Is cruising around Aussie classified as International OR Domestic???

[portcbob]

Hi guys.

Just trying to work out whether our 28 night cruise in October with Coral Princess will be classified as DOMESTIC or INTERNATIONAL please??.

Just researching Travel Insurance which is a nightmare.

Cheers Bob.

PS. Brisbane to Brisbane around AUS.

 

[Ozwoody]

1 hour ago, portcbob said:

Hi guys.

Just trying to work out whether our 28 night cruise in October with Coral Princess will be classified as DOMESTIC or INTERNATIONAL please??.

Just researching Travel Insurance which is a nightmare.

Cheers Bob.

PS. Brisbane to Brisbane around AUS.

 

Hi Portcbob

As it's only Australian ports it will be classed a Domestic cruise.

Usually they include a port call in Indonesia, so they can class it as an international cruise.

Evidently there is some advantage to calling it an international cruise for cruise lines.

Probably gambling and grog sales I imagine.

 

Regards

[NSWP]

That is why the coastal cruises do a lap of Willis Island, so they can sell the duty free grog and ciggies.

[CRUISING ALONG]

Hi Bob,

 

If you are getting quotes from Qantas Travel Insurance, NIB Travel Insurance or Travel insurance Direct  choose Australian Waters as the destination.

 

Cheers 

 

CRUISING ALONG

 

 

[Aus Traveller]

In the past, for insurance purposes the around Australia cruise was regarded as international. One reason given is that the medical staff on board are not registered with Medicare so charges are higher than you would have on land.

 

Previous around Australia cruises often called at Benoa in Indonesia, making the cruise international (without doubt). The one this year doesn't call into an international port, but it does go outside Australian waters by going past Willis Island. (As Les said, this allows the ship to sell duty free.)

 

On the Q'ld coastal cruise (that also goes past Willis Island), passengers don't need a passport. A driver's licence or Medicare card is sufficient. To further complicate the question, I mention that on one occasion when we boarded a ship in Fremantle for a Northern Explorer cruise, we asked about going ashore again after leaving our hand luggage in our cabin. The Border Force officer told us we could not go ashore again because we were "already outside Australia".

 

My guess is that it would be regarded as 'domestic' (like the Queensland coastal cruises), but I suggest you ask the insurance company for their ruling on the matter.

[portcbob]

Might have to ring Princess Monday morning to confirm either way.😉

[lissie]

Ask the insurance company you are considering -  better to find out before you pay and then discover you're not covered 

[Ozwoody]

3 hours ago, NSWP said:

That is why the coastal cruises do a lap of Willis Island, so they can sell the duty free grog and ciggies.

 

That's interesting, guess it puts Willis Island into same category as Norfolk Island.

[Aus Traveller]

30 minutes ago, lissie said:

Ask the insurance company you are considering -  better to find out before you pay and then discover you're not covered 

I agree with that comment. Ask the insurance company. I hate to say it, but if you phone Princess three times, you could get three different answers - "domestic", "international" and "don't know". 🤣 It is more relevant how the insurance company regards the cruise.

[Aus Traveller]

26 minutes ago, Ozwoody said:

 

That's interesting, guess it puts Willis Island into same category as Norfolk Island.

Not really. They sell duty free on Norfolk Island, but travelling beyond Willis Island allows the cruise ship to sell duty free on board. The only people on Willis Island are a few meteorologists.

[Ozwoody]

29 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Not really. They sell duty free on Norfolk Island, but travelling beyond Willis Island allows the cruise ship to sell duty free on board. The only people on Willis Island are a few meteorologists.

Yes your right, but I was meaning in context of not being part of Australia domestically.

I knew Christmas Island isn't, are there others?

[NSWP]

On 4/2/2022 at 1:46 PM, Ozwoody said:

 

That's interesting, guess it puts Willis Island into same category as Norfolk Island.

Concessions from Federal Govt re duty on alcohol and coffin nails.

[TommyH2006]

On 4/2/2022 at 1:41 PM, lissie said:

Ask the insurance company you are considering -  better to find out before you pay and then discover you're not covered 

 

I agree with lissie. 

We rang Qantas Travel Insurance for clarification. (Also emailed) They told us we had chosen the correct one. i.e. Australian waters. 

[Laura L]

Hi, we are very interested in this thread as we have booked to go on Coral Princess from Brisbane  to Perth in February 2023. We are currently wading our way through the murky waters of travel insurance. Of the 10 mainstream companies that my husband has researched, about 7 announce on their banner page online, that they are currently  not offering cruise insurance. 

