Black boxes

"Black boxes" have been in the news a bit lately, particularly with regard to the search for the one fitted to MH370.    It seems that ships have them too.

Here's the one on Dawn Princess (located prominently on an open deck) ---

Some nitty gritty about cruising!

I had a few questions about cruising before I left, but the answers weren't always easy to find.   So at the risk of descending into trivial detail, I though I'd record some of my observations, even if they're boring!

In relation to electrical outlets, in our room we had  US 110 volt sockets as well as both Australian and European 240 volt sockets (but only one of each, so a power board is useful if it's likely that you'll want to recharge two items at the same time). Princess apparently had no objection to us using our own hair dryer, but I think I read somewhere that they don't like people bringing their own coffee maker to set up in their cabin (I wouldn't have thought many Australians would bother with this, maybe other nationalities are different).

The webcam

There's a webcam on board, which can be monitored on the internet - see http://www.seascanner.com/schiffsposition.php?schiff=Dawn+Princess

I couldn't decide what to call our cabin/room/stateroom. The cruise line obviously always uses the expression “state room”.  I found this a bit of overkill, so used "room" or "cabin:".   We had what's called an “ocean view stateroom” which was comfortable and had a very large window (larger than I had expected from the promotional material, but it may be that not all rooms in this category had such a large window).   There was adequate storage space and good use of mirrors made the room seem a bit larger.  The bathroom was small, but adequate. We had no balcony and the window didn't open.  

We didn't miss a balcony, although their main advantage seems to be that you can open the door if your want fresh air.   From what I saw, it would be possible (but a squeeze) to sit on it, but on our trip it was often windy and the amount of sunshine was limited so the opportunities for this would have been limited.  Maybe things would be different if cruising in tropical waters. 

Our cabin - about midway on deck above the large windows

I can't compare our location (towards the aft) with any other locations, but there was no engine vibration or intrusive noise except for the airconditioning (the temperature could be adjusted but not the fan speed).   

Even though we were directly above the Vista Lounge, we didn't hear anything from this.   The prices for cabins on higher decks seem to be more expensive, but we were quite content where we were (on deck 8, best described as in the middle).

We were told before embarking that there would be two "formal nights", and that dinner or business suits could be worn.  In fact, I took a normal (dark) suit and ties, and this was in fact what most of the men wore,   Only a small number wore dinner suits, and the minimum attire seemed to be jacket and tie with dark trousers.  If you didn't want to bother with this, you could eat in the buffet.

Mobile phone coverage was available on board, presumably via satellite, and I received a message from Telstra to the effect that it's so expensive to use that I wouldn't have been able to afford it!  Internet isd also available, with the basic charge being 79 cents a minute.  This reduces if you buy “in bulk”, so 100 minutes is $69.    One of the perks of being a “frequent cruiser” is that you get a quota of free (but reportedly slow) internet.   As will be apparent form my earlier posts, I got by using the free wi fi offered in the downtown areas of some of the cities we visited, usually limited to 30 minutes.   I paid NZ$10 for 24 hours of access at Port Chalmers because I didn't take my netbook into Denedin where I am told there was a free service.

A daily “service charge” was not added to our accounts (unlike cruises in other parts of the world), but bar and room service tabs etc have space for a gratuity to be added …..so it certainly wasn't a “tip-free” environment.   Apparently the beauty treatment/spa facilities added a "suggested" gratuity to their already hefty charges (I was told that these facilities are contracted out).  On the last day, quite a number of passengers appeared to give envelopes to their room attendants and wait staff.     Did I read somewhere that the crew get paid Australian pay rates while in Australian waters?   If so, my hunch is that, financially, they weren't missing out!

Speaking of the crew, I was expecting a mix of nationalities, but the diversity was greater than I expected.    They had their nationality on their name tag, and amongst those I noticed are are Indians, Russians, Ukrainians, Thais, Indonesians, Filipinos, Indians, Serbs, Bulgarians.... and many more.    The female bridge officer who has made the noon navigational announcement on the first couple of days spoke with a nicely modulated English accent, but when we received a list of the bridge officers, it was clear that a range of nationalities were represented.  

