Fortunatefew

November weather will be okay 65-75, maybe a little less in South  Island.  west Coast in the south  Island is pretty rugged with  cliffs and seas but I venture to say there are better places to explore. 

The North and South Islands are quite different from one another.  The South Island has spectacular scenery anytime of year.  Queenstown is lovely but so are other nearby towns.  The North island has beautiful beaches.  Coromandel is nice, we go often go there but not a lot do unless you rent a car and travel around a bit.

Bay of Islands up the top North Island is also lovely and has great deep sea fishing. Personally I wouldn’t spend 3 days in Auckland, it has all the same issues as any other biggish city, try and go further out into the Nth and Sth island and explore. 

Sea scanner is the best for tracking…..

On 9/15/2022 at 12:07 PM, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yesterday we decided we liked this ship so much that we needed more time on her, plus we wanted some more warm weather, so have booked the 26th Sept Queensland and Conflict Islands cruise. That gives us four days to go home, do a few essential things then get back onboard. 😊😊😊😊 

On 9/15/2022 at 12:07 PM, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yesterday we decided we liked this ship so much that we needed more time on her, plus we wanted some more warm weather, so have booked the 26th Sept Queensland and Conflict Islands cruise. That gives us four days to go home, do a few essential things then get back onboard. 😊😊😊😊 

We are flying from New Zealand to join this cruise. 🛳🛳🛳

We are on a cruise sept 23 leaving from Sydney. We are staying at the Rendevous at the Rocks. From there we can walk to Circular Quay with our luggage, only 5 minutes.

Lots of things to do in the NZ ports. Bay of Islands is a tender port, the whole area has a lot of history.  The kayaking up the Haruru river to the waterfall is amazing or you can just sit on the mother boat if kayaking isn’t your thing.  You would be able to book online through the Paihia information centre.

Napier is the Art Deco city of New Zealand.  There are tours around the city. 

47 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Make sure you go to the show or MUTS while after dinner trivia is on.

Can someone confirm what time the evening shows are on ?  We are cruising 26 Sept on Coral.

6 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

No worries.  If you can’t do it, don’t worry about it.  They are not strict about it, just come when you want and bring all your documents with you to the port.

 

Remember to go on the website, cruise personalizer and click on travel summary and print your luggage tags and print travel summary.  Saves a little time.

Have a great cruise!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ongoing saga with MedallionNet. I received a reply from Askoceanmedallion, they said phone 0800….   which  I did 2 weeks ago and got nowhere.  But not willing to give up I tried again.  Firstly the lady apologised and could see a problem with the payment not being processed, she put me through to the technical Dept, then I got cut off.

I rang again and spoke to a man who again was very apologetic.  He tried to make the payment on my behalf but couldn’t, said he would ring me back within 24 hours once he got it sorted……..waiting, waiting.   Wonder if it’s a problem with Aust /NZ cruisers 

 

 

 

 

5 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

It should be fixed for you soon also. IDK about Australia/NZ and when it will be fixed.  
If you’re leaving soon, I’d purchase it through PCL at the discounted rate, if they will do it, or purchase at full price.

Then, when you get OB, it should automatically give you 50% back on your folio as OBC.  This has been reported as happening by cruisers, while they have been working on a fix.  If you wait till you are OB to buy it, it is a higher price. 

Does your loyalty status show correctly on the App?  Your photo would have a little circle showing the correct color, when you click on it.  Silver or Black.

 

My loyalty status is correct - silver.  The cruise is in 3 weeks. When I select my plan and then confirm the purchase it comes up with -error processing your payment. 
All credit card details are correct, I had previously purchased a medallion, that payment went through no problem.  I can’t purchase it at full price or discounted price.  Still haven’t heard from askoceanmedallion, frustrating. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

28 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

It seems it was fixed for all of us on Thursday late afternoon.  We’ve been trying to get them to fix this for a few weeks.

