(hopefully) Live NCL Spirit Sydney to Auckland

[grozzy1]

 

A bit of background: I was originally booked on a similar cruise 12 months ago but Australia and NZ weren't quite ready for cruising so I've been waiting quite a while for this trip. It's a 12 night cruise the first half will be mostly sea days crossing the Tasman then up the east coast of New Zealand to Auckland.

I'm travelling solo in a balcony cabin.

I'll try to post at least daily but if you don't hear from me for a while there's probably one of three reasons:

The internet sucks

The ship has sunk

I just can't be bothered.

 

Meanwhile, here's some photos I prepared earlier

[www3traveler]

Have a wonderful cruise.  Would love to be able to make this cruise.

[ellenw]

G'day mate! You will have a great cruise!  Will love to hear abut it if you have the time. 

[Travelling2Some]

I will be following for sure!   We took the exact same cruise on Anthem of the Seas before the shut down and it will bring back such good memories.  We spent some time in Sydney and it is one of my all time 3 favorite cities along with Venice and Shanghai.  Loved both the city and how you could just go down to the Quay and take ferries to lots of very different places quickly and easily.  Also spent a few days in the Bondi Beach neighborhood and in the Blue Mountains just outside of Sydney.  Fantastic trip. 

Also have a great fondness for the little Spirit and am so glad they didn't sell it.  I really liked that ship even before the refub and always keep an eye on her itineraries looking for a chance to jump aboard again. 

 

So . . . hope you can be bothered, don't sink and the wifi performs adequately.  Thanks!

[grozzy1]

I won a night's stay at Crown Sydney so I decided to use it for a precruise stay. Crown is Sydney's second casino. They spent heaps building it only to be told they were unfit to hold a gaming licence. The casino part eventually opened but only for VIPs.

Great room and views though but a touch outside my budget!

Also took a RAT test and photographed it. Remains to be seen how vigilant they are about it, and I'm sure you could fake it if you wanted.

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Thank your sharing. All the best!

[itsnotjustme]

We had a similar cruise booked in Jan 2021.....And then in Mar 2021.....

 

Hope to get back to it a year from now.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[grozzy1]

Got up before dawn to watch the ship sail in.

Got to White Bay a bit earlier than expected because the Uber driver knew where to go. Google navigation sends you to the wrong place.

I had 30 min to wait for the check in to open at 11. The port staff seem confused about priority access but I managed to skip the long line.

Once I had my card it was a quick trip through border security and the metal detector then straight onto the ship before 11:30

[Travelling2Some]

Love those moments when you've cleared the last hurdles, board the ship and have the whole cruise in front of you to look forward to.  Have a wonderful time!

[casofilia]

We are doing it as a B2B Auckland-Sydney-Auckland so I hope it isn't White Bay, so little to see there compared to Circular Quay.

 

Will be interested to see what you think of our country

 

Mike

[ziggyuk]

11 hours ago, casofilia said:

We are doing it as a B2B Auckland-Sydney-Auckland so I hope it isn't White Bay, so little to see there compared to Circular Quay.

 

Will be interested to see what you think of our country

 

Mike

 

Which are you on, we will be on 4th March from Sydney, that is listed as White Bay unfortunately 

[casofilia]

@ziggyuk

 

4 Jan 2024 Auckland-Sydney

16 Jan 2024 Sydney-Auckland

 

Mike

[Karaboudjan]

15 hours ago, casofilia said:

We are doing it as a B2B Auckland-Sydney-Auckland so I hope it isn't White Bay, so little to see there compared to Circular Quay.

 

Will be interested to see what you think of our country

 

Mike

 

White Bay looks like a more interesting trip through the harbor, though...

[casofilia]

@Karaboudjan

 

White Bay looks like a more interesting trip through the harbor, though...

 

The only difference is the last "30" minutes after you have gone under the bridge.   You can see this with a walk from Circular Quay round The Rocks and Dawes Point.

 

Give me Circular Quay every time so close to the City Centre.

 

Mike

 

 

I have just looked at Google Maps; try using public transport to get from White Bay to the city if you are B2B.

Also to or from White Bay will need a taxi from anywhere in the Sydney area.   Circular Quay is on a direct rail line or a ferry from "everywhere".

Edited January 15, 2023 by casofilia

[grozzy1]

I meant to post these before we left the harbour but I had technical difficulties. Sorry they're a bit out of order

 

The reason we left from White Bay was because Ovation of the Seas was at Circular Quay

Muster was a bit crowded, held on the deck 7 promenade. Everyone must have done the right thing because we backed out on time at 6

Passenger count for this cruise is just under 1300 and something like 900 crew.

I paid for the streaming internet upgrade, and now I have it mostly figured out it isn't too bad so far. I've been able to get my YouTube fix

[casofilia]

@grozzy1

 

Muster was a bit crowded, held on the deck 7 promenade.

 

What muster?

 

We have just done 4 cruises on the Jade and we NEVER had a muster.    We had to watch the safety film on the TV and, immediately on boarding, have our room cards swiped at our muster station.   That was it!!

 

Mike

[grozzy1]

27 minutes ago, casofilia said:

@grozzy1

 

Muster was a bit crowded, held on the deck 7 promenade.

 

What muster?

 

We have just done 4 cruises on the Jade and we NEVER had a muster.    We had to watch the safety film on the TV and, immediately on boarding, have our room cards swiped at our muster station.   That was it!!

 

Mike

Looks like on the smaller ships they've gone back to the old fashioned muster outside. Don't ask me why. You just had to scan your card, then shut up and listen and watch the demonstration. Maybe this way it's easier to ensure everyone has attended and you don't need to chase people up

[grozzy1]

Here's some pictures of my cabin. I'm in a typical balcony midship of deck 11.

This balcony has an overhang from the lido deck above which provides some shelter from the weather. Though it may obstruct the view above the horizontal when going through fjords.

Typical power sockets at the desk. There's also USB in the reading lights above the bed

 

[www3traveler]

When you get a chance could you please the list of the current Officers both Hotel and Bridge?

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

I  would love to make this cruise but from the West Coast of the United States, it is a long journey just to get to the ship.

[CaptainBazz]

We have been on the Spirit before renovations and are on it from Sydney to Papeete in March. Looking forward to following your review and seeing pictures. Enjoy the cruise.

[grozzy1]

Day 3 was in Melbourne, temperature of 35°c most likely the hottest day of the cruise.

 

Today we'll be sharing Station Pier with Pacific Explorer.

I've been to Melbourne plenty of times, so I was happy just to Freestyle™ it. Getting into the city was easier than expected. A free shuttle bus dropped us off near the casino then straight onto a tram to the zoo. When I got tired of walking around the zoo a train took me back to Flinders St station, one of Melbourne's 2 main stations.

 

Next was Eureka Skydeck with views over the city and bay.

A quick trip to get some reading material then onto the tram to the ship

 

I could have spent the day at the beach

I think there were 1 or 2 buses back late because we were over half an hour late to depart.

[Karaboudjan]

@grozzy1  I'm enjoying your postings - I'm booked for this cruise next year.  

 

Since you appear to be a local, do you know if Australia seems likely to keep the mandatory test for cruises in place longer-term?  

[brngckn]

Thanks so much for this. We board Spirit next week in Auckland. 

[casofilia]

@grozzy1

 

Who are the officers on the Spirit at the moment please?

 

Mike

[LDIdeals]

We will be on the Spirit in March from NZ - AU and then AU to South Pacific.  Any Broadway type shows onboard?  We are really looking forward to these back to back cruises!  We just got on eTA's on app for AU and NZ... very easy