arxcards

There is a bit of a theme, so I do agree with a bit of skepticism. Most first posts are around booking a first cruise, or jumping into a roll call. I will take at face value, but to make an unsupported claim like that does smell a bit trollish. Apologies to the poster if that is genuinely what you are being advised, and welcome to CC.

Covid-oki strikes again. No social distancing in the mosh pit?

Correct. 12th August. Pacific Explorer's 8th August Fiji cruise is still going to Fiji, but via Auckland, instead of Noumea & Mystery Island.

Please say that 188 is a typo 😲

In the sequence tracing aboard Diamond Princess, the HVAC system was found to be the weak link that bypassed all the cleaning and sanitation efforts. The genome tracing found it spreading through blocks of cabins that shared the same air. You can sanitise your hands, but not so easy to sanitise the air.

The dorm bit covered already - most are in small twin share rooms. When they are off the clock, they are in closer confines for their R&R hours. Yes, they are all vaxxed, a requirement of most governments, so also a Princess policy. Prior to the boarding of this cruise, they offered passengers an out if they didn't want to do the cruise with the added risk. Some would have taken refunds or credits, but I don't know how many. There has been a mention that some of the usual amenities have been curtailed on this cruise. The remaining crew would be sharing the load, and I can imagine the Captain is in the galley stirring tonights' batch of French Onion soup. 😉

Crew on Coral is nominally 895. Given that 114 have tested positive, roughly 13% of the crew have tested positive. That is significant, but they are of no risk to the current passengers while in isolation.They do wear masks in passenger areas, but it would have to be different off-duty below deck. These jocks know how to wind their audience up, and base their stance on that. You can't reason with stupid either.

All good for us nuffies, and we will continue to cringe over their inaccuracies. They are getting better though, as at least they named the correct ship. Stories of the past couldn't tell the difference between Pacific Dawn & Princess Dawn (aka Dawn Princess). They were both big and white and looked the same to them.

We generally avoid the buffet like the plague. OK, bad pun that one. It is more than sanitising and individual serves though. A simple cough can contaminate those individual serves, so it is a loose protocol to not have separation between passengers and the food. Although the food choice/quality might be down a notch, P&O Pantry works really well in these times. The only self serve was for wrapped rolls/wraps and individual desserts you had to reach under a covering glass shelf for. Maybe Princess have it right though. It is mostly crew infected ATM, so it is what is happening below deck that will be under most scrutiny.

And to enter the Caxton Hotel. That place will be a petri dish this afternoon.

Correct, true, and plenty will catch covid at the ground. The difference is though that nobody will test positive at the game.

To each their own, and a choice you can make. 22nd August was a changed itinerary anyway. Don't believe all you hear though. There is nothing from Princess or the state authorities to even hint there will be any cancellations or even tighter restrictions. Sure, they may still shorten or modify ports, and adhere to elevated protocols, but they are not about to be told to park the ship.

There are still obstacles in play for the Pacific Islands. P&O has had one sitting just around the corner for Pacific Explorer 8th August departure. This will be altered tomorrow, partly because Noumea is still out of play. The changed itinerary does have a surprise though, and I don't think they are shortening it from 12 nights. The other issue around Noumea is that use it for a service call during their visit, and ideally they need an alternate port that can provide that service.

One other possibility. A crew member(s) could have bought it back onboard after being ashore buying their essential chocolates and noodles. This time around, Australia infected the cruise ship, a total opposite of 2020.

Princess didn't feed the media at all, NSW & QLD governments have reported the numbers that Princess were obliged to provide them prior to entering port. 4 passengers isn't a silly number, considering most of them only boarded 2 days ago after taking a negative RAT on Saturday. As with most of the earlier cruises, it will likely be between 10 & 20 by the end of the cruise.

The pub was very popular at lunch time for a couple of friends who enjoyed their day.

I am sorry to say, the title of the thread is an oxymoron. ACA has always been a bottom feeder, so it wont change the opinion of anyone that matters. The good part is, that if this all settles down over the next couple of weeks and goes back to code yellow, it proves the protocols are working. The better part is they will all have a degree of immunity when we board next month.

We have cruised North Queensland out of Brisbane a couple of times in July, and it was a nice winter escape from NSW. Nice mild to warm days in Airlie Beach, Cairns & Port Douglas, and good seas. A bit cool at sea at night, but much nicer than being home down south.

Just watched. Nothing sensationalised beyond a headline.

That makes a bit more sense, as the crew are now being tested daily, while the passengers have no compulsory testing if they aren't going ashore. That is a large % of crew though. While it is an obvious strain on the operation of the ship, it should give them all some really good immunity for a month or two, and we have no qualms about boarding Coral in August.

There is a story there, and I have yet to hear anything OTT from the media this time around. The pollies aren't standing on soap boxes for this, so there isn't much of a critical angle for them to run with.

Wow, if that doesn't include crew, that is a rather quick outbreak from a shipload of passengers that did a pre-cruise RAT on Saturday 🤧

Coverage for activities has become like helicopter parenting. It is like they are covering you as a risk, but don't want you to take any. It is not like you are downhill skiing or abseiling. Due to a past shoulder injury, my wife wasn't covered to go on the dodgem cars on Ovation.

Approaching the wharf now.

For NSW, yes there is a status page. QLD has the same protocols, but doesn't have a status page. The NSW page is carrying the info for Coral Princess as well. I don't know if that is because her next stop is a NSW port, or if they will list all ships on the East Coast. Pacific Explorer is currently yellow (0.3 to 3%) and Coral Princess is amber (3 to 10%) Cruising and COVID-19 | NSW Government