cruiselvr04

Thanks so much for all the suggestions. We will pack for for both scenarios. I love the 5 S’s. I do have my personal fan laid out. I forgot to take it in Columbia SA in October and thought I might pass out from the heat and humidity. We were standing in the shade dripping wet! We were also pretty cold in Alaska in July. We weren’t miserable but needed long sleeves, hoodies, hat and gloves with a raincoat to keep the heat in. Glad to have chatted on here with all of you. DH thought we’d need just summer clothes. Your sharing has convinced him otherwise.

Ours weren’t available at 30 days and we kept getting an error message. 2 days later we got a Royal Up. So that could happen too.

DH would be so jealous. King crab is his favorite.

I do like to be prepared but you’re totally right. If we forget something or need something I’m sure we can buy it there. Just hoping our checked suitcases make it over and we’ll be good.

I think we’re going to love it! There was a post from Australia on the Australia board where I had no idea what they were talking about. I think we’ll also learn some new words for things. Hoping we catch on quick so we can enjoy the comedy.

Not sure I understand what this means? Does this mean you can’t exchange US for AUD on the ship? I can understand that but what about ports of call. Surely there’s foreign exchange services on land? If we tip in US do the crew have a way to exchange? Can we get US change on the ship at GS? How do they pay out in the casino?

We are coming to Australia in less than 2 weeks. I’m not really sure how to pack even though I’ve studied temps on line. We will be starting in Sydney for a few days then cruise to NZ getting as far north as Tauranga then back to Sydney. Then Sydney, around to Darwin to Perth, which I assume will be hot. Then back over NZ mid March as far north as Christchurch. We will finish with a few days in Sydney in late March. Terms like hot are relative right? We are used to 40C here in Texas although we don’t go out much then except from AC to AC and it’s fairly dry. We had 6 weeks of that this year. Do I pack 50/50 mix of shorts and pants, long sleeve shirts and short sleeve shirts? Add a jacket, hoodie or maybe what you call a jumper and raincoat? I don’t like to be cold! Does the sun make 20C feel hotter in Australia, because to me unless I’m in the sun that feels a bit cool. My favorite temp is about 25C. We will bring umbrellas and good walking shoes!

Packing now for 2 months in Australia and NZ. We are taking 4 checked bags plus each a roller carry on and an under the seat carry on. We don’t over pack for clothes as much as all the other things. I need my shampoo and conditioner, sunscreen, OTC meds, daily meds. I would say one bag is just for stuff we’ll use like beach bag, snorkel mask, fold up back pack, toiletries, hanging bag for wall, shoe holder, things like that. A bag is for dress up clothes and probably 2 for clothes and shoes. We will be in very hot in Darwin plus probably some summer Alaska type weather in southern NZ. I also take a small collapsible wash basin to do laundry in the room. We will send out underwear, socks and nightgowns. There are a few things we could buy when we get there like liquid hand soap but I don’t want to spend my time running around trying to find specific products pre cruise. I also don’t want to spend time in ports of call looking for something we forgot. And that’s if you have ports of call and don’t end up with 6 or 7 sea days in a row which has also happened. I do have duct tape and we have used it. I can’t tell you how many times DH has asked for something and it’s rare I don’t have it. Be prepared but organized.

What are they looking for in the question of lakes or fresh water streams? We are taking an excursion to the hot springs in New Zealand. Do I answer yes? We can wash our “swimmers” before we come back into Australia.

Looks like the next few days will have very scenic sailing. So fun! We were never very interested in SA but after your pictures and report we are definitely going to add it to the list!

We are staying in Boston 3 nights post cruise. Would Back Bay be the place for us to stay to walk or easy transit to all the historical areas in Boston? Hotels seem to be pricey in the area but we know location plays a part in that. We will fly out of Logan if that makes a difference.

It’s always disappointing to lose a port of call.

Happened to us tonight. I was able to go through an email that had the full cruise docs and my luggage tags were at the bottom. Check there. Otherwise I’d try again tomorrow.

Honestly she’s not that bad. No crowds, easy to get around, easy to get off and on at ports of call. The theater is nice. The crew was wonderful. We had a jr suite last on her so space wasn’t an issue. She doesn’t look any more used than anything else below the Oasis class.

DH is running errands today. But tonight we start the freeze. Brrr. I don’t plan on going out until it gets above freezing on Wednesday or Thursday. His work travel was canceled this week due to weather where he was going. The south doesn’t have snow removal. Dallas has been putting down some de-icing stuff on major roads. Our pipes froze in that storm but didn’t burst. We lost shrubs and our palm trees. We were really lucky. We had power but no water. Hopefully that doesn’t happen again.

I agree the ship looks pretty wow. But like you we will wait a while until it’s not so new to experience it.

Good to know! I’ll pack my flashing disco earrings and necklace! 🙂

I’d love to experience the Drake Passage. We’re all a bit jealous. A bit of ginger ale might help or ginger mints. I hope to someday do it! Do you actually step foot on Antarctica or just sale by it?

We’ve been able to book Izumi on the first night on the smaller ships. On Radiance both in San Diego and Seward we were one of 2 tables even there. On another smaller ship we were told no then the maitre d called and said to come on up as again the restaurant was almost empty. So asking doesn’t hurt. I know on the bigger ships people haven’t been able to get their speciality dining package every night. ( Which by the way, would make me VERY unhappy. Do not sell what is not available. ) On the smaller ships they are rarely full, another reason to sail the smaller ships!

Thanks for all your comments. It sounds like in Australia we can get by without any cash unless we go to one of the markets. We are using public transportation in NZ so we’ll have to get some for that. I remember getting foreign cash is hard to do here but maybe I’ll call the bank and see if I can order some so we don’t have to mess with it on the trip. Otherwise we can check out the exchange when we get there although I know the rates are always worse at an exchange.

Americans agree that tipping is out of control in the US. We don’t eat out much but when we get table service we tip. We aren’t going to tip for counter service or for someone to put cookies in a box or fix us a coffee. We do tip cabs for good service and the porters at the cruise terminal. I know most places take credit cards in Australia and New Zealand. That’s what we plan to do, no debit cards when we come this month. Are there places or situations we need cash? Someone mentioned the bus in NZ. Maybe an open market? We don’t want to get much but are not sure how much we need. Will we be able to easily find a bank and get what we need? We will be in the circular quay area in Sydney and our first port of call in NZ is Dunedin.

We have a shovel just to push off an inch or so of snow but sold our snow blower when we moved to Texas.

We are supposed to get up to 60 today and tomorrow so I’m heading out to do errands. By Sunday the big freeze comes and it looks like we won’t be above freezing for several days in a row. This is a big deal down here. Homes aren’t built with this in mind and pipes freezing is a real concern. We’ll keep faucets dripping and hope our power stays on. We lost 2 palm trees last time but didn’t have any burst pipes although we were without water for about 24 hours. We didn’t lose power but of course many others did with dire consequences.

Stay safe! We like rocking and rolling to a point. When I start to feel like I’m going to roll off the bed it starts to bother me a little.

We are headed your way at the end of month. Your post makes us even more excited! Keep her in good shape for us.