aussielozzie18

Love going under the Harbour Bridge by ferry. Free hotel stay is excellent too.

Btw, this is not going to be a live report. Once we set sail, it will be to be continued. I’ll be busy taking photos til our port day on Monday.

Ok - I thought there was an option for it to be posted out but happy to be corrected since I’m a newbie.

Packing - I am a relaxed cruiser - I packed the morning of the cruise 😂. I did have a list in my phone of things to pack to double check. I normally cruise when it’s warm but October with the weather event from hell predicted is a different story - my DH said “do you really need all that stuff?” Yes, honey I do.

So requirements for Covid testing were clear on the App and also spelled out specifically in a text received from Princess the day before the cruise - PCR 72hrs prior or RATS test with ID and date/time 24hrs prior. I had no symptoms so no PCR. Bought another batch of RATS tests and did the test within 24hrs and took a photo of the negative test result with my passport and my sons iPhone with date/time in the photo. One photo would have been a sufficient. I took 6 from every angle 🤪

So Princess Medallion app - I’m a newbie. Knew nothing about. So got the tech guru in the family to upload all the docs. We got the green tick so he did good. Didn’t bother having the medallion posted out. Don’t need it beforehand and happy just to collect on the day. I am someone who reads all emails sent to me that are relevant so as a newbie I appreciated all the emails from Princess with pre instructions/requirements for the cruise. I did ask a few questions on cc and I appreciate the Princess regulars here on the Aus/NZ forum answering them. Thank you.

And then as we approached the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Coral Princess was in view.

After the exhibition we walked down to the Manly Wharf. I said adios to DH and hopped on the Manly Ferry. After all the doom & gloom about the weather, we had a glorious sunny morning in Sydney and the harbour was like glass. It did become overcast once on the ferry but still a lovely calm trip to Circular Quay.

I liked that the gallery has a glass window overlooking Manly Ferry Wharf and we could see the Manly Ferry docked whilst exploring the exhibits. This is the name of the exhibition. Worth a look if you happen to be planning a day in Manly. It very small so won’t take you long to look at.

So something was in our favour today, DH got a park right outside the gallery (miracle for Manly on a Saturday) and the very small free exhibition was interesting.

So today was supposed to be the weather event from hell in Sydney. Nonetheless DH decided he wanted to see an exhibition at Manly Art Gallery in the morning and then I could hop on the Manly Ferry to Circular Quay. I told him sure but the ferries might not be running….

Booked the cruise about 6 weeks out from sailing date. Booked direct with Princess. I only ever cruise in balconies and sometimes I preselect my room and sometimes I go guarantee. This cruise, I went guarantee and my cabin was assigned two weeks before sailing. Pretty happy with my cabin. First time I have been on the Opera House side so really pleased with that. It’s in the AFT location and this is a first time too (usually pick midship & I have been lucky to be given midship location with previous guarantees). First thought about AFT location- will have no probs keeping up with my walking exercise!

I thought I would do this trip report from a first timer to Princess point of view. Haven’t cruised since before the pandemic. Normally prefer longer cruises 9-14 days but decided this short cruise would be the perfect opportunity to dip my toes in the water to test out the post pandemic cruising experience.

To save your seat/lounge chair take a lightweight bag (fold up shopper type bag - colourful design) with a book inside. Leave it on the table/lounge to reserve it until you return from buffet/bar/pool. The benefit of the book is that is gives you something to read and also it won’t blow away in the wind. If your cruise has a roll call group, join it. Good way to meet other solos and friendly couples. Some cruise lines have solo/single lunches. At dinner, ask for a share table. Other cruisers are very friendly. The staff will look after you. It’s not as daunting as you think.

Just got notification from Jetstar that our afternoon arrival has been changed to a morning at 10am. Happy with that but surprised by a 4hr change. Our afternoon departure is now 1.30 rather than 2.30pm. We will walk off so should be fine.

Another newbie question please. I assume all onboard purchases are made via the medallion. I also assume you check the status of your account via the app. Is there any other way to check your account during the cruise yourself? ie via the cabin tv or would it just be via guest services. Thanks.

Back to work tomorrow. Going to be flat out. Away from next Saturday. Abysmal weather forecast. No internet. Got some good books to read. Look forward to catching up on this thread and all the wonderful cruise reviews on my return. Take care everyone.

Public Holiday today. Popped into the hairdressers hoping they were open. They were and I was the first customer at the salon. Only one hairdresser working with the male Manager manning the phones and attending to any walk ins. By the time my hair was due to be blow dried there were 4 customers lined up needing attention. So, the lone hairdresser corralled the male Manager to blow dry my hair (which takes ages). He did a fab job for a novice. Very very gentle but got the job done. And they didn’t even charge me a public holiday surcharge. Win win.

Yesterday morning I waa visiting a friend and we were in her back garden chatting. We suddenly heard a loud male voice talking. I said is that your neighbours? She said I don’t think so. We looked up and saw two police helicopters approaching. As one of the helicopter come closer, the voice became clearer. My friend and everyone in her area the night before had received a text msg from NSW police advising that they were looking for a missing person and the text had a photo and details attached. So, the voice from the helicopter was the police broadcasting details of the lost man again. Apparently he has alzheimers and he had been missing 24hrs at this point. We have not experienced this in our area and my friend has since found out that this is a new form of communication that the police are trialling for lost persons. Do they do this in the US or UK?

Beautiful photos Sue. My dad LOVES that he can keep in contact with his grandkids daily when overseas via What’s App & FB messenger. The only reason he keeps his home phone is for his weekly phone call to his sister in England who doesn’t do technology. He had a dilemma last night, his weekly phone is at the same time every week and his sister so looks forward to it. The Rugby League Grand Final was on at the same time - dilemma - but he couldn’t let down his sister.

@George C Sorry to hear of the losses of the cars and water damage that your brother experienced. Would it be covered by insurance?

@ownedbypets thank for sharing firsthand what your daughter and her community are going through. I am glad she is being cared for whilst caring for others. Such a mammoth task they have ahead of them but it’s wonderful when people rally around to help. All the best to your daughter.

Great name but I’m a sit & sip kinda girl 🍹

Beautiful sunset photos. Enjoying your review.

Happy 40th Anniversary 🥂