buchhalm

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Ok. Just returned from 2 weeks Celebrity Sydney to NZ. "Always included " package from Australia. Included were all gratuities, "basic " Wifi package and standard drinks package. We upgraded to premium drinks package. No further charges for any additional gratuities were made So with that already included beverage package, what's the stress about "free elite drinks" or cocktail hour???

Same for Celebrity. But other lines may drop their pax some place else.

For something a bit different, penguin related... 🙊🙉🙈 https://eshackleton.com/2015/05/20/recipe-2/

What OzKiwiJJ said. We just returned from a cruise that had a Wellington stop. Celebrity had a super efficient and free shuttle into town. Yes, 2 stops. No more than 15 minutes ship to town. They had friendly tourist information people at all stops.

It sounds like that (and its probably true for every cruise line) they feature ethnic restaurants, such as Chinese, Thai, Japanese etc, but then stick their stock standard Philippino or Indian chefs in the kitchen.

Yes, i was going to ask about the winter as well, but then figured that it must be THEIR winter...

Back home in Australia from the cruise, and I better finish this report with a rundown of the rest of the trip. So here it goes.... Day 7, January 8th 2023 Port Chalmers (Dunedin) We had booked an independent tour from this port as the ones offered by Celebrity sounded all a bit boring. After a bit of research I decided on a day-tour with "Fantail Tours", booked directly with them. The booking process was quick and they responded more or less instantly to a few questions I asked. Getting off the ship in port was quick and well organised. A few less mobile passengers were struggling a bit with the very steep ramp from the exit down to the pier. Why these people got agro with the staff, I don't know. The crew doesn't control the tides. A short walk from the ship to the small terminal building where they have good and free WiFi, clean bathrooms and a tiny gift shop. Guests on ship tours are directed one way from the ship, other people are directed towards the terminal. All is well organised and not even Stevie Wonder could get lost. In the terminal, a pretty good selection of tours for last-minute decisions are available for bookings. But you need to be fast, as the spots sell out quickly. Port staff / volunteers are on hand to answer questions and point people towards their booked tours. Our tour guide/driver was waiting for us and after a short wait to gather all customers from the Eclipse and also a NCL ship we set off. There were around a dozen people all up. The guide, Heike, was fabulous. A German teacher who lives in NZ for 27 years. She was very passionate, knowledgeable and entertaining. Heike could conduct the tour in English, German or French if needed... Given the small size of the group, the timing was pretty flexible. More time here or less time there was no problem. And we were shown a few awesome spots that were not mentioned on the itinerary. First stop of course "the world's steepest street", Baldwin street. It is indeed, well, steep. Everybody on the bus, including Heike, climbed to the very top. Then it was on to the top sights of this pretty city, which I wont list here. (any Dunedin tour will mention them). On to the unavoidable Royal Albatross Centre for a long-ish stop to look at birds and have a quick snack. Unbelievably windy. But that's good, as these birds like the wind to fly around.... Back to the ship well in time to relax before departure and defrost with some hot chocolate. The tour company is well recommended! Incidentally, Celebrity Cruises runs a USD 10.00 p.p. round-trip shuttle to Dunedin city. A fair price. There were several discussions going around about unreasonably high prices of ship shuttles. A nice dinner in the MDR, following a show by a "Comedy magician", Bodane Hatten. Rather lame. It showed that he wanted to let lose a bit and not keep the material too "clean". Oh well... Day 8, January 9th 2023 Christchurch (port of Lyttelton) Again, Celebrity puts on a USD 10.00 shuttle to/from Christchurch city. We had booked a private tour (via Viator, this time) with a company called "Leisure Tours", with was also fabulous. As this is a working port, they don't let people walk the sort distance to the small town o Lyttleton. A continuously running free shuttle takes guests from just outside the ship to a collection point for independent tours and the village main street. All up no more than 10 minutes. Our driver/guide met us at the nominated spot and we climbed on the coach. A larger bus this time, so there was a good 40 minutes wait for straggling passengers who couldn't get their backside into gear in the morning. Oh well, we grabbed prime seats in the front row. (and got the death stare from late-commers. Bite me!). Our driver/guide, Scotty was excellent. He was mega excited about driving a brand new bus! 