Aus Traveller

I agree with your comment re left-over currency. I am pretty sure you would be able to use your Latitude card to pay for a taxi in Dubai. The city is very modern I am think credit cards would be accepted everywhere.

A couple of days ago I disembarked from the Coral Princess world cruise in New York. A few comments might help people on future world cruises. 1. Money. I took some AUD + US$ + a small amount of Singapore dollars in cash. I didn't bother with Euro or other currencies, but relied on my credit card. Some Euro would have been useful but I got by OK with the credit card. 2. Credit card. Because I had arranged several independent tours that required credit card payment, I got a credit card that has no foreign currency conversion fees. Mine is the ANZ Travel Rewards Card that is set up to be paid automatically from my normal bank account. Another option is the Latitude card that you could load up with cash before the trip so it doesn't go over the limit. I also suggest that you should have at least one additional credit card as a back-up. On some occasions, businesses said they would accept a credit card, but emphasised that they would not accept an American Express card. 3. Cash card. A couple of people I spoke to had their travel money on a cash card. One of these is Wise. There were a couple of occasions when this proved to not be the wise thing to do. In Singapore I came across a couple who only one a cash card (not a credit card) and the taxis wouldn't accept it. They would accept a credit card. I had cash and we shared a cab. Later in the cruise, a man who was relying totally on his cash card (linked to his phone) lost his phone. The cash card company froze the cash card and he had quite a delay until he could access his card again.

Wow! I wasn't asked about travel insurance when I boarded the WC in Sydney. BTW, I was using the ANZ credit card travel insurance.

The hold-up at Immigration got really serious when the tour groups were added into the mix. My flight home was excellent, thank you. I was on the new QANTAS route from New York direct to Auckland, then on to Brisbane.

Norfolk is considered a domestic territory of Australia. The ANZ card insurances covers both international travel and domestic travel so you would be covered with the ANZ card insurance.

There might not have been a queue for Immigration at 7.40, but there was a long one by 8.40 - more than an hour's wait.

On the World Cruise on the Coral, the internet wasn't too bad at first, but when we got into the Mediterranean, it was terribly slow and kept dropping out. This continued for weeks. We were told that the ship would be switching to Starlink after Dover. Cabling was installed throughout the ship and when this was completed, the internet improved immeasurably. We were issued a partial credit for the earlier problems.

Yes. That is correct.

I am on the Coral Princess' World Cruise. We had a few little problems early in the cruise - mechanical then rough weather etc that delayed us causing us to miss Oman and Mykonos. As a replacement for the latter, we had a half day in Messina. Since then we have had brilliant weather if a bit hot in Dubai (45 - 46 deg) and in the Mediterranean (low to mid 30s). An exception to the brilliant weather was the day we were supposed to be in Lerwick, Shetland Islands. It was cloudy with some rain and the wind was too strong to allow us to use the tenders safely. Most on board were disappointed but realise this can happen. Yesterday we were in Akureyri (Iceland). I had a great independent tour that visited all the highlights including the spectacular Detross waterfall. Today we will be in Reykjavik (midday until late).

The problem with going to the Reef from Airlie Beach is that the Reef is much further away from the coast in central Queensland compared with the Cairns/Port Douglas area. Port Douglas would be my first choice for a place to take a tour to the Reef.

You are correct - the company is Reef Sprinter, not Jet Sprinter. Apologies. In my defence I will mention that I am on a ship near Iceland. The internet is unbelieveably slow so I didn't check that I had the name of the company correct before posting the comment.

From Cairns, Fitzroy Island is quite good. I prefer tours from Port Douglas where there are several to choose from. The company Jet Sprinter offers small-group tours to the outer reef as well as to the Low Isles.

As other have said there isn't a coffee card any more but your mother can buy the coffee she likes as she goes. You can buy internet alone, either for the whole cruise, or for casual days at a time. Travel insurance - I suggest you check with your particular bank credit insurance. The ANZ platinum visa covers people for cruises they book before their 81st birthday. The actual wording is ýou are aged under 81 years at the time you become eligible for the cover .....' To become eligible you have to have the relevant CC, spend a minimum of $250 of the cost of the trip on the card, reside in Australia and have a return ticket to Australia. (A cruise counts as a return ticket). There is no restriction on the age of the person when they go on the cruise.

We probably did the same tour - Montserrat and also Barcelona where we had a city drive and toured Park Guell and the Sagrada Familia. I have a large group (35) in three 12-seat vans (very comfortable). Marta was the guide in my van and she was excellent. The tour was great and the company was easy to deal with.

I answered this question on the other thread. A self-administered RAT test is required.

The agreement between the cruise lines and the various Aust governments determined what we have to do. A self-administered RAT test within 24 hours, actually the previous day, is required. You have to photograph the test (with your passport details and a clock showing the time) and up-load this onto the cruise lines site. At check-in you will be asked if you tested negative to COVID. Your answer is regarded as a legal statement.

I am pretty sure P&O charge per item for room service including breakfast.

Relevance?🙂 I also know people with NRMA insurance.

I suggest it was the motoring organization NRMA, not its insurance arm that prepared the list. It wouldn't be relevant for an insurance company to have a list for travellers.

The list would be limited to NSW because it was prepared by the NRMA. 🙂 It would be strange if they included shops in other areas of Australia.

You will be informed on the ship very firmly on the morning of every shore day that you must not take food ashore. Because Australia is an island nation, we have successful kept out many of the nasty diseases prevalent overseas. However, it is only with constant vigilance that we have been successful.🙂

Absolutely no food to be taken off the ship, particularly NOT fruit. At Darwin there are often sniffer dogs to check everyone's handbags.

Would your 13-year-old be bored on Princess? Maybe not. This was someone's opinion. During school holidays there will be other kids and Princess has a good Teen Centre called The Beach House. Maybe a few others might let us know how their young teens enjoyed it.

If there can be any general statement about which men will 'dress up' on cruises, I feel it is the opposite of what you suggest. Men who do (or who have) worn business attire for work are comfortable in more formal clothes on a cruise. However, I know a few tradies who wouldn't wear a suit on a cruise. They would feel very uncomfortable. A printed long sleeve shirt worn with long pants is as dressy as they go.

My husband also doesn't fit the observation but for the opposite reason. In his working life he always had to wear a long-sleeved shirt/tie with a suitcoat on occasions. On cruises, he wears a dinner suit on formal night.