Live from the Eclipse, Apr 19 - May 21, Sydney to Honolulu to Vancouver B3B in an Aqua Cabin

[DaKahuna]

13 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

And give up all this tossing and turning and bouncing off the hallway walls! No way!! 😂

There are times I miss the heavy seas.  Always seems to rock me to sleep.

Brings back fond memories of an earlier career. 

[Ken the cruiser]

While listening to the ANZAC lecture this morning, the speaker mentioned in passing about the Southern Lights. So afterwards while hanging out on the balcony watching some birds fly by looking for whatever they could find

 

 
I decided to do a little research since we’re going to be in New Zealand for the next couple of days.

 

 
As it turns out between March and September is the prime viewing season. For more general information about them, here’s a link.

 
https://nztraveltips.com/southern-lights-nz/
 

I also found a website which provides the daily potential for seeing them, which I will definitely be checking while we’re in the NZ area, especially during the evening hours.

  
http://auroraalert.otago.ac.nz/aurora/index.html

 

For example, 20 minutes ago, it had a rating of 3/9. However, it now currently is reading 0/9! But as with most adventures, it’s all about the hunt! 😂

FWIW here is a picture of the Northern Lights we saw on a Celebrity Summit cruise last August around midnight when cruising between Iceland and Greenland which was taken with my older iPhone that doesn’t have a “delay” function. So what you’re seeing is what we actually saw.

 

[mahdnc]

There was some geomagnetic activity a day or two ago and they are forecasting possible aurora sightings today: link

 

However you are heading towards Bay of Islands which has a latitude of 35.2 deg South.  Northern Hemisphere-wise that is similar to Huntsville, Alabama (34.7 deg North).  So I would assume you are out of Aurora Australis range.  Nevertheless, it is nice to see the stars of the Southern Hemisphere.  Since the moon sets pretty early after sunset, you should have very nice dark skies--hopefully with no clouds.

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, mahdnc said:

There was some geomagnetic activity a day or two ago and they are forecasting possible aurora sightings today: link

 

However you are heading towards Bay of Islands which has a latitude of 35.2 deg South.  Northern Hemisphere-wise that is similar to Huntsville, Alabama (34.7 deg North).  So I would assume you are out of Aurora Australis range.  Nevertheless, it is nice to see the stars of the Southern Hemisphere.  Since the moon sets pretty early after sunset, you should have very nice dark skies--hopefully with no clouds.

Thanks for that as well as for the much better forecasting link! Hopefully there will be clear skies late in the evening on both nights we’ll be visiting New Zealand.
 

I also noticed Dunedin was around the 46 degree South latitude which explains why there would be a better chance to see the Southern Lights from there! 😁

Edited April 24, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[trinitygirl]

You are going to be too far up  north to see the lights; if you head down Dunedin-way and can get out into the countryside, you can often get a good showing.  I have never been across the Tasman by ship (yet) but I can't tell you how many times I have been on the inter-islander ferry (which is still technically the Tasman) and oh boy, the water there can be plenty choppy. I am a good sailor but have watched many fellow travellers come unstuck on the crossing!

Edited April 24, 2023 by trinitygirl

[Ken the cruiser]

7 minutes ago, trinitygirl said:

You are going to be too far up  north to see the lights; if you head down Dunedin-way and can get out into the countryside, you can often get a good showing.  I have never been across the Tasman by ship (yet) but I can't tell you how many times I have been on the inter-islander ferry (which is still technically the Tasman) and oh boy, the water there can be plenty choppy. I am a good sailor but have watched many fellow travellers come unstuck on the crossing!

Yup, that seems to be current thought. But it was cool to at least read about the Southern Lights!  I first saw the Northern Lights when I was stationed up in Alaska 50 years ago and then again this past August when we were cruising off the coast of Iceland! So I guess I can wait a few more years to see them again! 😂

 

As far as crossing the Tasman Sea today and this evening, we definitely had to “go with the flow” when walking the hallways and hold on to the hand rails when going up and down the stairs! 😁

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Tonight after a tasty meal in Blu, we headed up to the buffet as they have quite an assortment of desserts and will probably be heading up there every evening as Blu has tasty Starters and Entrees, but we are finding their desserts are just a little too “healthy” for our taste. Another reason we’re able to save a few minutes and make the early show in the main theater. Tonight there was a classical pianist, Van-anh Nguyen, performing in the main theater.

 

 

 
Tonight after the show in the Entertainment Court was the Yes or No Game Show, which is always fun to watch!

 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

When we got back to the cabin there was some tendering information for tomorrow’s stop in the Bay of Islands NZ, which we can ignore as we’ll be on a ship excursion. But they also left us some information about the ports we will be visiting on this leg of the cruise which provided some general knowledge about each stop.

  

 

 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Speaking of excursions, here’s the Celebrity excursion we’re currently booked on.

  

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 7 - April 25 -  Bay of Islands, New Zealand

 

 

 

 

[Boatharbour]

9 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

While listening to the ANZAC lecture this morning, the speaker mentioned in passing about the Southern Lights.

Ken, you should have stayed in Australia for a few more days! Parts of the of the country witnessed a spectacular Aurora Australis this morning. 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-24/strong-naked-eye-aurora-lights-up-tasmanian-skies/102258806?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web

Thank you for sharing your journey with us all. 

