Ordered Ashore From Golden Princess

[VK3DQ]

Hi Folks

 

After the stop in Thames more people board the bus its full of people , i explain to the gent who comes to sit next to me that I am not feeling the best and please take no notice of me .. He was nice and promptly falls asleep ... you know sleep !!! I want some of that :confused:

 

 

We motor back the way we had come and then make the turn towards Auckland on the main road , and shortly we pick the motorway leading towards the city , which we follow until the turn off to Manawahever which is on the south side of town and quite near to the airport

 

We arrive at the shopping complex bus stop and its Joe and the Driver searching for may bag .. Its the last one they find :p

I explain again to them that I was not well and what had happened .. they both wished me well shook my hand and showed me where to pick up the connection for the airport

 

 

A dash into the shopping complex for another pit stop ,,,,, :D:D

 

And I come back outside a pick the the modern comfortable bus that takes me to the international terminal ...

 

Its Just Not the same without Joe and The Driver!!!!!

 

OWWHHH Qantas .. get me home quick please .. They Did changed my 8pm flight to a 3pm flight and fixed me an whole row of seats to myself

 

The only possible thing left to do was to find the bar upstairs airside and sweet talk a charming young thing to pour a very large medicinal J Walker ....

 

 

Ahhh Bliss

 

 

But its not the same without Joe and His Driver ... Life will never be the same again

 

I want to ride that bus again when I'm well .. It is a trip well worth the effort

 

 

regards

 

John

 

The End

[jannandjohn]

thanks for the story John..

 

[VK3DQ]

thanks for the story John..

 

 

I Just love it !!!!:D:D:D

[VK3DQ]

My wife just rang me again .. they had a great day in the sounds yesterday and a wild party last night .....:D

 

Regards

 

John

[icat2000]

My wife just rang me again .. they had a great day in the sounds yesterday and a wild party last night .....:D

 

Regards

 

John

Nice. She looking after the ship until I can board on Sunday.

[jannandjohn]

I Just love it !!!!:D:D:D

 

I didn't think you would mind me stealing your photo off your Radio site.

If I could have found a rugged NZ bus it would have been better, but an old Train in India was the next best thing..

If you have FB, maybe it would be a good profile pic...haha.

Edited January 1, 2016 by jannandjohn

[Kiwi Kruzer]

I think I have picked up the cryptic clue for the name of the bus company..:D:D

 

 

 

[victravellers]

Hi John, do you by chance know or talk to VK3BUF Ian?

[VK3DQ]

Hi John, do you by chance know or talk to VK3BUF Ian?

 

Hi Folks

 

 

I'm sorry I dont know Ian...

 

 

Regards

 

John

[victravellers]

Hi Folks

 

 

I'm sorry I dont know Ian...

 

 

Regards

 

John

 

That's okay...it was worth an ask. I was just thinking to myself, what a small world it is if you by chance knew him.

[rickays]

Hi

 

yes I have with Insure and Go ... I have no confidence they will be of any help as I have made the decision based on the fact that I will not be well enough to take the trip , I will have to provide a medical certificate to back this up in due course

 

 

Regards

 

John

 

Hi John - having been reading your adventures and sorry that your cruise ended so painfully! It was lucky for you (if one could call your misfortune lucky) that you were offloaded around such helpful people. I think you picked the worst possible time of the year for getting help from any company, although there should have been someone available to help you! To put your mind at rest a little bit, I have been using Insure and Go for my recent cruises and have so far made three claims. 2 were for missed ports that were paid about a week after I submitted online claim and immediately posted documents. The other claim was for a night at a Sydney hotel that we had to have at the price of $500 per night (Sydney was nearly full that night) for our cruise embarkation being delayed by a day due to the late arrival of the ship when they lost a passenger overboard. Although this was not a listed covered event - they only cover for mechanical or weather delay - they agreed to pay out the claim due to the unusual situation. I have found them to be very helpful on the phone and I'm sure if you phone them after the Christmas/New Year break they will have someone who can help you with the details you need to submit. I cant personally know whether you claim will be sucessfuly as that is between you and them as every claim is different. Good Luck, hope your well soon.

[Aussieflyer]

Hi Tara Jane

 

 

Yes our screen names are our amateur radio callsigns .. we all have to have licenses and take exams to qualify to hold them

 

 

VK = Australia

3 = Victoria

DQ= Me

 

Oh and I thought you were Homicide or Division 4 aficionados :)

 

Your bus trip sounds a experience! But glad to hear QF assisted.

