Celebrity Eclipse 14/01/23 Fiji, Samoa etc NZ TO Sydney 26/01/23

[Travellers123]

Gay couple from England on this cruise and then on the next cruise around NZ ending in Sydney, any other guys joining? 

[Hove1959]

Hi there. Ian and Kevan from West Sussex here. We will be on the 14/1/23 Fiji, Samoa cruise. Flying in from Australia on the 12th. Really looking forward to this itinerary, particularly Samoa and Tonga as we have not been there before. 

We are also on the "Beyond" inaugural on 27/4/22. Really excited to experience the new ship.

 

Only checking messages on here about once a week this far out from Jan 23

 

 

[Travellers123]

Great  to see we have some fellow friends on board, we are flying in from the Uk on the 12th also and after the cruise we stay on to do the next one around NZ and ending up in Sydney for 10 days or so. We have also not been to this part of the world, so really looking forwar to it. Second time on the Eclipse, last time we did Chile to Argentina in Jan 19 that was great too be cold for to much time of the cruise, looking forward to the sunshine.

[Hove1959]

Good to hear back from you. We are going to be in Australia for 2 weeks before this cruise. All being well, we will be in Sydney for New Years Eve. It's  been a lifelong dream. We will then spend time with family in northern NSW & Queensland. We have done 2 cruises out of Sydney before ( it's one of our favourite places in the world. We did Sydney to Honolulu via Tahiti in 2017 and the Great Barrier Reef  in October 2019. Definitely looking forward to escaping the next British winter for 5 weeks.

Your Jan 2019 S.America cruise sounds great. Would love to do something similar  one day.

 

[Travellers123]

Looking forward to catching up with you at the Martini Bar LOL we can dicuss all the cruises and good times we have had. We are looking to stay in Sydney for a while ie 7 days after the second cruise end and it would be great to have some good hotel recommendations. 

[Hove1959]

Hi again. Will definitely be in the Martini bar. Generally pre-dinner, then in Ensemble lounge after dinner.

Re hotels, it depends on your budget. Sydney is not cheap as you can imagine. We will be staying at the Meriton apartments on Kent Street. They have various properties in that area. We will have a 2 bedroom apartment as we are travelling with a friend. It's an ideal solution for us. They have 1 bed apartments as well. It's a bit further inland from Circular Quay but close to Town Hall train station and there is a new tram system too. We stayed there on a previous trip in 2017.                                                                              We have also stayed at the Intercontinental and Shangri La in the past,   which are nearer the harbour. We have stayed a couple of times at a Holiday Inn in the Rocks. A great location, 5 mins walk from the Ocean Terminal when you get off the ship. It has changed hands recently and is now a Rydges. The rooms needed a refresh when we were last there; hopefully the new owners have addressed that. It has a pool on the roof too.

We have also stayed at the M Gallery Harbour Rocks, Ibis at Kings Wharf and a couple of hotels on College Green, and the bottom of Oxford Street. Glad  to help with any more info. It's one of my favourite places in the world.

 

[Travellers123]

You must be on board the Beyond, hope you ae have in a great time, please tell us what its like? I am about to book Nov 23 out of FL to the ABC islands with two guy friends - should be a blast. I think I am going to blow it and stay at the Four Seasons in Sydney Harbour, you only live once, funny how I seem to say that every holiday each year, hehe. We are off to the South Of France in the summer and then to our favourite little hotel in Maspalomas in November /December.

[Hove1959]

Great to hear from you. We sail out on Beyond tomorrow. So excited, as you can imagine. Not had a holiday for 2.5 years!

Your ABC islands cruise sounds great. Not had a chance to go there  yet. Which ship will you be on? 

Good for you, staying at the Four Seasons in SYD. It's in a perfect spot for Circular Quay. We fully agree that you only live once!

All the best, Kevan & Ian

[Travellers123]

Its the Beyond, thats why I was asking whats its like. ABC great nice islands.

[Hove1959]

Hi there!  Back home after our great holiday. After the cruise ( more about Beyond in a bit) we spent 4 nights in Sitges with a friend who had flown out to meet us there. We were last in Sitges in 2001 just after 9/11.  We stayed in a lovely little Art Nouveau hotel recommended by an old colleague who now lives there. Unfotunately he was out of town during our visit. We then took the train down to Alicante for 5 nights with an old friend I've known since 1979. We supposed to see them 2 years ago before Covid locked us all down.

