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| Posting more New Zealand pictures I didn’t have room for since we are stuck indoors. This is the path we took through the Sounds. |
Wow. This has been a whirlwind of 48 hours. We knew we would be affected in some way by the Coronavirus because many cruise lines were ceasing operations worldwide, however Royal Caribbean had yet to do that except for following the USA requirements of no cruises leaving or entering their ports for 30 days.
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| This was probably a seagull as we headed through Dusky Sound. |
Our cruises were scheduled round trip from Sydney so we felt it might work out but in our heads we knew it probably wouldn’t. As we were arriving into Sydney on our final day of our 34 day cruise, we receive a message from Royal Caribbean that anyone over 70 years of age would require a release signed by a doctor. We thought, OK, this is their solution to the problem since we knew they had a conference call scheduled earlier in the day. After talking to Chuck’s doctor, they said they would sign the form and fax it to our hotel. Well, on the way to the hotel we receive a message from the doctor that their corporate office would not allow them to sign the form.
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| Dusky Sound |
So we went from relief to instant headache in trying to decide what to do. So, on to a backup plan. After we dropped off everything at our hotel, we asked about a nearby walk-in clinic nearby that was open on Saturday. We took that information and an hour later, the doctor wasn’t comfortable signing Royal Caribbeans form due to the verbiage. He would provide his own but not sign theirs. He did offer the name and location of another clinic that probably would. We are assuming he knew this other clinic was more relaxed in their policies than his clinic.
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| Milford Sound |
So there is strike two. We were off to the next clinic and sure enough 20 minutes later, we walked out with two signed forms for both cruises and paid $55. Yes! Happy campers again. We stopped for a nice Subway lunch on the way back to the hotel and finally are checked in by 3 pm. We practically passed out on the couch. I think it wasn’t just the 4 miles we walked to get all of this taken care of but the emotional thinking that went along with it. We really weren’t that worried. Just frustrated.
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| Milford Sound |
It’s all in the adventure as Chuck always says when we hit a snag.
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| Duck Tail? in Dunedin |
She was more than happy to give us the place early and for that we are so very thankful. Sure enough Royal Caribbean woke us up this morning announcing the cancellations of our two cruises. Although we weren’t surprised, we just really didn’t want the hassle of all the travel changes. So, for the majority of today we have been on the computer confirming we can arrive into Panama and what date. We are leaving on Wednesday, March 18th for Panama City. Our first stop from Sydney will be 14 hours to Los Angeles, a 2 hour layover then 5 hour flight to Miami with only an hour layover. We will then arrive in Panama City 3 hours later with a total of 25 hours of travel time. I’m tired already!
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| A Cadbury chocolate vat in Dunedin. Can you imagine all that chocolate? Sadly, it’s being demolished. |
I did upgrade our seats for the longer trip to business class so that should help some. We won’t have those wonderful beds in first class but at least we will have more legroom and a more comfortable seat. We filled out cancellation forms as requested by Royal Caribbean for the two cruises. We had our original airline flight to Panama booked through them so we will need to be reimbursed for that as well. This all should be around $6,000 for everything. We were told we would have our reimbursement within 30 days. Chuck will do a good job in keeping track of that. That’s his forte! So, overall it will be ok. We’ll hunker down here in Sydney in the hotel room. Wash and repack our clothes for the long flight and get out of here on Wednesday. Probably wont have much to post until we are in Panama City.
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| Happy & Healthy (Dunedin) |
I pray everyone will stay safe and please don’t listen to the media. Thank you for staying on this journey with us. We are enjoying every moment even with the “adventures” along the way. That’s what keeps it interesting!
May God bless you always and keep you safe!
Chuck & Lea Ann
WorldTravelReynolds 