CCC's

29 minutes ago, Eddnar said:

So long story short, we are in Australia and the prices were in US$...so a bit to expensive for us. We have now booked the Meriton Suites which seems a good deal and a short Uber drive.

All Meriton Suites in Sydney CBD are excellent and are located within walking distance to most of Sydney's main attractions.  Recently spent 3 nights at Meriton Kent St and it was the perfect accommodation for my visit and quite reasonably priced.   Good choice. 

Does anyone know what would be the expected time for the nightly shows on Majestic Princess cruise leaving Sydney this November?  Apparently Coral Princess shows are 8pm and 10pm nightly.... could I expect something similar?

34 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

We have also booked a couple of P&O cruises. Somewhere I saw that we could book our embarkation time 60 days before the cruise.

Thanks for info.   I will set a reminder in my calender to check again on 16 July.

I have booked a cruise on Pacific Explorer in September.   Where on the P & O website can I choose the boarding times.   This cruise is 3 months away,  and perhaps I need to wait until closer to cruise date?

**Check out     www.railnewzealand.com

I have visited NZ six times (3 times by cruise ship and 3 times doing a fly/drive).  South Island my absolute favourite,  stunning scenery,  friendly locals.   Have you considered using their train system from Auckland.  They have finally re-opened after Covid shut-down. 

My next NZ trip will be train from Auckland to Wellington, then ferry across Cook Strait to Picton, train from Picton to Christchurch and finally Christchurch to Greymouth on the west coast of the south Island on the TranzAlpine.  You can also hop off the train wherever you want and spend a few days there. Check out railnewzealabd.com. 

You could then go on a cruise from Auckland back to Sydney via Tasmania.  I am suggesting the rail journeys if you would feel uncomfortable driving on the "other" side of the road. 

Do the menus in the main dining rooms on Pacific Explorer change every night or remain the same for the entire cruise?

19 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

The trick with P&O to get a table in the Waterfront restaurant pre-COVID was to go and book as soon as you board the ship. Otherwise join the long line in the evening. I don't know if that still applies. When you leave the restaurant, ask if you can book for the same table for the next night - or for the whole cruise. If you want to book Angelos book when you board the ship.

Where can you make dining bookings as soon as you arrive on the ship.   Is there a specific place to go to?

3 minutes ago, Cbtours said:

Not sure if you booked through PvP but ours just told me today that if I want to book excursions through him he can apply it to use our obc. He has done this for many in our group doing nz in Feb 23 too

It will be on Pacific Explorer.   I am not sure what is a PvP?  How would I contact one ??

I think I know the answer but decided I should ask the question here and tap into a more knowledgeable group of cruisers.....I have $200 OBC on my  Pacific Explorer cruise in Sept.  I wish to book an excursion now and use my OBC but it is requesting payment by credit/ debit card.   Is there anyway I can circumvent this payment method?  I believe I will probably have to book when I board the ship and use my OBC then.  Any advice welcome. 

Do you have to upload the International vaxx certificate instead of the normal vax certificate?

5 hours ago, joejoe 59 said:

We are cruising in August & were able to book dining times on the app. The only thing we can't do yet is book our boarding time yet.

Where on the App were you able to book dining times.   Also, I would imagine you would have made final payment as well.   Thanks for any advice. 

Thanks everyone for your responses and advice.  Will take your suggestions on board (pardon the pun).

It is possible that one person in our group of three, sharing one cabin,  will be unable to cruise with us.   My questions are.... Do I need to notify cruiseline months before cruise,  OR  when we arrive at Port.  Any advice appreciated. 

11 hours ago, arxcards said:

Very glitchy. I had similar problems after a Princess ship switch a few weeks ago.

 

Just to check that you were issued a new booking number, as the old one will no longer work. Apart from that, contact them.

Yes agree, very glitchy.  However after a good sleep overnight for both myself and the P & O website, we are now literally on the same page.  Thanks for your feedback.  Bring on the start of cruising !!!

