buchhalm

Ahh, a man of taste. Take him on Celebrity. Escargot are on the every day menu, as far as I know. A great excuse to mop up garlic butter. (The photos are from our local French bistro)

Thank you. No-bake lemon and coconut with ginger cookies crust....

This subject has been discussed at length yesterday. *why are folks opening new threads before bothering to look first?* Apart from that, OK, New Zealand is a bit behind, but not exactly a "remote island"

So you have seafood soup, you have steak with trees. Now have cheese cake.

That's right. The USA are on list of visa waiver countries.

Read this. It explains it all. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa/tools-and-information/your-journey-to-new-zealand/before-you-travel-to-new-zealand

It couldn't have been THAT bad. She just left again. Only about 45 minutes late.

The best is a taxi. The most economical is walking.😉 (Or the train, if your party isn't bigger than 2)

Seriously the Celebrity media team better monitor these conversations and put out some clarifications on the media. These reports are just outrageous

Headlines right now. Channel 9 news: " numerous covid 19 positive cases.. " 2GB redneck radio: "covid riddled ship..." The Australian: "cruise ship arrives in Sydney with close to 300 suspected covid cases" Pick one.

Nah... Just because there are rare occasions that there are more than one of perhaps two ships in port, we do not need to build new facilities. I don't buy a camper van, just because I go camping once a year.

Reply from Dunedin city council, regarding the port Chalmers busses, is that they are short on drivers but are actively looking for volunteers

So, I just emailed the Dunedin city tourist board and asked if they plan to do something quickly about the bus situation between the port and town. Given that most ships will be there during the school holidays, there shouldn't be a shortage of vehicles. And, as others mentioned, the service is needed mostly for a few hours in the morning and again afternoon. I'll let you all know what they say. If anything at all....

Perhaps put that in the Roll Call for your cruise. That should raise some interest. 🙂

Hi. When I last looked, there were a handful of local companies, offering pretty much the same (of course) as the ships. Prices, more or less, matched the ships excursions. Many tours were not available on cruise ship days, which would mean that the cruise lines grab most availability. As for the train: it is fully chartered to the cruise lines as far as we were able to work out. Furthermore the train only goes half way compared to pre-Covid days. That, and it would cost you a minimum of $300p.p. That is the very cheapest option we could find.

Dunedin port better get their act together. In early January there will be two quite large ships in town at the same time. Many passengers will just give their cruise lines the finger for charging $ 20 or 30 for a ride to town. The local buses cost a fraction of this, but will be crowded. So the city better put on a few specials for a few hours

Time for Michael Buble to come out of the cave.

Well, a few days ago two large ships that were (according to the schedule from Sydney ports) to leave at 4 pm, didn't leave until after 9pm. So basically a whole day of cruising gone. And perhaps wasted day of drinks package

Hubby goes "on an excursion", and just doesnt re-board. Have your passport. You stay on board and take the bags home

Thank you for clarifying the train tour. I was THIS close to bite the bullet and fork out $500+ per person for the train ride in January. I am not going to do that now. I refuse to be taken for a ride (pun intended). The price is outrageous and I hope that other cruisers will refuse this extortion as well.

In a former life as Flight Attendant we often served BARRAMUNDI in First and Business Class. Tourists didn't know what Barra was, so half way through then eating the fish, I told them it was that Barramundi was the local name for Dolphin. 100% shock rate success.

...the cruise line specific forum (fora?) on.... Fora conforms to the original Latin and forums is the Anglicized form

Possum gave you a great link to the proper Australian authority. If you just Google "Australian ETA", the first few links will probably give you 3rd party service providers. Mist WILL get you your ETA, but for a much higher cost than the "proper" website. It is very straight forward. As for your pacific islands, I can't comment. These tend to be sovereign nations, with their own rules. Whilst Australians may probably come and go as they please, other passports may have other rules. I'd check each island/country individually.

I find that a bit weird. There are always drivers with signs inside the airport. And perhaps don't expect a STRETCHED limousine. It's probably something like a nice BMW or Lexus.... How much help do you need? How much luggage are you bringing? The taxi rank is 100 m from the exit. $170 seems to be excessive. *but the Four Seasons is lovely. Make sure to have dinner at Mode Kitchen and Bar. It's lovely *

A few months ago, the post office told me "up to 10, 12 weeks". I got the new passport in 10 days. Go figure.