They had speciality restaurants which some you had to pay some were free…the free ones were very good…one of the free restaurant felt like fine dining…
Like I said for the price.. incredible food if you book the restaurants…just need to book in time etc but usually you get a spotYou can't put p&o in the same sentence as best, also you can't put the words cruise with p&o
@sunnyc: hahaha I was like who this talking up P&O while we all know it's crazy clark's of budget cruises
The price is soo tempting - hard to resist. Only if I had some leaves left over after the forced leaves we had to take over the Christmas break 😡
There will be lots of leaves in autumn.
damn, too short of a notice for me. i would love to go
Do they require up to date covid vaccination?
Nope, nothing…
Here's a very rough ship tour I recorded last month, it's just a heap of clips joined together, nothing fancy:
Very informative, thanks !
anyone been on Cunard ?
Is it food better than other cruise lines?
Cruises aren’t my bag personally, good luck to those that enjoy them. I like actually seeing the country that I’m going to during my trips, not spending most of my time on a boat with bogans (no offence to bogans).
Bogans don't go on Cunard cruises, lol, and basically no kids either, I think I only saw 6 kids and they were always with their parents…
I’ll admit that I don’t know enough to differentiate. I’ve only been on one cruise when I was a child and it wasn’t my bag.
It's a big ship. You don't need to spend time with anyone else.
As for bogans, read some cruisers ship reviews on Cruise Critic. They are shockingly well written.
I’d personally rather travel to meet locals or have authentic travel experiences than meet Trevor at the same bar for the seventeenth time.
My normal travel is in my campervan with motorbike around the outback and remote parts of the country, multiday bushwalking, camping trips in the tinny, or roadtrips overseas… I just did the Cunard cruise for something different, it was a little out of my comfort zone at first but I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected,…. I'd happily go again…
@FLICKIT: That’s a good perspective. I like when people reply with their opinions and thoughts rather than those who just downvote people for not conforming to the group.
Price seems to have gone up
Yep
Nope - wont be doing CUNARD given their 'dress codes' - antiquated, and little wonder Cunard have cancelled returning back Down Under - these aren't so appealing to a more casual / modern crowd. Getting dressed up just to stuff your face with some food is out of fashion (like who are you trying to impress ??) or in a tux for a show - PLEASE - this is a fashion that is dying. Can't imagine Cunard having this policy within the next decade.
Instead - doing Virgin Voyages in 45 days time - where this 'madness' does not exist !
most cruise lines don't have that 'dress code' either just on certain nights
The dress code isn't as bad as people make out, it's really not a big deal…
Daytime: jeans/shorts/whatever, polo or t-shirt, sneakers/casual shoes are fine everywhere.
Night: Smart Casual for the main dining room and theatre, I just wore dark jeans or chinos, a long sleeved collared shirt, and cheap $25 k-mart dress shoes, lol … for the Buffet you can wear anything basically, the same as day-casual…
The only time you'd feel out of place in smart casual is the 'Gala Evenings'… On the 14 night cruise there were 3, a masquerade night, black & white, and I think a 30's, themed nights… On those nights you're meant to wear a suit or tux, or fancy dress for the females, in the main dining room and such… I didn't dress up like that, those nights I just went to the buffet… (I don't own a suit, lol)
Edit: to add… On the 'Gala Evenings' I still went to the theatre for the shows in my 'smart-casual' (I wore a black shirt to help blend in with the suits), I didn't feel out of place, there were a lot of people that weren't in suits…
Given the age of the average Cunard passenger, their dress code is probably how they normally dress day to day anyway.
Done. No offer anymore. Price jacked twice now.
Looks like it’s over?
