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Celebrity Solstice January 3, 2014 NZ to OZ

NashDB

By NashDB,
in LGBTQIA+ Roll Calls

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Darrell6t

Darrell6t

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Hi

We are on the cruise and will be traveling with friends. There are 7 in our group so I imagine there will be enough for a guide. Just emailed Derek as I was curious, too, about the size....

Should be fun...

 

Did you get any info from Pied Piper. We just made the final payment, so they should have a good idea of how many people will be in the group.

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steve_cruises

steve_cruises

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Hi guys. I realized that it has been a very long time since I visited here. We are Steve and John from Chicago, traveling with the Pied Piper group. We're finishing up our final planning and getting exclusions booked is weekend. I also checked with Bruce about a forum or Yahoo group for this cruise and he said they no longer set those up, but suggested I post to the PP Facebook page. We get in to Auckland late on December 29th. When does everyone else arrive?

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NashDB

NashDB

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Hi guys. I realized that it has been a very long time since I visited here. We are Steve and John from Chicago, traveling with the Pied Piper group. We're finishing up our final planning and getting exclusions booked is weekend. I also checked with Bruce about a forum or Yahoo group for this cruise and he said they no longer set those up, but suggested I post to the PP Facebook page. We get in to Auckland late on December 29th. When does everyone else arrive?

 

We get in on January 2, in the evening.

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  • 2 weeks later...
steve_cruises

steve_cruises

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We are getting excited too! Last bookings will be transfers from the airport into the CBD, and a pre-cruise wine tour from Auckland on New Year's Day. We booked most of our excursions through Celebrity. Our big splurge is the Queenstown overnight from Dunedin; we have friends who said it was one of the highlights of their trip.

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NashDB

NashDB

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Got our visas for Australia yesterday. So I think everything is in place. Just need to read up a little about New Zealand and starting thinking of what to pack. This trip is getting close.

 

How did you do the visas? I know there are several online sites...some costing a good bit more.

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steve_cruises

steve_cruises

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Sorry for the abbreviation. The Central Business District, or CBD, is Auckland's main downtown area and also where the ship docks. As for taxis, yes there are cabs at the airport but it's a long ride downtown and reports are that the cabs are quite expensive - I've heard NZ$80 or more depending on where you are going. There are shared van services that quote about NZ$45 for two, but the ride can be as long as an hour. There's also a post on the other thread about a private shuttle that I've emailed for a quote.

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  • 3 weeks later...
NashDB

NashDB

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Sorry for the abbreviation. The Central Business District, or CBD, is Auckland's main downtown area and also where the ship docks. As for taxis, yes there are cabs at the airport but it's a long ride downtown and reports are that the cabs are quite expensive - I've heard NZ$80 or more depending on where you are going. There are shared van services that quote about NZ$45 for two, but the ride can be as long as an hour. There's also a post on the other thread about a private shuttle that I've emailed for a quote.

 

Steve - who did you use for your airport transfer in Auckland? Thanks for the info!

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steve_cruises

steve_cruises

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Nash - We are going to use Super Shuttle (https://www.supershuttle.co.nz/Default.aspx). You can book and prepay through their website, and like superShuttle here they run 24/7. The fare came out to NZ$43 for the two of us. Our hotel estimates a cab will be about NZ$100. The only downside is that it's a shared ride though so it will take a little longer than in a cab. I never heard back from the other service so I just decided to book this one based on the reviews. They also sell through tour agents like Viator so they must be reliable.

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NashDB

NashDB

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Steel and Larry from the Washington DC area will be on board. We are not in the PP group but look forward to meeting all. Arrive Auckland Dec. 30th and staying in the CBD (Now know that means Central Business District, feel like a native).

 

Glad to have someone else show up not in the PP group. Not that we don't like the PP folk :) It's just nice to know we won't be the only same-gender couple serving as missionaries to the opposite-gender couples in the main dining room. haha.

 

We're David (53) and Arlen (40 on 1/18/14) from Nashville, TN. I'm a non-profit music association exec and he's the OR scheduler/general "do whatever it takes" guy at a local hospital.

 

We'll be arriving in Auckland on Jan 2 evening and departing Sydney on Jan 19.

 

You can find me on the facespace at facebook.com/davidlb

 

Looking forward to meeting all.

 

David

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Darrell6t

Darrell6t

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We are Darrell and Erik from Dupont Circle, Washington, DC. We are part of the PP group, but don't plan to spend all our time hanging with them. We don't know how many there are or who they are or anything else about them. Meeting wonderful people from all over is part of the cruise experience and we look forward to meeting you all.

 

Let me repeat what someone said on the regular Roll Call: the info David put together on the ports was a great help.

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