3 Weeks in Australia/New Zealand on Celebrity

[howndder]

I have written a travelog of my last trip which was on November 25th on the Solstice. Since this was part of my regular eblast, that I send out, there may be some continuity issues. Please forgive an old man. I hope you enjoy and find use of my information.

Howard in beautiful Fort Lauderdale

Hello everyone,

Wee, I have accomplished my number 1 bucket list item for my cruises. I successfully, not terribly, completed my 24 day trip from Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles to Sydney to Auckland and San Francisco. Some ups and some downs.

• My flight wasn't until 10:30PM the next day,. Agnes, bless her heart volunteered for the drive to airport, which wasn't too extreme and dropped me off 3 hours in advance and I checked in for my flight. I then proceeded to the lounge to wait it out until called. I was in business class and got the Club for free. Since I always need the better wines, I had to pay extra 3 bucks for the Pinot Noir. Since they only took credit cards, I got out my wallet and lo and behold, no credit card. I called Agnes and asked her to call the restaurant and see if I dropped it there. , but no I had not. I then had my card company cancel the card, and they did and cancelled my card. It was about 5 minutes at the most, seriously, that I was paged by United and they had found my credit card. Too late to do anything at that point the card company told me. Luckily I had my debit card but that was all, they, the card company , said they'd send it to Sydney, the card. After all , I was going to be there for the next 5 days, right? Not when you cross the international date line.
  

2. SYDNEY. Arrival 0630AM 2 days later, but an easy as could be customs and immigration and off to my 5 star hotel, Shangrila. I immediate contacted the concierge about my card situation and he promised he would stay on top. He then led me to the spa and gave me a key and told me to make use of the facilities which included a pool showers and a full fitness center. How nice. I made use of the showers and checked out the pool and wasn't it lucky to have had my bathing suit with me? Of course I didn't. But I did check it out. Quite nice on the 5th floor overlooking the opera house. My room wasn't going to be ready for quite some time, it now being 10AM, it was time for a nice cappuccino, which I got at the water front. Unfortunately, one of the places I had hoped to go to, was in a construction zone and closed till after I left. It was a lovely day and a bit cool, but nice enough to spend a quiet day. The following day I went on an all day tour of Hunter Valley Wine Tour. Including lunch we got to taste 4 wineries and gallons of wine. Got home very late that evening to news that the card was in Sydney. But I wasn't going to get it. They wouldn't deliver it till Tuesday at the earliest. Quelle dommage.

The next day I bordered my ship for it was off to Melbourne , which is pronounced MEL-BAN. I took a lovely lunch and wine tram tour and it was 2 hours of bliss. This is called "The Colonial Wine Tram and Tour" or close to it. I took the lunch tour about 70USD (less than 1/2 as much as the ship). I walked around a lot of the central business district all decorated for the holiday, I took a look see at the Intercontinental Hotel, which is quite stunning. and then back to the ship. From there we went to Hobart Tasmania. I had also been here before in 1982 and when I was here the only high rise building was the casino. I asked about that and she said it's still there you just ca't see it anymore. I then went on another wine and food tasting tour. Are you getting the theme?

3. THE SHIP. This 14 day cruise was on, Celebrity Cruise Lines, "Solstice". She holds 2,800 passengers and approx 1,200 crew, so all in all a city sized ship. I was on a rather closed schedule and even though I was able to meet many lovely people I did dine alone rather often. This however does not bother me one iota. I enjoy going at my speed instead of the tables. When I dined with new friends it was another story but when I was alone, and I ate in only the specialty restaurants because of the great deal they offered, I dined beautifully and at a nice speed. Since the premium beverage package and all gratuities were included, my final bill was for me, very small. I seemed to be on a different timing than most of the passengers. I had dinner most nights around 630 - 7PM. Most others were at 830-9PM. However the ports and the sights were everything I wanted. Perhaps the only down note for me was that I learned more about Lord of the Rings than one needs. I did, as I say meet some wonderful new friends.

