OzKiwiJJ

Still too light, it's only 5:15pm here. Also the ship puts out a lot of light pollution at night.

It's actually a bit too windy to sit out on the balcony tonight so we'll probably have dine inside unless the wind drops.

I've just been talking to the doctor. Apparently I'm a good candidate for anti-virals so they are sending them up. I have to stop taking my cholesterol meds while I'm on the five day course of anti-virals.

Unfortunately my PCR test today was positive. 😪 So I'm stuck in our cabin for a few more days. Then they'll do another test and hopefully that will be negative. At the moment I just feel like I've got a very bad head cold - sore throat, stuffy sinuses, the odd sneeze, and an occasional cough. My temperature was normal this morning. So we'll miss a formal night tonight but at least there is my favourite duck a l'orange on the menu.

Unless they are the Weird Scared Little Guys who were hilarious.

This letter just arrived to our cabin. Essentially it is the announcement the Captain made a short while ago.

Yes. They aren't releasing numbers to passengers. Years ago we were on a cruise that had a Norovirus outbreak and the numbers were reported daily. They don't seem to be doing that with Covid, probably because any number over zero would cause some people to panic! 🤔🙄

I don't know the exact number of passengers but it's somewhere between 1800 and 1900. I hadn't noticed any missing crew members.

It very much depends on the ship. I prefer cabins above and below so avoid the deck immediately above the public areas and the deck immediately below the Lido deck. Some ships have wider balconies on a specific deck such as the Caribe deck on Grand class ships. Some balconies are fully covered, some are partly covered, and some are uncovered. Uncovered balconies mean your cabin can get overly warm in the afternoons if the side you are on is facing west.

At Cairns Coral Princess docked both ways. Three of our four cruises were bow in, so starboard side to the wharf, meaning she had to turn around before departing but on the Conflict Islands cruise we turned around on arrival and docked stern in with the port side to the wharf

The Captain has just made another announcement about the Covid situation - a reality check on the media reports. Although he didn't give the exact number of cases he did say it was a small number and that the medical staff were in control of the situation. He reiterated the need for people to follow the Covid protocols.

Hopefully in an hour or so.

We stopped there on a PNG cruise in 2016. If it's the place I'm thinking of there was a large cricket ground near the tender wharf. Hard to imagine such a tragedy there.

I just had another PCR test. Fingers crossed that it's negative then we can go back to enjoying our cruise although I will be very careful not to spread whatever lurgy I've caught.

A bit of basic health etiquette, like wearing masks properly in crowded venues, would also help. I doubt I caught this whatever-it-is while ashore so I've probably caught it onboard. Covid has just highlighted the fact that respiratory illnesses of any kind are spread by coughing and sneezing or any other activity that expels air more forcefully than just breathing - singing, shouting, laughing etc. I'll raise your comment ... some people are just arrogant pigs. 🤬

Exactly. We often cruised in inside cabins pre-Covid but made the decision to only book balcony cabins now. We're extra-spoilt on this cruise as it was a last minute booking and the only decent cabin was a mini-suite so we've got reasonably comfortable seating inside the cabin as well.

The wine choices are a bit limited but there is a huge selection of cocktails within the Plus package.

Actually we could have had Surf & Turf - the steak with prawns version - as it was on tonight's MDR menu but I opted for turkey and Rolf opted for Moroccan meatballs. We had Chateaubriand with bearnaise sauce last night so didn't want something similar tonight.

The media always carries on like a band of idiots as bad news gets more ratings than good news.😡

It's very nice for scenic cruising as you are high up and can easily move from one side of the ship to another, and the limited numbers in the Sanctuary mean you aren't fighting for space. Do take warm layers though, including a warm hat, scarf and gloves. It will be cold first thing in the morning but might warm up a bit later in the day.

Well if we don't get into Geraldton or Freo we'll just enjoy our time being "trapped on a cruise ship". In some ways this outbreak was inevitable: it's a long cruise with an older demographic, some of whom don't like being told what they can and can't do, and who seem to be lacking in common sense. 🤔🙄

Thanks, Heather. The ad-hoc balcony dinner is definitely a reward for being stuck in the cabin all day. 😊 It's gorgeous out there at the moment - a nice breeze blowing, we have the sound of the bow wave as background "music", and we're working our way through a bottle of our favourite rosé. What a way to get "trapped on a cruise ship". 🤣🤣🤣

Yes, we've had colds etc on cruises before and managed them OK ourselves but it's sensible to get tested for Covid when there is a known outbreak on the ship. If everyone had done that as soon as they developed symptoms then the outbreak would have been smaller but there is always a number of people who don't want their cruise "ruined" by acting sensible when they are sick. Instead they carry on as if they weren't sick without any attempt to keep clear of other passengers. There was supposed to have been a Captain's Circle cocktail party tomorrow but they've postponed that.

One plus of isolation - we're having our very own room service balcony dinner. 😊 Of course it will all arrive at once but we've chosen sensibly with light appetisers so the mains won't get cold, and we've got the fridge to put dessert in to keep in cool. It's a lovely evening so we will be able to dine on our balcony.

A nice touch from the Medical Centre - they sent up a strip of throat lozenges late this afternoon.