bazzaw

I notice that you are in SoCal. I don't know that your advice applies here in Australia. As a "Senior Citizen" myself - with pre-existings - there has never been any mention of timing regarding purchase of a Travel Insuranc plan, including the acceptance of pre-existings

Most of these are very broad - they use words like may, could, the tour guide will decide, etc. Bottomline is that we don't really know what we are exposing ourselves to on the cruiselines or long coach tours.

Weasel words - Detailed quarantine and isolation management plan Required isolation for Covid-19 positive cases on board - no indication of exactly what isolation means - length, etc

I am wondering how people know what the exact Covid protocols are for different cruiselines operating in different parts of the World. So for example, how would a person from say Europe or US know what the protocols are for say Cunard operating here in Australia? Specifically, for the protocol to be adopted when somebody is tested positive when onboard. I know what Cunard actually do while operating here (and I "think" I know what other cruiseslines do here in Australia) but I can find no statement of what the protocol is on their website. Also what do they do when operating in European or US waters? Is it stated anywhere? Maybe we have to ask each cruiseline about individual cruises??

Yes - but that is just one ship from one cruiseline. Surely they would use more if it was profitable for them?

Maybe Melbourne is problematic regarding its geographic position. I am sure that there plenty of Melbournites would love to cruise from Melbourne - but the fact is thatthe cruiselines don't largely do Melbourne - maybe there is a reason why?

Please dont insult my GGGGrandfather - it was only a small sheep that he stole in Ireland 😞 BTW - It is no longer compulsory to have a criminal record to come to Australia 🙂

It works for me as an idea generator. Also as a search engine to use before the specifics offered by Google ( bearing in mind that Google Search mostly points us towards websites that are most financially advantageous for Google !! 🙂.

Have been playing around with this ChatGPT . It is very interesting and could be quite helpful when searching for info on the Internet - always remembering of course that you are getting advice from an anonymous machine. . But the advice may be better than we get from anonymous humans on the Internet . You can ask it anything you like and refine your conversation as you go along. You can see my short conversation below. "Where can I cruise to from the port of Tilbury london" The port of Tilbury is located on the River Thames in Essex, England, and offers a variety of cruise destinations. Here are some of the popular cruise destinations you can visit from the port of Tilbury: Northern Europe: You can embark on a cruise to explore the beautiful cities and stunning scenery of Northern Europe, including the Norwegian Fjords, Iceland, the Baltic States, and Scandinavia. Mediterranean: You can take a Mediterranean cruise from Tilbury and explore the historic cities of Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece, as well as the stunning islands of the Mediterranean. British Isles: A cruise around the British Isles is another popular option, where you can visit charming towns and historic landmarks, including the Scottish Highlands, the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Man. Canary Islands: You can also set sail from Tilbury to explore the sun-soaked Canary Islands off the coast of Africa, with stops in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, and Lanzarote. Transatlantic: For a truly epic adventure, you can embark on a transatlantic cruise from Tilbury to New York or other destinations in North America, such as Canada or the Caribbean. These are just a few of the many cruise destinations you can visit from the port of Tilbury. It's always a good idea to consult with a travel agent or cruise line for specific itineraries and availability. "When can I sail to the Canary Islands from Tilbury" Cruises to the Canary Islands from Tilbury typically operate during the winter months, which is the peak season for cruising in this region. Specifically, most Canary Islands cruises from Tilbury run between November and March, when the weather in the Canary Islands is warm and sunny, making it an ideal winter escape for many travelers. It's worth noting that the exact dates and itineraries of Canary Islands cruises from Tilbury may vary from year to year and depend on the cruise line you choose. It's always a good idea to check with your preferred cruise line or a travel agent to confirm the sailing dates and availability for your desired time frame. Additionally, it's a good idea to book your cruise early, as popular sailings tend to fill up quickly.

Maybe this is why you haven't caught it on a cruise- wife and I didn't last longer than 3 days after boarding for our first cruise after the pandemic (and after we flew to Sydney to board) - we hadn't got Covid until then.

Depends on what you call "beer" Les. Mostly Lagers here in Oz even though they call them Ales.

I can't say I have ever heard of a Princess "land/cruise' package in Australia - have of course heard of the Alaskan ones.

I had only been on Princess once when I became Elite. Elite on Princess is like Cattle class anywhere else.

What is MSC Poesia doing out here? - currently heading for Brisbane

Which is why , I as a wine drinker mostly drink "beer" on cruise ships. Of course we dont make beer here in Australia so it can be a bit difficult, but usually Cunard has some reasonable to good Pommie stuff (I was very pleased to get a few pints of London Pride ON TAP and they had quite a few different bottled ales.) On Royal Caribbean , which we haven't been on for years, they had some good Californian stuff.

No - should be OK until end of week. Click that link in my first post - this is the Aussie BOM and click the play button . Will show you what is projected to happen over the next week. There are two deep low pressure systems going to run down through that New Caledonia/Vanuatu area

Looks like Carnival Splendour is heading for Noumea from Sydney right now - they will probably get there and commence returning by Friday.

Yes Les - I ran my 262nd last weekend - have been doing it most Saturdays for 9 years now- we get about 200 on average at our local event. I am 76 now so only slow jog it these days - Cliffy Young style 🙂 ( but he was only 61 in his heyday). I don't come across many in my age group who do it - we have an 80+ lady who walks it every Saturday without fail - I think she has done 350 x 5Ks now. Just wondered if anybody here does it - it can sometimes be surprising who does

Any parkrunners here???

Les - Over many years on different cruiseships around the World, it has become obvious to me that "wine drinking" is regarded as something that only rich people do and therefore they can charge high prices for it. We know that here in Australia wine is about the cheapest alcoholic drink that we can buy (in the bottle shops) - far cheaper than even beer. I like my wine - but I prefer to drink beer on the cruiseships - especially Guinness Stout. I can only drink one can of Guinness - but can easily duff a whole bottle of wine if not stopped from doing so 😞 I will leave my wine drinking for when I return home 🙂

and a "glass" is 150 ml - hardly what most of us Aussie wine drinkers call a "glass" .

Any cruises going to New Caledonia next week?

I dont recall seeing anything like that - perhaps they are concerned about people getting a reaction to the Jab and dont wan you onboard soon after having one?? But I really don't know.

We got Covid last month on an 8 day cruise - it was our first time. Nobody truly knows how, when, where or why - but I am thinking that sooner or later everybody will get it. I am actually happy now that we got it - even though I understand that this doesn't mean much anyway. My thoughts as to why we had not caught it earlier - well our life is fairly quiet , mostly at home with occasional shopping trips - most of our socialising is done outside in the open air. We have both had worse cases of respiratory infections in the past - for me at least I did not really get any respiratory type symptoms - the fatigue and utter boredom of spending 5 days in bed doing the only thing possible for me in a ship cabin (watch TV) was the thing for me . Too cold and windy out on the balcony - and eyesight not good enough for much reading. I am unsure of how smoking affects people who get Covid.

This Covid is going to be around for quite some time yet - with or without mask wearing.