Cruisegroover

Thanks for the update. I am a details person so was wondering how Viking handled the issue. Glad you made it all on the same ship.

Did you get bussed to Regensburg for the walking tour or did you get through? I just saw a blogger doing a live who is on your river cruise and no mention of any river level issues.

Richmond come from 42 points behind to win by 7 over Brisbane. Brisbane's lost percentage while the Swans big win gained percentage with the result Swans now 4th. Some big games coming over the next 3 rounds to decide final 8 positions.

I am seeing posts that Enchantment of the Seas will be replaced with Brilliance of the Seas for 23/24 season. Has anybody else seen anything about this?

I am booked the same cruise. I see NCL cancelled the Greenland part of the cruise the night before the 14th July cruise due to weather concerns. Lots of speculation on the roll call. Let's hope the 25th July cruise goes ahead.

I wonder how long Channel 9 have been sitting on this report waiting for the 'right' time to air. https://tvtonight.com.au/2022/07/under-investigation-july-14.html Nine has slated a new episode of Under Investigation, hosted by Liz Hayes for Thursday night at 7:30pm. In the wake of this week’s Covid outbreak on the Coral Princess – an Under Investigation special report on the dark side of the cruise industry and whether passenger ships should be sailing again. 7:30pm Thursday July 14 on Nine (8pm in Brisbane)

In the USA that was the case last year.

Pacific Explorer still listed as 'yellow' - https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/travel-restrictions/cruising-rules I am not sure if Qld government has a similar status report for ships operating out of Qld.

Princess is still scheduled to go to PNG in November to ports such as Rabaul. I am booked on this cruise and have been since 2020. I wish Princess would do something one way or the other as I simply don't see the situation there dramatically improving (3.67% of the population vaccinated at the moment).

I know of 6 people on the 31 May cruise who tested positive today. Mask up and stay safe. I am back onboard this Saturday. I tested negative this afternoon.

Yes she is heading off to Italy to bring Pacific Encounter back.

I would appreciate it if someone onboard for todays cruise reports how many people are wearing masks? And if Julie the CD is out and about. Thanks.

Oops meant to say Pacific Explorer.

We were told onboard the capacity was 75% for the 31 May sailing. I am back onboard for 11 June sailing so will be interesting to see if it's still 75%

I booked for Hans at the Box Office onboard and I was not told there was a $20 charge. I just happened to check my account straight after booking and saw the charge and went back and cancelled it. I just said I wasn't aware there was a $20 charge and I wasn't happy paying for entertainment. They reversed the charge no questions asked.

Agree out on deck is a must no matter how cold.

I can't wait to start the party on Tuesday. I am slack so won't pack until Monday night. I counted the numbers of days between cruises for me - 822 to be exact (last one was Ovation in Feb 20). Best part of sailaway for me will be the ships whistle going - how I have missed that sound.

I come across this story in todays Cruise Weekly Newsletter - https://issues.cruiseweekly.com.au/2022/May22/cw060522.pdf RCI looking at year-round cruising ROyal Caribbean International (RCI) is considering deploying ships in Australian waters yearround, with the line’s local Vice President & Managing Director Gavin Smith saying the pandemic had created new opportunities to rethink its previous stance on seasonality. Speaking to Cruise Weekly aboard the new Wonder of the Seas as she cruised out of Barcelona this week, Smith (pictured) said the other key factor driving such a decision would be the new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal. “What’s important about Brisbane is because of its warm climate, it’s an opportunity for us to go year round,” he said. “That’s really a longer term opportunity for us,” he said, noting that “Royal is a summertime brand”. Similar decisions have already been made in Israel, Cyprus and Panama where RCI has announced the year-round operation of several vessels. “We’ve got new deployments because things are different... for instance, all of a sudden, particularly in Israel, there’s an incredible number of wealthy Israelis who want to go to Southern Greece and Turkey and are doing so in the safety and beauty of a cruise ship. “Similarly we’re coming out of Cyprus, where the Brits are going on packaged holidays,” he said. “So yes, I think the opportunity for Brisbane will be for full year cruising with Royal at some point,” Smith confirmed. This year the company will operate Ovation of the Seas and Quantum of the Seas in local waters from Oct, and in 2023/24 a smaller third ship, Enchantment of the Seas, will also cruise in Australia alongside the two ultramodern Quantum-class ships. Smith noted the huge opportunity for Aussies to experience the best of the Royal Caribbean product close to home - and for travel advisors to communicate the key differences to their clientele. Meanwhile also on board Wonder, the cruise line’s outgoing Senior Vice President of International sales, Sean Treacy, said RCI is looking forward to the Oct resumption of cruising locally. “It was a long time not operating in Australia, but we have a very strong loyal base of cruisers who are very excited about us obviously returning to Sydney with Ovation, but also for the first time bringing Quantum class to Brisbane...that’s a huge story for us,” Treacy said. He also expressed confidence about being able to operate across the Tasman. “There’s currently a lot of dialogue happening with the NZ Government, and I’d say we’re quite positive about the opportunity to operate as planned based on where we are today,” Treacy added.