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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JohnM" data-source="post: 2305703" data-attributes="member: 5371">Back in mid-January 2020, I booked this voyage for January 2021: <a href="https://www.coralexpeditions.com/au/destinations/spice-islands-west-papua/" target="_blank">Explore Raja Ampat & Spice Islands with Coral Expeditions</a>Then…, well, you know the story… It crashed and burned in July 2020.My deposit lay around with Coral Expeditions until at the end of January 2021, when they announced a whole new slew of coastal voyages within Australia. I pounced onto it immediately!Still thinking it too risky to choose one outside WA, I opted for 12 nights Broome-Fremantle in October: <a href="https://www.coralexpeditions.com/au/destinations/australias-west-coast/abrolhos-islands-the-coral-coast-broome-fremantle-12-nights/" target="_blank">Abrolhos Islands & the Coral Coast | Broome - Fremantle | 12 Nights | Coral Expeditions</a>[ATTACH=full]262948[/ATTACH]Although I’ve visited many of the places by land, and the Abrolhos by boat (<a href="https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/threads/not-shipwrecked-or-mutinying-waving-from-the-abrolhos-islands.98707/" target="_blank">Not shipwrecked or mutinying, waving - from the Abrolhos Islands</a>), it will be interesting to do most of the repeats in a different way.PJM snared some leave, brother and SIL also signed on immediately and after a casual chat at dinner one night a couple of weeks ago where I mentioned that I thought that cancellations had thrown up some vacancies, good friends checked it out. Sure enough, they could join at the last moment.It also turns out that [USER=62445]@Port Power[/USER] is on the same voyage.So, come Tuesday, we’re on the bird PER-BME and then aboard ship the following day to start the voyage to Fremantle.The flight has a chequered history. First it was a F100, so no J but the upside of 2-3 config. Then it was changed to an all-whY A320. Finally, a few weeks back, it was changed to a B738. Woot-woot! The four U bucket seats were swiftly snared as UPGs and the load looks very light so late-aboard friends may have a good chance of UPGs.T-80h early yesterday and Row 1 opens. Move forward from Row 2 accomplished.Good ‘ol EF keeping track of goings-on. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite6" alt=":cool:" title="Cool    :cool:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":cool:" />  Could this be a stirring of Life As We Once Knew It™? <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" alt="🧐" title="Face with monocle    :face_with_monocle:" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/6.6/png/unicode/64/1f9d0.png" data-shortname=":face_with_monocle:" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />Tomorrow morning it’s off for the mandated Covid swab 72-48h before boarding. Ha! Locked up in St Marko’s Covid Sterility Paradise™ for about the last 20 months, there’s no chance of that returning a positive. The barrage of ‘SailSafe’ paperwork from Coral Expeditions has been something of a PITA, and their handling of it a bit messy (double-check EVERYTHING if you are considering going on one of their voyages).Bizarrely, not once have they asked what our vaccination status is. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite11" alt=":rolleyes:" title="Roll Eyes    :rolleyes:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":rolleyes:" /></blockquote>

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