LittleFish1976

There's at least one Norwegian shipping line which has hybrid (electric) vessels to meet the requirements with a stated intention to work towards fully electric ships.

From memory, and from February this year, there was a Sky 'news' channel from the UK; one of the US news channels (CNN?); and possibly one of the BBC news channels (UK). This was in Australian waters - I think they just subscribe to specific channels and it probably doesn't matter much which part of the world you're in as to which basic channels they broadcast on board. I don't think I can recall a dedicated business news channel. I'll keep thinking about this and see if I can recall anything in more detail for you.

You're looking for the channels numbers now? You'll need someone who's currently on board to photograph the list for you. Doubt anyone's going to remember. BTW the news/finance channels are not very numerous.

When you board there'll be a list in your cabin of the channels and the relevant details.

Ditto Cunard which is also a Carnival brand. Also, gratuity added to drinks purchases on board. Surprised to read, above, that Princess doesn't add gratuity to drinks.

Cunard requires a basic course of vaccination plus at least one booster, regardless of which country it is sailing from. So some cruise lines have higher requirements coming from them than just the basic two, and in excess of the requirements of the Australian government (if that's where the requirement comes from - I don't know that, personally).

The limit per glass is now $13. If champagne is all you'd drink, then you'd be wasting your time haviing the drinks package. If you're sailing in Queens Grill they should give you a bottle of French champagne when you board. Whichever cabin you're sailing in you can still bring some bottles of champagne on board and either enjoy it in your cabin or pay (possible) corkage to consume in a public area. I had the drinks package recently and really wanted a glass of good champagne so had to order and pay for it separately to the drinks package.

A higher viral load.

I think the importance of being vaccinated with a primary course and at least one booster is that it reduces - massively - your risk of dying. I understand that effect doesn't entirely go away but having further boosters does strengthen or increase that effect. If I were running a business like a cruise line, I would be keen to avoid having more people becoming dangerously ill or dying on my ships and costing me money in having to deviate course to remove them from the ship (the ill ones; the deceased are kept on board in the morgue of course).

Those covid case numbers may not be accurate to the nth degree but they are indicative of the level of covid on board. Experts have been saying throughout the pandemic that the numbers being quoted in any context only represent about one tenth (10%) of the total numbers infected. Why shouldn't those numbers be published? You think it's better to hide them? And it's just not true that there are no measures on cruise ships that can reduce covid spreading. Wearing an effective mask helps for starters. Good ventilation helps. Not having unmasked people crowding helps - ie boarding; waiting for tenders; disembarking etc.

The War Memorial is wonderful, Leigh, I agree. I'm hoping they're not going to ruin it with their multi-million dollar 'refurbishment'. It's perfect the way it is.

The National Gallery is particularly nice and as far as I can see they still have the Kelly Series on display - it was a permanent feature (maybe still is) but I do recall after Nolan's death his widow re-claimed some of the works for relocation. @JJK2008 I'm talking about a very iconic series of paintings by the artist Sidney Nolan depicting the bushranger and Australian icon, Ned Kelly. If you're at all interested in art or history or culture, it would be worth reading a little about Ned Kelly and Nolan before going to Canberra. It gives an insight into the Australian character and culture, in a way. https://searchthecollection.nga.gov.au/object/28926?keyword=*&selectedFilters=[{"label":"Is on view","field":"isOnView","value":""}]

I wish every State and NT was publishing this sort of chart showing the covid levels on board cruise ships docking in any Australian port. It's really useful information for so many reasons. Seems odd that NSW is the only one requiring this reporting from the ships themselves. Are they requiring masks on board Coral now the numbers are quite high?

Geelong is not a pleasant drive from Melbourne. That would be pretty off-putting. Geelong is its own city. The State government (and local residents in the area, it seems) are committed to preserving the historical aspects as well as keeping Station Pier as the focus of Melbourne's cruise industry. The port is undergoing enhancements to the container/commercial side of things plus a new port near Werribee for containers so perhaps that could free up some additional space at Port Melbourne for cruise ships. I can't see that there's anything planned, construction-wise, for cruise ships in the next couple of years that might have sent the cruise lines running from Melbourne for the next couple of seasons.

