A cruise from Australia 🇦🇺

[jean87510]

Love those penguins!!!

[little britain]

Early closing times for breakfast on this ship!

Cafe 270 shuts by 10a

WJ shuts at 10.30a

Even Cafe Prom was clearing away their breakfast danishes by 10:45a

 

Australian’s obviously are early risers! We aren’t 💤! 

[Chiliburn]

23 minutes ago, little britain said:

Early closing times for breakfast on this ship!

Cafe 270 shuts by 10a

WJ shuts at 10.30a

Even Cafe Prom was clearing away their breakfast danishes by 10:45a

 

Australian’s obviously are early risers! We aren’t 💤! 

A lot of people don’t eat breakfast here . 
I might on Sunday with friends but it’s usually Brunch 

[little britain]

TV has been upgraded! A new remote control. Now has movie options (no movies before) .. those I randomly clicked on are available to rent at $11.99, even the ones they show on deck! 
 

Under TV option 30 is “HDMI Input” but I cannot find any ports on the TV.. don’t want to pull it too hard in case it comes off the wall lol

[little britain]

Another itinerary change… Dunedin cancelled and the Sounds due to the weather.

On the plus side, we will be going back up to Wellington! 
Ship happens! 

[little britain]

Ships show films you have never heard of but on a cloudy sea day….. “Hayseed” was excellent- quirky thriller about a murder. Gets really high ratings on IMDB too. 
🎥  🍿 

[little britain]

We have been given OBC for the inconvenience 

 

 

[DbPA]

Wow. So many cancellations. So disappointing. Seems like they are cancelling 3-4 days ahead of day ?.? 

[little britain]

5 hours ago, DbPA said:

Wow. So many cancellations. So disappointing. Seems like they are cancelling 3-4 days ahead of day ?.? 

Not that long… we were told when we were leaving Napier that Wellington the following day was cancelled.  For people without WiFi access who had private tours/car rentals etc I suspect it was an issue. 
 

Then yesterday whilst at sea we were told that Dunedin (in 2 days) and Sounds ( 3 days) had gone and Wellington was reinstated! 

[SpainAlien]

10 hours ago, little britain said:

We have been given OBC for the inconvenience 

 

 

Is it particularly windy?

[little britain]

6 hours ago, SpainAlien said:

Is it particularly windy?

Apparently down south it is - our sailings have been very smooth 

[little britain]

Lyttleton is the port for Christchurch.

$10pp RCI shuttle into the city centre takes about 30 minutes. Or you catch the free Lyttleton shuttle then take the #8 local bus ( which puts on extra services on ship days) for NZ$4pp e/w (US$2.44)

 

I had arranged a winery trip to the Waipara Valley with 9 others on the RC booked via Cheeky Kea. It was only NZ$110pp (US$66) versus the RCI ships tour which was $209!!! 😦 

We visited 3 wineries, had many many pours, a superb lunch and a lot of laughs.  Stunning scenery. Highly recommended 

 

 

 

[bonsai3s]

LB, did you have to get a New Zealand visa? 

 

* I know U.S. citizens have to apply for Aussie visa...but couldn't remember if NZ visa was required when sailing out of Sydney then visiting NZ. Thank you.

[SpainAlien]

18 minutes ago, bonsai3s said:

LB, did you have to get a New Zealand visa? 

 

* I know U.S. citizens have to apply for Aussie visa...but couldn't remember if NZ visa was required when sailing out of Sydney then visiting NZ. Thank you.

Look up the NZeta  You can get an app for your phone to apply which makes it easy

[little britain]

53 minutes ago, bonsai3s said:

LB, did you have to get a New Zealand visa? 

 

* I know U.S. citizens have to apply for Aussie visa...but couldn't remember if NZ visa was required when sailing out of Sydney then visiting NZ. Thank you.

Yes we did. It’s quite expensive compared to other visas! 
 