🙂 Scotty was very informative about the history and geology of Christchurch and the effects of the big earthquake some 10 years ago. That was clearly a sore point for him. A lovely tour of the surrounds of Christchurch, the city centre and a selection of suburbs that showed us the difference between the wealthy and not so rich areas, and the effect of the earthquake. We got a good hour of extra time sightseeing and driving around as there were only Eclipse passengers on board and nobody had plans for the afternoon. The tour company comes with our recommendations. Make sure to leave some time to explore Lyttleton itself. Very cute and well worth an hour or so. Evening entertainment by Sydney (well, Wollongong) pianist Liam Cooper. A Billy Joel & Elton John tribute concert. Not as impersonation, but as representation of their music. Liam is an excellent pianist and singer with great personality. Late night activity was a "Sherlock Holmes Musical Murder Mystery" which sounded dreadful to us, but our table mates reported the next day that it was absolutely brilliant. (noted for next time). We went to the Sky Lounge for a late night show by the resident singers and dancers. Very good. But for some reason they wore costumes that looked like a cross between the Thunderbirds and an Eastern European 1970s airline uniform. Lead singe Ben (Fabio) tried his darndest to make it look fabulous, Darling. Oh, I was told off by some old geezer in the lift up to the lounge. We were telling a story and the other guests in the lift laughed, to which the "gentleman" reacted with shushing us and the demand for silence and decorum. Stunned silence he got. Then I suggested that he A) go to bed, and B) consider the offer oh half-price euthanasia in the spa tomorrow. (His wife poked him in the ribs as well) Day 9, January 10th 2023 Wellington In this port Celebrity (or the city?) provided a free shuttle bus to the city center. It is so close that charging for this service would be rude. I don't have much to say about Wellington, as we met friends we knew form a former work posting in Bahrain. We spent time at their house and a bit of a walking tour of the city center and a cable car ride up some hill. Wellington doesn't appeal to me a whole lot. I could spend more time (or even live for a while) in Dunedin or Christchurch, but Wellington was a bit "meh" for us. And I didn't see ANY Beef Wellington on restaurant menus. How disappointing. 😉 Speaking off, they had "VEGETABLE Wellington" on the menu in the MDR. Sacrilegious! Evening entertainment was yet another pianist, Bernard Walz. Another musician from Sydney. Bernard plays a mix of classic, pop, cross-over with backing track band. Very good and an accomplished performer whom we had seen previously on either Seabourn or Cunard. It seems Celebrity has either comedians or pianists on the book at the moment. Lat night risqué entertainment game show style with Captain Leo, Cruise director Kelly, comedian Bodane (from a few night ago) and that naturalist, Milos (from the dull Milford Sound commentary). Hilarious. All of them. Cheeky and innuendo laden, rather than rude or crass. If that ship-driving doesn't work out for Captain Leo, he could do a few Netflix specials... Word is going around of a diversion of route for tomorrows sea-day to the Bay of Islands. A tropical cyclone is currently battering the NZ East coast with up to 8, 9 meter waves in the area. Several other ships are apparently skipping ports. The new route we will take is now up the WEST coast, with much better weather and only maximum 4-meter swell. Strangely I ALWAYS thought that we would sail up the West coast, hook around the top of NZ and go into Bay of Islands.... Day 10, January 1th 2023 At Sea on the way to the Bay of Islands. Murky and overcast morning with minimum rocking. Turned into a gloriously sunny and hot day. Grabbed a sun-pod by the pool and stayed put for most of the day. Quite excellent lunch buffet today with food that had some kick to it! As "Concierge Class" passengers we were invited to a 11.00 AM (really) wine tasing. A bit early, no? But it was fun and informatively conducted by Head Sommelier, Star. The