arxcards

Corruption is everywhere, even the South Pacific.

So, we let China become their sugar daddy instead? They would fund some really open & fair elections I think it is a bit late anyway, as Chinese belt & road money is all through the Pacific.

You can only hope they are hoping to keep to the original itinerary via a successful negotiation to get a couple of trial cruises before the opening. Alas, I am not that optimistic, but they must at least be holding on to some hope to have not announced anything different yet.

Definitely a Princess cabin, but could be an ex-Princess ship, which counts for all of P&O too.

Nothing, except most people are honest. As of a few weeks ago, you only had to say you had taken a test with a negative result and have no symptoms to board. The photo offers no extra protection, as anyone dishonest can still do a dodgy. Supervised RAT doesn't work any better, as proven by US based cruises that nearly all had reportable levels of covid. A bug that spreads with travel, being picked up in transit will test negative on the supervised test and still be taken onto the ship. The only way to stop covid getting aboard is to go back to a ship ban. Whatever, it appears to be currently working, with all active ships sailing as code green.

Nice to see you have made it to Papeete.

It has fallen flat. It seems they never had it on Carnival over there, just Princess & Cunard.

Even the Lower Hunter has tuxes. and not just at Lowes. Still have mine hanging in a bag, waiting for the next time I can be bothered. It needs a dry clean, so I might take it on Majestic if only just for that.

Well, that gives me two reasons not to eat them.

Not a big budget breaker for 5 nights. A perfect way to sample how the other half live. Does the Queen's Grill become the King's Grill? 😁

Smarter than a pox doctors' clerk.

See, resistance is futile!! 😂. It is a special ship. Booze cruise? I resemble that remark 😂

Could be a bit bumpy on the way down, but it looks like we have a nice enough forecast for Monday.

Under the flight path?

Same as for the other Carnival brands. The photo/ID/clock thing is not a government requirement, but something Carnival Australia has recently put together. NCL will have their own version that fits with govt requirements, but likely different to what you have for Cunard.

Not just close to the terminal. The P&O players club is only local cruising, but I have friends that get offers from the respective Royal Caribbean & Carnival clubs, where they could cruise cheaply in the Caribbean and Alaska. Usually they stick close to home though, due to the added cost of airfares.

We have two short ones booked on Splendor next year. One of those has a massive cancellation OBC, so it looks like some sparkly stuff for my wife. We always look forward to cruises, but a friend who disembarked yesterday was not overly complimentary (understatement). We have another couple of friends on the current one, so will check-out their opinions as well. I figure they are having much more fun that I am having at work ATM. They have a really good resident piano vocalist on at present, Sarah Rae, a Sydney lass. I have seen a couple of clips of her performance the other night, and she is a couple of notches above the norm.

Nearly all ships arrive at Sydney Heads close to first light. Cunard disembarks are as efficient as any other, and in all likelyhood you will be disembarked before 7:30. That is when they are on schedule and not affected by weather, seas or other delays from the previous port. On a normal day, your 11am flight will be a shoo-in.

That is well put together. And boldly visible.

Maybe not the case for those on the bus, but lots of people are doing these short weekenders and go straight from work to embark, then straight to work after disembarking. For the lack of suit & tie in the dining room, you see plenty disembarking that way. That would add a bit of bloat to your luggage.

You are not alone.

Lots will be confiscated, but mostly for a different reason. Plenty of passengers aren't aware they even have T&C's.

The omi variant changed everything. Lots of people are asymptomatic with it, and that includes not having an elevated temperature. Our worksite did away with temperature screening then, considered a waste of time.

The PCR mentioned is 2 - 3 days, RAT is 1 day. I would suggest to just pack an antigen self test and take your test with it when you arrive in New Zealand.

Something that was being considered, but highlighted by the ACA program. It looks like unvaccinated children under 12 are no longer required to register in the 5% unvaccinated cap for some cruises. I have edited, as the info has updated again,, and is now for all Carnival cruises departing NSW & QLD. In line with government protocols, until further notice, we will operate vaccinated cruises with our enhanced protocols. We are required to have 95% of all guests vaccinated with 5% unvaccinated guests. Vaccine exemptions are limited to a small number of guests with medical conditions preventing vaccination. Guests requesting a medical exemption will need to present evidence of a medical need at time of check-in (see related FAQ). As of October 5th, the NSW & QLD government have ruled that children under 12yrs no longer need to apply for a vaccination exemption. This is only applicable on sailings originating from NSW and QLD ports.