Pacific Encounter Brisbane 1 July

[Creekside89]

DH got a call last night from a friend who was supposed to be on this cruise yesterday. A total of 10 people in his group. His wife’s 50th birthday on board.
 

Due to one runway being open in Sydney yesterday morning, their 9am flight didn’t depart until 1pm. 
 

He advised that at least 20 taxis all arrived at the terminal at the same time and they were told by ground staff to not let those taxis leave as they will be getting straight back in them, the Captain had pulled the gang plank and was going. Also said the Captain was well aware that 47 couple’s/families had not arrived and he knew of the situation in Sydney but didn’t care saying time is money. 
 

Our first question was why didn’t you go yesterday? Pre Covid we would have done it, post Covid trust no one. His father organised the trip and they are all first time cruisers. No travel insurance and I believe Qantas is flying them back today for free. 
 

He is going to ring P & O Monday to see if they can do anything.

[SinbadThePorter]

6 minutes ago, Creekside89 said:

Also said the Captain was well aware that 47 couple’s/families had not arrived and he knew of the situation in Sydney but didn’t care saying time is money. 

 

That's a little unfair on the captain, he has 2000 other passengers to worry about. 🤔

[MMDown Under]

15 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

That's a little unfair on the captain, he has 2000 other passengers to worry about. 🤔

What time was the Captain due to leave?

[SinbadThePorter]

18 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

What time was the Captain due to leave?

 

I assume 4pm, but I don't know for sure.

[Ondine]

I was following the saga on "another chat page" yesterday and it appeared to be bedlam with people having trouble getting to Brisbane from all over Aus.  Some people were planning to drive to Cairns and board there.  Think this was being allowed, others were trying to go via Melb or anywhere else that they could get a connecting flight.  However the Sydney situation caused mayhem in other airports.  Planes in the wrong places.  I believe they did delay boarding for some passengers who were keeping in touch with the agent/cruise line as to where they were.  A horrible situation.

[rkmw]

5 hours ago, Creekside89 said:

DH got a call last night from a friend who was supposed to be on this cruise yesterday. A total of 10 people in his group. His wife’s 50th birthday on board.
 

Due to one runway being open in Sydney yesterday morning, their 9am flight didn’t depart until 1pm. 
 

He advised that at least 20 taxis all arrived at the terminal at the same time and they were told by ground staff to not let those taxis leave as they will be getting straight back in them, the Captain had pulled the gang plank and was going. Also said the Captain was well aware that 47 couple’s/families had not arrived and he knew of the situation in Sydney but didn’t care saying time is money. 
 

Our first question was why didn’t you go yesterday? Pre Covid we would have done it, post Covid trust no one. His father organised the trip and they are all first time cruisers. No travel insurance and I believe Qantas is flying them back today for free. 
 

He is going to ring P & O Monday to see if they can do anything.

Nothing p&o can do if the people couldn’t get to the port on time and that’s why you fly in the day before and factor a hotel stay in your budget and take out travel insurance 

[Yaya_in_Oz]

Cruise lines regularly inconvenience people with their delays, detours, butt scraping and so on, so I think P and O could have been a little bit flexible in this case. How far away from the Port could these people be if the plane left Sydney at 1pm and the ship sailed at 4pm?

 

I don't believe the Captain would have been as unprofessional and inflammatory to publicly say "time is money" in this situation.

 

Qantas I see is still operating on the far side of useless. Why didn't they just fly the people up to their next port rather than back to Sydney?

 

Lots of people fly in on the day of their cruise, normally you'd have plenty of time and if you are new to cruising you possibly didn't think about travel insurance. I never bother with travel insurance in Aus except for cruises as you are not covered on the ship.

 

Its been chaotic at airports around the country with some unable to get on another flight for several days. I feel for these people and am very thankful I do not have to travel in school holidays.

[possum52]

2 minutes ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

Cruise lines regularly inconvenience people with their delays, detours, butt scraping and so on, so I think P and O could have been a little bit flexible in this case. How far away from the Port could these people be if the plane left Sydney at 1pm and the ship sailed at 4pm?

 

I don't believe the Captain would have been as unprofessional and inflammatory to publicly say "time is money" in this situation.

 

Qantas I see is still operating on the far side of useless. Why didn't they just fly the people up to their next port rather than back to Sydney?

