luckybecky

Went to Spinnaker for a bit before supper. It’s one of my favorite places on the ship. Beautiful big windows with forward facing views. Views from/in Spinnaker Went to Le Bistro for supper. It was good but not my favorite of the specialty restaurants. French onion soup Endive salad Sea bass, I think Roasted pork chop Marquise au chocolat -- delicious!! We went to the Social Club for the Yes or No game. Paul played and only lasted a minute. It was fun and entertaining. We liked all the game shows on this ship. For anyone who wonders if the staff is excited about finding ducks: we hid one in the Social Club before the yes or no game. No one was there except two crew members who were setting up for the game. Paul wasn’t very discreet in his hiding and they caught him, prompting a friendly rivalry of who could get to it first. They both wanted it and the one who got it thanked us. We saw the comedian in theater. The same comic as before but different material. Again, he was funny but not the best I have ever seen.

Tuesday March 19 Wellington We had a city tour, started with a nice drive up to top of mountain for scenic views. It was windy and cold. The weather in NZ seems to change by the minute. One minute it will be sunny and warm, then five minutes later it’s drizzling and windy. Definitely dress in layers. This was true in almost all of our NZ ports. We stopped at Weta workshop for a quick bathroom break and photos with some trolls. This is the bathroom at the Weta workshop There was a VERY long line for the cable car. Fortunately our tickets were pre booked as part of our tour so we got to skip the ticket line and only had about a 15 minute wait for the cable car. It’s a very short ride to the top and not especially scenic, at least from the side I was on. I’m not sure that it would be worth the wait if you don’t have pre-booked tickets. However there is a botanic garden at the top and you can get to Zealandia from there. We had a little free time for shopping and/or lunch before returning to our tour for the ride back to the ship. We had a delicious steak and cheese pie.

We had a prescheduled walking tour of the art deco district. Sorry to say, it was something of a drag. Our guide was very knowledgeable but had a very dry, pedantic delivery. The two hour tour just seemed to go on and on. The same tour could (and should) have been accomplished in half the time. And a guide with some wit or personality would have helped. We wished we had found another way to spend the day. But you can’t win them all, right? Our tour ended at 4pm. The sunny, warm weather we had enjoyed earlier turned cold and blustery with light rain. We might have spent a little more time in the town, but instead we headed to the shuttle bus due to the rapidly deteriorating weather. The shuttle was fairly quick getting us back – a long line, but it moved fast. We freshened up and then spent about an hour in the beautiful forward observation lounge, “Spinnaker”. This would become one of our favorite places on board. Tried to go to dinner around 6pm at Silk, but they had a half hour wait. So we went to Windows MDR. Slow service again. Seated at about 6:15. A lady (not our server) came at some point late into our meal and asked how things were, asked if we wanted more wine. We said sure, that would be great. More wine never came. Hey, don’t offer if you can’t do it. It took over one hour to get from seating, to entree being served. A half hour after that, we were given dessert menus. Nothing appealed to us and after the long dinner we just gave up, same as last night. BBQ Mixed grill NY Strip Steak Many people were eagerly waiting for the casino to open, which finally happened maybe around 9pm? Seas were very rocky! And got even more rough overnight.

Monday March 18 Napier, NZ Docking time wasn’t until noon so we slept late. Went to the buffet around 10am for breakfast. Busy and crowded as always, but we were able to find a table. We were ready to go as soon as debarkation began. You have to take a free shuttle bus to town, about 10 minutes. The port is a working port and there is no pedestrian access. We had a lovely walk along the beach to a viewing platform. There are pretty gardens along the way. We spent a little time at the MTG museum but did not have time to see it all before our tour.

