Live from Majestic Princess - 20th October 2022

[arxcards]

The internet on the ship is pretty good, but the satellite latency plays havoc with bbcode, the bb forum building block.

 

I guess tapatalk is still an option, so I will check that out. Some posts take 3 goes till they show.

[arxcards]

Dinner at Bistro Sur La Mer was lovely. It lack a bit of style, but the food was delightful.

 

The table appetiser

[arxcards]

 

My salad starter. Barb had a lovely looking salmon dish.

[arxcards]

My fillet Mignon was beautiful, and Barb enjoyed her sea bass.

 

[arxcards]

Dessert was some sort of soft meringue with a creme anglaise. OK, but Barb had a better one, which looked a bit like a bee hive

 

[arxcards]

We enjoyed the meal, but we favour the steak house menu. There are limited options for my taste on the Bistro menu.

[yes!yes!yes!]

15 minutes ago, arxcards said:

My fillet Mignon was beautiful, and Barb enjoyed her sea bass.

 

Are the plates baked enamel?

[arxcards]

35 minutes ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

Are the plates baked enamel?

Oops, no idea.

[resordanis]

We went to Alfredo’s absolutely delicious!

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, resordanis said:

We went to Alfredo’s absolutely delicious!

Late lunch for us  tomorrow when we ger back to the ship. The dinner menu seems reminiscent of the pizza restaurants on the Sun class ships.

[Kinkacruiser]

On 10/23/2022 at 4:32 PM, arxcards said:

Hi Anna, 

Great to hear from you. The sun did have a bit of bite today, so we bought some hats in the markets.

 

As mentioned, boarding is chosen on the app when you tick down to 59 days. That all works fine and good, and on most days boarding has started early and it has been an open boarding flowing through the terminal.

 

This embarkation was was delayed, so that threw up some problems (as it always does). Some terminal staff were accepting the - "I have priority boarding" rule, while other terminal staff were applying the boarding group letter only. It led to a few frustrated people that we saw, and we were near the front of a long queue. I can't imagine how pi$$ed some way back in the queue were feeling about it.

 

We have the best of both worlds, both having priority on the old system, and being savvy enough with the new system. Still, after boarding on Thursday, I consider it to be grossly unfair to a large group of loyal cruisers, and suite passengers, to tell them they only have priority when they come back 3hrs after boarding has started - that is not priority boarding.

 

This is where having the app makes a difference. Those that just showed up with paper copies, even elites, were being turned away and told to come back at 4pm.

 

Personally, I think all elites and full suites should be the only ones to have access to group A, platinum and club-class to groupB, then the app savvy can fight over C & D.

Thanks for explaining the new system, Geoff. Not so app savvy myself, but I did load the Princess app onto my phone for the last cruise (2020), when it still had teething problems. It's good to be forewarned/prepared, but I feel for those who were turned away.

Covid is back...Coral Princess in Broome has cases as of this morning (Tuesday)...oh dear!

Stay safe and enjoy the sunshine .

Anna

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, Kinkacruiser said:

Thanks for explaining the new system, Geoff. Not so app savvy myself, but I did load the Princess app onto my phone for the last cruise (2020), when it still had teething problems. It's good to be forewarned/prepared, but I feel for those who were turned away.

Covid is back...Coral Princess in Broome has cases as of this morning (Tuesday)...oh dear!

Stay safe and enjoy the sunshine .

Anna

Covid hasn't gone anywhere, and it is just a delicate balancing of numbers. Longer cruises = larger numbers, and Coral has had to report to WA authorities, who appear to have gotten excited about the number infections aboard. As the first large cruise ship to visit WA since they tried to turn Artania away at the start of the pandemic, there has been many media eyes waiting for a story and a reaction from the WA emperor.

 

No doubt we also have cases aboard, but don't know how many yet. More coughers as each day passes, and so many that are too lazy to cover their coughs.

[arxcards]

It is a nice looking day north of Cairns. We have had a relaxed breakfast snack at International Cafe, and we will be in the tender soon to try and find Yorkey

[MMDown Under]

3 hours ago, arxcards said:

Covid hasn't gone anywhere, and it is just a delicate balancing of numbers. Longer cruises = larger numbers, and Coral has had to report to WA authorities, who appear to have gotten excited about the number infections aboard. As the first large cruise ship to visit WA since they tried to turn Artania away at the start of the pandemic, there has been many media eyes waiting for a story and a reaction from the WA emperor.

