Sungirl goes LIVE from the Century - New Zealand/Australia 12/12/11

[oceans001]

I am currently looking for highly recommended excursions for Bay of Islands, Akaroa, Dunedin, and Melbourne. I also like to consider independent tour groups for a better tour price and a smaller group. If anyone has been to any of these ports or has done research and can recommend anything I would love to hear from you. If you have web addresses to recommended independent tour guides who have good tour options, please let me know.

 

Thank you for your help. :-)

[Aussie Gal]

If you would like some help on Melbourne drop me a line. I have lived here all my life and know nearly everything there is to know about our city.

 

jennielynton@hotmail.com

 

Jennie

[Kiwi Kruzer]

In Dunedin today. Sunday 18 Dec.

Sharing the port with Dawn Princess

 

 

 

Shuttle busses arriving in the Town Centre.

 

[KCSungirl]

We were unable to anchor in Akaroa due to sea conditions and the tender service. Everyone was disappointed of course, but if you cruise often enough you realize that tender ports are a 50/50 chance of getting in. I have missed many tender ports. The scenery was beautiful along the shore line. Ian, the cruise director did an outstanding job of reworking the schedule to add more activities. Well done.

 

We decided to rest a bit and recharge our batteries. The DH napped and I enjoyed a spa day. I had a full body massage, facial, and foot massage. (75 min $119) Wonderful. My Christmas present.

 

We enjoyed a leisurely buffet lunch - burgers, hot dogs, deli sandwiches and mashed potatoes. I was a Potato Baroness in one of my past lives.

 

We hosted a Christmas parade/party in our cabin at 6pm. I wanted to share my holiday cheer with all of my new friends. We were trying to set the Guinness World Book record of the most people in a balcony cabin.

 

We ate dinner in the dining room with some new friends - Erin and Owen from Adelaide. Lovely meal - Filet Mignon, Veal Cordon Bleu, traditional turkey and dressing, Pasta alfredo.

 

We were too tired for the show = Duo Velikovi, the husband/wife aeialists. I have seen them before. They are really good.

 

See you tomorrow in Dunedin. We are on a very BIG adventure. Hint - see you in Queenstown.

[DrKoob]

Sungirl,

 

Have you by chance been by the Martini Bar? We are wondering if Kadek and Katut are still running the place.:D If you happen to know, let us know. If you aren't a big martini person, that's OK. Just keep up the great work.

 

Jim

[Cruiseorr]

Sungirl,

 

Have you by chance been by the Martini Bar? We are wondering if Kadek and Katut are still running the place.:D If you happen to know, let us know. If you aren't a big martini person, that's OK. Just keep up the great work.

 

Jim

We were on the 30 November sailing and can report that Michael is now the bartender. He did a fantastic job with the martinis, but no juggling the bottles....yet:D

[Kiwi Kruzer]

See you tomorrow in Dunedin. We are on a very BIG adventure. Hint - see you in Queenstown.

 

WOW...that sounds exciting...Can't wait:):)

 

 

....and just to show how fickle the sea can be,

Dawn Princess is in Akaroa today and it's as calm as a millpond.

 

 

 

[lhall85917]

 

See you tomorrow in Dunedin. We are on a very BIG adventure. Hint - see you in Queenstown.

 

If it is what I think it is, I can't wait to hear all about it, sounds like possibly the same adventure we have planned for April!

[rokalada]

Hi Sungirl,

I keep reading your posts, and I am so appreciative! We are on the 1/6 sailing of Century, so you have really given us some great pointers. Thank you!

 

My question is to you (or anyone else who might know). You say that you check the I-site to see about excursions. What is the I-site? Is that the cruises excursion site, or are you going ashore and finding excursions?

 

Thanks for any replies.

 

Kathy

[MargoK]

Hi Sungirl,

I keep reading your posts, and I am so appreciative! We are on the 1/6 sailing of Century, so you have really given us some great pointers. Thank you!

 

My question is to you (or anyone else who might know). You say that you check the I-site to see about excursions. What is the I-site? Is that the cruises excursion site, or are you going ashore and finding excursions?

 

Thanks for any replies.

 

Kathy

 

 

HI Kathy an I-site is the NZ nationwide Information Centres http://www.i-site.org.nz/ that are set up to help travellers, organise excurisons, some store luggage short term etc. Every town has one!

