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Voyager of the Seas Picture Review Dec 2012 Australia & New Zealand Cruise

Iluvcruising2

By Iluvcruising2,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Dolby1000 "Live from...." Rare

Dolby1000

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Been interested in going to NZ and taking a cruise out of Sydney. Since this trip was taken during early summer in the Southern Hemisphere, was the weather typical? I noticed the days were around 65-70 (F) and even cooler at the Sounds.

 

Would the weather be warmer in Jan/Feb/Mar or about the same?

 

Outstanding review, I always enjoy reviews with all the pictures, thank you for taking the time to share with us.

 

OWD

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Brossy

Brossy

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We purchased our NZ dollars at a money changer in Singapore. We have never purchased foreign currency on the ship, so I don't know their rates.

 

You are right that no ship tours take you to the Luge. We noticed that too.

 

Rotorua is a good 1hr and 15 min drive from the ship, which is at Salisbury Ave. I think self-drive is the most viable option if you want to do the Luge.

 

Thank you. I think i'll save the Luge for another time :).

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Iluvcruising2

Iluvcruising2

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Thank you. I think i'll save the Luge for another time :).

 

A short sidetrack.

 

Thanks to New Zealand for exporting the Luge to the world. The Luge is also available in Singapore (Sentosa island) and my family just went on a ride last weekend. We're happy that we have tried the original (in Rotorua) and now an offshoot in our home country!

 

Luge is a NZ success story.

dngdms.jpg

 

3ua6v.jpg

 

A view of the chair-lift and the busy waterways.

whi63a.jpg

Edited by Iluvcruising2
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Iluvcruising2

Iluvcruising2

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90 minutes? Thats impressive. i first saw this on Allure in 2011 and enjoyed it a lot with the exception of a few stupid questions from the audience that made a few people groan, but it was informative. Glad they are doing it on other ships.

 

Yes, they are. I recall attending Captain's Corner on almost all the Royal Caribbean cruises that I have been on the past couple of years, including Legend, Brilliance and of course Voyager.

 

I've always wondered how they would conduct this Captain's Corner for sailings out of Mainland China (e.g. Shanghai), since most passengers wouldn't be able to speak much English and I doubt the 4 senior officers can speak Mandarin!

 

Glad to share that on the Singapore to Shanghai re-positioning cruises that we have been on (Legend and Voyager), the main langauge onboard was still English. In the June 2012 re-positioning, the majority of passengers onboard were Singaporeans (1,800) followed by large numbers of Australians (I think 500 to 600) and then Americans and British.

 

This time round, I found the questions from the largely Australian audience to be very good. One particular question stumped the Captain for a bit - what and where was the southern most point that the Voyager reached on this cruise?

Edited by Iluvcruising2
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Iluvcruising2

Iluvcruising2

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Been interested in going to NZ and taking a cruise out of Sydney. Since this trip was taken during early summer in the Southern Hemisphere, was the weather typical? I noticed the days were around 65-70 (F) and even cooler at the Sounds.

 

Would the weather be warmer in Jan/Feb/Mar or about the same?

 

Outstanding review, I always enjoy reviews with all the pictures, thank you for taking the time to share with us.

 

OWD

 

Good question.

 

Yes, I think the Voyager will do a similar itinerary for 3-4 months, starting late Nov/early Dec.

 

Sorry, I do not know the answer to this weather question. Hope the others can help!

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gemini1106

gemini1106

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HMAS Sydney. She must have been a very famous ship? Maybe from the World War II.

 

2po5rx0.jpg

The HMAS Sydney was lost with 645 crew in 1941, after an involvement with the German cruiser Kormoran. There was a lot of controversy regarding this particular engagement. Quite interesting if anyone is a history buff. :)

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gemini1106

gemini1106

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This looked like a restaurant built on rocks!

 

2dv1xyp.jpg

This is a picture of Fort Dennyson. In 1788 it was used to hold convicts and I think that a gibbet was installed a few years later for hanging. Now it's a museum and I think there's a place to hold a wedding reception, for something a little different? You get there from ferry at Circular Quay. Interesting place.

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Agutaya

Agutaya

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The HMAS Sydney was lost with 645 crew in 1941, after an involvement with the German cruiser Kormoran. There was a lot of controversy regarding this particular engagement. Quite interesting if anyone is a history buff. :)

 

Yes, I just up on it after I saw the photos. A sad story which would probably be even sadder if the whole truth were known. I'm glad she was found again.

