Sun 4-ever

We extended our vacation by flying to Hawaii and staying 4 nights there before flying the rest of the way to Baltimore. Plus flying overnight is good because you can sleep then you don't realize how long your actually in the air.

Wondering what to do while in port from 9am to 11pm during our cruise in September. Any suggestiona

GUT2047 yes we will be on the Legend. Can you give me a few town names between Katoomba and Sydney for us to stay in one night?

We are a group of 4 adults traveling on a cruise from Hawaii to Sydney in September. We will dock in Sydney on October 10th and will be renting a car. Where can we rent a car from? We will be traveling up to the Blue Mountains and have reservations at the Blue Sisters Motel for 2 nigh's, we are looking for a hotel to stay in on the 12th somewhere between Katoomba and Sydney. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks everyone you have all been so helpful and I believe we have figured it out.

I'm hoping someone can help me figure out the International Date Line. So we care cruising from Hawaii September 22nd and arriving in Sydney on October 10th. Do we actually loose a whole day? Also we are staying in Sydney for a few days then flying to New Zealand for a few days and plan to fly to Hawaii the 17th of October. My question is this, the flight is aprox. 8 or 9 hours long and we travel through that International date line so what day will we actually get to Hawaii? I am nervous about booking flights and hotels because I want to make sure my dates are correct.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Wow lots of great information here. We are renting a car in Sydney to head to the Blue Mountains and we are staying overnight. You all just gave me some more ideas to add to our list of things in the Blue Mountains.

Hi All, I am the original poster and I'm confused about this credit card insurance your talking about.

We are renting a car in both Australia and New Zealand. Can we get the car insurance through the car rental company? Do you recommend a good company to rent a car from?

Does my husband need to get a different license?

You ALL have giving me so many great ideas, I want to do it all. Gonna try and squeeze in as much as we can. Can't wait to see your beautiful country.

Regarding the driving on the opposite side of the street, my hubby who is Retired State Police has had a lot of driving practice under lots of conditions and he says he will have no issues. I'm sure at first he'll be a little uneasy getting use to the opposite side of the road but then he'll do just great and no worries he is a speed limit kinda guy (me on the other hand think posted speed limits are a suggestion :D)

Seeing as you are all so helpful and friendly can you tell me what the temperatures are in mid October?

HAHA you guys are funny. I LOVE the way Australians talk and I have no clue what the Z or the s & f thing was about but it was fun reading your posts.

Anyways my husband is fine with driving on the wrong, or right depending on who you ask, side of the road. We are renting a car in Sydney to go to the BLue Mountains so by the time we get to New Zealand he'll have it down I'm sure.

The other Tom my email address is jojusjoe@gmail.com

jspqld - did you use public transportation to go to all the locations you mentioned? Also what is devenport? I'm not a museum kinda girl I get bored real easy I also don't like looking at birds in cages. I do love a good zoo if the animals are up and about and not hiding so we see nothing. I know my hubby would love to see the war memorial.

I really want to go to those caves and see the glow worms and do the tubing excursion. So how far are the caves from Auckland and are there other things there that it would be best for us to spend a night someplace besides Auckland?

I so love CC, it sure makes planning trips a lot easier.

The other Tom - cute name haha, so how did you book your tours? Where did you stay?

We are a group of 4 (60's age group) who will be flying to Auckland New Zealand from Sydney. We are planning to spend 4 days in New Zealand and are trying to decide what to do.

1. Should we rent a car or use public transportation?

2. What are the must places to see and do?

I was reading about the waitomo caves and that place sounds really neat. There is a tubing adventure that I think we would like to do if you think it's worth the time.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Australia has my favorite ship based there, The Carnival Spirit. It was the first ship my husband and I ever went on and we fell in love with it and cruising. The most beautiful ship we have ever been on was the MSC Poesia but it was not a good cruise but I hear they have gotten better. Our worst cruise ever was with RCCL and I really would like to never cruise with them again but I have friends that love them. So yes what one person loves another may hate. My favorite cruise line is Celebrity but we tend to cruise Carnival the most because they have water slides and my husband is a little boy at heart and I own stock so I get OBC with them.

Which ever cruise line you go with, enjoy and have fun.

