SinbadThePorter

In the specific case of New Caledonia it is true that proof of travel insurance (see under "Do I need travel insurance") with covid coverage is currently required from passengers by Princess in order to board any ship visiting New Caledonia. If the OP's cruise does not visit New Caledonia, then there is no such requirement. "Furthermore, if your cruise is visiting New Caledonia, it is mandatory that you purchase appropriate international travel insurance that covers you for both Covid-19 and your cruise prior to embarkation. Failure to do so will result in denied boarding. Please ensure you bring physical proof of your travel insurance at embarkation."

Just to be contrary, I'll say that Carnival is off my cruise list. Life is too short to waste time on dud ships. That said, my opinion is only based on Luminosa. Maybe other Carnival ships are far better, but pretty much everything about Luminosa rubbed me the wrong way. The good part. Nothing was wrong with the cabin. It was dated, but so are all cabins on twenty year old ships. The shows were very good. The bad part. The decor is appalling. The Marketplace was done up like a kindergarten play center. I didn't know whether I should be looking for food or lego. The food itself varied from adequate to awful. Whichever chef thought it was a good idea to replace bacon with soggy ham at breakfast should have been made to walk home. I tried several hot rolls at the Deli, they were roasted on the outside and cold in the center. The MDR food was better, but the room itself had all the atmosphere of a company cafeteria, despite the inane dancing that would break out at odd moments. The layout of the ship seemed to designed to maximise congestion on all public levels. This was a particular problem in the Marketplace as the throughways were constantly blocked during meals, leaving you shuffling through various bottlenecks just to get out of the place. There is more, but it might start to sound like I'm whinging. 😊

The surfing section of the 2024 Olympic Games is being held in Tahiti. In theory you could have the Olympics and the South Pacific all in one trip. 😊

For a New Years cruise this seems like good value to me. Coral Princess 14 nights to NZ from Brisbane 28th December 2023 Balcony $1959 For some reason the insides and windows are more expensive than balcony.

As far as I can see, only reason would be if you are uncomfortable carrying around a large bundle of cash. I normally pick up a wodge of appropriate currency before heading OS.

If you change your mind and decide to use a credit card as the onboard account payment method, remember to tell them to allow your bank to do the currency conversion, not the cruise line. The cruise line exchange rates are a ripoff.

1. It is not necessary to tip extra in Oz/NZ, but to my shame I do. Generally only about $A20/week/steward. I don't tip in the MDR. If you do tip, I imagine the tipee would be more than happy with US dollars given the exchange rate. 2. I would get some Oz currency (and NZ if necessary), either at home or in Sydney, and use that for all purposes including purchasing OBC onboard. The exchange rate on the ship will be terrible, it will be better almost anywhere else.

The reason is that intense low pressure systems rotate around the Southern Ocean from west to east. They form one of the most consistent weather patterns on the planet. Old time sailors called it the Roaring Forties. As these systems pass through the Great Australian Bight, you get several days of strong winds and heavy seas separated by a day or two of calmer seas. If you are heading west you are going into the wind and waves, which is not nice. If you are heading east you are going with the wind and waves, which makes for a less unpleasant experience. If you are lucky you are between low pressure systems and the seas are fine.

Virgin will frequently offer a "bar tab" of several hundred dollars as a perk during sales.

Are Royal still "thinking"about Lelepa? 🥱

Nope, it's his signature. 🙃

I'm interested too. I'll be keeping an eye out for any last minute offers. Although the itineraries are a bit staid. I mean, how many times can you visit Burnie? They are sailing from Melbourne and can't even be bothered to visit Kangaroo Island. 😕 It looks like they are avoiding any tendering.

If you are doing the Queensland coast from Brisbane, you will also be able to do a GBR excursion from Airlie Beach. In all cases you need to get a ship excursion as the timing won't work for third party excursions. If you are on Quantum all your ports will be tenders. On other ships Cairns will be a docking.

That $14.99 represents the labour of a computer sending several electrons to another computer. 🤑

How long has room service not been complimentary for us plebs?

Since I have never been able to sleep on a plane, snoring has never been an issue.😴

I've been on Luminosa three times this year. Each time the bed was too hard. Got a topper from the steward the first two times, but they made no difference, so didn't bother the third time.

A Fremantle to Sydney cruise is to be preferred over the reverse. Get onto one of those weather websites like Windy and watch the low pressure systems as they circle around the world from west to east between Australia and Antarctica. They are big and mean.

Sea conditions are very marginal. I was kind of surprised the Captain allowed tendering. It was quite rough in the bay and the water around Cascade jetty was surging a bit.

It depends on how fair your shape is. 😁 The track is not all that steep, but it winds around the hill a considerable distance which is easy for us oldies to underestimate.

For authentic local cuisine you could try the Mt Manganui Bakery for a pie or two, about three blocks from the cruise dock. Many varieties of savoury meat pies.

Usually the only reason not to anchor off Tangalooma is if the seas and winds are too high to even enter Moreton Bay. I'm not keen on dolphin feeding. It's one of those things that sounds harmless, but ends up causing lots of problems for the dolphins. I believe that it's banned everywhere except a few places like Tangalooma that were grandfathered in.

Could we get shuffleboard replaced by ship cricket? Ball overboard is six and out.

Well at least it prodded the NSW government to finally provide a decent Northern Rivers Hospital for those in the Northern Rivers. Only took 40 years. 😇

You can check in any time, but you can never leave.