$87/$94/$106 per person per night for Interior/Window/Balcony. Very rare to see Royal Carribean for less than $100 per night. Deal can also be access directly via Royal Carribean for $1 more. One of the biggest cruise ships working in Australia so there's lots of choice for food and activities.
Lots of snuggling indoors then. This is a swinger's cruise?
Just hang an upside down pineapple on your door and let the party begin.
I feel like printing out 1000 upside down pineapples and putting it on every door for the lulz
Any deals leaving Sydney?
My parents recently went on a cruise with their friends. Everyone on there ended up with Covid so I recommend extending your leave slightly in anticipation.
Yes, my dad is very elderly and in poor health. Due to the vaccine, he had only minor symptoms. Thanks for asking.
Why did three sickos downvote a message that my dad was NOT seriously impacted by COVID? How brain broken are some people?
@kiriakoz: Beats me, I gave you the upvote. I genuinely wanted to know if it helped for my own parents lol
@Bunnyburger: Yeah man, I saw that mate. I genuinely wasn’t talking about you. I don’t even mind the kooks that don’t believe the vaccine works, I just think these culture wars make some people lose their minds.
@kiriakoz: I've been (stupidly) arguing with a buffoon in work who genuinely believes that the vaccine has killed far people than it's saved.
Also, he gets all his medical information from tic-tok.
The internet has a lot to answer for.
@gasman70: Man if the internet wasn’t bad enough wait for AI misinformation to flood our eyeballs.
I feel sad thinking about it
@gasman70: Sorry to hear that my friend. I’ve recently just decided not to bother at all. It does feel like the sensible people and the insane ones have already sorted themselves into groups and nobody really changes their minds anymore.
@kiriakoz: The worst, and most telling thing is that these nutters at both ends (quickly moving inwards) of the political spectrum are onboard with every single policy. You really cannot get any of them to agree that border security is paramount, and that only white people can be racist.
Fill either with side with a Left and Right statement that neither side really understands.
@gasman70: I’m all for reason & thought over blind loyalty to anything or anyone. And god forbid that someone has a different opinion to you. What happened to listening to their thoughts & politely disagreeing? As long as they have some logic to their thinking, it’s fine. Maybe they have different values to you or see it differently, it’s fine.
I blame the media mainly, they fine extremes on both sides & use that to outrage the other side into dismissing logical end of the debate rather than reporting on the true numbers & facts, which doesn’t sell newspapers/get clicks.
@kiriakoz: It's important to point out the risks of vaccination. For example, on a cruise like this you might get hit with roaming costs for the 5G tracker that some of them include!
Was he able to access paxlovid? Have him test heart health in a few months time. I know a few ppl fully vaccinated but developed severe heart conditions months after a mild covid illness.
Good excuse to WFH for me :)
Depends on your company and what mandate they have for office. I work for cba and they mandating 50% so if you have covid you either take sick leave or you can wfh but you still need to make the office days … 😒
Since when did CBA mandate 50% work in office days?
You have to come in when infectious? Even if vaccinated there's a risk of damage to the epithelium, brain and other long term illnesses. Bizarre they don't care about staff long term health.
@bargainshooter: yep pretty much. e.g 20 working days in a month so you have to come into office for 10 days to make the 50%.
Lets say you got covid but you just wfh for 5 days, it still means you need to do 10 office days or else management will say you should take sick leave
What's 50%?
We have to go to the office 2 days a week but not if you're sick. No one is really keeping tabs on it except for your direct manager.
@onetwothreefour: not at CBA, management like to monitor staff like primary school so they track your office days with the app gained to get access to the building on-site and to ensure an office day is recorded, you need to have been in the office for a minimum of 6 hours :)
I work for ANZ and we don’t have to make up days if we got sick but well enough to wfh. Still sucks tho
I got Covid from going into the office after Christmas break… so like you can catch Covid from anywhere…
Worth noting that this is on the Ovation of the Seas, which has bumper cars, rollerskating, surf simulator, rock climbing.
