Summary - first leg

There were lots of problems on the the first leg which RCCL should be able to rectify by the time they have the same itinerary in Sept 09, and certainly before so many of my friends do this same trip a year from now.

The underlying problem is the lack of experience with the northern ports. Well, that excuse will no longer be valid!!

There are secondary problems also associated with the newness. Without having visited a port previously, the various departments cannot know what to expect. The best such example was mentioned by the Food and Beverage manager when we met with him. In any new port they have no idea how many people will return to the ship for lunch and how many will remain ashore. How do you cook and staff for such a scenario?

The people from the new markets make new demands on the foods and drinks - local fish, local wine, etc. Hopefully those provisions will be handled better next time. I still cannot understand how you run out of staples such as frozen yogurt and iced tea.

Then there are the shore excursions. There is room for improvement - more busses, more frequent stops (as opposed to driving long distances and seeing/doing nothing. If a tour operator cannot get enough busses, then drop that tour and/or that tour operator. Add photo stops at some of the scenic lookouts rather than just driving by when going between two destinations.

The policy against allowing wine to be brought onto the ship for consumption on the ship must be revisited. There was a great deal of frustration among people who took ship's excursions which included wine tasting adnd specfically mentioned buying bottle to bring back to the ship who did buy and then had their purchases taken away only to be returned at the end of the trip. Furthermore, post 9/11 rules in America make it more difficult to transport wines.

The PNG situation remains thde most deplorable. Let me recap my story. I have an email from the RCCL shorex office stating that thenere would be no tours in PNG. I reluctantly joined a group taking a private tour. Upon boarding the ship, I discovered that there were
shorex provided by the ship after all. These trips quickly sold out, probably because there were very few seats available.

I have been told that there is a Revenue Act which seems to be similar to our Jones Act. A non-Australian carrier must visit a non-Australian port. Otherwise sales on board ship cannot be duty free.
If this is true, what would the $ consequences be if duty were added to onboard purchases? I have no idea how bad it would be compared to the $40 US added to everyone's onboard account if they did not get a PNG visa in advance.

I feel that there should be more tours in PNG, offered by the ship, with more of a semblance of safety. Otherwise, the port should be dropped and replaced with an overnight in Cairns and overnight trips to Ayer's Rock.

Exmouth was a complete waste of time. It should be dropped. I understaned there are other ports between Broome and Fremantle, but I think there should be an overnight in Fremantle/Perth instead.

Now let me put all the negativity aside. Do I regret having taken this trip? Not at all. I think RCCL let me down in several ways, but I'm still glad I did it. I do feel, however, that if one only has the time for one leg of this trip, the "bottom" is a far superior trip. Of course, I would suggest the full circumnavigation!!