Voyager Auckland to Singapore, January 26 - February 20, 2017

[RachelG]

Love the pics!

[Bodogbodog]

Wes - there are several Apple stores in Sydney metro but the one you want is at 367 George St - their phone number is +61 2 80839400 - they're open 9am to 8pm (not sure on the weekend)

 

Are you docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal? If so it's a 10-15 minute walk up George St which is right by the terminal - a very pleasant walk through the central shopping area

 

Sorry to hear about your iPad but hey it's a perfect reason for an upgrade - treat yourself

 

Here's hoping the Tasman Sea is kind to you

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bodogbodog]

Wes - I should have said the Apple Store in on the right hand side of the street as you walk up from the ship

 

The view of the Opera house is on your left as you come in (unless he decides to back in from a great distance) :-) The bridge will be right in front of you - you can't miss it :-)

 

 

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[rcandkc]

I believe they will dock at West Bay but I imagine they will have a shuttle to the city center.

[WesW]

Thanks Rachel, bodogbodog/Terry, rcandkc; Terry and rcandkc--still plan to take the Opera House excursion with Ida (board the bus at White Bay Cruise Terminal) then letting our guide know--head from the beginning of the excursion to the Apple store. Used our free phone time perk and called the Sydney Apple store on George Street just prior to lunch. A helpful Apple CSR answered and did not try to sell me a new IPAD but said please bring it in in the morning and we will check to see if it is under warranty and can be repaired. If not then we will go to next step (purchasing a new (as Terry suggested upgrade Ipad mini). Via google find their store prices are only about 10% more than in US--so not unrealistic. Wonder if we have to pay any Australian tax, if not Aus Ipad mini price would be nearly similar to US Ipad mini price. Ida enjoyed a competitive game of baggio with the officers earlier this morning (officers won) and then we enjoyed another delish lunch in La Terraza. Thanks to Valentina (Deputy Head Waiter) have a standing order for sushi every day in La Terraza. Regent's daily prepared sushi is better than Silversea's. We enjoyed the Waltz dance class this afternoon--four couples partaked taught by two different Regent entertainers than yesterday's cha cha class. Although, the dance classes are only 20mintues the entertainers do a good job engaging the guests and teaching them the dance step's basics. Ida is now competing in another game (Top Toss--her team won). She plans to next go to the needle point get together to collect a kit from social hostess Nicola.

 

We both have afternoon workouts planned (ida is taking Total Tubes & Pilates with Fitness Director Carlos). It's power walking, swimming and some elliptical for me--right now, we are planning for our second visit to Chartreuse (thanks to Chartreuse Head Waiter Sylvester) and enjoying Dover sole.

 

Seems strange to not have pictures to post--maybe in 24 hours or so.

[cruiseluv]

Hi Wes,

 

I'm not going to even try to figure out what time is there now! Wish you luck with your Ipad adventure! Keep up having fun!!

[Bodogbodog]

Wes - re the iPad purchase - you will pay 10% GST - it's in the price you are seeing from Apple as we price incl of tax here. The great news is you can get that all back under our TRS @ https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Ente/Tour/Are-you-a-traveller - talk to the customs people at White Bay to establish at what port you claim it back - but worth having. Hope that helps.

 

The other thing is even if it's not under warranty Apple offer a fixed price repair price on the iPad - so if you're happy with that model that will be an option for you to consider as opposed to buying a completely new model . Of course you may be hankering for the upgrade...

 

Sorry you're at White Bay and not the OPT - not the most convenient location - but a short shuttle into the city - it's not walking distance I'm afraid

 

Enjoy your time in Sydney - are you here overnight?

[liptastic]

Wes Margaret has been the CD on a few cruises we have been on and yes she is an excellent singer and entertainer. Definitely not a show to miss when she sings, usually a packed audience.

Hope the iPad issue is resolved for you today as like everyone else here your pictures are amazing and we are enjoying the cruise with you and Ida. Have a great day today, Jean.

[lprp]

"Today is chock full of our Smithsonian lecturers (Terry Bishop, Michael Scott) disputing the penal history of Australia and the animals of the Tasman sea. Ida and have dance class at 2pm to work on our waltz."

