Live from Orion - Auckland to Bali - Crossing Tasman Sea

[SM77]

So after a wonderful week in New Zealand , we are heading across the Tasman Sea.  Last night was a bit bumpy; we have had a few bumpy nights on this cruise already. As Stretchcruz mentioned, we left Dunedin two hours late.  Not sure if the ship was traveling faster last night to make up for the lost time, hence the rougher passage.  There are a few white caps; I made sure that I put a patch on last night so that I wouldn’t get seasick.  It’s hard for me walking around but folks seem to be OK.  So this might be a better passage than what Little Monty experienced.

 

We have been lucky & had very good tour/bus drivers throughout our NZ week, including yesterday in Dunedin.  We were the early City Tour which started late because we got into port late.  We also ran almost three hours instead of 2.5 hours.  I’m sure the PM city tour groups were frustrated w/ the delay w/ the PM tours.  We definitely needed 3 hours & could have spent more time @ the railroad station than what we were allowed. I gave that as our feedback.  There was a free shuttle that we could have taken back if we wanted to stay in Dunedin longer (& the rail station was in walking distance) but the ride back to Port Chalmers is 30 minutes & we were tired & hungry (we had skipped breakfast).

 

From my perspective, Tauranga, Napier, & Dunedin were the best ports. I understand that Christchurch was one of the missed ports on an earlier cruise.  Lyttleon is a really small harbor w/ a narrow opening.  It was quite interesting to watch the Orion maneuver into port.  Can understand if there was any wind why the port would be skipped.  Too much of a chance to take out one of the piers.  There wasn’t that much to see in Christchurch, lots of newer buildings, empty lots where buildings once stood, a heavily damaged Christchurch Cathedral (which will be restored to its former beauty).  

 

The ship is gorgeous. Staff is really wonderful. Food is very good, not exceptional.  I think I have been spoiled by Oceania’s cuisine.  Manfredi’s was very good, but we found the service to be very slow.  We had a 6:00 PM reservation, took two hours for dinner.  We went to the Chef’s Table last night.  Service was much better. The México menu was fine, but not something I would sign up for again.  We were disappointed on the Baltic w/ the Asian Peking Duck dinner as well.  On this trip, we will also try the Thailand & the other Asian Cantonese menu.  

 

On a very positive note, there’s a food station opposite the WC bar that does omelets for breakfast, pasta for lunch & Asian for dinner!  The Asian offerings include a different stir fry dish every night & every night, pork dumpling soup, chicken noodle soup, dan dan noodles. The pork dumpling are the best. It’s actually pork wontons w/ a very thin egg noodle wrapper.  Almost as good as any Cantonese-styled pork wontons. Between the sushi, sashimi, & this Asian station, I am set.  We usually don’t go to the Restaurant since we think it takes too long, so I sympathize w/ others on the slowness of that venue.  Since it is a Sea day, we will chance the Restaurant for lunch as a change.  The pool grill is excellent and we just love the gelato offerings.  Haven’t had a chance to have afternoon tea yet.

 

Internet has has been pretty good.  Logging on was easy, your cabin # & last name. It easily re-establishes connection when you come back on.  In fact, outside of the ship, on a bus, I was still getting WiFi.  My Apple Map gps only works in port.  Apple News doesn’t load so I haven’t been reading my usual news feeds.  

 

That’s all for now.

[stretchcruz]

We, as well, are enjoying. I'm in the Explorers lounge reading and enjoying the sea day. Staff exceptional. Enjoying the food. I liked the pork dumpling soup as well. Our experience in Manfredis was good and we are going again tonight. I think that, as with the tours, it depends on your server as well as other factors (broken oven in restaurant?)

 

I've been hearing a lot of complaints on the included tours. Several people mentioned near accidents because the driver was also the guide and trying to give commentary while driving. One mentioned a wrong turn down a residential street, another said there was a near miss with a BMW that the driver blamed on the car but the passenger said it was clearly the driver's fault. I do think a guide with the driver would be good.  Our bus was in an accident but it was because a car backed up into us. Of course the car driver had a different story. We booked some private tours as well as paid for some on our Auckland to Bali leg hoping tours will be better.

 

Husband at the resident astronomer lecture. Going to Bohemian Rhapsody this afternoon at 3. Repeaters party tonight but the movie will still be on for the beginning. Captain giving his speech now, says seas will get rougher overnight but better by breakfast.

[stretchcruz]

Just got back from Manfedis. Delicious as usual. When we got back there was a note from Viking apologizing for the service last night in the restaurant along with a bottle of wine. We didn't complain about the restaurant last night. Husband went to guest services to tell them and to offer the wine back. They said no, that they were apologizing to everyone during a certain time frame. Classy!

 

The Restaurant was a little slow last night but it was lobster night and there was a broken oven. We enjoyed our dinner (not lobster) and the company of the resident opal jeweler next to us.

 

Sure enjoying our cruise!

[Little Monty]

hello SM77, stretchcruz and all on board.

 

Sorry to hear about lobster night (I guess we got lucky) but I'm glad to know most things are going very well (except maybe those pesky excursions!).

 

Weather forecasts for Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney are all quite good so I hope seas are calm and you enjoy the days ahead.

 

Regards from me. LM

[SM77]

Stretchcruz, 

 

Nice to hear that they are trying to make up for mishaps in the Restaurant.  We had a very good lunch today @ the Restaurant & management was eager to find out how our meals were.  