4. The Ports of Call. The first 2 were mentioned earlier so I won't rehash. The remainder of the ports were all in the South and North Islands of New Zealand. The South Island is also known as "The Southern Alps", with good reason. We had scheduled 2 sea days getting from Australia and 1 day of cruising the "Sounds", as they call it. They are really fjords. The surrounding mountains are very, very high and quite sheer going straight up from the water. The tops were misted and waterfalls came from everywhere. It was also quite cold. Very beautiful though. The passengers were offered an option of getting off in Milford sound, the first of 3 sounds that day, and going on an overnight tour to Dunedin on the east side of the Island. I took this adventure and it was. The only issue for me was the timing of some events. Like dinner that night at 9PM for which you had to take a steamer for 45 minutes to get there,which was followed by a working dog show followed by a sheep shearing show, which brought everyone back to the hotel around 1230AM and we had a start time that day of 8AM, so a very long day of bus riding. I chose not to participate in that part as I was quite pooped. Instead I went to Queenstown which was walkable, for a nice dinner and a couple of glasses of wine, naturally. The next day was also quite filled with a wine tasting, but at 10AM. They could easily have fixed it for a more proper time for both of the last 2 adventures. But we did see Southern New Zealand and learned it's history in depth. We finished up in Dunedin which is modeled after a Scottish city as this place as this place is settled by the Scots. Those 2 days cost me $875.00, which include everything except the extra dinner and wines I had. Not their fault. Our next port of call was , Akaroa, which is the jumping off place for Christchurch. I chose not to go there as it was still recovering from a major earthquake a couple of years ago. And it was a 2 hour journey each way. I opted for a walk around and a great lunch. We then went on to Wellington where Jim & Jo and I went to the cable car. The shuttle drops you off 1/2 block away. Then you can go round trip or one way, which we did and walked down through the Botanical gardens. This is very steep, be fore warned. Jo absolutely had to shop or she would go into a coma by this point, and there is great shopping in this town. So she disappeared and later we joined up and went back to the ship . a love day for us. Bay of Islands , another wine and foodie tour. not as memorable as the next. Tauranga, The was a taste of the Bay of Plenty, with a wonderful guide and wonderful flavors. Her name is Kathryn. she works for Taste of Plenty. Excellent. And more Lord of the Rings stories. There are other tours to take but, you know me.

5. Auckland. I stayed at the 5 Star Hilton and since I knew I was only coming through here once, I popped for the King Deluxe Premium Water View. I had a big full corner room with a large balcony over looking the entire bay and all the islands one could see. Spectacular. The Hilton is exactly where the shipped was docked and so I picked up my bags and walked around the corner and voila' there it was. I was checked in and on the ferry in 45 minutes. Since New Zealand has become a great wine producer and Waiheke Island is only a 45 minute ferry boat ride away, I went to try to book a "Wine Tasting of Waiheke Island" tour. All sold out for the next 18 days. Christmas holiday time of course. But the ticket agent said I could do this all on my own with their HOHO and that's what I did. I did only 2 wineries and lunch . The bus drops you off near the winery but not at the door. Mostly up hill. Next time or for you, I would hire a taxi and let them take you everywhere. It couldn't have been too much more than the wine tour as that was $200.00 NZD $140.00 USD. Some super delicious wines out there. T. For those that are interested, the HOHO bus on the island takes all of 1 1/2 hours to hit all the main sights and if you want the last ferry back to Auckland, it doesn't leave to 945PM. When I returned, I went to my room and had a 45 minute shower. Then I went 2 1/2 blocks away to the restaurant district, on a water front marina. Oh, BTW around the corner from the Hilton is a whole bunch of restaurants. Including a faboo BBQ place. We went to the marina where the concierge at my hotel told me about a fabulous place called, Soul, a wonderful fish restaurant that squeezed us in and a great time was had by all. I was with my new friends the Donavans. I think by the time they get this will be in Spain. The remainder of my time was sightseeing and eating and drinking and enjoying, but ready to get home.

6. San Francisco. I lived in San Francisco in 82, for 2 years and the only thing one can say now is, HOLEY MOLEY ANDY! What happened to my city by the bay. Of course it was holiday time and I was staying only 1/2 block from Union Square (Times Square in NY). My hotel which was a deal because winter isn't the best time to see ESS EFF, did not have a room for me after my 12 hour flight, but for a 25.00 upgrade, he could give me a room right away. The room was fantastic and huge. great shower and I was very pleased. I went out shopping and eating and drinking and because it was on the cold side, went back to the hotel for some R&R. I then discovered why this room was available . It is directly on Powell street which is home to the cable car trolly, which goes until 1AM and starts up again at 430AM. Plus my floor was a dogs allowed floor and I had a Bernese Mountain Dog who when his owner left, barked with a rather gruff voice. I then fell asleep and the next day I changed rooms for one in the back. The following day I went to see my friends Shirley and Margaret for lunch on the Fishermans wharf area at a famous place called Alioto's. Great view of the water and lovely food and tintalating conversation. It was also nice to hear they still read my blog religiously. Later that day I was accused of groping a late 30's asian woman and she slapped my arm. I tried to explain and she accused me of being a dirty old man. I couldn't wait to go home.

Howard.

[easyboy]

Sounds like you really enjoyed your adventure! Thanks for sharing.

 

 

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[Iamthesea]

Great and fun review! We leave for this cruise in a little over a month! Also staying at the Hilton and taking the ferry,to the islands, for a wine tasting tour, soon after disembarkation. This review helps to know what to expect. Thank you!

[riclop]

Great cruise.

[Keith1010]

Sounds like a terrific time.

 

Happy Holidays.

 

Keith

[Host Jazzbeau]

So did you ever get your new credit card?

[TeeRick]

Thanks so much for the review. We are doing Aus/NZ in March on Solstice. Can't wait!