"Live from" the Majestic Princess November 7-27 with pre- and post- cruise adventures

[jwattle]

G'day mates (okay, so it's really almost 2000 hours or 8:00pm),

We're shortly to bed for our next to the last sleep before we head to the undisclosed location prior to liftoff. I'm like a kiddo doing "the peepee dance!" 

The housesitter came by for briefing today; picking up last minute have-to-haves tomorrow, dealing with the terrorists (oh, s**t, sorry, trick-or-treaters) tomorrow evening, and then wake up, change the bedding and bathroom linens, and head off to Santa Rosa!

I appreciate all of y'all (yep, Arkansas is in my DNA) following for the shenanigans! Let's go have some fun!! We have some great reservations for restaurants in Sydney, some exploring to be done in Australia, an amazing time to be had on the ship and then the post-cruise crazies in New Caledonia. Who's with me??

Step aboard the plane, ship, automobiles, and whatever else we find and let's get this party started!! 🍸

[Cruisintimer]

1 hour ago, jwattle said:

G'day mates (okay, so it's really almost 2000 hours or 8:00pm),

We're shortly to bed for our next to the last sleep before we head to the undisclosed location prior to liftoff. I'm like a kiddo doing "the peepee dance!" 

The housesitter came by for briefing today; picking up last minute have-to-haves tomorrow, dealing with the terrorists (oh, s**t, sorry, trick-or-treaters) tomorrow evening, and then wake up, change the bedding and bathroom linens, and head off to Santa Rosa!

I appreciate all of y'all (yep, Arkansas is in my DNA) following for the shenanigans! Let's go have some fun!! We have some great reservations for restaurants in Sydney, some exploring to be done in Australia, an amazing time to be had on the ship and then the post-cruise crazies in New Caledonia. Who's with me??

Step aboard the plane, ship, automobiles, and whatever else we find and let's get this party started!! 🍸

I will always think of your name for trick or treaters from here on out....🤣😂🤣😂  Thanks for the laugh, you really need your own travel blog (in addition to here) or YouTube channel. 

[foxfilbert]

Safe travels, we will be joining you on the 20th Nov for the Tassie part of the cruise cheers 

[jwattle]

15 hours ago, Cc cruisers said:

We will be on the Fiji  cruise with you and love reading how other travellers get as excited as us.  Don’t envy the plane trip though as we only have just over an hour to travel to port. Safe travels. 

 

10 hours ago, foxfilbert said:

Safe travels, we will be joining you on the 20th Nov for the Tassie part of the cruise cheers 

 

Should we do a sailaway get together? Or a meet up sometime?

Looking forward to meeting everyone!

[jwattle]

G'day mates,

So...tomorrow we leave for our undisclosed location in Santa Rosa, CA; in 48 hours, we'll be "wheels up" (in our car) on the way to Sonoma Airport to take the former Airport Express, now Groome's Transportation (somebody had an absolute cranium failium) to SFO to see what Air New Zealand has in store for us. Then we get to soar through the night to the land down under.

Thank you for joining us, and tolerating my attempts to integrate some Aussie slang along the way!

[azbirdmom]

Have a wonderful trip.  Will be following along as you are covering some of the same territory that we did pre-Covid on the same ship.  We are also headed off to Sydney next month.  Enjoy every minute!

[pridejunior06]

Jo & Tom - do you know if we still need the Covid negative test before we embark in Sydney - can't get a straight answer online. I know Australia canned the requirement but Princess had not yet when Aus did. Have tried to search online for the answer but to no avail. We do have a test kit with us (from Canada) but ... if we don't need it.. BTW - we are staying at the Pier One Sydney Harbour - great place. We are in a mini on the Majestic for B2B2B cruising. 

 

on a different note - what Sydney restaurants are you going to? I've got to eat gluten free so have been looking but always good to find new ones. 

 

Wed afternoon here now .. 

[boeckli]

32 minutes ago, pridejunior06 said:

Jo & Tom - do you know if we still need the Covid negative test before we embark in Sydney - can't get a straight answer online. I know Australia canned the requirement but Princess had not yet when Aus did. Have tried to search online for the answer but to no avail. 

 

I am booked on Majestic from Sydney in December (I get on when you get off) . This is from a Princess email I got on August 29:

 

"You love travel, and we love making it simple to fulfill those dreams. So we're happy to report that effective immediately, the requirements to join a cruise from Australia will now align with all other cruises globally without vaccination or pre-cruise testing requirements.

This protocol shift applies to itineraries to all destinations sailing to or from an Australian port.

We can't wait to create new memories with you on your upcoming voyage!"