 

No doubt we also have cases aboard, but don't know how many yet. More coughers as each day passes, and so many that are too lazy to cover their coughs.

Do all the people who have Covid have a cough usually?

[Aus Traveller]

Just now, MMDown Under said:

Do all the people who have Covid have a cough usually?

A cough is a common symptom of COVID and it often lasts a long time.

[MMDown Under]

1 minute ago, Aus Traveller said:

A cough is a common symptom of COVID and it often lasts a long time.

Yes I know, but I suspect you can catch covid from a positive person with no cough.  In the theatre there is 100% occupancy crowded together yet heads swing around when anyone coughs.  I give out cough lollies for coughers who can't stop a tickle!

[Wanderers2]

9 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Do all the people who have Covid have a cough usually?

No definitely not. My son in law had a sore throat for 2 days & that’s all. I know other people who have had a range of symptoms but not a cough. 
that’s why it’s so hard to know if you possibly have it

[arxcards]

Yeah,

Not everyone who coughs has covid.

Not everyone who has covid has a cough.

 

My point is that when more people are coughing day by day, something is circulating. Given what is happening on Coral and Quantum at present, it is fair to assume we should take a bit of extra care. Even if it is just a generic upper respiratory virus, we would like to enjoy the rest of the cruise. A bit of basic cough etiquette would also be a good start. Sorry, some people are just pigs.

[resordanis]

Priority tendering was a joke today. Went down at 8.40 am and got into Yorkeys  at 10.20. Many there before me! No such issues in Airlie. Many unhappy.

Edited October 25, 2022 by resordanis

[OzKiwiJJ]

Just now, arxcards said:

Yeah,

Not everyone who coughs has covid.

Not everyone who has covid has a cough.

 

My point is that when more people are coughing day by day, something is circulating. Given what is happening on Coral and Quantum at present, it is fair to assume we should take a bit of extra care. Even if it is just a generic upper respiratory virus, we would like to enjoy the rest of the cruise. A bit of basic cough etiquette would also be a good start. Sorry, some people are just pigs.

A bit of basic health etiquette, like wearing masks properly in crowded venues, would also help. 

 

I doubt I caught this whatever-it-is while ashore so I've probably caught it onboard. Covid has just highlighted the fact that respiratory illnesses of any kind are spread by coughing and sneezing or any other activity that expels air more forcefully than just breathing - singing, shouting, laughing etc. 

 

I'll raise your comment ... some people are just arrogant pigs. 🤬

[arxcards]

17 minutes ago, resordanis said:

Priority tendering was a joke today. Went down at 8.40 am and got into Yorkeys  at 10.20. Many there before me! No such issues in Airlie. Many unhappy.

Not sure what happened. We got off easily enough, but don't know what time.

 

We had breakfast and stroled down to the priority lounge, then escorted down to deck four 10 mins later and straight onto a tender. Not impressed to be paying for a shuttle, but that seems to be the norm now.

[Ozwoody]

8 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Not sure what happened. We got off easily enough, but don't know what time.

 

We had breakfast and stroled down to the priority lounge, then escorted down to deck four 10 mins later and straight onto a tender. Not impressed to be paying for a shuttle, but that seems to be the norm now.

WHAT! "paying for a shuttle"... Your not talking about the ship shuttle are you? Well I hope not....

[MMDown Under]

1 hour ago, Wanderers2 said:

No definitely not. My son in law had a sore throat for 2 days & that’s all. I know other people who have had a range of symptoms but not a cough. 
that’s why it’s so hard to know if you possibly have it

That is what I thought, as I think talk of a cough is misleading.  

[arxcards]

32 minutes ago, Ozwoody said:

WHAT! "paying for a shuttle"... Your not talking about the ship shuttle are you? Well I hope not....

Ship shuttle bus from Yorkeys to Cairns $21 round trip. It is a nice scenic ride though, but there are plenty deciding to just walk to the Yorkeys shops.

[MMDown Under]

7 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Ship shuttle bus from Yorkeys to Cairns $21 round trip. It is a nice scenic ride though, but there are plenty deciding to just walk to the Yorkeys shops.

I don't think $21 return shuttle is expensive for the convenience.  However there is public transport