little britain

Changi is huge and efficient. We had completed our MyICA forms and simply scanned our passports at entry. It’s a bit sad we have been to all these countries and no one single passport stamp! No Uber in Singapore but we were the only people in line at the cab rank. It’s about a 20 minute ride into the city centre to our hotel. We were staying right by Lau Pa Sat in an older style heritage hotel called The Trafalgar. We had landed at 9 and were at the hotel by 10! It’s a 3hr time difference from Sydney. So bed time.

Some of you followed our recent 3 cruises from Australia and a few of you requested that I continue the story with our final cruise from Singapore on Spectrum. So here goes! We had a few hours to kill between disembarking and our flight in Sydney, and the old school friend who I had arranged to meet got tied up in meetings; so we went to do the laundry 🧺! When you’re travelling for 7 weeks this definitely needs to be part of your routine. I figured the Bondi Beach area is full of backpackers and backpackers need laundries right 🤷‍♀️ so we caught an Uber over there and found an amazing place. Literally a room full of washers and dryers; washing powder provided for free, at only A$9 per load! The joys of international travel! When all washed and dried we Ubered to the airport to await our 4:15 flight to Singapore. Sydney international terminal is full of high end retail opportunities 🛍️ at what seemed good prices. We were flying Singapore Airlines again; it seemed to be a brand new A380, I love that plane but prefer the Emirates layout with the bar at the back lol! A great range of films helped pass the 8hr flight

We flew to IAH last year, stayed at airport hotel then picked up car and it was easy drive down to Galveston stopping at NASA en route. Galveston is a lovely town with some great restaurants. If you have a few days take the car over on the free ferry to Bolivar to drive on the beach!

Ovation - Capt Epsen resumed 1-21

Virgin Voyages is the latest cruise line to announce it will reroute a ship around Africa instead of attempting to pass through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. The line has changed three itineraries as it reroutes the Resilient Lady to the Mediterranean, beginning with its 15-day March 27 sailing from Sydney to Singapore, its 14-day April 11 sailing from Singapore to Dubai and its 14-day April 25 sailing from Dubai to Athens. The ship will instead depart from Sydney on a new route that will include extended time at sea with calls in Eden and Fremantle (Perth), Australia; Port Louis, Mauritius Islands; Durban and Cape Town, South Africa; Walvis Bay, Namibia; Praia, Cape Verde; Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain; Casablanca, Morocco; Barcelona; Valletta, Malta; and Santorini and Piraeus (Athens), Greece. Guests on any of the three former sailings will have guaranteed spots on the new sailing at no additional cost. Guests who do not wish to sail the new itinerary can receive a future voyage credit based on their paid balance or a full refund.

Can you remember where you tendered into Phuket on Patong beach ? Was it the pier at the southern end?

Still nothing about Jewel ?

As I said, not too good! I’m drinking their supplies of a Lindeman Pinot Gris which is not on any menu.. I think there are 4 bottles left!! DH is on the Andrew Peace by the glass

And remember in Australia, the price you see is the price you pay… no service charge added ✅

@hammo Jamie’s, Wonderland and Chops for you!

Any idea where Ovation is going? Wonder if they are preparing for Anthem not making it through the Suez this November

And $100 per cabin. I’m cool.

Refund of port fees of $56.44pp softened the disappointment!

Slowly heading back to Sydney, ending this cruise with 3 sea days because of the itinerary changes. Some of the guest entertainment onboard has been very good. There was a lady called Yoomia who played the violin in Jimmy Choo high heels. Very vibrant and lively. But the best by far were the Rat Pack Reloaded, very slick and suave.. imagine a group of George Clooney look alike silver foxes ☺️.. possibly one of the best shows I’ve ever seen on board a ship! * Australians all refer to the ship as a “boat”. So I’m not sure who is still with me on this one, but I hope you’ve enjoyed sailing along, and I’ve given you a taste of this Great Southern Land. And from this boat, over and out.

The CK menu repeats every 8 days. I have been on her for 19 days. I hope you have found my Australian cruises review helpful.

Wellington: a lovely city. Free shuttle bus provided into the city centre. Dropped by the parliament building. We walked to Cuba St area which is quite funky and grungy, then back to take the cable car ( which isn’t a cable car it’s more like the funicular in HK). NZD$6pp one way or $11 return. We walked down through the botanical gardens which took around 40 mins then walked over to the waterfront which has many restaurants. parliament view from the top gardens lunch is poured buildings have to be protected against earthquakes- this whole structure has been raised by 2 floors ( the grey levels are new since September); beneath is padding - made from old tyres). The thick black line was originally ground level 😲

The sun rises in New Zealand - sailing into Wellington

The sun sets in New Zealand

Yes we did. It’s quite expensive compared to other visas! Purchase Summary: New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority fee*: $17.00 NZD International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy: $35.00 NZD TOTAL $52.00 NZD

Lyttleton is the port for Christchurch. $10pp RCI shuttle into the city centre takes about 30 minutes. Or you catch the free Lyttleton shuttle then take the #8 local bus ( which puts on extra services on ship days) for NZ$4pp e/w (US$2.44) I had arranged a winery trip to the Waipara Valley with 9 others on the RC booked via Cheeky Kea. It was only NZ$110pp (US$66) versus the RCI ships tour which was $209!!! 😦 We visited 3 wineries, had many many pours, a superb lunch and a lot of laughs. Stunning scenery. Highly recommended

Apparently down south it is - our sailings have been very smooth

What do you want? The wine selection in here is poor compared to Brilliance They haven’t had any Colombo rose for 2 cruises. I’m drinking a very nice Lindemans Pinot Gris that isn’t even on the menu! So the menu bears little resemblance to what is, and is not onboard!

Not that long… we were told when we were leaving Napier that Wellington the following day was cancelled. For people without WiFi access who had private tours/car rentals etc I suspect it was an issue. Then yesterday whilst at sea we were told that Dunedin (in 2 days) and Sounds ( 3 days) had gone and Wellington was reinstated!

We have been given OBC for the inconvenience

Ships show films you have never heard of but on a cloudy sea day….. “Hayseed” was excellent- quirky thriller about a murder. Gets really high ratings on IMDB too. 🎥 🍿