South Pacific cruise questions

[msmama]

So, I know Disney hasn't started sailing there yet, but I started dreaming (a dangerous past time)...

How are the seas crossing the Pacific?

I noticed the Oct 2024 Hawaii to Sydney cruise ends with an overnight in Sydney? The only reason I can think to do that is to make up time if they get behind schedule? Am I being an alarmist or could there be another reason?

For the people already booked on one of the cruises, what else do you have planned for the vacation? If you are doing one, why are you going the way you're going?

Comparatively, the prices for these cruises aren't as expensive as I'd expect and I do love a deal.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We are booked- for February 2025. We will leave from Sydney and finish in Hawaii. For no other reason other than it is in the states and a bit easier to get home, sort of... we are in the northeast.

Not sure of Pacific ocean, but we are both good sailors and have never had sea sickness issues before, so fingers crossed.

As far as other plans-we are sort of far out still. Which is good as sailing out of Sydney still, at this point in time, requires a negative covid test to sail. That would be way too stressful for me to travel all the way to Australia and not be able to go, so watching this seasons sailings and monitoring how things will be handled in the future as we move forward in the pandemic. Other than plans to arrive in Sydney a bit early to tour the city, nothing specific yet. And when we arrive in Hawaii, after we disembark, the plan is to visit Pearl Harbor before flying home.

I have to agree-these cruises are very attractively priced and we have fingers crossed, hoping to go and see a part of the world I never thought I would get a chance to see.

 

[JAM9842]

We are doing the South Pacific in February. We live in Orlando and will fly to Hawaii first and stay at Aulani for 5 days to help get adjusted to the time then fly into Sydney 5 days before the cruise to explore. When the cruise ends in Honolulu, we will just fly home that day. We are very excited to do something new!

 

[OKW Lover]

So, I know Disney hasn't started sailing there yet, but I started dreaming (a dangerous past time)...

How are the seas crossing the Pacific?

I noticed the Oct 2024 Hawaii to Sydney cruise ends with an overnight in Sydney? The only reason I can think to do that is to make up time if they get behind schedule? Am I being an alarmist or could there be another reason?

For the people already booked on one of the cruises, what else do you have planned for the vacation? If you are doing one, why are you going the way you're going?

Comparatively, the prices for these cruises aren't as expensive as I'd expect and I do love a deal.

We did Sydney to Honolulu in May 2014 on Royal. We found the seas to be surprisingly calm. My wife is prone to motion sickness but didn't need pills at all on that trip. There were points when we were in the middle of the Pacific, literally thousands of miles from the nearest land and there was hardly any motion.

Of course that was one trip and who knows what you'll encounter.

 

[mocodis]

we are booked on the Hawaii to Sidney cruise in October. I hope for calm seas. We have been on many disney cruises, and never had a problem.

 

[Hubie]

We're flying to Honolulu on Oct. 11th and will be spending two nights at Waikiki Beach. Then hopefully with negative Covid tests we will sail towards Sydney on Oct. 13th. Once there On Oct. 27th we will spend five nights at the Crowne Plaza Sydney Darling Harbour Hotel using IHG points and will explore the city. We then fly back to Honolulu on Qantas on Nov. 1st and will stay five nights at Aulani on DVC points before heading home.

 

[Tpptch72]

Hi All,
I am seeing so much contradictory information about Covid requirements in my research.
For this Hawaii to Sydney trans Pacific cruise looking on the DCL website it states that there are no Covid restrictions for US but Australia states there are requirements for them but we are not getting on the cruise in Australia just getting off.

So as far as I can tell right now, understanding things can change, We don’t need any requirements for this cruise, am I missing something?

 

[OKW Lover]

Australia states there are requirements for them but we are not getting on the cruise in Australia just getting off.

You will be entering Australia when you get off the ship so whatever their requirements are will apply to you.

 

[lanejudy]

So as far as I can tell right now, understanding things can change, We don’t need any requirements for this cruise, am I missing something?

