Aus Traveller

They don't have to have a smart phone or use the QR code. In January we were on a Princess cruise with my daughter and her family. I printed out the booking form etc and just showed that (that didn't look closely) to be allowed into the terminal. At the check in desk they had all the info on the computer system.

A shuttle bus is what is required, not a 'public' bus that stops constantly at bus stops and takes forever to get to the CBD. Princess has a shuttle to the CBD. For two people the shuttle is a little bit cheaper than a taxi, but for a group of four, a taxi would be better. The problem could be that there are plenty of taxis at the terminal on turn-around days, but probably not many on days when a ship has a port call. Of course, a taxi can be ordered by phone. To get a taxi back at the end of the day would be easy.

Where did you find it hard to get seats? Because you mention 'waiter' I suppose you mean the dining room. On our recent Coral Princess cruises we were allocated a table for our family group for dinner so we went directly to that table every night after the first night. For breakfast and lunch they always found a table for us without any delay. Also it didn't require a tip.🙂

If the Princess tour is a disembarkation one, you would have your luggage in the bins under the bus. These tours usually end at the airport. Australia Zoo is a long way north of Brisbane so it wouldn't be easy to get to without a tour.

I saw a problem a couple had who had booked and paid in advance for a taxi. There were much more than a dozen cabs waiting but this couple were told it would be another 45 minutes before their taxi turned up. Unless you need a maxi taxi (when you might have to wait a short while), I would just walk out and get in the first cab. If you are unlucky you might have to wait 10 minutes or to but most times, there have been quite a few taxis waiting for customers.

You wouldn't be transferred at 7am. Probably the earliest would be 9am. Usually everyone is off the ship by 9.30 or so. Why not get a taxi? It would not be any more expensive (maybe a few dollars cheaper) and you can go as early as you want.

It could be worth checking with the company you have the multi trip insurance with, to see if they cover cruises.

That should be enough unless you became seriously ill and needed to be evacuated from the ship. Your call ......

That changes things. I thought you previous mention of these amounts referred to the amount of cover you would have while on a cruise. US$50,00 would be plenty, but $1,000 could be risky. If one of you became ill on the ship, your bill would very quickly reach $1,000.

I have been on a few cruises that called into New Caledonia in the last two years. Each time at check in I was asked if I had insurance. I pulled out the hard copy of my insurance details and an email from the bank to show that we were covered. They didn't really look at it. I feel that you should have a policy that covers cruising, but (as I said earlier) I would take the least expensive option you can find.

I have the impression that you might be from USA because the details you mention re travel insurance are not anything I have seen here. Our travel insurances either include cruises automatically, or with a couple, we have to specify cruising and pay a very small surcharge. With the type of insurance you mention, I would take the lowest coverage because presumably that will cost you the least. I feel that US$50,000 would more than cover any possible expense. (These are just my opinions.) We use a complimentary travel insurance that is attached to our ANZ Platinum Visa credit card. It includes cruising.

A problem I found with excursions on the world cruise is that only the segment (I would call it sector) you are currently on, are available to see either on your account or at the ShoreEx office.

The reasons that the Coral went close to land are - 1. Moreton Bay is relatively shallow with a clearly marked shipping lane. It goes fairly close to Moreton Island near the Tangaloma Resort. 2. After leaving the Bay, ships keep close to the coast as far as Mooloolaba because that is where the marine pilot leaves the ship.

Great feed-back. Thanks.

On Saturday night a $72 transaction on my husband's ANZ card with an overseas entity was declined by the bank and his card cancelled. He was very happy as he had authorised $2 and (according to the bank) the company kept trying to get their $72. We don't know if they would have gone back for a larger amount if their initial $72 worked. I am sure Barry will work it out today. The suggestions of booking through a third party were good.

As Scarlett O'Hara said "Tomorrow is another day". We have noticed that banks are more inclined to decline payments if they consider that they might be fraudulent, than they used to and some banks are more inclined to take this course of action than others. I suppose we should be glad of that. I am sure you will sort it out tomorrow.🙂

Agreed. You did say it. I was just making a joke. 😁

Your 'humid' probably isn't what Queenslanders call 'humid'. 😁

According to the internet, Cyclone Gabrielle was no longer at cyclone strength when it hit NZ. It had been down-graded to a deep sub-tropical low. However there was a lot of damage from the exceptionally heavy rain.

Cancel For Any REASON?

A couple of times we have got a taxi to go sightseeing. Lombok is also a great place to buy pearls, if that is of interest.

Your trip will be too far south for cyclones to be an issue. Melbourne can be hot at that time of year, but it will be a dry heat. NZ will be cool, even cold in the south, to comfortably warm in Auckland. Sydney can be hot (low 30s Celsius) but it wouldn't be terribly humid.

It was obviously the TA's mistake so I would expect them to fix the problem. You did peruse the documents, but I don't feel it is your responsibility. All the best. You can do without issues like this. 🙂

On the WC last year I printed out details of my tour bookings as soon as I booked them. Later the prices went up, in one case by 100%. I was charged the price at which I booked. I agree with you Julie. It is likely that Sparrow has nothing to worry about.

Does your personal list of booked tours show an increased price, or is it on the tours page for new bookings? If your prices have increased, I would challenge the increase.