crew must HATE this activity. They had set up for something like 300 tasters and only perhaps 50 showed up. Set up and brake down everything between breakfast and lunch must be pain in the arse. Evening entertainment Bernard Waltz playing the piano in the grand foyer, a (very entertaining and LOUD) Rock'n'roll show in the theatre (think Kiss, Meatloaf and such) and an adults-only late night comedy stick by Bodane Hatten. The latter was, according to reports from others, apparently lame, in bad taste and had copious walk-outs. Day 11, January 12th 2023 Bay of Islands / Waitangi A wonderfully sunny day. The good weather is following us it seems. All the locals comment on this. The only tender port on this cruise and the only place where we booked a ships tour, using some on-board credit. As our tour didn't leave too early, we had a nice breakfast at the buffet restaurant and let the mad rush for tender boats and early tours pass. Tendering was handled very efficiently. We are so far extremely impressed by how Celebrity is handling getting passengers on and off the ship everywhere. The tender boats are roomy, and we travelled Business Class on the 15-minute trip to shore. (That is outside on the roof of the boat). We were met by pour driver and driven the short distance to the beautiful "Waitangi Treaty Grounds" with a bit of time to roam for free and a short guided tour by a very excited and vivacious young Maori girl. Such a cutie! On to some "pioneer settlement" an hours drive away through pretty towns and countryside. I think I am getting old. I am getting excited by pretty scenery and botanical gardens.... A quick stop on the way back to look at the public toilets of the town of KawaKawa, designed by Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. A bit like Antonio Gaudi on dope. Google it. And his architectural work in Vienna... We chill on the ship for the afternoon and try to take advantage of your beverage package... Evening entertainment again by Liam Cooper and his piano, getting very emotional patriotic Australian. Great show. The man knows hoe to read his audience. Day 12, January 13th 2023 Tauranga (port of Mount Maunganui) Another sunny and warm day. The town of Mount Maunganui is literally a stroll away from the pier. Very lovely. I'd buy a property there in a flash. Lovely beaches, restaurants and shops full of stuff that is nice to have, but nothing you really NEED. The weather report lied to us and predicted overcast and grey skies and only 16 degrees C. Bull! Sunny and hot and perfect beach weather. (But the water is shrinkage cause-ngly chilly). There is a walking track around the base of Mount Maunagnui and another one to the top. We are way too lazy. We don't even make it to Tauarnaga, a few kms away. We are happy as Larry where we are. Definitely a place to come back to! Tonight we have an invitation for a sail-away on the helicopter deck. Very special. And we are nearly alone. No more than 30 people. But, given by the number of glasses of champagne, Mimosas and O.J. prepared, they must have expected MANY more. I guess people must be packing for the disembarkation tomorrow. We are set to go in that regard and our bags are in the corridor by 19.00. A quite SPECTACULAR final production show in the theatre tonight. Don't miss it! Very trippy. Nearly of Cirque du Soleil quality. Very dreamy and poetic and visually stunning. We are very impressed by this! Disembarkation in AKL tomorrow. Despite some minor annoyances with service and quality, we are sad to leave... Day 13, January 14 2023 Arrival in Auckland The ship is early and we hear PAs from very early with guests "tag numbers" being called. We (and 10000 others) have a last breakfast and meander off the ship around 8.30. Farewell committee by the door by most of the senior officers, including the captain (a first for us). It is a lengthy up-down, zig-zag schlepp to customs and quarantine control. I cant remember anybody wanting to see our passports. They just take the arriving-passengers-card off us. Our bags are waiting for us and lined up. Good job again, Celebrity! We grab our stuff and walk to 800 meters to our hotel for a night, the Grand Chancellor. Basic, but clean and mega-convenient. We drop our bags and are met by yet another bunch of ex colleagues from work (Oman, this time), for a full day of AKL sightseeing. Return back at the hotel at 8 pm. I have an early pick-up to the airport for my flight to Syndey. DW is staying another night in AKL before flying down to the South island to spend 10 days with friends # 3...

