patch nine

I am sure we had an earlier flight than that last December. We had booked through Easy air and our flight was later changed making it earlier. We booked Princess transfers and were among the first off and arrived at the airport in plenty of time for our flight. We disembarked about 7.40 and were at the airport about 8.45. I think our flight was about 10.30

We saw him on the Coral and thought the same thing. Also we wanted to hear him sing, not the audience!

Ha Ha. Glad it wasn't just me who had trouble with this! First day I just couldn't work it out then for a couple of days kept muddling up the hot/cold and the pressure dials so either got scalded or frozen. Finally had it working perfectly by the end of the cruise.

I didn't find the duty free prices on the Coral Princess that expensive last week (Willis Island). We bought 2 bottles of Bundaberg rum 1.125L for $36 each, which is less than we normally pay for 750ml in Dan Murphys. Just checked and Dan's current price for the 1.125L is $66.95.

Yes I felt quite well on the ship and didn't consider testing until the very last night when I started to feel a bit sniffly (but by then our cases had gone with our test kits in them). When I got home I tested more out of curiosity and was quite surprised to get a positive result. Since then I have isolated but the symptoms have increased so wouldn't have wanted to go out anyway. But I was likely positive during my last couple of days on the ship and didn't know it - just like @Jean C and no doubt countless others. My husband has had it too and it has been just like a bad cold (a bit worse than we expected due to being fully vaccinated), but luckily we are both starting to feel better today.

It was raining and humidity was very high. Had it been dry and windy the viruses may have been blown away

We also had our boosters just 3 weeks before we went and took precautions too like wearing masks on the plane beforehand and we avoided the lifts completely. My husband didn't come on the tender and he didn't get it until a couple of days after me which is why I think that is where I picked it up. It was raining on the way over to Airlie Beach which is why I didn't sit outside. Other times I was able to and we usually do this. We definitely noticed more people coughing around the ship during the last couple of days than we had at the beginning and on the last day there were more masks being worn so I suspect a lot of people caught it.

No test needed and not even the usual health questionnaire to fill in at the port. But my husband and I got off the Coral Princess on Friday and both caught covid. I tested positive when I arrived home and he just yesterday. Luckily we were both well all the time we were on the ship and I first noticed symptoms as we were ready to disembark. I believe I picked it up on a tender so if you have any tender trips would suggest you wear a mask.

Lovely family photo Jean. I certainly don't recall seeing your group around the ship. It is funny but some people you just keep running into all the time and others you might talk to once and then you never see them again. I guess a lot of people have routines as to when and where they eat etc. so if they are on your "schedule" you will keep seeing them. On a cruise we did some time back there was a man (from Germany I think) who looked just like my brother and so we named him "John". It became quite a joke wherever we went that we had to look for "John". Whether we were eating, at a show, on a tour, it seemed "John" was always there 🙂

Yes they were lovely weren't they, and they worked very hard all day. Not long before we left Cairns they were frantically trying to get everything finished so they could leave the ship. We were quite surprised at them starting halfway through as the last time we cruised at this time of year the decorators boarded as soon as we docked in Brisbane at the end of the cruise so obviously came from there. Maybe with the new port being so far out it is easier to get the decorators on board in another port?

Give the men time, Jean. My husband has now come down with it!

Hope you feel better soon Jean. Mine feels like a head cold too - was very tired this morning (maybe I tried to do too much) but feeling a bit better this afternoon. It must be the female strain of covid as my husband doesn't have any symptoms either. We will both test again tomorrow. I feel sure I caught it on the tender over to Airlie Beach (Sunday) as was in it for a long time and it was very stuffy and crowded and my husband didn't go. This would tie in with when my first symptoms started (dry throat on waking on Wednesday morning). I also had my booster just 3 weeks before boarding

