mr walker

Someones getting spoilt!

Mums first cruise & we kept it a secret all the way to the OPT. Grahams carpet made her feel extra special. She’s 87 now & still going well

photo of Mum on Grahams special red carpet back in 2015.

I visited Christchurch a number of times on business trips before and post quakes. I found it a beautiful city to visit and it was so sad the see the destruction. I cried watching it on TV. I have never been to England but imagine that many cities there would look very much like Christchurch. We visited on a cruise in 2013, which was a sad time for me & my fellow travelers who had never got to see the city in all it's glory. We visited again in 2019 on a land-tour and was glad to see it some what renewed. Almost every Kiwi I have ever met had some family connection to Christchurch - certainly worth a visit.

that's us also. At first we used TA's as we didn't know too much about it, but as we learned more, including on here with the good folk on cc, we moved to booking direct also. If we know the cruise we want to do we just book online with the cruise-line. If the trip involves OS flights and hotels etc in addition to the cruise we will likely use a TA. We have also used a TA when there is a package deal advertised, which likely saved us a few $'s? We have also done a number of charter cruises that can only be booked thru TA. We would be less likely to use a TA now, based on many anecdotal stories heard/read over the past 2 years. As Mic says, horses for courses.

We did the most wonderful tour with Pohatu Penguins there in 2019. They do penguin rescue work & profits from the tours are used to fund their work. They seemed pretty happy to have us there.

Not sure. It was 'store bought' (Cheesecake Shop) & was described as Italian Custard. Everyone loved it, so that the main thing 🙂

Duplicate post

Does the cruise-line know this?

as Geoff said, Viator & Tripadvisor and the ilk are booking agents, & they operate by taking commission on the bookings they take for the tour operators. They offer some guarantees about making it back onboard, or catching up to ship, or for refunds on not making it to the port, which may be comforting. In NZ we have used Zealandia, Shore Trips & Tours & in Dunedin Tourworks, for our tours.

Happy Birthday Les - trust you enjoyed. This was Tracey’s cake for Wednesday 😁

I don’t put anything on my steak - I love the taste as-is

Happy birthday Mic