They have a garden there. Lots of apples. But watch out for snakes.

Oh you are just trying to make us envious! 🙂

AWESOME

And WHAT is it with American ships serving bizarre cold (and often FRUIT based 🤮) "soups"? Apart from a good Gazpachio or Vichyssoise, that is a gastronomic abomination. 😏

Here in Oz, we have something the pharmacists call "webster pack". The chemist portions all medicines needed in a professional blister pack, with names and dosage. My bosses take that on their worldwide travels without any problems. Im quite sure that you can get this, or similar, in your country. https://www.webstercare.com.au/product/webster-pak-community/

Some costume event on Queen Victoria a few years ago...

We just did that crossing 2 weeks ago. I found it not bad at all. The worst were 5m waves Slight rocking (and i confess i wore sea bands for half a day), but i did not notice ANYBODY getting sea sick. Certainly no "sick bags" on display anywhere on the ship. My wife, who was a bit worried, took ONE over-the-counter motion sicknesses pill before leaving Melbourne port, and that knocked her out for 24 hours.

I can also recommend this company. Their coaches are not too big and they are not trying to "show" too many wineries. We had an excellent tour about a year ago with a very good driver/guide. My favourite stop was the first one, at Chateau Yaldara.

We just returned from our NZL cruise that had a Dunedin stop. We did an independent tour (which was fabulous) that included pretty much all the major sites of Dunedin and an hour or so at the albatross center. At that place there is also a sizeable penguin colony, but they only come out in the evening. The albatrosses were very active, flying around alongside seagulls, which is great for comparison. I dont think there is much point to pay for a guided tour of the center. Just going there and enjoying the facilies is good enough. We also saw several seals lolling around as a bonus.

Back on line, after a few days with poor Wi-Fi connections, despite a few port days. Celebrity blocks access to Cruise Critic, and you only get a weird, unworkable version of it, as soon as you step on board. It may be better with the Premium internet package, but given the price, i am not willing to test the theory. I will report on individual cruise days and ports when i have proper internet service and my laptop. So for now, just a few observations in random order. "Concierge Class" vs regular balcony cabins. Is it worth the extra money? Not really. A few weird "benefits" and upgraded and amenities are not value for money. A cabin at the arse end of the ship, as far back as possible, certainly isn't a premiun location. A bottle of cheap French sparkling wine is pointless if you have a beverage package. A 'golf umbrella' for use during tge cruise is just a small, collapsible thing. The advertised binoculars never appeared. No drama, as we brought our own. Cabins and bathroom dont seem to be different from regular balcony cabins. Afternoon "Hors-d'œuvre" are just a rather randon selection of four bits from the lunch buffet menu. Deluvered at 2 or 2.30 p.m., the suff is not safe to eat at 6 p.m., when you might be tempted. We cancelled ours after day 3. Food at the buffet restaurant. adequate to excellent. most thinfs were definately geared to American tastes. Quite bland. there were a few excellent Chinese and Middle Eastern dishes every now and then and a disproportionate number of Indian dishes. (We noticed perhaps 30 passengers of Indian apperance. And the head chef is Indian). desserts are 95% of the factory made slabs/slices/mousse/jelly variety. Definately worse than on previous Celebrity cruises. the exceptions again were some outstanding Middle Eastern and Mediterranean/Spanish desserts. cocktails. Hit and miss. Step down from previous experiences. Mostly overly sweet and reliant on pre-mixes and syrups. some even managed to screw up simple whisky sours. if you like sweet, sludge stuff, you will like it. we requested NO or Half syrup and the drinks were quite OK. Or be VERY specific how you want your Martinis... Entertainment: Pretty good. Dont expect the full-on Disney or Broadway production, and you enjoy it. As with most ships, the "house band" that accompanies the headline acts is very good. Headline acts: A very ordinary but enthusiastic (to be kind) Australian country-western guy, two very good Australian show pianists of different styles, at least 3 comedians of varying degrees of hilarity. a bunch of smaller ensembles who pop up around the ship for 30/40 minute stints. plenty of other activities which we managed to miss (or avoid). certainly not many dull moments, if you want to fill your time doing things. The staff is friendly and seems to be in good spirits. But some polish and professionalism is missing. I am quite annoyed that i had ZERO response from the "hotel director" to a 2-page letter outining some service issues (good and bad). i mean they DO leave a form in tge cabin, ASKING for feedback.... 🤷🏻‍♂️ I am thumb typing this by the pool on deck 12, in Tauranga in glorious sunshine. sail away from the helicopter pad this evening, and arrival into AKL tomorrow morning. Our bags are packed...

