2022 In Review

Our Cruise Pause / Resumption Story

In February 2020 we were in Australia on a repositioning cruise from Melbourne, Australia to Singapore.  The Covid-19 Pandemic was about to shutdown the cruise industry. Prior to departing Melbourne, we were informed that we would not be sailing to Singapore, but instead would be flying home from Perth, Australia, just 7 days into our cruise.   The long pause in cruise travel had begun for us and our clients.

While on our Australia cruise, we had booked a South America & Antarctica cruise for January, 2021.  Unfortunately, that too would be cancelled, along with a family vacation we'd planned for the summer.

The Cruise Travel Restart

In November, 2021 we attended our National Conference on Celebrity Apex.  During that conference we were given the opportunity to book several cruises in 2022 at reduced rates in order for us to experience cruising after the restart and report to our guests.  In addition, we had several cruises, like the ones mentioned above, that we'd need to reschedule.   2022 was going to be a busy cruise year for us.

We began 2022 with a sailing on the brand new ship & cruise line - Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady.  The highlight of the year was our final river cruise on Avalon Waterways Imagery II from Prague to Frankfurt visiting several Christmas Markets.   For more details, click below for our 2022 cruise page.

Our 2022 Cruises - Click for Details

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Let's Make a Deal Princess Cruises

Princess Upgrade Program

 

One thing I love about the cruise industry is the lines love to imitate each other. If you see a new innovation, including changes in ship design, dining options, activities, or service offerings, odds are that if you wait awhile, you'll see the same or similar introduced on other ships / cruise lines. 

The latest trend is the ability to bid to upgrade your cabin. First introduced by Royal Caribbean International on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises (Royal UP), Princess Cruises becomes the latest to offer this option to passengers.

Starting next month, passengers who have paid their final payment will receive an email inviting them to bid on an upgrade to the next higher cabin category.   For example, you could purchase an Interior stateroom and bid on an Oceanview;  or an Oceanview and bid on a Balcony cabin.

Princess Cruises has not released complete details, but we would imagine they will suggest minimum bids for each of the cabin upgrades you are being offered.   The more you bid, the more likely you will actually win the upgrade.

How Does Princess Upgrade Work? 

• Check whether your cruise is eligible for bidding on an upgrade. 
• Browse through the upgrade options available and place your bid(s) to upgrade your stateroom on your upcoming cruise. Making a bid on multiple staterooms will increase your chances of being upgraded, but you’ll only pay for one. 
• Get notified via email if your request for an upgrade has been approved. If your bid is accepted, you’ll be charged for the upgrade. If not, you’ll enjoy the stateroom you already have and won’t be charged anything additional. 

Your bid is priced per person and based on two guests per stateroom for the length of your cruise. 3rd and 4th guests in a stateroom are upgraded without additional cost.

By the end of October, Princess Cruises intends to launch this new program fleetwide, but it will initially be available on five ships that sail from the U.S. Beginning September 6, guests sailing Discovery Princess, Enchanted Princess, Regal Princess, Ruby Princess, and Caribbean Princess will have first access to participate in the program.

Are You Feeling Lucky?

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Carnival Corp Testing & Vaccination Changes

Carnival Corporation

Updated October 26, 2022

Carnival Cruise Line has updated their pre-cruise testing protocols. Please see the details below.

 

Statement

Carnival Cruise Line is informing guests and travel agents of additional updates to its pre-cruise testing protocols for guests on voyages 15 nights or less. These changes are consistent with the evolving public health guidelines and will be acceptable for arriving cruise guests effective immediately. Vaccines, proof of vaccination, and testing for unvaccinated guests are no longer required on cruises of 15 nights or less. However, Carnival encourages all guests 5 years and older to be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines, when eligible, carry proof of vaccination, and get tested before embarkation.

 

What You Need to Know

• Cruises of 15 nights or less: Although not required for either vaccinated or unvaccinated guests, Carnival encourages all guests 5 years and older to take a pre-cruise test within three days of their cruise.
• Cruises of 16 nights or more: Guests age 5 years and older have to present a PCR or antigen test taken within 3 days before sailing (unsupervised self-tests are not accepted).
• A VeriFLY pass is no longer necessary for check-in. 

Princess Cruise Lines has lifted all protocols for most voyages.

Statement

Beginning October 21, protocols to cruising have been lifted. This means that for most voyages there are no longer vaccination or testing requirements. This applies to itineraries to all destinations except where government regulations may vary like Australia and on a few enhanced guidelines voyages that have their own vaccination and testing requirements.

