Yes, We Were on 'That' Cruise.

Sorry there was no blog last week - we went on a last minute cruise!!

After 7 booked cruises being cancelled, cruising finally came back to Australia on April 17 2022 - in Sydney!!! P&O Pacific Explorer left from Sydney on a cruise to Cairns. We are not getting on a plane yet, so .........

We had to wait until 16th June 2022 for a cruise from Brisbane. Coral Princess left Brisbane on a 3 day cruise to nowhere.

We decided to book a last minute cruise to Eden and Sydney for my birthday on Coral Princess. This was the 6th cruise from Brisbane for Coral Princess, and the first Princess Cruise for us. Our last cruise was November 2019 - a long 2 years, 8 months wait.

We had to do a RAT test 24 hours before boarding and we needed to be fully vaccinated. We had an email the morning of the cruise advising that some positive cases were identified among crew and that they and close contacts were now in isolation. We were offered a refund or Future Cruise Credit if we preferred not to sail that day. We have been on 19 cruises and know the routines that were in place for norovirus and expected nothing less with this new virus - so we decided to go, as we were so looking forward to cruising again.

Everyone, passengers and crew, wore masks and most passengers sanitised going into and out of bars, cafes and entertainment venues.

Anyone getting off in Eden, Sydney or Brisbane (many passengers were on a 12 day cruise, we were doing only 5 days of the 12 days) had to have a negative RAT test each time to disembark. This cruise ship had better health procedures than anything on the mainland of Australia. Over 50,000 spectators, in close proximity, were at the last State of Origin football game in Brisbane, and not one RAT test was needed. I wonder how many had the virus and how many contracted it on the night. No one will ever know BECAUSE no tests were done so nothing to report.

We felt very safe on board, and everyone was doing the right thing health wise.

The Eastern Seaboard Cruise Protocols agreed to by the State Governments and Cruise Industry are clearly laid out.

We know personally of 6 passengers from 3 different flights (two international and one domestic) who contracted the virus (they say) from flying - yet domestic passengers no longer need to test prior to flying, don't have to show proof of vaccination, and no longer need to wear masks at the airport terminal, only need to wear masks when on the plane - unless eating or drinking. No social distancing on planes!!! Airports and airlines have had to cancel flights due to lack of staff - due to the virus - same as the cruising industry. Why is the cruising industry being targeted by the media?

While in the Port of Sydney, TV 'news' crews were set up outside the terminal and were interviewing any passengers that would talk to them. They were there for hours and hours trying to get someone to say something negative about the cruise. Didn't happen. We were more concerned of contracting the virus while walking around Sydney than we ever were on board the ship. 

Cruise ships have better health procedures in place than the rest of Australia and because they require testing the cruise lines can report cases. That doesn't happen with airlines, major events, cinemas, shopping centres etc. etc. etc.

The media highlight cruise ships and don't tell the whole story. The ship we were on had 114 cases. Only 4 were passengers, who were confined to their cabins. ll0 were crew and close contacts, who were all in isolation. No threat to other passengers or other crew.

NOT TRUE!!!!

We had a wonderful time and even tried to book the next cruise and stay on board, but it was too expensive. Next booked cruise is September, unless we get another last minute booking.

End of rant!!! The next few blogs will cover the cabin, the ship, the food, and the entertainment. There were good and not so good aspects, but we enjoyed every minute.