Edited November 1, 2023 by boeckli

[jwattle]

8 hours ago, pridejunior06 said:

Jo & Tom - do you know if we still need the Covid negative test before we embark in Sydney - can't get a straight answer online. I know Australia canned the requirement but Princess had not yet when Aus did. Have tried to search online for the answer but to no avail. We do have a test kit with us (from Canada) but ... if we don't need it.. BTW - we are staying at the Pier One Sydney Harbour - great place. We are in a mini on the Majestic for B2B2B cruising. 

 

on a different note - what Sydney restaurants are you going to? I've got to eat gluten free so have been looking but always good to find new ones. 

 

Wed afternoon here now .. 

Good early morning! 

As said by Boeckli, no more testing required,  but we're bringing a few "just in case" things change. 😉 

We have reservations at 6Head, Pony The Rocks, Sgt. Lok, Caminetto, and Harbourfront Seafood. (Yum! for a Taste of Sydney via The Rocks Restaurants). Planning to do the Big Bus and then the Hop On bus to the Blue Mountains with our Go City pass, but at a relaxed pace, also sampling wines to send home.  (Those of you who know us recall our...affection for the fruit of the vine). We have heard the wines are fair dinkum quality and price. 

We were informed that our bid for Premier Business on Air New Zealand was unsuccessful,  but I'm fine with that, as I hear lovely things about Premier Economy on that line. We're looking forward to finding out for ourselves. 

Well, ta for now!

[Host CJSKIDS]

@jwattlenownon top of the martini, you will have to have some fruit of the wine for me as I'm a huge fan of that as well!  I'm going to a wine event at Capital Grille tonight and will be sampling some nice ones. 

[Korimako]

Covid testing no longer needed, but you DO need proof of medical travel insurance (including repatriation) - a requirement from New Caledonia. No insurance, no boarding - even if you don't intend to go ashore in Nouméa.

[Astro Flyer]

10 hours ago, jwattle said:

We were informed that our bid for Premier Business on Air New Zealand was unsuccessful,  but I'm fine with that, as I hear lovely things about Premier Economy on that line. We're looking forward to finding out for ourselves.

It was worth a try but as you wrote that’s okay.

 

I’ve been reading recent reviews & watching recent video reviews about ANZ but have to wait for 16 months until experiencing ANZ PE. Looking forward to your flight & cruise experiences. 😊

 

[charliedalrymple]

20 hours ago, pridejunior06 said:

on a different note - what Sydney restaurants are you going to? I've got to eat gluten free so have been looking but always good to find new ones. 

 

Servers in restaurants in Australia are generally very knowledgeable about gluten intolerance and will be able to provide information on what you can and can't eat.  Just let them know when you are ordering.  (I'm coeliac myself and have had very few issues when eating out here.)

[KLM3164]

@jwattleYeah…so happy to see you are doing a Live review of your trip. We are huge fans of the Majestic (our favorite ship) and we hope to go to Australia one day in the not too distant future. I’ve seen some of your posts on other threads about this trip and I was really hoping you were going to do a review. Happy to be following along!!! And wishing you and @c-boya wonderful and amazing vacation!

 

I felt your excitement about receiving your medallions. We received ours today for our upcoming B2B on the Discovery. You are a better wife than I though, as I didn’t wait for DH to get home to open the package.

[LACruiser88]

If you have the opportunity, the below restaurant was our favorite in Darling Harbour during our 10 day stay in 2019.  We had dinner there 5 times!  The best grilled Barramundi!

 

We will definitely return there during our week stay next April before boarding the Majestic.

 

 

Edited November 2, 2023 by LACruiser88

[jwattle]

34 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

If you have the opportunity, the below restaurant was our favorite in Darling Harbour during our 10 day stay in 2019.  We had dinner there 5 times!  The best grilled Barramundi!

 

We will definitely return there during our week stay next April before boarding the Majestic.

 

 

You know that if it got your recommendation that we will be there!! 😀

[1emerald1]

1 hour ago, charliedalrymple said:

 

Servers in restaurants in Australia are generally very knowledgeable about gluten intolerance and will be able to provide information on what you can and can't eat.  Just let them know when you are ordering.  (I'm coeliac myself and have had very few issues when eating out here.)

My daughter who has celiac, recently spent a week in Melbourne on business, and had no trouble finding GF menus, and said the food down under was amazing!

[pridejunior06]

17 hours ago, jwattle said:

Good early morning! 

As said by Boeckli, no more testing required,  but we're bringing a few "just in case" things change. 😉 

We have reservations at 6Head, Pony The Rocks, Sgt. Lok, Caminetto, and Harbourfront Seafood. (Yum! for a Taste of Sydney via The Rocks Restaurants). Planning to do the Big Bus and then the Hop On bus to the Blue Mountains with our Go City pass, but at a relaxed pace, also sampling wines to send home.  (Those of you who know us recall our...affection for the fruit of the vine). We have heard the wines are fair dinkum quality and price. 

