Aus Traveller

On some cruises when we have disembarked at the (new) Brisbane terminal there have been taxis waiting and on other occasions, we have had to line up for quite a long time.

I disembarked from the current Coral Princess world cruise in New York. In the 74 nights I was on board, I only saw a handful of passengers wearing masks. It appears that some passengers had COVID in the first two or three weeks when there were quite a lot of cabins with the little table outside indicating that the passengers were in quarantine. At one stage there were probably 16-18 cabins with passengers in quarantine. However, after another week or two, it was rare to see a quarantine cabin. Isolation worked. We all had to present a negative COVID test before boarding and show proof of vaccination. That didn't stop COVID getting on board. I can only assume that some people might have contracted COVID shortly before boarding and it didn't show up on the test.

You can register your debit or credit card at check in.

Ronda is gorgeous - the bridge, the bull ring and even the main street was interesting.

Malaga - Our next port was the Spanish town of Malaga on the Costa Del Sol ('The Sunny Coast'). We drove more than an hour to the pretty town of Ronda, perched on the side of a mountain. The highlights are an old stone bridge that spans a gorge more than 100 feet deep and connects two parts of the town. The other highlight was the bullring. The tour was very interesting. After lunch we set off for one of the 'White Villages', Mijas where the buildings are all painted stark white. Flower pots and window flower boxes make the narrow winding streets look very pretty. Our guide spoke perfect English. She was able to give us a lot of historical facts including details of the Muslim occupation of Spain that lasted nearly 800 years. Obviously this has had a lasting impact on both Spain and Portugal. I can recommend this tour and the tour operator, Spain Day Tours.

Barcelona - We drove to Montserrat (about 90 minutes drive). It is perched high up on a mountain so the access road has numerous curves with steep drop-offs beside the road. Montserrat is a religious site with a monastery, a boarding school and a sizeable church, the Abbey of our Lady of Montserrat that houses the Black Madonna. The statue sits high above the altar. I also went further up the mountain on the funicular of San Joan. Our guide said that on weekends, Montserrat is exceptionally busy with a lot of locals visiting. Back in Barcelona we stopped at a lookout with a spectacular view of the city. We had a driving tour of the city, with the guide telling us the history and the architectural features of interesting buildings. They included those designed by the famed architect/engineer Gaudi. We went to Gaudi's Park Guell where he experimented and developed the building methods he later used for the Sagrada Familia, one of the wonders of Barcelona. Then on to the Sagrada Familia. I went there in 2018 and was keen to see it again. After 135 years it still isn't totally complete. Even so, it is one of the most spectacular buildings in the world. We all felt we had a great tour - two tours in one. The company was Barcelona Day Tours. I can recommend them and also recommend the tour we went on.

Marseille - The tour was for seven people in a Mercedes van. First, we toured Marseille where we went to the the Cathedral then to highest point that is crowned by the Basilica Notre Dame de la Garde. The view was spectacular. Off into the countryside to the city of Aix-en-Provence. This is a charming city, the former home of the artist Cezanne. We wandered around for an hour and had a snack. 40 minutes' drive took us back to the coast and the town of Cassis - a former fishing village, now a tourist town. We went on a small boat to explore the coastal inlets called calanques. Back in our van, we went to the second highest cliff in Europe (Cap Canaille), overlooking Cassis. It was a great viewThen back to the ship. It was a great tour operated by Laurant Cygler. Some other companies I considered weren't prepared to pick us up at the port, something that I consider is essential.

The island of Elba. I didn't have a tour planned and went ashore with friends. We went ona ride on a tourist 'train' - one of those tractor-driven ones that goes on the street. It leaves from close to where the tender dropped us off. Just walk 20 metres or to so the left, staying on the same side of the road. We had to wait a short while until it started. The cost was 5 euros, payment in cash. We wanted to explore further - up to the fort and Napoleon's house but we felt it would be too far to walk. I later heard from other on the ship that many people turned back part way through the hike to the fort. We enquired at the Visitor Info centre about a taxi. The woman on the desk showed us a picture of a tuk tuk and said it is complimentary. Ii thought maybe she meant the phone call was complimentary, but it was the tuk tuk ride that was free. She said he would be outside the office in 45 secondi. It was one or two minutes. It was a hilarious ride over cobblestones and up narrow alleyways to reach the fort. Glen gave the driver a 5 euro tip which was accepted reluctantly. We toured Fort Falcone (7 euros pp) - interesting with some good views. Then we waited for the tuk tuk to come back. It was only about 10 minutes. We stopped briefly outside the house where Napoleon lived in exile for 300 days after he was forced to abdicate from the throne of France. The island trades on its connection to Napoleon with numerous restaurants and bars etc named after him. Back down the hill to the dock and onto the tender to return to the ship. Summary - Elba is lovely. The tourist 'train' ride was OK for 5 euros. The free tuk tuk ride to the fort was excellent. There are lovely views from the for, but not any better inside than from the entrance. Adult entry fee is 7 Euros, 4 euros for over 70s. There isn't a lot to see inside.

