arxcards

True. Barb doesn't wear a lot of pearls, but if they have something she likes, we wont be in Lombok for our 30th. I had considered a gift of Norwegian Pearl, as she will be in Sydney for our anniversary. Unfortunately, Sydney Nova Scotia was a bit too far off the radar. Perhaps I can just tell her the cruise is for our Coral anniversary, but getting it 5 years early. I guess that means I will be keeping an eye out for whatever Coral Princess is going to be doing in October 2027. I have a general idea of the right price of pearls and pearl jewellery, and if they don't have something suitable, I will hunt around our local jewellers the following week.

At this stage of their journey, Carnival Splendor was also getting tests, but the lack of positives meant the passengers could go mask free for the final part of their crossing. Not what I wanted to hear though, and I hope they can at least prevent numbers from going up. On the numbers you gave, the ship would be at code yellow, and I know there are plenty of passengers staying aboard for the following cruise - our cruise.

We were on the first cruise back on P&O on 31st May. I felt that there was covid aboard, and it turns out some friends tested positive a couple of days after returning home. We tested negative, but followed what we would consider as hygienic cruise habits, which also seem to apply to covid. We also cruised on Coral Princess in August, and much less coughing. Generally, most people do the right thing most of the time, but you still have to rely on your own personal protection. It is your own mask that is your last line of defences. Come February, there is no guarantee that masks will still be mandated, but there is always personal choice. There were a few affected cruises in July with elevated case numbers aboard. As with land based infections, the number of infections on cruise ships has come way down. Each ship reports numbers for any potentially infectious disease to the state authority the day before arrival. For the past month +, all ships have been reported as "green status", referring to little or zero positive covid tests aboard. While the risk of exposure is minimal, it only takes on, and that all comes down to personal choice.

Lol, Herbert Adams, Mrs Macs. Will see if I can get a better wall from that. Princess, Cunard, Carnival, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean - oh yeah, I get those already.

Double Down Bar is next to casino. This used to be Crooners prior to the lockdown. There doesn't appear to be much of a change in layout, but it has taken on a wall of TV screens. It seemed strange for a Crooners to be closed away in a room, but I am sure they will still do an awesome martini there.

There was an exclusion around helicopter tours at one stage, following a few incidents 10 or 12 or so years ago. Until the local operators went through a certification program, the cruise lines even stopped offering them as a shore excursion. I would think they have move on, but the fine print will decide that.

All the ships are trying hard, but they are adhering to the government protocols. All of the transiting ships have/will have similar requirements.

I officially hate the book of faces & goggle. Seems I typed Swarovski into an above post, and now I get their ads on my FB feed.

We booked a cab from Alcyone apartments in Portside for our August cruise. Another couple tried to pinch our cab, as it turns out, they had been dropped at Portside by a cab from the airport to the "cruise terminal". Maybe they had the same cab driver. We split the fare to BICT with them.

Barb loved her salmon dishes on our last Coral cruise.

On the serious side, they now request for you to take a photo of your test, next to your photo ID and a time stamp of some sort. I wonder if that is to weed out those positive that want to board anyway, or whether it really is to stop those who are actually negative but have changed their mind and want a credit instead of boarding???

Correct.

OK, back to the migration. Carnival Luminosa - through the Suez Canal, and in the Gulf of Aden en route to Dubai. Majestic Princess - has left Hawaii and on the way to Tahiti. 18 days to go. Celebrity Eclipse - more ports in her Transpacific, she is currently doing an overnight in Lahaina, Maui. It would be a great place for a late night if Mick Fleetwood is in residence at his restaurant. Ovation of the Seas - departed Vancouver on her Transpacific yesterday, although her first port was only to Seattle. She has departed Seattle in the past hour, and heading for Lahaina. The Alaskan season is now over, with the remaining ships heading south toward Vancouver or Seattle. This includes Quantum of the Seas, Norwegian Spirit, Noordam & Westerdam. Grand Princess is in San Diego. Queen Elizabeth has almost completed her European season, returning back to Barcelona tomorrow afternoon.

Looking deeper into this, there are some cracks that people could fall through. I haven't watched ACA to know if they specifically fell down one of those. I believe the protocols are well communicated, but there can be issues, because the 5% is not a fixed number. If the governments allowed them a nominal 5% based on the ships normal capacity, there would be more surety. - Some had already paid in full before the protocols were announced, due to past cancellations being rebooked. While there was the option to cancel/rebook again, people were holding out hope that the rules would change before their departure - Carnival Splendor. Lots of US passengers booked on the transpacific, and some for B2Bs afterwards. At the same time the restrictions were about to ease in the US, they announced the protocols for this cruise not only required vaccinations, but masks as well due to Australian protocols. How dare an Australian authority tell an American they need to wear a mask on the ship - this followed with a social media blow-up, mass cancellations, and the 5% number shrank at the same time. - There is a log jam of past bookings that have been loyally rebooked each time the cruise was cancelled during the shutdown. There are passengers that still can't get into the 5% on upcoming cruises, but don't want to cancel because of the goodwill OBC given for the past cancellations. There is a solution, and that is for a nominal maximum number of unvaccinated of around 5% vs having a floating 5%. For passenger/crew capacity of 3000, everyone is aware they can accept 150 unvaccinated kids/medical exemptions, then it is first in, waitlisted, or booking declined. We booked 31st May on Explorer a month before protocols were known, presuming something similar to the US. The 5% wasn't even a consideration then, so that flexibility can also turn out to be a flaw. Back early last year, we made a decision whether to be jabbed or not. Yes, I was concerned that I had older family members and work mates I didn't want to get sick, and also concerned for an asthmatic partner. We chatted it over and the casting vote went to cruising. We discussed that when cruising resumed they would likely have restrictions, including vaccination, and there was going to be nothing stopping us from resuming our cruising. I don't think I have any more foresight than others, but am certainly glad we are in the 95%. We paid the deposit on Celebrity Edge long before protocols were announced. The cruise doesn't happen till March 2024, and the protocols could well be gone by then. All the same, Celebrity have sent this via email, which requires us to acknowledge our vaccination status. That is all part of determining a 5% early, a year before anyone has to commit to a final payment.

Thanks. I looked up the Effy website this morning, and they do have some rather cool looking designs. I did notice there is lots of 14K gold compared to most jewellers, but they did have some pearls in their range. Swarovski is mostly cosmetic and plated, so not part of my plan.

Do we grab our tote bag and go knocking on cabin doors? Might be slim pickings now, with no pillow chocolates to collect.

That would be about my max price too.

@OzKiwiJJ I don't usually take a lot of notice of the jewellery shops, apart to have noticed they have some nice stuff, some exxxy stuff, and watches. Do they have any pearl earrings, pendants, necklaces under $1K? We have our 30th onboard next weekend, and I am thinking it would be a nice touch vs shopping at the local jewellers this week.

You are free to cancel, but would lose your deposit. The changes aren't considered as significant enough for them to offer a refund. Although unlikely, ask them or your T/A to confirm.

Christmas yes, to varying degrees. Halloween, not so much on the ships based here full time. We will be on Majestic Princess for Halloween, and don't know yet if there will be theme night for it and how immersive it will be.

Adventure. Explorer sailed out, and Adventure sailed in, crossing at Fort Denison. A few minutes ago, Carnival Splendor sailed out too.

Mare is because of the wharf, and why they have a more definite closure. But otherwise, yes.

Just leaving now. Heading to QLD, they are lucky not to lose an hour for daylight savings.

I have a friend or two onboard, and have seen pics of the conga line from the ship. Crazy!