RubyRedDeb

9 hours ago, Time For Dreaming said:

Thank you for the info.  Hope you report back on this cruise.

Thanks for posting your questions - we're Aussie based & also planning an Alaskan cruise with HAL, but for 2024 and have been tossing up between a b2b, or the 14 day explorer; this has been really helpful! 

On 12/3/2022 at 2:53 PM, Hernextdoor said:

I just logged on to check in for Ovation of the seas boarding in Sydney on Wed and the earliest available slot was 3pm! I was wxpecting to be able to board earlier. How strict are they about enforcing those times? Also for some reason I have been assigned 5.30 MDR dining, which is ridiculously early. What happens if I just rock up at, say 7pm? I am travelling solo.

We were on Ovation a couple of weeks ago; our boarding time was 2pm - we had lunch nearby, and by 1pm the line to check in was much shorter & they opened it up to all remaining time slots, so like us you may be on board earlier than you expect.

We cruised on Norwegian Jewel back in 2018, had the drink package deal + 3 restaurants as part of the price, gratuities on drinks weren't included ; i would check the fine print of the current offer for clarity.

2 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

We are also booked on a February cruise to NZ with Princess.

Our sailing is on the 6th, only booked it a couple of months ago & thankfully still managed to get a balcony, though it's quite forward & might get a bit rocky but we will manage. it will be really handy leaving from the new Qld cruise port.

We also hope it gets sorted before the Summer cruise season; we are booked on Coral Princess for a Feb visit to New Zealand - really looking forward to it; our last visit was back in 2020 on the Maasdam, just as the pandemic was spreading. This will be our first Princess cruise - but 4th to NZ. Can't wait!.

On 3/5/2022 at 7:51 PM, boeckli said:

 

 

What a coincidence. Do either of you have photos of the Norwegian Jewel in Milford Sound from that day (22.02.2020)?

My husband and i were also on this cruise on the Maasdam when Norwegian Jewel entered the sound, it was our last cruise before the shut down.

5 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

What date was that? I have one booked for the 27th and haven’t been notified.

Apologies Chiliburn, i have made a mistake & posted the incorrect month, i should have said November, not October...November 23 - 30th. Have also tagged the wrong reply initially ( sorry NSWP) , so not having a great night all round with communication.

4 hours ago, NSWP said:

It would appear the repositioning of the ships to this region in Sept/Oct is not happening.  Can you check on RCI website? 

Chilliburn - apologies, i have made a mistake & posted the incorrect month, our cruise was for 23 - 30th November on Ovation ( not October) 

19 hours ago, rkmw said:

We hope you are wrong because if Royal don’t come here in October or November they may not come here for a short season till April 

Unhappily last week we were notified that our Royal Caribbean cruise for late October has been cancelled. Really disappointed, but i was somewhat expecting it.

On 1/20/2021 at 8:03 AM, lyndarra said:

The best were those I had on Maasdam returning from New Zealand last February.  King prawns on fresh breadrolls, with heaps of butter, which we made ourselves on a fresh seafood day in the buffet.  It's amazing how many prawns can be crammed into one small bread roll.

 

It IS amazing just how many king prawns on of those rolls could fit - was a favourite lunchtime treat of ours too on the Maasdam ( we sailed from Sydney to Auckland in Feb last year) .

2 hours ago, Rickster50 said:

I'm now seriously thinking of cancelling the Nov 2020 cruise and opting for a 20 day cruise on Jan 10, 2021 which would include more of Antarctica. We are travelling all that way so may as well get our moneys worth!

 

Rick

We are also considering this cruise in 2021, have been to New Zealand twice ( with a 3rd upcoming cruise there, this time on the Maasdam) ; looking to stretch our wings further afield - visiting Antarctica for me is an absolute bucket list dream , even if it's just a drive by so to speak. We are tossing up between this and a cruise in Alaska. 

A wonderful video, thank you for sharing - it gives a real immersive sense of being there on the cruise.

We are cruising from Sydney to Auckland on her in Feb - our first time on HAL & really looking forward to it. We've mostly cruised on RCI, as well as others ( bells & whistle type ships), but chose Maasdam because the itineraries appealed to us, being port intensive and visiting some places the larger ships don't pull in at, that and idea of interesting lectures - especially from a naturalist; scenic cruising, meeting like minded people & exploring on the zodiacs. 

