arxcards

They may be otherwise sold out. Booking times disappear from the app when that happens. You do need to tap on each time slot to check individually for each time.

Same applies for NSW. I don't think the terminal operator requires it either, as it wasn't required for us on 20 October for OPT or Majestic Princess. Grand Princess status hasn't been updated on NSW site today, but I don't believe there is an elevated risk. The ship may request it, or the terminal operator. Either way, bring a mask to the terminal. Seems to be a ship by ship, cruise by cruise thing. It could also be a Princess response to what they are experiencing on Coral, and apply for the whole cruise.

Class has nothing to do with style. I have met plenty of people immaculately dressed in tuxes that have very little class.

Reading up a bit, tier 1 is pretty good, but no tier is great. Tier 1 confirms a low level of covid, where no tier equals no positive covid tests aboard.

Yes, we have done that on a 3 night cruise. I only see value for money on short cruises, as the photo package and 2 x specialty dining are only applied once, regardless of the length of cruise. On a 3 night cruise, the extras cost us $105 each, for 5 nights it will cost $175 each, so still good value if you want to take advantage of the whole package. Talk to your T/A to upgrade it (or Princess if you booked direct). Otherwise as Julie mentioned, you can still buy the dearer drinks and only pay the price difference above $16 (a $20 drink costs you $4)

There is no overall mask mandate, but it is set by what the ship requires. Coral is currently tier 3, which is the first cruise to reach that level in the 5 months since resumption here. At tier 3, masks are required by passengers and crew. At tier 2, masks are required for crew. As mentioned, the tier will reset when the current cruise ends on 8th November. What masks Coral requires for 10th November will likely exceed what our governments mandate.

Both. In most instances, WA has the same measures as the eastern states, so whatever Royal wants in Sydney would probably match what Azamara wants in Fremantle.

She will be in Cairns tomorrow. She will be reporting to QLD authorities this afternoon, but I haven't heard of any issues.

Royal sold-off Azamara during the pandemic to an investment firm. Azamara cruises will no longer count toward Celebrity or Royal loyalty schemes.

I pack a tie in case the ship has high standards, but no longer bother with a coat on summer cruises. Recently on Majestic, I wore a tie on the first formal night and felt a tad overdressed. There were around 5% suits/tuxes, another 10% well dressed with ties. For me now on Australian Princess, I wear a dress shirt and chinos to dinner - every night. That certainly well passes muster on Aussie Princess, but if you still want to make an effort, go with whatever you are comfortable with. For Carnival, any collared shirt and trousers/chinos will be suitable, but you can always dress-up more if you want to.

That depends. Certainly was the case for Coral, but the states dropped the mandate for masks on cruise ships a couple of weeks ago. Unlike Coral, we had no masks waiting for us in our cabin. I am sure if we asked, we could have got some, but I would no longer take it as a given that they will be supplied on demand on healthy ships.

I was just waking up around the time of the first picture, and watched the bridge pass-by through the curtains. We had a late one the night before, and were only awake in time to knock over our dining room breakfast when it opened, then back to pack our carry bags in time for 8am requirement to be out of cabins. Always a great shot to be part of.

How ironic. No mandatory masks, which was great compared with what is occurring on the masked Coral Princess. Sometimes it just takes one, I guess.

We had to wait for my wife's phone to be found on the ship and bought down after we disembarked. The guy running the bottom level of OPT was still saying the same to early arriving elite passengers - come back at your boarding allocated time. This is in conflict to what they are saying on the ship, which is anyone with priority is always front of queue, regardless of the time they arrive. On good days, everyone gets on early. When there are delays, not everyone can board at the same time. For Coral's next departure, I expect some delays while border force sort out health documents and handling of any remaining passengers still in quarantine.

Same every cruise, every night - including key lime pie.

Barb prefers the soft comfy bench. I only scored that privilege a couple of times during the cruise.

Not at lunch.

Where did they find 253 special purpose tables I wonder?

Yes, we will let anyone in. I gather that with the current numbers, a RAT could be needed to disembark in any of the ports, and the day in Sydney might be complicated for some. If they can bring down such a big number to a smaller count, it will prove they can manage these extreme situations.

I heard that 253 from another source tonight. That is a big number, and for the current passenger/crew number, 250 would be roughly where tier 3 is triggered. Yes, 300+ from that many cabins, and that doesn't account for any crew either. It also explains why one of the dining rooms is closed - they haven't got any tables left. 😁

A bit of both I reckon.

We finally managed to get a window table at Alfredo's for lunch. As Barb was wriggling into place across the bench seat along the wall, she managed to knock the back of her head against a faux column that was sitting proud of the wall.

The one thing I haven't been able to confirm is whether they are reporting total cases or just active cases. If it is total, Julie, Frank and others that have recovered would still be in the count. It is also possible that tier 3 wasn't triggered by positive numbers, but a critical service that can no longer be maintained. Something like a shortage of anti-virals would trigger an alert and the necessary support from state health departments.

Yes, and also the reason they broke up most of the earlier cruises into small bites.

Not really, if so many are getting an enforced room service 😉 Even there, it isn't necessarily a staff shortage that causes this. Instead of waiting tables, having to deliver meals all over the ship is a significant strain to food service. It is also part of the reason that some ships set up a dedicated isolation area, as they can deliver services to the cabins much quicker.