arxcards

Ooh, do I risk seeing Andre King the comedian tonight. All that excess Princess laughter could be a super-spreader event. Or maybe not 🤣

The convenience is that most ships dock in Cairns.

Ship shuttle bus from Yorkeys to Cairns $21 round trip. It is a nice scenic ride though, but there are plenty deciding to just walk to the Yorkeys shops.

Not sure what happened. We got off easily enough, but don't know what time. We had breakfast and stroled down to the priority lounge, then escorted down to deck four 10 mins later and straight onto a tender. Not impressed to be paying for a shuttle, but that seems to be the norm now.

No., although the deck 3 is passengers - and full.

Yeah, Not everyone who coughs has covid. Not everyone who has covid has a cough. My point is that when more people are coughing day by day, something is circulating. Given what is happening on Coral and Quantum at present, it is fair to assume we should take a bit of extra care. Even if it is just a generic upper respiratory virus, we would like to enjoy the rest of the cruise. A bit of basic cough etiquette would also be a good start. Sorry, some people are just pigs.

It is a nice looking day north of Cairns. We have had a relaxed breakfast snack at International Cafe, and we will be in the tender soon to try and find Yorkey

It could be no way. I mentioned the wrong ship. Ovation is currently quarantine in your cabin. Quantum has such a problem, that you don't get to quarantine in your cabin. Regardless of your cabin type, it is down to deck 3 for an inside or outside cabin. Well, it was deck 3, but that area is now full.

For those scrapped, covid just accelerated the cycle by a few years. With surplus ships around, Fred Olsen decided they could upgrade Black Watch to a better ship, which would have happened in a couple of years time anyway. Of the ships that were based here at the start of the pandemic, all have survived for now. Pacific Jewel had been sold-off to a fledgling Indian cruise line a year or so earlier. That went belly-up from covid, and she was cut up on the shore at Alang. Quite a few Carnival ships were scrapped in Aliaga. Some incredible videos shot from both the bridge and the shore are available on the tube.

Covid hasn't gone anywhere, and it is just a delicate balancing of numbers. Longer cruises = larger numbers, and Coral has had to report to WA authorities, who appear to have gotten excited about the number infections aboard. As the first large cruise ship to visit WA since they tried to turn Artania away at the start of the pandemic, there has been many media eyes waiting for a story and a reaction from the WA emperor. No doubt we also have cases aboard, but don't know how many yet. More coughers as each day passes, and so many that are too lazy to cover their coughs.

Late lunch for us tomorrow when we ger back to the ship. The dinner menu seems reminiscent of the pizza restaurants on the Sun class ships.

Govts on the East Coast are accepting of the inevitability- as long as the ship can operate safely, and passengers aren't filling hospitals. That hasn't been happening. Good luck with your follow-up swab and the upcoming ports. We paid for UBD and didn't get it, so enjoy your treat. I am guessing it won't be Surf & Turf though.

WA Health hasn't learned from the circus that was doing laps on the East Coast in June/July. The other states learned to stop reporting infection levels after that. Looks like the Emperor or the West will have to give you permission to call in Freo. Biggest news day in the West since Artania.

Oops, no idea.

We enjoyed the meal, but we favour the steak house menu. There are limited options for my taste on the Bistro menu.

Dessert was some sort of soft meringue with a creme anglaise. OK, but Barb had a better one, which looked a bit like a bee hive

My fillet Mignon was beautiful, and Barb enjoyed her sea bass.

My salad starter. Barb had a lovely looking salmon dish.

Dinner at Bistro Sur La Mer was lovely. It lack a bit of style, but the food was delightful. The table appetiser

Subtle hints of pork. 😉 You have the earliest boarding time, so you will get priority either way. The delays incurred last Thursday will be unlikely to be repeated - just a first of season thing.

I glean it is not about covid, apart from an angle to re-present old stories of fights on Carnival, people overboard and the like. This is the story they were going to screen in July, but pulled the pin at the last minute.

The internet on the ship is pretty good, but the satellite latency plays havoc with bbcode, the bb forum building block. I guess tapatalk is still an option, so I will check that out. Some posts take 3 goes till they show.

Tendering is a breeze at Airlie, so Quantum should cope easily. The main issue with tendering is the wharf on the shore. Airlie has multiple drop points on the wharf, the assistance of local cats, and sheltered conditions. Cairns - all but 3 of this year's ships will fit into Mission Wharf - excepting Ovation, Quantum & Majestic. We will be tendering at the knob tomorrow.

It is the Melbourne Cup cruise, so it is dedicated to that event, and buses will shuttle from whatever wharf to Flemington & back. I wasn't aware they had a 4pm departure, as they normally depart late on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.