Transpacific Brisbane to Seattle April 13, 2023

[jgeraci7]

Cruise cancelled.  Decided not to go through all the hassle.  Did it all in September.  Then had to cancel.  Decided to look for something less stress free to plan.

[jgeraci7]

Found a deal Tampa to Barcelona 13 days same time.  No covid test or visa required.  Booked!  Enjoy your trip!

[urbanhawk]

2 hours ago, jgeraci7 said:

Found a deal Tampa to Barcelona 13 days same time.  No covid test or visa required.  Booked!  Enjoy your trip!

I've been considering canceling, as well, due to same concerns, as yours.  Were you able to transfer (with penalties), or just downright cancel? Thanks.

[jgeraci7]

All we were charged was the $100 pp.non-refundable down payment.  With the deal we got for Barcelona including air and balcony room,

, we came out ahead.  Of course we just booked Brisbaine yesterday and cancelled within 24 hours.  I don't know if that was the reason.

Joyce and Katy

[ptcflyer]

For those with US Frequent Flyer Points..... Here is my strategy to get from ATL to Brisbane.   Booked Southwest Airlines with points and companion pass.....    18,000 points for two of us to Hawaii.     And then I booked Jetstar for 2 tickets Plus Bags for about $1,000.      All in for 9000 Southwest points and $500 per person.    I decided to stay in HNL for an overnight to break up the trip.   Planning on spending a few days in 'Brisbane' before boarding.    Not happy about the "Covid" restrictions.   Still trying to figure out "insurance".  

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by ptcflyer

[irie0518]

On 2/12/2023 at 10:43 PM, baloothecat said:

@irie0518  The other two recommended operators we were looking at in Moorea is 1) Moorea Moana Tours “Moorea Memories Adventure Tour” 3hr tour including photos. 
when I enquired Pierrick replied that they could pickup from tender dock no problem and even suggested a start time at 0830. 2) Moorea Ocean Adventures- have private tours for 2 or more. Biologist onboard and GoPro video included. Replied they would pickup from Tender dock. You can look for others to share the tour to bring the price down.

If interested, we booked other snorkel centric activities for other ports:

Noumea- We booked  water taxi signal island turtle tour for cruisers on Viator, basically a water taxi to a protected island with no facilities for a few hours.

Suva/- We booked a snorkel tour to beqa lagoon on another part of the island thru untouched fiji. they have tours set up for our cruise on fb. They also have others if you don’t want to snorkel. 
Still working on Honolulu. Looking at possibly renting a car and doing our own circle tour or Kaneohe sandbar tour.

hope this helps

Stephanie

 

Thanks so much Stephanie for all the great information.  I will be checking them all out.  We are renting a car in Honolulu too.  We figured with the long port day there that we could see so much more on our own.  I was there last year on a cruise and didn't pre book anything and found I wondered around for so long trying to figure out what to do and ended up not making the most of my time there.  We are going to go straight from the port to Diamond Head and do the hike before it gets too hot and then probably heading up to the North Shore.  Heard snorkeling was good at Sharks Cove.  Then we will probably go to the Waimea Falls.  Do you buy chance know the tour operator in Fiji going to the Bega Lagoon?  Sorry I am not on Facebook.  I had also looked at the water taxi to Signal Island.  I did something similar in Bonaire last year and loved it.  I just need to see if my travel friend is up for that much snorkeling:)  I would at every port if it was up to me.  This is her first really big trip so I want to make sure we are doing things that interest her as well.  We are so excited about this trip!!  Still lots of planning to do.

Joanne.

[irie0518]

12 hours ago, ptcflyer said:

For those with US Frequent Flyer Points..... Here is my strategy to get from ATL to Brisbane.   Booked Southwest Airlines with points and companion pass.....    18,000 points for two of us to Hawaii.     And then I booked Jetstar for 2 tickets Plus Bags for about $1,000.      All in for 9000 Southwest points and $500 per person.    I decided to stay in HNL for an overnight to break up the trip.   Planning on spending a few days in 'Brisbane' before boarding.    Not happy about the "Covid" restrictions.   Still trying to figure out "insurance".  

 

John Heald confirmed the insurance offered from Carnival was sufficient to cover the port requirements.  There's a screen shot of it a page or two back on this thread.

[Port Monkeys]

Hi, We will be joining you on this cruise. The price was too low to pass up. It should be a lot of fun!

When we booked we included the $65 (each) Carnival insurance. When we got the email about "Guests traveling on a South Pacific cruise that calls on Fiji or New Caledonia (Noumea or Lifou) must present printed proof of travel insurance at time of check-in." we called Carnival. After speaking with a few agents we were told that the Carnival insurance was NOT good for cruises from Australia. They do not offer insurance that works on cruises from Australia. They refunded the money and told us to buy insurance from a third party. They use AON. We still don't know if we got the correct information, but they gave us the money back. 

