lyndarra

Hmm. You got me. acne, able, adze, ache, ante, axle, acre.... Aha! APSE!

You're not Robyn Crusoe. So long as the ship is still at the dock when I get there. I usually travel by train so my boarding is somewhat governed by train time table from Newcastle. I don't rush to get the train because, in haste, I may overlook something important - passport, wine? I time the train so that I miss the commuter rush. Arriving at abot 2 or 3pm usually sees a quick boarding in my experience.

At Napier the shuttle bus drops you at the Visitors Centre where local tour operators have stands set up. Some do multiple tours during the day. It is best to get there as early as possible as the the longer tours can book out and depart early. There is usually more than one operator doing wine tours.

On my last NZ cruise (Feb 2020) I booked an independant tour from Tauranga. The tour mini bus was there waiting and another couple, who had also booked independantly, also boarded. However, the driver had another booking who did not show. While we were waiting a few cruisers wandered over to the bus and asked the driver where we were going and if they could go too. No problem - as there were spare seats.

They may be paid poorly by our standards but certainly not compared to their home country.

So true. We were in Fairbanks on a night of Northern lights but could not see it due to cloud cover. May have second opportunity next June but don't like my chances as it is will be mid summer there. The last time was in August.

That's fine but waiters often have inside information on the content or standard of dishes being served that night. Without the menu it would be less easy to get the full picture of what's on offer. I'll be leaving my phone in my cabin unless it becomes absolutely necessary.

So right Chiliburn. Was our favourite dining spot. Have had nice simple breakfasts there.

Hang in there Les. I know what you mean about the camera, I've had that not so pleasant experience - "razor blades" comes to mind. I have dodgy kidneys. The right one has had a cyst for a few years but it's been slow growing. Last ultra sound two years ago detected another has developed on the left side. I'm due for another check up soon, possibly overdue. I'll have to check with my GP next week.

You're right about the itineraries. It's one one the main reasons why, in the past, I have booked HAL over Celebrity. My next cruise is on Westerdam Jan 4 Sydney/Singapore. I had done a similar cruise on HAL Volemdam and the itinerary is different again with ports to which I have not previoulsy been. Which triggered a memory of a maintenance issue on Volendam somewhere between Darwin and Indonesia. One of its generators failed. I fibbed - sorry. I think I have mentioned this previously on this board. The captain shut down the ship for a few hours, while it was repaired, which left us drifting in lovely sunshine on a smooth sea. All power was shut down while repair work was carried out except for the bridge and the casino. There is a chance I will be on Nieuw Amsterdam next June Vancouver/Whittier via Inside Passage, which I have done twice before with Celebrity, which also includes a place to which I have not previoulsy been.

"always" That's a rather sweeping statement. Have you done any HAL cruises that had mainteance issues? On my one and only Princess cruise our cabin had similar problems to the OPs. This coloured my attidude to Princess (along with some food issues) but I have not written it off. Having had many HAL cruises I have only ever seen one maintenance(?) problem - a cracked window in the Crows Nest which was quickly fixed.

The last couple of times I cruised with HAL (2017 & 2018) I had a smartphone but their app was so buggy I couldn't use it despite numerous trips to CSD. Managed quite well without it.

The Seasider has an optional drop off at Port Chalmers. We did that tour Dec 2017 and got off at Port Chalmers however it is a steep, but pleasant, downhill walk back to the ship.

Seeing this I wondered what water is put in the machine. Water sourced from onshore or ship water which I imagine would be quite pure to start with? Flowater claims for purity look quite impressive. https://drinkflowater.com/blog/sustainable-water-purification-system/

With an election coming up you would think they would be promoting infrastructure spending.

I would not worry about the exchange rate as no one can predict which way it will go. The difference would be minimal anyway. ATM moment the AUD is on the rise.🙁

Most likely pick up a fresh load on arrival the way things are going lately.

My top cover fund covers ambulance. I just fill in the details on the bill and the fund pays. One time I had called the ambulance but it was determined I would not need a hospital trip and my fund still paid it. I don't know if my fund has conditions based on need or type of service.

Cruise line shuttles I have used in have always been direct to or from station or airport.

I always take the train from airport to Central. However I don't pack a large suitcase. When my BF Tony and I returned from OS a month ago we had 6 minutes to schlep our bags from the airport train which stops at platform 23 to the Newcastle train at platform 8. To save time I took both our bags down and up the stairs instead of using the lift. Each bag weighed 16kgs. We made the train with a few minutes to spare. I'm lucky she also packs light but cos she is vertically challenged so it's easier for her to keep up with me by not having to haul her bag. I'm also lucky that at 74 I have a some fitness left. (Have had to do that a few times.) Getting from Central to White Bay with a couple of friends we have taken a maxi taxi - one cab for the four of us plus luggage. It was a five seater but enough room. At the Central taxi rank there is almost always a maxi taxi if anyone needs one. IIRC it was about $35/$40.

According to a current affair report on the teev yesterday, touting is happening again at airports. I've experienced it overseas (Hanoi Airport). My wife and I were walking towards the official taxi rank and we were constantly harrassed by touting drivers offering to take us to the city. We ignored them and, on our arrival at the taxi rank, found the official (legal) taxis to be cheaper than the touts. (The closer we got to the rank the less the touts were offering - rip-off indicator). On the TV program touts were picking up unsuspecting fares and charging OTT fares on arrival at passenger's destinations. Con artists. This link may help. https://www.pointtopoint.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/media/documents/2022/Touting-and-soliciting_Fact-sheet_AA.pdf

And get a lab test while you're at it.🙄

This big kid loves water slides - why should kids have all the fun. I'd do the flow rider on a surfboard if it wasn't for Arthur Itis stopping me from getting to my feet. Pack my boogey board perhaps? (so long as they don't put it through a scanner on boarding).😨

Haven't had any kids come to my house for about five or six years. Perhaps I look TOO SCARY!😱 Actually not many kids live around here. There used to be but they've all grown up and gone away.

All ok, OP has found their NCL Roll Call.