OzKiwiJJ

Yes, probably. It's easy enough for GPs to cut skin cancer out of some parts of the body but some areas need a bit more expertise. I had to see a plastic surgeon with an SCC I had cut out of my lower leg a few years ago.

With the new Plus and Premier price per glass limits coming in to play in mid-Feb, which also may signify an increase in the prices by the glass, they may be trying to get rid of some of the bottom of the range wines in stock. I'm hoping we will see a much better selection of wines by the glass once that occurs - both in quality, and in the number and range of wines available for each package.

I think the OP means their winter not ours.

But if the hull was inspected in Australia then why wasn't the cruise line involved told immediately that there were issues? It just seems to have blown up out of nowhere over the Xmas/NY period and now has gone very quiet again.

But some of the ships hadn't reached NZ before they were told their hulls needed cleaning so how were they inspected? Coral Princess had been operating all around Australia for six months without being required to have her hull cleaned. Does that mean Australian marine biosecurity requirements aren't as strict?

For a cruise? You shouldn't need a medically observed test. Most cruise lines in our region just require a self test within 24 hours of embarking. You take a photo of the result alongside your photo id (passport, drivers licence) and sonething showing the current date and time ( we use each others phones with the date/time showing on the lock screen).

I see they're still padding them out with mushrooms. 🤬

Accirding to Wikipedia: "The name comes from the French languageThe name cantaloupe was derived in the 18th century via French cantaloup from The Cantus Region of Italian Cantalupo, which was formerly a papal county seat near Rome, after the fruit was introduced there from Armenia.[3] It was first mentioned in English literature in 1739.[2] The cantaloupe most likely originated in a region from South Asia to Africa.[2] It was later introduced to Europe, and around 1890, became a commercial crop in the United States.[2"]

That's quite different from the original wine packages which allowed you to choose any wines off the wine list up to a certain price point. Plus you could pay the difference if you wanted a more expensive wine. I would not buy a wine package that dictates what wines I have to drink. It would be a waste as I can't drink most Sauvignon Blancs (reflux) or Cabernet Sauvignons (headaches), and I dislike heavily oaked chardonnays.

It's known as canteloupe on most cruise ships as it is the original name for that type of melon and is the name used in the US.

Oh I agree. I'm a Kiwi as well as an Aussie and I am always aware of what a privilege it is to be able to cruise though Fiordland, especially Dusky Sound. But it's odd that this has all blown up recently and, by the sound of things, at relatively short notice. Not all ships seem to be affected. How do they tell if the ship hasn't visited an NZ port? Is it just random? Is it based on where the ship had been previously? Were the cruise lines informed ahead of time? If not, why not? Has someone in NZ suddenly woken up to the fact that the new rules that went into play in 2018 hadn't actually been implemented? It all seems a bit weird and the timing of it all, over the Christmas holiday period, is rather reminiscent of the bad old days in NZ when the wharfies would always go on strike so the Wellington ferries couldn't operate.

Were you restricted to specific wines or just a maximum price per bottle? If specific wines which ones were they?

Ditto. It's unpredictable that far in advance.

You're in the US though. The credit card surcharge mostly occurs in Australia and NZ.

Public transport (but not by train from the airport) using a Gold (Seniors) Opal Card. $2.50 daily cap no matter how far you go.

Trade vessels are unlikely to go into Fiordland or the Bay of Islands as there are no commercial docks in those places. But cruise ships were operating fully in 2019 and early 2020 without any dirty hull incidences. So either: - hulls got dirtier than the cruise lines realised during the shutdown. - warmer sea temperatures have caused an unexpected increase in hull growths. - someone in NZ marine biosecurity is being over-cautious. Maybe a combination of all three?

28 Degrees did a credit card chargeback on a cruise that was cancelled in 2020. We got all of the final payment back through them but the deposit had been made outside the chargeback window unfortunately.

You don't bid on just an upgrade per se, you bid on a different cabin classes. We're booked in a balcony cabin so got the option to bid on a minisuite, a club class minisuite, or a suite. We have friends joining the ship for the final Melbourne to Sydney few days so didn't want club class dining so the only bid I put in was for the regular minisuite. All the options are currently sold out so it will depend on cancellations.

Ditto, and ditto no issues. We've been using them for several years now.

But how do you determine what that is? Especially if others have the same idea.

That's what I thought when I put my Grand minisuite bid in.

We used to enjoy going into Brisbane city from Portside on the ferry, pottering around some of the shops then having a leisurely lunch before catching the ferry back but the shuttle times were too restrictive so we didn't bother.

Yes, the Bananas in Pyjamas are premium balconies. Caribe deck, partly covered.

True. I have heard you do get a chance to turn the offer down if it's somewhere you don't want to be. I carefully checked the deck plans before deciding to bid on a Grand minisuite. 😁

Select Personal Information and Documents Then select Arrivals Then you should be able to select an arrival group, or you may have had one allocated to you if it's close to embarkation - in which case it should show. You should get priority boarding within that arrival group since you are Platinum.