BTimmer's Almost Live Downunder 2022 - (10/2/22 to 12/6/22 on the Westerdam)

[Cristiano]

[rkacruiser]

Sydney is one of my most favorite cities that I have visited!  The evening I attended an opera at the Opera House, the Hop On/Off bus trips, the walks through the Rocks, my visit to their excellent Maritime Museum:  so much to enjoy!  

[Sallyandtex]

On 11/5/2022 at 11:19 PM, Btimmer said:

Tonight we received another change of itinerary letter cancelling our stop at Kaikoura, NZ on 11/14/22 and substituting an additional day in Wellington.  For this change we will receive $250 each as a non-refundable shipboard credit AND 10% of our cruise fare paid as a Bonus Future Cruise Credit.  The terms and condition of the credit were erroneously not included on the reverse side of the letter. We'll probably learn those tomorrow.

 

Wow! We arrived on the ship today. 

I was really disappointed about Kiakoura as I had booked a whale watch tour. 

We didn't get this letter, hope it eventuates.

[Btimmer]

Our 6:30pm departure has been delayed because certain passengers did not have the required NZ ETA.  6:45pm was the drop dead departure time due to tide conditions needed to pass under the Sydney harbor bridge. The next opportunity to depart is near midnight.  The Captain also indicated this may affect scenic cruising in Milford Sound.  There were audible cries in the Lido to "throw them off the ship".

[jettaleea]

23 hours ago, Btimmer said:

Our 6:30pm departure has been delayed because certain passengers did not have the required NZ ETA.  6:45pm was the drop dead departure time due to tide conditions needed to pass under the Sydney harbor bridge. The next opportunity to depart is near midnight.  The Captain also indicated this may affect scenic cruising in Milford Sound.  There were audible cries in the Lido to "throw them off the ship".

Tim I agree. They should never have been allowed to board.

[Btimmer]

There seems to be a bit more to the delay story, but I'll refrain from commenting just yet.  I can tell you that at 10pm local time the Captain came on the PA system and said that our departure will now be at 3:30am due to a shortage of pilots.  Interestingly, that's about the soonest time that we can pass under the Sydney Bridge according to the tide charts that I consulted when the first announcement was made during dinner.  He also said that he'll update us tomorrow on the possible effects of scenic cruising in Milford Sound.

 

On the plus side, we got to enjoy a full eclipse of the moon.  We watched it from Deck 9 fwd.  At times it was obscured by clouds but was interesting to watch it develop.  Below are a few pictures of it along with an interesting sunset picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 8, 2022 by Btimmer

[Btimmer]

We're finally underway after an 8 hour delay.

 

Here's our position as of 5:07am (ship time).  Our clocks were advanced 1 hour at 2am.

 

[oakridger]

I love those eclipse pictures!

[Btimmer]

Currently we are in the Milford Sound and are rotating 540° to begin our sail out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lido deck main]

Wow, your pictures are great. Love the eclipse pictures.  If I remember correctly on a previous cruise you had great northern lights pictures.  And then the turtle pictures.  The Sydney arrival pictures and zoo.  You are quite the photographer.  

[Btimmer]

Here's a sleeping seal from on the way out of Milford Sound.

 

 

 

 

[cccole]

Wow, fabulous photos. A cruise I would love to be on.  THANK YOU!!!!  Cherie

[erewhon]

Thanks for sharing your photos of a lovely day in Milford Sound.

You may experience rain tomorrow,

[Btimmer]

The second half of our scenic cruising was in Dusky Sound.  It's walls are much more rounded and we entered the fjord with a bunch of low hanging clouds.  There weren't as many waterfalls, but I saw a bunch more wildlife in the form of seals, an otter, and large fish that didn't break the surface of the water.

 

Here are a few pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 11, 2022 by Btimmer

[Btimmer]

HUGE CAUTION IN PORT CHALMERS

 

If you visit here and expect to take the public bus #14 to Dunedin, it only takes 1/2 a bus load.  I highly recommend taking the shuttle from the port at $35NZ round trip.

 

As an update, a second bus came 1/2 hour after the first and was totally filled with cruise ship passengers.  I still recommend the shuttle for maximizing time efficiency.