 

Lots of people fly in on the day of their cruise, normally you'd have plenty of time and if you are new to cruising you possibly didn't think about travel insurance. I never bother with travel insurance in Aus except for cruises as you are not covered on the ship.

 

Its been chaotic at airports around the country with some unable to get on another flight for several days. I feel for these people and am very thankful I do not have to travel in school holidays.

After working in a school for close to thirty years, most of our holidays were during school breaks. We only once flew in the same day for a cruise and our flight was delayed. Fortunately we made it to Crcular Quay on time, but never again will we fly in from Melbourne on the same day, even to Sydney. It's not a great way to start your holiday, too stressful. 

[Hogbay]

59 minutes ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

 . I never bother with travel insurance 

 

Love this ...🤣🤣🤣

[arxcards]

Between Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane, there is usually a plan B to get other flights. I wouldn't dare fly in same day from Williamtown, as I don't really have a plan B if our flight is cancelled.

 

But, it is winter and weather has to be a factor. I have seen friends' travel days equally wrecked by fog along the East Coast. It is also school holidays (in NSW at least), so always going to be less seats available for plan B.

 

I am not a P&O fan at present, but I would hardly call them heartless for wanting to keep to schedule. Well over 2000 passengers aboard, pilot aboard, tugs waiting, subcontracted terminal staff not wanting to go into overtime. How long do they wait, and how many still haven't been able to make it when that extra time has expired. As a domestic cruise, I can't see why they can't board passengers via the facility at Airlie Beach tomorrow. It is only small numbers, and could be handled by a shipping agent and a few of the ships crew.

 

Sincerely, I hope anyone who missed the boat can at least score some credits for a future cruise, but I do expect the initial response will be - that is what travel insurance is for.

[dazadelaide]

2 hours ago, Hogbay said:

2 hours ago, Hogbay said:

 . I never bother with travel insurance

Travel insurance is never needed, until it is!

[Gwendy]

As DFAT says if you can’t afford travel insurance you can’t afford to travel.

I thought P&O required travel insurance for all cruisers, particularly with regards to covid and medical evacuation.

[Jean C]

Sad situation for the affected travellers.  As regards domestic and international flights in NZ at least, especially at peak times, if your flight is cancelled you will be rebooked to the next AVAILABLE flight which, in school holidays, Christmas and other peak times, may well not be the next departing flight if it's already full 🛬 As advised by many above, a hard lesson that it's best to fly in the day before a cruise 🛳 

[Bubbeh]

21 hours ago, Creekside89 said:

He advised that at least 20 taxis all arrived at the terminal at the same time and they were told by ground staff to not let those taxis leave as they will be getting straight back in them, the Captain had pulled the gang plank and was going. Also said the Captain was well aware that 47 couple’s/families had not arrived and he knew of the situation in Sydney but didn’t care saying time is money

My understanding is that all docks in harbour are only for a certain prescribed period of time.  They are pre-booked (if you will) cost a fortune and a kings ransom to extend; if any extension is possible.  Also, as Sinbad says, there were a large number of other passengers who did board on time and could reasonably expect to leave port on time.

 

This may seem harsh and for that I apologise but, why would anyone trust an airline schedule when something so important was at stake?  We always fly into a city at least the day prior to boarding more usually 2-5 days earlier in order to spend some time there.  My little panic radar would be in full swing if I ever tried to fly the day I was cruising.

[Bubbeh]

14 hours ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

I don't believe the Captain would have been as unprofessional and inflammatory to publicly say "time is money" in this situation.

 

 

But it is and the cruising industry is an industry and not a benevolent organisation.  Furthermore, the amount of money lost to this industry during COVID must be in the gazillions and the nature of business is that you need to recoup losses or you go under.

 

14 hours ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

Lots of people fly in on the day of their cruise, normally you'd have plenty of time and if you are new to cruising you possibly didn't think about travel insurance. I never bother with travel insurance in Aus except for cruises as you are not covered on the ship.

And of course, if you're new to cruising you may be young and put all your eggs in the Go Fund Me page basket when the sh*t hits the fan and you didn't bother with travel insurance.

 

To clarify, by 'you' I'm referring to the macro rather than you personally.

 

 

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, Bubbeh said:

And of course, if you're new to cruising you may be young and put all your eggs in the Go Fund Me page basket when the sh*t hits the fan and you didn't bother with travel insurance.

