lcmortensen

16 hours ago, caribill said:

 

If they do take CC status into account, it could make the difference if the highest bid amount was the same from multiple passengers.

The airline I normally use has an almost identical bidding system to upgrade classes. They have a multiplier for upgrades based on your frequent flyer status - elite get 50% extra, gold get 30% extra, silver get 10% extra.

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

Wow! Don't people in NZ use cheques at all?

With the prevalence of debit/credit cards and internet banking, the banks were processing fewer and fewer cheques every year and eventually it was not worth the expense to continue accepting cheques. As a result, all the major banks stopped issuing and accepting cheques between February 2020 and August 2021, although they continue to accept their own bank cheques issued before the phase-out.

3 hours ago, ~*Lou*~ said:

We were also on 26th June cruise, and due a refund from a cancelled shore excursion - I was told to expect a cheque, posted from the US, however about three weeks later the refund showed up on my credit card. Hope that helps. 

On 29 July cruise and same with the refund for the cancelled shore excursion. Let's hope they realise New Zealand banks don't accept cheques anymore!

26 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

On your phone have you tried this:

Ensure Mobile Data is off.

Log out of the Medallion app then log back in again using Quick Access and your cabin number.

 

That's what Guest Services recommended when I was having problems onboard. It worked perfectly after that.

After you connect to the wifi, go to medallionclass <dot> com in your web browser and click "connect this device". That's how I switched between my phone and my laptop.

I found mine - It went to the Spam folder.

7 hours ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

They cannot have a blanket ban as a ship may still have to call for refuelling etc .

We don't even have a blanket ban on nuclear-powered ships! The legislation grants immunity to ships in distress.

8 hours ago, NSWP said:

To me self isolation is hardly enforceable, I mean who is going to do it?  Like some Aussie flies into NZ for a 10 day holiday,  no way are they going to sit in their hotel for the entire time doing their self isolation.  Likewise the 20,000 Asian students that recently flew into Australia for Uni etc, they were suppose to 'self isolate.'   I bet many did not.

They are enforcable in law in New Zealand. You can get up to 6 month in prison and/or a $4000 fine for failing to comply.

If the airline has to cancel the flight and you don't wish to continue your travels, you will get either a refund or a credit. Generally it's a refund if the cancellation is within the control of the airline (e.g. mechanical fault), and a credit if it's beyond the control of the airline (e.g. weather).

3 hours ago, allelect said:

We would like to keep with our plans to visit Australia, but we wonder how life is being affected in the country. Are people afraid to go out to restaurants for example? Is travel coming to a standstill?

Toilet paper panic-buying has reached Black Friday craziness!

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

I still don't think you're getting it.  You are blurring cancellation insurance with cancel for any reason insurance.  If you cancel the cruise under cancel for any reason insurance, the reason why you cancelled is none of their business.  Knowing the reason for cancellation is only a requirement of the lower level cancellation insurance.

Cancel for any reason is still subject to general exclusions - failure to disclose, travelling against official warnings, illegal activities, etc. 

In New Zealand, we have a chain buffet restaurant called Valentines. I remember frequenting it with my family at its height in the early 2000s... and then everything went downhill. The food became bland and foodborne illness became rife, mostly owing to both the buffet environment but also poor management. Most of the locations have now closed, and I haven't been to one in a good seven years!

Here's a news article on the restaurant and it's decline from February last year: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/109787913/the-rise-fall-and-rebirth-of-valentines-buffet-restaurants

1 hour ago, rickays said:

I wish we could buy this in Australia but for some unknown reason, Princess will not offer it to Australians!

Same in New Zealand. Princess doesn't offer insurance directly, so we have to rely on third-party travel insurance providers.

One thing to note: Australians and New Zealanders on Princess Cruises are booked through Carnival Corp's Sydney office, so fares sold are subject to Australian federal and New South Wales state law.

On 2/26/2020 at 7:20 PM, sweetp12 said:

They did do a "hangi" dinner - however being a Kiwi i ordered this with an open mind and can confirm it is nothing like a hangi in NZ.  

A hangi is traditionally cooked in the ground, so there is no way to truly replicate it on a cruise ship. Also for food safety and economic reasons, hangi meals offered to tourists are usually cooked in a commercial food steamer.

8 hours ago, WESTEAST said:

Tauranga - ship docked very close to town; it was approximately 10 mins walk to ship from the main street.

Cruises ships dock at the Mount Maunganui wharf, so what you're describing is Mount Maunganui town centre. Tauranga city centre is 7km away on the other side of the harbour.

1 hour ago, erewhon said:

 Please respect our culture, and do not tip.

Things get a bit complicated in New Zealand with Māori culture and the concept of koha (gift or donation). If you're going on a Māori cultural tour and asked to contribute towards koha, then $1 or $2 per person is customary. This money will be pooled together and put in an envelope to be given at the appropriate time.

The rule for tipping in Australia and New Zealand is easy: if you wouldn't tip them on the cruise ship (over and above the automatic gratuities), don't tip them off the cruise ship! 