Going back to "Beyond" it was great to be on the inaugural and have everything shiny and new. We had a Sunset Verandah which we really liked, as it has a larger balcony. Not keen on the idea of infinite verandahs as we still like a balcony you can step out on.

Interested to know which type of stateroom you have booked. We tried all 4 main dining options and particularly liked the ambiance and cuisine in Cosmopolitan and Normandie.

We managed to get a tour of The Retreat and Luminae and were very impressed. Hope to experience it ourselves in a couple of years. The ABC cruise might be a possibility, or another cruise out of Sydney if Beyond or Ascent head "Down Under"

We loved the new enlarged Sunset Bar, with it's different levels and great variety of seating and soft furnishings. It will be ideal for warm weather cruising. It was a bit cool when we sailed out of Southampton which is to be expected at the end of April.

If you have any specific questions about the ship, I'll gladly answer them if I can.

Though it was sad to disembark in Barcelona it was nice to think we will be on Eclipse in 8 months!

It was great to be travelling again. Our last flight was in October 2019. This was our first holiday since taking early retirement. So nice not to have the "back to work blues"  on the way home.

Look forward to hearing back from you.

 

[Travellers123]

Hi, good to hear from you, sorry for the late reply, we own and run a Hotel and we are super busy with very little time to ourselves. The Beyond sounds fab, we were thinking of the infinity Veranda as friends who are coming with us have not cruised beofre and we thought that it would be the best bet, however i can see what you mean about walking out. Not been to Sitges can you believe it. Recently been going to a nice little resort in Gran Canaria in the winters as we are closed from late October until late March, we stay at a place called Villas Blancas, really friendly. I keep counting the days until we go on our cruise, we have been plaquing the company who are booking our flights to get on with it as the prices keep rising and rising, however they are determined to wait to get a better price once the flight scheduels have increased and the panick buys have settled down. We are off to the South Of France in August for 9 to a little Place called the Lotus Tree, so looking forward to the break already. Speak soon.

 

 Sam & Huw

[Hove1959]

Hi Sam and Huw

Great to hear back from you. Understand how busy you must be, now that we are heading into summer. Hope it warms up more soon. What is the name of your hotel? You never know, we might fancy a trip to Devon one of these days! 

We booked our flights to Australia and New Zealand last Friday! All very exciting. Never paid so much for flights to Oz before, but it is to be expected as we are travelling at Christmas. We actually fly out of Heathrow on Christmas Day. We are travelling on Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand, which are 2 of our favourite airlines. We are staying at the Meriton Apartments on Kent Street in Sydney. Just waiting for details of Sydney Harbour trips for New Years Eve to be released. Been dreaming of being in Sydney for NYE for over 40 years. I worked for airlines for over 30 years ( ground staff) and then in retail so have never been allowed to take holiday at Christmas as it was our busiest time. 

We have had some great winter breaks in Gran Canaria and Tenerife over the years. It's lovely to escape the British winter blues. 

Nice for you to have your South of France trip to look forward to!

 

All the very best

 

Kevan and Ian 

 

[Travellers123]

Hi, NYE in Sydney, fantastic.

 

Our Hotel, www.oldrectoryhotel.co.uk if you watch the video it will give you a flavour.

 

Sam

[Hove1959]

Hi again! Just looked at your website. Your property looks absolutely beautiful, and in such a lovely part of the world. I have fond memories of going to Lynton and Lynmouth as a child. I was born and brought up in Bristol until I moved to the " bright lights of London " when I was 19. I still have old friends and family in Bristol, and an old friend in Bridgwater.  We are long overdue a visit to the West Country.

Ian and Sam come from a similar background. Ian worked in car rental for over 30 years; starting with Swan National in London in 1987 and through subsequent name changes of Eurodollar, National and finally Europcar. He was a staff trainer for many years and finally an auditor for over 10 years travelling round the country. 

We  have now booked our New Years Eve event in Sydney.  All very exciting. We have splashed out on a Captain Cook Harbour Cruise including a 5 course dinner, wine and champagne. It's cost a fortune, but worth it for a once in a lifetime experience. I've been dreaming of NYE in Sydney for 40 years.