 

Wes, how lucky you are having Terry Bishop as one of your Smithsonian lecturers. He was pretty much the only highlight of our Tokyo to Beijing cruise on Voyager in March 2016. Extremely talented, really interesting and a nice guy too - oh and he's a fellow Brit ;)

Enjoy

[rcandkc]

"Today is chock full of our Smithsonian lecturers (Terry Bishop, Michael Scott) disputing the penal history of Australia and the animals of the Tasman sea. Ida and have dance class at 2pm to work on our waltz."

 

Wes, how lucky you are having Terry Bishop as one of your Smithsonian lecturers. He was pretty much the only highlight of our Tokyo to Beijing cruise on Voyager in March 2016. Extremely talented, really interesting and a nice guy too - oh and he's a fellow Brit ;)

Enjoy

[rcandkc]

We are considering a China and Japan cruise on Mariner. It seems your China cruise was not your favorite. May I ask why?

[lprp]

We are considering a China and Japan cruise on Mariner. It seems your China cruise was not your favorite. May I ask why?

Hi rcandkc

Firstly apologies to Wes for hijacking his post.

This was our second Regent trip to SE Asia on Voyager, we chose it specifically because it started in Tokyo and included a pre-cruise tour. The previous one, two years earlier started in Beijing and included a pre- cruise tour which was excellent - the guides and the organisation were superb. The cruise (which was our 2nd with Regent) was also very good. So, we expected a similar, if not better, experience. Sadly this was not the case. The pre-cruise tour in Tokyo was dreadful - on one "memorable" day we spent circa 8 hours being driven around in a tour bus, with guides, who although very pleasant, had very poor English skills, were not that knowledgeable and giggled as a way of covering their inefficiency! This was not an isolated incident - all of the Japanese guides we encountered were sadly lacking compared to the Chinese ones we had experienced on our prior cruise, or indeed on the tours we had in Shanghai on this one. In addition, the service on Voyager was poor when compared to our previous cruises on Voyager and Mariner. It seemed as if the crew were nearly all new and still in training. We complained to the Maitre D, the F&B manager and finally the hotel manager. The service improved but we noticed we were almost singeled out for special treatment - not comfortable.

However, I would not be put off by our experience, Mariner is a lovely ship, we much prefer the flow of it to Voyager and SE Asia is a fascinating part of the World.

We almost gave up on Regent, but have given them the benefit of the doubt and are booked on Explorer on 14 Feb - we are really looking forward to it!

[rcandkc]

Thank you for the info and I also apologize for getting off topic.

[newlondon]

Wes, I'm still trying to figure out how Ida looks so good if she joins you at those insanely good looking meals. Sorry about your computer, but just wish I could figure out a tablet. Continue to have a great time, but as I said in my e-mail, be ready for the heat that will come after Sydney.

Best, Bill

[RachelG]

Newlondon, I know Ida's secret. She works out all the time.

 

Wes, what excursions are you all down for in Vietnam? We are doing the extra cost Me King river tour, with 6 people per van, the first day and the Cu Chi tunnels the second day. Would be great if you and Ida, Rich and Ginny and George and I could do the first day together.

[WesW]

Thanks all in iPad snafu (went via taxi during middle of our sydney and opera house tour(to apple store got new ipad mini ran to opera house and rejoined our tour. Took me ten min to find them but those little R numbered signs helped. Thanks terry for tax info. Will recharge new ipad and be back in biz soon. Pix I meant to post earlier

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[WesW]

Rachel will ck tours when back on ship using opera house wifi now

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Bodogbodog]

Wes

Sorry it's so muggy today and a little damp - it's going to heat up this afternoon into the early thirties celcius - getting hotter tomorrow into the late thirties

 

Enjoy your time in beautiful Sydney

[Mr Rumor]

 

Wes, what excursions are you all down for in Vietnam? We are doing the extra cost Me King river tour, with 6 people per van, the first day and the Cu Chi tunnels the second day. Would be great if you and Ida, Rich and Ginny and George and I could do the first day together.

 

Rachel, I just checked and, sure enough, we booked The Mekong Delta in Depth for the first day. Wes, I hope you and Ida did, too. The Three Blogateers + Spouses touring together is almost too much fun for me to take in at the moment!

 

Good going on pouncing on that new mini-iPad in mid-excursion, Wes--we're counting on a continuing flow of photos!

 

Rich

[Travelcat2]

Still trying to work out the photo issue. Today we are back to the old format and the pictures I'm seeing are blurry. Is it only me?

