christodan

No. Booked on the Australian website and I am born in Australia -, Aussie citizen. But they said on the cruise, Willis Island belongs to the Coral Sea Territory, not Australia (technically)., i.e. enough to say it is doing an OS cruise).

Yes but maybe it's a new requirement. I didn't question RCI as I had one, but things do change. Can't always assume things stay the same.

I recently came back from a Queensland cruise with RCI and they said we needed passports. And maybe this is why. We sailed out of Australian waters past Willis Island. They told they do this because then technically they are doing an OS cruise and they can charge duty free. So if it is technically an OS cruise then yes you probably do need a passport.

I could understand that as the time COVID was thought to only be in Asia. But a New Zealand cruise would have been considered safe.

And literally millions of people have died from COVID, including a relative of mine. So the answer is, this is what a pandemic means and no one deliberately set out to spread it or kill others. We are not talking about some malpractice here, but a worldwide pandemic. What do people expect?

Yes but the pandemic wasn't declared until March 11 by WHO so IMO it was perfectly reasonable to not be checking until then. I can't see how Carnival was negligent before a pandemic was declared. If anything WHO was negligent.

There is an lesser known alternative i.e. going up one of the pylons. Much cheaper and much lower in height. https://pylonlookout.com.au/

Lyndarra maybe you should say it around Belmont and see what the reaction is. I'm curious if they know it or it's very parochial and only from a certain era. If it helps these people I know who say it are in their 60s.

I know hooroo, but these people say "hooray"

I've heard of hooroo but hooray just sounds like they're happy to see you go. I knew someone else from Newcastle who also knew the term hooray, so I was wondering if it's unique to that area.

Lyndarra if you're from Lake Macquarie do you say "hooray" for good bye? My friend from Belmont says that and I think it's funny.

And if they were delayed it would have been, "we had to wait ages and that's probably why we caught COVID. They should have let us off quickly". Honestly some people are just pains, having worked in hospitality myself. Ironically, I now work with people who have mental illnesses and I haven't met anyone who is anywhere near as bad as some of the customers I served.

We had Jamie's Italian for lunch. It was pretty cheap and my daughter said it was better than the one in London. I quite enjoyed it, but like Auscruisefam we overate and almost felt sick.

I'd say avoid the lifts if you can. A small enclosed space with lots of people squashed in is a recipe for disaster.

Went to Noumea in January, no one asked to see the insurance papers.

Might be different situation, but when I was driving a friend to the airport and she was running late, she rang the airline to say she was coming. They curtly told her "we're not going to hold the plane waiting for you".

It true there are special incentive payments that most patients are not aware of. Even just bulking billing a concession holder gives the GP a bonus payment.

Wilson Parking has four options. https://www.wilsonparking.com.au/whats-on/sydney-cruise-parking/

There was some story I think on ACA the other day about this. Looks like Qantas is cancelling and then putting on a similar flight with greatly inflated prices.

I don't know about Princess but RCI states that you have to be living in the same household for both to get the FCC, otherwise the healthy person has to go on their own.

"We are also wondering about the 'free' items, such as iFly and North Star. There are paid experiences on line, but are there free slots, and how hard are they to book? We will be looking forward to the reviews over the next few weeks. Thanks in advance! Lynn and Carl" We did a short cruise to Tassie, so there were a lot of people in a short amount of time who wanted to do the North Star. So we must have queued for at least two hours. Also because it was rough seas the day before all the people that booked that day got to go first and got to push in the queue. So my advice is it depends on the length of the cruise whether it will be an impossibly long wait or not.

No problem. The food is much better there than the tourist traps around The Rocks.

Chubbypiggy, if you are down at Circular Quay you should try out this place for a variety of places to eat. https://www.gatewaysydney.com.au/dining-and-more Chat Thai is one of the best Thai restaurants in Sydney. The French crepe place is also excellent and cheap. Hurricanes have great steaks. And Messina Gelato is to die for ! Oh and maybe you do not realise this but you can eat at the Sydney Opera House if you are looking to do something special and memorable. https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/visit-us/eat-and-drink/bennelong.html

Which part of "pandemic" do people not understand? That what happens when there is a pandemic. People catch it anywhere and everywhere. Land, sea, air. It seems to me if they are successful in suing Carnival, then anyone could sue anybody. Shopping centres, airlines, theatres, pubs, restaurants, schools etc.

Considering the pandemic had not yet been declared by WHO when it set sail, I can't see how successful they will be in accusing Carnival of being negligent. Also considering how many people have died from COVID worldwide can anyone blame anybody? What about people who caught it in hospital when they were in there for something else? If hospitals couldn't control it, what hope does a cruise ship have?