cruiser3775

Smarttraveller advice is for the whole country, so 'reconsider your need to travel' takes into account places like Port Moresby and the Highlands, where there are security concerns. It is not likely to apply to the safer far eastern areas of PNG, where the cruise ships go. But check your travel insurance, because some companies will not cover you for places with that Smarttraveller rating. I am more concerned with the 'visa on arrival' situation for cruise passengers, because there is currently no clear indication that I can find that says the previous system, prior to covid lockdowns, will be re-instated for visits later in 2022.

The biggest wine retailer is Dan Murphy. Vintage Cellars also have a good selection. You could order a dozen wines from their online shops and have it delivered to your hotel. Sure to be a better deal than paying exorbitant prices for the limited on board wine list

I checked with Hamilton Motor Inn and they no longer do a cruise terminal shuttle to the new terminal

That looks like the same exclusion as the 1Cover policy. That is, it only covers you for Covid once you are on the ship. If you get Covid a week or two before travel, you may not be covered if you have to cancel. It also sounds like it might not cover the costs of being evacuated from the ship? Some policies will cover you for Covid right from when you pay for the policy, not just the first day of travel, and their premiums are of course higher. You need to search the whole PDS, as the restrictions are often very hidden.

Oops! That should be SCTI - Southern Cross Travel Insurance.

I just compared 1Cover and STI policies. STI definitely covers you for Covid related cancellations from the day you pay for the policy, and 1Cover only covers you from the starting travel date, not before. The cost of the STI policy for me is about 50% more than the 1Cover policy, but they will offer insurance up to the age of 118 years! Don't think I'll still be cruising then.

I don't think so, Carole. That's not how I read it. The 'period of cover' is the travel dates - from the first day of travel to the last day. You would be covered for cancellation from the day you paid for the policy, for reasons other than Covid, but the Covid provisions are limited to the actual dates of travel, I believe. Maybe someone with more in depth knowledge of travel insurance can clarify this?

The 1Cover policy says: "Medical Covid Cover Included This is to certify that the above mentioned covered travellers listed on the Certificate of Insurance are insured under this policy for the destinations and periods stated. This policy provides cover for overseas hospital and medical expenses if a covered traveller is positively diagnosed with Covid 19 by a qualified medical practitioner." I take this to mean that the Covid cover starts on the first day you give for travel, which would be the first day of your trip, but not before. I think that means that if you get Covid in the week before you travel, you wouldn't be covered for cancellation.

I've just discovered that my credit card travel insurance cuts out at 76 years. So my 2023 cruise won't cover me. Would appreciate some suggestions for Australian travel insurance companies that allow someone of my "advanced" years to cruise, including cover for Covid. I don't want an annual policy, just one for this specific voyage next March.

The Courier Mail article is not worth the paper it's printed on. Other media outlets have been more even handed. Here's one that at least tries to be accurate: www.theaustralian.com.au/news/coral-princess-covid19-outbreak-nothing-like-ruby-princess/video/8505a2af4444e9aa13857c4e5cd90c42

Yes, that looks like a good substitute, but I wanted to go on a winery tour from Picton, so probably have to choose between the two.

Thanks OzKiwiJJ for posting that full list. Very depressing! I agree that Princess is not getting informed advice on Australian wines. They can certainly do better. The whopping Chinese tariffs introduced last year on Australian wines caused a major headache for Australian wine exporters, and left many holding quality wines they would have exported. Princess should have the buying power to get a much better selection, and the commercial marketing sense to not sell it onboard at rip off prices.

Porky55, how do you book it privately? I'd love to do this, but the price quoted by the ship is very high. If you make it a DIY, how hard is it to get to the railway station from the ship?

Thanks, Ozwoody. I'm staying overnight in Hamilton within walking distance of the Dan Murphy's, so I will be able to organise both pickup and taxi to the new terminal efficiently.

Thanks Aus Traveller. That's the Dan Murphy's I was planning to buy from just before the cruise. I'm prepared to pay the corkage. It's a much better deal than buying cr*p wine onboard. Maybe I'm overthinking the water, it's just that we live with rural tank water so chlorinated city water is more obvious to me.

Thanks, OZKiwiJJ, look forward to seeing them. Can I ask a question about the tap water onboard. Is it heavily chlorinated? I can bring a water bottle with a filter, but won't bother if the taste is OK.

But it's not just the cost of the wines, it's the extremely poor selection. There are so many good Australian wines that they could have bought post-pandemic and after the Chinese tariff problems. I'm very gIad I didn't take the Plus package. I would pay a reasonable price for a good quality bottle. Seeing that awful choice is really annoying.

Even the "Plus Package" wines are a rip off.That Leasingham Riesling they want $86 a bottle for actually costs $18 retail, and I bet they didn't pay more than $9 for it wholesale, probably less. I'm flying in for my cruise, so I can't carry much wine, but I intend to visit a local retailer near the port and get a few quality bottles to take on the ship. Even with the corkage, it's a winner for me. If enough people do it, maybe they might get the message?

Those "Premier Package" wines are a shocker. The DeBortoli Willowglen range is the absolute bottom range of bargain wines from a big producer. The Chardonnay costs about $A7 a bottle here, compared to $12 a glass on board. If you get six glasses to the bottle, you can see it's a nice earner for the ship @ $72 a bottle. And they wouldn't be paying $7 a bottle either - that's the Australian retail price. If you see "South Eastern Australia" as the place of origin on an Aussie wine, it means that it comes from hot climate irrigation areas and they don't want to tell you that. That Chardonnay comes from the NSW Riverina area, not renowned for high quality wine production. I think I'll definitely be bringing my own and paying the corkage charge.

Thanks 51 Pinot - I will try to do what you do. Islandwoman - I'm cruising from Australia, and I doubt that our cruise ports have wine stores. If they did, I expect the choices would not be great. I'm flying in to stay the night before my next cruise from Brisbane at accommodation which is right next door to one of our biggest wine store chains, so I now intend to go there and buy some good wines that I like, to take aboard and pay the corkage.

I like your idea, but I wonder how you get the wine on board. It's heavy and fragile. I'm travelling solo, so I'll have to manage my luggage on my own. Any hints?

I'd love to see the full wine list. The small sample posted before is not good news! A couple of selections of basic wines from big winemakers at ridiculously inflated prices.. At this rate, I will definitely be bringing some of my own bottles and paying the corkage charge.

I'm a first time cruiser, so picking a good cabin was a steep learning curve. I read all the hints, looked at cruisedeckplans and cruise mapper and videos on You Tube. I have two cruises booked now. On one I have an aft balcony cabin on the starboard side and the other I have a balcony cabin that is well back in the forward section of the ship, on the port side. Both are not above or below anything but other cabins. So it will be interesting to see how they compare. Thanks for all your help.

You can add Princess to the list of not charging gratuities to Australians: "....there are no gratuity charges on Princess Cruises' voyages when they are booked in Australia and New Zealand, for sailings in Australia and New Zealand. A 15 per cent service charge is applied to bar bills, dining-room wine accounts and Lotus Spa services......"

NSWP, I understand that tipping is not part of Australian culture because we have legislation that guarantees a living wage. When I first visited the US, I was inclined not to tip until someone explained to me that people like waiters get taxed by the government not just on their basic earnings, but on what they are assumed to have earned in tips on top. So you are penalising these low paid workers if you don't tip. I don't like this system, but I have learned to live with it, and tip accordingly when in the US. I know it costs more as a single cruise traveller, but the cruise lines are allocating you a cabin that could hold two or more people, so of course I expect it to be more expensive. It would be good if more cruise lines actually developed more single cabins on their ships