Back to Tauranga after the 2.5 hour Hobbiton tour. We got back on board, refreshed, and went to dinner in the Windows dining room. The food was very good and portions were plenty to fill us up. I had a spinach and artichoke dip with chips, french onion soup, and bacon and bourbon chicken breast. All excellent. Paul had a cobb salad and parmesan crusted pork chop, and ate every bite. Service was very slow. We wanted to see what was on offer for dessert, but no dessert menu arrived. We waited 15-20 minutes after finishing entrees before giving up. The show tonight was a magic show. It was fun but we were tired. Went back to our cabin as soon as it was over. Parmesan crusted pork chop Bacon and bourbon chicken breast -- very good

Then, on to the main attraction: Hobbiton. I am not a big fan, and have not read Tolkein’s books or seen the movies. But nevertheless, Hobbiton was absolutely charming. Such a lovely green pastoral setting, with lush rolling hills and sheep and cows. The Hobbiton village was lovely, with flowers everywhere and many Hobbit houses which made for great photos. It was very enjoyable.

Sunday March 17 Tauranga, NZ Up early for a tour. Breakfast was a madhouse. No seating anywhere. We took some eggs and bacon back to our room. We had a private tour organized by a CC member. Just six of us! I always prefer small group tours whenever possible. This one was expensive but worth it. We were picked up at the port around 9am. We had a drive through the city with a short photo stop at the beach. Then a brief stop at a Maori meeting house. We only took pictures from outside the grounds, over a fence, because it is considered disrespectful to enter the grounds. We went to a small kiwi farm which we all enjoyed. The plants were heavy with fruit, ready to be harvested within a few days. They harvest only once per year, and we were there just in time to see the bountiful crop just before it disappeared. We stopped at McLaren Falls for a short walk through the lush forest. The walk and falls were lovely. Our guide took us to a little pub in a tiny town – no tourists here (except us!). We had toasties (grilled sandwiches) and beer. The pub propreiter was a hoot – very nice and fit the part perfectly.

Here are some more photos of our first day on board The cabin Meet and Greet at Bier Garten Sailaway

Saturday March 16 Embarkation Day! We had to check out of our hotel at 10am. Our check in time for the ship wasn’t until 1:30. We checked out just before 10 and left our luggage at the hotel. We found a McDonald’s nearby and had a breakfast sandwich. Then walked along Queen Street and browsed a couple of department stores. But we aren’t big shoppers so tired of this quickly. We retrieved our luggage and walked from our hotel to the port around noon. We were directed to sit and wait because we were early. They were enforcing check in time. There were two women asking every person who entered what their check in time was, and directing people to wait if they were early. At about 1:15, the ladies said that everyone with a 1:30 check in time could join the line. Then we waited in line for about 30 minutes before actually checking in. It was around 2pm when we got on board. We dropped off our hand luggage at our cabin. The cabin was a little disappointing at first. It was tight. Especially the access to the bathroom. You have to shimmy along the wall at the foot of the bed to get to the bathroom. Storage is very limited. The deck plan is very misleading. It shows our room in a different position, and shows it as a longer than average cabin. Not true at all. But this is our home for the next 25 days so we will make the best of it. Later, I realized that we actually have a bit more open space than the average inside cabin. It’s just a different layout. There is one huge plus to our cabin. We are the ONLY cabin on our corridor. There is zero traffic outside our stateroom, so no noise whatsoever. In my experience, the door is always the weak link when it comes to noise. With zero traffic outside our room, we never hear a peep. And we are very close to the aft pool, jacuzzis, and bar. And just 2 flights of stairs directly to the buffet. So our cabin has a very convenient location. Went to the bier Garden to meet other cruisers from Cruise Critic and Facebook. That was fun! At about 5:30 the horn sounded for sail away. We got some great photos from the back of deck 12. Went back to our room to unpack. We are going to have to be Tetris experts to make this work for the next several weeks. Then went to get a bite at the buffet. We ate quickly and then went to the comedy show in the main theater. The comic was OK, not great. A fun diversion. Back to our room where we tried to finish unpacking and getting organized. 20240329_170600.mp4