Is anyone else experiencing problems logging in to the P & O Dashboard?  I enter my full name,  D of B and booking reference and it either cannot validate my details or just keeps timing out.  I was moved from a Pacific Adventure cruise to Pacific Explorer cruise scheduled for September 2022.  Any feedback or suggestions welcome. 

48 minutes ago, JohnGc said:

I am also going to try Comm Bank.  .I have been trying to contact Covermore to find out about the 80 year old cost and was on the phone for ages before I gave up. I have now sent an email so I will see what happens. Have you seen the Covermore reviews on product review website ?

I have spent the last 30 minutes checking out reviews of Covermore Insurance on the Product Review website.  My head is spinning.  99% of reviews are only one star (*).  Ouch!   I think I will discuss this matter with the CommBank when I apply for my World Debit Mastercard.  Very concerning development.

On 4/21/2022 at 11:59 PM, JohnGc said:

Well I put in an application in for a Suncorp Platinum credit card . Apparently although I get a decent UK pension and my Australian pension is guaranteed ,  have no debts, own my own house, have substantial savings in my bank account , supplied all my bank statements that confirmed that all my bills are paid promptly it was rejected because I am not employed and have no other income from elsewhere. At least I tried. I guess, they thought why do I need a credit card and that I only wanted it for the travel insurance and possibly that even if I used the credit card I would pay the amount off long before the 55 day limit. Makes sense they would not make any profit from me. I could try for a low fee gold card or Platinum from my Comm Bank with free Covermore international travel insurance,  but has anyone seen there reviews from product review ?  I would be interested to hear from anybody that actually uses them and their thoughts. I did want to ask Covermore some questions about the over 80 years old supplement but gave up on the phone after 4 hrs. not impressed. They do not cover Covid at this stage either, maybe later.The application of course only included my contribution. Between the wife and I, we have a reasonable income but that does not count.

 

Cheers John

 

I am in same boat.... retired and on Pension.  Would find it almost impossible to get a credit card with complimentary travel insurance coverage.   However after a lot of research I might approach Commonwealth Bank (my main bank account) which has a debit Mastercard called World Debit Mastercard, which includes Travel Insurance with Cover more.   I am hoping I am successful as I already bank with them.  Fingers crossed.  Currently they don't cover Covid related issues but that might change in the future.  

Will cruisers on local Australian cruises be required to hold travel insurance?  There is a lot of postings on CC about requirement to hold travel insurance before cruising.  I am only making an enquiry for local cruising,  not international.  Thanks for any advice. 

I have never sailed from White Bay.  How do I get there from a hotel near Town Hall rail station??

1 hour ago, portcbob said:

I believe cruising domestically will resume in September this year, 2022. 17th April date is the key. If the government lifts the ban it will happen, IMO.👍

I bloody hope so because I have a cruise booked for mid September (east coast Aussie) and this will be my first cruise in three years. 

Very disappointing news for you and hope you don't have to wait too long before you can finally cruise from Auckland.    I am hopeful that my short 4 day P&O cruise from Sydney in September will still go ahead.   Fingers crossed. 

Also,  still scratching my head about the unusual print font used in the above notice from P & O.   Weird and a little difficult to read.   ??  Looks like the font you would use on a wedding invitation. 

I hope NSW will be first. 

I believe we are now on the cusp of moving from pandemic to endemic, particularly in view of the removal of many Covid rules in several states.   Our political "rulers" must realise that Cruisers are (voting) adults who can make measured decisions on how they wish to holiday and if that be on a cruise ship,  they must be given that choice.   Cruise Lines have put in place protocols on their ships which, I believe,  go beyond those that you would find in your local huge Westfield shopping centre.   At this time I would feel  more comfortable on a cruise ship than visit a shopping centre which would be inhabited by thousands of vaxed, partially vaxed and non-vaxed persons.   

Open up Australia to all cruise ships NOW and stop using this issue as a political football.  

Just got out of bed and a little thick in the head......uumm, what is the actual question ?