Live on Edge Down Under - Mar 24 & Apr 5 - NZ and S Australia 🛳️🇦🇺🦘🇳🇿🥝🛳️

[hcat]

7 hours ago, 81Zoomie said:

Well, that small peak of sunshine ☀️ this morning was a bit of a tease.  We are back to the gray.  It feels a little bit what I would envision a norther Atlantic Ocean crossing would be like.  With the exception of yesterday afternoon/ evening, we are on day 4 of gray and windy 🌬️💧🌊.

 

DH wore himself out watching a movie, so he is already napping 😴 💤😴 before lunch 😆,

 

 

How about some fun with shapes about the ship 🔴🔻◼️🔹🛳️?

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, we worked up an appetite for lunch doing not much of anything 😆😋😉.  Decisions, decisions, where to go when everyone on the ship is inside.  We did not want a large meal.  So it came down to Eden or OV.  Since I was feeling the need for some greens and veggies we went up to the expected sea of humanity 🫣😵‍💫🫠.  And, for added ambiance there was a shrill alarm sounding off and on ‼️🔔‼️📢.

 

 

DH filled his plate with Indian and I got a salad with a touch of briyani rice mixed in for a pop of flavor.

 

 

Live and learn, when what looks like butter, is actually a blend of butter and rapeseed oil.  

 

 

Another option for lunch could have been the Spa Cafe.  The Solarium was quieter than we expected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

great photos!  I saved the BLU roses!

[hcat]

6 hours ago, jelayne said:

Had lunch with Captain today.  Celebrity pays for  the pilots flight home.

How was lunch with the Captain?

[81Zoomie]

14 hours ago, hcat said:

We find BLU to be a much brighter space than Luminae and an easier menu for us...simpler and fewer sauces!

 

In the photos, did you notice the market prices for various items..eggs, bacon?  ..If in US $ seems quite high!

 

(I have to scroll back to catch up!..Great blog)

All the produce in Victoria’s Market was priced in A$.  The A$ is worth approximately 60% of the USD.  Most of the eggs appeared to be of a boutique variety, free range, organic, and from very specific locations.  The meats looked very nice.  We saw wagyu beef, and other high end cuts.  The meat section was so large we never made it to the fish side!  I was so taken with how nice everything looked, I didn’t do the pricing math ✖️➗➕➖🟰.

[81Zoomie]

For a change of pace we decided to go alcohol free tonight.  We have been traveling for 3 weeks and it was time to recalibrate.  That, and we have a day of wine tasting lined up tomorrow in Adelaide 🍷🍷🍷🍷.

 

We had a leisurely dinner in Luminae.  It’s the first time we sat in the very back against the wall.  It is much quieter in that location.  In keeping with our new seating trend, we had window seats!  Nice, but it was dark outside.

 

 

I ordered escargot and the rigatoni.  DH selected the. Crab cake and the Black Bass.  Out came the amuse bouche.  It was a pea crème with crab.  I got a soy free fruit salad.

 

 

Our appetizers were very good.  I love escargot!  DH reported the crab cake was good and had a peanut flavor.

 

 

Our entrees were also quite tasty.  The arribbiata had a really nice flavor.  DH liked his fish 🐠.  I’m not a big fish fan, I’m glad it wasn’t my entree 😲🫢🫣.  He was so eager to dig in he cut the slab before I could snap a pic!

 

 

I have to say that dessert was the highlight of the meal! We both ordered the raspberry hibiscus 🌺. It was sooooo good 💕💕💕.

 

 

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

How was lunch with the Captain?

It was excellent, first time meeting him and so personable.  Another passenger friendly Captain.

[hcat]

thanks.. the organic eggs look very   tempting..

 

Most of our local farms here on Long Island N.Y. now grow grapes for the wineries. and farm stand veggies,

(lots of pumpkins and corn mazes) .  There is a niche market for pricey " farm to table" dining,  folks come out from NYC.. Not sure if we have any duck farms left at all .

 

In  Fl ..lots of high quality beef although I am trying to cut down consumption. 

 

 

[hcat]

2 hours ago, jelayne said:

It was excellent, first time meeting him and so personable.  Another passenger friendly Captain.

 Nice!   Many of them are...  

