NSW Government has released their rules for cruising starting!

[arxcards]

2 minutes ago, CDaze71 said:

Bugger, may not then.

Just check first

[Aus Traveller]

12 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

We're driving up on the Friday so will have the whole of Saturday to get a test. Would you be able to let me know which Chemist Warehouse stores are doing the tests please? We're staying in the city opposite the botanical gardens but, of course, having the car we can get to anywhere.

The only information I can find at the moment is that Chemist Warehouse and Terry White Pharmacies offer the supervised RAT tests. When I entered my postcode on the Terry White site, it indicated that the three shops closest to me all had availability. The website said that we couldn't bring our own test kits, but had to buy one at RRP. A booking had to be made and a printed result would be issued after the 15 minute wait time for the test result to show up.

 

I am sure in the next few weeks more information will become available.

[Aus Traveller]

9 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Once the cruises start the pharmacies will want the supervised RAT's business. So it will happen.

Yup. Probably all pharmacies will offer the supervised RATS. Just imagine - RATS everywhere!

[Murrumbeena]

Terry White Chemist are also doing supervised RAT testing and are taking bookings for June. 
I haven’t book waiting for Queensland guidelines fo come out.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 minute ago, Aus Traveller said:

The only information I can find at the moment is that Chemist Warehouse and Terry White Pharmacies offer the supervised RAT tests. When I entered my postcode on the Terry White site, it indicated that the three shops closest to me all had availability. The website said that we couldn't bring our own test kits, but had to buy one at RRP. A booking had to be made and a printed result would be issued after the 15 minute wait time for the test result to show up.

 

I am sure in the next few weeks more information will become available.

Yes, I imagine there will be a number of places to go to by June.

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, qbay46 said:

I will be interested to know what happens in this situation, we are booked on a cruise out of Brisbane in November and we have stops in Sydney and Eden, are we allowed to get off and do our own thing in these ports and come back and board our ship again or will we have to do a ships tour to get off.

Not enough detail announced yet. There are steps to protect the regions within their guidelines. I think it will be different from cruise to cruise. At one extreme, if there are positives on board, they could deny anyone from disembarking. When mitigating risk, I am not sure the states would specify only organised tours, but the cruise lines may see it as being part of their covid safe strategy.

 

If the ports are looking to the ships to generate dollars in their towns, they are going to lose a lot of traffic if it is tours only. I am looking at Kuranda when we are in Cairns in October. Whether we book an independent tour or a ship tour, we are still going to the same places. We will book the ship tour if it is our only option

 

We will be in Brisbane on 2nd June, and are making plans to catch up with old cruising friends at a café. If it is tours only, we won't be getting off.

[Aus Traveller]

Our first two booked cruises are Q'ld coast and we don't really care whether we get off the ship or not. If it is 'ship's tours only', we certainly won't be getting off.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

Vague guidelines, like PCR or RAT test and how long before embarkation?   I really think the NSW Govt should have gone further and directed what on board protocols should be mandatory on board, i.e. mask wearing, social distancing, dancing, stand up drinking, buffet operations, shorex etc. Not just let the cruise lines make their own rules.  I see long waits at the cruise terminals, like Sydney Airport yesterday, chaos, long lines out to the street.

 

One wonders if the ships will be sailing to full capacity? Dangerous to allow the cruise lines determination there.  They will want to fill every bunk. $$$$$$$

The cruise lines won't get to have much say at all, at least in the early days. Rather than bore all of NSW with the detail, it will be communicated by the cruise line to booked passengers and be accurate to the requirements of the day via their passage contract. I am expecting to see an updated one in the weeks ahead.

 

Yes, I believe close to capacity, minus a block of cabins set aside for a quarantine zone. The rules are talking about numbers, but distancing requirements.

 

Queues, queues, queues. Wow, really looking forward to being a guinea pig. Seeing as we haven't spent travel money for a couple of years, I thought it was a good opportunity to spend a few more bucks to get into the priority line.

[onlyslightlymad]

11 hours ago, losfp said:

Ok. so nothing new or unexpected then.

 

I'm particularly interested in what they do with regard to shore excursions - ie: are you allowed to wander off the ship by yourself or will you be limited to taking cruise line excursions so they can control to an extent any interaction with the public.

 

The rest sounds like common sense to me.

I was thinking about excursions in the context of domestic cruises or rather my SYD-AKL cruise in December (if it goes ahead).  No way I would want to be restricted to ship excursions in my own country - that would be nutty.

[OzKiwiJJ]

26 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Our first two booked cruises are Q'ld coast and we don't really care whether we get off the ship or not. If it is 'ship's tours only', we certainly won't be getting off.

Ditto. 

