OzKiwiJJ

Not seas according to the BOM wave map. And usually high winds affect the waves as well.

We had 5-6 metre seas rounding the south-west corner of WA and the only time we noticed it was when we headed back down the corridor to our cabin. Coral handles the seas very well. 👍

I did the same on the Round Australia cruise as we didn't have time between cruises (only 3 days) to email them - it was a weekend too which didn't help. It only took a few minutes at guest services and the OBC showed up very quickly.

That's possible. When I tested negative to the first PCR test onboard I was almost certain it was just a cold but, of course, I stayed in our cabin and, sure enough, I tested positive next day. But even years ago when I was still working there were always people who shrugged off whatever cold or flu they had and just carried on at work or socialising. I think that attitude, which was sadly encouraged by many businesses, is ingrained in some people, only now it's because they don't want their fun spoilt.

On Princess when I had Covid Rolf had to test every day. He was allowed to leave the cabin but not eat or drink in any restaurants or bars. Mostly he stayed in the cabin but on one port day he went to the buffet to get us some lunch as only the regular room service menu was available and it didn't appeal to me. We got free drinks as well which, since we had the drinks package, essentially meant wines by the bottle, cans of soft drink, and no extrra charge for the XO cognac. 😊

Yes. It was interesting to see the demographics change from cruise to cruise during the four Princess restart cruises we did, then to compare those with the Round Australia cruise.

Coral Princess tenders take 120 people so using that as a guideline I think the City Cats would probably hold at least 250 people seated inside, plus more outside. They wouldn't have to transport 3000 passengers. Many would do excursions. I don't recall the City Cats being overcrowded when we used them from Portside but there was a fair number of people using them.

That's crazy. Why should it matter to them if you each eat half a sandwich? Off the same plate! We would not have been able to eat a whole one each so there would have been wastage. We didn't share drinks though. We went to a restaurant near our hotel in Times Square one night. There was a big sign on the wall, and also on the menu, that portions served 2-3 people. So we ordered one appetiser, a salad, and one main. We're not small eaters but there was enough food to feed 5-6 people and still have leftovers. So much wastage!

I have to disagree with you. The restart cruises had a much wider demographic than usual on Princess and there were more seniors disregarding the health protocols than younger people, particularly regarding mask-wearing in the theatre and at trivia. Also immune systems become less robust as you age unfortunately. I do think the length of the cruise pays a big part. On the 28 day Round Australia cruise we didn't start seeing signs of Covid until around Darwin, 10 days from the Sydney embarkation. Few other cruises prior to that went over 12 days, and I suspect people who started feeling unwell around day 10 would have just decided it was a cold and didn't bother getting tested as their cruise was almost over.

That would be wonderful. We used to always get the ferry from Portside when we had a port stop there. It made for a very pleasant day out. Ferry each way then pottering around the city or South Bank, and a nice lunch somewhere. We didn't bother getting off the ship the last two times we stopped at the BICT.

No, how would they have known we were sharing it? I lined up and got it while Rolf got drinks then nabbed a table.

We didn't have the cheesecake but we did have the reuben sandwich at Katz Deli. We shared it as it was so big. It was delicious!

The RAT cartridge would be seen as a biohazard, which is why they give you a bag to dispose of it. Also the result is no longer valid after about 15-20 minutes. The guy that did my "release from isolation" RAT told me to take a photo of it immediately.

I think I'll start chasing them up in the New Year if it hasn't turned up by then.

When we had the mandatory testing on Coral you had to take a photo of the result alongside a card with that day's date printed on it. The photo had to be shown to your cabin steward as well as when leaving the ship at port stops.

It could be a requirement of the NZ government - have you had your first port stop there yet? But whether it is or not it's sensible. While this current outbreak is doing it's rounds in the community cruise ships should be doing mandatory testing every few days - 3 or 4 would be ideal.

It's actually sensible on longer cruises. The more people they can "catch" through required testing and isolate means they are breaking some of the chains of infection.

Ohhh! I forgot the souffles! How could I? It wouldn't be a Princess cruise without the souffles! I didn't like the crème caramel. It tasted a bit weird to me!

Not the type of desserts I like anyway. Too fussy. Give me a simple creme brulee, or rhubarb napoleon, or one of the Chocolate Journey desserts, or the coconut dessert, or some of the many others on the MDR list.

I'm sure that sort of appliance will be fine. I take a small electric fan onboard every cruise with me as often the cabins are a bit too warm for me at night. I've never had a problem with it.

Crafted desserts? They are going to charge extra for desserts? No thanks. I've figured out a way around the OJ issue. I just order a bowl of sliced orange with my melon or papaya for breakfast. 😊 Fitness classes? No thanks, I prefer just walking around the ship. I don't want to huff and puff in a crowded exercise room especially if Covid is still around. The new pricing might just tip it over the edge for us. We have Plus fares locked in for our next three Princess cruises at the old rates. In fact we got the world cruise at $40pp per day. But if it goes up to $60pp per day we'll stop getting the plus fare. I haven't crunched the numbers from our last two cruises but we were spending a bit extra on drinks to get wines we liked plus the XO cognac. If they don't improve their wine list then getting the Plus fare will not be cost effective any more.

Yes, March 2nd 2021 was the Elite booking day. The cruises through to the 2024 World Cruise opened 1st December 2021 for Elites. I haven't heard any mutterings about the next release yet. Word usually goes around a couple of weeks or so before bookings open, usually before the brochure is released to Captain's Circle members.

After much experimentation we decided the best place for a cabin on Coral was aft. I have a dodgy knee so use lifts, and the aft lifts were never busy, plus we then had a nice walk several times a day through to midships and back. 😊

Then how do people in wheelchairs, mobility scooters, walkers, or just with dodgy knees, get from one deck to another? As long as everyone is masked there shouldn't be a problem. You are more at risk in theatres, or even bars when people ignore social distancing - like the group of 10-12 people who regularly squeezed themselves into a space that would normally seat 6 people nicely spaced.

That would be the current fare not the launch fare. Certainly it's an outrageous fare but it's classic supply and demand. The launch brochure didn't show the Brisbane fare but the Sydney fare was the same as the Fremantle one so the Brisbane one would also have been the same. I certainly wouldn't pay that much for an inside cabin but I did pay a fair bit more than launch fare for a last minute minisuite on the recent October Round Australia cruise. It was worth it even though I got Covid ... or maybe that should be especially though I got Covid.