mr walker

Strewth, sorry to hear about you getting COVID mate. I did suspect that there were people who boarded with, at least symptoms, & maybe not doing the RAT test as per the rules, who just ploughed on on THEIR holiday. Hope you are feeling better. I did wear Panther gear a number of times, but it seems we weren't in the same place at the same time. We spent a lot of time in Schooner Bar. I hope you didn't get into too much trouble with the Penrith ladies 🙂 Yes, did enjoy Ovation but prefer Radiance & Voyager classes & Rhapsody as our first ship will always be our first love 🙂 Now see that we got double points for the cruise. I had forgotten that when we booked it was a bonus of 2X points. Very close now to adding a + to our D's!! Take care!!!! Cheers, Neil

Back a week or so from our 12N Ovation OTS NZ cruise 11-23 Mar Sydney roundtrip. It was our first cruise since COVID & seemed to go very quickly. I make some points: - Embarking was very fast & we were soon on ship after shuttle drop-off. Got to say hello to Graham @ gbenjo as we boarded (and a quick good-bye in the terminal as we left also). - Ship was huge (largest we have ever been on). Apart from seeing physical size, a real indicator was when we headed aft for sail-away & it just was so far to get there 😀 - Ship was very nice and all staff encountered were very pleasant and very enthusiastic to please. - Our cabin lady & waiters in dining room (MTD) were very good – nothing was too much trouble. - Always easy to get a drink or something to eat around the ship. - We did brunch in the dining room on a few sea days which was a good way to avoid the Windjammer at times, and also helped with portion control 😉 - We thought the food overall was not as good as previously, but we always found something to eat & never had to cook or clean up once. I really enjoyed the soup offerings and it was always a challenge to choose from the many delicious desserts. New menus are due shortly. - We made all 5 ports in NZ as scheduled. The CD announced on the final night that our cruise was the first one all season to do so. We didn’t do any tours, just took the time this time to visit the local ports areas which we enjoyed. Milford Sound was again spectacular & BOI beautiful. - We never did catch up with Chiliburn @ Chiliburn, even though I did keep a lookout for him. I’m sure he had a good time. - We did many trivias etc (even managed to win one!) & enjoyed our time. - There were some medical issues on board with people in isolation and a degree of coughing etc, which we did our best to avoid. Mask wearing was maybe 15- 20%, including staff, but as the numbers grew there were more masks and all staff were masked for last day or so. I did come down with a respiratory thingy towards then end – negative to C! - We did have a 'man overboard' call one evening, and so everyone had to get scanned at Muster station, but it turned out a false report & we carried on as usual. - Likely we will stick to smaller ships – we have a Brilliance OTS booked for Dec – from now on as we just don’t use all the bells & whistles that Ovation offers. - Disembarking worked well & we were soon back on land 😮 - Very pleasant cruise after waiting so long and we were sad it all ended so quickly. Cheers Neil

As others have posted Les, sorry to read this. Take care mate & all the best.

Keep on plugging on mate. I'll have a drink to your health on our cruise departing tomorrow. Maybe with Chilli who will also be on board. Our friends we are cruising with just got back from visiting their daughter down at Merimbula - she works at the airport down there. Hope to get down the coast after Easter and maybe catch up. Cheers, Neil & Tracey

100% right. Many years ago I knew a Scotsman who one night was at the Panthers club as a rep for Fosters, supplying free samples to encourage people to drink Fosters. He approached us & we all said no way would we drink Fosters - he said "it's free". We all replied that we wouldn't drink Fosters if you paid us 🙂 Everyone I've ever met in USA thinks everyone in Australia drinks Fosters! One guy took me to a bar specially because they served Fosters & couldn't believe that it was not a beer that Aussies drink!

Sorry to hear about your Dad. Yes, maybe a Black in his honour would be good. My Dad, who passed in 2016, was an Old drinker, and that passed onto me, but I only like a draught Black, not so much the bottled variety. So a crownie for me when drinking at home 🙂

and a queue for the single bathroom 🙂

I think you can walk to OPT quicker than a taxi will take you, as the taxi will need to take a roundabout route with one-way streets, and likely delays with traffic, including entering the OPT. The walk would be easy with no uphill sections & you'll likely be able to see the ship all along your walk. That said, I can't imagine the fare would be more than $10-15 - check with the hotel concierge.