 

I'd like to have a look around Airlie Beach as I haven't been there before but it won't bother me if I can't, although it would be nice to have a decent coffee ashore. The other two ports we've been to many times before.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 minute ago, onlyslightlymad said:

I was thinking about excursions in the context of domestic cruises or rather my SYD-AKL cruise in December (if it goes ahead).  No way I would want to be restricted to ship excursions in my own country - that would be nutty.

Yes, it would, and since I grew up in NZ and have taken DH on several land trips there it would be equally nutty for us. The only reason we do NZ cruises is to catch up with family and friends.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I wonder when Queensland will release it's variation of the cruising Covid Protocols? 

[CDaze71]

32 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Our first two booked cruises are Q'ld coast and we don't really care whether we get off the ship or not. If it is 'ship's tours only', we certainly won't be getting off.

SAME. I'd stay on for the whole week, no probs at all. I miss cruising so much. But I will get off in Cairns to do Cairns ZOOM, as we can just walk off, no tenders. 

[Aus Traveller]

I am happy to stay on board and enjoy the ship. I might even find time to get in the pool. Usually my day is taken up  with meals in the dining room (except buffet lunch on port days), trivia and maybe another activity or two.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 minute ago, Aus Traveller said:

I am happy to stay on board and enjoy the ship. I might even find time to get in the pool. Usually my day is taken up  with meals in the dining room (except buffet lunch on port days), trivia and maybe another activity or two.

Ship life is very busy! Our typical routine was to wake up around 8am, walk for half an hour, freshen up then breakfast in the MDR, trivia, coffee, read for a while, lunch in the MDR. If the weather was nice we'd spend the afternoon in the Sanctuary otherwise read in cabin or somewhere fairly quiet, afternoon trivia, perhaps another coffee, shower and change for the evening, cocktails in whichever bar had music to suit us, MDR dinner, after drinks and sometimes a show. Rinse and repeat! 

 

Since we have a suite on the first cruise we probably won't go to the Sanctuary often, if at all. 

[Kiwi_cruiser]

7 hours ago, ElizaSTN said:

What is considered fully vaccinated?  

 

I would think two shots.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Just now, Kiwi_cruiser said:

 

I would think two shots.

Which, for many, will be not much better than unvaccinated if they had their two shots last year. 

[Aus Traveller]

26 minutes ago, Kiwi_cruiser said:

 

I would think two shots.

I did hear a while ago that Australia is considering mandating that it requires three shots to be fully vaccinated.

[CDaze71]

8 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I did hear a while ago that Australia is considering mandating that it requires three shots to be fully vaccinated.

I'm good with this as Hubby and I are triple jabbed. I did see on the news this morning that Pfizer is close to having approved a third jab for the 12-15 year olds. As soon as this is approved I will be taking our daughter because her second jab was October. 

Edited April 9, 2022 by CDaze71

[Russell21]

We have to wait another month and a bit to get our 4th shot(2nd booster) along with the Flu shot. Must be 4 months between 1st and 2nd booster

[CDaze71]

2 minutes ago, Russell21 said:

We have to wait another month and a bit to get our 4th shot(2nd booster) along with the Flu shot. Must be 4 months between 1st and 2nd booster

I have had my flu shot recently, but I am not in the age group yet for the fourth jab. If I was, I'd be able to get it over Easter. As soon as they say I can get it, I will be.

[Aus Traveller]

1 minute ago, Russell21 said:

We have to wait another month and a bit to get our 4th shot(2nd booster) along with the Flu shot. Must be 4 months between 1st and 2nd booster

We were due for the 4th shot on 17th April, but now have to wait a bit longer because we both contracted COVID. I got it at the local shopping centre and generously shared it with my husband. 😁Today is my first day when I am officially 'recovered' but I am staying at home for several more days and then intend to wear a mask. My husband is in the middle of his infectious period. We were advised to wait another month before we have the booster.

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, NSWP said:

Once the cruises start the pharmacies will want the supervised RAT's business. So it will happen.

We overinflate our relevance. Compared to flying overseas, we are not much more than a drop in the bucket. The pharmacies have been rolling into supervised RATs for a while, ever since we have been able to fly overseas. Some have their online appointments, others you can ask at the counter. 

[arxcards]

31 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I did hear a while ago that Australia is considering mandating that it requires three shots to be fully vaccinated.

Yes, this will be a moving target. Not so much about the number of shots beyond two, but the timing of your most recent two shots that determines if you are fully vaccinated. Depending on age and state, we are all at different stages on the path.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, CDaze71 said:

I have had my flu shot recently, but I am not in the age group yet for the fourth jab. If I was, I'd be able to get it over Easter. As soon as they say I can get it, I will be.

We had our flu shots on Wednesday. We can have the fourth booster from April 23rd but will probably delay getting it until the third week in May. I seem to react strongly to the vaccine so want to get it on a week where we have no other commitments.