Aus Traveller

You are correct - the company is Reef Sprinter, not Jet Sprinter. Apologies. In my defence I will mention that I am on a ship near Iceland. The internet is unbelieveably slow so I didn't check that I had the name of the company correct before posting the comment.

From Cairns, Fitzroy Island is quite good. I prefer tours from Port Douglas where there are several to choose from. The company Jet Sprinter offers small-group tours to the outer reef as well as to the Low Isles.

As other have said there isn't a coffee card any more but your mother can buy the coffee she likes as she goes. You can buy internet alone, either for the whole cruise, or for casual days at a time. Travel insurance - I suggest you check with your particular bank credit insurance. The ANZ platinum visa covers people for cruises they book before their 81st birthday. The actual wording is ýou are aged under 81 years at the time you become eligible for the cover .....' To become eligible you have to have the relevant CC, spend a minimum of $250 of the cost of the trip on the card, reside in Australia and have a return ticket to Australia. (A cruise counts as a return ticket). There is no restriction on the age of the person when they go on the cruise.

We probably did the same tour - Montserrat and also Barcelona where we had a city drive and toured Park Guell and the Sagrada Familia. I have a large group (35) in three 12-seat vans (very comfortable). Marta was the guide in my van and she was excellent. The tour was great and the company was easy to deal with.

I answered this question on the other thread. A self-administered RAT test is required.

The agreement between the cruise lines and the various Aust governments determined what we have to do. A self-administered RAT test within 24 hours, actually the previous day, is required. You have to photograph the test (with your passport details and a clock showing the time) and up-load this onto the cruise lines site. At check-in you will be asked if you tested negative to COVID. Your answer is regarded as a legal statement.

I am pretty sure P&O charge per item for room service including breakfast.

Relevance?🙂 I also know people with NRMA insurance.

I suggest it was the motoring organization NRMA, not its insurance arm that prepared the list. It wouldn't be relevant for an insurance company to have a list for travellers.

The list would be limited to NSW because it was prepared by the NRMA. 🙂 It would be strange if they included shops in other areas of Australia.

You will be informed on the ship very firmly on the morning of every shore day that you must not take food ashore. Because Australia is an island nation, we have successful kept out many of the nasty diseases prevalent overseas. However, it is only with constant vigilance that we have been successful.🙂

Absolutely no food to be taken off the ship, particularly NOT fruit. At Darwin there are often sniffer dogs to check everyone's handbags.

Would your 13-year-old be bored on Princess? Maybe not. This was someone's opinion. During school holidays there will be other kids and Princess has a good Teen Centre called The Beach House. Maybe a few others might let us know how their young teens enjoyed it.

If there can be any general statement about which men will 'dress up' on cruises, I feel it is the opposite of what you suggest. Men who do (or who have) worn business attire for work are comfortable in more formal clothes on a cruise. However, I know a few tradies who wouldn't wear a suit on a cruise. They would feel very uncomfortable. A printed long sleeve shirt worn with long pants is as dressy as they go.

My husband also doesn't fit the observation but for the opposite reason. In his working life he always had to wear a long-sleeved shirt/tie with a suitcoat on occasions. On cruises, he wears a dinner suit on formal night.

Most of the time, the ship is too far from shore to see anything interesting, or indeed, the shore at all. At times, the shoreline is a distant line on the horizon. There are a few places where there is a fair bit to see. In NZ I enjoy the Fiordland day. In the one to two hours between the fiords, the ship is close enough to land for passengers to enjoy lovely scenery. In North Queensland waters, sometimes the ships are within the Barrier Reef (rather than the shipping lane outside the reef) and there are areas of lovely islands and sandbars.

I thought when they extended the OPT a few years ago, the terminal was supposed to be able to handle two ships, although two at turn-around day would be a bit difficult.

P&O and Princess.

Distilled water is available free for people with CPAP machines. However, the person has to register in the Medical section before boarding.

I believe that Princess also supplies distilled water free of charge to use with CPAP machines. You must pre-order it on the medical area of your Cruise Personalizer or Medallion app.

I think when the cruise company tried Cairns as a turn-around port and it wasn't successful, they would be reluctant to try again.

P&O has tried basing a ship in Cairns, but they ended up having to heavily discount the fares. Maybe people were reluctant to book because of the cost and bother of flying to Cairns.

The Star Princess is now the Pacific Encounter. When the fire broke out in 2006, they nearly 'lost' the ship.

Would have been good to catch up. 😢

What date in September is your cruise? We are booked on 16th September.