Ima Ginaree

Cunnamulla Queensland Water Tower Art.

Just to add another layer of complexity, when looking for insurance for my upcoming trip/cruise, I listed both Australia and New Zealand as countries where I require cover, because the cruise starts in NZ then visits four Oz ports, ending at Sydney. When getting insurance quotes online, a couple of providers basically said ‘try again - you can’t have domestic and international on the one policy.’ This makes no sense in my scenario because it is all the one trip and I need cover from the time I leave home until the time I return. Obviously if I have a medical emergency onshore in an Oz port, I have ambulance cover, Medicare and private health cover to protect me. The problem only comes up if I need an emergency visit to the medical centre onboard, including if we’re at sea between 2 Oz ports. Anecdotally trips to the medical centre can cost thousands of dollars and the onboard providers and/or medical evacuation are not covered by Medicare or private health insurance, hence the need for a comprehensive travel insurance policy for the whole trip. Luckily I found a provider with a policy that appeared to meet my needs. I rang them and double checked that my whole trip (including the Oz component) is covered by the policy.

Thanks Colin, this is a great suggestion, to better understand how eSims work without the anxiety of doing it for the first time when overseas. I have a newer model iPhone with one Sim slot and allegedly room for several eSims.

Wow! There is so much info in the Whirlpool Forums, thanks for sharing the link. There were links to other related whirlpool threads plus a link to apple support re using dual Sim/eSims. However, it was a lot of reading and I don’t think I have a full grasp of it all yet. A couple of comments implied that to receive SMS when overseas, as long as you’re hooked up to wifi calling, you don’t need to turn on international roaming with your Australian provider. I need to delve into that further as this would negate the risk of ‘accidentally’ using Australian data. As one person on Whirlpool commented, it was complex to set up but now it just works when it’s needed. Maybe I just have to be brave and just go for it.

Thanks for the tip yarramar. I’ll see if I can find out more about how / if wi-fi calling works internationally. I only came across wifi calling when I was in north west Queensland a few months back. I was shocked when I received an incoming phone call. I was able to make calls as well. There was absolutely no mobile coverage available in the outback town we were visiting but I was connected to the caravan park’s wifi at the time. I remember seeing ‘Telstra wi-fi calling’ on the phone’s display (in the spot where I normally see ‘ALDImobile’). I’d forgotten all about it!

I have an annual prepaid plan with Aldi Mobile (they use the Telstra network). I checked whether Aldi include any NZ coverage in the plan. They don’t. Their international roaming charges are $1 a minute to receive or make calls and 50c for sending an SMS (per 160 characters) and 50c per MB of data. So, not an attractive option for this trip. I’ll still turn international roaming on so I can receive (free) SMS, to cover me if i need 2 factor authentication while in NZ.

Can’t be too easy. This is the longest gap I’ve seen in guesses! Lol. I have no idea but the snow on the mountains looks interesting. I’ll say Alaska.

I will have a 300 minute internet plan while onboard my upcoming NZ cruise. All the feedback suggests these minutes will be used up very quickly due to the clunky nature of the cruise ship’s internet. My back up plan is to buy a pre paid local SIM card (or eSim) on arrival in Auckland to cover me for at least 11 days. I’ll use it for 5-6 days prior to embarkation and daily in 5 NZ cruise ports (Tuaranga, Napier, Wellington, Timaru, Dunedin). My questions are to NZ locals or NZ cruise alumni: - Is there a critical difference between providers ´Spark’ and ´One’? Do they both offer tethering to lap tops and tablets? - Is there likely to be much coverage at sea between ports, or are we likely to travel too far from the coast? Does either provider’s offering stand out from the other? - Is there likely to be ANY coverage by any provider in or around the sounds (Milford, Doubtful, Dusky)? I’m assuming these areas are too remote, but thought I’d ask. A travel article I read suggests Spark has slightly better coverage, however they are probably comparing the coverage on the coastline with that of inland towns. I’m more interested in the cruising aspect of their coverage. Airolo offers international travel sims that sound decent but they are data only. I’m considering having the ability to talk and text to Australia and within NZ that both Spark and One offer. What are your thoughts?