Never been on a cruise, is it a good idea to take a 2.5 YO with us?
it would be better if they are fully toilet trained as you can put them in the kids club if required
also advantage if they are toilet trained they can swim in the main pools too
otherwise you can always get one parent to look after while the other enjoy themselves
One of the best holidays with kids - but make sure they are potty trained so you can use the kids club. We have never found soo much time to ourselves and plus our kids loved the kids club. I don’t know what goes on there, but kids usually line up at the door of the kids club for it to open. So basically they would do anything to get in there. Wake up on time, have breakfast and they are gone. We even fed the kids first, sent them off to the kids club and then had our breakfast in peace 😃 - you have all the time from 9:00 AM until evening to yourself. They come come for lunch for an hour in between. At all other times, they are entertained so you don’t have to worry about them and can enjoy.
P&O takes in two year olds in the Turtle Shack and give you a pager if they need changing. However my 2y7m abaolutely hated it, crying non stop for 15 mins so had to entertain him for 2 days straight… it wasnt a relaxing holiday!
I booked the Sydney to Japan 18 nights for $1400 for a deluxe interior room
How many ppl in the cabin?
What was the price pp?
Damn cheap
Price will come down a couple days later
Does Cunard have formal dressing requirement? I frequently travel on Princess and P&O, never worried about dressing.
The official line sounds quite formal> https://www.cunard.com/en-au/the-cunard-experience/what-to-p…
It's not that bad, I think cruises like the Trans-Atlantic crossings on the Queen Mary and the likes have a higher expectation than the Aussie cruises…
My experience> https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/14861408/redir
The only things that seem to be frowned upon are ripped jeans in the evenings in the main dining rooms, theatre, and such, or thongs, tanktops and such unless you're around the pool…
Thank you.
Certain higher class restaurants have dress codes as well as gala events. If you go to the main buffet (Lido) then it’s fine to wear what you want.
It wouldn’t hurt people to wear nice shirt and shorts/pants in the evenings.. it’s not a full on suit and jacket for many people
Thank you.
I suspect if ladies pack a pair of dark pants and a couple of silk shirts they would get away with it.
How well are the rooms insulated for noise if I were to get up to vigorous adult activities?
it wouldn't matter most of the guests are deaf
You’re looking for virgin voyagers hahaha
No complaints from our adjoining rooms
Thanks OP, any more cruise deals from Brisbane?
Why the websites of all cruise ships are so boring?
We were on this ship last month. Fully decked out in Xmas decorations. We had a balcony, it was 5 nights
My wife was anti cruise but since we come back we booked another instantly.
We had a balcony suite which was great. Go for an interior room if you plan to be out on deck all day soaking in the sun and entertainment
Food was great. Honestly no complaints and we were young (44/40/8)
Apparently they had 19 pallets of xmas decorations and a crew of kiwi elf decorators board the ship in Singapore to set it all up, things like the gingerbread village were set up while I was onboard heading to NZ in early Dec, so I assume the elfs stayed onboard until the ship reached NZ…
The gingerbread village was huge… I would believe 19 pallets… it was amazing and everywhere you look was decked out with Xmas
I'm not much of an xmasy person but I thought the decorations were all pretty well done, it wasn't overboard… and things like the village were kinda tucked away, they weren't in our face:
https://i.postimg.cc/pTT2YMzr/vlcsnap-2024-01-19-20h54m37s72…Was Punk Rocker King Charles still onboard for your trip, I smirked every time I passed him, lol… I'm not an art person but if I had $10k to throw away I would have purchased that :p
https://i.postimg.cc/0NZSyx9y/Charlie-Gopro.jpg
Bring a pineapple
Inside cabin at that price - no thanks
I went on a Cunard's cruise with my wife around 6 months ago (I'm in my 50s and she is in her 30s).
My wife actually left me halfway through the trip for another bloke she met on the cruise. Obviously your mileage may vary but I wouldn't recommend this cruise as the food wasn't great.
What was up with the food? .. .
I found the Britannia main dining room excellent, I mainly ate in there…
I went to the buffet a few times, that wasn't bad, things like steaks and roasts were overcooked and tough but most other stuff was pretty good, great variety…
The free room service food was a little up and down, most was pretty good though…
“Apart from that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?”.
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There are plenty of YouTube vids on cruising.
Sea days you gotta be entertained on board.
Some ppl like cruising and doing the port/shore excursions because they don’t need to pack and unpack all the time.