Mareblu

Pinot grigios (typo🙄)

I think an internet search brought up a wine list for us before we sailed. Ditto here: one bottle lasts us more than one evening, although we may have the second bottle opened for another small glass on the second evening. We found a few Friuli/Slovenian pitot grigios that were outstanding, in the $40-$60 range.

I know nothing of the motel itself, other than I believe it had a refurbishment a while ago. The restaurant is run independently, although I imagine breakfast would be served there, as is the norm with motel/hotel restaurants in country or coastal areas, unless the establishment is much grander. I only know that the restaurant standard has been at this ultra high level for quite a few years now. Foodies from Sydney are making the weekend coastal trek (a beautiful experience in itself) for a Sandbar dining experience. Social media and word of mouth, I'm assuming. You'd need to check, but I think it's only open a few days of the week (maybe Thurs-Sun?). Don't quote me on that one. It's such an expected gem. We found it by chance, wanting to patronise local eateries, as we've had the pleasure and privilege of owning a coast house by the sea for many (too many!) decades.

I’m sure there will be comments on CC Viking threads. I’ll check later when I have a chance, because I’m curious. Big Viking news this morning is the evacuation of 600 passengers at White Bay because if now extinguished fire. Beautiful ship with elegant decor, like all the fleet. Food was terrible, sadly. Many, I’m sure, will disagree.

Exactly my thoughts. The serial misleading, bordering on deception, though, is seriously damaging Cunard’s reputation. A bad business plan all round.

Sounds wonderful. We have sailed on Spirit, but not Muse yet. At this stage, we have booked a similar QE cruise, with Queensland instead of Tasmania. Hoping the hull, by that stage, will allow Fiordland and Dunedin. Bay of Islands is certainly beautiful, but we’ve spent considerable time there on golfing holidays, so we are probably among only a handful of passengers not plunged into despair by the recent cancellation. This time, for us the cruise itself became the destination, as they say. Rockpool was very enjoyable when we dined there, but that was a couple of years ago. Unfortunately though, it was the evening after Quay.

Yes, that’s the reason, but I suspect the 50% offer will come for you if and when the Captain announces no Bay of Islands. We were also granted $100 OBC after no Fiordland and Dunedin.

Firgot the internet. After hearing of the dismal service even for the premium offer, I gave it a miss. I used Telstra’s $5 per day plan for all calls and more than adequate data in NZ when in port, and of course normal conditions in Australia.

That jerky lift created considerable tension. I didn’t like it at all. As there are only two to serve the Grills, the wait was sometimes interminable. No offence intended to her, but if I come across a Karen Martini recipe in newspapers or journals, I turn the page. I love Neil Perry, and Mart Moran almost as much. Peter Gilmore surpasses. DH surprised me for a significant birthday, with family arriving, during a Sydney weekend a while ago. Quay and Rockpool on successive evenings. My only complaint is that he’s accumulated far too many ticks😂 I'm sensing another foodie here: have you tried Sandbar Restaurant, in Quay Motel (coincidence) at Batemans Bay? David (senior moment but I think David) even surpasses Peter Gilmore. I agree with your Silversea restaurants point. We have enjoyed that luxury of choice on Seabourn, Silversea, Oceania, etc. Conversely, this time we loved the no hassle table designation each evening, instead of the table lottery in different restaurants. We’ve booked another. With 50% of this cruise to offset the fare, we really can’t resist.

In order: Wellington, Lyttleton (for Christchurch), Tauranga, and Auckland. Missed: Fiordland cruise-by, Dunedin and Bay of Islands. I can tell you in advance that the Captain will make “an unexpected, special announcement” after attempting to have the hull cleaned off Tauranga. The cleaning will be unsuccessful . You’ll have an overnight in Auckland, departing about 11am next day. There could, if course, be a miracle, but call me sceptical😂 Seriously though, we really enjoyed the cruise, even with these major disappointments. Hope it’s the same for you.

Oh, and face masks were mandatory, and only four to a lift during the NZ leg, but both those edicts became “recomnended” during the third, Tas. leg.