 

Iluvcruising2, thanks for the great review, especially with all the photos. I appreciate how much time it has taken.

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Desert Cruizers

Desert Cruizers

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I breifly went thru your reviews and loved the pictures, we are looking forward to visiting Sydney for the first time, march 0f 2014 for our 13 day NZ cruise on the ROS, this will be followed by 9 days of sight seeing then reboarding the ROS for our b2b 18 day transpacific & 12 day Hawaii to Vancouver. Thank you for your review and photos and will definately take more time looking going thru everything in the next few days.

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Iluvcruising2

Iluvcruising2

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I breifly went thru your reviews and loved the pictures, we are looking forward to visiting Sydney for the first time, march 0f 2014 for our 13 day NZ cruise on the ROS, this will be followed by 9 days of sight seeing then reboarding the ROS for our b2b 18 day transpacific & 12 day Hawaii to Vancouver. Thank you for your review and photos and will definately take more time looking going thru everything in the next few days.

 

So envious of your upcoming cruises!! Enjoy!!

 

I will complete the review this weekend. A little bit more to go.

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Annerz

Annerz

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I was hoping you could help me with a quick question. My father, who has done many cruises, mentioned a 'coffee card' or coffee package you could purchase on RCCL. Do you know anything about that? He may have got his cruise lines muddled :)

Cheers

Anne

PS I love a good cup of strong coffee....so the WJ stuff probaby won't suit :eek:

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Iluvcruising2

Iluvcruising2

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I was hoping you could help me with a quick question. My father, who has done many cruises, mentioned a 'coffee card' or coffee package you could purchase on RCCL. Do you know anything about that? He may have got his cruise lines muddled :)

Cheers

Anne

PS I love a good cup of strong coffee....so the WJ stuff probaby won't suit :eek:

 

Sorry, I am not aware of any such coffee package on RCCL. I haven't seen any such deals before. If others can help, please do.

 

However, I am told that there is a speciality coffee machine in the Concierge Lounge (for Suite guests, D+ and above guests) and also Diamond Lounge (not sure). There is currently no Diamond Lounge on the Voyager. I assume she will get one after her 2014 revitalization.

Edited by Iluvcruising2
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6andy6

6andy6

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Possibly some sad news for you ILuvCruising in light of your recent trip to tasmania where you hired a car and drove to Port Arthur.

 

Southern Australia (the states of Victoria, tasmania and South Australia) have been having a heat wave the last couple of days with temperatures up around the high 30's and low 40's degrees (around 105 degrees fahrenheit).

 

Well today bush fires hit the Tasman Peninsula hard particularly around the township of Dunalley which you would have gone through (it sits at the head of the Peninsula) - early reports show up to 65 buildings destroyed including the local school, homes and a petrol station.

 

More in these papers (one a Melbourne paper and one a Hobart paper).

 

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/weather/bushfires-gut-tasmanian-town-20130104-2c8j1.html

 

http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2013/01/04/369647_tasmania-news.html

 

Just goes to show, how things can change overnight and particularly Australia, while people enjoy good weather and heat it can also bring tragic results in the blink of an eye. :(

Edited by 6andy6
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Iluvcruising2

Iluvcruising2

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Possibly some sad news for you ILuvCruising in light of your recent trip to tasmania where you hired a car and drove to Port Arthur.

 

Southern Australia (the states of Victoria, tasmania and South Australia) have been having a heat wave the last couple of days with temperatures up around the high 30's and low 40's degrees (around 105 degrees fahrenheit).

 

Well today bush fires hit the Tasman Peninsula hard particularly around the township of Dunalley which you would have gone through (it sits at the head of the Peninsula) - early reports show up to 65 buildings destroyed including the local school, homes and a petrol station.

 

More in these papers (one a Melbourne paper and one a Hobart paper).

 

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/weather/bushfires-gut-tasmanian-town-20130104-2c8j1.html

 

http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2013/01/04/369647_tasmania-news.html

 

Just goes to show, how things can change overnight and particularly Australia, while people enjoy good weather and heat it can also bring tragic results in the blink of an eye. :(

 

Oh dear. Very sad indeed. Thanks for letting me know.

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Iluvcruising2

Iluvcruising2

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Docking at Circular Quay was most convenient. We got off the ship at about 10:30am. Our plan was to take a ferry to Darling habour. I recall this ferry was from Wharf 5. They run very frequently. It was a gorgeous day and the harbour ferry ride was breath-taking.

 

2aahmzd.jpg

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