Not quite sure what you mean by doing the fjords 'on your own' but if you mean a land based holiday, I would just make the observation that, in my experience, travelling in Norway is very expensive (food etc) so ship holidays through the fjords are a good way of doing it. Norway is definitely worth travelling to and seeing. Maybe look beyond Cunard if the itineraries don't suit or the environmental restrictions are a problem for them.

Their loss. With short-haul flying becoming even more of a pain in the backside than it ever was, Victorians will choose cruise ships they can get from our local port. Have they (Princess) actually changed the plans they had in place for cruises departing from Melbourne?

Cheeky, aren't they. You need eyes in the back of your head. I swear I'm never buying a black or navy blue suitcase again. 😂

I've heard people say you should photograph your luggage before you send it off to the mercy of the baggage handlers. Not a bad idea as they always ask for a description when it goes missing. Then you've got the personal luggage tag and the label we all put inside our cases - don't we? and the ship's luggage tags we've printed out. There should be lots of ID on a suitcase. As for the airtags - I'm sure mine worked on the ship I was on a few weeks ago. Would ping me when I got too far away from my cabin and my case.

They lost the suitcase on the ship? I don't believe it. Surely the ship could have provided a couple of t-shirts from the shops, and a nice top for her to wear to dinner at least. Don't they have any clothing shops on board? I did think the article might have been written by 'The Shovel' when I read the bit about her wearing his jocks! I don't understand how one suitcase gets separated and totally 'lost' on a ship during enbarkation day.

I'm booked for my first Princess cruise in a few months on the Grand - do you think it's not a good first impression of Princess? It'll be hard for me to know what's just 'that ship' and what's Princess in general.

There is indeed a sauna in the women's changing room on QE. I can't speak for the men's changing room and sauna as I haven't visited that one!

I haven't sailed Cunard to Japan yet (booked for 2025) but my experience with Cunard in other countries is that they do provide a free shuttle to the nearest city/town even in places where other cruise lines do not. Perhaps you could ask on a Japan roll call here or read the older ones to see if the matter is mentioned. Mostly I would think you might be doing tours in ports in Japan to make sure you experience the most you can at each port. Tokyo would be an exception as it's easy to get yourself around once you work out how to buy a ticket for the train system. I think the port of Yokohama is quite central.

Thanks very much @OzKiwiJJ @2022cruisey and @MMDown Under for your thoughts. Much appreciated. I think I can manage to fit in two of the Princess excursions in one day and that way do the short boat tour as well as seeing some of the sights on land such as the lighthouse and so on. Looks like it would be a wonderful place to spend a few days with a car - it's not worth me hiring a car for the day as I'm travelling by myself this time. Fingers crossed for good weather.

I'm intrigued to know where you're flying in from. Seems like you're cutting it fine; how long will it take to get luggage off the plane or are you hand-luggage only? I'd allow half an hour to get luggage as well a half an hour to drive to the OPT in a cab. Assuming your flight isn't delayed you might make it. Maybe it depends on which day of the week it is to. Would expect a Saturday to be much heavier traffic and take longer. You might get on board in time but I wouldn't book anything that couldn't be refunded by the ship if you're unable to get on board in time for the massage.

I have my first Princess cruise booked for October this year. The Big Box on-line TA I booked with is calling for final payment so I thought I should look into the excursions I can do with the cruise line on Kangaroo Island - that being the whole point of this 5 day cruise for me. I wondered what the hive mind out there could contribute to my deciding between a one hour small boat trip looking at the sea-life and birds (my favourite sort of excursion) and the full day driving tours which take you to about three spots but seem to involve a lot of driving and sitting on the bus. Does the tender dock close enough to anything to be able just do a wander by yourself from the landing point? or would there be a shuttle to a township? My limitations are that my knees won't let me do a long walk ( no more than half an hour of hiking etc) or lots of stairs (i.e. more than 50 I guess). Any information or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!