Thank you for this interesting and welcome post, Aussieflyer. I’m so pleased you reported on the culinary cruise; we were tempted some time ago to continue because of Matt Moran’s presence. How disappointing he didn’t demonstrate. Actually, we found the Garden Lounge quite uncomfortable, as there seemed to be no air conditioning, and the area retained humidity. We only ventured there when the Newfoundland Duo were performing. The Commodore Club is probably the most enjoyable ambience, and we usually went before dinner. The Grills Lounge was certainly popular, but we only missed a table there on one occasion in three weeks. Lucia runs it with quiet efficiency, except when she feels like a long chat. She’s extremely well read, snd we had some interesting discussions about South American magic realism, which many years after uni studies, is still one of my great passions. Our waiters in QG were all super attentive and equally efficient; they must have been ready for their two-month break when you were aboard. MaitreD Sandro was never far away. We’re wondering if you were in Q3 4101. We had the exact same experience with hot water and blocked loo, and no-one else we spoke to seemed to have those problems. That would be an incredible coincidence😂

I agree. They are invaluable, even if only for that secure feeling your luggage can be located, somewhere, sometime, if it’s missing.

No, we stopped at Wellington. It was our first port of call, because we missed the Fiordland cruise-by, and Dunedin. Divers trued to clean her hull in the waters off Tauranga, but conditions were perilous so they had to stop without cleaning the remaining 60%. Underwater currents. So no Bay of Islands. It was still a lovely cruise, though. Understandably, the large number of Brits aboard were furious, after travelling so far, and then discovering Cunard would have known all along QE would be refused entry to sensitive marine parks.

How absolutely beautiful. Thank you.

PS: We dressed up because Les told us to 😆

Just finished the QE Sydney-NZ-Sydney-Tassie-Syd cruise. We absolutely loved our first Cunard experience, and yes, we dressed for each gala evening. In Queens Grill, I noticed a few gentlemen not in dinner jackets and bow ties, and they were in suits/dark sports jackets and normal ties. The women were all very glamorous, and made superb efforts to adopt each theme. The same applied when we popped downstairs to the Golden Lion pub or along to the Garden Lounge for a nightcap and to enjoy the fantastic musical talents of "Newfoundland Duo", an Irish father and son not from Newfoundland at all, but from Tipperary in Ireland. The vast majority of passengers out and about, from all accommodations, were formally or theme dressed, some in military dress, and some in kilts and jackets. Maybe those who chose (as is their right) not to dress up simply had an early evening, or lingered in the Lido buffet, where formal attire was not required on gala evenings. Anyway, everyone seemed to be enjoying their evenings. The Irish boys are the most talented instrumentalists we've ever had the pleasure of witnessing. The father (Craig) is a banjo and guitar supremo, and Josh, his son, is a brilliant guitarist. Their rendition of "Duelling Banjos" is the best ever, and they sang "Galway Girl" for me whenever we rocked up.

Thanks, Neil, for this topic, which I've only just spotted. Thanks also to Les, for another terrific and humorous contribution. We had a forlorn Australia Day aboard Cunard's Queen Elizabeth, sailing on what was promoted as an "Australia Day Cruise" (the second, Aussie leg of our three-week NZ-Aus cruise). Several of us asked the QG Concierge why Australia Day wasn't being announced or celebrated in any way aboard. She replied that Cunard was refraining from doing that because it was, and I quote, "a contentious issue". I thought that ridiculous, and pointed out that we had just happily celebrated Burns Day (in Australian waters) by attending the well-attended Address to the Haggis in the Queens Lounge, which was followed by wonderful Scottish music and dancing. Several of us agreed, and explained to the Concierge, that we wouldn't mind if the day was moved to another date, but that whenever Australia Day is held, it should be recognised and celebrated. Until and if that happens, 26 January is the day. What a copout. The Batemans Bay celebration is always fantastic.

