Live from Pacific Explorer - 31st May - Australia is Cruising Again

[Blackduck59]

On 5/31/2022 at 2:23 PM, Cbtours said:

We’ll try 😇

can you see land when travelling up the coast? That’s the question my kids ask me cos they going nowhere on a cruise unless they see land at all times lol. But go ahead and eat your Brekky first lol, where are you eating it? MDR? 

 

Just tell them for sure you can see land. If the ship finds itself say 50 miles off shore and the land is over the horizon...oh well. Tell them they could get off and walk if they like 😉.

My best ever "at sea" moment came when I was a young sea cadet and I was on a short deployment with the Canadian Navy. I had never been out of sight of land before that deployment. One morning I was standing "Life Buoy" duty as the sun was rising on the port beam. From my viewpoint there was nothing but the sea and the sunrise, I wish I had a camera. Some marvelous things happen out of sight of the land.

[arxcards]

A bit on the current health protocols.

Firstly check-in. Should be a breeze when you have prefilled everything in the app. Maybe when they get used to it, but Tuesday was the slowest check-in we have ever had. Should be a matter of showing the completed VefiFLY and the green ticks in the Bar code of your digital card. No, let's check everything, take a photo of the pre-registered credit-card, ask the health survey questions again in case anything has changed. This includied the RAT result, where I said I attested yesterday and was not required to test again. Boarding pass was required to get to get into the terminal for check-in, and masks required at all times.

 

Embarkation - much the same. You are assigned a boarding number, and they call them as they did before. The boarding  numbers were written on your travel docs in pen. I am sure nobody would turn their 1 into a P 😉

A quick transit through X-ray had us as passenger 3 and 4 aboard. Cruise cards are in an envelope outside of your room.

 

Masks aboard - required at all times whenever distancing isn't possible. Bar areas and restaurants are pretty much mask till seated. If drinking close to a bar, there are "sip & cover" signs, and this is also the deal for shows in the theatre & Black Circus. Masks are required in lifts, which also have ultrasound sanitisers. Most passengers follow the spirit of those rules, but there is not much enforcement.

 

Muster - you are required to watch the TV for their safety demonstration, and to call into your muster station to have your card scanned. There is still a general muster announced, and ship services are still paused. You just listen to it wherever you are.

 

Menus and ordering - we sat down for embarkation lunch and were presented with a bar code to order. Initially it wouldn't connect to the ship server unless you had paid for internet, but has been sorted now. There was a mad scramble for printed menus. Generally, you scan the QR code and it takes you to the menu, but they will also provide paper menus for those that need them. There are benefits in doing this, but also promotes a shipload of passengers with their faces in their phones. You can book your dining on the app, but order/pick-up  from Charlies/ice cream/ocean bar/ is not yet available.

 

We were told that Luke's was full for tonight when we were dining there on night 2. We were waitlisted, and figured we had missed out. Just poking around in the app, and Luke's was marked as "reservations available" so I managed to find an available table for tonight. The app isn't all bad after all.

 

[Cbtours]

1 minute ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

Just tell them for sure you can see land. If the ship finds itself say 50 miles off shore and the land is over the horizon...oh well. Tell them they could get off and walk if they like 😉.

My best ever "at sea" moment came when I was a young sea cadet and I was on a short deployment with the Canadian Navy. I had never been out of sight of land before that deployment. One morning I was standing "Life Buoy" duty as the sun was rising on the port beam. From my viewpoint there was nothing but the sea and the sunrise, I wish I had a camera. Some marvelous things happen out of sight of the land.

good one! Our first ever cruise was a Christmas cruise on Dawn Princess (now the P & O explorer) and we were hooked! It was the most magical time ever, marred only by our family not being there. My dream would be to all go on a Christmas cruise, but I guess it aint ever going to happen lol

[Cbtours]

2 minutes ago, arxcards said:

A bit on the current health protocols.

Firstly check-in. Should be a breeze when you have prefilled everything in the app. Maybe when they get used to it, but Tuesday was the slowest check-in we have ever had. Should be a matter of showing the completed VefiFLY and the green ticks in the Bar code of your digital card. No, let's check everything, take a photo of the pre-registered credit-card, ask the health survey questions again in case anything has changed. This includied the RAT result, where I said I attested yesterday and was not required to test again. Boarding pass was required to get to get into the terminal for check-in, and masks required at all times.

