BTimmer's Almost Live Sydney - Seattle 4/10/24-5/12/24

[azbirdmom]

41 minutes ago, Btimmer said:

We got the last 4 tickets for a private excursion to Hobbiton!

 

We went there with Zealandier in December.  Such a wonderful place even if one isn't a huge Lord of the Rings / Hobbit fan.  Hope you enjoyed it.

[Btimmer]

29 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

We went there with Zealandier in December.  Such a wonderful place even if one isn't a huge Lord of the Rings / Hobbit fan.  Hope you enjoyed it.

We visited Hobbiton two years ago and hadn't read or watched anything Hobbit or Lord of the Rings oriented.  Hobbiton was awesome and it's why we are returning.  And, yes, we've binge watched the entire Lord of the Rings series.

[PescadoAmarillo]

@Btimmer, I’ve just gotten caught up with your blog and enjoyed every word. Thanks for providing the link, and for keeping a live from and blog going simultaneously (no small feat)!  Continue to enjoy your cruise. 

[Btimmer]

We're back in the ship after a wonderful trip to Hobbiton.  It's totally dark at 6:40pm and we should be departing shortly to catch the tidal flow properly.  Here are a few pictures from Middle Earth.

 

 

 

Fake tree

 

 

 

 

[Btimmer]

This morning we are in the Bay of Islands, NZ.  It blue skies and gorgeous!  We have a Princess Excursion.

 

 

 

[Btimmer]

We're about to depart Auckland after a nice visit here.  We visited the Weta Studios unleashed near the Sky Tower and went up the tower. We also imbibed in a real donut at Dunkin' Donuts.

 

 

 

 

[Btimmer]

We're on day 2 (April 21) of the segment to Papeete.  We're crossing the international date line and we'll enjoy April 21 again tomorrow. Below is a map of our current position.

[Btimmer]

Life is short so today we sampled a premium dessert before dinner!  Yummy!

 

 

Also, we cleared the standby list for a snorkeling trip on a catamaran on Day 2 in Papeete.

I just missed lasting 3 minutes on the Yes/No game show. But I won a water bottle.

 

And finally we enjoyed 2 sets of Patrick McMahon, a terrific country singer from Western Australia.  We have seen him previously a number of times on HAL cruises.

[Btimmer]

Today we are in lala land after crossing the international dateline yesterday.  It's day 13 and we are observing a second April 21 (Sunday).  The schedule on the APP does not have the correct schedule and the Princess Patter (printed schedule) doesn't show all events.  We did have an interdenominational service this morning and it's the first time I can recall doing Sunday on adjoining days.

 

 

[Btimmer]

Here's a peek at some of our room decor.  Angela brought these along for the Polynesian / Hawaiian portion of the cruise.

Princess continues to have problems with an inaccurate schedule on the APP and it isn't synched with the printed Patter.  Crossing the dateline is the likely culprit.

[PescadoAmarillo]

On 4/21/2024 at 3:46 AM, Btimmer said:

Life is short so today we sampled a premium dessert before dinner!  Yummy!

 

 

Also, we cleared the standby list for a snorkeling trip on a catamaran on Day 2 in Papeete.

I just missed lasting 3 minutes on the Yes/No game show. But I won a water bottle.

 

And finally we enjoyed 2 sets of Patrick McMahon, a terrific country singer from Western Australia.  We have seen him previously a number of times on HAL cruises.

He was the BEST entertainer!  We still talk about his horse, Chips. 

[Btimmer]

We're a couple of days from Papeete and the outside temperatures are getting much warmer.  Sunbathing was in full force today.  Here's a 170° stern view.

Tonight is formal night, but we continued our dining in the Lido Marketplace where there is a wonderful grill station.

 

 

 

 

 

We've finally cleared the wait lists for snorkeling excursions in Papeete, Moorea, and Honolulu.  

[Btimmer]

After 5 days at sea, we are arriving at Papeete, French Polynesia. The ship has rotated and is backing into the berth as we are overnighting and will be departing in the dark tomorrow.

 

 

 

It's over 80°f at 7:40am. We're doing a snorkeling trip this morning.