[hcat]

this dessert looks like a work of art.. I like hibiscus tea so would probably enjoy it!

 

dashing around to get errands done before the eclipse this afternoon..we have the required glasses but hope to avoid it...

[81Zoomie]

Day 5 - Adelaide

 

🎶…Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say it’s all right🎶☀️🌅🌞⛅️☀️🌤️!  Yea, finally 😃😎😃.  It looks like a great day, high of 63 and no rain in the forecast 😍.  

 

 

Today is the farthest west point of our journey.  We have been looking forward to this stop to sample the wonderful Barossa Valley red wines 🍷🍷🍷🍷.  

[catspaw1]

Heat. I grew up in Rockville Cente LI. I remember my parents taking us out to see the duck farms on  the east end when we were small. Do you remember the big wooden duck I think was in Riverhead?

[rinshin]

On 3/24/2024 at 12:41 AM, 81Zoomie said:

Getting on board was quite easy at 12:30.  There was a Retreat lane for boarding.  We had our documents checked and pictures taken.  Then we move on to immigration and breezed through.  Last stop was security and that was quick as well.  We were onboard in less than 15 min.

 

We dropped our hand luggage.  Our checked bags were not waiting for us.  We headed up to Luminae for lunch.  My food allergy was annotated 👍.  DH had the Lobster Roll and I had the kale salad.

 

 

 

DH thought the lobster roll was a bit sparse, but it tasted good.  He had a beer and I had a glass of Decoy Cab.  We have been drinking great Australian red blends the last several days and Decoy wasn’t really on par with them.

 

After lunch we completed our mandatory safety check in and then returned to the cabin hoping for our luggage.  DH had his large bag.  I found my small bag 20 cabin #s down the hall.  I eventually found my large bags 30 cabin #s down the hall.  Yes, we had printed luggage tags on our bags 😂.  We were happy to have all 🧳🧳🧳🧳, and were unpacked before sailaway!

 

We had an amazing day to sail away and sail by the Sydney Opera house.  Definitely checks off a bucket list item ✅.  We couldn’t have had more perfect weather!!!  First impression of the ship is that it is in very good condition.  It looks great.  We noticed the odd chairs and strange Eden creatures are no longer 👏👏👏. The furniture is all more Scandinavian looking and comfortable.  All live outdoor plants are covered due to agricultural restrictions.  Otherwise, all is as you would expect.

 

 

That is terrible how they handle delivered bags.  It this SOP for Celebrity now?  Until I read this it never occurred for me to look for bags in other areas if ours go missing.  I never experienced missing bags in the past. 
 

that lobster roll is more like thick sandwich roll with minimal filling.  Looks awful.  

[hcat]

1 hour ago, catspaw1 said:

Heat. I grew up in Rockville Cente LI. I remember my parents taking us out to see the duck farms on  the east end when we were small. Do you remember the big wooden duck I think was in Riverhead?

We still have the big  duck. out east but I believe it moved to a diff location..and still a huge attraction..Our local ball club is the LI Ducks & the mascot is Quackerjack. of course.a duck!

 

I grew up in Mineola but live in Suffolk since '75.  Lots of changes on LI  over the years!

[catspaw1]

Yup. We moved to RVC in the 1960's & it's sure different now - too much traffic & no parking. 

[hcat]

9 minutes ago, rinshin said:

That is terrible how they handle delivered bags.  It this SOP for Celebrity now?  Until I read this it never occurred for me to look for bags in other areas if ours go missing.  I never experienced missing bags in the past. 
 

that lobster roll is more like thick sandwich roll with minimal filling.  Looks awful.  

dh often goes searching for  our bags ..esp when they leave them sitting for a long time by the service elevator without any delivery!

 

No issues on ASCENT..

[hcat]

4 minutes ago, catspaw1 said:

Yup. We moved to RVC in the 1960's & it's sure different now - too much traffic & no parking. 

Even where we are in Suffolk..they are building multi story apts if they xan get them approved.  Most are out of character and not the  original planned density for the suburbs!  Still better than NYC!

 

Anyhow..nice to get away  to cruise..enjoy!

