onlyslightlymad
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Posts posted by onlyslightlymad
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21 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:
Thank you for photos of a girl enjoying the flooding. Smart move to not attempt to go to Elton John Concert. I was surprised to see how many people were there prior to the concert's cancellation.
The weather hit really fast. If you planned to get there early I can see how people were caught out.
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I wouldn't want to be arriving in Auckland tomorrow. Severe rain and flooding. What a mess.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/483223/live-updates-wild-weather-lashes-auckland-northland
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On 1/22/2023 at 10:15 PM, Yaya_in_Oz said:
Delays and lack of service are an inconvenience but not a concern to me. I like to think the plane is well maintained mechaniclly and isn't going to fall from the sky. Delays and cancellations seem to go with the teritory in Australia at present.
I am flying to BNE on Q tomorrow arvo on a 737. After yet another turnback caused by engine trouble, lets see how far I get. Its all a bit of a worry as they have had so many problems in the last week.
My favourite aircraft is the A380, I could go round the world without getting off one of those. Just made for me but being phased out unfortunately.
Just remember that the fact they are willing to turn around if there is a problem or delay if there is bad weather is a sign of high safety standards. It's actually a good thing.
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1 hour ago, Galesa said:
While I totally agree with your comments on the Gulf States and I too resist flying with them for that reason. However, Qantas did receive almost $2bn of tax payers money through the course of the pandemic. This included a significant amount of JobKeeper payments which they've refused to repay.
It's also worth noting that Qatar airlines flew Australians home throughout the pandemic while Qantas sat idle (except the repat flights for which they were paid handsomely by the Government)
I hear you and you make good points. I don't know much about Qantas but Air NZ is in a similar position. In their defence, our govt didn't give them money, they "loaned" it at above market rates of interest. Air NZ is supposed to be an independent business until they aren't - until the govt leans on them to service small centres, which is necessary because our rail system is so woeful. We simply cannot manage without a national airline. Also, while competition is welcome and important to keep them efficient and to keep service standards higher, it isn't a level playing field when they are competing against other govt backed airlines. Don't get me wrong, they are by no means perfect. They have lost a whole lot of their experienced cabin crew and replaced them with young uns and the service has definitely slipped as a result.
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13 minutes ago, lyndarra said:
Same here. My favourite is Qatar Airlines. Singapore and Virgin are also up there.
My June QANTAS flight was booked using points from JAL a QANTAS co partner.
I try to avoid the Gulf carriers if I can. My reason is that they are fully state owned and backed by their government. They capacity dump on the Tasman. There is no way the likes of Qantas and Air NZ can compete with them as it is simply not a level playing field. Also, those same governments are dictatorships with terrible labour laws, and punitive laws against women and those with same sex partners. I don't feel good about supporting them and will avoid them if possible, no matter how good the service is.
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Thank you for the feedback. Much appreciated.
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I know many of you are loyal RCL customers. I have only cruised on NCL and Celebrity but have been looking at some RCL cruises.
On Celebrity, we tend to book the cheapest suite because we like dining in Luminae and having access to the suite lounge (Retreat).
Looking at RCL, I can't see much benefit in booking a junior suite, other than having a bigger room. I know, on some ships, there is access to the Coastal Kitchen but is this really worth the extra money?
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21 hours ago, buchhalm said:
Back home in Australia from the cruise, and I better finish this report with a rundown of the rest of the trip. So here it goes....
Day 7, January 8th 2023
Port Chalmers (Dunedin)
We had booked an independent tour from this port as the ones offered by Celebrity sounded all a bit boring. After a bit of research I decided on a day-tour with "Fantail Tours", booked directly with them.
The booking process was quick and they responded more or less instantly to a few questions I asked.
Getting off the ship in port was quick and well organised. A few less mobile passengers were struggling a bit with the very steep ramp from the exit down to the pier.
Why these people got agro with the staff, I don't know. The crew doesn't control the tides.
A short walk from the ship to the small terminal building where they have good and free WiFi, clean bathrooms and a tiny gift shop.
Guests on ship tours are directed one way from the ship, other people are directed towards the terminal. All is well organised and not even Stevie Wonder could get lost.
In the terminal, a pretty good selection of tours for last-minute decisions are available for bookings. But you need to be fast, as the spots sell out quickly.
Port staff / volunteers are on hand to answer questions and point people towards their booked tours.