 

Resources

• Important Cruise Details
• Vaccination & testing requirements
• Enhanced guidelines voyages
• FAQs

Updated:  August 24, 2022

Carnival Cruise Line has updated their pre-cruise testing protocols. Please see details below.

Additionally, please be aware that on August 22^nd Bermuda updated their Cruise Passenger Travel Authorisation page and they are now allowing unvaccinated visitors who follow testing protocols to travel to the island. Currently, Carnival is the only cruise line to announce testing changes that reflect this update by the Bermudian government.

 Statement

Carnival Cruise Line is informing guests and travel agents of additional updates to its pre-cruise testing protocols for unvaccinated guests for voyages departing September 6, 2022, and later. These changes are consistent with what local destinations have advised will be acceptable for arriving cruise guests, and Carnival will continue to work closely with local destinations to protect the health of its guests, crew, and the communities the cruise line visits.

What You Need to Know

• In addition to lab administered tests, self-testing is accepted for unvaccinated guests on cruises 15 nights and shorter.
• Certain destinations do not accept unsupervised pre-cruise self-testing, including Bermuda, Canada, Greece, and Spain. If used for visiting these destinations, self-testing must be supervised by a medical professional.
• Regardless of the type of test taken, unvaccinated guests will be required to present their negative test results via VeriFLY or as part of the embarkation process. 
• Travel insurance is no longer a requirement for unvaccinated guests unless it is required by a destination, such as Bermuda. 
• Regardless of vaccination status, travel insurance is required for all guests visiting Fiji.

Celebrating Australia Day

At the conclusion of our 13 Day Sydney Australia to New Zealand Cruise, we extended our trip in Sydney staying an additional two nights.  This allowed us to spend more time seeing the sights of Sydney and surrounding area.  The highlight of our stay was participation in the Australia Day festivities which were being held at Sydney Harbour.  

Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Jackson in New South Wales. In present-day Australia, celebrations aim to reflect the diverse society and landscape of the nation and are marked by community and family events, reflections on Australian history, official community awards and citizenship ceremonies welcoming new members of the Australian community.

In contemporary Australia, the holiday is marked by the presentation of the Australian of the Year Awards on Australia Day Eve, announcement of the Australia Day Honors list and addresses from the governor-general and prime minister. It is an official public holiday in every state and territory. With community festivals, concerts and citizenship ceremonies, the day is celebrated in large and small communities and cities around the nation. Australia Day has become the biggest annual civic event in Australia.

Indigenous Australian events are now included. However, since at least 1938, the date of Australia Day has also been marked by Indigenous Australians and supporters mourning what is seen as the invasion of the land by the British and the start of colonization, protesting its celebration as a national holiday. 26 January is referred to as Invasion Day, Survival Day, or Day of Mourning. Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage to groups that lived in Australia before British colonization. They include the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia.

Australia Day festivities in Sydney lasted the entire day.  They started with Lord Mayor's Citizenship Ceremony followed by various acts on the Tallawoladah Stage, Ferrython, Salute to Australia, Tug & Yacht Ballet, In the Sky, Harbour Parade, Tall Ships Race, Australia Day Regatta, and concluded with Australia Day Live including various entertainers, concluding with an amazing  fireworks display.

We'll post some more information and videos.  Meanwhile, see our Australia Day photo album.

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Disembarkation Day Sydney Australia

 No cruise to New Zealand is complete without spending time before and after the cruise in Sydney Australia.  In past posts, we looked at our pre-cruise stay.  Our post-cruise adventure begins here.

click images to enlarge

The sun was rising as Majestic Princess began the long process of disembarkation and turning around the ship with a new set of passengers.  These images from our balcony give you a glimpse of what we saw as this 13 day voyage to New Zealand drew to a close.

Since we were staying in Sydney for two more days, we were in no hurry to disembark the ship.  As elite members of  Princess Cruises, we had a lounge set aside for us to wait for our group to be called.

Post Cruise Hotel Stay

We couldn't fly all this way and only spend one day in Sydney, so we booked two more nights at the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay.  

Once outside the terminal we hailed a taxi, since despite the short distance to our hotel, we weren't about to walk there with all our luggage.  Unfortunately, the taxi driver wasn't happy to be getting such a small fare, but we made it worth his while with an extra tip.

Stay tuned for details on our post-cruise activities.

Additional photos can be found on our Australia & New Zealand Shutterfly page

Sydney Marriott




Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

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