Live from the Viking Sky (Ft Lauderdale to London) December 20, 2023 - May 6, 2024

[UWDawg]

12 minutes ago, cruising denise said:

Question about our stop in Eden on Feb 14.  We are docked 8 AM - 4 PM.  Our oyster farm tour got cancelled as the tour operator is no longer offering it.  Since we are missing Tasmania, where we had been planning to visit the wildlife preserve, I was thinking of possibly finding something near Eden, and came across this:

 

https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/edenvisitorcentre/items/507424/calendar/2024/02/?full-items=yes

 

The tour operator isn't have availability on our date, but it seems that Potaroo Palace is not far from the port.  Does anyone have info or knowledge of this?  Or alternatively, whether Eden is a port where we might just enjoy wandering around on our own?

 

Thanks for any help.

I heard rumors of a garden that might be worth exploring at that port... I read about it a long time ago.  

[Clay Clayton]

20 hours ago, cruising denise said:

Question about our stop in Eden on Feb 14.  We are docked 8 AM - 4 PM.  Our oyster farm tour got cancelled as the tour operator is no longer offering it.  Since we are missing Tasmania, where we had been planning to visit the wildlife preserve, I was thinking of possibly finding something near Eden, and came across this:

 

https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/edenvisitorcentre/items/507424/calendar/2024/02/?full-items=yes

 

The tour operator doesn't have availability on our date, but it seems that Potaroo Palace is not far from the port.  Does anyone have info or knowledge of this?  Or alternatively, whether Eden is a port where we might just enjoy wandering around on our own?

 

Thanks for any help.

Denise 

I messaged our Aussie friend who lives in Brisbane now but has lived all over the east coast of Oz and below is her response. 

Hello Gentlemen - Les and I had our official honeymoon in Merimbula and Eden, so I do recall a few things. Eden is a whaling town and has a whaling station nearby. It is a prime location for whale  watching as they migrate to and from Antarctica.

There is a lighthouse, and Rotary Lookout which is close to the wharf.

Imlay Street has lots of cafes and restaurants. 

The Killer Whale Museum is near there as well.

Potoroo Palace is in Merimbula which is a short drive from Eden.They offer some of the same native animal encounters as Australia Zoo.

Pambula is about a 25 minute drive from Eden. There are a few Oyster farms in the estuary there that supply restaurants in the area. 

Banjo's oysters in Merimbula also has a food truck at Eden wharf, which may be a great option if you want really fresh seafood. The Sapphire Coast is known for its fresh water and great conditions for seafood.

Hopefully, there are a few options for exploring in this message. 

Hope the weather is kind to you. See you soon. 

[Heidi13]

9 hours ago, cruising denise said:

Question about our stop in Eden on Feb 14.  We are docked 8 AM - 4 PM.  Our oyster farm tour got cancelled as the tour operator is no longer offering it.  Since we are missing Tasmania, where we had been planning to visit the wildlife preserve, I was thinking of possibly finding something near Eden, and came across this:

 

https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/edenvisitorcentre/items/507424/calendar/2024/02/?full-items=yes

 

The tour operator doesn't have availability on our date, but it seems that Potaroo Palace is not far from the port.  Does anyone have info or knowledge of this?  Or alternatively, whether Eden is a port where we might just enjoy wandering around on our own?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

Here are some of my notes on Eden

 

Points of Interest:

·       Killer Whale Museum – covers the history of whaling in Twofold Bay with – old whaling boats, various artifacts and a killer whale skeleton. Relates the story of how the locals used killer whales to catch other types of whales. Open 09:15 to 15:45 http://www.killerwhalemuseum.com.au/

·       Coastal & Bush Walks:

o   Lake Curalo Walkway – just under 2 miles. It is north of town, with a boardwalk through a swamp. Great for spotting birds

o   Aslings Beach Walk – stroll along the beach from the lake to the north of town.

o   Cocora Beach Walk – around from the wharf, it is a pleasant stroll along the beach and around the bay.