I would work on 30 minutes (depends on traffic) & the fare in a range A$60-80

For Dunedin, I thoroughly recommend Russ at Tourworks 'Dunedin Mainland Peninsula Tour' Dunedin Mainland Peninsula Tour » Tourworks It was a great day & a great tour, seeing the city & the scenery and wildlife. If you have interest in LOTR, I suggest you take a tour to Hobbiton from Tauranga - we used Zealandia tours and they were excellent Homepage - Zealandier Tours Cheers, Neil

They must have been following along! I received email overnight updating C&A benefits: Emerald Members and Above: SAY HELLO TO MORE WATER We’re thrilled to announce you’ll no longer have to pre-select your welcome beverage prior to your sailing. You will now receive additional complimentary water bottles in your stateroom in place of the welcome beverage benefit — so you can stay hydrated everywhere you go. The complimentary waters benefit will begin March 10, 2023. Diamond Members and Above: CRYSTAL BLOCKS, NOW IN COLOR This spring, we’ll debut brand new, full-color crystal blocks! We’ll be saying goodbye to current designs over the next several months as we transition to our new look. Members receive their first crystal block at 140 cruise points and earn subsequent blocks for every 70 points thereafter. UNCORK MORE SAVINGS Raise a glass and toast to deliciously crafted complimentary cocktails up to $14* or a tempting discount on your favorite bottle of wine — 20% off bottles over $100 and 40% off bottles under $100. The discounted wine benefit will take effect starting March 10, 2023. *(Sailings out of Singapore, the beverage value is $13. Sailings out of Australia have a beverage value of $15) Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Members: NEW AMENITIES NOW AVAILABLE Your favorite amenities are back in stock — plus we’ve added new ones! We’re introducing stylish new toiletry bags and upgraded totes to help you pack for your next adventure. These new amenities will become available starting March 10, 2023. FULL AMENITIES FULL BENEFITS As always, we thank you for your loyalty and for being a valued part of our Royal Caribbean family. Sincerely, Crown & Anchor Society

Hi Chilli, so it's any drink up to a value, correct? When the D drinks on your card was first started, the bars would have a list of the drinks you could get as your 'voucher' drink, &, in particular for beers, you could only get the drinks on offer in DL during happy hour ie Heineken or Bud or similar, not a good option for someone who drinks actual beer 🙂 Just planning for Saturday week!!

Terry from Ohio did a report on his trip which was a very comprehensive & interesting one, few years ago & has continued to update. I'm not sure how to link it, but this is copied from an alert from one of his posts:

Is it just me, or has there been so many more medivacs this season so far?

Sad that you couldn't do the cruise mate, but a road trip sounds like a winner to me. You get to see some great places, find some pies & take Maxy - win/win/win. We did a great trip last year, stopping at Jervis Bay, Bateman's Bay (bonus there catching up with Les), Merimbula & then inland thru Cooma, Tumut & Wagga & then back home to Penrith! Take care. Cheers

It’s OK thanks. We are traveling with another couple & have already arranged shuttle, so we’ll just go with 2pm. Will say hello when boarding.

Merimbula is definitely a beautiful spot. We have visited a number of times- our good friend’s daughter lives there. Batemans Bay down to Merimbula is one of our favourite areas. Uncle Les’ daughter is at Moruya I believe

Yes, not really sure, but have had 2 separate emails (several days apart) with new arrival time of 12:30pm with no further explanation, just stating that pilot times are adjusted & that all RC tours will be rescheduled or cancelled & refunded. A lot of unhappy people who booked tours for the day. We'll just take it as it comes 🙂

You old romantic, you 😁

Great photo. We'll be there on 15th March on Ovation. Have now received update from RC that "port pilot times have been adjusted in Dunedin" delaying our arrival from 7am to 12:30pm!! We still depart 7pm so a much reduced time there. Luckily, we did our big tour there with Russ at Tourworks on our previous visit! We will likely just spend the afternoon exploring Port Chalmers as on previous visits we have gone straight into Dunedin or further afield & not really seen the port. We'll give you a wave Stu.

Will keep a look out for you - our allocated arrival slot is 2:00-2:30

The good old days are still here Graham. 🙂 This is from the cruise docs we have recently received for our Ovation cruise departing 11-March. Maybe that number is a direct line to you? 😮 Hope to maybe see you then. Cheers

Yes, a bit crazy with those use-by dates 🙂 We have had a few FCC's (for noro ISO) with RC which would have a book by date stated of say, 31-Dec for a cruise by the end of the next following season ie end-April, so 16 months later. Anyway, glad you got it sorted!

You have to cruise by 6-Nov, or make booking by that date for a cruise by some other date?

You were fortunate to just have to put up with her for a moment - just think of the poor family & work colleagues who have to endure her all the time 😮