Aus Traveller

You have probably booked on the Pacific Adventure or Pacific Explorer. I haven't sailed on these ships, but I will mention that on the Pacific Encounter, two of the specialty restaurants (Angelo's and Dragon Lady) are included in the fare cost. Luke Mangan's is at an extra charge.

I have been researching the issue related to water and deciding whether I will buy a Brita filter jug. I have found another option. Apparently ascorbic acid (vitamin C) will neutralize chlorine. It would only need the tiniest pinch of powered vitamin C (part of a crushed tablet) for a jug of water. I can then pour this into a couple of 500ml plastic bottles. This would avoid having to carry a large filter jug. It has been suggested I could ask for a slice (or wedge) of lemon to add to my glass of water at the dining room table.

Good idea. That is the best way to find out if TRS will be operating in Cairns during your cruise. It is possible that it just wasn't organised for our cruises last year.

On our cruises to Cairns via Willis Is (June-July and Aug-Sept), I looked carefully to see if there was a TRS desk in the Cairns terminal. There was not. I also enquired when we boarded in Brisbane and I was told that there would be TRS on 'proper international cruises'. On our Pacific Island cruise on 5th Nov, the TRS in the Brisbane terminal was set up just after the Border Force desks.

From what I see, there are more precautions taken against the transmission of COVID on cruiseships than in the community. We have to choose whether to stay at home (totally) or live our lives trying to avoid the virus.

Princess advised passengers before the cruise that they would have to wear masks at embarkation and on board when not eating or drinking. Compliance was exceptionally good.

Either book a maxi taxi, or when you exit the terminal, ask the taxi supervisor to get a maxi taxi for you.

We did two cruises with P&O who also use VeriFly. From what I could see, VeriFly is only used for p;re-boarding info. They do not access the VeriFly info at embarkation.

We were advised that boarding would be delayed by one hour. This was because the previous cruise had several cases of COVID. Needless to say, when we arrived at 12.45 for our 1pm embarkation, there were people everywhere. Embarkation was very slow. I have booked on the world cruise and was pleased that there was a large group of world cruisers on this particular voyage. We were able to meet up and went to the MDR for lunch on our first sea day. We had been allocated an accessible balcony cabin although we don't require one. It was fantastic to have the extra space and the large balcony, but the drainage of water from the shower was a problem. It flowed out under the door and wet the carpet in the cabin. I spent a lot of time with towels, trying to soak up the water by stomping on the towels. We heard a maintenance man on board telling our next door neighbour that all that type of cabin had that problem and that they 'couldn't do anything'. We were told to just use towels. My husband constructed a little dam wall using a trivia pencil and duct tape to close off the approx 3cm wide gap that allowed the water to flow out. The shower water was then diverted to where it should go. It wouldn't be difficult for the on-board engineers to glue a length of plastic of metal to divert the water. This is in an area where no-one would or even could walk. Our first port of call was Sydney. The early morning sail-in was magical with the sun lighting up the tall buildings, and reflections in the still waters of the harbour completing the scene. I went for a long walk around the harbour. The next day (Thursday 19th - day 3) we all had to take a RAT test. I was reliably informed that only a handfull of cases were detected. I walked past all of the cabins on decks 12, 11 and 10 and saw indications of only one 'COVID cabin'. It was on deck 12. Someone mentioned that there were a few cabins quarantined off on deck 8. After leaving Sydney, we had some extremely windy weather that meant we couldn't go out on the promenade deck. It was too windy to enjoy our balcony for a day or so. By day 3 to 4, I found that the water was having a rather drastic effect on my innards so I reduced my intake of water in the dining room as well as from the tap in the cabin. I drank the bottles of water in the cabin, then the sparkling water, then the tonic water and was even considering drinking Coke, when I was able to get more bottled water. I had a live chat with a Princess rep today about the price of water on board and the answers seemed crazy. She said there would be bottles in the cabin to buy (there weren't), we could take on water but nothing larger than 750ml, it had to be factory sealed and was limited to one pp per day. For quite a while this Princess rep wouldn't give me any on-board prices and said I would have to speak to my Travel Agent. Eventually she told me that the water on board was $3 for a 500 ml bottle, but it could vary. I would need a few of these a day. I will find out more before our next cruise. In the chat she then informed me that I couldn't take food ashore. Duh!! I didn't need to know that. Our Tassie ports were switched around because another ship was in Hobart when we were due to be there. One good result was that our visit to Hobart was on a Saturday - Salamanca Markets Day!! I walked to the markets, then looked at all of the couple of hundred stalls. I was very restrained in my purchasing. Back to the ship. The next day was Port Arthur where we went ashore by tender. I walked all around the site but I have to confess, because this was the second very active day in a row, I did consider getting a ride part of the way on one of the complimentary golf carts that ran constantly. Anyway, there wasn't one when I wanted it, so I continued on foot, even though my knees protested. Our next day was scenic cruising off the Freycinet National Park. The ships can't go into Wineglass Bay, but the scenery was lovely. We sailed back to Brisbane, arriving at the BICT on time on Thursday 26th Jan.