 

Embarkation - much the same. You are assigned a boarding number, and they call them as they did before. The boarding  numbers were written on your travel docs in pen. I am sure nobody would turn their 1 into a P 😉

A quick transit through X-ray had us as passenger 3 and 4 aboard. Cruise cards are in an envelope outside of your room.

 

Masks aboard - required at all times whenever distancing isn't possible. Bar areas and restaurants are pretty much mask till seated. If drinking close to a bar, there are "sip & cover" signs, and this is also the deal for shows in the theatre & Black Circus. Masks are required in lifts, which also have ultrasound sanitisers. Most passengers follow the spirit of those rules, but there is not much enforcement.

 

Muster - you are required to watch the TV for their safety demonstration, and to call into your muster station to have your card scanned. There is still a general muster announced, and ship services are still paused. You just listen to it wherever you are.

 

Menus and ordering - we sat down for embarkation lunch and were presented with a bar code to order. Initially it wouldn't connect to the ship server unless you had paid for internet, but has been sorted now. There was a mad scramble for printed menus. Generally, you scan the QR code and it takes you to the menu, but they will also provide paper menus for those that need them. There are benefits in doing this, but also promotes a shipload of passengers with their faces in their phones. You can book your dining on the app, but order/pick-up  from Charlies/ice cream/ocean bar/ is not yet available.

 

We were told that Luke's was full for tonight when we were dining there on night 2. We were waitlisted, and figured we had missed out. Just poking around in the app, and Luke's was marked as "reservations available" so I managed to find an available table for tonight. The app isn't all bad after all.

 

Great info even if we on Princess. Helps to prepare for possible similar scenarios

[MMDown Under]

3 hours ago, arxcards said:

If I can't get a good pic on the phone, I will be scanning them all when I get home.

 

A short time ago on the promenade.

Thanks for showing the pointy bits!  Beautiful contrast between the dark blue sea and the blue sky.  

[NSWP]

1 hour ago, Cbtours said:

good one! Our first ever cruise was a Christmas cruise on Dawn Princess (now the P & O explorer) and we were hooked! It was the most magical time ever, marred only by our family not being there. My dream would be to all go on a Christmas cruise, but I guess it aint ever going to happen lol

Shout 'em a Chrissie cruise, lol.

[Cbtours]

1 minute ago, NSWP said:

Shout 'em a Chrissie cruise, lol.

Id be more than happy too! It still wouldn't get them on lol. They don't trust being on the water when they cant see land hahahaha

[NSWP]

2 minutes ago, Cbtours said:

Id be more than happy too! It still wouldn't get them on lol. They don't trust being on the water when they cant see land hahahaha

Tell them the ships have lifeboats, lol and everyone has a life jacket in the cabin, lol. Not far to swim to shore.

[Cbtours]

4 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Tell them the ships have lifeboats, lol and everyone has a life jacket in the cabin, lol. Not far to swim to shore.

I have tried all of the above lol

[OzKiwiJJ]

8 minutes ago, Cbtours said:

Id be more than happy too! It still wouldn't get them on lol. They don't trust being on the water when they cant see land hahahaha

Before we did our first cruise I was a bit apprehensive about how I would feel being out of sight of land but after the first sea day I realised I loved it!

[NSWP]

2 minutes ago, Cbtours said:

I have tried all of the above lol

Tell them Uncle Les who has been on many ships in many places, promises they won't sink lol. No more Titanic or other maritime disaster movies for them, lol.

[Cbtours]

2 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Before we did our first cruise I was a bit apprehensive about how I would feel being out of sight of land but after the first sea day I realised I loved it!

we've been hooked since the first day too!

[NSWP]

1 minute ago, Cbtours said:

we've been hooked since the first day too!

You became a cruiseaholic like most of us on here.😆

[Snoopkat]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

You can book your dining on the app, but order/pick-up  from Charlies/ice cream/ocean bar/ is not yet available.

 

 

Thanks for posting all the updates, looking forward to our first cruise in 3 weeks. 

 

I've been checking the app but there is no option to pre book restaurants. Do we have to physically be on the ship before we can use the app to make reservations?

[JohnGc]

True story. When I dropped off my brother and sister in-law for their first cruise from Portside on the Sun Princess,  my sister in-law was absolutely white faced & petrified. I told her there was nothing to be concerned about and that she would have a great time, she then turned around to me and said " would they have inspected underneath the ship for any holes." 😂😂😂 Needless to say they had a great time and booked up for their next cruise while onboard.