 

P.S. Wes, interesting "take" on Regent sushi/sashimi. That is the one item that we prefer on Silversea. Guess this once again shows how subjective food is.

 

Mr. Rumor: Can't wait until you get onboard. So far, I've always been able to see your posts and photos as they are meant to be seen. I avoided this thread for a few days and returned today to find that the text goes too far to the right to read but the photos are okay -- other than being blurry. This is the first thread since I've been a CC member that is coming out this way. Very frustrated and looking forward to the thread that will begin February 20th (or earlier if Mr. Rumor "sets the table".

Edited February 4, 2017 by Travelcat2

[Bodogbodog]

Travelcat

They're mildly out of focus but I wouldn't describe them as blurry - I just can't see the whites of Ida's eyes :p

 

They are aligned just fine with one under the other - earlier on there was one post that had multiple photos across a page as I think Wes omitted returns after each one - but that was a one off

 

I love the photos - they add to the story and bring the thread to life and Tapatalk makes it so easy to add them

[RachelG]

Rachel, I just checked and, sure enough, we booked The Mekong Delta in Depth for the first day. Wes, I hope you and Ida did, too. The Three Blogateers + Spouses touring together is almost too much fun for me to take in at the moment!

 

Good going on pouncing on that new mini-iPad in mid-excursion, Wes--we're counting on a continuing flow of photos!

 

Rich

 

Awesome. Mekong river it is. I have no idea what my spell check was doing with my earlier post btw.

[WesW]

iPad success but not easy as the IPad in set up wanted the wifi, ship's wifi makes u use log on so could not format. So, back on shuttle to a free wifi spot (tour guide said Hyatt) went and they even gave me. An accsss code tho was not staying there. Had 25 min to catch last shuttle, found shuttle stop and then went looking at half dozen restaurants, cafe's for free wifi to do the iPad set up--no joy. Heading back to shuttle stop on amazing the coach has. Free wifi...so now posting.:)

 

Will get with Destinations desk on return and see if we can get the bloggers trio tour exchanged for what we now have. Also, Destinations is offering those of us staying on three different excursions (Panoramic Singapore, Iconic Singapore, and Singapore in depth (with lunch) all free.

 

Also, rcvd letter from Franck today that our Grand Voyage event will be a special Aborgine show on Feb 5th or Feb 6th--can't recall which.

 

The Opera house tour was wonderful if Ida can send me some of her iPad pix she took during the tour will post a few here. The guide from inter cruises was one of the best we have ever had.

 

Tomorrow is a sea day enroute to Brisbane.

 

Thanks again for your support as I went Ipadless for 24 hrs and especially for the very kind photo comments--thanks Pam, Jackie, Rachel, and many others.

[Bodogbodog]

Wes

For Apple to Apple transfers of files or photos have you considered Air Drop? - it's built into iOS - very fast and easy to use between two Apple devices - it's an alternative to emailing the files between each other

 

How humid is it today? :eek: - boy it's muggy in Sydney :eek: - we're now inside in the air con :cool:

 

Hope you get the iPad setup before you sail and enjoy the cruise up the coast - seas are usually pretty good up that way

[Mr Rumor]

Jackie/Travelcat, following up on Bodogbodog's response, I scrolled through this entire thread in the new format and didn't see any wandering text or photos that didn't appear properly sized or arranged. Regarding photo definition, the iPad's camera yields sharp shots when used outdoors. I haven't had the same luck when photographing indoors, especially at night, and most especially when photographing people in motion in low-light conditions (i.e. dancing, performing). Even though it is not often possible for the indoor snaps to be in sharp focus, I'm glad that Wes is including them in the mix, as the photos really do bring this blog to life, as Bodogbodog wrote. (BTW, Apple now finally offers an iPad with flash, the iPad Pro. I'll be looking at the Pro when I go shopping for a new iPad later this year. The flash will definitely help in low-light situations.)

 

Wes, my scroll-through reminded me how much I loved your Milford Sound photos. Bravo! Still vividly recall my one and only visit to New Zealand, aboard the Royal Viking Sea in March, 1974. I'm looking to work through our Bucket List, not add to it at this point, but your accounts/photos of the New Zealand portion of your adventure has got me thinking of a NZ return.

 

Quite a hustle to get your iPad set up, but you did it! Now do use whatever hustle you've got left to get you and Ida on the Mekong Delta tour with your blogging mates!

 

Rich