[Breezey]

oops

[busykymom]

We were on the 30 November sailing and can report that Michael is now the bartender. He did a fantastic job with the martinis, but no juggling the bottles....yet:D

 

We were also on the previous cruise. He juggled bottles at the Dessert Extravaganza as well as poured chocolate martinis over an ice sculpture so that the drink traveled down the ice sculpture and into your glass!

[sunsetbeachgal]

Hey Paige,

 

Just found this blog and so glad we did...your trip sounds fabulous! These ports sound so interesting...are any of the Seinfelds on this cruise with you?!...LOL;)

 

Wishing you a wonderful holiday!

Carole

[Us Two]

Missing you and your travel stories!! Come back soon.:(

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Us Two ; Where are you KC Sungirl???Missing you and your travel stories!! Come back soon.

 

Providing she did not miss the ship in NZ ,

she should be in the middle of the Tasman Sea as I post....:D

and heading for Melbourne, Australia.

 

[Us Two]

Thanks for the update, thought she jumped ship.:confused:

[MargoK]

Providing she did not miss the ship in NZ ,

she should be in the middle of the Tasman Sea as I post....:D

and heading for Melbourne, Australia.

 

 

 

Thanks David - all on track for us to board on Saturday!!:D:D:cool:

[May B]

And on rare occasions, if the seas at Milford Sound are too rough, they can't tender back to the ship so Celebrity flies them to Melbourne!

 

However, I do think she was planning to post from Queenstown, which would be the evening before the ship is scheduled to do the three sounds. Is Wednesday not their day in the sounds?

 

--May

[bula squeak]

Thanks for the update, thought she jumped ship.:confused:

 

Hopefully?:D

[uktog]

Yes weather in that area can be an issue, either she is tired from all her adventures or oops - in an earlier post it seemed she did cut it very fine in Tauranga so I hope that was not the case this time as I am sure she was doing the Queenstown trip on her own and not through Celebrity

[KCSungirl]

Greetings. I am glad some of you are missing me. Makes me happy that you are enjoying the ride. Lots to catch you up on.

 

Welcome to Dundedin and the Otago Peninsula. We have docked at Port Chalmers, about 15 minutes outside the city center of Dunedin. We signed on for the Mother Lode of excursions. We are going overland to Queenstown. My parents have driven NZ twice. I asked them their opinion on whether or not to take the overland excursion. They both said take the excursion. As I probably won’t be back to NZ in my lifetime, no trip to NZ is complete without a visit to Queenstown. The excursion was pricey ($600/pp), but it was the best money I have ever spent. Very little profit built into this excursion and by far the best value for your money of any excursion. I am shouting to you: DO NOT PASS THIS UP.

 

On with the show. We had a group of 32 people. This tour requires a minimum of 20 people. I had booked online before we left home. I had no idea if the cruise line had a hard time selling the excursion considering the price, so I prepared myself for a cancellation. When we boarded the ship in Auckland my tickets were at the door of my cabin. I was so happy. We boarded a 54 passenger motor coach at 7:30am. We had a driver, guide, and ship escort with us at all times. I have never taken a coach type excursion on a cruise before. We always book independent travel excursions but this was