[NSWP]

2 hours ago, Laura L said:

Hi, we are very interested in this thread as we have booked to go on Coral Princess from Brisbane  to Perth in February 2023. We are currently wading our way through the murky waters of travel insurance. Of the 10 mainstream companies that my husband has researched, about 7 announce on their banner page online, that they are currently  not offering cruise insurance. 

I sympathise with you re trying to find appropriate travel insurance in these times. It is a minefield.

[Elorac123]

3 hours ago, Laura L said:

Hi, we are very interested in this thread as we have booked to go on Coral Princess from Brisbane  to Perth in February 2023. We are currently wading our way through the murky waters of travel insurance. Of the 10 mainstream companies that my husband has researched, about 7 announce on their banner page online, that they are currently  not offering cruise insurance. 

It’s a long time till your cruise,,,things will change

Cheers Carole

[Aus Traveller]

4 minutes ago, Elorac123 said:

It’s a long time till your cruise,,,things will change

Cheers Carole

Agreed. 🙂

[Laura L]

I haven't  used Cruise Critic for years because of covid, I couldn't even remember our password, so started afresh! We have been on a lot of cruises, last one in 2019 and this time around the insurance companies' policies are making us super wary. And we are only sailing around our own country! Fingers crossed it all settles down soon.🤞

[NSWP]

1 minute ago, Laura L said:

I haven't  used Cruise Critic for years because of covid, I couldn't even remember our password, so started afresh! We have been on a lot of cruises, last one in 2019 and this time around the insurance companies' policies are making us super wary. And we are only sailing around our own country! Fingers crossed it all settles down soon.🤞

Welcome back Laura L.   The CC addicts are still here, getting our cruise fix from the puter, lol.

[Aus Traveller]

4 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Welcome back Laura L.   The CC addicts are still here, getting our cruise fix from the puter, lol.

Yes. We have been supporting each other's addition to cruising during the past two years.😁

[lyndarra]

On 4/2/2022 at 10:12 AM, Ozwoody said:

Hi Portcbob

As it's only Australian ports it will be classed a Domestic cruise.

Usually they include a port call in Indonesia, so they can class it as an international cruise.

Evidently there is some advantage to calling it an international cruise for cruise lines.

Probably gambling and grog sales I imagine.

 

Regards

From what a friend told me this considered international. They have to be careful as the number of days for the cruise are counted against their pension allowance. As I'm not a pensioner I'm not exactly clear on the rule.

[Ozwoody]

45 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

From what a friend told me this considered international. They have to be careful as the number of days for the cruise are counted against their pension allowance. As I'm not a pensioner I'm not exactly clear on the rule.

For local domestic type cruises its not a problem, as you need to be out of the country for more than six weeks. and then it only affects your extras , and your ppc card, not your basic pension.

 

Edited April 7, 2022 by Ozwoody

[Aus Traveller]

17 minutes ago, Ozwoody said:

For local domestic type cruises its not a problem, as you need to be out of the country for more than six weeks. and then it only affects your extras , and your ppc card, not your basic pension.

 

We are self-funded retirees with a Health Care Card. Until maybe five years ago, if we were away more than six weeks, as we often were, we had to re-apply for the Health Care Card when we returned. This would be a couple of times every year. ☹️ The rules were changed, so now we only have to apply if we are out of the country for more than 19 weeks.

[cruiser3775]

I think the insurance category might depend on where you are going, and how remote it is. When I did a Kimberley cruise from Darwin to Broome, the insurance companies all insisted I had to take international cruise cover, because the cost of an evacuation from there is so expensive, involving a helicopter etc.

I have just taken cruise cover with 1Cover, which covers Covid once you are on board the ship, but not before.   The other company I looked at was Covermore, but they were a lot more expensive and had a lot less medical exemptions.

[Aus Traveller]

9 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

I think the insurance category might depend on where you are going, and how remote it is. When I did a Kimberley cruise from Darwin to Broome, the insurance companies all insisted I had to take international cruise cover, because the cost of an evacuation from there is so expensive, involving a helicopter etc.

I have just taken cruise cover with 1Cover, which covers Covid once you are on board the ship, but not before.   The other company I looked at was Covermore, but they were a lot more expensive and had a lot less medical exemptions.

Cruising on the major lines, for instance cruises to Nth Q'ld or to Tassie or even a three-day cruise to nowhere, are regarded as international mainly because the medical staff on board are not registered with Medicare.

 

Terms of the credit card insurance are the same on a cruise to Nth Q'ld as it was when I went on a cruise to Antarctica. Currently, COVID cover is included when the cardholder or their travelling companion, tests positive. It isn't limited to on board the ship. It would include cancellation because of a COVID diagnosis.

Edited April 9, 2022 by Aus Traveller