hammo

Loving your posts . We are on Ovation in April and just off Quantum so interesting to see if there is much difference . Different performance in Two70 which was fantastic . Same style production Sequins and Feathers which we have seen before - long legs and much feathers LoL . Fantastic waiter staff in the dining room , food selection and quality down on previous sails , but it was just a 3 nighter and our grandkids loved the fun in the dining room ( Carnival style napkin waving and they stood on their seats for the chicken dance with the staff - Thinking most joined in and had fun . Pools were all packed like sardines . Solarium full all day . Interested to follow your Ovation cruise each day to see the differences  . Thanks  ( By the way there are many not so patriottic Aussies displaying un Australian style demonstations at the moment re Australia Day which I shouldnt comment on for fear of adding angst to your fine posts ) 

Just off Quantum of the Seas with our family ( we are Diamond members ) a little 3 nighter , 6 adults and 4 well behaved grandchildren -( I say this because there were 1500 kiddos onboard and many not supervised at all - including a group of teens who constantly pushed every elevator button at once and ran off yelling / laughing ) Another blaming the cruiseline becuase her son booked up $300 in the first few hours in the  arcade - she reckons the cruiseline should supervise - I told her maybe thats a parent thing 😂.

Anyway , heres my 2 bobs worth

Windjammer - disappointing - selection pretty much the same each day with little variation . Crowded as expected , drink stations not always  loaded - salad items good - missed any mexican if it was available - Second day lunch asian noodle dish not refilled ( I went back 3 times hoping) . Hard to get drink service as seemed to be understaffed . Yes its the buffet I know .Most seemed happy though . 

MDR - we were in Silk for ATD and had a table of 10 each night at 7:30 which was perfect . Line up was very quick and well supervised by the staff .Really well arranged by the MaitreD and the Grandchildren loved the atmosphere and experience which was a bit more like a Carnival Experience with the waiters dancing and the napkin waving and the Chicken dance . It really was a childrens cruise night and I guess good for us but not for others who would have liked a more sedate and relaxing dining experience . Still everyone around us joined in an had some fun .

The dining , not so much fun , apart from the fantastic waiter and wine service that our guys provided . They were first class and attentive , great personalities and made each night something to look forward to .Limited menu and similar/same offerings . Parts of the steak good , pastas just ok , presentation lacking and clumsy , good breads , fish not sure what , childrens menu offerings like fast food - thankfully our waiters brought them all friut cups to start . Service timing was excellent . ( I guess we are just off Cunard and Virgin hence feeling unrealistically disappointed here ).

Jamies Lunch - we shouted the 4 adults lunch and they thought it to be fantastic . Food , service , everything - lucky them . We took the grandkids to Sorrentos , that wasnt great as no pineapple ( all kids love Hawaiian I figured ) , so we then went to the Windjammer ,  chips and burgers again . 🤷‍♂️

Continental room service prompt and as expected , good for what it is . Coffee was unexpectedly  good .

Bars pretty good considering the number of passengers and just sea days , staff workrd hard .

Pool areas were packed - and as it was warm,  pools  were full including the solarium . One afternoon you could only just bob up and down there were so many in the water .

Rockclimbing was well organised and attended as was flowrider - the North Star not going .

Ship felt full , walkways always busy .

Entertainment around the ship was as usual , good , the Pool band played regae so that was appropriate . Two70 was fantastic and the Production show Sequins and Feathers excellent although we had seen this last year .Didnt catch the Comedy guy .  

Casino - unkind to us again - we are $1 pushers so dont expect anything but a donation to RCCL . Sat next to a couple who were both pushing $50 a push . Crikey ! 

Embarkation quick  and disembarking well organised but a long line waiting to get off ,  Much better than Virgin and on a par with Cunard recently for embarkation .Disembarking a little slower I think .

So that about it , we are on Ovation in April so will be cooler and Probably less children although still school holidays . Have booked the Ultimate Dining package which was reasonable but not the beverage package as that pricing is more than the cruise for 10 nights - RCCL are out of whack with their drink prices for Aussies so we'll do the Diamond drinks and the 40% off a bottle . That worked well this trip so hope it goes well again . . 