the only option. My DH and I were a bit nervous as we get impatient/annoyed with the lack of control we feel with a group excursion. It started off a little annoying when one of the gentleman couldn’t find his passport and made us 30 minutes late leaving. Why would he wait til 2 minutes before we were leaving to ready his passport? He should have had everything together the night before. We were upset, as time is of the essence on this tour. We got on the road at 8am. We took a short tour of Dundedin. Stopped at the train station for photo ops and toilet. Drove thru town, passing the Cadbury chocolate factory, churches, and schools. Even though Cadbury is owned by Kraft, they keep the operations in NZ for many reasons, mainly for the milk. We drove south on highway 1. Beautiful lakes, rivers, farms, wildflowers, etc. in every direction. Our first stop was a toilet/coffee break in Lawrence. Nothing to see, but stops are always welcome. I brought my pillow and blanket on the trip. We sat in the back two rows of the bus. Both of us got windows that way. I had the Royal Suite in the last row, three seats to spread out. Very comfortable bus. As we were driving thru the countryside I was getting very sleepy. I had to laugh because the last time I took a motor coach excursion was when I was a sophomore in college and spent a summer in Europe. I slept thru the entire ride around the Alps and missed a lot of gorgeous scenery. I was trying desperately to stay awake. Every single person on the coach fell asleep! Little cat naps between stops. We drove north on highway 8 to Clyde. We stopped at the Post Office for lunch. They provided a buffet lunch in a charming setting. After lunch we kept heading north to Cromwell. We stopped at the Gibbston Valley Winery for a wine tour and tasting. Beautiful. We skipped the tour to enjoy more wine on the terrace. They also had a cheesery. Wonderful stop and the sun was shining brightly, finally. Further west on highway 6, we stopped at the AJ Hackett Bungee Jumping center. We watched a few jumpers free fall into a gorgeous canyon. One guy from our tour stayed on to jump. I forgot to get the price. We arrived in Queenstown at 2:30pm. WOW. The most gorgeous place on earth. Words can’t describe. We checked into our hotel, The Heritage, a lovely lakeside lodge. We lucked out with a corner room with a lake and woods view. Fabulous. The hotel was a little down the road from the city center. They offer a free shuttle to town. We decided to sign on for the shotover jet boat excursion at 4pm ($100/pp) Again, words can’t describe the beauty and thrill of this excursion. It was surreal. So glad we booked this last minute excursion, as it was something I will never forget. After the jetboat ride, we walked around town and did some shopping. I bought a couple of merino wool undershirts My mom will be so happy. She bought the Hanro wool undershirts for years. They quit selling them, so she has been mending a 20 year old undershirt that is barely in one piece. I hope I bought her a nice replacement. Queenstown is a thrill seekers paradise. A very young crowd. Reminded me of cross between Switzerland, Tahoe, and Steamboat Springs. We stopped at a French bakery for coffee and an almond croissant. Heaven. At 6pm we met our group at the Steamer Wharf for an evening at the Walter Peak Sheep Station. We rode 40 minutes across Lake Wakitapu on a steamer ship. We had a lovely buffet dinner at the restaurant. It is a very popular tourist attraction. After dinner they had a sheep show. It was good. First they featured the herding dog, then the lambs and sheep shearing. I was so excited about everything that was going on. I love the sheep. In all of my enthusiasm, I made a very bad mistake……

 

To Be Continued…………

[sunsetbeachgal]

Glad you are back...can't wait for the rest of the story...

[Us Two]

Glad to hear from you. I did'nt really think you had jumped ship! Why would you when your having so much of a good time.

Can't wait for the continuance of the story, anticipation is good.

[judyfssw]

Sungirl, your overnight stay in Queenston sounds heavenly. However, when I looked it up on the shore excursions, it said that you had to walk 1 1/2 miles total. Is that about right? Did anyone miss some of it by staying on the bus? Thank you for your great blog.

[KCSungirl]

I may have told you that my reality show is called “Party With Paige”- a fat and clever Paris Hilton wannabe.. Most of the time my show is hilarious, but sometimes sad, and sometimes scary. Tonight the show was scary and temporarily life changing, but I can’t stop giggling that I upstaged the sheep at the sheep show at Walter Peak High Country Farm.

 

You know about those nano seconds when an accident happens.

 

The sheep show featured two parts - the dog demonstration and the shearing demonstration. The seating was bench style. Here I go again thinking I am hot, young, and sexy. I decided to jump up on the bench and stand to get a better view over everyone’s head. I made a leap to another bench. It was not secured to the ground, and no one was sitting on it. The bench gave way, I was at least five feet in the air. I came crashing down to the ground. I heard a huge gasp from the crowd. When I stopped seeing stars, I could not move. I was thinking about Jill Kinmont, from The Other Side of the Mountain. I was dying of embarrassment, but so scared my adventure was over. Once again, by the grace of God, I am the luckiest girl on earth. I should have broken every bone in my body or at least snapped my wrists trying to break my fall. I got up very slowy, but I was able to walk. My DH was as scared as I have ever seen him. Everyone in the group was concerned and worried. Some of them were probably more worried that I might screw up the plan for the next day. Never fear, Sungirl is the strongest girl you will ever meet. I can push thru. I am thankful for that Michelin tire around my waist today, as it probably saved my life. My back is badly injured. I didn’t know if I cracked my pelvis, tail bone or left hip. I immediately went back to the Steamship for our return across the lake to the hotel with a bag of ice on my lower back. I had gotten to know most everyone on the tour by then, and everyone was offering pain meds to me. Ralph, a gentleman from Pittsburgh, had the party pack of Advil in his backpack and got me started on the anti-inflammatory drugs. Ralph was my savior. The Celebrity escort and the tour guide took excellent care to make sure I was ok. It was very comforting to know I had support if necessary. I made it back to the hotel slowly, but I figured since I was able to walk nothing was broken. I was so scared I wouldn’t be able to move in the morning. I laid down and went to sleep.

 

 

TBC.........