Our tour guide/driver was waiting for us and after a short wait to gather all customers from the Eclipse and also a NCL ship we set off. There were around a dozen people all up.
The guide, Heike, was fabulous. A German teacher who lives in NZ for 27 years. She was very passionate, knowledgeable and entertaining. Heike could conduct the tour in English, German or French if needed...
Given the small size of the group, the timing was pretty flexible. More time here or less time there was no problem. And we were shown a few awesome spots that were not mentioned on the itinerary. First stop of course "the world's steepest street", Baldwin street. It is indeed, well, steep. Everybody on the bus, including Heike, climbed to the very top. Then it was on to the top sights of this pretty city, which I wont list here. (any Dunedin tour will mention them). On to the unavoidable Royal Albatross Centre for a long-ish stop to look at birds and have a quick snack. Unbelievably windy. But that's good, as these birds like the wind to fly around....
Back to the ship well in time to relax before departure and defrost with some hot chocolate.
The tour company is well recommended!
Incidentally, Celebrity Cruises runs a USD 10.00 p.p. round-trip shuttle to Dunedin city. A fair price.
There were several discussions going around about unreasonably high prices of ship shuttles.
A nice dinner in the MDR, following a show by a "Comedy magician", Bodane Hatten. Rather lame. It showed that he wanted to let lose a bit and not keep the material too "clean". Oh well...
Day 8, January 9th 2023
Christchurch (port of Lyttelton)
Again, Celebrity puts on a USD 10.00 shuttle to/from Christchurch city.
We had booked a private tour (via Viator, this time) with a company called "Leisure Tours", with was also fabulous.
As this is a working port, they don't let people walk the sort distance to the small town o Lyttleton.
A continuously running free shuttle takes guests from just outside the ship to a collection point for independent tours and the village main street. All up no more than 10 minutes.
Our driver/guide met us at the nominated spot and we climbed on the coach. A larger bus this time, so there was a good 40 minutes wait for straggling passengers who couldn't get their backside into gear in the morning. Oh well, we grabbed prime seats in the front row. (and got the death stare from late-commers. Bite me!).
Our driver/guide, Scotty was excellent. He was mega excited about driving a brand new bus! 🙂
Scotty was very informative about the history and geology of Christchurch and the effects of the big earthquake some 10 years ago. That was clearly a sore point for him.
A lovely tour of the surrounds of Christchurch, the city centre and a selection of suburbs that showed us the difference between the wealthy and not so rich areas, and the effect of the earthquake.
We got a good hour of extra time sightseeing and driving around as there were only Eclipse passengers on board and nobody had plans for the afternoon.
The tour company comes with our recommendations.
Make sure to leave some time to explore Lyttleton itself. Very cute and well worth an hour or so.
Evening entertainment by Sydney (well, Wollongong) pianist Liam Cooper.
A Billy Joel & Elton John tribute concert. Not as impersonation, but as representation of their music. Liam is an excellent pianist and singer with great personality.
Late night activity was a "Sherlock Holmes Musical Murder Mystery" which sounded dreadful to us, but our table mates reported the next day that it was absolutely brilliant. (noted for next time).
We went to the Sky Lounge for a late night show by the resident singers and dancers.
Very good. But for some reason they wore costumes that looked like a cross between the Thunderbirds and an Eastern European 1970s airline uniform. Lead singe Ben (Fabio) tried his darndest to make it look fabulous, Darling.
Oh, I was told off by some old geezer in the lift up to the lounge.
We were telling a story and the other guests in the lift laughed, to which the "gentleman" reacted with shushing us and the demand for silence and decorum. Stunned silence he got. Then I suggested that he A) go to bed, and B) consider the offer oh half-price euthanasia in the spa tomorrow.
(His wife poked him in the ribs as well)
Day 9, January 10th 2023
Wellington
In this port Celebrity (or the city?) provided a free shuttle bus to the city center.
It is so close that charging for this service would be rude.
I don't have much to say about Wellington, as we met friends we knew form a former work posting in Bahrain. We spent time at their house and a bit of a walking tour of the city center and a cable car ride up some hill.
Wellington doesn't appeal to me a whole lot.
I could spend more time (or even live for a while) in Dunedin or Christchurch, but Wellington was a bit "meh" for us.