I agree with your comment about the tour of Parliament House. It was very interesting. Then of course, the Te Papa Museum is an absolute 'must-see'. One great aspect of both these places, is that they are free!!

I hate to say it, but your guess is as good as mine. However, in summer you are less likely to encounter bad weather than in winter.

I always used to have an icebucket full of ice, but on our last cruises on Princess and P:&O, there wasn't an ice bucket in the cabin. I didn't ask the steward but maybe tomorrow I will.

One of the bars.

We keep any left-over wine in the fridge, but often the fridge is not very cold. To take my wine to the dining room, I made a simple black cotton bag. It is unobtrusive and folds up to virtually nothing. After all, I don't need an insulated bag while I am taking it to the MDR.

Wow. We were charged for eight days, even though I entered the times as 11.30am for arrival, and 9am for departure a week later.

Most of the P1 parking spots have coverage - a roof structure that holds solar panels. It would protect a vehicle unless the rain was driven at an angle by a strong wind. We have used this area a few times, mainly to protect our car in the event of hail. I don't think that hail is driven in at an angle. In P1 some (may 10% at a guess) of the parking spaces are open air. You don't reserve a particular spot, just take what is available. P1 had the added advantage of being close to the terminal. If you want to book, do it soon after bookings open. I think this is around 90 days prior to the date. If you are on a seven-day cruise, you are charged for eight days because you are there for (part of) eight days. That is the way of the world!

If you just 'stick the swab in the nose', does the control line show up? Just curious. I would prefer to do it properly because I would want to know my own health status.

Firstly, the price you see is what you pay. No gratuity on top. I agree. I couldn't drink a whole bottle of wine. Half a bottle is my absolute limit. P&O used to keep a part bottle of wine for passengers for the next night, but the last couple of years before COVID they stopped this. On our recent two cruises, we didn't ask. There is absolutely no problem with you taking the left over wine to your cabin and bringing it back the next night. I don't know what wine you drink. We drink white, particularly pinot grigio. I can recommend one called BlueSand ($36).

My card had up-front fees that are more than covered by rewards.

So right. I am glad they don't in some cases, but I don't go to the casino and I hope I don't have medical expenses. 🙂

Sometimes their Caesar salad is nothing more than lettuce, grated parmesan, some dressing and some croutons. Not a Caesar salad.

We use our ANZ Platinum Visa to pay at least $250 of the travel cost (can be the deposit on the cruise) to qualify for travel insurance. When they say 'international travel' it doesn't have to be the international flight. A cruise ticket is an overseas travel ticket as long as it is an international cruise and not just one (say) from Brisbane to Sydney. I also have the ANZ Rewards card that has no international currency conversion fees.

We use OBC for alcohol on both P&O and Princess. I have heard it said you can't use OBC in the casino, but that also isn't so.

Do you know what the cut-off was for the Captain's lunch on your cruise?

Its quite easy. There is a 'slider' where you can choose how many dollar you want to bid and a diagram that indicates whether it is a weak or strong bid.