Wow! Great itinerary. You’ve seen a lot of wonderful places that may have spoiled you for other more mundane destinations. Just a word to anyone reading this thread and thinking you’d like to do something like this yourself… Australia is huge. Our population is concentrated in coastal cities and towns. Once you venture away from the coast and especially the state capitals there are considerably less people and less services available. Re distances, Sydney to Port Douglas by car is 2475 kilometres (1,538 miles) and requires you to drive 27 hours - if you don’t stop anywhere. To travel from Sydney to Adelaide you cover 1372 kilometres (853m) which is just over 14 hours - if you don’t stop anywhere. Unless you can arrange a one-way car hire, you then have to do the same route/s in reverse. Also note these two destinations lie in totally opposite directions, so you can’t do one while you are on the way to the other. Trains travel these routes but they are slow, expensive and infrequent. You may have to stay overnight in places to wait for the next train or bus connection especially when crossing a state border (Yes I’m talking about Brisbane). You certainly need to book in advance. You would want to pay for a sleeper berth. What I’m saying is that if you don’t have a long holiday break, you may need to rely on flights to get you from one place to another, then hire a car to do local sightseeing. There are many stories (maybe urban myths) about tourists hopping off the plane in Sydney thinking they can take a taxi/cab to Canberra (Australia’s capital city). The fact is they could if they find the right driver but it is at least a three hour journey and therefore lots of $$$$. As mentioned by OP, do your research well and then come on over. We’d love to see you.

Helps if I’m on the right page before guessing! 😖

When creating a new event in your iPhone/iPad calendar, you can change the timezone to the one where the activity will take place. If you add a reminder for say one hour before, and ensure your phone’s volume is on, you’ll get warning based on the time and timezone you used in the calendar. Although this next advice is not 100% relevant to the OP’s question, familiarise yourself with the iPhone and iPad World Clock. The tab for this can be found at the bottom of the screen in the Clock app. You can add major cities along your route before you embark. On iPhone you’ll see a list of locations & their time, on iPad you’ll see a map of the world with locations & times plus the times for sunrise and sunset. This allows you to see at a glance the time of where you are now and the differences between home and other destinations you’ll be visiting. It’s very useful for planning. There may be something similar for Androids.

It’s great that you can get ice for the cabin. Is there a freezer compartment in the cabin fridge to store some or do you just go and get more ice whenever you want more?

I got the same message yesterday when I tried clicking on the solo balcony link. It feels like an IT glitch.

Thanks for the link. I have a late 2024 sail date currently embarking from Haifa and my cruise will no doubt be WAY down the priority list for re-routing. It’s good to have some certainty that NCL will definitely be doing so. I’m quite happy my final payment is not due until mid 2024 as by then it should be pretty obvious whether the situation is under control or has escalated further, in which case I have the luxury to cancel.

I can’t answer your question about NCL’s ‘actual’ process. What I can tell you is that the Terms and Conditions clearly state you can’t. I suggest you don’t risk it even if someone on here comes back and says ‘They don’t/didn’t look too closely at us’. You are the one wearing the risk they won’t look closely at yours on the day. Consider whether it would it be considered a contravention of the T&Cs and if yes, what might the penalty be.

Great question. I want to expand on it and ask anyone who has cruised the Suez Canal if you can pick up much land based internet during the passage. On a 15 night cruise, I’ll have 1 full day in the Suez Canal and another 6 full sea days, so I am confident I’ll need more than my 300 mins Free at Sea allowance.p so I can stay in touch with home. I like to plan ahead so any tips are welcome.

I do have empathy for anyone currently on a cruise, or due on a cruise in the near future. As discussed above, at this point no-one knows yet whether /if /when things will be back to normal, whether cruises will return to Haifa, or whether something else, out of left field, will happen to further complicate things. Half the pain is not knowing. Once you know you can amend your plan accordingly and feel like you’re back in control. i think I’m one of the fortunate ones. My cruise is nearly 13 months away with embarkation scheduled for Haifa. Although I can’t book airfares yet anyway because my dates won’t be released for another couple of months, but I think its probably a good idea to ensure my flights are flexible, even though that might initially be more expensive.

You state in comment #10 that you’ve paid the gratuities in advance, which suggests you have paid the total outstanding cruise fare already. If so, that may be a factor in their decision. Some travel companies give early bird passenger discounts if they pay in full early. Therefore, when I recently booked with NCL for a cruise which is over 12 months away, I specifically asked whether there was a discount for early payment. The advice I was given was essentially, think twice about paying earlier than you have to, because once you’ve paid in full the cruise price is locked in and therefore any future discounts can’t/won’t be passed on.