See you in the next port.

[baloothecat]

11 hours ago, irie0518 said:

  Do you buy chance know the tour operator in Fiji going to the Bega Lagoon?  Sorry I am not on Facebook.  

Joanne.

@irie0518 Joanne I messaged untouched Fiji on messenger and this is the email they provided: untouchedinvestment@yahoo.com

 

This is the info from the post::

“Hi we have snorkelling trips in Suva Fiji. Return transfers from the port to pacific harbour and than return boat transfers from pacific harbour to the lagoon. 100USD inclusive of all return transfers , boat transfers, light lunch and a bottle of water

We dont take big groups we only take small groups i.e 12 pax max passengers that we are taking. So book in now to save your seat .depart at 8.30am , will be back at the port by 3pm.’ Photo below also.

From what I can see they’re on the 2nd group of 12. No $ upfront, payment in cash USD on day of tour. Looks like they’re also offering cultural tours if you’d rather do that. 

Honolulu-The traffic 4-6pm is supposed to be a gridlock and we are also there on a Friday which adds to it. You might want to stop at Leonard’s Bakery for  their famous Malasada before or after Diamond Head-. 

Noumea-,yes signal island is probably very much like Klein Bonaire.

Stephanie

[baloothecat]

6 hours ago, Port Monkeys said:

 We still don't know if we got the correct information, but they gave us the money back. 

See you in the next port.

Hard to say. Very conflicting information and unclear communication from Carnival. If you look at the posts on the fb page for our cruise, John Heald replied that Carnivals insurance was adequate .we’re getting independent ourselve as we are B2B2B and visiting New Caledonia also  on the April 2nd South Pacific leg.

[pipparh63]

On 2/14/2023 at 6:55 PM, ptcflyer said:

For those with US Frequent Flyer Points..... Here is my strategy to get from ATL to Brisbane.   Booked Southwest Airlines with points and companion pass.....    18,000 points for two of us to Hawaii.     And then I booked Jetstar for 2 tickets Plus Bags for about $1,000.      All in for 9000 Southwest points and $500 per person.    I decided to stay in HNL for an overnight to break up the trip.   Planning on spending a few days in 'Brisbane' before boarding.    Not happy about the "Covid" restrictions.   Still trying to figure out "insurance".  

 

We seem to be on the same page, re: getting there! I'm using Hawaiian points from LAX to HNL - also overnighting, then taking Jetstar for $300 a ticket! (last checked, price still the same) We may cross paths? Also, I wouldn't stress about insurance......as I posted further up, was able to get same $ amount coverage WITH Covid  - better than Carnival offered.

[irie0518]

18 hours ago, baloothecat said:

@irie0518 Joanne I messaged untouched Fiji on messenger and this is the email they provided: untouchedinvestment@yahoo.com

 

This is the info from the post::

“Hi we have snorkelling trips in Suva Fiji. Return transfers from the port to pacific harbour and than return boat transfers from pacific harbour to the lagoon. 100USD inclusive of all return transfers , boat transfers, light lunch and a bottle of water

We dont take big groups we only take small groups i.e 12 pax max passengers that we are taking. So book in now to save your seat .depart at 8.30am , will be back at the port by 3pm.’ Photo below also.

From what I can see they’re on the 2nd group of 12. No $ upfront, payment in cash USD on day of tour. Looks like they’re also offering cultural tours if you’d rather do that. 

Honolulu-The traffic 4-6pm is supposed to be a gridlock and we are also there on a Friday which adds to it. You might want to stop at Leonard’s Bakery for  their famous Malasada before or after Diamond Head-. 

Noumea-,yes signal island is probably very much like Klein Bonaire.

Stephanie

Thanks so much Stephanie.  I have reached out to them.

[mainecruisefan]

Currently on the Diamond Princess and enjoying ukulele classes. Does anyone know if Carnival does ukulele classes on their South Pacific cruises?

Thanks

 

Edited February 18, 2023 by mainecruisefan

[Suz&Sean]

On 1/15/2023 at 2:55 AM, WeLuv2Travel2gether said:

We’re also B2B with you! We’re really  excited to visit the Whitsunday Islands! We’re actually B2B2B (happy we got the same cabin for 33 days straight!). 

Flying from Charlotte to Sydney on 3/28- then we’ll take the train to Brisbane boarding the 4/2 7day. 

 

Has anyone purchased their mandatory travel insurance? I’ve struggled finding a “Covid” coverage where we have printed proof. Happy to receive tips on insurance provider. 
 

