Aus Traveller

We had a great steward when we had an interior cabin next to the aft suites. The steward was so kind she used to give me extra of my favourite dark chocolates.

Guessed that. 🙂

I noticed on one cruise that the steward who looked after the aft cabins had some cabins in each side of the ship. (Maybe I am being kind here) but maybe he was working on the other side of the ship when you didn't see his trolley in the passageway. But of course, that couldn't be all the time ......

I don't know if you have plans for your day in Wellington. We have been there many times so I would like to make a couple of suggestions. The obvious first one is Te Papa - superb. The other suggestion is less obvious - Parliament House. They have free tours that run multiple times a day when there is a cruise ship in port. On one visit we went there thinking it would be a but 'Ho hum' but what else was there to do. We loved it! Particularly the part when they show visitors how they earth-quake proof existing buildings.

We were in NZ in February and that is where one stop was. I am pretty confident with that one, even though it isn't anywhere near the Parliament buildings. The other one is a puzzle.

On the internet it says the stops are at the Cnr of Lambton Quay & Brandon St (they mention near David Jones) with the other one at 111 Wakefield Street (at Cuba St) near the i Site (tourist info office). One internet site mentions that one of the two stops is near the Parliament Buildings. Presumably they mean the Brandon Street stop but it isn't really anywhere near Parliament. When we were there in February there was one stop in the middle of the main shopping area (it could've been Brandon Street) and the other one was out past Te Papa. The bus went along Courtnay Place and turned left into probably Blair Street. There was a stop there beside a tiny park with lovely flowers. I got off there and walked to Te Papa. The bus then did a loop back along Wakefield. Maybe this second stop has now been changed to Cuba Street (several blocks closer to the ship). I might have to wait until after your 7th December cruise to find out if you will be kind enough to post the info. My son-in-law is meeting is 'favourite' aunt and I want to tell them where he and his family will be getting off the shuttle bus.

I am organising shore excursions for an extended family cruise to NZ in January. I am trying to check where the shuttle bus stops are in Wellington. The two sites shown on the internet aren't where the shuttle buses stopped in February this year when we were there last. Can anyone confirm where the shuttle buses stop?

Les, if you make the most of every day, you ARE winning. 🙂

I have found the answer to my question regarding the cost of a shuttle bus from Lyttleton to C'church. It is NZ$10 adult, NZ$5 child for unlimited travel in the day. (Under 5 y.o. have free travel.). The transport website also says that the only way to visit Lyttleton town is to go on the shuttle to Christchurch then return on a local bus to Lyttleton and do the reverse at the end of the day.

I have read through this thread and also the announcement from the Christchurch Council regarding shuttle buses, but nowhere does it say the cost of the shuttle from Lyttleton Port into Christchurch. The Council simply says is it comparable with local transport, but don't put a dollar value on it. Does anyone know? I am planning for a group so it would be helpful to know.

I will. So far I have just received the auto-acknowledgement.

I don't want to apply for the OBC via an app. Today I emailed as usual.

A fair bit of the time phone service will only be available via the ship's (very expensive) satellite service. Check on your mobile to make sure you are connected to a land-based service before you make a call.

We have done many more than 15 cruises on P&O and had a blue card on our cruise a couple of weeks ago. I have never heard of the grey card. I am not saying it doesn't exist, but I don't know what it signifies.

The POSH acronym applied for people sailing from Britain to British possessions in the Far East - India or Hong Hong. This was in the days before air conditioning in ships.

I am so sorry to hear you both have COVID. I hope you get well soon. 🙂

Lucky Bay is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We met a tour operator there who said some of his customers stand there with tears in their eyes looking at the beauty of the place.

I am pretty certain they are still paid even if they are off sick. Signage in the crew area also states that it is a 'disciplinary offence' if they don't return to their cabin immediately they feel unwell and report to the medical centre when it is open. Medical treatment is at no charge to the crew. On the Australian ships there are no auto gratuities so that isn't an issue. On other ships the gratuities make up part of their expected monthly remuneration so I doubt that it would be affected by time off work for illness.

My roughest ship trips were crossing the Drake Strait on the Ocean Endeavour, a small ship (12,907 tons, 21 metres long). In 6 metre seas I was literally thrown out of bed and across the cabin. My second roughest was 12 metre seas on the Pacific Pearl. She was 63,500 tons, much smaller than other ships in the P&O fleet. During that weather event, the Pacific Dawn (ex Regal Princess) had some damage after going through 14 metre seas.

Even with a sun umbrella you can still get sunburnt on the beach from reflected light. If you are going to be on the beach for more than a very short visit, it is advisable to use sunscreen.

I wonder if you could contact a local tour operator who could personalize a tour for you including Lone Pine, Mt Coot-tha etc. Your luggage could be kept in the car/van with you.

Deep cleaning involves a very thorough cleaning of the ship with more crew than are usually involved in cleaning. Teams seem to follow each other and clean areas that have already been cleaned, particularly the public areas - to be sure, to be sure. There would also be cleaning in the area of the terminal where people wait.

That sounds reasonable. The point I was making is that it is not just a Princess agent who can split the fare type - travel agents can also.

Great that you have a good rep to look after your bookings. BTW, I understand that now anyone can book the drinks package just for one passenger. Earlier people reported that you couldn't do it.

We have booked both ways - either direct with the cruise line or through an agent. Usually an agent will give us a few sweeteners in the way of extra on-board credit and/or specialty dinners. The agent we use is very good at getting us good cabins. We aren't permitted to mention travel agents' names. Before you book with an agent, I suggest you check what their T&Cs are on cancellation. You can't avoid the cruiselines mandated cancellation policy, but some TAs charge on top of that. Although when you book you wouldn't be planning to cancel, life can get in the way and you might have to cancel for a reason not covered by your travel insurance.