SinbadThePorter

I suspect somebody in NZ must have had a closer look at the paperwork for these cruise ships.

Only with the written permission of Princess. It might be a good idea to get a note from her doctor before asking.

I was on Coral when we went into Milford on the 9th Dec. Lots of ships had preceded us.

I wonder where and how the NZ authorities are checking the hulls of these ships?

Fortunately, it's a noon departure.

On Coral last week we each got a Patter delivered by our steward every evening. Only it wasn't called the Patter, it was called "Princess event listings".

It looks like Coral is heading around the North Island for a clockwise cruise.

I wonder if "hull cleaning" is a euphemism for hole patching? 😱

Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington were sunny and warm. After that things got miserable.

For Princess, grats are included for Asia bound cruises although not for US bound cruises.

Only a reminder that masks are always to be on indoors except when exercising, eating or drinking. Since this has been a moveable feast all cruise I can't see it making much difference. We are heading out to Cook Strait now. It's flat as a tack.

The captain has just told us that we have an elevated level of covid on board.

My understanding is that cruises bought in Australia and departing an Australian port will have gratuities included in the fare. They may be talking about grats on top of that being at your discretion.

Just to update you all on the doings of the Coral Princess. We are in Wellington today and just like Dunedin and Christchurch we have warm sunny weather. The main problem is avoiding sunburn. Yesterday the indoor pool was drained painted and refurbished. It is currently empty but looking good. The fjords were very cold and foggy. But we did get into Milford without problems.

A lot more coffee tables in front of cabin doors this afternoon.

On Coral everyone is RAT testing tomorrow morning. I assume the NZ government is insisting.

The Looseum awaits. 😁 Though I think it's closed at the moment. 🤢

You are braver than me. I am sticking with cruises out of my hometown for now. I really don't want to catch covid in a situation where I have to get on a flight to get home. 😷

Gavin Smith would be far more effective seeing what he can do about bringing RC shuttle bus fares down to $8. 🤑

Non-stop at full speed a Citycat would take about an hour to go from the cruise terminal to the CBD. They would not be allowed to use the ferry terminals, so they would have to find a public jetty to tie up to. $8 seems optimistic as this is would not be public transport. There is the cost of hiring the Citycat, insurance, fuel, staff, etc. At the moment it's a daydream and we just have to put up with a lack of public transport. Just as we do with almost all cruise terminals around the country that were not lucky enough to be built next to Circular Quay.

It seems doubtful. For one thing there is nowhere to offload ferry passengers at the cruise terminal. They would need to build a wharf capable of handling the Citycats and safely offloading passengers. Before doing that, they would need to take account of the infrastructure already there. The structures just upstream of the terminal are used for unloading petroleum products to the storage tanks on Bulwer Island. There are obvious safety problems with allowing passenger vessels access to the area. Downstream you are encroaching on the sewage works and its outfall. It's a nice idea but I don't see it happening.

I booked this excursion and then canceled it. It was close enough to $300 from the ship. Since it's $60 when not booked out by a cruise, that amounts to $240 for a return bus trip from Port Chalmers to Dunedin station and back. When I had a think about it, I decided I didn't want to be taken for a ride. 🤨 I'm a tourist, not an ATM for the cruise line (I wish!).

The Casino supermarket has a very impressive wine section. All French as far as I could see.

I hadn't heard that we are building wharves in Warragamba Dam. Or that Flannery is designing them. Sea levels have risen 8 inches since 1880 and the rise is accelerating. I don't see the sea level rise coming to a sudden stop or more intense storms going away, so I hope they keep building climate resilient wharves.

More like 12 inches by 2050 and probably twice that on top by 2100.