Remember, the last time an adult New Zealander got paid 2.13 USD per hour for their work was in 1984!

3 hours ago, amonaghan said:

Is it possible to get a cabby at the port to take us around? 

There are no taxis in Picton. You'll need to arrange your transport in advance.

You can look at the Destination Marlborough list of excursions and transport options here: https://marlboroughnz.com/guides/cruise-ship-passengers/. 

20 minutes ago, cc cruiser said:

Thank you all for your input and research!  We just got home from our holiday, so we are actively looking into this.   The quote #11 is the exact wording from our car hire company.  It looks to me as the “no excess” insurance we purchased should cover $1900 damage to the other vehicle.   Is that how you are reading this?  
If so, I wonder how to handle this from across the ocean!  

I think you're not understanding what the excess is.

An excess (known as a deductible in USA and Canada) is how much you have to pay out-of-pocket in thr event of an accident before the insurance company starts paying out. For example, if you cause $10,000 worth of damage with a $1900 excess, you pay $1900 and the insurance company pays the remaining $8100; if you cause only $1,000 worth of damage with a $1900 excess, then you pay $1000 and the insurance company pays nothing. No excess insurance simply reduces the excess to $0, so in the event of an accident, you pay nothing and the insurance company pays everything.

It's the same here in New Zealand. If you bought your policy after 21 January 2020 (but before 31 January 2020) , you're not covered if you contract coronavirus after travelling to mainland China, but you're still covered if you contract it elsewhere. If you bought your policy after 31 January 2020, you're not covered if you contract coronavirus regardless of destination (except for funeral expenses and repatriation of body/remains).

Also in New Zealand, CFAR is not available or is void for travel to mainland China if you purchased your policy after 29 January 2020 That's because of the general exclusion that you're not covered if you travel to a country with a "do not travel" or "avoid non-essential travel" advisoryfrom the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Remember, car insurance in New Zealand is attached to the vehicle, not the driver, and all car insurance policies include third-party (liability) insurance. That means if your friend borrows your vehicle, runs a red light and totals another car, you're both covered for the damage to the other vehicle. 

2 minutes ago, cc cruiser said:

From what I just read, NZ has a no fault policy, but is that just for bodily injury? 

Only ACC cover is no-fault. Regular car insurance is still at-fault.

8 hours ago, pink845 said:

This insurance issue causes me great concern so I believe we will forgo any car rentals in New Zealand.  From the above caption, I see no mention at all of liability insurance - what happens if I hit another car and the others in the car are injured.  Do the car rental companies (the major ones, Hertz, Avis) see liability insurance.  Also, the whole excess thing still confuses me.  Can I not buy insurance that covers damage to the car we rent, the car we may hit, the people in the car we may hit, etc.  Also, can we buy insurance that covers all costs completely.   I do not want to be liable for anything.  

In New Zealand, injuries caused by motor vehicle accidents are covered by the ACC scheme. The ACC scheme (ACC stands for Accident Compesnation Corporation, the government entity that operates it) offers no-fault accidental injury cover to everyone in New Zealand (even tourists), and for motor vehicle accidents, is paid for by levies included in the cost of re-licencing your vehicle as well as the price of petrol. However, ACC doesn't replace the need for medical and evacuation insurance, since ACC coverage stops once you leave New Zealand. Also, since it's no-fault, you can't sue or be sued for compensatory damages (although you can still be held liable for punitive damages).

Comprehensive car insurance is usually included in the cost of renting your car. However, the included cover has a very high excess (a.k.a. deductible) of $2,000 to $2,500, and most companies offer a reduced excess option for an extra fee. 

For some odd reason, I forgot the need for proof of costs and purchases to support any travel insurance claim, and I assume the actual payout is limited to claimed costs and purchase. Here I was imagining someone out there buying CFAR insurance and then cancelling their "trip" to get the insurance payout!
 

I don't quite understand "cancel for any reason". Can you literally cancel for any reason or does an unexpected and unforseen event have to occur? The former sounds like a good way to commit insurance fraud!

New Zealand ATMs typically dispense $20 and $50 notes. You can only get $100 notes from a bank, so they're rare.

Pretty much every brick-and-mortar retailer in New Zealand accepts EFTPOS (i.e. the New Zealand debit card system), and most, but not all, accept Visa and Mastercard (including their debit variants).

Hi David,

Can you add my first ever cruise:

9 May 2020 ... Royal Princess ... Los Angeles to Vancouver, 7 nights

Thanks.

As a US citizen, you can enter both countries with just an electronic travel authority (ETA). You only need to apply for visitor visa if you don't meet the criteria for an ETA (e.g. you have a criminal record) or are staying longer than 3 months.

The Australian ETA costs 20 AUD (~14 NZD) and is valid for 12 months. The New Zealand ETA costs 47 NZD (~31 USD) and is valid for 24 months.

Make sure to use the official websites - https://www.eta.homeaffairs.gov.au/ for Australia and https://nzeta.immigration.govt.nz/ for New Zealand. Don't fall for a third-party website, as they will rip you off.