I suggest you try Andrews Parking.

Rome - I booked a seven-person tour to Rome from the port of Civitavecchia with the company Rolando's Airport Transfer Day Tours. We walked around the Colosseum. The queues to go inside were probably 1.5 hours long (in the hot sun) and the tour takes 1.5 hours. If we went inside, we could have done very little else in the day. The cost was around AUD$50pp. At the Pantheon, the queue to go inside was probably 1.5 hours long. With our limited time, we just photographed it from the outside. We also saw other important sights. A major advantage of the small van instead of a bus is that our driver could usually dropped us within 20-30 metres of a site. Sometimes he could park there and at other times, he came back at a pre-arranged time. St Peter's Basilica was left until last when the queues would be less. It took us probably 20 minutes to get inside including getting through the security scanners. I heard from others that earlier in the day, the queue was at least 1.5 hours' long. Passengers who went to Rome by bus had a very long walk to and from St Peter's. We were all very pleased with the tour and can recommend Rolando. This tour is available on line can be booked direct.

The COVID cover I refer to is with reference to cancellation. A year ago when I checked travel insurance policies, some specifically excluded a pandemic for an insurable reason to cancel. At the moment, if someone contracts COVID on board, they receive free medical treatment and are also compensated for the 'lost' days of their cruise that they are in isolation. It is possible that the FCC for cancellation of a cruise might not continue into the future. It is also possible that credit for lost days won't continue. The only country that I know requires passengers to have travel insurance with COVID coverage, is New Caledonia. There could be others. When I embarked on the World Cruise I was not asked if I had travel insurance with or without COVID cover.

Usually four days.

Great. I didn't want to pay for the E visa on line, then have to pay for the one Princess was doing if my original one wasn't acceptable.

Nearly 18 months ago Portside Parking announced that they would have their new facility open very soon. The land is next to the Greys Auction building.

I am sorry this happened to you and some others as well. It would have been stressful even if you knew you weren't carrying any contraband. I wonder why these passengers were singled out for a search. I wouldn't necessarily think that it was a training exercise just because other officers watched. Years ago we had our luggage searched and it was the same - senior officers watched. It could be done this way so the passenger couldn't make a false claim of theft or damage to some of their belongings. Just guessing here.

The only experience I have is from the World Cruise where we called into Komodo Island. Princess arranged the visas at a cost of AUD$60pp. From the Indonesian government website it appears that visas cost around AUD$45 (maybe a bit more now the AUD has dropped). On the world cruise I went with Princess' option because the Indonesian government website did not list Komodo as a port of entry for the one I could have applied for. Bali is listed as a port of entry so the on-line one should be OK.

Yes. We needed a transit visa for Sri Lanka. We applied on line. Mine took literally a minute or two to come through and it was free.

Salerno - It was a beautiful sunny morning. I went on a seven-person tour of the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento. The 40km Amalfi coast road is spectacular as it hugs the cliffs and passes through small villages and towns. The road is barely wide enough for two vehicles and is a constant repetition of curves and bends. They were every 10-20 or 30 metres at the most. Houses are built into the cliffs above and below the road. The other constant is lemon trees - they grow everywhere. The day was hazy, but even so the view of the ocean was spectacular. It was dotted with boats of all different sizes. We got out of the van several times to admire the view. We had an hour at the town of Amalfi where I bought one of the specialties of the area - canoli. This is a square of crispy pastry, folded and filled with lemon custard. Nearly everything has a lemon theme, even some clothes in the shop windows and all sorts of souvenirs from tea towels to carry bags. I won't described the numerous towns we went through or the lovely views. Eventually we reached the town of Sorrento where we had an extensive stop for sightseeing and lunch. We returned to the ship via the Autostrade, passing the site of the Pompeii ruins. We were back on the ship a bit after 3pm. The tour was excellent and our guide was really good. The road is narrow, winding and very congested with traffic. Touring in a small van had the major advantage that the driver could stop in tiny roadside spaces that larger vehicles couldn't. The tour company was 'Lovely Tour in Naples' and it was booked through Viator (product #104089P2). I include these final details to help anyone who is interested in booking this tour.