 

Trust you are both well

 

Kevan 

[Travellers123]

Hi,

 

 Thanks for the kind words on the Hotel. The other part is even more interesting though, we are also from Bristol and still have a home there in Clifton,  I also have a Car rental background with Europcar. I was with them from 1994 through to 2008 and was laterly in sales and head of Bussiness Travel and corporate accounts, there must be no doubht that I must know Ian, can I ask what his surname is. Mine is Prosser, Sam Prosser

 

Sydney sounds fab, you must be so excited.  

 

sam & Huw

[Hove1959]

Hi Sam

 

Great to hear back from you. What a coincidence that you also worked for Europcar for a long time. Ian's surname is Stafford. He was a staff trainer for 11 years with National, and became an auditor for Europcar when they merged, travelling around the country, until they made him redundant in November 2019. Wonder if you know my cousin Jeff Hall who has worked as a Europcar branch manager in the West Country for a long time at Gloucester, Swindon, Newport and more recently at Bristol Muller Road and Temple Meads.

We liked the look of your hotel  so much  that we have made a reservation to come and stay for 2 nights on September 19th! Really looking forward to it, and meeting you both before the cruise in January.

It's great to think we will be in Sydney in 6 months time.

 

Kevan and Ian 

[Travellers123]

Can't believe this, how fab that you are coming to stay with us. I am not sure that I know Ian after all as I left in 2008 right at the begining of the Europcar take over. (National) it will be really good to meet up. We also cannot wait for the time to pass to be off on our holidays to The South Pacific and NZ and Australia. Look forward to seeing you In September.

 

Sam & Huw

[Hove1959]

Really looking forward to our visit. I have not been to North Devon for over 40 years! It will bring back lots of memories.

Even if you don't remember Ian, you may have mutual acquaintances from those days.

 

[Travellers123]

Really looking forwarsd to meeting you guys. Yes I am sure we will know lots of mutal people that we have both worked with . I was based out of Bushy so not at the National offices in Liecester.

 

Sam

[Hove1959]

Really looking forward to meeting you both too.

Ian's department was based in Leicester but he worked from home, or was travelling round the country auditing Europcar branches. He also went to Bushey on occasions for meetings. 

Guess you are on countdown to your trip to France now.

Have you confirmed your flights for Australia and NZ yet? We have sorted out our Australian visas. Just need to do the NZ ones. Still plenty of time.

 

[Travellers123]

We have cancelled the trip to france as we felt that we couldnt trust Easyjet not to cancel when we were there. So we have booked with Jet2 Holidays as they have their own staff and appear not to be cancelling holidays. 

 

Still wating on flights for the trip, tried to move them along but the company is having trouble securing flights this far our and they wont do a full payment flight as they have said they wont take the risk. 

 

Visas, I was not aware tht we needed them????? What do we need to do?

 

Speak soon

 

 Sam

[Travellers123]

Australia visa done, that was easy!!!!!

[Hove1959]

Hi Sam

 

Shame to hear you have cancelled your Easyjet flights. To be honest it does look dodgy flying with BA too, at the moment.  Thankfully our flight back from Alicante in May all went smoothly. Glad we have no other flights booked until December. Hopefully they will have sorted staffing issues at airports by then! Are you still going to France on your Jet2 holiday or have you changed the destination? Travel on trains is a lottery at the moment with the strikes, and channel crossing on the ferries is not much better. Hope this is all good for your business, with people preferring to stay in the UK this summer.

Good to hear you have sorted out your visas for Oz. It is really efficient these days. I remember having to fill out loads of forms and go in person to Australia House in London back in the 80s.

Hope you get your Oz and NZ flights sorted soon. Are you going to do any stopovers, or going straight through?  Our flights are now a little cheaper than when we booked, but nothing we can do about it. At least we got all the airlines and timings that suit us.

 

All the best for now

 

Kevan 

 

[Travellers123]

Hi,,

 

 we are going to Benidorm! Can you believe it. We thought about looking at houses on the Costa Blanca to buy so a holiday to Benidorm seemed an ok thing to do, well we changed our minds oon buying again in Spain, but still have th holiday to Benidorm. This all hangs o nthe othter half getting his passport back intime.

 

Sam

[Hove1959]

We've never been to Benidorm! Have fun. Fingers crossed for the passport!

We are heading over to Brighton tomorrow to watch the Pride parade. Should be fun, and the weather is looking great. We don't go to the park any more ( since they started charging an entry fee) 

We'll go for lunch in the Lanes and to a pub for a drink afterwards.

 

Kevan