 

 

[catspaw1]

WILCO

[Lastdance]

Thanks so much for sharing your time, words and lovely photos.  I will never forget hiking into Milford sound and NZ, but haven’t made it to Australia.  We were originally on these cruises, but life does not always work out as planned.  So happy you are enjoying a variety of experiences Down Under, along with watching he toilet water reverse🤣.  Could not add a photo here…

Edited April 9 by Lastdance
To add a photo…you had great weather❣️

[first time cruising]

I’m really enjoying your postings. Husband and I will be on our first Celebrity  cruise leaving Sydney on the Edge next Sunday. I do hope you have a great time in our beautiful home town Adelaide and that you get to try many South Australia wines.

[Lastdance]

18 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

Thanks so much for sharing your time, words and lovely photos.  I will never forget hiking into Milford sound and NZ, but haven’t made it to Australia.  We were originally on these cruises, but life does not always work out as planned.  So happy you are enjoying a variety of experiences Down Under, along with watching he toilet water reverse🤣.  This photo was taken in the month of February…

 

Edited April 9 by Lastdance

[81Zoomie]

The daily and logistics for Adelaide.  We had no idea the port was so far from downtown, the CBD.

 

Edited April 9 by 81Zoomie

[81Zoomie]

Being wine enthusiasts, we booked a private wine tour for today.  I mistakenly thought we were going to the Barossa Valley.  We went to McLaren Vale.  I would equate McLaren Vale to be somewhat like Paso Robles in California.  Our guide met us in the port area by the taxi stand.  This was so convenient!

We drove along the coast for a way.  It was quite scenic and I enjoyed looking at the suburban and beach neighborhoods.  It reminded me of a blend of California and Florida.

 

 

 

 

Our first vineyard was the oldest in McLaren Vale and has been in the family for six generations.  Oliver’s Tauranga was an interesting blend of old and new.  We tasted the reds including their Reserve series. We enjoyed almonds, warm bread, and their award winning olive oil with our tasting.  Oliver’s had an amazing fortified wine, much like a tawny port as well. It was a wonderful experience and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We drove by the famous cube.  It was a photo opportunity, not a wine stop for us.

Next stop was to Wirra Wirra for lunch.  It was a very scenic venue and the food was fantastic!  I had a tandoori chicken puzza 🍕with mango chutney and cilantro.  DH had fish and chips.  They were both incredibly great 😍😋😍.  The pizza created an explosion of flavor. The fish and chips were cooked to perfection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On to our next stop at Molly Dooker.  This is Australian slang for left handed.  The venue was beautifully sited and the wines highly rated.  We had another very relaxed and enjoyable tasting experience.
 

 

 

 

 

We did pace ourselves, and poured a bit in the waste containers 🥸.  Simply can’t drink as much as we age!  I thought this sign was quite helpful as the glasses keep coming!

 

On to our third vineyard, Samuels Gorge. This was another interesting and rustic venue.  It is in and old farmhouse and shed. The wines, were lovely and the staff was so informative and friendly 💕.  Nothing pretentious, just nice wine!

 

 

 

 

We can’t thank our driver and guide enough for coordinating with us and arranging a wonderful day around Adelaide and the surrounding areas.  We even popped by his home to get a look at the wild Kangeroos 🦘🦘🦘🦘in his yard!  It was so nice to have a personalized experience.

 

 

 

 

We had such a great day.  Simply can’t put into words what a wonderful experience we had!

 

 

 

 

Edited April 9 by 81Zoomie

[catspaw1]

Love your TR as we are considering a NZ & AU cruise also. How much was the private wine tour? Do they have a group tour also? 

[depplep]

Thank you for the wine tour review. We are looking at different tours for our Princess cruise in October.

[81Zoomie]

14 hours ago, catspaw1 said:

Love your TR as we are considering a NZ & AU cruise also. How much was the private wine tour? Do they have a group tour also? 

We booked this tour and paid over 8 months ago.  I was surprised at how reasonable it was compared with the ship’s offerings.  Best to check with the local vendors because prices could vary based on length, # of vineyards, and # of people, etc.  Australia and New Zealand are really great and worth a visit!!!

[catspaw1]

We have never taken a ships excursion. We are going to Bermuda in July & will only do a ship excursion for the first time ever because we have OBC. It's a snorkeling trip. We are very independent travelers so used to doing things on our own.  Have a great trip.