KarinaGreen

Question for you. Have you ever been on a cruise shore excursion (or another occasion) only to have your day ruined because your phone runs out of power? Well, this cruise tip is just for you. Prior to my Sydney holiday in 2023, the Pulse Charge Venus Universal Phone Charger was advertised on the TODAY Show on channel 9 in Australia. The company was having a 'Duo Bundle Sale,' and none of my portable chargers were working; so one year later I took advantage of the offer, and I absolutely love the product. It chargers with OUT cords; you simply clip it to the end of your mobile device, and it's the perfect traveling companion. The Pulse Charge Venus is ideal for traveling (especially cruising). It doesn't take up much room in your luggage, and the best thing is you don't need to look for an emergency power outlet to charge your device when your phone runs out of power. Instead, you just need to make sure your Pulse Venus is fully charged before you leave your cabin for your shore excursion. I've experienced this for myself so I know what I'm talking about. In 2023, I was in Sydney video logging the Majestic Princess Cruise ship at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay. The Majestic is one of my favorite ships, and I really wanted to film the departure, but my phone was almost out of power. I had my cord with me at the time, and I only four hours to go to find a power outlet to charge my phone. After looking everywhere; the good news is 'I found a power outlet near the Sydney Opera House Car Park, and I was able to charge my phone in time for the departure.' Thanks to the Venus Pulse Charger I don't have to worry about this anymore. Now I'm not advertising it; but as a Cruise blogger I would strongly recommend this amazing product to everyone who loves traveling, and cruising. There's free shipping Australia wide, and it's a great gift idea. For more information, or to order yours go to: www.pulsecharge.com.au.

During every voyage you go on the cruise staff makes the professional effort to put you (the passenger) first so that the voyage full of memories that will last forever. From the amazing ‘Cabin Stewarts and Waiters all the way through to the Captain;’ working on a cruise ship is a full-time job. Every morning, the amazing crew wake up before you do (at 5am depending on the crew level), and don’t get to bed until you do - 24/7. None of the crew gets a day off, and they don’t see their families because of their ‘six month contract.’ This is where you come in. At the end of every Princess cruise you’ll receive an online survey to complete when you arrive home. It’s important to complete it so that you can: Thank your favourite crew members, and so that Your favourite cruise staff gets rewarded with ‘a day off to relax, and even sleep.’ All you have to do is ‘give your favourite on board Restaurant the score of ‘10,’ and compliment your favourite crew members by including ‘their name (if you know it) and the Department they work in’ because it all adds up.

On Sunday, 17 March 2024 I boarded the grand Princess cruise at Station Pier Wharf for a two week Queensland Round Trip. Although cruising is back after the loooooong lockdown period; Princess Cruises has really stripped everything back to the basics. These are just some of the changes I noticed straight away when I boarded the ship for my 2024 cruise. Your Cabin: In your cabin; you no longer get a love heart chocolate treat on your pillow every night, your PJ’s placed nicely, or a complimentary Carry bag for the cruise. You now need to supply or purchase your own. At the Restaurants: You now book your own Restaurant and seating for the cruise. This is no longer arranged by your travel agent. At the restaurants there’s no longer a bread basket in the centre of your table. The wait staff now offer you one roll for your meal. You also sit now sit at different tables, and with different people every night. Ordering drinks: Purchasing drinks can now be done via the Medallion app, and you now need to supply your own straws; because Princess cruises now longer supplies these with your drink. If you’re watching a great movie, or don’t want to leave your spot, you can also choose to have the staff bring your drink to you for an additional charge of $23 (AUS). Entertainment: Princess cruises no longer hosts specialty (on board) events designed for ‘Captain Circle members,’ or shows afternoon movies in the ships main theatre. All the movies are now shown (night and day) on the big screens on the pool deck Disembarking: Although some passengers still get the coloured tags; most passengers are now required to take their own luggage off the ship with them when they disembark. Despite all the changes; it’s great to have the ships on the ocean, and cruising back once again.

Unlike before, things have changed on the Princess cruise ships in regards to ‘casual dining in the main restaurants.’ This was originally organised when you booked your cruise with your travel agent, or your cruise coordinator; but now you have to organise it yourself through the Princess app on your mobile device. As well as ‘the Sabatini Italian restaurant, and the crown Grill; ‘the grand Princess also has three casual dining rooms: ‘DaVinci, Michelangelos, and Botticelli.’ These restaurants are located on decks five, and six on the ship. The service times are ‘5pm to 11:40 pm’ at night. To book, you can either: go to the ‘journey’ link on the apps homepage. Scroll down to ‘Explore dining options,’ pick a restaurant, (any restaurant), and then to decide what dinner seating you want via the Princess app. Or go with the simpler option. Click on the ‘time’ link in the Explorer dining options page, choose either ‘specialty or main, pick either a specialty, or a main restaurant, choose a dinner time for every night, click on either ‘private or shared,’ and then click on the save button at the bottom of the screen. Cruising may have changed a bit because of Covid, but the delicious meals in the casual and specialty restaurants on board the ship haven’t. So enjoy your meals, and bon appétit.