Hope it doesnt develop much further Jean. Like you I had never had covid before but luckily had a 5th booster about 3 weeks prior to the cruise. I did notice the last couple of days that there were a lot more people around wearing masks and there did also seem to be a bit more coughing that we hadn't noticed earlier in the cruise. We rarely walked the whole corridor on our desk (Baha) as were forward and usually used the forward stairs (DID NOT USE THE LIFT AT ALL!) but one day walked down to the Laundromat at the back and did notice just 2 tables outside cabins on our side much further along. I am not feeling too bad but it has come out as a bit of a cold today so I do feel I have something. Will isolate until I test negative and hope that won't take too long. Like you my test was a very strong positive - the 2 lines appeared almost immediately. I would assume there will be many people affected but of course some wont test and therefore wont know it which is how it spreads but as you say the symptoms can be so vague and easily attributed to something else (jetlag for you and the air con for me!). Hope the kids are all OK though they probably wouldn't mind another few days off school 🙂

@Jean C glad you enjoyed the cruise - we did too. Did keep an eye out for a frazzled grandma with 6 kids but don't believe we saw you. Thought maybe someone was you but the kids were boys and I know yours were nearly all girls. However, I recommend you do a covid test when you get back as I have tested positive! I was fine on the ship although a couple of mornings I woke up with a very dry throat - was fine once I got up and went outside so put it down to the air con in the cabin. Then on the last night as I got ready for bed started to feel like I was getting a cold - would have tested then but our RATS were in our cases which had been collected. Felt OK in the morning and then once I got home I felt fine - no symptoms at all and forgot about it until I was cooking tea and thought maybe I should test just in case. So I did the test expecting it to be negative and was surprised when it gave a positive reading almost immediately. My husband is OK so far. We were very careful on the ship and even moved seats one night in a bar when a man nearby had a cough. I think the most likely time I picked it up was on the tender over to Airlie Beach. It was very crowded and stuffy and I did wish I had taken a mask with me. My husband stayed on the ship so that is why I think I may have picked it up there. We didn't have the package as we don't drink a lot and had a fair bit of OBC so just bought our drinks. We took our two bottles of wine on with us for drinking in the cabin and then usually had a beer/wine or cocktail before dinner then a wine with dinner and I had a diet coke every afternoon. We also bought 2 bottles of duty free and I have this morning received our final account for the total amount of 51 cents!!! (the 1 cent being the credit card surcharge). So we are very glad we didn't shell out for the plus package as it would have been a complete waste of money. We really liked the ship as it seemed there was so much more space and in particular seating, compared to other ships we had been on. Did notice a few cutbacks compared to earlier cruises but overall it was a good cruise and we have purchased a future cruise deposit.

We are on the deck above you, also forward, portside. Like you, we wanted a covered balcony but unfortunately were only able to book a guarantee. Luckily we were allocated a covered one that we would have chosen ourselves had we been able to and have been constantly checking the past few weeks to make sure Princess hadn't decided to move us!

Our first time in a mini suite too - they seemed to be cheaper on the Coral - possibly more of them ? - so not a lot more than the balconies.

Yes it is feeling real now. Seems so long since we last cruised. Hope the kids enjoy themselves - have they cruised before?

We are staying overnight at the Kingsford Smith Motor Inn as they offer a free shuttle to the terminal (but only to the end of this year!). Maybe if we are notified of late boarding they may delay the departure of their shuttles. @MicCanberra I challenge you to get my husband to visit a shopping centre 🙂

Yes let us hope for a good day! At least at the old Portside terminal if there were any delays you could go for a wander around the shops or go and find a seat down by the river to sit and wait. But with the new terminal you probably won't know what the story is until you arrive there and then you are trapped!

My QR Code appeared last night! It says check in window 12.30 - 3.00. We are getting the 10am shuttle from our motel to the terminal in Brisbane so will probably be there about 10.30. Does check in start earlier than 12.30? We are platinum so have priority boarding. We have not been to the new terminal before but I think I read there is now a cafe there.

Are the kids booked into the same MDR (there are 2 on the Coral)? If their parents did the bookings then this could be the case 🤣

That will be interesting - don't suppose many vegies will get eaten but plenty of ice cream no doubt 😂

Yes we have OBC with nothing to spend it on apart from drinks so do not have the package as we are not big drinkers. We will take a couple of bottles of wine on board with us and then whatever we end up paying on top of the OBC will not be anything close to the extra for the package. Had we not had any OBC we may have considered it although I think I would be tempted to drink more than I usually do just to get my money's worth!

I have hard copies of everything. Never trust technology to work when it should!

Thanks for the warning! 😆🏃‍♀️