That's a good point. The only problem I can foresee, and it's a major one, is that by the time QE returns to southern waters for her summer season here, she may not pass another hull biofoul inspection, and it's back to the future. NZ requires hull inspection and cleaning to be undertaken within 30 days of entering its marine park environments. I agree with that, btw. The problem here is Cunard's, because it was well aware of the requirements some time ago, and has just continued as normal, but making "last minute" major changes to its itineraries. It's not the only cruise line. Viking, Silversea, Oceania and probably a few others have all been refused entry to NZ waters for this very same reason. Our friends on HA sent the most magnificent images of their day and evening cruise-by in the Fiordland Sounds, so if HA can manage a clean hull before sailing, why not the others?

QE's drydocking takes place in Singapore, Lyle, from 18 March to 2 April. This will be before her transpacific to Canadian/Alaskan waters. The hull will be completely cleaned of all biofoul during this procedure. She underwent a complete refit, apparently, in 2018. Considering that was 5 years ago, the ship seemed quite resplendent. That also means, unfortunately, that passengers on this February's NZ cruise will probably have to endure the same port cancellations as we did.

Not sure, Lyle, where QE heads before Alaska, but I'm assuming she would be dry-docked wherever Cunard normally does this. Re the melanoma: yes, after diagnosis, we all question every little dot. It's very wise to have a Plastic Surgeon attend to anything on the face or thereabouts. My PS for the neck happens to be a neighbour at the coast, Les, but unfortunately he's now retired. He did a brilliant job; impossible to spot the line. For the one on my back, I just told my GP to go for it. Interesting, Lyle, about the WW2 history.

Back home on terra firma after our first Cunard cruise. I refused to pay approx. $A32 per day for standard wifi when all other passengers said even the premium grade (much more expensive) kept dropping out. All that means I'm just catching up with the posts from regular friends on here. Hope, Les, you are coping with your treatment, and are feeling stronger and happier now. Also hoping, Lyle, that your procedure went well, and your results are good, as mine were when both my melanomas were in situ. Eternal vigilance (very regular skin checks) is the price we pay for positive outcomes. Overall, the cruise was a fiasco for Cunard, which seemed to avoid responding to genuine, deeply-felt concerns of so many passengers, especially the Brits who'd travelled so far, only to have the highlight moments of the cruise cancelled. You've probably all read about New Zealand's biofouling regulations, and the fact that QE was refused entry to Fiordland for the much anticipated cruise-by of the sounds, refused entry to Dunedin, and was also not permitted to visit the Bay of Islands. The reason for the discontent was that Cunard was aware in advance of this outcome, as we all discovered much too late that its same, previous cruise in December resulted in the same refusals. The simple reason is that Queen Elizabeth's hull had not passed inspection and undergone the necessary cleaning within 30 days of entering NZ waters. We think the probable reason for that is that it is due to go into drydock very soon for a complete refurbishment, which would, of course, involve cleaning of the hull. To add to the misery for many passengers who shared their experience, the food offered in Britannia and Britannia Club was just terrible. Duck a l'orange was served with gravy, not the traditional flambe sauce, and many vegetables were of the tinned variety. The result was the Captain receiving over 100 letters of complaint, and that was before a petition was circulated, finally presented with many, many signatures. I think that would have finally snapped Southampton into action. We were fortunate and grateful to be travelling in QG, where the cuisine was superb. We've also been to NZ many times, and visited Milford Sound and Bay of Islands by land, and it's not too far away to visit again in the future. However, the Doubtful and Milford cruise-by would have been wonderful, and Dunedin is one city we've never been and were looking forward to exploring. Anyhoo, as they say in Lyle's beautiful land, after all that, we really enjoyed the cruise, and would certainly do Cunard again, mainly because the Company has granted all passengers on this cruise FCCs of 50% of the cost, to be used for any future cruise taken during the next 2 years. We've already booked another one, returning to (you probably guessed it) New Zealand, where we're pretty sure QE will be granted entry to those wonderful highlights, because by then the hull should be cleaned. Fingers crossed, with a hopeful thought. Sorry this post was so very long. No short way to relate this unusual cruise experience. Linda

How can we get their jobs?😆

Sounds like a comedy series🤔

The goose and the gander come to mind.