Aussieflyer

Though I had read that the dance hosts were suspended due to covid. Not sure if they are back again.

I saw it too late for the cruise on Splendor I am doing at the end of June - it was sold out but probably would have given it a go if it was available as it was only $39 pp.

I am not sure which ship you are looking at for this cruise. I have sailed QM2 (several) and QE (once) - I am not enamoured with QE but QM2 is a whole different ball game. The lectures were excellent and afternoon classical concerts. Food was fine although not a quantum leap above say Princess or Celebrity (been a while since RCI and haven't experienced P&O yet). Drinks were quite expensive but maybe noticed that as didn't have a drink package (it was about $100 pppd from memory). I like the ambience on Cunard though as other posters have said, it seems much more casual on Australian sailings (in fact on QE in Queens Grill restaurant there were a few people in shorts and polos and runners at dinner). Dressing for formal nights is something people either love or hate - I love it.

Not really about cruising but some years ago we were in a car accident in Devon on a very narrow country road (not our fault at all) and the 'big brass' from the police station came out. A local asked how he could help, to which Ma'am replied, "You can give our Colonial Cousins a cup of tea." Every time I hear/read us referred to as colonials I remember it. LOL.

Was that a free transfer to BICT? As assuming Luminosa uses this terminal.

Thank you for saving me then; only just logged on to CC after a long day at work.

Have I missed something?

If I am correct, Explorer is the old Dawn Princess - that is a ship I would avoid at all costs - the layout is weird with dead ends in passageways and there was certainly a pervasive sewerage type odour in some areas when we sailed on her as DP. Sun Princess, as one of the three 'sisters' was similar. I could not even contemplate a long cruise on one of the old sisters. From what I have read, the old HAL ships that moved to P&O (Aria and ?) are better. It is funny to me that many people seem to love the old Dawn, Sea and Sun, but then that is what makes life interesting.

The 14 days is the time it takes for immunity to build up after a vaccination.

I see quite a few posts in different threads here, so hope you are managing treatment OK and not feeling too dreadful all the time. Take care.

Sorry to hear you have had to cancel your cruise, though a road trip sounds a good alternative, Glad that the refund came back so quickly.

I see Viking Mars has been listed as Level 2 by NSW Health for its upcoming visit.

Though a disadvantage of the same table is that if the people on adjoining tables are “strange” you are stuck being next to them - a bit like being on a set table. At least dining Princess club the table is often a different one. We were on QE Queens Grill the other week and I felt the food was good but not really much better than I have had on Princess. I actually didn’t like QE much - not a patch on QM2 - and probably wouldn’t book again.

It's all about the location. We are happy with a Classic suite and have been on Deck 6 (around 610} several times. Cabins below and above. We don't get seasick so if there is any additional movement towards the front it doesn't both us.

On a Coral Princess cruise last year the period between arrival and departure was something like 15 mins!

Though I suspect that the passenger cohort of Carnival are generally not wine connoisseurs. Things may be changing a bit as the cheap fares are encouraging older cruisers to try out Carnival. I am in that boat (pardon the pun) as I am sailing with my adult son in July (so cheap we have individual cabins and he has a stack of OBC). It is a bit weird as I just came off Cunard and have a booking for Silversea later in the year, so definitely mixing it up!

It may not have been because of isolation - wonder if it was related to the cruise being in Australia (like others that have the gratuities included). Sorry to hear you ended up in isolation - no fun at any stage and especially on a cruise.

I thought cabin confinement was a travel insurance thing not so much the cruise line.

Which cruise did you have to isolate? Not the QE Tasmanian one in January? Interesting about the gratuities. We were on the culinary cruise. We had the amount listed but then zeroed out. Not sure why - we were QG but I didn't think gratuities were included. Maybe something with the fare I booked (so long ago I have no idea what was or wasn't included and what the actual cost was now). Not complaining though.

I have had 1Cover and it did include COVID. The last cruise we used Insure and Go and the certificate had this "For one-trip international policies (Silver and Gold only) purchased after 15/11/2021, the sub-limit for medical expenses under Section M2 of the policy (COVID-19 Expenses: Medical Expenses outside of Australia) is unlimited. This policy and its cover is subject to terms and conditions specified in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) distributed along with this certificate".

The link seems to say that only cans of water/softdrink are allowed - not bottles.

Wow - hopefully you will be able to keep out of the path of the cyclone but expect the seas will be rough (not that it would bother me as seem to be non-seasick prone). Carnival not having a good trot as there was a post that Splendor had a diversion as well (medical emergency).

QE short cruise last week only recommended masks onboard indoors or where social distancing was difficult. Masks were required on shore excursion transport and also in the terminal for embarkation/disembarkation. Cruises over 10 days required masks on board inside.

We don't drink a lot of wine - just a glass or two with meals. There was a small selection of wines by the glass but much more extensive list of bottles. Prices are all in $US and then 15% added. We had quite a pleasant shiraz (bottle over 2 nights) - form memory about $US40. I didn't have a really good look at the wine list but you should be able to find one on line somewhere to get an idea.

Par for the course for the Australian New Zealand discussion board 🤣