Te Aroha
-
Posts
597 -
Joined
Content Type
Forums
Store
Blogs
Downloads
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by Te Aroha
-
-
We did this cruise 3 years ago and we never hit bad weather until the coast of South Africa. The captain re arranged the ports of call to avoid the worst of it and we were all happy sailors and still visited all ports.
This is an amazing cruise to do and is usually only available every two years.
The Seychelles was my most amazing port of call to date and still my favorite place on earth. Beauty you cannot describe.
The Sun princess is a smaller ship and is more Australian on the food menus but we never had a problem finding something to eat.
Would consider doing this cruise again in the future.
-
December is our spring time and April is our Autumn so they are about right on the temperatures. North Island is warmer than the South Island.
New Zealand is also know to have 4 seasons in one day the weather can vary a lot.
I would suggest clothes you can layer if you get a cold day and a rain jacket.
-
You can get hot or cold chocolate drinks with your coffee card, no clicks taken.
-
I don't know the tour company you are asking about but you need not worry about transport. If something did break down which is unlikely then we have many ways to get you back to the ship on time from Matamata.
-
-
We arrive in FLL April 28, do 3 cruises, fly out from LA on June 1 and arrive in Aus on June 3. Passports expire Nov 9. We'll have to renew passports sometime next year in any case, but trying to save $488 may not be an option.
Eileen you're lots closer, but you'll be good.
Thanks everyone for your replies.
We travel on NZ passports. last year we went to FLL and then cruised around South America back to San Francisco. My husband had 6 months on his passport when we arrived in the US. After the cruise he had 4 months left on his passport. There were no issues anywhere about the expiry date.
-
I use my NZ VISA Debit card all the time, and everywhere , for purchases and cash out at ATM,s.
NZ and Australia are well ahead with EFTPOS. Hardly anyone knows what cash looks like these days.:D. For small purchases most places have PayWave now.
Cards themselves will soon be out of date as the new phones are starting to takeover.
This is exactly how it is here...I do sometimes think that our notes looks like a foreign currency when I do see some. lol
Be aware that there may be extra charges using your card here. Your bank will be able to tell you what they will be and the best way to keep them as low as possible.
-
I am so happy that I could help you. If you are looking for a very special item you can buy an exact replica of the "Ring" in silver or gold. They have the quote inscribed into them and are only available in the Matamata area and I believe at the shop in Hobbiton.
I hope all works out for you, this is an area of our district that I am very proud of, you will see there are no power lines in sight, this is one of the reasons that Peter Jackson picked this area for the village as he flew over the area looking for suitable filming sights. He noted how it looked so like the middle earth he was looking to find.
When they were filming it was not unusual to go into town for coffee and run into actors that were in the movie, some still in costume.
-
If you are asking if the air con can heat your room the answer is yes.
-
Auckland would be too far away to visit it would take you a minimum of 2hrs 30 mins each way with good traffic flow to get to Hobbiton.
It really is best accessed from the Tauranga port stop.
-
My husband and I will be sailing on Oceania Marina January 24 - February 28, 2015. We'll be visiting New Zealand and while there we'd like to see Hobbiton, the now-permanent film set used in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" movies, just outside Matamata.
We looked on the location's website http://hobbiton.centaman-apac01.net/Home/tabid/38/Default.aspx to try and find a way to reach it, since there's no excursion from the cruise line. Several companies were mentioned, and I'd like to know if anyone has experience with any of them. They are:
- Shore Trips and Tours
- Zealandia Tours
- Elite Limousines
I sent an email to Hobbiton Movie Set Tours, the company which runs the set location and the administrator (who answered almost immediately) mentioned only Shore Trips and Tours. Any information about visiting this place would be greatly appreciated. Zealandia Tours makes a point of guaranteeing a timely return to the ship, and the timing of the tour would confirm that (barring mechanical problems, of course).
Thanks in advance,
Ann
I gather from the tour choices that you coming from Tauranga (Mt Maunganui) to Hobbiton. I live in Matamata home of Hobbiton. It will take approx 1 hr to 1 hr 15 mins to get from the dock to Hobbiton. Traffic is at its peak between 8 - 9 am and again from 4.30 - 6 pm.
You will be travelling through Tauranga and over the Kaimai Ranges to get here. So this will give you some idea of the amount of time you can expect to be at Hobbiton.
It is very well organized and I am sure you will enjoy your visit very much. They usually transfer you to a tour bus that has a guide that gives a lot of information and are able to answer any questions you have about the filming etc. The souvenir shop is small but has a good range of items they are a little expensive but most you cannot buy any where else but Hobbiton.
If I can help with any other information please let me know. This is the offical link to Hobbiton not sure if you have the same one.
- Shore Trips and Tours
-
In New Zealand the children are on their long school holidays until the first week of February and this is most likely why the later cruise is booked up as there will be few to no children on that cruise. There is also a Public Holiday here on the 7th February.
The weather in New Zealand is generally a lot warmer and more settled in February compared to January.
-
I live in Matamata and just wanted to bring to your notice that the Visitors center that you will catch the bus from has recently been changed to look like a Gatehouse from Middle Earth. There is also across the road on the center island of the road a statue of Golum where most visitors like to have their photograph taken.
There are many options for food on the main street from take away type (Indian and Chinese as well as the usual fish and burgers) to Italian dinning, kebabs, sushi, bakeries, roasts, cafes and coffee houses and we also have the standard Subway, MacD's and KFC available.
Enjoy your visit if I can give you any other information let me know I am happy to help. :)
Links below.
-
Water is no problem to take off the ship, but please don't try to take any food off the ship. If MAF are checking they can fine you on the spot $200.
If you are in need of some item, you are diabetic or require special food, Items in sealed packages may be allowed but declare it. If it is ok they will let you through. If you don't declare items, this is when it gets to be a problem and fines are handed out.