13 hours ago, jtsbusiness said:

Is it easy to book in port?  I was always afraid that there would be limited availability

Some tours - especially so in Wellington we found had less availability,  that may have been either due to the fact there were 2 ships in port with a total of over 5000 passengers, or that the cruise ships had bought all popular tour tickets to sell through their shore tour system. At the I-Site there, we were told that a tour i wanted to go on ( Seal Coast Safari) was only available to be booked through the cruise ships...( Yes i have booked it this time :) ) . 

Tauranga though had plenty on offer when we arrived.

If there was something you really didn't want to miss out on - i'de probably book it through the ship just so you don't miss out.

3 hours ago, jtsbusiness said:

Thanks Dunelm and RubyredDeb for your info.  The places sound wonderful.  Dunelm can you tell me who you toured Queen Charlotte Sound with and RubyredDeb who you toured with in Tauranga?

Really looking forward to going.

Sorry - i can't remember who it was,  at Tauranga port, there was a pop up I-Site that you pass through from the port into town,  with a range of tour guides offering a variety of tours;  from large groups  to small ones, we simply browsed through the selection available for a tour that sounded like something we'd really enjoy , some nature, some scenery, some geo thermal & culture - & then a bit off the beaten track. The small group ones are more flexible i've found in taking you to extra points of interest.

Hi jtsbusiness,  we've done this cruise twice ( though not with HAL-  until mid Feb on the Maasdam ),  we tend to opt for nature & scenery based tours. Things we really enjoyed on our last 2 visits were

Port Chalmers - we took a tour out to Tairoa Head - about 1.5 hours drive, travelling through Dunedin past picturesque villages along the waterfront to the cliffs where albatross nest & to a nearby fur seal colony. Good close & clear views of the fur seals - the albatross were further away, but the expansive views of the colourful cliff faces were fantastic. Port Chalmers itself has an historic church well worth visiting if you enjoy architecture - it's open to cruise ship visitors.

Picton - once away from the working port, has a lovely harbour, peace park, scenic walking tracks along the water past the marina. Authentic feeling Irish Pub,  & cafes serving locally caught fish. We didn't do any tours here - just enjoyed wandering & taking photos of the plant life & scenery. 

Wellington - we booked at the I-site a small group tour ( 4 of us) to explore along the shipwreck coastline, the guide took us to the native botanical gardens - spent around 40 mins there, then around points on interest and onto the shipwreck coastline drive - which we loved, it was so wild with rocky crags jutting out of the sea...We have also taken the cable car up to Kelburn - and wandered back down through the Wellington Botanical gardens (lovely) rose gardens & through the historical graveyard filled with ancient headstones.

Napier - we love Napier. The Gannet colony tour was awesome. Traveled out to Cape Kidnappers' passing into an expansive private wildlife protection zone , pulling up right next to the colony. Both the birds - with their chicks & the views were really something...Wandering around Napier itself - lovely Art Deco buildings, Sunken Gardens (near the beach) , plenty of walkways along the beachfront..And i have to mention - if you like historical cars - you can book a tour in one at the I-site for a 1/2 hour or more - my husband went for a jaunt in an MG - said it was so much fun, driving around all the points of interest, winery & chocolate factory was only meant to be for 1/2 an hour, but he & the driver were enjoying it so much it went for 2 ( he wasn't charged) 

Tauranga - the Hobbiton set was good, especially if your are a LOTR's fan; for a wander there are walking tracks around Mt Maunganui.  Small group tour to Te Puia Geothermal area we enjoyed  - the Pohutu geyser was quite active,  bubbling mud pools & sulfur encrusted vents, the Maori cultural performance very interesting.

Looking forward to reading all about your experiences of an EXC voyage - we are going on our first Maasdam EXC cruise to Tassie & New Zealand early next year. 

Bay of Islands is beautiful - last time we were there we went on a trike tour of the area, then took a ferry over to Russell, had an awesome seafood chowder ( from locally caught fish ) for lunch at the cafe overlooking the calm water of the bay. 

Thanks for posting your experiences - they have been really interesting to read ; we are looking forward to cruising on the Maasdam next year, visiting New Zealand & Tasmania; it will be our first time trying HAL, so your reports have really been helpful on what to expect. 

Cheers, Deb