While it's been reported that Australia is lifting (or has lifted) some Covid requirements, DCL has not updated their Know Before You Go page to change anything. So at this point you should expect to follow the protocols listed:

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/...ence-updates/australia-new-zealand-protocols/

 

[Hubie]

While it's been reported that Australia is lifting (or has lifted) some Covid requirements, DCL has not updated their Know Before You Go page to change anything. So at this point you should expect to follow the protocols listed:

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/why-cruhise-disney/experience-updates/australia-new-zealand-protocols/

Yes, Australia has lifted the pre-boarding COVID testing requirement. But until DCL confirms that they will not require testing prior to embarkation I'm going to assume we have to test in Honolulu the day before we board the Wonder.

 

[Tpptch72]

We fly in the day we leave, get in at 11:40 HNL then over to the boat.
do they test you there or do we test at home before we get on the plane?

Does everyone also have to be Vaxed?
I know that to board a cruise ship in Sydney it states you need to be but we are not boarding a ship. We are getting off and getting on a plane back to HNL

I booked our flights to HNL with DCL and they never mentioned anything about testing.

 

[choomTOP]

I’m also going on the upcoming g October HNL-SYD cruise! According to the email DCL sent out on 7/24 (which was the first mention of testing), the requirements at the time were to be vaccinated and to take a covid test before boarding in Honolulu. They said more info on how exactly that would work would be forthcoming and to keep an eye on the “Know Before You Go” section.

Since it’s only been a few days ago that Australia announced they were dropping the covid testing protocols for cruising (including ships arriving from other destinations, such as Hawaii), DCL will likely send out a new updated email soon with the info that no proof of vaccination or testing will be required.

 

[Habitatnal]

We fly in the day we leave, get in at 11:40 HNL then over to the boat.
do they test you there or do we test at home before we get on the plane?

Does everyone also have to be Vaxed?
I know that to board a cruise ship in Sydney it states you need to be but we are not boarding a ship. We are getting off and getting on a plane back to HNL

I booked our flights to HNL with DCL and they never mentioned anything about testing.

Disney may drop the requirements but the current policy right now is everyone 12 and older has to have 2 shots. Everyone has to be tested. What I would do in your case is take the tests with me and then take the tests when you land in Honolulu. Take a picture of the resulted tests with your ID and a timepiece. You will probably not need any if this but it is better to be prepared for the worst. You have to comply with Australian requirements until Disney says something else because you are entering Australian waters and docking there. It doesn’t matter how long you spend in Australia.

 

[Tpptch72]

So Australia dropped all Covid requirements for cruise ships (Yay)
We called DCL and they say since it is so new and a holiday weekend they will probably not update the site until next week but that DCL follows the protocol of the country and will not be imposing more restrictive measure by them.
she said that since Australia dropped it DCL will not require it.
We do our online check-in on the 5th so I will see what they say then

 

[Tpptch72]

As far as what we are going to do on the cruise besides EAT.
since this is Disneys first stop at these ports I am sure the community will come out to see her. This happened when we did Panama Canal. The Locks have bunches of onlookers and cars would stop on the roads to take pics so I am sure this will be a big deal for these ports.

We booked late in the game so most of the port adventures were booked.
our Friends are excellent tour guides. They will get online and do the research for a very comprehensive visit to see as much as possible.

America Samoa - Our friends that are trying to go to all of the national parks and so once they found this Cruise was stopping in America Somoa, which is a National park they had written off trying to visit because of location, they were on board so there we are renting a car so we can visit the park and do our own sightseeing.

Fiji - Still working on those plans

New Caledonia - same here we are renting a car to do our own sightseeing. Avis car Rental has a place right by the port so that should be helpful.

