Tikibird

My final payment is due 3 Sept but I will be possibly off the grid in remote Indonesia at that time so I have to pay about a week beforehand. I really want to do this cruise as advertised to remote islands of PNG. I would accept other Pacific Islands like Vanuatu, New Caledonia or similar. But I am not forking out over $3000 to see standard QLD tourist spots I could drive to in a week's road trip if I wanted to. I am not into being on a ship for the sake of being on a ship. But I want to see remote, unusual places and this cruise is a cost effective way to see some remote PNG islands and hopefully some interesting birdlife for me.

Is the gov't forcing longer cruises to cancel or be broken up? Or are the cruise lines doing it on their own? People understand the risks of taking a cruise. Many are choosing not to take the risk and are not cruising. Their choice. I understand the risks and am willing to accept it as part of living and enjoying life. I like exotic cruises, would be bored stiff on a 7 day domestic cruise.

I just want them to make up their minds. If it won't go ahead in Nov 2022, I would rather be put on the Dec 2023 cruise (with price protection, same cabin) sooner rather than later and make alternate plans for this Nov. I was planning to use a rewards card to pay the balance. If I have to cancel the cruise after full payment due to change of itinerary, and it goes back to the credit card, they may claw back the bonus points for the spend.

Who or what is the key to future PNG cruises going forward? I think the actual ports/islands want the ships, they are a good source of income and if they haven't been vaccinated by now they are accepting the risks. Looks like we will get a 4th dose soon. So I can't see Covid being a huge issue. Pax and crew will be vaccinated.

We live in Brisbane northern suburbs area so I don't think Princess transfers pick up at out house. I did a taxi estimate and it was $50 each way. Not sure how the lines are for taxis on disembarkation day. We could probably get an Uber there because we would have time to wait for it. Estimate Uber X to Pinkenba is $35 from home. Doesn't seem to be public transport near the terminal. Wilson's is $245 11 days.

Normally we would use Uber but after a bad experience with 7 drivers cancelling a trip from the airport I suspect the situation from the cruise terminal won't be any better. The Wilson car park seems expensive. Are there cheaper alternatives that have a shuttle nearby?

If crew and pax are all at least double vaxxed, preferably boosted, why are numbers even an issue? They didn't get this paranoid over gastro and I can recall cruises where like 1/3 the ship had gastro, hand sanitizer crew were outside the dining areas and crew served the buffets.

I am very worried about the Nov PNG cruise as we desperately want to do THAT itinerary. Not worried about Covid, we are triple vaxxed and probably a 4th before then. We self isolated for a week before we went to Fiji because we had to do a RAT on arrival which was negative as expected. We can self isolate before the cruise too. I think Princess really want to do that itinerary, they scheduled another one for Dec 2023. So what external forces are in place that would force them to cancel the cruise? PNG is accepting vaccinated tourists. https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/pacific/papua-new-guinea https://www.airniugini.com.pg/travel-advice/ The ports are remote and can be managed in regards to keeping locals and passengers at arms length. I have no interest in domestic cruises unless possibly Cape York, Iron Range or some place that is hard to drive to so I would rather postpone to 2023 than accept short local cruises.