clairebearinaus

Most of the time I am cruising with my partner, who is already shorter than I am, so I wear flats.

On the other hand, my children tower over me so when the three of us cruise together (or go out anywhere, really!) it's a good opportunity to dust off my favourite heels.

I never, ever wear hose.  Opaque tights in winter, yes, but I don't do cold weather cruises.

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

Not IOP, but likely Noumea for medical emergencies - ironically one of the skipped ports that they were meant to be in today.

People who are onboard now are posting that they are frustratingly anchored off IOP but can't go ashore.

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

She always seems to have a propulsion issue. I don't know what they have planned, but she is currently doing 16kn, which is fast enough not to be skipping 2 ports.

I also read on Facebook that she is headed towards an unscheduled port stop (might have been Isle of Pines?) to drop off an ill passenger.

I haven't used them myself but I believe there are online services which do this.  They watch you do the test on Zoom or the like, and email you the paperwork you need.

Queen Elizabeth is showing a gala night 6/1/23 but still no info on what the theme will be (which is irritating as I want to go shopping!).

7 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

Just had a look - you must be getting into Sydney on the 7th January. The ship is scheduled to arrive at 6am to the Overseas Passenger Terminal.

 

I did my first Cunard voyage a few years ago by taking a 4-nighter from Auckland to Sydney. The vibe of the ship felt right to me from the minute I boarded - reminded me of the ships I had been on as a child. I hope you have a wonderful experience.

 

I'm impressed and very grateful that you found the information I needed.  Thanks very much. 

I've just booked my first Cunard cruise, a little 2 nighter.  

It's about 3 months away and I can't find any information on port departure or arrival times.  It's not in the calendar in my online booking, not in the email confirmation, not on the official port authority schedules.  

Just wondering if this is the norm or if it's worth a call to Cunard to find what's going on?  We're travelling in peak holiday period and I have FF points to use up, would like to get flights sorted ASAP.

Or do I just go with 11am flight home ex Sydney on the assumption that all ships arrive early enough to be off by about 8.30am?

I am on a similar cruise same time next year and fully plan to take a suitcase as I'll have my wetsuit and snorkelling gear to dive the wrecks at Moreton Island.  I avoid using loan equipment if at all possible.

I'll also have hand luggage, as always, for backup in case there's a delay in getting my suitcase to the cabin.

Thanks Arxcards.  I'm mostly hoping for a sense of the general busyness and ease of finding space in, for example, the specialty restaurants and adults only area.  And which power point adaptors I'll need!

OK, I'm sorry to hear some of you are still having issues and it wasn't my intention to cause offence, rather to share the process I followed which was quick and successful.   Hopefully it will be helpful to someone out there.

I am beside myself with excitement for my first post-covid cruise on 3rd Sept (and first P&O cruise ever), I have lots of questions! 😁

Hello, wanted to report that I just successfully registered with VeriFly with the QR code from our international digital vaccination certificates.  I just took a screen shot and uploaded that, and it's recognised me as fully vaxxed.

Perhaps the issues above were experienced using the domestic certificate?  (If on your phone, domestic certificate is green, international is blue. )

International certificates can be produced from the Medicare app or on myGov website.

Thank you so much for all your helpful replies, I feel a lot more positive about calling and arguing my case now.

Does anyone have any experience with being booked on a cruise that looks to be going ahead, but you're locked out of the departure country due to Covid restrictions?

I am in this situation and final payment is due soon.  I paid a non-refundable deposit for this cruise but am wondering if Carnival will be flexible given a) we booked before the pandemic started and b) we want to transfer the deposit to another Carnival cruise.

I do understand that they're entitled to keep my deposit according to the T&C, but wondered if others could offer me any hope based on their own experiences.  I did call the customer care line a few weeks ago to enquire and was fobbed off to a 'review' email address who eventually replied telling me to call the customer care line... so not a great help so far and now the payment's almost due I really need to push for a firm answer.

I wonder why 2 lines in the Carnival group have cancelled, but the Carnival line itself has not?

UAE is handy to India too.

I agree it doesn't make sense for Carnival to send both ships that far if it's just for a couple of hundred people.  

Maybe it's a staging point and they're headed elsewhere after that?

I'd love to think they are embarking a full crew though, and starting their training and quarantining process to be ready in the hope Australia's ban is lifted in September.  Probably wishful thinking!  Maybe we'll hear more news when they arrive at their destination.

Carnival recently announced on Facebook that its Australian ships (Splendor and Spirit) have left the Singapore area, where they've been bobbing around for awhile, and are en route to the UAE to re-crew.  

Not sure if that means full crew, but it's interesting.  I believe UAE is fairly lax about movements in and out compared to some countries, so would be a good jumping on point for crew from various places.

My partner got through yesterday at about 1 hour 30 minutes - late afternoon.  If that didn't work we were going to try again during US business hours when I assume there are more people at work in their call centre.

It's a shame they don't let you do more things yourself online.

17 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

 

Windjammers is a nightmare and the food is very average.

 

 

That's disappointing, I'm on Voyager for the first time next week and was planning to have most of my meals there.  I'll try to avoid peak hour!

Thanks so much for the replies, especially the photos which are helpful.  

I think we'll see things look on the day.  I also have a photo from a cruise to Lifou and the ship is anchored much further out than it is in Suzi's photo above, it must depend on tide and weather.

Either way I'll be sure to keep Mum away from falling coconuts 😁

Hi,

I'm on the countdown to my Voyager of the Seas Xmas cruise.  

My elderly mum isn't too keen on going ashore on a tender, she thinks a hot, cramped, airless boat will make her sick.  I'm going to try to coax her into having a go, if it's a calm day.  She'll probably be taking seasick meds anyway.

Of the 3 islands we're visiting - Lifou, Mare and Mystery Island, which would you recommend as having the shortest, and most likely smoothest tender ride?  

Thanks

Claire

I'm the queen of minimalist packing! On warm weather cruises I only pack dresses, and ones that don't need ironing.  

I'll have one sundress/maxi style for each day plus a spare.  I'll shower in the afternoon and put a clean one on with strappy sandals for drinks/dinner.  Then wear it again during the day for schlepping around the pool or ports, where I'm going to get grubby anyway.  I mix it up so I'm not wearing the same dress 2 days in a row 🙂  Thongs for the pool, Birkenstocks for ports.  

Then one stretchy 'Little Black Dress' that will be worn to 2 formal nights with a different cardi or pashmina or something so it's not too obvious.  (Though I also have the fabulous Sacha Drake 5 way dress which is brilliant for travelling and can be tied to look different each time.)

Swimwear and a couple of sets of gym gear which get washed out in the shower each day, and I'm good to go!

Oh brilliant, I had a busy day at work and look at all the replies, thank you all!

I'm so pleased I don't have to faff around finding proper pants and shoes for Mr 14yo beanpole with clown feet.

Would love to take advantage of the free wine on night 1 but really need to get the kids sorted in their clubs etc. 

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking about what to wear at dinner for my 3 night cruise to nowhere on Carnival Legend next week.

From what I can see on the website, I can expect an elegant night AND a theme night, which seems OTT for the length of the cruise.

Would any experienced Carnival people like to help me figure out what might be on, and which night the elegant and theme nights are likely to be? 

I have a Nouveau booking on night 2 - if that's elegant night are they more or less strict about dress code than MDR?  I was hoping my teens could get away with 'nice' jeans and trainers.

Thanks for that 2nd photo of the Oronsay, I really appreciate it.

Hope you have a great trip.  I too shall be waving from Williamstown!