KWofPerth

That's hilarious! Similar happened infront of me on Quantum, at the pool area on the first day. A guy had a cocktail in each hand and slipped on the deck, causing his shorts to fall down around his ankles, giving everyone quite the eyeful, LOL. He stayed on his feet but had a drink in each hand and couldn't quickly pull up his shorts. He stood there for a second or two just trying to figure out what to do, while everybody around laughed and clapped. Poor guy.

I watched Cruise with Ben & David's latest Youtube episode lastnight. They were on Anthem sailing out of the UK and were charged 29pounds for the NorthStar. So on Ovation, who knows?

It's the vaccines that will get us somewhere. Until that gets rolled out substantially, lockdowns will continue.

Gold Coast holiday?

https://www.escape.com.au/experiences/cruises/the-cruise-industry-desperately-needs-a-plan-in-place/news-story/5b14203e9138eca55cf11031dc215279?

Is the passport concept more of a QR code thing that you have on your personal device? ie. phone

I'd be surprised if there was good news at this stage. There's an election looming, don't forget.

Pfizer shots are now available to the 30-49yo cohort here in WA, with 20,000 bookings made (myself and the missus included) since the announcement yesterday arvo. I believe nationally that Pfizer is now available for anyone 40+. This would seem to be the start of what will hopefully be an upwards spike in the rollout.

How very on brand

On the plus side, this seems to have triggered the population out of their vaccination apathy. Vaxx rates in Victoria have more than doubled this week. Also the Commonwealth government is copping a hammering over the rollout, so surely this will get their bum into gear on that front.

Pfizer and Moderna won't have widespread availability until October, if not later (supply issues, or something). And since they are now the recommended vaccines for the under/50 population, the rollout is progressing at a glacial pace.

The vaccine rollout has been super slow. Only now has the Govt secured some Moderna shots. You had one job ScoMo!

Early to mid-April is around school holidays time. Whatever else you do, don't miss the sounds (fjords). Particularly Milford Sound. This will be a jaw-dropping highlight. Having done land-based travel around NZ, my recommendation to anyone that has the means, would be to see more of the country pre or post-cruise. A cruise visit doesn't do the place justice. So maybe a Sydney to Auckland one-way cruise for those that can afford it.

Paging @twangster . Mr Twangster please....

Wouldn't they just bar X number of unvaccinated passengers from boarding, to ensure they reach the 95% quota? So if for example, they find that 92% of passengers are vaccinated prior to boarding, RC refuses boarding to whatever number enables them to reach 95%. Therefore, if you haven't had your jab and you book, you are taking on a massive risk of being denied boarding. Or, as suggested by Mike. S, this rule is effectively a mandate to ensure everyone is vaccinated, with possible exceptions of certain medical exemptions.

It'll definitely be No jab, No cruise. I have no problem with that.

How could I forget RipCord!!? Yes, book that one too.

Hi dream. My experience with the app pre-cruise was hit and miss (Jan. 2020, those were the days). Some things I could book, others stated 'add to calendar' as you say. I suggest checking every day or two, but basically, whatever you haven't booked by boarding time, you can find where on the ship they are taking bookings in person on embarkation day and at what time, and simply head there to do it manually (sorry, I can't remember exactly, but I suspect the information is in the Cruise Compass). So for example, on boarding day I had to go to the Music Hall to book North Star and a show in 270. From memory that was all that required booking.

Us cruise nerds all know this, but the general public...not so much. That is the problem and is why politicians (certainly here in Australia, anyway) are in no hurry to restart. We'll get there eventually.

The political fallout from restarting cruising now would be monumental. The Ruby Princess debacle is still fresh in everyone's minds. ScoMo (Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister) is having a disastrous time of things at the moment with other issues and as the archetypal political pragmatist, there's no way he'd sign off on re-opening cruising anytime soon.

Wasn't Voyager sailing out of there? Or was due to be in 2020? Spectrum and Wonder are more for Beijing sailings I thought. Could be mistaken.

"Radiance, Seranade, Voyager, and Ovation" The perfect mix, for mine. Two Quantum class ships is overkill IMO. The intermediate Voyager class gives some nice balance. I might have to wait for the release of Singapore sailings before deciding what to book for 22/23. Living in Perth, I have to catch a 4 hour flight regardless, and a brief pre-visit to Singapore is fantastic. It's a pity the itinerary release has been pushed out to June.

Yes, I'm pleasantly surprised. I couldn't see any 'bottom or top way around Australia' itineraries. Usually there are one or two per season.

I'm a little disappointed to get two Q class ships and no Voyager class. Oh well.