For a couple of cruises we have parked in P1 at the port. There are high 'carport-type' roofs that would protect the car from everything except driving rain. The open air parking is further from the terminal than P1 but still a very easy walk. We felt that the private parking service with a shuttle was too expensive for what it offers. Earlier last year Portside Parking was reasonably priced but they told me they had to put their prices up because of the cost of transporting people to the cruise terminal. They have to hire buses and pay drivers. If you want to book at the terminal, I suggest you do it as soon as you can because the spaces book out well ahead of the cruise date, particularly when additional ships relocate to Australia for the summer cruising season.

I only saw one horse and cart and it was in the area near the ampitheatre. The driver wanted the equivalent of US$100 to take me 1.5km to the end of the valley then back to the Treasury (another 2km). Pretty good money if he could get it. If people don't want to walk, transport from the entry gate to the Treasury is by golf cart. From memory it was US$37 for a return trip and US$23 for one-way. Getting a seat to go into the valley didn't involve much waiting, but the queue to go out was 1.5 to 2 hours' long from midday to early afternoon. I noticed that the driver of the golf card had an embroidered logo on his shirt indicating he was a member of the Petra Horse/Cart Association. I cannot remember the exact wording. The horses might have been retired but the drivers haven't been.

If you want to walk to restaurants and do some sightseeing, I suggest that a hotel near the CBD would be the best for you. If you have a hotel near the airport, it wouldn't be any good for sightseeing and wouldn't be near a selection of restaurants. Some suggestions - Riverside Hotel Southbank, 4 star AUD$110 Meriton Suites, Adelaide St, 5 star AUD$130 Ibis, Elizabeth St, 4 star AUD$153 Great Southern Hotel (older but central) AUD$111 Because I live in Brisbane I haven't stayed at any of these hotels. Considering their locations, I like the sound of the Riverside Hotel Southbank. There are restaurants close by and Southbank is lovely as well as a short walk from the CBD across the river.

Messina - Because we 'lost' a day with mechanical problems a week ago, our port visit to Mykonos was cancelled and replaced by a short visit to Messina. We arrived at 3pm. The weather was fine, around 31 degrees. Because it was a Saturday afternoon, the city was nearly deserted. First I went to the Town Hall - a magnificent building then to the main square and the magnificent Cathedral that was decorated for a wedding. A feature of the Square, a massive elaborate fountain was covered in scaffolding, but I have seen it before - without scaffolding. I wandered around a few streets close to the main square and took some photos, but wasn't tempted to walk up the steep hill to a lookout in front of another church. I did that last time.

Suez Canal - After the hot weather in Dubai and Petra, once we got into the Suez Canal the temperature dropped. Blessed relief. It was comfortable to stand out on the Promenade Deck. Around 4pm on the day before we went through the Canal, we anchored in an assembly area off the Southern end. Ships travel in convoys in the Canal because most of it is one-way only. There is a precedence - military ships go first (none today), then usually cruise ships second (only us today) then other vessels. The timing of the Canal transit was as follows - 4 am - Convoy of 38 ships started entering the Canal 4.15am - passing Suez City 7am - in Great Bitter Lake 9.15am - Ismailia (town originally built when the canal was being built) 11am - Al Qanrarah Bridge 2.15pm - Port Said 3.30pm - clear of the Canal We were accompanied through the Canal by a tugboat that Princess had to pay for. At his talk, the Captain said that the Egyptians take every opportunity to get money. This was the Coral Princess' first time through the Canal, and even though her identical twin the Island Princess went through only a few weeks before, the Coral had to be inspected at significant cost to see that it was suitable. Princess also had to pay for a team of men to install a searchlight in the bow. These were used years ago when ships made night-time transits but now transits are in daylight. The total cost of the Suez transit was around US$650,000.

P&O's daily paper is called 'The Good Times'.

The photo stops would make the ship's excursion worth taking compared with going independently. The Mt Coot-tha lookout isn't on the direct route to Lone Pine, so it is great that it was included.