I still have the problem with purchasing the Net plan.  I emailed askoceanmedallion, they replied I can now book dinner reservations which wasn’t the complaint/question. I have replied with a screenshot of the MedallionNet purchase plan not going through, as yet no reply. Will probably have to purchase on board. 

4 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

YES!!!  MedallionNet pricing is fixed again for Elites & Platinums (I presume the latter as well).  Yippee!!

 

 

ETA:  Just ordered for three of our voyages and worked fine.

Mine still won’t go through when I try to purchase 

Medallion net is now back at discounted price on my booking for how long, who knows.  But it comes up with an error when trying to buy the plan ,,,, frustrating 

On 8/23/2022 at 1:06 PM, kamelia said:

 

I was hoping that sharing my experience might be a “workaround” for others trying to deal with getting the MedallionNet benefit that Platinum and Elite passengers have been told we’re entitled to.  😕

We are on Coral towards end of September.  In the meantime I look daily at the princess Coral webcam which shows where the ship presently is or cruising to.  All the Princess ships are on the same site so you can follow any of them at any time.   Princess bridge cams. 

A cruise ship was in Lautoka, Fiji last week..  We are going on a 12 night cruise in January incorporating the Islands including Lautoka.  The cruise price appears to be higher on these itineraries. 

1 hour ago, LACruiser88 said:

August 12, 2022 3:00 PM EDT PRINCESS CRUISES REMOVES VACCINE REQUIREMENT FOR MOST VOYAGES, ELMINATES PRE-CRUISE TESTING FOR VACCINATED GUESTS Unvaccinated Guests Required to Self-Test Within 3 Days of Sailing SANTA CLARITA, Calif., Aug. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Princess Cruises today announced updated COVID-19 protocols and guidelines, removing the vaccine requirement for most voyages of less than 16 days so that anyone can cruise, and adjusting pre-travel testing requirements to make it less complicated.     Starting Sept. 6, vaccinated guests sailing on voyages of less than 16 days will no longer have to test before boarding and only need to upload proof of vaccination while getting OceanReady. Unvaccinated guests, or those who do not provide proof of vaccination, on those itineraries will self-test within three days of sailing and upload proof of a negative test before boarding.    These new guidelines apply to itineraries from all departure ports except where government regulations and protocols may vary like Canada, Greece and Australia. Below are the key points for Princess' updated CruiseHealth guidelines for embarkation:  No pre-cruise testing for vaccinated guests on voyages of up to 15 nights (guests 5 and older) with the exception of full Panama Canal transits, trans-ocean and other special itineraries; unvaccinated guests must provide a negative self-test result taken within three days of embarkation (unvaccinated children under 5 years do not require pre-cruise testing) Guests sailing on voyages 16 nights or longer, or sailing on full Panama Canal transits, trans-ocean and other specific itineraries, need to take a supervised test within three days of embarkation (guests 5 and older). Guests on these types of voyages will be contacted directly by an Ocean Navigator to assist. Princess' updated guidelines reflect the cruise line's ongoing commitment to providing a safe and healthy environment for all guests and crew. "These updated guidelines help ensure a Princess vacation is available to everyone," said John Padgett, president of Princess Cruises. "The Princess experience is truly one-of-a-kind and we encourage everyone to take a Princess vacation that offers amazing service at unmatched value." The updated guidelines are subject to the local regulations of applicable homeports and destinations. About Princess Cruises One of the best-known names in cruising, Princess Cruises is the world's leading international premium cruise line and tour company operating a fleet of 15 modern cruise ships, carrying millions of guests each year to 330 destinations around the globe, including the Caribbean, Alaska, Panama Canal, Mexican Riviera, Europe, South America, Australia/New Zealand, the South Pacific, Hawaii, Asia, Canada/New England, Antarctica, and World Cruises. A team of professional destination experts have curated 170 itineraries, ranging in length from three to 111 days and Princess Cruises is continuously recognized as "Best Cruise Line for Itineraries."  In 2017 Princess Cruises, with parent company Carnival Corporation, introduced MedallionClass Vacations enabled by the Medallion device, the vacation industry's most advanced wearable device, provided free to each guest sailing on a MedallionClass ship. The award-winning innovation offers the fastest way to an effortless personalized vacation, giving guests more time to do the things they love most. The company is part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE:CUK).

