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Bay of Islands, NZ yesterday was a success, I guess we did get clearance in the end (bus driver mentioned that we only booked the buses the day before, so it must have been touch and go, not that the Captain told us anything). 

The difficulty is that everyone boarded in the frame of mind of a tropical South Pacific Islands cruise, and then after Noumea we have had two extra sea days, sailing at high speeds so very windy, two unexpected days in NZ where the weather was not exactly "tropical" and now two more sea days across the Tasman Sea on the way home, we are travelling at 21 knots in 3 metre seas in overcast weather and it is very rough, so there's no water in the pools and the ice skating shows and other outdoor activities are cancelled due to the conditions. Our cabin balcony door has been "whistling" 24 hrs a day on the sea days due to the high speeds. The last port is in Australia and there is really not much to see there, so people don't really see it as a valid port day. 

The cruise director Sophie is apparently not a cruise director at all, but is filling in as we have no cruise director. You can tell. It doesn't help the situation and she hasn't even acknowledged the itinerary change, just carrying on as if everything is fine, which is awkward. 

I feel like we should complain to RC about the handling of these issues and lack of communication, but also not sure anything will come of it. Before Noumea we were talking about doing a cruise in the Caribbean on Symphony of the Seas in a year or so but with the way things have panned out on this trip I will look into alternatives. 

We left Tauranga on time and are heading to the Bay of Islands, so far so good but always ready for a new surprise from Captain Wu. 

We booked a tour for the Bay of Islands but it's a private tour from a local operator. Apparently we are only allowed limited tenders and it's 30-45 mins each way so looks like I'll be up at the crack of dawn to try and get a tender ticket 🙄

9 minutes ago, S904 said:

Did you press for more than 1 day refund? Is it actual refund to credit card or future cruise credit??

It's "refundable onboard credit". I guess they are hoping people will spend it onboard so they don't lose as much money. We'll be holding into ours and waiting for it to be refunded to our credit card. 

Haven't spoken to guest services yet, it's very busy down there, but we might drop past before the end of the cruise. We'll also try and work out how to submit a formal complaint to RC, the whole situation has been so badly handled, and the Captain barely tells us anything. 

7 hours ago, Hogbay said:

well they have made a request to sail to a port agreed about port taxes and fees ... ,last minute fees would be extra $$$ and still have to obtain clearance to disembark passengers. 

This may explain why we haven't been refunded the port fees for the missed ports 😔

Arrived in Tauranga this morning. It's cold and foggy, and rain is expected. Not exactly the equivalent of the South Pacific that we are meant to be visiting 🙄

3 hours ago, Hogbay said:

Hope all the angry people understand that it's not the staff's fault and remove gratuity ? might not possible now that Aust fairs have it in the total not as a add on 🤞

It's built in to Australia fares so should be fine. Understand this is not the staffs fault. The communication from RC and even from the Captain has been pretty terrible, which is just adding to the general angst onboard. All the other ships are allowed into Vanuatu except this ship, which seems a bit odd 🤔

10 hours ago, Hogbay said:

You are tracking towards New Zealand , but still have yet to get clearance , you might become "boat people' and get a free holiday on Christmas Island . 

Any update on this? We haven't been informed onboard about any potential disruptions to our NZ ports. I hope we get to dock somewhere! Going a bit stir crazy with all these sea days 😴