lissie

It varies depending on where the ship is. I know QE was doing 5 days minimum and then test to release up until 10 days. But when she's sailing in NZ waters NZ requirements are 7 days minimum (that's on land so will apply to ships too) - not sure about Oz requirements They have specific quarantine cabins - if you are in an inside or oceanview you are moved to a balcony. I think they move balconies if they can ie they have the quarantine capacity - to make it easier for crew

Nope we already have bookings on her in 2024 - she's in Australia and then in Japan until the end of April - obviously from there she'll go to Alaska (not announced yet)

Thanks to this thread - I rapidly checked prices for our cruise ex Boston on the 29 July - all I can say the NZ $ is even weaker than the Canadian - and as its our first time we want to spend 3 days. I have a refundable booking for a private ensuite at the Hostel International Boston on Stuart street - its STILL over US$200/night - but at least its central and has good reviews. As an ex backpacker I'm still quite happy to stay at the odd hostel if they are in the best location and I can get a private room - no frills but always clean and friendly - private rooms always have linen and towels

So you don't need cash - because who uses a dryer in Oz?

In NZ I use my card mainly credit - sometimes debit when they put a surcharge on - same as I use in Oz

Yes SF-Barcelona departed 24 July this year - we had to wear masks from a few days after SF until we arrived in Barcelona the first time 22 Aug - also laundries closed and max of 4 in a lift. Its really no big deal - compared to being locked in your cabin in isolation for 7 days In fact the masks that Cunard handed out - which I think are called FFP2 are the most comfortable masks I've ever worn - stopped my glasses falling off my nose which happens with the KN95s . Coming up 3 years into this pandemic I think most people have found a comfortable mask

There wasn't when I checked pre-Covid - and/or even the bank ATMS wanted like $8 for an ATM withdraw - that's when I discovered I didn't need any A$ cash on me.

I have been home in NZ for a month - I still have no cash in my wallet - there is no need for any. I stopped using A$ cash some years back - literally outside of a local stall selling at a farmer's market you don't need cash

Thank you for pointing this out- I'm always confused why people think Cunard is "luxury" compared to HAL,Princess etc. We end up sailing with them because for the itineraries we wanted they were significantly cheaper. Am done now though I think - nothing else I really want to do which other lines don't have better ports for.

Well I'm cruising QE in 2024 - I've booked for her! Shes back to her usual pattern of Australia-Japan-Alaska

If she's used to travelling independently then cruising is easy! The only things I though were weird was the absolute fixation that some have on talking lots of gadgets on board,. Tell her to pack as normal, expect to maybe need an extension cord or a USB extender. The main surprise will be how expensive and bad the internet is.

wouldnt it be easier just to get a passport in his original name and make sure all bookings are made in that name - plenty of people have "offiicial " names which aren't what they are known as

I know on Cunard they move you to a quarantine cabin - all of which are balconies

You will be bullet proof in Feb - the figures for reinfection within 90 days is vanishingly low

Wow - I'd be furious if I was the mug isolating in the cabin adjoining or down wind

Why do you think you are any more at risk on a cruise? Do you otherwise never leave home? Never go out? Never meet friends? Never go out to dinner? The only difference on a ship is that they actually have rules about isolating the sick and testing and social distancing - its far safer than having a holiday at home. There is an increase infections on land too - so long as you've had all your boosters most people only get mildly sick - some are asymptomatic - which makes you wonder why everyone at every part on land doesn't test before they arrive?

Surely you are on land some of those days? So can use shore wifi or a cellular roaming package depending on the country. They don't calculate data - you can use as much data as you want - its time - and its 24 hours - so if you buy the package a 10am it will last until 10am the next day. With $270 credit between 2 that's 12 days between you add on port days... We were on a 34 day trip and qualified for gold 1/2 way through and ended up only paying for a couple of days - and then getting them refunded because the connectivity was so poor. Note the $15/$20 $20/$30 price is PER a device rather than per a person - we had 2 phones and 2 laptops between us and shared one device by just booting each other off as required.

$30 / day or $20 for the whole trip from memory

I think we wee notified within a week or so of departure - it was pretty close I know that

There are hair dryers provided - you are not allowed to use your own on any cruise ship - fire at sea is a much bigger risk than sinking!

They have - we were notified for our cruise departing BCN on 10 October

That is pretty much the reality of travel where you need a clear test to join a cruise. We did it this year - but now for next year we will stick to land holidays as we have so much more freedom everywhere EXCEPT on cruise ships.

We were uninsured before our cruises this years - with respect to Covid. We were very careful - we social distanced, we wore masks, we ate outside (we were travelling prior to the cruise) , we avoided crowded tour buses in favour of small groups. We masked everywhere. In the end this is a risk you can pretty much reduce your risk for by your behaviour - particularly if you've had your boosters and had Omicron in the last year or so your chance of getting sick again seems quite low. But surely Cunard would at least fly you to the next port (I"m gujessing NYC?) to pick up the cruise there

That's what I meant the article was old news - we were wearing masks for the first part of our cruise ex Barcelona to Singapore in October. They were wearing masks on board when the ship left Singapore on 30 Oct. You will probably get a letter a few days before your cruise. I'd expect it and if its not the case be happy - but frankly so long as the number are as high as they are in Oz and NZ you'll probably be wearing masks

i saw that - sounded like old news to me - we had compulsory masks and closed laundries for most of our trip from SF-Barcelona in Jul-Aug and we had masks required for the first 9 days Barcelona- Singapore - I believe they reinstated masks after Singapore too