Bruinboy

The logo is meaningless to us. It is what is inside the ship that matters to us, not what is on the funnel.

Sort of like people :)

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New one ... not even close.

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Who would I call to ask what time our Signature Experience begins? We will be in Auckland in November and our SE is to be held on Wednesday ... after hours at the Museum, Maori presentation etc. We wanted to schedule something for that day, but hesitate to do so until I find out when the SE begins.

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Very thoughtful of you to report back. Glad you had a great time.

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Wow, Cat. Thanks a bunch. We are on Noordam for 29 days in November and have open seating. This will be a huge help.

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Yea!!! Enjoy the sunshine. Being in a snow area state it’s always a little nerve wracking, finger crossing, prayers praying adventure before one finally steps on the plane. I hope you have a marvelous time.

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I actually read your post (which now seems to have been removed) with the quote from Oprah which you culled from the WSJ article. I had two thoughts about it, which -- since you bring it up again -- I'll share:

 

 

 

First, I found it very interesting (and telling) that you chose to truncate and misrepresent the quote from Oprah. Here are the actual words from WSJ, taken from a commencement address that Oprah had given recently:

 

 

 

"It’s great to have a nice home that just escaped the fire in Santa Barbara,” she told the students. “It’s great to have a private jet. Anyone that tells you that having your own private jet isn’t great is lying to you.”

 

 

 

She went on to explain that “you haven’t completed the circle of success until you help someone else move to a higher ground and get to a better place.”

 

 

 

Second, it's clear from reading the WSJ article that the author of the article was engaging in a common newswriter's practice of starting their story -- which was really about the state of the private jet industry -- with a recent and attention-getting anecdote or news event, commonly known as a news peg. It really had little to do with Oprah.

 

 

 

(And I'd have to agree with several others that if you went up to a thousand random people and asked them what Oprah was best known for, their answer would not be her preference for luxury private jet travel....:rolleyes:)

Spot on. Great post. And I’m a guy!

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And the reason she would ener this alliance with HAL? I doubrt any of ust hink she neeeds money from us cruisers........ ;) How many billions are enough billions? I have yet to figure out what HAL gets out of this, let alone Mam, "O"

I hope “Mam” is a misspelling. If not, highly inflammatory if short for “Mammy.” I trust it is not. We are all, hopefully, better than that.

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Yeah, I’m missing something here as well.

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Diane, what a lovely thing to do with Shane. Good for you. Thanks for the daily reports. I look forward reading them each day.

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I have been following some of the other folk on the WC. I enjoy your posts as well. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. BTW, I too have Verizon and will be in New Zealand and Australia for a month in November, so if you have any tips in getting my phone to work down there, let me know!

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Buenos Aires is a terrific city with a very European feel. We were there two years ago and LOVED the city. Have a great time. Kang. BTW ... we also tried a little Tango. Key words there “a little.”

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We are doing the Signature Experience in Auckland in November. Two nights at the Cordis. I could care less about the excursion, but still it sounds good. Two nights in a nice hotel prior to the cruise enabling us to tour Auckland on our own prior to the ship leaving ... priceless. It’s a no brained. Two nights lodging free at a nice hotel. What’s the hesitation?

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Fireman, I hadn’t thought of that, but sometimes do hesitate to ask a question because of the dreaded, “This has been asked before ... “ Not very inviting to people excited about their upcoming cruise who have questions to ask.

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Thanks for inviting us to come along. I hope you and Jet make it home safe and sound with no drama!!!

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Wow, way to be flexible. We have had some great experiences getting guides at the pier.

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Yep, log into your account and “my reservations.” Then there should be some tabs at top ... I think there are four ... with one being the itinerary. I just saw it about two hours ago. There is an icon to print on the itinerary as well and my signature experience and airline and ship transfers were shown. Good luck!

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We are taking advantage of the signature experience in Auckland in November. Even though we booked it, we still get offers for it. It must be an automatic thing. We will be staying at the Cordis and the two nights also include a "meet and greet" and a Maori experience. Sounds fun. My wife and I decided to go in a couple days early so we are planning on calling HAL to find out what sort of room category we are in at the Cordis, book two additional nights in that category, and hope we won't have to change rooms. If you do have to change, it will only be a minor inconvenience. Of course, coming in two days early means we will have to forego the transfer from the airport to the hotel. If any of you have had any experience with adding nights to the experience, let us know. Happy cruising!

I'm one of the "Corkscrew People" - never leave home without it. While cruising, I like a nighttime glass of wine (okay, maybe a tumbler full) with pretzels while we watch a late movie. After going through a few poorly made corkscrews, this is the type I now pack:

 

https://www.amazon.ca/Waiters-Corkscrew-HiCoup-All-one/dp/B00MSXW15E

 

 

 

Like kazu, there are always a couple of bottles of wine in our cabin, just waiting to be opened.

 

 

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

 

Double-hinged is the key. We owned a wine store for a number of years so became accustomed to this type of opener. Easiest of all to work after you master it. We, too, take a wine opener and go on as many wine related excursions as we can!!!

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I would rebook. Groups can be annoying, unless I am in it!;)

Priceless!

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Delightful review. Thanks a bunch.

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Bruinboy with DW

Noordam

Departure Date ... November 8, 2018

29 Day Australia & New Zealand Discovery Collector

Thanks for doing this. Fun idea and very labor intensive. If you are on our cruise I’ll buy you a drink!!!!

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I’m familiar with the group. Read a bunch of the group leader’s books. Good group of folk, but I would rebook. Of course, I would probably rebook with any large group which may impact one’s enjoyment of the cruise. Too bad one doesn’t know that prior to booking. Let us know what you choose to do.

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Runner ... thanks for posting your thoughts on the wine packages. DW and I love wine and all our upcoming excursions in Australia and NZ involve wine!!! I’ll try to remember to post our thoughts on our experiences with the wine tastings and packages on our upcoming ... and very far away ... cruise in November.

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Enjoying the travelogue. Thanks.

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