We were informed that our bid for Premier Business on Air New Zealand was unsuccessful,  but I'm fine with that, as I hear lovely things about Premier Economy on that line. We're looking forward to finding out for ourselves. 

Well, ta for now!

Thanks for the info ! We had ordered pizza from Caminetto last night - very good and the gluten free crust did not taste like cardboard! A win for me.. Hubby can eat as much gluten he likes. We also have a test kit with us ... just in case. We just did the Blue Mountains/Scenic World today - have a rental so that was quite the experience for hubby driving on the left as he hadn't done since our England trip in 2018.

Enjoy your time in Sydney! 

[jwattle]

13 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

If you have the opportunity, the below restaurant was our favorite in Darling Harbour during our 10 day stay in 2019.  We had dinner there 5 times!  The best grilled Barramundi!

 

We will definitely return there during our week stay next April before boarding the Majestic.

 

 

I looked them up and apparently their Harbour location is shuttered 😞

 

[LACruiser88]

3 minutes ago, jwattle said:

I looked them up and apparently their Harbour location is shuttered 😞

 

Oh, no!!!  🤷‍♂️

[jwattle]

And it's here; no more sleeps! What a comedy of wth's though...being the "let's make sure" type, two nights ago I went into my ETA's (electronic travel authority-visas) on my phone for NZ and Australia. Australia had an update for the app...that erased all existing ETA's when it came back up...so that was an hour of high blood pressure, uncouth language and figuring out how the sam h3ll to fix it. Yay for that...

Next was the New Zealand ETA. Annnnd...piffle! same issue! But wait! It scanned our passports with my phone and brought our eta's right up with no poblems, didn't it? Or did it? Nope! That is NOT my last name. Oh, the humanity! I submitted the edit form. Checked yesterday, no response, cursed a little (a lot) more, bit the bullet (aka my knuckle) and deleted my eta from the phone, and scanned my passport again. The skies opened, the birds sang, and my last name came up!

Before I knew it, we'd completed dinner in our undisclosed location and it was time to check in for our flight. Hey, who wants another heart stopper? Pick me! You guessed it! I checked both of our boxes, and it kept coming up unab le to check in online, check in at airport...well, guess who didn't sleep well with that little tidbit? Dirty rotten airline computer...and I tried multiple times...begging, bribing, swearing...nada!

Then, this morning, an epiphany! Let's go one at a time. First, Tom: no problem, checked in. Then me: no problem, checked in. Are you kidding me? What the actual biscuits on toast?!?! So there wasn't a passport issue? Neither of us was confused with a wanted fugitive from "To Catch A Smuggler: South Pacific"? We just had to do one at a time...of the ever loving...huh!

Well, who needs sleep the day of an all night flight anyway, right? 😄

Cheers, mates!

[azbirdmom]

4 minutes ago, jwattle said:

And it's here; no more sleeps! What a comedy of wth's though...being the "let's make sure" type, two nights ago I went into my ETA's (electronic travel authority-visas) on my phone for NZ and Australia. Australia had an update for the app...that erased all existing ETA's when it came back up...so that was an hour of high blood pressure, uncouth language and figuring out how the sam h3ll to fix it. Yay for that...

Next was the New Zealand ETA. Annnnd...piffle! same issue! But wait! It scanned our passports with my phone and brought our eta's right up with no poblems, didn't it? Or did it? Nope! That is NOT my last name. Oh, the humanity! I submitted the edit form. Checked yesterday, no response, cursed a little (a lot) more, bit the bullet (aka my knuckle) and deleted my eta from the phone, and scanned my passport again. The skies opened, the birds sang, and my last name came up!

 

The whole ETA process leaves a lot to be desired.  Had trouble scanning the passports on the Australia app and the one for the NZeTA was finicky taking our pictures.  All except for my hubby's request for the NZeTA were approved immediately, his took a little over 3 days so there was a tiny amount of stress for us but we were glad we did them early.  I did make hard copies of the email approvals and your post makes me glad that I did that.  Also saved the emails for reference.  Hope the rest of your travels are uneventful and safe!

[XBGuy]

Why is there so much mystery regarding the "undisclosed location in Santa Rosa?"

 

Expiring minds want to know.

[jwattle]

4 hours ago, XBGuy said:

Why is there so much mystery regarding the "undisclosed location in Santa Rosa?"

 

Expiring minds want to know.

Now that we're on the road,  I can divulge: we stayed at my Moms.  😂😂😂

Edited November 2, 2023 by jwattle

[XBGuy]

30 minutes ago, jwattle said:

Now that we're on the road,  I can divulge: we stayed at my Moms.  😂😂😂

 

 

🤣🤣🤣