ancientmarinerjoe

On 11/2/2022 at 10:36 AM, Bibble said:

@roadtripper I'm headed to Bimini in a couple of weeks by cruise.  I've been there a few times, but staying there, not by cruise, and our place always came with a golf cart.  It will be my first time "flagging one down" at the end of the pier.

My big question to you is - when it was time to return the golf cart, had you and "Humpty" designated a time/place to return it?  I'm guessing he was one of the many folks in that first parking lot coming off the pier...  Was he waiting at a certain time, or did you call him to let him know you were all done? Does he just hang there all day?

 

Did you need to leave him your license or anything?  or was it a "cash to key" transaction? 🙂

 

Thank you for any info you can give on that!!!!  

We are on the May8th out of Canaveral on the Carnival Freedom. "HUMPTY" sounds like an INTERSTING sort of guy. Guess I'll bring lots of Cash. 

How was the STRAW MARKET? I hope the the goods were made by LOCAL ARTISANS.

Ancient mariner Joe, I understand that cameras and picture taking is not allowed on the Sydney bridge climb. I don't know about Go Pro cameras.

 

DD

OH NO!. That's 1/2 half the reason I want to do it. What GREAT MEMORIES I would have doing that.

Ancient Mariner Joe

HI All:

Any help in self guided tours @ each stop on this cruise?

After researching all this, I realize that were novices on guided(?) tours @ each stop. I don't want to get burned and is the ship,etc.

The tours offered by HAL are just to darned expensive for three of us. OUCH!

Were looking to hook up with tours that other HAL shipboard guests will be on.

We hear that watomo(?) is a place to visit.

WE especially want to see the original MAURI village and GREETING are one highlight we don't want to miss.

ancientmarinerjoe

WOW !. You guys are great.

Thanks for that good info. I'll jump right on it.

Counting down to a great cruise now.

All I have to do is decide on a 3 dayer in either RARATONGA or Tahiti or Fiji as a prelude and a break from a long flight before AUCKLAND.

I'm leaning towards Rarotonga ( If I can ever spell it correctly .LOL) .

I can almost taste a cold brew while I sit under a palm tree enjoying the sweeping views of the ocean.

Thanks again guys. If we ever meet up , I OWE YOU ALL A COLD ONE ON ME.

Ancientmarinerjoe

Hi Again:

I'm trying to get info on WHAT we need (papers,photos,etc) to get our Visas for our upcoming trip on the NOORDAM this November. Our PASS PORTS are up to date so that's not our problem. What does Holland America need and when do they need it.

I hope we still have time to get all this stuff done so we can pass thru customs in Australia.

I understand that I DON'T NEED a visa for New Zealand. Is there anything I need for New Zealand other than our passports?

Any help sure would be appreciated.

Again , sorry for all these questions.

AncientMarinerJoe

KATAIGA. Nice Moniker. We are on the 11/6 sailing this year on the NOORDAM. Auckland to Sydney. R U on the same cruise?

Ancientmarinerjoe

We are looking at Raratonga. Just the name , R A R A T O N G A has My honey excited. Seeping sand beaches with o/hanging palm/coconut trees , Sweeping views , soft gentle breezes. Decompressing after that 10 hour flight , will really have us in "THE MOOD" for a great time. After all this it's on to Auckland and a great cruise. We got some great private tours in the listings above . Wow. Great people cruise HOLLAND and cruise Critic.:)

Now I hope Cruise Critic gets the Meet and Greet up for our 11/6/17 cruise on Noordam. Can't wait to meet more cruisers and have lots of fun meeting more people. I just know we will get lots more info to make this a trip of a lifetime.

Nancy is worried that my climbing that SYDNEY bridge will be to much for this 78 year old body. I hope not , as this is my bucket list.

Has anyone done that bridge climb? Is is harder is done after dark? I'll bet the views AND the photos should be wonderfull. Can't wait to hear all your insights about that. :)

Ancientmarinerjoe:p

WOW. Good answers to lots of my questions. My wife is really interested in RAROTANGA , so I'll start looking into hotels and maybe ITUTAKI. I'm on her login.:D

I wonder how long it takes to go from the cook Islands to Auckland. I want 1 day(at least) for that part of the trip. That way I have some extra time built in to relax and then catch the NOORDAM .

As for port excursions. Is there anyway we can get "other" tour operators(that you know) that we c an use when we hit these port? I'm a fisherman , SSSOOOOOOOO , I want to get some fishing in at some point.:p

So much to learn and so little time.

Anything special hit you guys on any of he ports you visited?

one more dumb question. Where is the meet and greet blog?

ancientmarinerjoe

Holland America NOORDAM ,November 6 , 2017 Australia / New Zealand 15 days

We are trying to find our cruise listed;).

We are trying to find a meet and greet listing:D

We are trying to get on touch with OTHER people on this cruise:)

My wife will have her 75 b'day and I want to celebrate it aboard.:p

Any chance of getting these listed so others can see it.

DO NOT LIST HER &%th B'DAY PLEASE.

ancientmarinerJoe

.

RARATONGA? Sounds Yummy to my wife. I'll look into that layover.

Ancientmarinerjoe

COPPER 10-8

Thanks for that info. I wonder If we could just send our bags ahead of time via UPS or FEDEX? that way all we carry is an o/night bag. Should be a lot quicker.

Ancientmarinerjoe

HI:

Just got a blurb about Tahiti or Fiji as a layover then onward to Auckland. That is getting my wife excited about that kind of EXTRA layover. Wow ! This is really getting my wife and I excited.:cool:

Has anyone done that kind of trip ? I wonder how long he trip to Tahiti or Fiji is.? If we could brake up all that flying , then I'm for it. :D

Just listening to all you wonderful travelers talk about all those hours in an airplane makes it a good idea. My wife does not want to fly direct to Auckland..

I hope I'm making sense of all this.:confused:

Ancientmarinerjoe

Hi All:

A G R E A T big Thanks to all .

Nancy and I really appreciate all the great replies and experience that was put on my query .

We are really excited with all that super info we got.

I'm starting to look at the different places to visit .

I think this is the start of a wonderful experience for us. Thanks again guys and gals.

I really believe that the Cruisers on H.A. are great people and are willing to share there experiences.

I want to take that night walk UP on the bridge in Sydney. It's on my bucket list.

Hi All:

We are going on the New Zealand/Australia cruise of 14 days this November. I'm wopefull that past cruisers can give us some insight on this cruise. We start in Auckland and end up in Sydney. We also have a stop in Tasmania.

Has anyone been on this trip and can shed some light on the shore excursions?

Has anyone used OTHER than Hal for the port excursions?

Were flying out of Lax to Auckland. It's 1 heck of a long flight. Any ideas on hoe to manage the flight? My wife does not take o well for long flights. so I'm looking at NZ airlines. Are they the best for this flight?

When we get there, do you suggest 2 days to unwind and sightsee ot take longer? The same for Sydney. Sorry for all these questions. This will be my wife's longest flight and her "TRIP OF A LIFETIME" , so I don't want anything to go wrong for her and me.,

one more dumb question. Will the Southern Cross be available to view during our November trip? I'm no astronomer. Hell , I have a hard time finding the North star.!

Ancientmrinerjoe.