It would be a shame if Cunard relaxed their dress code. Cunard cruisers sail with them fir exactly that experience. There are dozens of other options for those seeking a more relaxed style. It is not that Cunard's itineraries are different from orhers. Their style is. So please, thongs and shorts wearers, stay away from Cunard.

Exactly. Even with a stopover in SYD, your overseas luggage allowance will apply to a domestic flight if it is ON THE SAME TICKET and PNR

Day 6, January 07, 2023 Cruising Fjordland National Park An early morning rise for most passeners. It seems that everyone is keen to see something else, other than water after 2 days at sea. The first fjord, (or Sound) Milford Sound is the most famous and spectacular. It is still early in the day, so it is COLD. 14°C, but gusty winds make it feel a lot colder. Passengers wear anything from swimwear (the foolish or show-offs😁) to multi-layered puffer jackets, complete with woolen hats and mittens. Several people look concerned that their hair pieces might take flight. The sky is cloudeless and blue and once the sun gets into gear the day is beautiful and warm, bordering on hot. Captain Leo and the crew keep on saying how unusually wonderful and calm the day is. There is a pretty much constant PA commentary by some bloke, Milos, who is the resident/on board nature expert. He drones on in monotone voice. Remember the teacher from the TV show "The Wonder Years"? Like that. "Today is my birthday and i had cake for breakfast and 10000 people were killed in an earthquake in China...". All on one level of emotion and intonation. Luckily, 85% of this babbling is carried away by the wind.. (I am in bitchy mood at the moment) After Milford Sound it is on to Doubtful, Thompson (?) and Dusky Sounds. All lovely and relaxing cruising. We see seals and sea lions and plenty of birds and a few other, smaller cruise ships along the way. Pre-dinner show is a "Broadway Hits" production by the five on-board resident singers. It is OUTSTANDING. Perfect tuning, great voices and an interestinf selection of songs. The main "person" is the vocal coach Benjamin. An American with long, blond hair who reminded us Fabio (He of the "i cant believe its not butter" ads). Ben wishes it to be known that "he" would like to be addressed as "they or them". 🤷🏻‍♂️ Okdokey.... Back to Cellarmasters to get some drinkable wine for dinner. We get to talk to the lovely Ms Star, who is some senior beverage person on board. She's quite horrified when we mention our MDR wine experiences thus far. She escorts us to our table and leaves the whole bottle of our chosen wine with us.... After dinner a sort of Karaoke with live band on 14. My DW beings the house down with her rendition of " I Will Survive". Even the band members applaud and she's mobbed by a dozen passengers and invited to FB friend them... I'm pretty proud of my girl. 🙂 Dunedin / Port Chalmers for a private/independent tour tomorrow

I find it very good that the fines were increased from a few hundred $ to several THOUSANDS. Only so will people learn. And it should be PER ITEM, and not in total! A good friend of mine works at Sydney airport, and he says that the amount of illegal food and other forbidden items that come into the country EVERY.SINGLE.DAY is mindboggling. And the main offenders are Australians and permanent residents. These people just take the piss. They pretend not to speak English. No excuse. The customs and quarantine forms come in many languages and are loaded on incoming flights accordingly. And yes, officers DO have the power to issue fines or just warnings as they deem appropriate.

I suggest you stay well clear of bringing anything containing meat/fish/poultry. And HONEY! Most commercially packed snack foods will be OK. DECLARE ANYTHING you stick in your mouth. Simple as that. If it is on the declaration they will not fine you in case the items are not allowed. Dont declare it, and they CAN issue steep fines.

Lyttleton / Christchurch shuttle of Eclipse is also $10 to Christchurch. There is a FREE shuttke to Lyttleton village. This is also the shuttle to take to meet any private tours. They are not allowed into the port itself.

The only COVID related mentions were made that it is "recommended " to wear masks on shuttle busses in port and in shops and crowded placed ON LAND in Neq Zealand. Less tgan 10% mask wearing on board. Two days ago some woman by the pool was coughing her guts out. No consideration. One brave guy finally told her to put on a mask NOW and f.. off to her cabin and stay there. To a round of applause. Ill ask my table mates who are continuing on after AKL how any testing would be handled for B2B