Disembarking from P&O Aussie only cruise.

[maxx]

Just a quick question....do we still need to clear immigration & quarantine if we do not visit any port, or only Aussie ports? I read on another thread that you need insurance for international cruise even if only cruising domestically.

[rkmw]

Just a quick question....do we still need to clear immigration & quarantine if we do not visit any port, or only Aussie ports? I read on another thread that you need insurance for international cruise even if only cruising domestically.

 

hi max, i dont think there will be any customs or quarantine when you disembark as you are only doing a 3 night cruise and no ports and you wont be able to duty free either but you do need international travellers insurance

 

rkmw

[thied]

yes there still customs and quarantine, because of all the staff that work on board the ship and all rubbish that comes off the ship on her return still has to be quarantined as per australian law, you still can not take food item's(fruit meat eg) off the ship when you return from the cruise the same any other international cruise,

[rkmw]

yes there still customs and quarantine, because of all the staff that work on board the ship and all rubbish that comes off the ship on her return still has to be quarantined as per australian law, you still can not take food item's(fruit meat eg) off the ship when you return from the cruise the same any other international cruise,

 

why would they have the customs there as its a 3 day day cruise to no where and you cannot buy any duty free items

 

rkmw

[thied]

why would they have the customs there as its a 3 day day cruise to no where and you cannot buy any duty free items

 

rkmw

ok Then who going to check the passengers getting off the ship just before the passengers going on the three day cruise.

The same for the passengers getting on the ship after the three day cruise,

Who is going to check the crew that come and go off the ship as well.

Just because you can not bye duty free does not mean there will be no customs, but may be no TRS table.

If you go to dock side or wharf 5 at the time a ship docks you will a skip bins lined with black plastic thes are quarantine skip bins for all solid waste from the ship.

They never have two three day cruise after each other do they?

[thied]

I personaly am glad customs are there to keep a check on whats going with what passengers are doing and what they taking on and off these ships,

Why would any one be concerned about weather customs are going to be there or not.:rolleyes:

[Pinkbutterflygirl]

We did a 3 night cruise on the Dawn out of Sydney last year. And Yes, we did have to go through customs. It was pretty cursory and took us all of 3 minutes to make our way through the terminal.

 

We took out Travel insurance with AAMI over the phone for about $20 total for the 3 of us. You still need travel insurance. Bags could still go missing and people still get sick etc. Medicare wont cover you on the ship.

 

We also went on a Tour on the Dawn Princess this year, just a look around, tour of the ship and it's facilities, and lunch, and we had to bring our passports and go through customs on the way on and on the way off and the ship didnt even go anywhere.

[Skyrules]

Quarantine - regardless of where you go, you are subject to quarantine controls. We found this particulary strange on the Queensland Coastal cruise, where not only hadn't we left the country, but we hadn't even left our own state!

 

On these cruises, they really only do a cursorary check to make sure you're not bringing food off the ship. They're not really interested in the other stuff that they normally look for off the cruises to the islands. The quarantine checks are normally consists of a few beagles sniffing bags as you walk past them.

 

 

Customs - if you are doing a Queensland Coastal Cruise that calls at Willis Island, the cruise is deemed to be an international cruise (although you don't need a passport) because you have left Australian waters. Therefore you will have customs control and will be able to buy duty free.

 

If you are doing a cruise that doesn't call at Willis Island (eg the 2/3 night cruises to nowhere or transfer cruises, the Melbourne Cup Cruises, the Tasmanian cruises) or doesn't leave Australian waters in any other way (eg calling at Bali) then you are not subject to Customs clearance an disembarkation, and you can't get duty free.

[Sandielle]

Thanks Skyrules. You put that very clearly! :)

[DreamTeam]

Hi Everyone,

:confused: So if you are doing just the 3 night cruise to nowhere do you still need to bring your passport?

[Aus Traveller]

Hi Everyone,

:confused: So if you are doing just the 3 night cruise to nowhere do you still need to bring your passport?

Photo l.D. such as a driver's license is OK, but if you have a passport I suggest you take it.

[DreamTeam]

Photo l.D. such as a driver's license is OK, but if you have a passport I suggest you take it.

 

Thanks i would hate to get to the port and they say where is your passport and we didn't have them

[thied]

you may not have Customs clearance an disembarkation, but customs are still cecking every one who boards.

[Skyrules]

Hi Everyone,

:confused: So if you are doing just the 3 night cruise to nowhere do you still need to bring your passport?

 

Legally a passport isn't required for these cruises, however it is their preferred method of ID as they are able to scan them at checkin to get all the details they need for the manifest. If you use drivers licence, etc, they have to manually enter the information into the computer.

[DreamTeam]

Legally a passport isn't required for these cruises, however it is their preferred method of ID as they are able to scan them at checkin to get all the details they need for the manifest. If you use drivers licence, etc, they have to manually enter the information into the computer.

 

Thanks Skyrules,

LOL i will bring them as my boyfriend hasnt used his passport yet so he can say he used it hahaha:cool:

[maxx]

Thanks all for your replies. I must say I didn't think this would bring so much info but very interesting & helpful.

I have just found out, as Pinkbutterflygirl mentioned, that AAMI has very good insurance rates. This is worth checking out.

[DreamTeam]

Thanks all for your replies. I must say I didn't think this would bring so much info but very interesting & helpful.

I have just found out, as Pinkbutterflygirl mentioned, that AAMI has very good insurance rates. This is worth checking out.

 

Thanks Maxx we will go have a look at prices have checked wih RACV as we are members so get a discount

[DreamTeam]

:)Just had a look and yep good prices

[maxx]

Someone I work with paid $70 for a family of 4 for 8 night cruise with AAMI.

[DreamTeam]

How did they get that cheap?

Did the take out worldwide cover?

[maxx]

Not sure, I will ask him when I see him next. That's just what he told me. Will definitley check for you.

[DreamTeam]

Thanks i just did a quote and came back $122.00 for both of us for 1 week for worldwide cover which you need on a cruise

[Aus Traveller]

Thanks i just did a quote and came back $122.00 for both of us for 1 week for worldwide cover which you need on a cruise

 

I suggest you check out the cost of insurance for the "Pacific" region. It is usually cheaper than "worldwide" and it is all that is needed for cruises in this region.

[Grey Nomad]

We did the Northern Explorer cruise, Fremantle to Sydney, last September and there were no Customs formalities in Sydney. AQIS were still there just asking questions about food, etc. Our Cruise only went to Australian ports whereas this same cruise now goes to Bali so it would be different for these cruisers.

 

On our cruise the year before on the Sapphire Princess from Auckland to Sydney, we did the customs formalities on board the day before the ship arrived into Hobart which was our first port of call in Australia. After that no more customs formalities. This was very convenient and saved so much time.