bazzaw

Have sailed with Cunard 10 times - but 9 of these have been in British, Europe and American waters. One (our first) was a very brief taste of QM2 from Sydney to Auckland (only 4 days) - can't really remember much about this except that I was overwhelmed by the ship and all the men on our CC roll call wore Tuxes at Dinner ( which was a first for me!) 🙂 The cruises abroad - culminating in the Atlantic Crossing Southampton to New York - had a certain style about them which we enjoyed as a change from those we had previously experienced at home on Aussie based ships.. So - what to expect on our short 8 day QE - Sydney to Hobart and return cruise next week?? Anybody here recently been on the ship?

Cunards Queen Elizabeth is in Lyttleton NZ today - thought she had been blocked from going to NZ??

There is a need - but it is a commercially viable need???

Perhaps there have been some changes regarding this ? Will check it out later today - thanks for the input. I am "suspecting" that these will turn out to be just words - it is what is offered that counts. Gold Card , etc ?? I am not actually looking for anything - as I have no negative physical effects from my 20 years of Military Service.

Frankly, although I have received the benefit many times over the last several years, I have always been surprised about it. Why? - because Carnival Corp are an American Company and American Society is not Australian Society. I served in the Australian Military for 20 years RAAF and RAN and am not recognised by Australian Society as a "veteran'. I am only a mere Ex-Serviceman - big difference!!!! 😞

Yes - it has always depended on the length of cruise - my question is - has it been cancelled here in Oz??

Have heard that Carnival may have abandoned this benefit that used to be available for serving and ex- members of the Military? Anybody know the current situation??

Thanks all - the bag drop was mostly my problem - plenty of things to do around The Rocks, Circular Quay, Opera House etc to amuse us until 3PM

AND Viking are not a cheap cruiseline!!!! If I ever had the opportunity to cruise with Viking and this kind of thing happened , I would be VERY unhappy!

I must be a pedant - because one missing Comma in that long sentence was what confused me.

One (1) photo which shows all together the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) negative test result, government issued photo ID (such as a driver’s license) a clock displaying the time (e.g. a watch, mobile phone, wall clock) and date of testing written on a piece of paper.

Yes - plenty to do in that area IF we can get rid of the bags.

We have got our boarding time for QE 3-4PM and we have to be out of Rydges Hotel Circular Quay by 10AM . Will have two wheely suitcases - one each. Have never been allocated such a late boarding time before .

It seems that the alternative dining venues on Queen Elizabeth is the "Dinner at the Lido" and "Steakhouse at the Verandah" - both of which can't be pre-booked online. Wondering if anybody would care to pass comment on either or both of them?? Are they worth the bother of a big rush to book one on departure day??

Yes - it is actually easier to just pull out two bits of paper that trying to find 2 PDF files in my phone 🙂

What happens if you get Covid onboard and have to fly home to Brisbane from Sydney ?? - also are there any Covid testing requirements , etc before we fly to Sydney??

Seasickness is largely a matter of spacial disorientation. When you are inside a ship, your physical senses tell you that the ship is rocking - but your eyes tell you that it is not ( because you are inside a room) . This leads your brain to become disoriented and causes confusion. If you can see the horizon, this disorientation is removed and helps to avoid nausea. Your stomach knows nothing about this however 😞

Still haven't had it Les - despite our best efforts at a big wedding in Melbourne recently

But I am only going over the seas to Hobart 🙂 - dont think there will be any overseas trips for me for a while.

Hmm -I am pretty sure that my Medicare App can supply me with a printed copy of the Vacc certificat - but dont know how to link my passport to it!! ??

I know that Cunard requires a. full Covid vaccination and b. negative Covid test before joining. The old QLD Checkin app has a facility to show a Digital Certificate (of sorts) but that App is now defunct. So how do we "prove" vaccination status??

Really there is little difference ( in terms of effort) between a man putting on a Tax and Bowtie - than a Dark Business suit and tie 🙂

We are probably a bit "cruised out" now - and I can only see cruising out of Brisbane on our future radar. We have had some wonderful cruises - World Cruise with P&O UK, 2x 3 Cunard Queens including Norway, the Baltic Sea, St Petersburg twice and a Transatlantic to New York on QM2, inaugural cruise to PNG to see the Kundu Festival, cruise to Tahiti, Hawaii, etc. . Plus many others too numerous to name 🙂

We board QE on 20 Jan for a very short 8 days to Tasmania from Sydney. We have had 3 cruises on each Cunard ship in the past and participated in all the "formality" onboard the ships - but times are now changed and I no longer feel the mood to wear Tuxedo to dinner. So I am thinking of just taking a coat (no tie) and dine at night in the Buffet. We can enjoy the MDR for breakfast and Lunch without the formality. I am anticipating spending much time on the outer decks or our balcony this time around - if the weather allows. This will be our last Cunard cruise ever so it will be a bit of a shame to have to do this - but we will be fortunate to just get to sea again.

So you believe that they move people TO balconies - not from balconies to insides?? 🙂 Have I got that right?