 

A cruising go fund me page sounds like a plan 💭

Interesting! 🤣

[cruisermsoon]

It may well be that "Time is Money", however 20 taxi loads of disaffected ex-prospective P&O customers could add up to a good deal more money.

As for the admonitions about travel insurance, if this was a domestic cruise there would be very few passengers on board who would have it. 

[possum52]

21 minutes ago, cruisermsoon said:

 

As for the admonitions about travel insurance, if this was a domestic cruise there would be very few passengers on board who would have it. 

Really? If that is the case, those passengers haven't done their homework and could be be out of pocket for $100s if not $1000s. Medicare doesn't cover something happening on the ship and visits to the ship medical centre can add up quickly. If they need to be air evacuated, I hope the passenger has a large bank account balance. 

Edited July 3, 2023 by possum52

[ceeceeDee]

Totally agree Possum. Passengers may be sailing in Australian waters, but travellers are still advised to have travel insurance to cover things like a medical emergency (young people may not get sick, but they have been known to break bones) and things like missing the ship or having to cancel the cruise. We never cruise without cruise travel insurance regardless of where we are going. Have never had to make a claim, but there is always Murphy's Law.

[possum52]

1 minute ago, ceeceeDee said:

Totally agree Possum. Passengers may be sailing in Australian waters, but travellers are still advised to have travel insurance to cover things like a medical emergency (young people may not get sick, but they have been known to break bones) and things like missing the ship or having to cancel the cruise. We never cruise without cruise travel insurance regardless of where we are going. Have never had to make a claim, but there is always Murphy's Law.

We even took out travel insurance last year for a holiday in Cairns, mainly for cancelling if we contracted covid. 

[Jean C]

7 minutes ago, ceeceeDee said:

Totally agree Possum. Passengers may be sailing in Australian waters, but travellers are still advised to have travel insurance to cover things like a medical emergency (young people may not get sick, but they have been known to break bones) and things like missing the ship or having to cancel the cruise. We never cruise without cruise travel insurance regardless of where we are going. Have never had to make a claim, but there is always Murphy's Law.

Hi, I got talking on board to a young middle-aged passenger who had her arm plastered and in a sling - she slipped on the metal deck surface while playing table tennis. An accident can happen to anyone.

[possum52]

It sure can Jean. And cost many dollars for treatment. On all our cruises we have visited the medical centre three times - once for me with a sinus infection on a repositioning cruise to Singapore, and twice for my husband who had gastro on a NZ cruise and another time when he stubbed his toe badly while boarding in Sydney and ended up having a small procedure for an ingrown toenail. I can't remember the cost of the procedure (it wasn't cheap) but we were able to claim the cost back on our travel insurance. 

[valantine80]

If their flight left Sydney at 1pm, they should not have been at the terminal much behind time. Shpuld have been able to be processed quickly. There would be no other ship to go into that dock but would mean pilot would be late.

 

We have done domestic cruises with medical only insurance so would not be covered in that situation. However with current problems in airline industry, and often dicey weather in Sydney, would not book travel on same day as departure.

 

[joejoe 59]

12 hours ago, Gwendy said:

As DFAT says if you can’t afford travel insurance you can’t afford to travel.

I thought P&O required travel insurance for all cruisers, particularly with regards to covid and medical evacuation.

P&O strongly recommend cruise insurance for all cruise's but not enforced unless travelling to Noumea, as they require passengers have it. 

[Yaya_in_Oz]

21 hours ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

 

Lots of people fly in on the day of their cruise, normally you'd have plenty of time and if you are new to cruising you possibly didn't think about travel insurance. I never bother with travel insurance in Aus except for cruises as you are not covered on the ship.

 

To clarify - a lot of Australians don't bother with domestic travel insurance, so if given a free trip in Australia, buying travel insurance might not have occurred to them.

 

For myself - I do not take tours in Australia, where you have to pay up front and there are hefty penalties for cancellation. This is the only use domestic travel insurance would have for me. Thats why I have insurance when going on a cruise and for an unexpected medical episode on board.

Otherwise, you change the date of a flight for a fee (well less than the cost of a TI policy and excess), most accommodation has free cancellation, if Qantas lose my bag they pay me so much per kilo which is probably more then the stuff is worth and most importantly if I have medical expenses the costs are worn by Medicare/private health insurance. I would consider TI domestic insurance totally irrelevant for my circumstances.