arxcards

For Coral Princess, I gather? We have had a couple of cruises that come to mind where there was quite a few Eastern Europe waiters - Carnival Spirit and the early days of Sun Princess being based in Oz. I love that you use the word experienced, as that is a definite plus. For Encounter, i am expecting a few friends to jump aboard in Singapore. They have previously worked out of Brisbane on Pacific Dawn & Aria, and have been away from sea for such a long time now.

Yes, lots of crew to board in Singapore.

It was 90 days at the time I booked, but they may have shifted to 75 days since. We have had the booking in place for years, and it has been cancel/switched twice. I will follow-up, but don't expect to know whether the cruise will go to schedule till well after then anyway.

They allowed for late final payments during the ban, but I haven't heard of them offering that since the ban was lifted.

Cruise ships have lost total power, but I am not aware of any in rough seas close to the coast. The Carnival Spam cruise comes to mind - oops, that was on Carnival Splendor. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/10/carnival-splendor-towed-san-diego Part of the findings from that was that a cruise ship power could no longer be totally lost from a single engine room fire, and that at least one engine have separate controls. With multiple engines and more than one control room, that would be unlikely to be repeated. If a 7-9 metre swell was present off a departure port, I think it likely the cruise line would delay the sailing for passenger comfort alone. There is also a likelihood that port authorities would close the port to such a departure. Cruise ships are much more stable than empty cargo ships. They don't need to pump ballast water into the holds to be stable. That would make them easier to tow than a vessel being bounced around by waves. We have tugs capable of doing the job. SOLAS has a pretty long list of safety requirements. The greatest risk to life at sea is fire, and there is inherit risk in any type of travel. A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.

Both, sort of. Governments of the east coast have set a cap of what they consider to be an acceptable number of positive tests during a cruise - max 3% of passengers/crew. Before considering this as outrageous overreach, this is modelled on other markets around the world. Similar protocols have been in place in the "land of the free" for around a year, with no immediate sign of change. The cruise lines have realised that the 3% cap can be challenged on longer cruises, so make "operational decisions" to reduce the odds of that happening. The easiest way is to keep the cruises short. As with post #142, there are several passengers that have tested positive since arriving home. That doesn't count on the cruise numbers, but had the cruise been a few days longer they would have been testing positive on the ship and the numbers would have counted. The cruise lines had generally managed their numbers in the US, then of all ships, Ruby Princess does a 2 week cruise through the Panama Canal - big numbers upon arrival at San Francisco. Then they send Ruby Princess out on another 2 week cruise to Hawaii, and it returns with 140+ infections. Only one person hospitalised, but uncontrolled spread all the same. It matters little what you or I think about our own personal risk, that is just what is in play for now. You can count the seeds in an apple, but not the apples in a seed - that is the mentality of health department statisticians. I can't wait till October with ships full of passengers arriving after 3 week Pacific crossings. Cruise line, government and media response will be interesting.

Sadly, their minds will be made up month by month. I am facing the same concerns for an 11 night domestic cruise in late October. Final payment is next week. It is not about PNG, even that that was part of the reason given, but about the length of the cruise. I will cross the bridge when it comes, but either way, I doubt a decision will be made before final payment. A key cruise is a 12 night P&O Fiji cruise that leaves in a month or so. If that remains in place as is and they don't have scary infection rates, we might both be lucky to get the cruises we have been waiting for.

Correct. To prevent inundation of hospitals which would have seriously restricted emergency treatment of all illnesses and injuries, as well as deaths by covid. The original rationale - flatten the curve. That was the strategy that was held in place until whatever % could be protected via vaccination. The thing they didn't count on, was they expected vaccination to also significantly reduce transmission as well. That is why the ships have a % number of infections to adhere to. The protocols are purely about transmission numbers, and that they are considered under control. The risk of serious illness from covid is less than the flu, but the odds of catching it are still high - as mentioned above.

I think there was an assumption that Vanuatu had a separate cruise ban, like we did here. I don't think there ever was, just a total ban on visitors & tourists. That has ended. The link at the start of the thread refers to requirements for air arrivals. Likely they have developed cruise protocols too, but no point announcing them until cruise ships are due to arrive. Not sure if there is one sooner, Pacific Explorer is due to call at Mystery Island in just over a months time.

