Normanville

@willsaway if you have a gty ME it may not be on deck 8. ME are also located forward deck 9 We did a gty ME at Christmas and despite many requests for deck 8, we got deck 9, 3 cabins from the front. We are Elite and have always traveled Aft. We love deck 8 mini suites because of the covered balconies but unfortunately they can't be booked anymore only as gty and crossed fingers! Love the Diamond as it was our first ship and we are on again in November. Have a great cruise no matter where your cabin is. P.S. We were allocated the cabin about 2 weeks before sailing and put in a bid for an upgrade but being a Christmas cruise there was no room in the Inn!! Juls

We booked a gty ME for a Christmas cruise for 2023, 12 months before sailing. We wanted to book deck8 aft but only gty available. We are Elite and have only booked aft cabins in all our cruises. Our travel agent requested aft, we were given a cabin 3 from the front, surrounded by children. We made the best of it and still enjoyed the cruise.

We received the $25 each for our October cruise. Apparently it was refundable OBC. Somehow we didn’t spend it and had a credit on our account of $37. We received an email from Princess that said we had to give our banking details to USBC. They sent ,I think, 3-4 emails but because we will not put banking information on an email Princess got to keep the money. We didn’t mind as we didn’t use the app on board and don’t know if we ever will. Juls

It is difficult for Australians to answer your questions as even our credit card travel insurance covers cruises and Covid. Those on the Princess forum are mainly American and Canadian, some from UK and are more informed about what insurance cover you will need. We are on a trip to New Caledonia in a couple of weeks and there are quite a few from the USA on it and are aware of the rules. You may like to post on forum Royal Princess 15th March Fiji, New Caledonia. Good Luck

I would suggest you post on the Princess cruises forum on this site.

These lounges are also on Grand and we saw one incident where medical team attended, so may have been replaced on many ships as old ones wear out.

Could not believe it!!! We got fillet and lobster for New Years Eve. Just like old times. Meals for Christmas and New Years Eve were lovely.

Not a long walk!

The local bus is $3 NZ each, each way but asks for exact money. Saw the sign in Port Chalmers last week aimed at cruise passengers. Think the main stop would be in the main street before you get to the supermarket.

Transit today was not good, 2hour time frame because two passengers refused to get off! Boarder force had to go get them and 800 passengers clapped when they walked in. Boarding passengers had to wait until we were all back on board. Nice surprise, we got another mini bar! Lovely cruise so far. Juls

We are also on cruise, The Grand out of Adelaide 16th Dec. I wonder how this will translate to Aus. and NZ cruises. It sounds lovely. Juls

Thanks Ondine, My case of Covid is very mild, first time too. I do question if a lot of the Noro cases are not Covid related as some strains do cause gastro symptoms, so we may have had one of those strains instead of two different virus. I didn't do anything about Mahjong as all the tiles were in Botticelli dining room and I didn't want to be in confined spaces, besides we may have made too much noise for the regular players!

There is a sink with two taps either end of the buffet both sides, and these were manned. Some staff were more forceful than others. Half way through the cruise we had to do both, wash and sanitize before you got a plate. .I think most on this cruise were very aware what was going on and complied. The new cruisers who got on in Melbourne for the 4 day cruise were not interested or aware of what they should be doing. One lady got right in my face in the lift to tell me very forcefully that there was no Covid on this ship because she could tell. When I got home later I tested and was positive. That is one of those "I told you so" moments I have missed!!! BUT hope I didn't pass it on to anyone.

We had to fill out Public Health questionnaires but they looked like they were from the USA, but these may have been handed on to Aus Health authorities. I can tell you there were a LOT with Noro and a Lot of tables down the corridors [Covid] but I believe Princess did everything possible and anyone who needed medication got it. A lot of the staff got Noro and I did ask how long they got off and I believe it is 3 days. I hope it is all gone before the NZ cruise. We are back on in December so have confidence in Princess.

Just off the Grand in Adelaide and not well. She has now had 4 Deep cleans and hand. washing plus sanitising was mandatory before you received a plate and utensils. Staff were telling us that it was a very sick ship. I think the majority of cases got off in Melbourne but the new ones on the 4 day cruise were not aware of the situation and certainly not washing or sanitising enough, so I hope the circle doesn’t continue. We still had a great cruise but don’t need the new experience of Nova or Covid again.