·       Eden Lookout & Rotary Park – off Imlay Street about 300 yds from the wharf. Lookout over the water with picnic benches

·       Eden Lookout Point – great views of the bay.

·       Aslings Beach – nice long beach north of town

·       Crown & Anchor Inn – oldest local building, built in the 1840’s, then a hotel by 1845. In 1860 it was used as a telegraph office. Now restored, it is a B&B.

·       Eden Court House – across road from Whale Museum. Built 1857 of sandstone brought from Pyrmont, Sydney

·       Cocora Cottage – built in 1850 as the police station, it is next to the courthouse. Now a B&B.

·       Half House – a 2-storey building, it as started in 1850, but not completed. Used as a post office 1868-1885. Now a private residence.

·       Ben Boyd National Park – established in 1971 it is split into 3 separate sections – north 7 south of Eden and a 3rd area further north. On the coast they have beaches and rugged cliffs, while inland they have a variety of birds, kangaroos, wombats and others

·       Davidson Whaling Station Historic Site – on the coast south of Eden, it is about a 20 mile drive from the wharf. Established in 1857 as a family whaling business that continued to 1929. Operated by National Parks, it is mostly ruins, but they have placards, photos and illustrations of what it was like.

·       Boyd’s Tower – further south than the Whaling Station, it was built in 1847 as a 75’ high tower. Built from Pyrmont stone brought from Sydney. Originally designed as a lighthouse, it was never used, except as a whale spotting tower.

 

Restaurants

·       Eden Fish & Chips

[Voyager82]

21 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Anyone who is interested in doing a group directed pub crawl on Friday afternoon in Sydney, let’s meet at the pool bar at 2:30 on Thursday.  Please come with at least one suggested pub/bar/restaurant. We will plot out a start time, path and plan of attack together. 
 

I’ve pictured my suggestion below, the Fortune of War Pub. 

Will be there Thursday.  May not do whole crawl but intetested in Fortune of War.

[cruising denise]

9 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Here are some of my notes on Eden

 

Points of Interest:

·       Killer Whale Museum – covers the history of whaling in Twofold Bay with – old whaling boats, various artifacts and a killer whale skeleton. Relates the story of how the locals used killer whales to catch other types of whales. Open 09:15 to 15:45 http://www.killerwhalemuseum.com.au/

·       Coastal & Bush Walks:

o   Lake Curalo Walkway – just under 2 miles. It is north of town, with a boardwalk through a swamp. Great for spotting birds

o   Aslings Beach Walk – stroll along the beach from the lake to the north of town.

o   Cocora Beach Walk – around from the wharf, it is a pleasant stroll along the beach and around the bay.

·       Eden Lookout & Rotary Park – off Imlay Street about 300 yds from the wharf. Lookout over the water with picnic benches

·       Eden Lookout Point – great views of the bay.

·       Aslings Beach – nice long beach north of town

·       Crown & Anchor Inn – oldest local building, built in the 1840’s, then a hotel by 1845. In 1860 it was used as a telegraph office. Now restored, it is a B&B.

·       Eden Court House – across road from Whale Museum. Built 1857 of sandstone brought from Pyrmont, Sydney

·       Cocora Cottage – built in 1850 as the police station, it is next to the courthouse. Now a B&B.

·       Half House – a 2-storey building, it as started in 1850, but not completed. Used as a post office 1868-1885. Now a private residence.

·       Ben Boyd National Park – established in 1971 it is split into 3 separate sections – north 7 south of Eden and a 3rd area further north. On the coast they have beaches and rugged cliffs, while inland they have a variety of birds, kangaroos, wombats and others

·       Davidson Whaling Station Historic Site – on the coast south of Eden, it is about a 20 mile drive from the wharf. Established in 1857 as a family whaling business that continued to 1929. Operated by National Parks, it is mostly ruins, but they have placards, photos and illustrations of what it was like.

·       Boyd’s Tower – further south than the Whaling Station, it was built in 1847 as a 75’ high tower. Built from Pyrmont stone brought from Sydney. Originally designed as a lighthouse, it was never used, except as a whale spotting tower.

