Cruise Holiday Tips For Your Christmas New Year Vacation

This article is written exclusively for Melbourne Ahoy by best selling travel author Ben Better. Check out his latest book “Secret Cruise Tips For The First Time Cruiser: Your Key To An Enjoyable And Stress Free Cruise Holiday” now available on Amazon.

Cruise Ahoy !

With the Christmas and New Year festive period upon us, it also the time for many to take a break and have a well earned holiday.  And top amongst vacation plans for many is a cruise holiday!

With the stressful and busy lives that many of us lead these days, it is not surprising that cruise holidays are the fastest growing section of the travel industry. After all, the ticket price is typically inclusive of ALMOST everything – notable exceptions include alcohol, spa treatments, professional photos, guided on-shore tours, etc.

The First Time Cruiser

Have you booked your first ever cruise holiday during the festive and new year holidays?

Are you feeling just a tad uncertain about how to make sure that your cruise holiday is smooth sailing (pardon the pun!) ?

If yes, then here are some quick tips to help you have an enjoyable and stress free cruise holiday.

Getting ready for theme parties

All cruise ships will have a few theme nights – e.g. Mexican, Caribbean, Bath Robe, Formal black tie, etc. – in the itinerary. These parties are always a blast when you are dressed appropriately as it helps to make you feel more involved.

So do give the cruise line a call to find out what are the themes beforehand so you can prepare your costume. Theme nights are always great fun and even more so when you dress up in costume. You will be pleasantly amazed as to how much effort some seasoned cruisers go into their custom-made outfits!

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To read on, continue on to the blog post on the Melbourne Ahoy website - Cruise Holiday Tips For Your Christmas New Year Vacation

Getting a Driver’s License in Melbourne

As Melbourne is a large expansive city, you will soon find that getting around with just public transport is extremely limiting. Moreover, as taxis and delivery services are VERY expensive, having a car to transport groceries, small furniture, etc is very handy.

If you don’t have one already, the first step is to get a Driver’s License!

In order to drive a car in Melbourne, you will need a valid driver’s license which is issued by Vicroads.

As a newcomer to Melbourne with an existing license, you will probably fall into one of the following categories:

• Hold an interstate or NZ license
• If it is a current license or has expired less than 5 years, you don’t need to take a test! Just show your current license, prove your identity and Vicroads will send you a local one.
• Overseas license
• This is a bit more complicated and depends on several factors
• If you are on a temporary visa, you don’t need to get a local one provided it is in English
• If you are on a permanent visa, you will need to get a local license 6 months after you enter the country or 6 months after you get a permanent visa – whichever is more recent
• If you have a license from a country on the Vicroads recognised list – includes USA, UK, Singapore, etc – you don’t need to take a test to get a local license. Note that the list does NOT include many popular immigrant countries like China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Phillipines, Korea, South Africa, Sudan, etc.
• If you find that you DO need to take a license test, it comprises of:
• Road knowledge test
• Hazard perception test
• Eyesight test, and
• Practical driving test

If you don’t currently hold an interstate or overseas driver’s license, you will need to go through the same process to get a license as with local Melbournians. That is …

• Apply for a Leaner’s Permit (if you are above 16 years old) and start learning ! – either with licensed instructors or friend/family with a full license.
• Pass your test and get your Provisional driver’s license! There are quite a few restrictions during the provisional period of 3 or 4 years – like the car that you can drive, zero alcohol, passenger restrictions, etc. Not to mention you must display big P plates.
• If after provisional period and you haven’t got your license busted, your license automatically be converted to a FULL license

Last but not least, don't forget to check out my brand NEW website - www.melbourneahoy.com.au - dedicated to all things about moving to Melbourne and life in general in the world's most liveable city !

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Getting around Melbourne ..

Melbourne is a city that spreads across a very wide expanse with the CBD itself relatively small – spanning just around 8 by 4 city blocks only! 

So you will probably find yourself in the car or on public transport a great deal of your time! :D

In any case, here is a quick summary of your transport options in getting around Melbourne:

• Car 
• While public transport is available, it is nothing to shout about especially as you get further away from the CBD. Not to mention, extremely expensive especially for short trips – this costs $2.90 even if you travel just 100m! 
• So by far, Car is the transport mode of choice for most Melbournians and is pretty much essential! 
• If you already have a driving license from your home country, you can drive a car without converting to a local license – at least for a while. The license needs to be in English though – if not you might need an official translation or an International Driving Permit. For more details, here is the official Vicroads website on this topic 
• Note: I’ll be covering the topic of “Buying a Car” in a not-too-future post! 