I thought that the price we paid for this cruise was quite reasonable, but the cruise company obviously isn't a charity!    The prices for drinks and speciality coffees were in line with mid-range restaurant prices, although I thought bottled water at $4.95 for 1.5 litres was a bit steep (although all the tap water on the ship was potable). There were plenty of other ways to spend your money, too!    There was an “art auction”(!), numerous photographers who were there are every turn ($19.99 for a print and more for “portraits”), pokies and gaming tables, excursions (at top-of-the-range prices), satellite internet (as mentioned above), several boutiques (lots of promotions and sales talk) as well as charges for the spa and related treatments (not cheap).  [Edit] We didn't need any medical treatment, but we understand that this, too, is expensive.

 On the other hand, all the food was included except for $25 if you want to eat at the speciality restaurant (as mentioned elsewhere,  we didn't bother with because the dining room was more than adequate).  There was also an offer one morning of a champagne breakfast ($41 per double).  “Food” for these purposes includes (beside the main dining rooms, available for all meals) pizzas, burgers, ice-creams and – of course – the buffet (open all day).   The amount of food available is on one view a health hazard! Perhaps not entirely unrelated to this, the lifts seemed to be busy, the stairs less so!

In case it’s of interest, I kept my eyes and ears open for the source of the ship’s stores.   I saw what appeared to be dry goods being loaded at Tauranga, straight out of containers.   I wondered if these had been sent over from California?  The small packages of breakfast cereals at the breakfast buffet were from the US.    At the culinary presentation, the chef was asked the source of some of the seafood and meat, and admitted it came from the US (again perhaps sent in containers from the US and loaded, I believe, in Melbourne).  However, when disembarking, there were many pallet loads of local fruit and vegetables being loaded in Melbourne, and the milk on board was Devondale (obviously Victorian).    Likewise all the wines and beers were Australian, as was the mineral water.  Drums of white paint were also loaded in Melbourne!

Sunrise on arrival back in Melbourne

Reflections on cruising

Having had a chance to reflect for a day or so, perhaps some reflections on cruising might not be out of place.    It's supposed to be relaxing because you don't have to do anything.   But there are so many things that you can do, you find yourself organising your day around meals, shows, excursions and so on.   In the end, it's quite a mental effort to “do nothing”. 

Many of our fellow-cruisers were obviously into a routine.   In particular, it's important not to be in the passage way linking the dining rooms with the rear show venue at change-over time between the first and second dinner sittings, because the diners from the first dinner seating head straight for their post-dinner show, meeting the diners from the late dinner seating heading to eat after their pre-dinner show!   It sometimes turns into the clash of walking frames.    Of course, these assert priority over able-bodied people, but when two of them meet head-on, the situation is a bit more complicated.

String quartet

I was impressed by the shows on board.    They were quite varied and were all very good, with some of them being excellent.   On top of this, there's a whole range of “nooks and crannies” where can drink and “hang out”, often with live music (a pianist, a string quartet, a duo consisting of a keyboard player and guitarist, a DJ....and perhaps others that I didn't come across).     

The acts for the some shows often come on for just a few nights, so there's always something new (although there are usually about three performances of each show to cater for the numbers).  There's an 11 member singing/dancing group who are in board the whole time but who do a wide variety of performances (with quite complicated sets and lighting), as well as a band.....and so it goes on.   There are also talks (for example, on upcoming ports) as well as games such as bingo and trivia which seem to have their own followers.

There are a number of swimming pools and hot tubs, as well as numerous sun-lounges.   However, the climate in the area that this cruise covered often doesn't encourage lying in the sun!   There was also a basket-ball hoop, open- air movies, an attempt at a library, an internet room (expensive)....and so it goes on.