 

Restaurants

·       Eden Fish & Chips

Andy - thank you so much for taking the time to do this.  I appreciate the info and this will definitely help us do something interesting and worthwhile on our own.

[cruising denise]

15 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Denise 

I messaged our Aussie friend who lives in Brisbane now but has lived all over the east coast of Oz and below is her response. 

Hello Gentlemen - Les and I had our official honeymoon in Merimbula and Eden, so I do recall a few things. Eden is a whaling town and has a whaling station nearby. It is a prime location for whale  watching as they migrate to and from Antarctica.

There is a lighthouse, and Rotary Lookout which is close to the wharf.

Imlay Street has lots of cafes and restaurants. 

The Killer Whale Museum is near there as well.

Potoroo Palace is in Merimbula which is a short drive from Eden.They offer some of the same native animal encounters as Australia Zoo.

Pambula is about a 25 minute drive from Eden. There are a few Oyster farms in the estuary there that supply restaurants in the area. 

Banjo's oysters in Merimbula also has a food truck at Eden wharf, which may be a great option if you want really fresh seafood. The Sapphire Coast is known for its fresh water and great conditions for seafood.

Hopefully, there are a few options for exploring in this message. 

Hope the weather is kind to you. See you soon. 

Clay, thank you so much for taking time to reach out on my behalf and please extend my thanks to your friend for her thoughts!  Between these and Andy's suggestions we will have more than a full day in Eden!  

[Clay Clayton]

This article just popped up in my newsfeed (I don’t believe those tech gurus when they say our phones aren’t listening😂). Hopefully it will settle the conspiracy rumors that the port workers strike has been settled and that Viking just wanted to change our itinerary around cuz they could SMH!

 

https://pulsetasmania.com.au/news/tasports-marine-pilots-to-strike-again-after-offer-of-14-25-raise-over-three-years-fails/

[GTXgal01]

2/7/24:  New topic

A simple act of a writing pen taking a note: Recently at the Chef’s Table we had dinner with new acquaintances, Karin and Scott Fowler. Scott took out this pen to note some information we were sharing.  The pen immediately caught my eye because of the P.E.O. logo.  What a wonderful surprise to learn that Karin and I were both members of a P.E.O. chapter – hers in California (WG/CA) and me (HY/TX).  P.E.O. is an international women’s philanthropic organization that celebrates and supports women’s advancement through educational opportunities.  Are there any other P.E.O. members onboard the Sky?  We would love to meet you.

[Clay Clayton]

Good on Viking for adding an included excursion for tomorrow. 

[Clay Clayton]

13 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Good on Viking for adding an included excursion for tomorrow. 

Per guest services, the cruise is 2.5 hours long and will leave and return from the pier where Sky will be docked. 

[CurlerRob]

On 2/5/2024 at 11:47 PM, cruising denise said:

Question about our stop in Eden on Feb 14.  We are docked 8 AM - 4 PM.  Our oyster farm tour got cancelled as the tour operator is no longer offering it.  Since we are missing Tasmania, where we had been planning to visit the wildlife preserve, I was thinking of possibly finding something near Eden, and came across this:

 

https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/edenvisitorcentre/items/507424/calendar/2024/02/?full-items=yes

 

The tour operator doesn't have availability on our date, but it seems that Potaroo Palace is not far from the port.  Does anyone have info or knowledge of this?  Or alternatively, whether Eden is a port where we might just enjoy wandering around on our own?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

Not precisely a wildlife preserve, but we booked this cruise of Twofold Bay privately some years ago and greatly enjoyed it. You're too early for whales, but the cruise and scenery were excellent! 🍺🥌

 

https://www.catbalou.com.au/

[Clay Clayton]

A few of us met this afternoon to discuss the possibility of a self directed pub crawl. Due to the various times of the newly included harbour cruise and the 30 minute shuttle each way to the drop off point and then a 20 minute walk to the Rocks it was decided that we would NOT crawl tomorrow.  
 