We are on the short 3 nighter out of Brisbane on Quantum and just looking at the planner it shows no availability for Two70 at any of the 4 shows( sold out )  and there is no production style show in the theater on any night either ? Is this normal for RCCL ? No mention of a dress to impress night ? 

thanks Sinbad

Thanks Sinbad , Can you tell me where you picked up the local bus and where it dropped off please ?

Yep Little Britain , we have not embraced the USA tipping culture here , only for exceptional service above the norm or when you are feeling generous , but rarely expected from wait staff here . Thinking the straw ( do you mean onboard ?) thing is a cruiseline decision although Australia is turning to the paper straw which is a green choice but they get bloody soggy and useless😆. Glad you are enjoying OZ .Good news for us on no extra gratuity on the Diamond voucher bottle , thanks .

Thanks Sianli , much appreciated advice .

Hey Sunshine , --- Quantum January and Ovation April. This is new for us as we usually buy the beverage package but its 'onsale' price for us is $124 pd so x 10 its more than the cruise price 🤑

Therefore we will try the diamond benefits 4 drinks perk and just value add when needed .

. Ive seen some bar menus and seems there are bottles of wine available so hoping we might be able to share a bottle of Chardonnay or similar sitting down together using our diamond voucher with 40% off .Wondering ,  Do they add the 18% to that here on  Australian cruises or are grats already included as they are included in the  Cruise fare here ? If they add the 18% after the discount its just 22% ? Maybe not,  as the 20% discount using the voucher on wines over $100 would net just 2% savings 🤨

Like I said , we usually dont worry about this but the rest of our family with us , we would like to share a few drinks with them and save them a few $ as well . Parenting / Grandparenting is a tough job 🤣

Thanks Doghog , 

Any ideas on other locations where bottles of wine would be available the same ? Just planning now as you do .lol 

Just wanted to clarify some of the info here on the Diamond "voucher" benefit re the 40% off the bottled wine under $100 . We are sailing with our family ( 6 adults 4 grandchildren ) and wife and I are the only C&A Diamond members so were hoping to use the voucher discount for bottled wine at dinner - say 2 bottles per night shared with the family ( not the kiddos! ) .Can I expect that this would be ok ?

Also are we able to use the other vouchers to purchase bottles of wine at other locations around the ship , say bars or Windjammer etc ? The price of drinks on RCCL for Aussies is very high given our conversion rate  so thought this would be a real Diamond benefit for us. Any info much appreciated 

1 hour ago, little britain said:

I’m there in Feb! Let me know if you’re there before us! 

Not there till April so will appreciate your advice. On Cunard tomorrow so you will know much about that experience I guess. On Quantum again later in Jan with the whole family here in Aus , but finding the New Zealand ports hard work as the RCCL shore excusions are crazy priced for us Aussies and as several stops require shuttles rather than walk offs . Just planning .

Just wanted to clarify some of the info here on the Diamond "voucher" benefit re the 40% off the bottled wine under $100 . We are sailing with our family ( 6 adults 4 grandchildren ) and wife and I are the only C&A Diamond members so were hoping to use the voucher discount for bottled wine at dinner - say 2 bottles per night shared with the family ( not the kiddos! ) .Can I expect that this would be ok ?

Also are we able to use the other vouchers to purchase bottles of wine at other locations around the ship , say bars or Windjammer etc ? The price of drinks on RCCL for Aussies is very high given our conversion rate  so thought this would be a real Diamond benefit for us. Any info much appreciated 

We have a cruise ex Brisbane next week with our family which includes 4 grandchildren so plan on bringing our allowed 12 cans of soft drink per cabin onboard . I read that this is OK as hand luggage but have also seen cruisers checking in same at luggage dropoff . Any Brisbane experience with this ?

So maybe noone has ever done this 😆Ill let you know how we go .

Trying to find info from anyone who has travelled on RCCL and shuttled into Dunedin . I found the local bus service but assume that will be chaotic if 1000's of  cruisers decide like us that the ships tours are ridiculously expensive and decide to stroll around Dunedin after 3 sea days. Saw someone said Princess charge $35 ea for their shuttle ? Ouch . 

