Live - Standing Ovation from the Land Down Under - New Zealand, 11 Nights Feb. 2, 2020

[twangster]

25 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

I thought on Aussie cruises the grats were included?

 

Oops. you are correct.  So used to saying that.  

 

Not included exactly.  Not automatically applied is a better phrase.

 

Edited February 14, 2020 by twangster

[bonsai3s]

twangster...thank you for the memories.  The photos you posted of the OPT, your walk to Circular Quay, the train...all brought back fond memories.  And wow! same as you, we got to the airport early...AND found the American Express lounge!  Thank you for your review.

[nklpikl]

7 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Here you go:

 

 

 

Prices are $USD plus 18% gratuity.

Thanks so much. Interesting sounding drinks. Looking forward to sailing in her in May.

[bobmacliberty]

OK...photo geek questions.  Do you use LR presets?  Auto apply them on import?  Between the volume that you shoot, and your nice consistent look/feel to your photos, I'm thinking that you've automated part of your post processing.

[twangster]

1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said:

OK...photo geek questions.  Do you use LR presets?  Auto apply them on import?  Between the volume that you shoot, and your nice consistent look/feel to your photos, I'm thinking that you've automated part of your post processing.

I have some custom presets I apply but each photo is different so each is tweaked.   Shooting in RAW is a life saver that makes up for being a lazy photographer.  
 

Once you get into a workflow it’s relatively quick for most photos but some take more time to get right.  

[bobmacliberty]

Thanks.  I also shoot RAW with LR and have considered creating a few presets but have been too lazy to do so.  There are a few things that I do on almost all photos (clarity, vibrance, sharpness, etc.).  For my keepers, I do like to individually tweak the exposure settings, play with saturation on individual colors, and maybe use some filters/adjustment brushes.  You obvious have your work flow well tuned!

[twangster]

Some more menus from around the ship...

 

Chops Grille

 

Lunch

 

 

Dinner

 

 

 

 

Wonderland

 

 

Izumi

 

 

 

 

Jamie's italian

 

Lunch

 

 

Dinner

 

 

 

Bottomless Brunch

 

 

Taste of Royal

 

 

[John&LaLa]

On 2/14/2020 at 1:07 PM, twangster said:

Prices are $USD plus 18% gratuity.

 

Wow, $12AUD for a beer

[twangster]

2 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Wow, $12AUD for a beer

 

Overheard a number of Aussies proclaiming the value of having the drink package.  

[John&LaLa]

43 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Overheard a number of Aussies proclaiming the value of having the drink package.  

 

But I'm guessing the cost of that was north of $100

[stephiems]

7 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

But I'm guessing the cost of that was north of $100

 

I'm on the Ovation in March, drinks package is ~$70 AUD or $49 USD. Well, at least that is what it seems to go down to every other week or so. At the moment it is $75 AUD.

[twangster]

31 minutes ago, stephiems said:

 

I'm on the Ovation in March, drinks package is ~$70 AUD or $49 USD. Well, at least that is what it seems to go down to every other week or so. At the moment it is $75 AUD.

 

For Aussies is the cruise planner all priced in AUD or is it USD as well? 

 

Is the drink package in the cruise planner subject to 18% gratuity during the checkout process like it is in North America?

[twangster]

Fish and Ships:

 

[Balsam12]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

 

For Aussies is the cruise planner all priced in AUD or is it USD as well? 

 

Is the drink package in the cruise planner subject to 18% gratuity during the checkout process like it is in North America?

Sailing Radiance in 40 days.

 

Cruise planner (at least when booked from Australia) is in AUD.

There is no 18% added to any Cruise planner purchases. This matches with Australian consumer law, where the addition of taxes, charges etc in addition to the advertised price is not allowed. If there are such costs, they must be included in the single price.

AFAIK, if you don't have the drink package, and buy drinks onboard, the 18% is added to the price of each drink. The same if you buy a drink that is above the package... you pay the difference + 18% on the difference. I can't confirm that 100% as we have never sailed without the drink package, and have never bought a drink above the package either.

We got our drink package for $65 AUD a couple of months back. I'm a Cruise Planner OCD type, and track prices on a daily basis, complete with spreadsheet. That was the fourth time we had cancelled and repurchased the DBP 🙂

[stephiems]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

For Aussies is the cruise planner all priced in AUD or is it USD as well? 

 

Is the drink package in the cruise planner subject to 18% gratuity during the checkout process like it is in North America?

 

AUD, technically I paid $69.87 and it is currently $75.35 so obviously at some point they did a conversion from USD.

That is the full price, including gratuity. 

[MikeyA53]

On 2/3/2020 at 6:05 AM, twangster said:

On 2/3/2020 at 6:05 AM, twangster said:

Back down to the ship I could see boarding was

 

The cruise terminal has no waiting area inside so appointment times are strictly enforced.  Once the ship is ready to board they’ll open the doors and start looking for early appointment

 

With the new expedited arrival feature boarding is pretty quick and pretty much a non-stop flow through check in, Australian immigration and finally security.

To give you an idea how my timing went this morning, this next picture was at 10:15am as I walked towards the Pylon to start my

This next picture was at 11:41am after I had cleared security and was on the gangway about to walk on the

 

And with that the cruise can finally begin!

 

Great review, fantastic photographs. We are doing a 12 days to New Zealand in November. Do you know how the appointments time assigned for boarding the ship. We are used to boarding as soon as possible, love to get the most out of our first sea day. 

On 2/3/2020 at 6:05 AM, twangster said:

On 2/3/2020 at 6:05 AM, twangster said:

 

 

[twangster]

1 minute ago, MikeyA53 said:

 

Great review, fantastic photographs. We are doing a 12 days to New Zealand in November. Do you know how the appointments time assigned for boarding the ship. We are used to boarding as soon as possible, love to get the most out of our first sea day. 

 

When you check in you will be offered a boarding "appointment".  By default they don't always offer the earliest time but often you can select a time and sometimes an earlier time is available.  

 

Naturally people will check in as soon as they can and select the earliest times. 

 

The key to getting an early time is to check in as soon as possible (~90 days out) and choose the earliest time offered.

[zekekelso]

On 1/29/2020 at 3:13 PM, Missusdubbya said:

You will be very welcome in Australia Twangster! If you can, catch the ferry from Sydney Harbour to Manly Beach and back too. Safe travels!

Can I just say “Manly Beach” is the most Australian-sounding place ever 🙂

[Missusdubbya]

17 minutes ago, zekekelso said:

Can I just say “Manly Beach” is the most Australian-sounding place ever 🙂

 

Of course you can 🙂  

It does have an excellent brewery.........

https://4pinesbeer.com.au/our-venue/brewpub-manly-brewery/

[Coralc]

21 minutes ago, zekekelso said:

Can I just say “Manly Beach” is the most Australian-sounding place ever 🙂

They have "Manly" looking lifeguards too. 

 

[dani negreanu]

Late to the party....

 

Thank you so much for a riveting review.

 

Brought back fond memories of our January 31st, 2018 cruise on Radiance.

 

Like you, Opal card from the airport to CQ, stayed at the then Holiday Inn Old Sydney, toured the Opera House, but didn't climb the Bridge.

 

Were oh so fortunate to see Milford and the other sounds. Milford was THE reason we booked this cruise. The cruise before us didn't get to visit due to bad weather.

 

Imagine traveling all the way from Israel, only to be denied "entry" to Milford....

 

Again, I really appreciate the time you took to review and post such amazing photos.