And I didn't see ANY Beef Wellington on restaurant menus. How disappointing. 😉
Speaking off, they had "VEGETABLE Wellington" on the menu in the MDR. Sacrilegious!
Evening entertainment was yet another pianist, Bernard Walz. Another musician from Sydney.
Bernard plays a mix of classic, pop, cross-over with backing track band.
Very good and an accomplished performer whom we had seen previously on either Seabourn or Cunard.
It seems Celebrity has either comedians or pianists on the book at the moment.
Lat night risqué entertainment game show style with Captain Leo, Cruise director Kelly, comedian Bodane (from a few night ago) and that naturalist, Milos (from the dull Milford Sound commentary).
Hilarious. All of them. Cheeky and innuendo laden, rather than rude or crass.
If that ship-driving doesn't work out for Captain Leo, he could do a few Netflix specials...
Word is going around of a diversion of route for tomorrows sea-day to the Bay of Islands.
A tropical cyclone is currently battering the NZ East coast with up to 8, 9 meter waves in the area.
Several other ships are apparently skipping ports.
The new route we will take is now up the WEST coast, with much better weather and only maximum 4-meter swell.
Strangely I ALWAYS thought that we would sail up the West coast, hook around the top of NZ and go into Bay of Islands....
Day 10, January 1th 2023
At Sea on the way to the Bay of Islands.
Murky and overcast morning with minimum rocking.
Turned into a gloriously sunny and hot day.
Grabbed a sun-pod by the pool and stayed put for most of the day.
Quite excellent lunch buffet today with food that had some kick to it!
As "Concierge Class" passengers we were invited to a 11.00 AM (really) wine tasing.
A bit early, no? But it was fun and informatively conducted by Head Sommelier, Star.
The crew must HATE this activity. They had set up for something like 300 tasters and only perhaps 50 showed up. Set up and brake down everything between breakfast and lunch must be pain in the arse.
Evening entertainment Bernard Waltz playing the piano in the grand foyer, a (very entertaining and LOUD) Rock'n'roll show in the theatre (think Kiss, Meatloaf and such) and an adults-only late night comedy stick by Bodane Hatten. The latter was, according to reports from others, apparently lame, in bad taste and had copious walk-outs.
Day 11, January 12th 2023
Bay of Islands / Waitangi
A wonderfully sunny day.
The good weather is following us it seems. All the locals comment on this.
The only tender port on this cruise and the only place where we booked a ships tour, using some on-board credit.
As our tour didn't leave too early, we had a nice breakfast at the buffet restaurant and let the mad rush for tender boats and early tours pass.
Tendering was handled very efficiently.
We are so far extremely impressed by how Celebrity is handling getting passengers on and off the ship everywhere.
The tender boats are roomy, and we travelled Business Class on the 15-minute trip to shore.
(That is outside on the roof of the boat).
We were met by pour driver and driven the short distance to the beautiful "Waitangi Treaty Grounds" with a bit of time to roam for free and a short guided tour by a very excited and vivacious young Maori girl. Such a cutie! On to some "pioneer settlement" an hours drive away through pretty towns and countryside. I think I am getting old. I am getting excited by pretty scenery and botanical gardens....
A quick stop on the way back to look at the public toilets of the town of KawaKawa, designed by Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. A bit like Antonio Gaudi on dope. Google it. And his architectural work in Vienna...
We chill on the ship for the afternoon and try to take advantage of your beverage package...
Evening entertainment again by Liam Cooper and his piano, getting very emotional patriotic Australian. Great show. The man knows hoe to read his audience.
Day 12, January 13th 2023
Tauranga (port of Mount Maunganui)
Another sunny and warm day.
The town of Mount Maunganui is literally a stroll away from the pier.
Very lovely. I'd buy a property there in a flash.
Lovely beaches, restaurants and shops full of stuff that is nice to have, but nothing you really NEED.
The weather report lied to us and predicted overcast and grey skies and only 16 degrees C.
Bull! Sunny and hot and perfect beach weather. (But the water is shrinkage cause-ngly chilly).
There is a walking track around the base of Mount Maunagnui and another one to the top. We are way too lazy. We don't even make it to Tauarnaga, a few kms away. We are happy as Larry where we are. Definitely a place to come back to!
Tonight we have an invitation for a sail-away on the helicopter deck. Very special. And we are nearly alone. No more than 30 people. But, given by the number of glasses of champagne, Mimosas and O.J. prepared, they must have expected MANY more.