Edited April 24 by Btimmer

[CPs4591]

1 hour ago, Btimmer said:

After 5 days at sea, we are arriving at Papeete, French Polynesia. The ship has rotated and is backing into the berth as we are overnighting and will be departing in the dark tomorrow.

 

 

 

It's over 80°f at 7:40am. We're doing a snorkeling trip this morning.

If you’re going to Moorea in the morning, it’s worth getting up early on deck and watching sunrise with some coffee as you make the very short trip over.  

[Btimmer]

7 minutes ago, CPs4591 said:

If you’re going to Moorea in the morning, it’s worth getting up early on deck and watching sunrise with some coffee as you make the very short trip over.  

Yup, we've been there before.  We also saw it on our way in today.

[Btimmer]

Our disembarkation was delayed 50 minutes because of clearance issues.

[Btimmer]

Here's a tip for future cruisers.  If you dock at the main pier, turn left and head towards the ferry terminal.  There will be lots of vendors selling excursions (land and snorkeling) for both Papeete and Moorea.  Costs are in the $50-$70US range.

 

we ended up cancelling our Princess day 2 snorkeling trip as it was a copy of day 1.  We booked a $50 4 hour tour of the island at one of the above booths.

[charliedalrymple]

On 4/17/2024 at 7:43 AM, azbirdmom said:

We went there with Zealandier in December.  Such a wonderful place even if one isn't a huge Lord of the Rings / Hobbit fan.  Hope you enjoyed it.

 

I will admit complete ignorance of and a total lack of interest in all things Lord of the Rings / Hobbit.  I'm just curious--were the movies actually filmed at Hobbiton?  I would imagine that would make it quite exciting for fans.

[Btimmer]

38 minutes ago, charliedalrymple said:

 

I will admit complete ignorance of and a total lack of interest in all things Lord of the Rings / Hobbit.  I'm just curious--were the movies actually filmed at Hobbiton?  I would imagine that would make it quite exciting for fans.

Yes.  The set was originally built, used, and then destroyed. For subsequent movies,  it was rebuilt and this time with more durable materials.  I, too, had no interest and before we were there the first time 2 years ago, I had never seen the movies or read the books.

[milolii]

55 minutes ago, charliedalrymple said:

 

I will admit complete ignorance of and a total lack of interest in all things Lord of the Rings / Hobbit.  I'm just curious--were the movies actually filmed at Hobbiton?  I would imagine that would make it quite exciting for fans.

While on a tour to Rotorua from last month, our tour guide gave us a little local history. She stated that Peter Jackson found the area which belong to a local sheep farmer, arriving by helicopter. The farmer knew nothing about the story even after the first film was shot.  His daughter educated him.  The land and set still belong to the farmer. He’s considered the luckiest farmer in New Zealand. But still attends to his sheep.   It’s a beautiful country, 

[Btimmer]

17 minutes ago, milolii said:

While on a tour to Rotorua from last month, our tour guide gave us a little local history. She stated that Peter Jackson found the area which belong to a local sheep farmer, arriving by helicopter. The farmer knew nothing about the story even after the first film was shot.  His daughter educated him.  The land and set still belong to the farmer. He’s considered the luckiest farmer in New Zealand. But still attends to his sheep.   It’s a beautiful country, 

We also learned similar information.  One brother tends the sheep and one runs the movie set business.

[kebhouse]

I'm extremely jealous- this is a bucket list destination for me. I use a rowing maching most days and my favorite iFIT workouts were all filmed in French Polynesia. The water is so gorgeous in the videos that I don't mind the hard workouts at all. Would love to see in person!

Edited Friday at 02:14 PM by kebhouse

[Btimmer]

Here's the picture of the day from Moorea.  More snorkeling pictures to come.

 

[arizonaperson]

@Btimmer great ship and rainbow photo

[Btimmer]

We're now on Day 3 (Half way there) of our journey to Honolulu.  Every day has a full range of activities and great evening entertainment.  We're totally enjoying on time on the Majestic Princess.  Last night and again today at 1 & three, Rob Watkins, ventriloquist, performed and he's been a delight.

 

 

The comedy shows have been performed to packed audiences in the Vista Lounge.  So much so, that Andrew Grose will do a repeat matinee show tomorrow in the main Princess theater.