Hi ho, hi ho.. it's off to cruise we go! Exciting news for all you Disney Cruise fans out there. Disney Cruises is bringing 'the Magic of Disney' to Australia for the ‘2023/2024 Summer cruise season.' Spotted off the coast of Noumea New Calendonia on Wednesday 25th October 2023; the massive Disney Wonder cruise ship will sail into Sydney Harbour for the first time THIS Friday, 27th October 2023 so if you’re around Circular Quay go down there, have a look. Since I now live in Melbourne so I won't be able to live stream it from Circular Quay. So click on this link: -> https://www.facebook.com/cruisingwithhoney for all the LIVE Streaming action from the Sydney Cruise Blogger 'Cruising With Honey,' and watch this space for details about the ships Melbourne arrival in November 2023. Since the launch in 1998, Disney Cruises continues to expand its fleet. There are currently five ships (the Disney Wonder, Disney Wish, Disney Magic, Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy) in the fleet, and plans are in place to build two more. The inaugural sailing of this first limited season in Australia & New Zealand departs October 28, from Sydney, and the 2024-2025 itineraries will also include a new seven-night cruise, and select sailings include: 'Hobart Tasmania, Eden NSW, and Noumea New Caledonia. Happy cruising!

Exciting news for ALL Vaccinated and unvaccinated Australian cruise lovers. On Friday 25th August 2023, CLIA announced, "Effective immediately; the COVID mandates for cruising that were put in place when cruising returned in May 2022 have been dropped." You no longer need to 'be triple vaccinated, test positive before boarding, or wear masks on board the ship (unless you want to).' The withdrawal of cruise-specific COVID measures was confirmed by Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly following a decision by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee. As the result, I received an email from Princess Cruises saying, "We are pleased to share that our COVID-19 protocols for your voyage have been amended. As a result, there are no longer any COVID-19 vaccination or pre-cruise testing requirements for guests on this voyage.” Joel Katz (the CLIA Managing Director) said. "The NSW Government had also indicated that its own measures were being withdrawn and that other states were expected to make similar adjustments in line with the announcement. The resurrection of the cruise industry in Australia has been carefully managed since the middle of last year, and thousands of Australians have sailed successfully in local waters. Mr Katz said “The cruise industry’s top priority will continue to be the health and safety of guests, crew and the communities we visit.” Peter Little from P&O Cruises Australia said, "As Australia’s favourite cruise line, we are delighted with this long-awaited news, which will end confusion for our guests and open up options for their summer holiday plans. This brings the Australian cruise industry into line with the rest of world and means families from both Australia and overseas, will now be able to book their cruise holidays with confidence.” Cruise lines will continue to abide by their own robust health and safety measures and hygiene standards, and the industry will work closely with health authorities into the future. Happy Cruising everyone, and enjoy your much needed vitamin Sea!

Well, if you thought the 'Wonder of the Seas' was the biggest cruise ship... think again! On Wednesday 12th July 2023, the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line announced their newest and biggest cruise ship on Chanel Tens 'The Project' TV Show. My mouth dropped, and I responded with 'Oh wow' when Sarah Harris said, "and the award for the 'Biggest Cruise Ship in the world' goes to...? Royal Caribbean for their newest and BIGGEST cruise ship 'Icon of the Seas.' I naturally got cruise happy when footage of the new flag ship appeared on my TV screen, and the exciting news is 'the NEW Icon of the Seas cruise ship will be sailing in Australian Waters in January 2024 so get ready to set sail. It's time to make waves with Royal Caribbean: Brace yourself for a Category 6 class cruise ship, and the largest waterpark at sea with six record-breaking slides. Like the Frightening Bolt, the tallest waterslide to sail. And the Pressure Drop, the first open free fall waterslide on a cruise. Discover adventure for the ages — all the ages — at Surfside SM. With a kid-approved sprawling aqua park, a pool just for grownups, plus plenty of bites to fuel up for bolder bonding — your whole crew will never want to leave. Choose a different pool for every day of the week whilst at sea (including 'Royal Bay' — the largest pool at sea.) Next-level views are never faraway, with an array of infinity edges to keep you connected to the ocean. Make the most of every moment onboard. Dial up the daring. Unwind like never before. Bond over new bites and toast to next-level nightlife. And catch show stopping spectaculars that will leave you in awe. This is your week to enjoy everything you’ve ever loved about every vacation — all rolled into one. If you're not impressed yet; check out this You tube video: https://youtu.be/6NcgRsW5ydQ for your first look at this Sea Beast. Happy cruising!