Friday March 15 We got out of our room a little before 9am, and caught the Hop On Hop Off bus nearby. Rode the bus to Bastion Point which has a nice memorial and scenic views. Unfortunately today was dreary and rainy. Although we hit several nice viewpoints, the photo opportunities weren’t great due to the gloomy weather. After Bastion Point, we reboarded the HOHO bus and rode back to the CBD. We exited the bus at the Sky Tower stop and took in the views from the top of the tower. It was $47 USD for two of us (your price may vary depending on exchange rate at the time you book.) Gorgeous views but it would have been even better on a clear day. We had a good pizza, one was large enough for us to share, at the nearby Chill and Grill cafe. It was about $16US for the pizza and one bottle of soda. We are noticing that prices seem really reasonable here. Next, we returned to the HOHO bus stop. Waited more than 40 minutes (buses are supposed to run every 30 min). Some people were already there before us and had been waiting longer. We rode to Mount Eden, an extinct volcano. It’s a bit of a steep hike up but not far. A drizzly day; it started raining hard just when we got to the top. Normally the views would be spectacular and I’d recommend going here but when we were there, it was very misty and rainy. Here we are trying to make the best of it. 🙂 We waited for over an hour for the HOHO bus to return. Started chatting with a couple who had been waiting even longer. The bus never came. I finally called an Uber and offered to share with the other couple because they weren’t getting service and couldn’t call a ride. Mt. Eden is too far from the city center to walk and nothing else around. Not nice to be stranded there in the rain by the HOHO bus. I do NOT recommend this service. The bus should be a great way to see the city, giving you the opportunity to cover all the major sites and lots of ground in a short time. But not if you spend all your time waiting for buses that do not come even remotely close to on schedule. Don’t waste your time or money. There was a large grocery store near our hotel. We got some wine and sandwiches there, and had a leisurely dinner in our hotel room. We were too tired, and tired of the gloomy weather, to go out again. Here's a shot of the tower, I think taken on a different day The view from our balcony at night

Tuesday March 12, 2024 Finally it’s time to go! We flew from San Antonio to Dallas for a 10:45pm flight to Auckland. The very long flight went smoothly. About 14.5 hours flight time, but we were on the plane for at least 16+ hours for boarding, taxi, and deplaning took a very long time. It would definitely be worth it to book a seat with extra leg room for this long flight if you can afford it. Our seats were VERY tight and uncomfortable. (American Airlines) The seat belt light stayed on the ENTIRE flight, and I was twice told to sit down by flight attendants when I went to the rear galley area to stretch my legs. NZ is very strict about bringing any biological materials into the country. No fresh fruits, vegetables, honey, or meat products. We had to fill out a declaration form, be interviewed and show our snacks that we had in our carryon, and just for good measure had our bags sniffed by a beagle on our way out of the airport. Sealed, packaged items like cookies and crackers are OK. We had reserved a shuttle to our central business district hotel. $20 per person. It’s about a 40 minute drive, a little longer in our case since it was a shared shuttle that stopped at 4 hotels and we were the last one. It was about 9am or so (Thursday March 14 in Auckland, even though we had left home on Tuesday) and our room was not ready. We went to the nearby Auckland Art Gallery, an excellent free museum that was well worth the visit. We had a sandwich at the cafe there. Then walked to the waterfront which honestly wasn’t that scenic, at least not from where we were. Very tired, we went back to the hotel around 1:30 and they were able to get us into a room. We napped a little, went out for dinner and then back to our hotel early. I highly recommend Avani Auckland Metropolis hotel. Great location in the central business district, very close to the Auckland Art Gallery and Albert Park. Very nice room, with living area, separate bedroom, balcony, and a small but full kitchen with stove, microwave, dishes & utensils, fridge, and a washer and dryer. It only has weekly housekeeping but that wasn’t a problem for us. It cost $373 USD for 2 nights. There is a nice grocery store about 2 blocks away and many places to eat. Our room at Avani View from our balcony Kitchenette. There is also a washer and dryer.