• Tram 
• I personally love the tram network! They are an Australian icon, quaint, efficient, clean, great for the environment and runs quite regularly. 
• Unfortunately, the coverage is very limited – basically covering only the CBD and some of the inner city suburbs. So that rules out most of Melbourne.
• Train 
• The trains run quite well during the weekday peak hours, but off-peak hours are a nightmare with the wait in between trains being horrendous. Expect to wait up to an hour if you miss your train! 
• Also, train stations – particularly the ones further away from the CBD – are quite unsafe and not a good idea to hang around too long especially after dark. The locals generally time their arrival at the station not long before the scheduled train arrives to limit their waiting time at the station. 
• Good news is that the recently elected new State government has promised to fix the security issue by deploying security staff at the stations. Previously most stations had NO SECURITY at all! :O
• Bus 

• Buses in Melbourne are generally a complementary service to the primary tram/train network. The tram/train network spreads straight out from the CBD with the buses covering the gaps in between. 
• They are clean, efficient and safe. Frankly, it’s a wonder to me why they are not used more extensively to alleviate the public transport woes in Melbourne.
• Taxi 
• As mentioned in my earlier post, taxis are very expensive in Melbourne. For example, I took a maxi-cab from the Airport to the City and it costs AUD$99 ! :O
• In addition, many of the drivers are new immigrants (mainly from India or Africa) and do not know their way around that well.
• Having said that, if you don’t have a car, taxis are pretty much your best choice as it gets late – with the train / tram system being quite unsafe at night.

First Steps in Melbourne Australia ! - Arriving at the Airport ..

I guess the best way to kick-off this guide would be .. at the Airport !

You have now landed at our smallish and quaint airport – at least compared to the mega airports like Singapore, KL or Heathrow – and heading towards customs. Its still the 1nd largest in Australia mind you ! :D

By the way, if you haven’t found out by now, Melbourne Airport is also known as Tullamarine Airport to the locals. There’s another budget airport called Avalon Airport but all the major international flights are to/from the main Melbourne (Tullamarine) Airport.

There’s practically nothing worthy of interest at the Airport so after you clear customs, you can be on your merry way to your accommodation.

Here are some quick tips and useful titbits of information:

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• Shopping at the airport

o   There are not many shops at the airport (either before or after customs) and you can find better deals in the city.

o   If you are a smoker, there is a duty-free shop before the customs area where you can get a couple of cartons (not more!). You only save on the 10% GST but if you have an expensive habit like smoking, every cent counts. :D

• Customs

o   If you have ANY food to declare, please do so! Australia Customs are very particular about this and often do thorough random checks.

International baggage carousel

o   Normally they will let factory packaged food items through; but you can say bye-bye to your homemade sambal chilli or any spices loosely packed in plastic bags.

• Collecting your luggage

o   For international flights, the luggage collection area is in a secured area with lots of security and custom officials around.

o   But if you are travelling to Melbourne on a domestic flight, SPRINT to the luggage collection area if you can! It is open to the public and anyone can go there, pick up your luggage and walk off! I have heard of quite a few cases of stolen luggage so you have been WARNED!

• Changing money

o   Foreign exchange rates in Melbourne are terrible; especially at the airport. Wait till you get to the city if you can.

o   If you are coming from Asia, do yourself a favour and change the cash before you come.

• Transport to CBD

o   Due to commercial agreements with the Airport operators, other than taxis, there are no other forms of public transport from the Airport! Ridiculous isn’t it?!

o   There is the privately operated Skybus to the CBD bus terminus, but it is grossly overpriced at $16 per person. Also since you are moving to Melbourne, you would probably have lots of luggage and I would rule out this option.

o   There are no taxi touts in Melbourne so you can make your way leisurely to the official taxi queue un-harassed. No such thing as private taxis either.

o   Taxis are notoriously expensive in Australia and it costs around $50 or so to take a taxi from the Airport to Melbourne CBD. Unlike many other countries, there is no taxi airport surcharge.

o   Tipping the driver is optional; I only do so if the driver provides service with a smile and volunteers to help out with the luggage.

o   You can request for a minivan Taxi if you have a large family or tons of luggage! The fare per kilometre is a bit more expensive but definitely worth considering for comfort.

If you have any comments about this post or questions about arriving in Melbourne in general, please feel free to post a comment for a prompt reply. Always glad to help !

Now that you have arrived in Melbourne Australia, let’s find you somewhere to stay …