Aus Traveller

The Coral Princess has AUD pricing on board. Not all US prices translate exactly to the AUD price they use.

I almost hesitate to ask - "Do you use the patches?"

I don't see it that way. When Princess recommends a booster at least seven days prior to a cruise, I think it makes it clear that the 'last dose being administered at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the cruise' is exactly that - a dose, not a booster. Dose usually means the initial vaccination, not a booster. Otherwise the information is contradictory - although Princess can be like that at times. 🙂

Agreed. Boosters are recommended. Vaccination (initial doses) has to be more than 14 days prior to the cruise. Boosters are recommended (not essential) and there is no restriction on when you have them.

The way I understand the info from Princess is that passengers have to have had 'their final dose of an Australian therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved or recognised COVID-19 vaccine with the last dose being administered at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the cruise ... ' This refers to 'dose' not ' booster'. Vaccines available in Australia require two doses. This is what Princess is referring to. They don't care if you have a booster close to your cruise.

Sorry you had to cancel, but it was good that the refund came so quickly. As a side note, it appears that the refunds of refundable OBC are now not sent in cheque form. On the 9th February we received an email regarding the refund from our cruise that ended two weeks earlier. We had to supply bank account details. We were advised that it would take around three business names for the cash to land in our account.

The only comment I can make is that alcohol for yourselves and your 18-y.o. are much cheaper on Princess than on RCL. On Princess you can take on bottles of wine (2 without charge) and pay AUD$15 corkage on any others. those with the corkage sticker can be taken to the dining room. I can't comment on the kids club for your 15 year old.

Not all the ships (or the crews) go back to the US. It depends on the cruise line.

We have been on five cruises since cruising re-started, the latest a 14-day trip to NZ that ended last Monday. We avoided COVID on all of these. We were pretty careful about wearing masks but maybe it comes down to luck. If someone with the virus is near you when you are eating or drinking (obviously without a mask), then your chances of avoiding it decrease.

Yes. You will have the auto-gratuities added to your on-board account. Please be aware that on Princess ships, the tips you pay will go into the fleet-wide pool, a pool that the Australian-based ships are not part of. The crew on the Australian-based ships are paid at a much higher rate than on ships in other parts of the world that rely on tips to augment the salaries. If you wish, you can remove the auto-gratuities from your account and personally hand the cash to your steward/table waiters. It is up to you.

I agree with your comments. The cabins we have booked for a NZ cruise next January with our daughter and her family are on the Port side. I told my daughter at the time, that this was the right side for Milford Sound. It will also be the right side for the scenic cruising because we will be visiting Fiordland first, then continuing anti-clockwise around the island. On our cruise last week, we enjoyed relaxing on our balcony and watching the scenery, rather than standing up at the front of the ship. That is what we have usually done for the entry into Milford. I might suggest to my daughter & son-in-law that they go up there for the entry into Milford while I stay on the balconies with their little girls.

I agree generally and was a bit disappointed that our cabin on the starboard side wasn't ideally situated for the entry into Milford. However, we were delighted with the position because we were on the landward side for cruising between the Sounds. For Milford, we saw both sides of the fiord anyway.

The best side of the ship depends on the itinerary. For the views of the coast that we really enjoyed, the starboard side is best if the ship is travelling around NZ in a clock-wise direction. If your cruise is calling into the Sounds first, then the port side is best.

Although the northern areas of NZ had a lot of rain, Fiordland hadn't. There weren't many waterfalls - only the larger constant ones.