[VK3DQ]

Hi Folks

 

Golden Princess is now in the approaches to Bass Strait and continues to have the smoothest of seas.

 

I have had e-mail contact with princess care team and have made arrangements to pick my girls up at 9:30am tomorrow morning, they have kindly allow that I will be able to drive alongside the terminal so that she will not have to struggle with my heavy luggage

 

 

There are still a number of things that I am frustrated about but hopefully now as time passes and we clear away the "Holiday Time" I may get some satisfaction.

 

The main issue is that I am able now to bring this "system failure" to the notice of those who have the capability of ensuring that no one has to again be left alone , sick , and if the truth be know a little frightened.

 

Oh well its a nice day to be alive , I have had a good sleep 11pm -- 6:30am and the first coffee of the day tastes OOOhhhhh wonderful

 

We dashed out to IKEA yesterday , and whilst I plonked myself down on a sofa in the entrance the Babysitter and One VK3ADO (another daft operator) my cousin Peter were sent inside to get some new chairs of Jeans office and my radio shack as the old ones had all broken just before we left.. they are not flash expensive chairs but should do the job

 

Jean Called me again last night and arranged departure time and she said I owed her big time as there was another large bill from the ships doctor ... Oh dear .......

 

PS The babysitter is asleep

 

regards

John

Edited January 1, 2016 by VK3DQ

[Aussieflyer]

Good to hear the update and that things are on the improve, both in terms of how you are feeling and the response from Princess. Here's hoping the pickup etc all goes well.

 

The babysitter seems to like his sleep - appears to be in that state in many of your posts :p

[Aus Traveller]

Oh well its a nice day to be alive , I have had a good sleep 11pm -- 6:30am

Jean Called me again last night and arranged departure time and she said I owed her big time as there was another large bill from the ships doctor ... Oh dear .......

regards

John

The travel insurance claim just went up. :)

[NSWP]

Oh and I thought you were Homicide or Division 4 aficionados :)

 

Your bus trip sounds a experience! But glad to hear QF assisted.

VKC = Victoria Police..eg Homicide 4 to VKC.... 'off the air at the MCG for a Crownie.'

VKG = NSW Police..eg Batemans Bay 10 to VKG 'off at Maccas for a Big Mac'

 

And so endeth todays lesson.

Edited January 2, 2016 by NSWP

[NSWP]

My wife just rang me again .. they had a great day in the sounds yesterday and a wild party last night .....:D

 

Regards

 

John

Your wife sounds like a party animal John, she might not disembark at Station Pier, she might have booked a B2B whilst on board. We were on Golden in March 2014, 30 days BA to LA - Around South America. Loved the ship.

Edited January 2, 2016 by NSWP

[VK3DQ]

Your wife sounds like a party animal John, she might not disembark at Station Pier, she might have booked a B2B whilst on board. We were on Golden in March 2014, 30 days BA to LA - Around South America. Loved the ship.

 

Hi

 

It MUST be her mother thats leading her astray .. would never have happened had I been there....

 

And you know I missed the party on the upper deck of "The BUS"

 

 

:D:D

 

Regards

John

[VK3DQ]

Hi

 

Golden Princess is now abeam of Flinders Island and making the best part of 20 knots

 

Smooth seas .. another great day ...

 

 

Sobs mutters complains , curses .. and generally feels sorry for himelf

 

 

:eek::D:mad::p

 

 

Darn it!!! I'm gonna buy a new radio ... I need a treat !!

 

 

Regards

 

John

Edited January 2, 2016 by VK3DQ

[KazLoudspeaker]

John,

I thank you for sharing your experience. I am sorry that it was so difficult and that you felt so helpless. Glad that you are feeling better. Thanks for highlighting shortfalls in processes that most of us assume are in place & will work, ie phone numbers, etc. Also the poor service that was provided by the Australian consulate, has me truly gobsmacked. Imagine if you were in real strife and not just sick & stranded! I understand your motivation was to try and inform fellow travellers rather than being spiteful. I again thank you for this.

To Mike, you are a champion & exactly what is so good about these types of forums. And also everyone else providing alternate phone numbers, emails and support, also another reason this forum is such a valuable resource.

To Princess staff that did not pass on messages from Mike & the NZ police, that is unforgivable. Something so simple would have given your wife so much peace of mind. Do they not understand the incredible stress 'not knowing' causes?