The new sailings for Luminosa out of Brisbane are imminent, and Carnival has added a page for pre-release information. Carnival Luminosa™ | Newest Ship Sailing in 2023 | Carnival Cruise Line

I must admit I am a tad disappointed. It seems that P&O hasn't had a flash sale going for at least a week now. 😉 Is that price auto-tips inclusive? It is a good deal, but does that include the possibility of an obstructed balcony? I am tempted.

The stricken cargo ship Portland Bay is currently approaching Botany Bay, assisted by 4 tugs.

I hope not. If we agree with everyone all the time, we don't learn much. We all have different risks in our life. I have accepted the risk of catching it aboard, and am hoping good health hygiene will defend us in the most part. My mum is not so keen to go back cruising yet, and I agree with her as her risk of catching it is different to mine. One case is too many, but even that offers the same risk, just better odds in a coin flip.

It looks to have just about cleared the bottom of Lake Macquarie, but not expected to clear the rest of the Hunter for another day.

Seems fair. 😁 Take the long way home!

Sun/Sea/Dawn Princess didn't need tidal approval, but required the service gantry to be parked over to one side. Noordam/Oosterdam have required extra approval based on tides.

Just throwing this back into life, as it looks like the ship will arrive at last this year. Firstly, RIP David. The recent video footage does show Pacific Adventure with shortened funnels. I thought the trolley handles would have to be removed too, but that hasn't happened. A different link from the NSW Roads & Waterways shows the clearance for shipping as 53 metres. This number has increased over the years. https://roads-waterways.transport.nsw.gov.au/documents/projects/sydney-inner/sydney-harbour-bridge/bridge-facts.pdf It still seems far-fetched, but the port is holding those bookings at White Bay, and P&O service staff are still acknowledging the modified ship will make it under the bridge.

Through the canal. Next stop Singapore on 18th July. No arrival date set for Brisbane yet. Her first port entry shows her arriving at noon on the departure date of the first cruise - 22nd August.

Disaster narrowly averted, and a massive effort from a couple of tug operators that managed to secure lines and tow the ship sideways for around 25km to her current resting place at anchor off Cronulla. I would imagine also a big night in the conditions for the Newcastle super tug that travelled down overnight and this morning, and will be part of the 2nd towing effort into Port Botany when the conditions are safe enough.

A major thought. Because the hotels fill with patrons for the NYE Sydney Harbour fireworks, the prices for good hotels border on exorbitant. 31st December in Sydney is the most expensive night anywhere in Australia for the year.

Apparently, if you book early with their more premium fare, you will also get priority - similar to the early bird packages they did a few years ago. At least that is the case for Explorer with their handful of suites. Encounter has plenty more suites, so that may be the only priority ticket for the ship. No black cards on P&O. The same applies as it always has though. If there are no queues early, it pretty much becomes open boarding.

What a happy looking group, and what an interesting power outlet. Good to see a couple of USB's.

Correct. They are not secret, but not subject to a daily media conference like we had when we had single cases. If they are under 3% of crew/passengers it is considered to be under control the same as it is handled on ships around the world, and the state health departments don't need to announce an out of control covid spread. As with the early P&O cruises, I am a bit disappointed that passengers that test positive when returning home aren't connected back to the ship, as that will giver a truer rate of how many infections stem directly from the cruise. Even then, hard to know if infected on the ship, it transit or in port. For self protection, I think you need to assume everyone has covid, keep your distance or wear a mask when you can't, washy-washy, happy-happy.

Correct for both P&O ships, and possibly Carnival Luminosa. The remaining 10ish ships will have passengers.

Unless you have priority boarding, I don't think there is a selectable time before noon. They don't send a notification for boarding times, or didn't in our case. Just a matter of logging in until it became available. Vaxx and test info is very similar to what you had with the medallion. Vaxx certificate uploads with VerFLY app, and covid test & questionaire is also there, but also shows up on cruise control when it is due.