Some countries are excluded like Australia and New Zealand 

COMPANY UPDATE: Beginning Sept. 6 we will be removing the vaccination requirement for most voyages of less than 16 days. We will also be adjusting pre-travel testing requirements to make cruising with us less complicated. Learn more here: https://*****/3QmJw33

On 6/30/2022 at 3:14 PM, Russell21 said:

Julie can you remember the brand you bought? There's only about a million to choose from. 🙂

I just bought one for my air tag from The Warehouse in NZ for $7.00 

On 4/6/2022 at 6:41 PM, aussiecruiser66 said:

Aus Traveller

 

We used to always buy 1Cover Annual Multi Trip Travel Insurance, but now they don't seem to want to know us. Our ages are 67 and 65.

We both have Platinum Visa credit cards so have decided to use their travel insurance from now on, as we always pay for our trips on their cards.

My question is- Is there some form of document that I can print, that proves we have ANZ Platinum Travel Insurance, that we can show if necessary to prove that we are covered by Travel Insurance. We are going to Fiji for a week in September and apparently we need to be able to show that we have Insurance.

 

Thanks in advance

We went to Fiji early July and as we have ANZ visa we used that for our insurance. I filled out their online questionnaire and they gave me an insurance certificate to show  to the airline.  There’s no mention of covid but they also email the policy Doc which it mentions covid.  I printed out the relevant page and highlighted “covid” and attached to the insurance certificate.  We have used ANZ platinum credit cards for years, the insurance is a bonus.  We have made several claims and never had a problem. 

On 7/22/2022 at 8:55 AM, Russell21 said:

I can understand how you feel. Yesterday was 3 birthdays without cruising, and based on recent events our next cruise in September will most likely be watered down from the Conflict Islands to some meaningless meanderings up and down the coast, which we will still enjoy.

We’re on that same cruise.  We were going to spend 2 weeks in Queensland staying at various places. But when this cruise came up with a good price it made sense to do it instead plus all the meals are covered. 

On 7/22/2022 at 10:31 AM, getting older slowly said:

I personally do not want to cancel..... i was thinking if princess cancel the cruise...

 

I wonder what would happen if NZ closed to cruise ships...   13 nights

leave Melbourne and do laps of Tasmania before returning ???

 

Time to stop thinking... and just see what happens.... Don

Hopefully NZ won’t close. The Govt took long enough to announce that they were opening their borders to cruise ships.  There are so many cruise ships going to NZ from late October and they’re all pretty much sold out. 

On 7/12/2022 at 10:17 PM, Cbtours said:

We were interstate in the group! We tested day before we even flew to Brisbane on 13 June. Then retested 24hrs before boarding, tested as soon as we got home and also the 3 day slot all as protocols. We’ve been fine whole time and loved the 17 days we were onboard.

 

Can you please tell me when you have done the home kit covid test 24 hours prior to boarding and the test shows negative, how or where do you show the result ? 

6 hours ago, kamelia said:

@nho9504 It may not involve uploading proof of negative COVID-19 test result, but I would think it will still be highly likely that embarking passengers will have to complete some version of a health questionnaire 48 - 72 hours prior to boarding, which currently can only be done on the app as well.

I was also wondering once you have had a covid test within the stated time where do you submit the result before boarding ? 

On 7/3/2021 at 2:53 AM, CeCe_ said:

 

Interesting people would say thing like this to put people down.  

I didn’t see it like that it all,  it was quite funny mainly because some of us can relate to the buffet and the time we spend in there grazing….

Although expected it is very sad for the passengers and the cruise liners 

I think it means there will be no announcements until September which the cruise lines are saying it’s far too late to put  their systems in place.