Sounds like we are very hard on visitors but we have to protect our Countries from bio security threats as this would affect our exports.
Enjoy your visit :)
-
Dawn Princess is doing a few cruises next year from Auckland to Auckland 7th/20th March and starting again in Oct 24th.. maybe they are listening as this is so much easier for the New Zealand cruiser and for anyone travelling to New Zealand and wanting to spend time here pre or post cruise.
-
I used e cigs on a 49 day cruise around South America without any problems at all. Most of the staff knew what they were and no passengers complained about me using them. Mine don't look at all like a cigarette.
I did have one passenger cough at me on an outside deck, when they realized it was vapor not smoke they apologized to me for their mistake and we had a good laugh about it.
I was sensitive to other passengers and used them with discretion in the casino, night club, lounges and cabin.
-
I live in Matamata which is known as Hobbiton, It is about 55 mins drive from Tauranga and approx 2 1/2 hours from Auckland. Rotorua is also about 1 hours drive from Tauranga. Hope that helps :)
-
Not sure what Princess is charging but here is the link to the Hobbiton site with pictures and prices so you can see if it would interest you.
Under "our tours" link is the prices for cruise ship visitors direct from the site.
-
You have a choice of the three main prepay mobile providers here, I have given you the links for all three so you can check what coverage and plans would suit you the best. Enjoy your visit to New Zealand :)
http://www.telecom.co.nz/mobile/mobile/plansandpricing/big/
https://www.vodafone.co.nz/prepay-smart/?gclid=CIjO6aCprbQCFQE5pgodf3UArQ
http://www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/prepay/pricing?gclid=CNzB66iprbQCFU8xpgodJiQAhw
-
I am now vaping in an attempt to cut down on the number of cigarettes I used to smoke daily. In my next cruise, I intend to vape in my cabin and on my balcony as well as in other permitted areas (which seem to almost the entire ship!). Princess' policy with regards to e-cigarettes seems to be quite sensible, except for one phase, as my partner pointed out to me: why should another passenger who "feels inconvenienced" by my vaping have the right to require me to stop? The operative word here is "feels", and not "is." Please note that there is no odor, no side smoke, no residue left on the surroundings, no dirt or ash to be disposed of. Certainly nobody would deliberately direct the residual water vapor directly at another person! Why would anyone complain?
Just wanted to say Congratulations :) I am also a vapour who quit cigarettes by "accident" when I got one for travel and have never wanted a cigarette since. I have never encountered a problem with e cigs, as it is only vapour, that is showing and has no smell most people are very supportive of my choice to not smoke tobacco.
-
When we last sailed on the Sun it was the same as reported.
No smoking inside at all. They don't have a cigar bar on this ship. Casino is smoke free.
The only difference was smoking on the promenade deck, was port side when we were on there.
-
I wanted to clarify my original post as to why I will not sail on an Princess Australian based ship again.
The cruise on the Sun Princess was a 46 days cruise, the ports of call were the reason for booking. We never let what happens affect our enjoyment of anything and will say we had a great cruise and loved the ports we visited.
As I now know, they ships are run totally differently to the American based ships, this was NOT made clear to me when I booked and therefore I expected the same product as I had previously had when purchasing a Princess cruise.
Tipping is not part of this difference as I tip for service equally, if not more than the normal tip that we would pay on the American Ships, which we always pay, and tip extra for good service.
Any time dining is also a favourite of mine, while the Sun did not offer this on the cruise, oddly enough any time dining was available every few evenings, usually on days we had been in port.
My problem with the Australian based ships is the difference of standards, old ships needing repair constantly while cruising. I am not talking about a little painting here, we had paint ground off all around the ship while sailing, leaving paint flakes though out the ship, the decks and the balconies. Constant water leaks coming through the corridor light fixtures, that was plain scary. The library ceiling collapsed and was out of use for nearly two weeks. Lets not get into the plumbing problems, I could go on forever, passengers with flooded cabins and floating shoes, damaged bags.....
This affected the basic enjoyment of the ship. Large areas were taped off and were out of use for long periods of time, including the main swimming pool. I expect some maintenance but not a repaint, requiring the ship to be ground back to bare metal while passengers are on board. We also had the sound of grinders going constantly.
Passengers in a mini suite had painters on platforms working on their balcony even awakening one morning to two workers directly outside their door. This was at 8am with no notice given to the passengers.
"Escape Completely" was what we were hoping for, we paid for a holiday, not a dry dock at sea.
The standard of food is always up to each persons preference and I could say it was not the standard I expected, but was acceptable, some excellent. What was not acceptable was the amount of items the ship ran out of during the cruise and were then not available, basics like orange juice, lemonade and bacon.
Room service was also a joke, being basically a vegetarian, I asked for a hamburger bun without the meat to be sent to the room, this was refused as this was not on the menu, work that one out, how hard is it to NOT put the burger in a bun. I ordered a bun with the hamburger and removed it myself but it was not very appealing to a non meat eater. Wait times for room service were long and twice the requested order never arrived at all.
Is all this really the Princess standard?
Not the standard I expect from Princess.
I will sail Princess again and have booked another cruise on the Grand this time. I love the Princess line but the difference in standards is not acceptable.
-
I have to whole heartly agree with this post. I am a kiwi who has sailed twice on the Diamond Princess and once on the Sun Princess.
I was very disappointed in the Sun Princess as I assumed that it would be the same as the Diamond and have vowed never to sail on an Australian based Princess ship again due to the experiences on board the Sun.
Princess needs to take note of the number is past passengers now voting with their feet and switching to other lines here.
Tauranga: Hobbiton
in Australia & New Zealand
Posted
This topic part way down the page covers Hobbiton.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2095540