To Princess, there are some serious PR you have to make right here. You need to address the problems with your port agents involved and to improve the tracking & support of passengers put ashore in a foreign port due to illness. Also you need to provide support for parties still on board & provide information / contact regarding the status of those ordered ashore.

To everyone else, learn from John's experience, ensure you are fully aware of what your travel insurance covers, ensure that your mobile phones are able to cope with international roaming, ensure you have access to money enough to cover worst case scenarios.

Again, thanks John for sharing. I will be making sure the contact details for the ships I choose to cruise with in the future, are correct before I leave port.

 

Karyn

[Aussieflyer]

VKC = Victoria Police..eg Homicide 4 to VKC.... 'off the air at the MCG for a Crownie.'

VKG = NSW Police..eg Batemans Bay 10 to VKG 'off at Maccas for a Big Mac'

 

And so endeth todays lesson.

 

Of course, the memory plays tricks (a bit like those mis-heard lyrics :o). Thanks for putting me straight.

[VK3DQ]

John,

I thank you for sharing your experience. I am sorry that it was so difficult and that you felt so helpless. Glad that you are feeling better. Thanks for highlighting shortfalls in processes that most of us assume are in place & will work, ie phone numbers, etc. Also the poor service that was provided by the Australian consulate, has me truly gobsmacked. Imagine if you were in real strife and not just sick & stranded! I understand your motivation was to try and inform fellow travellers rather than being spiteful. I again thank you for this.

To Mike, you are a champion & exactly what is so good about these types of forums. And also everyone else providing alternate phone numbers, emails and support, also another reason this forum is such a valuable resource.

To Princess staff that did not pass on messages from Mike & the NZ police, that is unforgivable. Something so simple would have given your wife so much peace of mind. Do they not understand the incredible stress 'not knowing' causes?

To Princess, there are some serious PR you have to make right here. You need to address the problems with your port agents involved and to improve the tracking & support of passengers put ashore in a foreign port due to illness. Also you need to provide support for parties still on board & provide information / contact regarding the status of those ordered ashore.

To everyone else, learn from John's experience, ensure you are fully aware of what your travel insurance covers, ensure that your mobile phones are able to cope with international roaming, ensure you have access to money enough to cover worst case scenarios.

Again, thanks John for sharing. I will be making sure the contact details for the ships I choose to cruise with in the future, are correct before I leave port.

 

Karyn

 

hi Karyn

 

 

Thanks and well put

 

Its so easy sitting here safe in my very well equipped radio shack.. in an absolute dire emergency I now have the capability of being able to talk directly to the ship via their VHF Radio... but it would have to be dire trouble for me to be allowed to do so :D

 

In fact I could contact her almost any where in the world using HF radio

 

 

part of the stress involved was not being able to contact the ship , the company , the embassy ...

 

Everyone was closed no one was at home

 

 

A HUGE lesson for me was NEVER travel without the capability to have access to the internet .. without it you are really behind the eightball you cannot book an airfare on the phone on a public holiday , but webjet came to my rescue

 

The other point is that regardless of your travel insurance .. make sure you have funds to draw on ..fortunately I did have .. but in hindsight I would have put more $$$ in my debit a/c

 

 

This happened in New Zealand , a very friendly place , I cannot imagine if I had been say in Port Vila ,, how I would have managed ....Not that the people of Port Vila are not nice , they just dont have the same recourses as they do in New Zealand , and in a country where the language is not English .. another level of complexity applies

 

Regards

John

[NSWP]

Of course, the memory plays tricks (a bit like those mis-heard lyrics :o). Thanks for putting me straight.

No worries, we all have our 'Seniors Moments.' I blame mine on the grape juice. LOL.

[VK3DQ]

No worries, we all have our 'Seniors Moments.' I blame mine on the grape juice. LOL.

 

Yes we all have those :p

 

Golden Princess is now north of Deal Island and by the look of her course will go north around Hogan Island and then alter to the west...

 

 

Regards

 

John

[VK3DQ]

Hi

 

Golden Princess is on course and will pass to the North of East Moncour Island and will the pass to the North of Rondodo Island and to the South of Tidal River and the Williams Prom lightstation She will then continue to be abeam of the Cape Liptrap Lightstation and will set course towards Cape Shank and the Entrance to Port Phillip bay where she will pick up the Pilot for the Transit down the bay to Melbourne (Station Pier)

 

Regards

 

John

Edited January 2, 2016 by VK3DQ