Instead, anyone who is interested, should plan on meeting up at “The Fortune of War” between 1pm and 1:45pm on Friday, February 16th-our second and last day in Sydney.   We will hit a pub or three before coming back to the ship for our sailaway from Sydney. Link to Sydney’s oldest bar:
https://www.fortuneofwar.com.au

 

Fortune of War

137 George Street 

The Rocks

 

[big_red5312]

Strike update

https://pulsetasmania.com.au/news/cruise-ship-disruption-ends-as-striking-marine-pilots-reach-resolution-with-tasports/

Cruise ship disruption ends as striking marine pilots reach resolution with TasPorts

Strike action that disrupted the holidays of thousands of cruise passengers and affected dozens of other vessels visiting Tasmanian shores appears to have been resolved.

TasPorts and the union representing their marine pilots reached an in-principal agreement on Wednesday afternoon, settling for a 12% pay increase spread over three years.

The state-owned company were forced back to the negotiation table after members of the Australian Maritime Officers Union announced further industrial action due to a pay dispute would begin from 12pm on Wednesday.

The proposed action would have included more work stoppages on weekends and public holidays, bans on work outside rostered hours and no communication with agents.

This latest disruption also impacted multiple cruise ships, with both the Viking Sky and Norwegian Spirit cancelling their planned visits to the state this weekend.

Normal port operations are expected to resume as soon as possible

[cruising denise]

2 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Not precisely a wildlife preserve, but we booked this cruise of Twofold Bay privately some years ago and greatly enjoyed it. You're too early for whales, but the cruise and scenery were excellent! 🍺🥌

 

https://www.catbalou.com.au/

Thank you!

 

[MexicoLloyd]

I'm on Viking's 2025 World Cruise (LA to NYC). I'm really enjoying everyone's posts, and getting some great ideas. Would it be possible for someone on the current WC to  send me a link for the optional shore excursions- well, up to London anyway. I'd appreciate it as I want to plan ahead and need to know pricing.  TIA.

Edited February 8 by MexicoLloyd
error

[Kountess]

2 hours ago, MexicoLloyd said:

I'm on Viking's 2025 World Cruise (LA to NYC). I'm really enjoying everyone's posts, and getting some great ideas. Would it be possible for someone on the current WC to  send me a link for the optional shore excursions- well, up to London anyway. I'd appreciate it as I want to plan ahead and need to know pricing.  TIA.

I'm also on the 2025 World Cruise.  Clay graciously forwarded me a copy of the shore excursions, which I'm attaching here.

World Voyage - Viking Sky Excursions 2023-24.pdf

[Clay Clayton]

Our views as we entered Sydney Harbour this morning about 2:35am.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 8 by Clay Clayton

[cnd crsr]

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

Our views as we entered Sydney Harbour this morning about 2:35am.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for posting the sail-in to Sydney harbour....  have done it a couple of times and it is one of my favourite sail-in harbours. -

[CurlerRob]

5 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Our views as we entered Sydney Harbour this morning about 2:35am.  

 

Fantastic shots Clay/Mike! One of the best harbour entrances in the world, no matter the time of day or night. 🍺🥌

 

[SantaFe1]

5 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Fantastic shots Clay/Mike! One of the best harbour entrances in the world, no matter the time of day or night. 🍺🥌

 

It is indeed!  There is just nothing else like it!!

[cruising denise]

6 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Our views as we entered Sydney Harbour this morning about 2:35am.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What beautiful shots!  Thanks, Clay!

[Clay Clayton]

LCR today (Sea day after Sydney-Saturday) at 3:30 at the pool bar!

[Clay Clayton]

Posted pictures from the harbour cruise on the wrong thread-you can see them here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/topic/2880934-viking-sky-december-20-2023-world-cruise-including-la-jan-6-2024/?do=findComment&comment=66897635

[Clay Clayton]

Plus a few more from the beautiful sailaway. How lucky were we to have a regatta here also?

[registrar]

Aaaaaaamazing!!!!!! So love Australia!