zalusky

We did a Sydney to Auckland cruise on Celebrity on 2016. One of the options was an overnight from Milford Sound to Dunedin. We basically got off the ship in Milford sound with an overnight bag. They took us to various sites along the way. We stayed in Queenstown, visited a sheep sheering event, had dinner, stayed in a very nice hotel. The next day towards Dunedin we stopped at a bungy jump place and had the opportunity to do an on your own but passed. I think we also stopped at a winery but don't remember. We arrived in Dunedin, and rejoined the ship. They had an upgrade to the extension where instead of being in a bus you were in a minivan with more intimate experiences. I am glad I did it. I don't know other cruise lines provide that option.

We did a 21 day last year Bali to Sydney. We enjoyed the entertainment provided and did not consider that an issue. I also felt the service was top notch. My wife is diabetic and the butler immediately got us in touch with the head chef within minutes and he would hunt us down in the ship to have us try out something the chef created to accommodate us. That was great. The issue was as previously mentioned they can only do what corporate allows them to do. It seems sad that they are not allowed to purchase something from a local port specifically to deal with individual needs. It's not because it's too much work it is because corporate does not allow it. I can understand there might be lawsuit concerns if something goes wrong because thats our world now. I would just hope for some flexibilities. I am at a loss as to how those follow the chef into town to purchase products for a cooking class works. My wife does low carb to help with her diabetes management and almond flour just does not cut it as it is calorie intensive and very heavy. She recommended some alternatives that were from mainstream products to the chef and were available in local ports but the chef had no ability. We did finally come up with a middle ground. Little ships often do not cater to the individual as much as you think.

It's not our responsibility to play cop here. Whether it be clothing or alcohol or .... It's up to Oceania to decide if it's a problem. This is so minor in the big picture.

Any thoughts on time of year for the train ride? Spring vs summer vs fall vs winter.

Local Kitchens in Cupertino on Stevens Creek carries Humphrey Slocumbe.

I look forward to something besides Regatta sailing the Pacific. Yes I know it starting to happen but I look forward to it.

Thats my point. They can upload daily data to corporate and with a decent app you can also offload a copy to your phone before leaving. I do not want to carry a planner with me. I hate wasting paper.

No but there is only one self serve laundry for the whole ship. The O ships have one on each floor!

Thats the point. It's something they need to fix.

I would disagree with that. There were a number of times I wanted to see the menu's while on a late port day to decide if I was going to eat on land or go back to the ship. That also implies the ship network needs to be accessible via land. In addition while the service was great I will not sail R class ships again. The lack of self service laundry and adequate BATHROOMS next to Horizon and the theater is a deal breaker.

It was more than that. It was a completely free junior suite cruise with SSBP that I got when I took a move over offer a few days before a cruise last year.

I like asking people here that might have real experience. The only booking I currenbtly have for next year gave the SSBP gratis so I was just curious if there is any real experience.

My wife is diabetic and a kidney transplant recipient who takes a lot of drugs would that qualify as an exception to the both person muyst purchase rule?

The real question is pay the gratuities up front as part of the fare or make up a bogus lower fare and charge the gratuities after the fact. i much prefer everybody just be upfront and charge an honest fare.

We did have a butler on our O round Australia cruise last year. It was our first experience with one. The area where the butler was useful was food. My wife is diabetic and looks for low carb options. We discussed this with the butler and he asked if we wanted to talk with the head chef. Within a minute of him leaving the room the head chef was on the phone with us. He gave us his email address. She discussed some low carb ways of making bread and the head chef said we would try some of them. The next day the butler searched all the lounges for us. He found us in the theater. He said they had some we could try. Upon getting back to our room he presented us with a hot plate of an almond flour version and was able to create my wife's egg version. Also on a late excursion at Philips Island where we got back at 11PM. He had a snack tray in our room with various low carb options including the bread we said we liked none of which we requested. I doubt we would have gotten the same service with the traditional room steward.