I was impressed that Princess still had interesting new experiences in store for us on the last two sea days (such as the tour of the galley and passenger and crew talent shows), although the last sea day was quieter.

Then there's the food.   Keeping everyone fed and watered is a demanding activity, and certainly lots of staff are devoted to this (sometimes, it seems, to the extent that they're falling over each other - yet the bar/specialty coffee service was often fairly ordinary).  There are a variety of eating places.   We had all our evening meals in one of the main dining rooms at a fixed time (where we were allocated - in line with our request - to a table of 8)   Having the same group on our table was one of the real highlights, and it was good to catch up the days activities from different perspectives.   Two of the 13 nights were "formal nights" (basically, suit and tie for men).  You can also have breakfast and lunch in the main dining rooms (with menus and waiter service).  But if you don't want to eat in the main dining rooms, there was also the buffet (often crowded for breakfast and lunch), a pizza place, a burger bar and what's called a “specialty” restaurant ($25 extra per head, but we didn't bother).   One morning a “champagne breakfast” was offered (on your balcony, if you had one – which we didn’t!) …at $41 per couple.

 

Champagne "fountain" - photos available for purchase!

I don't think anything ever happens spontaneously.  I strongly suspect that just about all the entertainment and food is presented accordingly to carefully prepared scripts from Princess headquarters.  And there are lots of opportunities to spend money!   These include the casino, photos (numerous), drinks, specialty coffees and of course beauty treatments and excursions (both at the top end of the price rage).

Our fellow-cruisers included a significant number of addictees!    Apparently over 900 of the nearly 2000 passengers on board had previously undertaken at least one cruise with Princess (and possibly there were others who had cruised with other lines).   Mention was made of the passenger on board with the highest number of cruise nights with this cruise line - 841!

 Amongst those who wore lanyards with their room keys attached, there are many with key cards of various colours. I now know that there is a pecking order, but as a first-time ocean cruiser, our colour was at the bottom of the heap (so I didn't wear a lanyard)!   The passengers were overwhelmingly Australian (a lot from Victoria), which is hardly surprising given that the journey is a round trip from Melbourne.   However, there were other nationalities on board including New Zealanders, who do an Auckland-based round trip and just a few from places such as Malta, the USA, one couple from Laos (who now live in Melbourne) and even Taiwan.     There were quite a few groups where the middle aged couple travelled with their (senior) parents.   The atmosphere could perhaps be described as "middle Australian".

Overall, the cruise was satisfactory and as I had done my research,  it was in line with my expectations.   In fact, I had braced myself for disruptions, such as missed ports, due to the weather.  We were fortunate that nothing like this occurred.   However, as a long-time independent traveller, I didn't expect to be converted to a “cruise junkie”, and I wasn't.   Hence, I won't be rushing to book another one.  Be that as it may, it's obviously an excellent mode of travel for those people who want a "no hassle" experience.

The Captain at Captain's drinks party.

A further post setting out some more details as well as responses to some of my pre-cruise questions that weren't clear to me before departing will follow.

Tasman Sea (again)

After leaving Fiordland, we had two sea days (three evenings) heading west towards Melbourne. The first night after leaving the New Zealand coast was a little bumpy, but after that things smoothed down.

Ready for the balloon drop

On board, the cruise line continued to serve up a variety of activities to amuse the passengers: a culinary demonstration and galley tour (large quantities of stainless steel), various bingo and card jackpots (I didn't take much notice), a passenger talent show and (separately) a performance by the passenger choir concert as well as the crew talent show. And of course there was the final gala dinner.
 

The passenger choir

We arrived in Melbourne on schedule, and are now waiting to disembark.   Like most other things on board, this is a highly organised procedure, with passengers being allocated a specific disembarkation time.    Most of the time slots are for passengers with "independent arrangements", which seems to confirm my impression that a large number of those travelling have been from Melbourne and nearby  - a market that Princess appear to have tapped into very successfully.