Purchase Summary:
 

New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority fee*:

$17.00 NZD

International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy:

$35.00 NZD

TOTAL

$52.00 NZD

 

[little britain]

The sun sets in New Zealand 

[little britain]

The sun rises in New Zealand - sailing into Wellington 

 

[little britain]

Wellington: a lovely city.

Free shuttle bus provided into the city centre. Dropped by the parliament building. We walked to Cuba St area which is quite funky and grungy, then back to take the cable car ( which isn’t a cable car it’s more like the funicular in HK). NZD$6pp one way or $11 return. We walked down through the botanical gardens which took around 40 mins then walked over to the waterfront which has many restaurants.

parliament

 

view from the top

 

gardens

 

lunch is poured

 

buildings have to be protected against earthquakes- this whole structure has been raised by 2 floors ( the grey levels are new since September); beneath is padding - made from old tyres). The thick black line was originally ground level 😲

Edited February 5 by little britain

[xpcdoojk]

LB, I may need you to remind me of your winery tour, when I get closer to booking excursions in 2025

[little britain]

Slowly heading back to Sydney, ending this cruise with 3 sea days because of the itinerary changes.
 

Some of the guest entertainment onboard has been very good. There was a lady called Yoomia who played the violin in Jimmy Choo high heels. Very vibrant and lively.
But the best by far were the Rat Pack Reloaded, very slick and suave.. imagine a group of George Clooney look alike silver foxes ☺️.. possibly one of the best shows I’ve ever seen on board a ship! 

 

* Australians all refer to the ship as a “boat”.  

So I’m not sure who is still with me on this one, but I hope you’ve enjoyed sailing along, and I’ve given you a taste of this Great Southern Land. 
 

And from this boat, over and out. 

 

 

Edited February 5 by little britain

[Disney Sheep]

Thank you so much for this thread. Australia and New Zealand have been on our bucket list for a long time and we have two cruises booked in the near future. The first on Royal will be to get us to Australia and the second will be on the Resilient Lady to explore New Zealand, so your posts have been read with great interest! I am attempting to manage my expectations given that the weather has stopped you from visiting some ports as well as the Sounds! Thanks again.

[Chiliburn]

15 minutes ago, little britain said:

Slowly heading back to Sydney, ending this cruise with 3 sea days because of the itinerary changes.
 

Some of the guest entertainment onboard has been very good. There was a lady called Yoomia who played the violin in Jimmy Choo high heels. Very vibrant and lively.
But the best by far were the Rat Pack Reloaded, very slick and suave.. imagine a group of George Clooney look alike silver foxes ☺️.. possibly one of the best shows I’ve ever seen on board a ship! 

 

* Australians all refer to the ship as a “boat”.  

So I’m not sure who is still with me on this one, but I hope you’ve enjoyed sailing along, and I’ve given you a taste of this Great Southern Land. 
 

And from this boat, over and out. 

 

 

I have seen both those acts and they are good .

I don’t know if there was any cover bands on your cruises ,there’s some good ones. 

[perfect match]

I’ve been here and definitely enjoying the journey. I appreciate the time you have taken to share your cruise with us. You have been to a lot of my bucket list destinations. Hopefully I will be able to make it there at some point but for now I’m enjoying virtual cruises with people like you. Thanks foe taking me along! 

[DbPA]

3 hours ago, little britain said:

Slowly heading back to Sydney, ending this cruise with 3 sea days because of the itinerary changes.
 

Some of the guest entertainment onboard has been very good. There was a lady called Yoomia who played the violin in Jimmy Choo high heels. Very vibrant and lively.
But the best by far were the Rat Pack Reloaded, very slick and suave.. imagine a group of George Clooney look alike silver foxes ☺️.. possibly one of the best shows I’ve ever seen on board a ship! 

 

* Australians all refer to the ship as a “boat”.  

So I’m not sure who is still with me on this one, but I hope you’ve enjoyed sailing along, and I’ve given you a taste of this Great Southern Land. 
 

And from this boat, over and out. 

 

 

 

[DbPA]

Have enjoyed following your journey. Thank you for taking time to update.