So , is it  true that you can bring back wine onboard from a cruise port stop on Princess to consume onboard ? Must be the only cruiseline that allows this ? 

Any NCCL experience with shuttles from Port Chalmers into Dunedin ? We will be on Ovatio.n Thanks to this forum I was made aware of the shuttle access in Lyttelton and Wellington , so hoping to see if Dunedin works similar or is a large payout ? The cruiseline doesnt mention any shuttle dropoffs.

1 hour ago, Belmont Babe said:

Hi Hammo, as a resident of Martinborough, I was interested in helping you with your query. So I tried to find out how long you are in port. Oasis of the Seas appears to be situated in the Caribbean. Do you mean Brilliance OTS in February? 0730 to 1730.

At best you will not be on the road until 9am, allow 90 mins at the least to get to Martinborough, so that's 10.30. You would have to be back in Welly by 3.30 to drop off the car and get back to the ship, (allow 1hr )and all aboard will be 1630 -1700. So you would have to leave Martinborough at the latest by 2pm.

This is presuming there are no traffic delays.

In the last 5 times I have attempted the journey since November, I have made it on time twice. Once the hill was closed by an accident, 6 hr delay, so I turned around and went home. Second was a delay of 2 hours and I was already on the hill, I couldn't turn around so I had to wait. Third time it was a hold up accident on the Wellington side at Kaitoke.

Personally, I wouldn't risk it.

The alternative route out of Martinborough to Wellington is via Palmerston North, add 4 hours for that. If the very worst happened, you could drive to the next port, Napier. The drive time is 5-6 hours.

Yikes Belmont Babe , that sure is the downside to the extreme .Using your 2 out of 5 odds  Maybe we should just stay on the ship - thinking thats risky too.

19 hours ago, Ozwoody said:

Its beautiful country, and a great look out at the top, even the drive up the Hutt Valley was nice, well was when I lived over there back in the 90s.

 

The first time I went over the Remutaka hill, I past the wind warning sign, shrugged I passed wind areas before, but when the wind felt like it was about to take my car for a ride, I got a whole new respect for the hill.😨😁

 

What attracts you to Martinborough?

The wine , son is a winemaker here , and we travel to wine areas when ever we can . Hoping to hire a car and visit some of the wineries in Martinborough .

So now we have arranged a private tour which gets us picked up at the Lyttelton shuttle dropoff . We have been sent a map of the pickup / dropoff point at Norwich Quay which is next to the cruise dropoff point there and along from the taxi / uber rank and the No 8 metro stop .

36 minutes ago, possum52 said:

Read Post 2 of this thread.

Post 2 relates to Princess , was looking for info on RCCL as we are on Oasis and it seems the transport into Christchurch will be similar maybe  , but maybe not , hence the question .. 

4 minutes ago, Ozwoody said:

Have you driven over the Remutaka hill previously? If not be aware that when going over the top the wind can be very high, and can give you a fright if your not expecting it, other wise its a great drive up the Hutt Valley and over into the South Wairarapa area.

 

Regards

Really looking forward to the drive Ozwoody , have driven all over the world in some pretty scary destinations road wise so cant wait .

50 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

It looks like there are several car hire places about 15-20 Min walk away or back by the ferry terminal. You may better with a cab from the drop off point.

Thanks Mic 

Need advice re car rental at Wellington from the dock . Would like to take the drive to Martinborough but having trouble working out a way to get to the car hire places on maps . Looks like we exit out the southern end of the Aotrea Wharf Cruise ship terminal - Omega Car rental is north of that and Apex and several others down inside Wellington city .All seem hard to get to and return . Anyone hired happily here ? 

Any information on the new plan to get cruisers from Lyttelton into Christchurch ? We will be visiting on Oasis of the seas and have heard somewhere that due to local unrest from passengers clogging up local transport to Christchurch , the Cruiseline / Council have devised other options ? Any info on that Mic ? Not sure of RCCL's pricing to get into Christchurch either .