And Mystery Island is incredible!!!
this is Quantum but they are almost identical
"Quantum" and cruise ship….strange marketing.
Totally agree!
Quantum is also in the name of a dishwashing tablet finish.
Its just a buzz word used by marketers. No relation to the quantum in the scientific communities understanding of the word quantum.
Are all those activities free?
All those items mentioned.. yes are free
How long was your wait from the ship to shore and shore to ship?
WHAT A DEAL..
I had someone recommend Ovation as the only one to do.. maybe some day again when a deal like this comes ..
Quantum of the Seas is a sister ship to Ovation and basically identical. Have been on it, great fun.
Anyone know the options when travelling with 3 kids (11, 8, 5). Can only select for a maximum of 4 ppl
does a suite allow more than 4? Most max out at 4 person
there are a couple suites that hold 5 or 6 people, but since there is only a few of these rooms, you have to book well in advance.
like a motel, for large families you book two adjoining rooms that have a combining door.
this is an awesome ship that caters well to primary school aged kid families.
Did you watch home alone
what's the chance of running into pirates these days ?
Only if you are in the Middle East or near Africa …
In Australian waters no
Mind you… they also have to climb up 5 decks to get in … so very unlikely to board
The ship can also find a tin can on its radar so unless the pirates used a pure wooden boat… they would be seen long before they even got close to the ship!
Commercial ships also have radar….
The problem is that even when you know they are coming there is nothing you can do. They are faster and they are armed.
Nothing you can do?
- water cannons
- LRAD/acoustic cannons
- Fouling lines
Cruise ships are rarely targeted by pirates (the crew + security teams are far larger then on other vessels) and there is yet to ever be a successful attack; the preferred targets are usually fishing vessels, yachts or cargo ships (smaller crew numbers and especially cargo ships allow them to demand higher ransoms).
@OpticalCog: Commercial ships have all this too…
If you think that climbing 5 decks was considered too difficult then you wouldn't make a very good pirate…
This is an absurdly cheap price, particularly for balcony rooms.
Just note that these are 'guaranteed' rooms, which is a bit of a misnomer. It means you are guaranteed a room in that category (eg you pay for balcony room, you get a balcony room), but you can't select a specific cabin number.
They might put you next to an elevator (apparently noisy, but never bothered me), on a lower deck (meh) or on the opposite of the ship to the food (tragedy!!!).
It really shouldn't be a problem although it won't suit anyone who wants to travel in a group with rooms nearby. On the other hand… A great way to travel with family and hopefully you end up nowhere near them!
Weird if you go as a single person it costs more than for 2 people.
Damn I wanted to go alone and be in a room for 2 people
Book for two and go buy yourself
You can buy a clone of yourself??
I’m guessing because they miss out on all the additional on-board revenue from the second person.
Incredible deal, thanks for sharing.
can you do tax return on this?
If you want to do your tax return while on your holiday, I’m sure nobody aboard will mind.
When we are back, do we have to go through the immigration like airport does? Smart gate? Checking bags?
Yes
You mean TRS GST refund? … I believe all the international ports have TRS desks, double check though…
When I did a Cunard cruise to NZ last month there was a TRS desk after you pass through the border security passport check at Station Pier in Melbourne (on departure)… I had entered all the details online to get the QR code to streamline the process but they didn't have the ability to scan the code at this port so they had to enter all the details manually… It was all fairly painless and the GST refund was in my account almost instantly….
Thanks for the reply. Did anyone check your bag while you back?
Yeh, my carry-on went through a conveyor xray, same as any International Border… My big bag was picked up from the cabin the evening before and I was reunited with it the next morning in the terminal, I assume it went through the normal border screening xray and sniffer dog checks while it was out of my possession.
Ozcrusing were terrible during Covid 19. They withheld our cruise refund for over 3 months after the cruiselines refunded them. They also shut down their phonelines and didnt answer emails and I had to go through chargeback process.
I would avoid dealing with them again and just book directly if you can.