Edited November 11, 2022 by Btimmer

[Kiwifan56]

I have family living in Port and although the locals love cruisers there is some angst over the buses. 
 

Sadly after Covid there is a shortage of drivers and there are some horror stories of how much the cruise lines are charging compared to public transport. 
 

Good luck!
 

[Btimmer]

In his departure message, the Captain just announced that per corporate direction masks are required of all guests indoors on all Carnival corporation ships in this region.  There are reports of a major outbreak in New South Wales.  We currently have 3 cases in isolation onboard (2 passengers and 1 crew).

 

I'll write more about the bus situation in today's blog.  It's a difficult situation for the community and tough for the passengers.

[erewhon]

7 minutes ago, Btimmer said:

In his departure message, the Captain just announced that per corporate direction masks are required of all guests indoors on all Carnival corporation ships in this region.  There are reports of a major outbreak in New South Wales.  We currently have 3 cases in isolation onboard (2 passengers and 1 crew).

 

I'll write more about the bus situation in today's blog.  It's a difficult situation for the community and tough for the passengers.

 

Are masks being provided by HAL?

News reports state that the Majestic Princess on arrival in Sydney with 800 cases of covid.

 

Who is the current  Captain of the Westerdam?

[WriterOnDeck]

Yes, the Majestic Princess had 800 cases in Sydney this morning. I was surprised Capt. Wouter van Hoogdalem didn't mention that in his announcement. The news is all over the Australian and NZ media -- including here in Dunedin, where the Princess ship had visited last week.

 

https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/cruise-ship-major-covid-outbreak-visited-dunedin

[erewhon]

@WriterOnDeck  thank you for your reply.

 

The Westerdam was looking very good today in Port Chalmers, wonderful to see a BHB back in a New Zealand port.

Watched  Westerdam departing on the webcam, four great toots as she departed the harbour. 

 

The weather co-operated for the Westerdam, with none of the rain which was forecast for this afternoon.

Edited November 12, 2022 by erewhon

[Btimmer]

2 hours ago, erewhon said:

 

Are masks being provided by HAL?

News reports state that the Majestic Princess on arrival in Sydney with 800 cases of covid.

 

Who is the current  Captain of the Westerdam?

While the Captain's announcement and the letter said masks were provided in our stateroom, we've not seen any.  But I have an ample supply of KN95 masks I've brought with me.

 

For me the two interesting things about the Covid outbreak.  For the Princess cruise, it's  a cruise that originated in Sydney. But the magnitude surprises me.   For our ship, it's that our case count remains low at 3 and never went over the mid 50's.  Personally, we have been masking for a week or so when many crew members started masking up.

[Btimmer]

1 hour ago, erewhon said:

@WriterOnDeck  thank you for your reply.

 

The Westerdam was looking very good today in Port Chalmers, wonderful to see a BHB back in a New Zealand port.

Watched  Westerdam departing on the webcam, four great toots as she departed the harbour. 

 

The weather co-operated for the Westerdam, with none of the rain which was forecast for this afternoon.

Along with the 4 toots as we left the harbor, as we passed by several points of land, people were gathered to watch the ship leave and more toots were given.  It was a very interesting sail away out of the harbor and past the Albatross Sanctuary.  We also saw many sheep on the hillsides.  However, it was a bit chilly.

[LouChamp]

Thank you as always for your posts. Mahalo for sharing!

[erewhon]

@Btimmer   So, HAL no longer pays for the shuttle buses?   On several cruises we have used the shuttle buses, but did not have to pay extra to do so.

There is a nationwide shortage of bus drivers, not just Dunedin. 

 

You were fortunate to have such a lovely warm sunny day yesterday, today it's raining, temperature 12 C

 

 

Edited November 13, 2022 by erewhon

[Btimmer]

3 minutes ago, erewhon said:

@Btimmer   So, HAL no longer pays for the shuttle buses?   On several cruises we have used the shuttle buses, but did not have to pay extra to do so.

There is a nationwide shortage of bus drivers, not just Dunedin. 

 

 

 

For Port Chalmers to Dunedin and Lyttelton to Christchurch the shuttle busses were $35NZ RT & $20NZ one way.  They were not free.