I guess people must be packing for the disembarkation tomorrow.
We are set to go in that regard and our bags are in the corridor by 19.00.
A quite SPECTACULAR final production show in the theatre tonight. Don't miss it!
Very trippy. Nearly of Cirque du Soleil quality. Very dreamy and poetic and visually stunning.
We are very impressed by this!
Disembarkation in AKL tomorrow.
Despite some minor annoyances with service and quality, we are sad to leave...
Day 13, January 14 2023
Arrival in Auckland
The ship is early and we hear PAs from very early with guests "tag numbers" being called.
We (and 10000 others) have a last breakfast and meander off the ship around 8.30.
Farewell committee by the door by most of the senior officers, including the captain (a first for us).
It is a lengthy up-down, zig-zag schlepp to customs and quarantine control. I cant remember anybody wanting to see our passports. They just take the arriving-passengers-card off us.
Our bags are waiting for us and lined up. Good job again, Celebrity!
We grab our stuff and walk to 800 meters to our hotel for a night, the Grand Chancellor.
Basic, but clean and mega-convenient.
We drop our bags and are met by yet another bunch of ex colleagues from work (Oman, this time), for a full day of AKL sightseeing.
Return back at the hotel at 8 pm.
I have an early pick-up to the airport for my flight to Syndey.
DW is staying another night in AKL before flying down to the South island to spend 10 days with friends # 3...
Just a small note - you were in Tauranga. Mount Maunganui is a suburb, not a separate town. It was a separate town many years ago, as is the case for many suburbs of larger centres.
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5 hours ago, icat2000 said:
Which all boils down to that multiple airlines are not sustainable in both markets.
I always check Qantas or Virgin when looking at domestic flights in Australia. Jetstar too risky at times. And I never flew Tiger Air.
NZ - well there only once choice domestically. NZ government has rescued Air NZ a couple times. I believe they own 53% airline now?? This is not uncommon as other governments around the world tend to prop up their major carrier too.
Jetstar fly in NZ too but only the most profitable routes - between Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington, Queenstown. Air NZ are half government owned, but the government also leans on them to serve the smaller centres. We couldn't manage without a national airline - we are too isolated.
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On 1/9/2023 at 4:58 PM, SilvertoGold said:
Could someone comment on how similar New Zealand is to Australia about bring in food, medications, etc.?
If anything, more strict.
https://www.customs.govt.nz/personal/travel-to-and-from-nz/travelling-to-nz/medicines/
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On 1/11/2023 at 11:10 AM, icat2000 said:
Exactly. Same with Air NZ in New Zealand too.
Not so. Under the Open Skies agreement signed in 2000 between NZ and Aus, the domestic markets were supposed to be opened to both countries. NZ allowed Qantas, Jetstar etc to operate domestically but Aus refused to reciprocate. Then, Air NZ tried to get into the market by buying Ansett which was a lemon and nearly drove them bust (big mistake!)
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13 hours ago, Over from NZ said:
Thanks! That's an interesting article. Seems it's a bit like the luggage and other travel debacles that have arisen as tourism tries to get back into gear. No excuse of course.. but does somewhat explain why these ships are running foul of the rules.
Most people don't realise that their luggage is lost by the luggage handling companies that are employed to transfer bags from one airline to another. So when passengers arrive in Auckland and go to the Air NZ counter, they think that Air NZ has lost their bags. It is much more likely that it was lost somewhere en route and Air NZ has never taken possession of your luggage in the first place. Doesn't help the passenger though.
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After a stormy week here in NZ, we now have a cyclone warning. I feel for the cruise ship passengers parked up here over the last couple of days.
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Not sure if anyone's posted this, but a piece on those companies employed to do the cleaning
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18 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:
Verdict - Cabin
Our Signature Suite, which is essentially a mini-suite, was one of the nicest cabins we've ever been in. It was a different configuration to Princess minisuites (which are long so bath/closet, bed, sitting area, balcony). The Westerdam cabin was wider. Entering our cabin the bathroom was to the right and the left side had three side-by-side wardrobes. Two of these were very clever as they could be configured to suit - the lower and middle shelves could be folded back giving the option of long hanging spaces or extra shelved. The third wardrobe had the safe and fixed shelves. One really nice feature was a heavy curtain that pulled our from a slot at the end of the wardrobes so any light seepage from the door or bathroom nightlight was blocked off from the sleeping area. There were a couple of solid hooks on the wall, one of which worked perfectly for our shoe hanger.