Thank you so much for sharing this. I can not wait for our trip.

Ok I get the drift, haha. I'm sure you hate having all us tourist come into your beautiful country traipsing all over the place. My husband and I moved from brrrr New england 2 years ago to the sunny shores of Southern Delaware and come June, July and August we can't go anywhere because the traffic is awful. Oh and when I said 72 degrees I did mean water temps. By August, unless in Maine where the water never gets over 65 degrees, the water temps will reach into the low to mid 70's. Here in Delaware our beautiful water temps can get into the high 70's.

I really just like to lay on the beach and listen to the surf or get my feet wet so I'm hoping the weather in October in your beautiful country will allow for some of that.

HAHA ok so I figured out how to remove my Iphone 5S from it's case, and there is a little hole on the side so I guess that's where the sim card is. I will definitely go to the phone store and have them put the sim card in I need. Thanks everyone :)

Wow thank you all for all the great information but someone needs to explain what are white pointers, drop bears and do you really have sharks where you swim?

I am formally from New England so the water temps will probably be perfect for us as our ocean temps in the summer don't get much higher then 72.

I have a question regarding this post. I have an I phone and I don't believe it has a sim card. does it? Also I would just want to be able to text my family so how would I go about doing that?

We will be cruising to Sydney next year and we are trying to figure out what to do. We would like to go to the Blue Mountains and maybe spend the night somewhere there. So my questions are:

1. Should we rent a car and travel at our own leisure and stop and see what we want (party of 4) or should we take a bus or train?

2. If we stay in the Blue Mountains area where is the best place to stay?

3. We are also gonna be spending a couple nights in Sydney before flying to New Zealand so what is the best area for us to stay where we can see and do stuff in Sydney and also get to the airport fairly easy.

4. I see reviews where people mentioned stingers (ouch) We will be there the second week of October. Is the water and air temps warm enough to swim and if so will we have to deal with stingers?

Thanks for any info:o

Who did you book this through?

We will be there in October of next year. Want to do some site seeing but not just riding a bus want to actually explore. Seeing as we will only be there for 3 days we want to see the best of what is there. Don't really want to spend hours getting to a location.

We will be flying into Auckland, New Zealand for a 3 day visit after our cruise to Sidney. We are 4 adults looking to see some sites without getting a rental car. Any suggestions on things we can do and see and a good hotel.

Thank You:)

I found this list on a different site and just wondering if anyone knows if it's accurate.

Basic Wine Package

Barefoot Bubbly, Brut Cuvee

Copper Ridge, White Zinfandel

Zonin, Pinot Grigio

Clifford Bay, Sauvignon Blanc

Barefoot, Chardonnay

Barefoot, Pinot Noir

Bogle, Merlot

Twisted, Zinfandel

Black Swan, Shiraz

Smoking Loon, Cabernet Sauvignon

Deluxe Wine Package

Zonin, Prosecco

Castello Del Poggio, Moscato

Oyster Bay, Sauvignon Blanc

Schmitt Sohne, Riesling Spatlese

Kendall Jackson, Vintner's Reserve, Chardonnay

Murphy Goode, Merlot

Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo, Cabernet Sauvignon

Bodega Santa Elena, Malbec

Domaine Darons de Rothschild Lafite, Bordeaux

Premium Wine Package

Paul Louis, Blanc de Blanc

Ecco Domain, Pinot Grigio

Ferrari-Carano, Fume Blanc

Pouilly-Fuisse, Burgundy

Frei Brothers, Chardonnay

Kendall-Jackson, Vintner's Reserve, Pinot Noir

Kendall- Jackson, Vintner's Reserve, Merlot

Hess Select, Cabernet Sauvignon

Melini, Classic Riserva, Chianti

Yangarra, Shiraz

"Education is w

I saw this posted a few post down and copied over here for you. That is weird to be in port at night like that but I would check to see how late the fort is open to.

It depends on what time your ship arrives and departs. San Juan has a beautiful historical old section with blue cobblestone streets. It is fun just to walk around the narrow streets and poke in and out of stores. There are also two amazing forts that can be visited and are part of the National Parks system.

If visiting at night, there is the biobay tour. Check the moon cycles before you book as it needs to be dark.