We use smartmouth.com or insuremytrip com. They provide a list of insurance companies and types with reviews and comparisons. You can pick which one you want and pay right through them. This time I used smartmouth.com we got the John Hancock Silver policy .

 

P.S. we will be on this cruise too!

 

Susie and Sean 

[Suz&Sean]

On 1/27/2023 at 5:47 PM, baloothecat said:

Yes You need a Visa. You can get apply for it  with Australian ETA app approx 20dollars, good for 1 year. You’ll also need to provide proof of comprehensive cruise,Covid,& repatriation travel insurance as required by New Caledonia and Fiji. Testing - Neg. (-))48hr PCR or within 24hr Rapid antigen test self test. 

I did not think Americans required a visa.

Susie

[Suz&Sean]

On 2/10/2023 at 9:52 AM, irie0518 said:

Hey there my friend and I just booked this cruise way too good of a deal to pass up!!  I am asking again about the required insurance.  I don't normally purchase insurance as I usually am an ultra bargain hunter for my cruises and I fairly young still with no medical issues so I am willing to take the chance.  I have never yet had to cancel a trip for any reason so like I said I usually opt out.  So I am not very knowledgeable about the different options available.  I called Carnival to see if they could tell me if the coverage they offer would cover the requirements for the ports that have the requirement.  The lady I spoke with was unable to answer that question for me but she gave me the direct number to Aon.  The lady I spoke with there said that the policy didn't specifically say anything about covid but she said if would be covered in the medical portion and basically told me that it should meet the requirements. I don't always have faith that I am getting the correct answer especially from insurance company's 🙂 Does anyone have anymore insight if you feel like this is adequate for the port requirements.  TIA  Super excited about this cruise.  I have only dreamed of going to these ports of call.

I definitely would not get Carnival's insurance, it isn't the best. Go to smartmouth or insuremytrip and compare. We used smartmouth and got John Hancock Silver. We are American, I am not sure if other nationalities can use those sites.

 

Susie and Sean from Kansas City 

 

[Suz&Sean]

On 2/14/2023 at 8:55 PM, ptcflyer said:

For those with US Frequent Flyer Points..... Here is my strategy to get from ATL to Brisbane.   Booked Southwest Airlines with points and companion pass.....    18,000 points for two of us to Hawaii.     And then I booked Jetstar for 2 tickets Plus Bags for about $1,000.      All in for 9000 Southwest points and $500 per person.    I decided to stay in HNL for an overnight to break up the trip.   Planning on spending a few days in 'Brisbane' before boarding.    Not happy about the "Covid" restrictions.   Still trying to figure out "insurance".  

 

What a good idea. If we were not already booked, I would have looked into Southwest to Hawaii and then another airline. We love Oahu and it is easy to get around on public buses. 

[baloothecat]

17 minutes ago, Suz&Sean said:

I did not think Americans required a visa.

Susie

Well technically it’s called an Electronic Travel Authority or ETA.

[Suz&Sean]

23 minutes ago, Suz&Sean said:

I did not think Americans required a visa.

Susie

But I don't know. What would we need and how would we get it?

[baloothecat]

52 minutes ago, Suz&Sean said:

But I don't know. What would we need and how would we get it?

It’s done electronically. Download the app AustralianETA from the App Store on your smart phone. Upload your passport info and pay the fee. It’s good for 12months.

[Eliot Ness]

Hi all, the wife and I have been booked on this cruise for a few months.  We had a great casino deal on the Celebration's maiden voyage from Southampton to Miami in November, so now we're looking forward to this trans-pacific.  I'm kind of late looking for excursions....

 

John

[urbanhawk]

Suz&sean

I've used square mouth in the past. Is this what you mean versus smartmouth?

 

Happy cruising!

Urbanhawk/Steve

[Suz&Sean]

38 minutes ago, urbanhawk said:

Suz&sean

I've used square mouth in the past. Is this what you mean versus smartmouth?

 

Happy cruising!

Urbanhawk/Steve

Whoops, yes it is squaremouth. I always forget. Thanks! My memory isn't what it used to be.

Susie

[Suz&Sean]

23 hours ago, baloothecat said:

It’s done electronically. Download the app AustralianETA from the App Store on your smart phone. Upload your passport info and pay the fee. It’s good for 12months.

Thank you so much!  Susie

[Suz&Sean]

On 2/18/2023 at 2:35 PM, Suz&Sean said:

I definitely would not get Carnival's insurance, it isn't the best. Go to smartmouth or insuremytrip and compare. We used smartmouth and got John Hancock Silver. We are American, I am not sure if other nationalities can use those sites.

 

Susie and Sean from Kansas City 

 

Whoops, It is Squaremouth, not Smartmouth.