OzKiwiJJ

We'd been very careful too. We had a permanent dinner booking at 8pm on a table for two, lunch in the MDR or Sanctuary, breakfast in the MDR. The weak spot for us we think was the time we spent in the Good Spirits bar after breakfast so Rolf could have his second coffee. We tended to stay there until we headed off for trivia. A couple of times I had people standing directly behind me chatting to their friends. We always wore masks during trivia and on the few occasions we went to the theatre, ad timed our evening predinner cocktails for after the 7:15-30 diners had left. We've been wearing P2 masks and changing them frequently.

I'm sure there are more cases. It takes 2-4 days for symptoms to develop and you can be infectious prior to that so it will have been spreading through the ship especially with so many people not wearing masks properly. And even those that do are still susceptable in restaurants, and bars when they get over-crowded.

We just ring our lunch and dinner orders through to room service although we're having trouble getting through to them today. You can order drinks through room service with your meals, or through the app. We've ordered wines by the bottle through room service and canned soft drinks and haven't been charged for them. We do have the Plus package but that doesn't cover those items. Rolf is getting very good double espressos through the app. I get tested again on the 30th. I asked about antivirals and the doctor worked through a few things with me before deciding I was a good candidate for them.

I'm sorry to hear that, Irene. I hope Frank gets well soon. Did they offer him the antivirals? Rolf has tested negative again and still has no symptoms. I seem to be moving through a range of symptoms: Day 1 was sore throat day Day 2 was stuffed nose day Day 3 was sneeze day Today seems to be cough day but not too bad. I have a good supply of some weird but effective cough tablets that I've been using for years. Unfortunately they can only be bought in Singapore. You also get free drinks so if you want to stock up on soft drinks etc for the rest of the cruise now's the time. Room service is pretty good. Did they deliver the MDR lunch and dinner menus to you today? If not ring Guest Services.

I sent lots of comments to the Cruise Passenger journalist last night. She is writing the article today. Hopefully it will be published in time to counteract some of the gutter press rubbish.

Everyone I think.

I spotted a post on FB that seemed to indicate everyone onboard has to do a RAT this morning, probably as a requirement by the WA government before allowing the ship to dock tomorrow. We didn't get the notice, of course, as we are already in isolation and Rolf already has to do a RAT daily. I wonder how many positives this will flush out?

Unfortunately two of the ports we'll miss - Busselton and Albany - are two of the three ports we haven't been to. 😪 The third is Burnie. I hope we manage to get to that one.

I'm really glad Princess stopped doing that!

We tend to dine late so the balcony was great in the early evenings, especially if it coincided with a port departure. It was also lovely to go out there first thing in the morning to discover the latest port. But, yes, on some cruise lines the balcony furniture can be really uncomfortable.

We're onboard for another 14 days. We'll miss a few ports we wanted to visit but we can always do this cruise again - we like long cruises with plenty of sea days and travel insurance is a lot cheaper if we keep away from the US.

Great to hear from you again, Pushka. It's accurate. I checked the BOM Total Wave Height maps. The predicted swell is around three metres from the SE and I think it's expected to be quite windy as well. Geraldton doesn't have much shelter for tender operations.

On Coral: Sabatinis is $34 Bayou Steakhouse is $40

I have some cough tablets that work very well but thanks for the advice. I'll watch out for a rebound infection. Hopefully if it does happen it won't occur until we're back home. I've seen Cruise Passenger articles in the past and they are very balanced and fair.

Yes, although his immune system is better than mine. He rarely catches colds and flus when I have them. Fingers crossed it's the same with Covid.

I started taking the anti-virals last night. It may be coincidence but my throat feels much better today and my nose isn't clogged up as much. However I am sneezing more and have occasional coughing fits. Having a minisuite is making it easier to sit in a different area of the cabin than Rolf - he sits at the far end of the sofa and I sit on the bed. We do have to sit near each other for meals though.

I have, and I will be working through the list of questions she has asked during the afternoon.

Unless you catch Covid and are confined to your cabin. Then that natural light, fresh air and view of the ocean becomes very, very valuable. We did a 21 night European cruise in 2017, with 17 port stops. At the time we regularly cruised in inside cabins but chose a balcony for that cruise. It was worth every cent just being able to pop out on the balcony whenever we wanted to rather than going to one of the public decks.

I've just been contacted on FB by a journalist from Cruise Passenger who complimented me on my positive attitude to Covid on Coral and who wants to know if I'm interested in making some comments towards and article to counteract the recent negative press. I'll probably reply to her shortly.

Initially they said five days from first symptoms but yesterday they said they will retest me on the 30th which is more than five days.

Yes, all Covid treatment and testing is free of charge.

Yes, Rolf is negative so far but has to do a RAT every day.

Yes, I was Heather. We arrived a bit late, after trivia. The medical care has been very good so far. Even though I tested negative yesterday they still sent up a strip of throat lozenges for my sore throat. Totally unexpected.

They certainly worked very well when I had shingles a few months ago so I hope the Covid ones work equally as well.

No, I've managed to avoid Covid up to now.