Sydney - unfortunately we will only have 1 day there so we will follow our tour guides (our friends) for a packed day I am sure. Our flight does not leave until 8pm so we do have a bit of time. They will be staying for a few days to sightsee more.
We were originally thinking of flying up to Brisbane to visit the Crocodile hunters zoo (we both grew up watching Steve Irwin and have watched the family’s TV show about their zoo and love it) and fly back but we opted to save that for another Aussie visit and fly back to HNL and spend a few days at Aulani before coming back home.

I will try to follow up after the cruise on our port experiences.

 

[JAM9842]

So Australia dropped all Covid requirements for cruise ships (Yay)
We called DCL and they say since it is so new and a holiday weekend they will probably not update the site until next week but that DCL follows the protocol of the country and will not be imposing more restrictive measure by them.
she said that since Australia dropped it DCL will not require it.
We do our online check-in on the 5th so I will see what they say then

Woo hoo!!!!!!!!

 

[Tpptch72]

We did our online check in with a few glitches on my part. I did not apply for our Australian visitors visa so we did that and I just used our passport info in the Aussie part of the check in, which got kicked back a few days later so I called DCL and they stated to upload a photo of the Aussie Visa confirmation which we did so time will tell.

is that what everyone else is entering?

I did also call DCL about them updating the know before you go page for Covid vax. The supervisor I spoke with actually spent the time while I was on the phone to go to the Australian govt page and forwarded that info to the people that do the updating and then followed it up with a phone call. She called me back within 15 minutes and stated that the update people were monitoring it and the reason they have not updated the info is because not all of the States and Territories for Australia & New Zealand have adopted the lifting yet and once they do they will update & send out e-mails.

But she did inform me that the enforcement for this is not Disney but the port where we are going therefore if they are not enforcing Vaxs then that port will not have their personnel there to check for those documents. Basically it is up to that country to enforce and check any documents they want NOT Disney. Her example was that an airline will use your passport for identification but it is up to TSA or customs (govt. agency) to verify the legitimacy of your passport not the airline.
She also stated I could call back anytime to get a status update, which I will.

34 more days until we set sail

 

[Hubie]

I did our on-line check-in today also. I just used the same pictures I give Disney for the Australia Section and then put in the account numbers and expiration dates for our visa's. Disney approval is still pending.

I also checked what information Disney was indicating that would be required regarding Covid and their information still states that a home test 24 hrs. prior to boarding will be necessary.

 

[mtmartin]

So Australia dropped all Covid requirements for cruise ships (Yay)
We called DCL and they say since it is so new and a holiday weekend they will probably not update the site until next week but that DCL follows the protocol of the country and will not be imposing more restrictive measure by them.
she said that since Australia dropped it DCL will not require it.
We do our online check-in on the 5th so I will see what they say then

Hi, just wondering if you have check in and what they are asking to show? Thank you

 

[mtmartin]

We did our online check in with a few glitches on my part. I did not apply for our Australian visitors visa so we did that and I just used our passport info in the Aussie part of the check in, which got kicked back a few days later so I called DCL and they stated to upload a photo of the Aussie Visa confirmation which we did so time will tell.

is that what everyone else is entering?

I did also call DCL about them updating the know before you go page for Covid vax. The supervisor I spoke with actually spent the time while I was on the phone to go to the Australian govt page and forwarded that info to the people that do the updating and then followed it up with a phone call. She called me back within 15 minutes and stated that the update people were monitoring it and the reason they have not updated the info is because not all of the States and Territories for Australia & New Zealand have adopted the lifting yet and once they do they will update & send out e-mails.

But she did inform me that the enforcement for this is not Disney but the port where we are going therefore if they are not enforcing Vaxs then that port will not have their personnel there to check for those documents. Basically it is up to that country to enforce and check any documents they want NOT Disney. Her example was that an airline will use your passport for identification but it is up to TSA or customs (govt. agency) to verify the legitimacy of your passport not the airline.
She also stated I could call back anytime to get a status update, which I will.

34 more days until we set sail

Hi, what number did you call. She sounds like she helped you, I've called 5 times with no help at all.