OzKiwiJJ

25%. With the discount it worked out about the same for a bottle of Gruner Veltliner as it would if we'd brought our own and paid corkage. The Barolo in Sabatinis is cheaper than at Dan Murphys.

They checked all my meds before prescribing the antivirals. I had to stop taking the cholesterol meds while I was taking the antivirals.

Thanks. Yes, I am feeling better today but still a bit tired. I didn't get sneezes or coughs this time.

We cruised on Celebrity a few times pre-pandemic. We always upgraded our drinks package as soon as we boarded as the Classic package options didn't cover the cocktails we liked plus it gave us a greater selection of wines by the glass. In 2019 it was US$10.80 pp per day to upgrade. I'm not sure if it's the same price now but you might find more info in the Celebrity forum here.

Yes, they are. When you go into the cabin selection part of the booking process it gives you the option to choose Premier.

Not all the media. The ABC has had a couple of balanced articles about cruising recently.

The Australian gutter press get hysterical about anything that might get them ratings. Unfortunately there are too many idiots who believe their nonsense. The rest of us just keep on cruising! 🤣 We've done our bit this year. 66 days on Coral Princess and we still have a Xmas/NY cruise on Westerdam to come. 😊😊😊

It's personal choice. We were relatively sensible. We wore our P2 masks when moving around inside the ship and in crowded venues like the theatre and Universe Lounge but removed them in Good Spirits or other bars if we felt the seating was appropriately spaced. That may have been why I caught Covid as more than once other people weren't considerate and would stand right next to us, unmasked, while talking to their friends at another table. However masks only provide a certain amount of protection against catching the virus, they are more effective at preventing the spread of the virus from the wearer who may not yet know they have Covid. That's why it's important for everyone to wear them properly. The best time to disembark is late, once the rush is over. We left our cabin around 7:30, had a leisurely breakfast in the MDR, then strolled off the ship about 8:15 - our scheduled time was 7:45. There were no queues in the terminal at all. I'm not upset about catching Covid on the cruise. We still had fun, plenty of good food and wine, and no household chores to do. Sure we missed a couple of ports other than the weather affected ones but we got to the one we really wanted to go to so we're happy. Anyway we're doing the same cruise next year so hopefully we'll get to the missed ports on that cruise.

Yes, somehow our paths never crossed. Have a good trip to South Africa. 😘😘😘

Not really except I had an upset tummy on the last day - cramps and some discomfort. I had Buscopan for it which worked but I felt really tired that day and packing was a chore. That may have tipped me over the edge. Anyway whatever it is it's very mild so hopefully I'll get over it quickly. I'll do another RAT tomorrow morning.

I think I've got Rebound Covid. I started to get a very, very mild sore throat last night. This morning I woke up with the stuffy nose and I feel a bit tired. It all feels very familiar! I did a RAT this morning but it was negative. I'll know for sure if I start sneezing later today. Hopefully I'll get over it quickly, we're catching up with a friend from Singapore on Friday and I'd hate to miss that.

You don't need to have a smartphone if you don't want one. Much of the pre-cruise stuff can be done through the Personalizer version of the app. You'll just have to take pot luck with arrival groups. Take paper copies of vaccination cert, and a printout of your RAT photo if you can. They'll sort it all out during check-in. All you need onboard is your medallion.

You get the test kits from your cabin steward along with dated cards. Do the RAT, fill in the card, put the test cassette on the card and take a photo. You will need to show the photo when leaving the ship. It didn't delay anything, you just had to make sure you allowed time in your morning routine to do the test. Do allow a bit of extra time to get off the ship though, it does slow the process a little, especially if people are slow to show their photos.

They haven't changed unfortunately. We were told they are unlikely to change until sometime next year.

We had a later than scheduled arrival in Melbourne due to fog in the bay. Then Border Force stuffed around clearing the ship. There were some very unhappy passengers mooching around the atrium. We caught up with our granddaughter for coffee. Then we wandered around to the Emporium for a late lunch - I remembered there was a Chinta Ria outlet in the food court there. Chinta Ria was always one of our favourite Melbourne restaurants, serving Malaysian cuisine. It was as good, if not better, than we remembered. We avoided Bourke St Mall after going through it on the tram. Myer had their Christmas window display up and it was jam-packed. This time the ship docked stern in and our cabin was opposite the gap between the old Spirit of Tasmania terminal and the Cruise Terminal so we had a lovely view across the bay towards St Kilda. The weather was lovely, comfortably warm.

I'll put some of my photos up once I download them from my camera. The lake looks even more amazing from the lookout.

It might have been a pademelon. It was very small and had light, almost orangy, fur. We only got a quick glimpse of it as we passed it in the bus. It looked very cute.

You park at the visitors centre which is actually called the Cradle Mountain Interpretation Centre, and shuttle buses take to various spots in the park.

The weather was great, we were very lucky. We were told it isn't always like that though. We were prepared for bad weather but didn't need our rain jackets, hats or gloves. It was quute cool though so we wore our fleeces. The walk to Crater Rock lookout is only about 15 minutes. It's a well graded track with a short climb up some rocky steps at the end. You should have no problems - I managed OK with a dodgy knee and a bit of help from a walking stick going up and down the steps. Sneakers are fine for the walk.

RATs before departing. Masks required to be worn on the buses and indoors. We went to Cradle Mountain. It was an interesting excursion but lots of bus travel. Still it was nice to see some of the Tasmanian countryside. We stopped at Sheffield, a country town famous for it's murals, where we had time for a coffee and a short stroll around the town. Then we went on to Cradle Mountain, crossing a spectacular gorge along the way. Once we reached the visitors centre we had to switch to smaller buses to enter the national park. It was a beautiful drive to Dove Lake. We had the choice of a short, easy stroll down to the edge of the lake, or a longer walk up to the Crater Rock lookout. We did the latter and the views were superb. We then went to Waldheim Chalet before being dropped at the hotel for lunch. Then it was a straight run back to the ship by a different route. We saw a few wombats, echidnas and what I think was a wallaroo.

It could have been. We've only been to the Provence MDR once so I wasn't sure of his name.

We went to it on one cruise but weren't impressed by most of the wines, and there was far too much talk.

It could have been. We didn't go to that tasting.

Yes, that's correct, Rolf didn't catch Covid. His immune system is better than mine.

They tested me on the sixth day (counting the day I tested positive as day 1) and I was negative. I'd developed symptoms one day earlier but tested negative that day, then positive next day. I had four days of symptoms: 1. Sore throat 2. Stuffy nose 3. Sneezes 4. Slight cough, which disappeared during the 5th day. I was given the antivirals the day I tested positive and started taking them that night. I finished taking them the morning I tested negative.