On Monday 27th February 2023, I boarded a Virgin flight at Melbourne Domestic Air Port for a much needed two week holiday in Sydney, Australia. As well as catching up with my family, doing a class at my Sydney Dance School, and doing the touristy thing; I was also able to go 'cruise ship chasing' at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay, Sydney. But what surprised me was this. I originally planning to just see the Majestic Princess... I wasn't expecting to see two others; plus the top of another. Following is what happened. The Majestic Princess: This was the day I was waiting for since my original Queensland cruise with the Majestic Princess was cancelled due to COVID in 2020. In the lead up to my original cruise being cancelled, I promised myself ‘that I would at least go to the Wharf to take photos and film the ships departure.’ This was that day. The morning of Tuesday 7th March 2023 was spent relaxing at the holiday house in the house I was staying in; before leaving at 1:20pm to be down at Circular Quay by 3pm for my first cruise ship chasing adventure in over three years. I traveled in by train, and arrived a lot earlier than what I had planned. After taking photos, and filming a TIKTOK video from Circular Quay Station; I left the Train Station and spent the next few hours ‘taking photos, and filming. It was so hot in Sydney that day, and I had to rest for a while in doors before getting ready to film the ships departure in front of the Sydney Opera House. The Majestic Princess departed from the Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal on time (at 6:45pm), and it great to see so many people turn out to watch the departure. I filmed the ship reversing out onto the Harbour, and thought, "wow.. spectacular!" That ships 'sail away party' was so loud we could all hear it from outside the Sydney Opera house; which was great. Although the ships Cruise Director told those on board, “the ship is going to blast the famous ‘love boat them’ to mark the start of the voyage;” sadly she didn’t. Instead, the ship just sailed off, disappeared through Sydney heads, and headed out to Sea and it started with just a single horn blast at the wharf. Although I was a bit disappointed; four out of five goals isn’t bad. The Celebrity Eclipse: On Saturday 11th March 2023, I was originally meant to spend the day in Kootoomba NSW; that is until it was cancelled due to an issue with mums travel card so I came up with a plan B. I went onto the Sea Scanner website, and discovered the Celebrity Eclipse cruise ship was docked at Circular Quay so mum, my ex neighbour, and I went in together. When we arrived; we went our separate ways. The others went to get the issue solved, and I walked over to the Overseas Passenger Terminal and VLOG'd the Celebrity Eclipse Cruise ship before making my own way back to the holiday house. The top of the Queen Mary 2: The next day, we returned to the City to visit the NEW 'Art Gallery of NSW.' During the tour, I looked out the massive window at the back of the building and spotted the top of the Queen Mary 2 Ocean Liner docked at Athol Bay, Sydney. I naturally got 'cruise happy, and took a photo of it.' There was two other ships in Sydney that day, but I was only able to see one of them because I was busy vlogging, and doing the touristy thing. The NEW Pacific Adventure: Monday 13th March 2023 was the final day of my Sydney vacation. As well as packing for the trip back to Melbourne; the day was spent on the Harbour with the NEW Pacific Adventure cruise ship. Just seeing the new ship was amazing because the last time I it 'I was getting off the ship (as the Golden Princess) at Station Pier Wharf in Port Melbourne, and I only had a short amount of time to do everything before the departure. I went over to Manly for lunch, and made it back to Circular Quay with thirty minutes to go to take photos, do some vlogging, and to get into position near the Sydney Harbour Bridge to film the new Pacific Adventures departure. It was a rush to get everything done, and I was happy to see so many people at the advantage spot for the departure. During the holiday, I really out cruuuuuised myself, and in closing i'll say, "I've decided to go cruise ship hunting as a treat for when I'm in Sydney, and the reason is this: 'Circular Quay is a lot more easier to get to from the holiday house, and unlike at Station Pier Wharf; I can actually get up close and personal with the cruise ships in Sydney." How cool is that?

September is ‘Cruise Month,’ and the Cruise Lines International Association started a competition using this question, “Why do you love cruising?” They asked for ‘25 words or less’ so I gave this answer, “Being on a ship is like ‘heaven on the ocean.’ I feel at home the minute I step on board, everything is done for me, there’s places on board we’re it’s just ‘me, and the ship,’ and if I could live on a cruise ship… I would.” Twenty five words is actually too short for the full answer because my love of cruising started when I boarded the (late) Dawn Princess Cruise ship at the White Bay Wharf in Pyrmont, Sydney in September 2014 for my first (ever) two week cruise to Fiji, and the South Pacific. Not only was it my first time on a Cruise Ship, it was also my first time out of Australia and I loved every moment of it because my dream cruise (since the age of sixteen) finally came true. I’ve loved cruising ever since, 💕 I can’t wait to board another cruise ship, and becoming ‘an Assistant Cruise Director’ has been my dream job since my family cruise in November 2019. As well the given answer in the first paragraph; I’m also a self confused ‘cruise-aholic.’ I’m absolutely obsessed with the ocean, I never want to disembark at the end, and I was heart broken when COVID hit the cruise industry.’ 😢 I also love cruising because ‘the world you know disappears for a while, it’s like being in the Brother House at Sea, you escape life completely, and (as Princess Cruises puts it) you ALWAYS come back new. Click on this link to watch my ‘20 Reasons why I love cruising with the Princess Line’ YouTube video. Happy cruising!

Thanks Jason for the warm welcome. It’s nice to be in this amazing cruising community, and to have cruising back in Australian waters once again because (like all of us) I missed cruising.