Same - haven't booked with them (and another TA) since due to that. Stuck with other TAs who passed on refunds as they came through.
Mind sharing which TA was helpful regarding refunds?
Can't see where prices approaching these are available dirrect from Royal Caribbean?
When I looked yesterday the price was much the same direct through Royal, a few cents different, I cant get the booking page to load for this cruise today….
A word of caution - Royal Caribbean denied boarding for several passengers who had booked guarantee cabins on the the Quantum of the Sea. That was an 8 day cruise from Brisbane November 28th 2023. They were overbooked.
The passengers affected were handed a letter at the dock notifying them of this and offering several alternatives such as as different cruise - a refund plus 25% future cruise credit, waiting at the dock in case there were no show passengers etc.
There are several articles with the letter handed to passengers. Google "royal caribbean denies boarding to passengers"
This deserves to be pinned up top
Sorry - I don't know how to pin it - are you able to do it or make some comment up top? many thanks
That's very ship of them
There's a big thread about this incident over here >> https://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/topic/2976701-quantum-of-…
Again…Quantum of the sea…name checks out.
Please do your homework prior to booking with Ozcruising. Check the reviews online, as Ozcruising are happy to take your money, but not so happy to provide any customer contact from that point. As always, your mileage might vary.
Why can't we have animated GIF's in the comments? Would be so much more fun :). https://media.giphy.com/media/ktwCnrcFnBRTO/giphy.gif
Got two under 3… do they need separate tickets?
Yup, pretty sure they need their own tickets.
yep and its going to be the same price for all of them (but discounted i think a little bit?)
e.g. 2 adults is 1k each but for 2 adults/2 kids 4 people would be maybe $800 each?
Note for anyone booking. Like with most international travel, you will need a passport that is valid for at least 6 months after the RETURN date. You will need travel insurance that covers you for medical on a ship - I invoked (got a printout with passenger names on it) my complimentary travel insurance with my credit card.
Also, read the fine print on any travel insurance, a lot don't cover cruises unless you pay extra, and some don't cover covid related amendments or cancellations…
Like: Covermore insurance through Australia Post don't cover for covid related cancellations or amendments, but Covermore through Medibank Private does cover for covid related cancellations or amendments…
Do you need a passport or visa for this kind of trip?
You need a passport that's valid for at least 6 months after your return date… (this is mentioned 2 posts up)
I'm fairly confident Aussie Passport holders don't need any visas for the South Pacific but you probably want to double check that…
Is this sold out cheapest i can see via lin kis
ZI Interior Stateroom $748 $1,497 which is 1497 total
Never mind i can get it to show up if i go through main website
BYO Gastro tablets.
Ozbargain meetup onboard? See you all there!
Could I get off at the last port before Brisbane and then fly onwards? I mean technically abandon the return nights.
I'm sure you could but you probably want to call them and confirm…
Currently on Royal Caribbean (on the South Pacific Cruise; from Sydney). A few notes,
- Internet is 28.99 per day (USD);
- All charges on board are USD, beer ($8.25), cocktail $15);
- Coffee, with long life milk, $5.25. These numbers, considering USD & cc fee, quickly add up. Especially compared to P&O who charge in AUD. This is my first Royal Caribbean cruise; and it is slightly better but over double the price in every aspect in my opinion.
So this is a wilson episode where i have to survive on my own urine?
Now now. Don't go all bear grylls on us now.
Cheers for the insight.
Not fussed about internet. Plenty of free wifi around a few ports.
As for coffee, I feel your pain. Ask if they do a 10 barista coffee offer? Something like 10 for $30. If not, my tip is to do a mix of decaf and the normal percolated filth coffee. Due to the way decaf is processed, it actually tastes like coffee on a cruise ship. Whack a dark hot choc satchet on top. Closest thing to drinkable. Now I just pack the nano press.
I hope the beer isn't Bud
Very true ! Thanks for the message; I’ll give it a try.
Drinks in USD… yeah nah
Just in time for cyclone season