The bed was behind the bathroom then a unit with fridge, drawers, shelves, and desk space under a small window. There was a desk with drawers on the wardrobe side, then the very comfortable sofa with the large TV above it (weird!), and a small side table. Floor to ceiling windows and the door to the balcony filled in the remaining side. The whole area felt more spacious but the downside was that there wasn't the spatial separation from bedroom and sitting area as there is on Princess.
There was US power points and USB ports at either side of the bed. US and EU power points by the desk and also by the window unit.
The bed was the most comfortable I've ever slept in, and the duvet was light yet warm.
The air-conditioning actually worked properly, cooling the cabin sufficiently at night for me on the coldest setting but easily changed to a warmer setting during the day. It coped with a hot Melbourne day with no trouble.
The balcony was covered and was large and deep with two very comfortable, cushioned loungers and footrests, plus a decent sized table.
The bathroom had a separate shower cubicle, plus a shower over the bath. Shower curtains on both but they didn't cling. I found the separate shower cubicle a bit too small given the shower head faced out towards the curtain so used the shower over the bath for the rest of the cruise. The vanity unit was big, with twin basins and plenty of counter space, a drawer between the sinks, and a low shelf under the whole vanity.
The only annoying thing was the extremely bright, white nightlight in the bathroom which came on as soon as the main lights were turned off. It was far too bright and could cause sleep issues for some people (like me). I stuck my cat magnet on it which was just big enough to block all but a little of the light.
Entrance
Bathroom
Left side of cabin
Right side of cabin
Thank you for posting this. It's very helpful as we've been considering trying Holland America too
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On 12/24/2022 at 9:57 PM, OzKiwiJJ said:
This is the Westerdam version of Australian pavlova:
Ah, there's your issue. You should have asked for a NZ pavlova.
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Thanks for all your help with this. My first VV cruise - the mermaiden out of Melbourne. Really looking forward to it.
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We have booked a Cheeky Corner Suite on Resilient lady in December. There is an adjoining Sea Terrace room available that I am considering booking for my adult daughter. My question is - if this room is part of the same group booking, then will my daughter be included in any suite privileges? For example, will she be allowed to accompany us to Richard's Rooftop if we go there? We have tried contacting Virgin via the online portal and have received no response other than the generic bounceback. Their customer service is woeful.
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Lyttelton local unhappy with the cruise ship buses.
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18 hours ago, Bubbeh said:
Just out of interest, was part of the tour cost refunded based on how good it was? Or, was the 'whip around' a way of shaming people into contributing?
I would hate it if they did that. I wouldn't want to hand over a 'tip' and would be really angry to be backed into a corner like that.
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On 10/21/2022 at 4:00 PM, lucymorgan said:
I usually carry a bit of cash but as others have said rarely use it. Especially since the pan**** most retailers and service providers actually prefer card or phone payment over cash and tapping is widespread. Good advice from others about checking international transaction fees and whether your cards will work here.
For context about why Aussies don't like people to tip (unless they are the person being tipped) the national minimum wage is currently $21.38 per hour and if you are casual, you get at least 25% more than that. (This doesn't apply to teenagers and people under 21 though)
My daughter works as a casual in a pet store and regularly carries heavy items out to cars but she would not know what to do if someone offered her a tip! People close to tourists would know but would not expect it - although if they heard an American accent they would be perhaps hopeful.
I generally find that a sincere thank you is all that is expected
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On 10/28/2022 at 7:23 PM, JeffroK said:
On our last trip and other research.
Port Chalmers, I thought was NZD$10 each way, its 15-20km into town so this is reasonable.
Akaroa, you walk off the jetty.
Lyttelton, about 10km from Christchurch CBD. Was a free shuttle.
Wellington, Free shuttle
Napier, free shuttle into the CBD
Tauranga, free shuttle from Maunganui to Tauranga
Auckland, the ship parks at the bottom of the main street.
Bay of Islands, free shuttle from Waitangi to Paihia.
Most shuttles are put on by the local Port Authority, maybe along with the local tourist bureau
Mount Maunganui is in Tauranga but i know what you mean
Wild weather in Auckland
in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
Posted
Apparently an entire summer's worth of rain fell in one day. The wettest day on record.