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, Boatharbour said:

Ken, you should have stayed in Australia for a few more days! Parts of the of the country witnessed a spectacular Aurora Australis this morning. 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-24/strong-naked-eye-aurora-lights-up-tasmanian-skies/102258806?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web

Thank you for sharing your journey with us all. 

Cool!!

[trinitygirl]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Yup, that seems to be current thought. But it was cool to at least read about the Southern Lights!  I first saw the Northern Lights when I was stationed up in Alaska 50 years ago and then again this past August when we were cruising off the coast of Iceland! So I guess I can wait a few more years to see them again! 😂

 

As far as crossing the Tasman Sea today and this evening, we definitely had to “go with the flow” when walking the hallways and hold on to the hand rails when going up and down the stairs! 😁

 

I am still waiting to see the northern lights which I hear are much more spectacular than the southern.  I had booked on the Norway cruise in October this year but had to cancel when I overran my big-trip-budget.  One day soon though....

[Jim_Iain]

 Beautiful sunsets. 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Jim_Iain

[Ken the cruiser]

9 hours ago, trinitygirl said:

I am still waiting to see the northern lights which I hear are much more spectacular than the southern.  I had booked on the Norway cruise in October this year but had to cancel when I overran my big-trip-budget.  One day soon though....

We had the Princess 14-day Oct 2020 Northern Lights cruise booked, but of course it got cancelled because of the pandemic. But they are definitely awesome to see if you ever get the opportunity, north or south! 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

Good morning! We have made the turn and heading towards the Bay of Islands in much calmer waters. Yay!! 😁

 

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

6 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 Beautiful sunsets. 

Thanks Jim! But I have to say I can’t wait for my iPhone SE’s battery to start getting flakey to I can get one of the later models with the three camera lenses! 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived at our mooring spot to tender ashore! Here are some photos from our balcony of some of the islands on the way in.

 

 

 

 
And then from up on Deck 14 on the port side once we stopped.

 

 

 

[Louhut1]

We were at the Bay of Islands last October.  What an incredibly beautiful place. Loved that cruise.  

[Redking]

5 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We have arrived at our mooring spot to tender ashore! Here are some photos from our balcony of some of the islands on the way in.

 

 

 

 
And then from up on Deck 14 on the port side once we stopped.

 

 

 

So much serenity. Had to stay onboard due to work commitments on our last visit. I can think of worse places to take a zoom call and then have a cruise ship to yourself 🤣

[zestyzorra]

17 minutes ago, Redking said:

So much serenity. Had to stay onboard due to work commitments on our last visit. I can think of worse places to take a zoom call and then have a cruise ship to yourself 🤣

Speaking of Zoom calls, did you have any trouble connecting during your cruise? I will be sailing next year around New Zealand and then the TP to Tahiti - Hawaii - Vancouver.  I'm trying to figure out if I can work during sea days. TIA!

 

Sorry to interrupt your thread, Ken!

[Redking]

16 minutes ago, zestyzorra said:

Speaking of Zoom calls, did you have any trouble connecting during your cruise? I will be sailing next year around New Zealand and then the TP to Tahiti - Hawaii - Vancouver.  I'm trying to figure out if I can work during sea days. TIA!

 

Sorry to interrupt your thread, Ken!

I didn't have to work when out at sea so can't accurately comment on that. No problems when in NZ waters but we have premium wifi. I found we had better connection pre Starlink on a TP. Service was eratic on the Eclipse in the South Pacific back in January.  @Ken the cruiser might be able to give more up to date feedback. Are you on the Edge next year?

[Azllama]

On 4/20/2023 at 3:56 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

We returned from breakfast in Blu to find an envelope outside our cabin with our Transit cards and information regarding about our first turnaround day. I also called Guest Services and found out there will be 86 guests continuing on to Hawaii. 
 

This first letter contains the general rules regarding transition day.

 

 
Bolded in yellow on the second letter are the “honor system” antigen testing rules for B2B passengers to follow once they reboard the ship.

 

 

We just got home from our B2B on the Eclipse. You got on the day we left. The ship was at a tier level 2 for COVID. This is what the Australian government posted. Our last 4 days of our cruise the captain recommended everyone mask up when inside. We got this same letter and when we returned back on board, the test kit was there. But they did not include instructions on how to use the kit. I bet a lot of them went into the trash. Did instructions come with your test kit?

[Mark_T]

1 hour ago, Azllama said:

... But they did not include instructions on how to use the kit. I bet a lot of them went into the trash. Did instructions come with your test kit?

Was there something unusual about the test kits they provided?

 

Hard to imagine any international travellers that need instructions for this sort of thing any more...

[zestyzorra]

4 hours ago, Redking said:

I didn't have to work when out at sea so can't accurately comment on that. No problems when in NZ waters but we have premium wifi. I found we had better connection pre Starlink on a TP. Service was eratic on the Eclipse in the South Pacific back in January.  @Ken the cruiser might be able to give more up to date feedback. Are you on the Edge next year?

Yes, on Edge for 2 B2B cruises around NZ then the Australian wine. Thought it might be nice to switch to Princess for the TP because it goes back to Seattle 24 days later. But the only way to swing that is by accessing zoom at least on sea days. 

 

Thanks for letting me know about your experiences.  I will have premium internet on Edge but Princess is the greatest unknown... if I knew I could count on Edge having solid internet through to Vancouver, I would consider staying on for another 2 B2Bs. 

Edited April 25, 2023 by zestyzorra