Embarkation at the new Brisbane cruise terminal went very well without delays. The first port on this 14-night cruise around NZ was Auckland. We were aware that a cyclone was potentially heading for the north of NZ, but the weather was fine for our first port call. We were docked close to our sister ship, the Island Princess that was on a world cruise from Los Angeles. We called into Tauranga the next day and docked behind the Island Princess. It was overcast today, but there wasn't any rain. We left before the Island, and as we pulled away from the dock, the horn on the Island played the theme from the Love Boat. The Coral could only respond with a standard blast from the ship's horn. Passengers on both ships waved and called out. At the cocktail party near the end of the cruise, Captain Pears told us that we were hit with 60 knot winds when we reached the open ocean. We noticed the seas has picked up somewhat, but it was very comfortable in the ship, even if the promenade deck was closed at times. We didn't get to the point of sick bags being placed around the ship. We were supposed to call into Napier on Sunday 12th, but this port call was cancelled. Capt Pears told us that if we got into the harbour, we wouldn't be able to leave because the weather was deteriorating. We later learned that exceptionally heavy rain started the next day and by early on Tuesday morning, a state of emergency had been declared. We 'dodged a bullet' by having the port visit cancelled. We headed at slow speed for Wellington. Once again, we could see waves of probably 5-6 metres, but the ship handled it very well. Monday 13th - Wellington. The sky was overcast but it didn't rain even though Napier was copping it at this time. As usual, free shuttle buses operated to the centre of the CBD and to a stop near the magnificent Te Papa Museum. On Tuesday 14th we were supposed to be in Lyttleton (for Christchurch). We entered the outer harbour but at 7am Capt Pears made the announcement that he had to cancel the port call. He had been in discussions with the Harbour Master who advised that an infragravitational wave (storm surge) could occur and that the harbour would be closed at 12 noon. Ships would be much safer in the open ocean. If we docked, we had to leave the harbour by noon so the port call was cancelled. Passengers wouldn't be able to travel into Christchurch and return by noon. This was a bit like Cinderella with her midnight curfew at the ball. We were able to visit to Port Chalmers (for Dunedin) on the 15th. By this time Cyclone Gabrielle had moved away to the east and we had cruised further south. Docked beside us in Port Chalmers was the Norwegian Spirit, an NCL cruise ship. When we left, both ships politely sounded their horns, but there wasn't any reaction from the passengers on either ship. We had been concerned that we mightn't make it into the Sounds however, our day of scenic cruising was magnificent with perfect weather. Because we were approaching from the south, we entered Dusky and Breaksea Sounds first, followed by Doubtful and Thompson Sounds. As we cruised north close to the coast, the scenery was superb. We sat on our balcony for hours enjoying the views. Then we entered Milford Sound. Soon we saw a pod of porpoises right beside us. They performed their usual leaps out of the water, then some of them appeared to dive under the ship. Although we have cruised to New Zealand many times before, we felt that this day in Fiordland was probably the most spectacular. Probably having a balcony and being on the best side of the ship for the views, helped a lot in that assessment. COVID - We rarely saw anyone not wearing a mask, however there were obviously cases of COVID on board. The number of cabins in quarantine increased slowly from a couple to an estimated 20 or so. This is only my estimate. SUMMARY - Overall it was a great cruise. The crew were all great as usual and we met some old cruising friends as well as many new ones.

Fantastic!!

If the up-grade is simply location and not in the type of cabin (e.g. oceanview to balcony), then I don't think this is a good upgrade. Not only would the cabin be subject to more movement in the event of heavy seas, it would be a very long walk to get anywhere on the ship. If you are concerned about the suggested up-grade, I suggest you phone P&O. Don't wait for an answer to an email. Best of luck.

No. When we missed Napier there wasn't a replacement port. We cruised slowly to Wellington because the seas were sizeable, but not too bad. When we left Lyttleton harbour without docking, we had another sea day. It wouldn't be easy to substitute another port with virtually no notice. It would have to have port facilities that would accommodate a large ship and without advance notice, there couldn't be any shore tours. We were refunded a small amount for the port fees (for Napier and Lyttleton) that we had paid as part of our fare.

I agree with your comment that travel on a cruiseship is international travel. I believe it would be covered by travel insurance UNLESS the policy specifically states that travel on a cruise ship is excluded. With some policies, the person has to pay extra for cruiseship coverage, but this is clearly stated in the terms and conditions.

Norwegian Spirit was in Port Chalmers when the Coral Princess was there on 15th Feb. From the bridge cam, it looks like a reasonable day for the passengers in Mt Maunganui.

You don't have to fill out a form to declare goods when you are leaving the ship on an excursion. It is only when you are disembarking the ship at the end of your cruise. For shore excursions, I suggest you take the cookies (or other processed food but definitely not fruit or meat etc). Have the item in your hand luggage and ask the quarantine officer you will see in the terminal if the item is OK to take ashore. If not, then you will have to hand it over but I am confident you would not be fined. This occurs when contraabanc food is discovered.

The farewell from Tauranga was memorable. We were docked behind the Island Princess that's on its world cruise out of LA. We left first, and when we pulled out almost alongside the Island, the ship played the Love Boat theme on its horn. Passengers on both ships waved and hollered.

👍

The Coral Princess was due in Napier on Sunday 12th Feb. Captain Pears told the passengers that he had to decide that morning to cancel the port call into Napier. He said that with 'Gabby' chasing us, if we went in, we wouldn't be able to get out. I will prepare a longer review of the cruise. We just got home today and I am trying to catch up with emails etc, then un-pack. Laundry might have to wait a day or two.

We cruised on the Pacific Encounter twice last year, the last one in November. There were plenty of tables for two in the dining room. We prefer to share with others, but this wasn't an option. At that time, they were seating people only with their own travelling party. This may have changed in the last two months.