bazzaw

Also - what about the Pacific Islands requirements - where do they fit into all this??

OK - so which cruises out of Sydney and Brisbane will be the first to be affected by these changes??

I have decided to use the onsite parking at the port - and booked for the week. The confirmation email says it is 6 days 22 hours - and the B's have charged me for 8 days!!!

Hmm - dont know if I have got this right - but a quick look at parking for a 1 week cruise from Brisbane at a nearby parking service (with bus shuttles) is $165 in the open and $200 under cover. BUT - the same thing at the port itself (in the open) is "only" $135. Doesn't seem right to me?? Not worried about the price differential and I think I would prefer to drive to the Port - but I do have a brand new car 🙂 Thoughts please.

I have not been following how cruising has been proceeding overseas- all I know is that I know many people who have all done comprehensive tours and cruises all over the World - and none have come across any problem (like being put off an expensive land tour or locked up in a ship cabin) . I am definitely wondering why I still remain so nervous about the consequences of testing positive when on cruises or organised tours. There is no problem with organising ones own transport, accomodation etc. My understanding is that the only way you can get Covid these days is to get tested for it 🙂

I think he was just signalling a general policy direction for the near future - full details are yet to be signed off. I dont know if NSW would go ahead without QLD concurrence.

InsureandGo

-- almost half the cost of the cruise 😞 Strangely enough declaration of my heart problems and wife's breast cancer did not incur any extra cost - looks like it is age 76 and 70 that is killing us? (in more ways than just one)

Although we both tested positive to Covid - for me I felt like I had a case of Norovirus - wont go into detail why but you can imagine, and it only lasted for a day. . Wife had virtually no symptoms at all - just kept testing positive for 14 days. No - cruises cost too much money for me to risk serious cruising now.

Lucky you - wife and I both tested positive for 14 straight days! 😞

As regards to mask wearing - during the recent wildfires in Canada where the smoke travelled cross country to as far as New York, people were complaining that even masks was not keeping the polluted air out of their lungs - I wonder if these were the same people who insisted that masks were necessary to limit the transfer of the Covid virus by airborne virus particles. 🙂

Everybody used to panic about norovirus on ships. 300 cases onboard a ship was front page news! But I always used to wonder why "only" 300 people out of maybe 3000 passengers would get it. I believe I knew the answer to that and it has to do with personal hygiene. Neither my wife or I ever got it after several hundred nights on cruise ships.

There are no mandatory restrictions in "real" life! Football season is in full swing with packed stadiums.

Wife and I both tested positive for 14 days - so happy that only 4 days of that were in shipboard confinement.

Why does P&O go north in summer - eg PNG mid February - middle of summer, middle of cyclone season. What am I missing??

Most of the most scenic places in NZ ( western side of South island ) are not really accessable to ship passengers (no ports) and the eastern side is somewhat "bland" in comparison. NZ is an amazing place to visit but a land tour is better than trying to see it by ship.

I am thinking that I can see that the Paranoia Virus is slowly dying. This cruise is just a 7 day quickie from Brisbane - so anything longer or requiring International travel to the start point is still well off the radar screen until the Paranoia Virus dies completely. . Maybe next year?

To P&O

No - this was the website this morning

Paid in full already!!! 🙂

Inside My Cruise Personailser there is a link to "Upgrade your cabin" - there it says Get Upgraded Enter your booking information below to get upgraded on your Cruise. After entering the info , I get -- "Your booking was not found." I really dont know who does P&O's website ???

Been a long time since we went to Yorkeys Knob - but I think I recall coach transfers into Cairns.

Actually we have always enjoyed our P&O cruises - our first exposure to cruising on Pacific Star ( ship was half empty after a major problem) was probably the most enjoyable we have even been on. 28 day cruise to Tahiti on Pacific Pearl was great. and we loved Pacific Dawn 🙂 Clientele of Princess ships have been the worst!! Mostly old fat farts whose behaviour on the 2 for 1 booze happy hours was disgusting !! 🙂

That sounds half-right 🙂 chose the lowest of the options (Value) - this did not give me any cabin selection options until I went into Cruise Personaliser where it only offered me obstructed view outside cabins. I am now expecting that I MIGHT receive an email offering me a balcony cabin ( for a price? ) - if not am happy to stay with the obstructed outside . Convoluted is right!!

I partly get it now - you used to select your cabin as part of the booking process - if a suitable cabin didn't show you could simply not complete the booking process. Now you get your cabin allocation inside the cruise personalizer - SNEAKY !!. Looks like I have bought an obstructed view outside cabin - there was no mention of it being an obstructed view outside during the booking process - only outside cabin mentioned. Anyway doesn't matter much to us - we had an obstructed outside once (cant remember the ship) and it was quite good