[JohnGc]

Have I missed something ?   $177 million for the new Brisbane cruise terminal. I expected some big kind of opening glitzy hoo ha when the Explorer arrived and all I saw was the prime minister pull back a couple of curtains on a plaque !!! Correct me if I am wrong  or do I need to go to Spec Savers.🤓

[arxcards]

11 minutes ago, Snoopkat said:

Thanks for posting all the updates, looking forward to our first cruise in 3 weeks. 

 

I've been checking the app but there is no option to pre book restaurants. Do we have to physically be on the ship before we can use the app to make reservations?

You need to be checked-in before you can make bookings on the app. If a short cruise, I think the easiest way is to go straight to your cabin and call the reservations number. The app took a little while to function as expected.

 

You have a great time to look forward to. This stuff is still great fun.

[arxcards]

Sorry, duplicate

Edited June 3, 2022 by arxcards
Duplicate

[Chiliburn]

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

You became a cruiseaholic like most of us on here.😆

A cruise junkie 

[arxcards]

10 minutes ago, JohnGc said:

Have I missed something ?   $177 million for the new Brisbane cruise terminal. I expected some big kind of opening glitzy hoo ha when the Explorer arrived and all I saw was the prime minister pull back a couple of curtains on a plaque !!! Correct me if I am wrong  or do I need to go to Spec Savers.🤓

The ceremony went for a couple of hours. They had a mini concert with Ricki-Lee Coulter to kick it off, but it might have missed morning TV due to some delays in getting the gangways set-up for the first time.

 

There was an hour pause, then a ceremony that included a welcome to country and smoking ceremony; speeches from Carnival Australia President Marguerite Fitzgerald, Brisbane Ports CEO, Brisbane Lord Mayor, Premier Annastasia Palaszczuk. Deputy Miles was also there, but if he spoke, it wasn't enough for me to remember. Then the plaque, some group photos with passengers and the official party, and a press conference with the media.

 

My wife was in the group photo op. I am hoping to get a better screen capture of a bigger screen when I get home. 

[Aus Traveller]

6 minutes ago, arxcards said:

The ceremony went for a couple of hours. They had a mini concert with Ricki-Lee Coulter to kick it off, but it might have missed morning TV due to some delays in getting the gangways set-up for the first time.

 

There was an hour pause, then a ceremony that included a welcome to country and smoking ceremony; speeches from Carnival Australia President Marguerite Fitzgerald, Brisbane Ports CEO, Brisbane Lord Mayor, Premier Annastasia Palaszczuk. Deputy Miles was also there, but if he spoke, it wasn't enough for me to remember. Then the plaque, some group photos with passengers and the official party, and a press conference with the media.

 

My wife was in the group photo op. I am hoping to get a better screen capture of a bigger screen when I get home. 

Which of those ladies is the lovely Barb? (I hope I have her name right!!)

[arxcards]

On passenger numbers. The cap was apparently 75%. We sailed with around 1450, with many envelopes (cruise cards enclosed) still spotted outside cabins at dinner time. 

 

 

One wonders what prevented boarding - positive test, unable to prove vaccination, or other?

[arxcards]

3 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Which of those ladies is the lovely Barb? (I hope I have her name right!!)

Yes, the redhead (currently).

[Aus Traveller]

Thanks for posting the photo.

[JohnGc]

5 minutes ago, arxcards said:

The ceremony went for a couple of hours. They had a mini concert with Ricki-Lee Coulter to kick it off, but it might have missed morning TV due to some delays in getting the gangways set-up for the first time.

 

There was an hour pause, then a ceremony that included a welcome to country and smoking ceremony; speeches from Carnival Australia President Marguerite Fitzgerald, Brisbane Ports CEO, Brisbane Lord Mayor, Premier Annastasia Palaszczuk. Deputy Miles was also there, but if he spoke, it wasn't enough for me to remember. Then the plaque, some group photos with passengers and the official party, and a press conference with the media.

 

My wife was in the group photo op. I am hoping to get a better screen capture of a bigger screen when I get home. 

Thanks Geoff. Not like the media to miss out on that. I watched the tv hoping to catch up on the opening. Been waiting since covid messed every thing up to see the new Terminal. Still have not seen much of the inside yet but that will be a surprise for when I go on my cruise in January. Thanks for all your post on your cruise, gave me a bit of a cruising fix.👍