Hello cruisers! I have a long trip report for you. I have a problem with writing overly long detailed trip reviews. Well, this cruise was 25 days so our longest cruise ever. Hence my trip report is going to go on forever. Sorry. Join in if you like. I’ll have many photos and menus and more. We booked this cruise in Oct 2023. The itinerary looked amazing. Twelve days in New Zealand and Australia, and then we booked the B2B cruise, 13 days from Sydney through the South Pacific ending in Tahiti. Price at booking was $4459 (1st leg) and $4151 (2nd leg). A couple of price drops, went down to $3821 and $3812. Also added a $50 OBC to the 2nd leg, and had $215 Costco card for each leg. (Inside cabin) Balcony price was exorbitant. About 4 times the cost of an inside at the time we booked. No way to justify that. Balcony prices did come down, but still very expensive. On Nov 20, lowest balcony (not gty) for Mar 28 was $8348 – still more than double an inside. On Nov. 8 we were notified that Lyttelton (Christchurch) port had been replaced with Timaru. We couldn’t find any shore excursions for the new port. Someone on the NZ board was aghast, saying Timaru is a poor replacement, not much more than a potty stop when traveling the area. On Jan 4, we received an email notifying us that the port had been changed back to Lyttelton. 🙄 Note that we received an email when NCL changed the port completely. But when they just changed port time I didn’t get any notification. I just happened to notice on the NCL trip planner that our Wellington port time had changed from 8am-6pm, to 9am-5pm. So shorter by 2 hours. Likewise, Lyttelton changed from 9am-7pm, to 7am-5pm. Not liking this earlier back aboard time! Important to know when planning excursions!! On Jan 23, we received yet another itinerary change notice! This time, they dropped Raiatea and added Bora Bora. So we canceled our booked tour in Raiatea. The replacement, Bora Bora, is an amazing port! (Unlike, say, Timaru for Lyttelton/Christchurch which was not an equal swap) But we had been looking forward to going to a new port – Raiatea - that we had never visited before, and where we had reserved an excursion that sounded fantastic. But hey, it’s Bora Bora. We’ll take it. :) We also had a changed arrival in Papeete. Arrival time was confusing. It was going to be 8pm, then 4am, then changed back to 8pm the night before debarkation. This was REALLY annoying, because there was a 7:40am flight from PPT to LAX that we wanted to take. I called NCL to ask if we would be able to debark in time to make that early flight (since we were scheduled to arrive the night before) – the rep told me no. She could not assure me that a gangplank would be open with staff to debark us at that early hour. And now we are apparently doing just that. Grrr. This cost us a lot of money as we booked a day room at significant expense (more on that later). I have never been on any other cruise line that had these port changes on such a regular basis. This has only happened to us on NCL. It really makes planning difficult – and I’m a big planner. It’s frustrating to spend many hours researching our ports and booking excursions, and then have the cruise line continually changing ports, and port times. Obviously I understand that weather or mechanical issues can change a port, but this is not the case here. In the months and weeks leading up to the cruise, I researched and booked excursions for every port. We got our visas for New Zealand and Australia. I did not book any NCL excursions. Even with the $50 per cabin excursion credit, the NCL excursions were very exorbitantly priced compared to very similar (in some cases, identical) excursions booked privately. This has been our experience on our two previous NCL cruises. The excursion prices are just ridiculous.

No. We brought the wine to consume on our balcony so didn't take it to any restaurant or other venue. And we had the drink package.

I always have a carry-on size suitcase with me. It's a hassle to drag it around while waiting for the room to be ready, but I have a change of clothes, swimsuit, toiletries, and any other essentials --- just in case my luggage is misplaced. I ALWAYS do this whether traveling by land, sea or air. Of course this is the biggest pet peeve on cruise critic. We don't spend a lot of time at the pool but do hit it for short periods. We don't need a chair right at poolside, but somewhere nearby to leave our towels and stuff while we are in the pool or hot tub. It is frustrating when EVERY chair is "occupied" We take the stairs to walk off the 5* dining 🙂 Or we walk to the other end of the ship and take the elevators from there 100% agree. The problem is that stewards want you out of the room at the crack of dawn (I love our stewards, they are just trying to do their job). I'm not a morning person and would love to sleep an extra hour. But we are always awakened by 7am at the latest. Much banging and door slamming. So once up, what else are you going to do? Nothing happening on the ship aside from fighting the crowds in the buffet. At some point we just give in and join the line to get off the ship. We can't sleep in and nothing else to do so off we go... Yes, I agree! More courtesty and patience is needed. We try our best and hope others will too.

Thanks everyone for the tips about the ferry. I wish there was access to it because I bet the views are amazing. I just saw some footage of the fireworks in Sydney which looked spectacular. I hope you all have a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.