 

Tonight I had checked our onboard account & there was a $25 charge from the Aquavit bar from 2/27. We did not order anything from the bar so I called Guest Services.  They asked if we had ordered a bottle of sparkling wine & I said no.  Guest Services said that they will have finance take it off in the AM.  We have never ordered any drinks from the bar but I thought the bar staff used the Viking card to charge to the cabin.  Just taking the cabin number verbally results in mistakes like this or for someone to give someone else’s cabin number.  This has never happened before to us.  

[stretchcruz]

Someone on our cruise, I forget who, complained about the Restaurant and specifically lobster night. We were fine, no problems, yes it was a little slow but more time to enjoy the company of those around us. We are certainly not going to starve. These poor folks work their butts off 7 days a week and an oven was broken. I guess a lot of folks must have complained to precipitate the apologies and wine. Class move.

 

Off to bed, seas a little choppy but not bad.

[Pushka]

14 hours ago, SM77 said:

Stretchcruz, 

 

Nice to hear that they are trying to make up for mishaps in the Restaurant.  We had a very good lunch today @ the Restaurant & management was eager to find out how our meals were.  

 

Tonight I had checked our onboard account & there was a $25 charge from the Aquavit bar from 2/27. We did not order anything from the bar so I called Guest Services.  They asked if we had ordered a bottle of sparkling wine & I said no.  Guest Services said that they will have finance take it off in the AM.  We have never ordered any drinks from the bar but I thought the bar staff used the Viking card to charge to the cabin.  Just taking the cabin number verbally results in mistakes like this or for someone to give someone else’s cabin number.  This has never happened before to us.  

 

Ive read about this happening before. It seems strange given the cards are used and that I’ve read that crew learn your names very quickly. 

[SM77]

1 hour ago, Pushka said:

 

Ive read about this happening before. It seems strange given the cards are used and that I’ve read that crew learn your names very quickly. 

I did stop by Guest Services to discuss.  It seems that the wait staff do not have a device to immediately swipe your room key so they just take the room number verbally.  However the wait staff can see your images when pulling up the cabin number so that is some checking.  The best that Viking can figure out who ordered the wine is to talk w/ the waiter(if he/she  remembers).  I would like to think it was a mistake, didn’t hear the room number clearly, etc.  I think someone got a free bottle of sparkling wine. Or if they correctly remember & add it to their bill once they check their charges.  Not that I have cruised that much, but we have never experienced this before.  We tend not to run up purchases on our account, I prefer to pre-pay as much as possible before cruising. And we would not run up a big bar bill either.  I’m just glad I noticed the charge now.  I wonder how often does this occur.  

 

On a different note, last night was quite a bumpy night so those who didn’t bring meds & are prone to seasickness would have been miserable. I felt a little bit crummy this AM but it passed quickly.  I’m just glad I had my patches.  I don’t think I could survive on a transatlantic cruise.  

 

We should arrive in Hobart by 10 AM according to the captain.  So excited to see Tasmania!

[stretchcruz]

We are very fortunate that we don't get seasick. I'm really happy that the pool is still full, have been hanging at the spa pool for several hours. Love it! Feel like I'm getting some exercise too walking around in the pool. I'm not steady on land on a good day, so being in the pool is great. There was one HUGE clunk in the middle of the night. Folks talking about it today. Our closet light kept going on and off with the movement.

 

Still having a great time, so impressed with the staff and service. Thinking about a transatlantic!!

[stretchcruz]

We are still really enjoying our cruise. Disappointed in many of the included shore excursions but I can address that in the future. We did fill out comment cards. Yesterday, in Melbourne, we had the best one of the cruise....our driver/guide was very entertaining and informative. Interesting that other folks on an included that we had dinner with last night had both a driver and a guide. We were allowed off twice for 50 minutes each time which was great. Cane back, had lunch, then went for a walk along the shoreline. Next time I need to do more research. I think our Australia portion of this cruise will be better as I have planned some privates and a few optionals.

Service on this cruise is great. The staff are wonderful, food is good, no complaints here. 

One weird thing is that tomorrow the captain's reception is at 9 PM in the Star Lounge followed by the show....the Beatles show at 9:15. Doors open at 8:30. The first Beatles show is 6:30, in the middle of our dinner reservation. Seems like it may be pretty crowded in there. Last time they did the farewell in the atrium. We will see!

We've had great crew interactions, the ship is gorgeous and we are enjoying our fellow passengers. Can't complain about the weather either!!

[SM77]

We are currently sailing towards Sydney.  Unfortunately the skies are gray & we are getting a bit of rain.  Hopefully it will clear up as we approach Sydney Harbor.   Viking thinks of everything - tomorrow is the ‘free’ day for a number of us continuing onto Bali & beyond.  In  addition to a couple of excursions, Viking is offering a water shuttle from White Bay to Circular Quay.  So we will hop on that instead of trying to find our way on the public ferries from East Balmain.  The seas have been much calmer once we left the Tasman Sea so I am thankful.  Like Stretch Cruz, our best bus tour driver was for Melbourne.  He was an excellent safe driver & covered a lot of places.  Surprisingly in Hobart we had both the tour guide & separate bus driver.  Also a wonderful bus tour, our guide added in Rosny  Point which brought us across the Hobart Bridge as well.  Loved visiting Hobart. We been having a hard time finding souvenir tee shirts but a nice young woman at the Made in Tansmania shop told us about a place next to Mawson’s Hut so we got Tansmania tee shirts!  We saw two of the films - Dolphins & Whales and Space.  Both were quite good, they must of replaced the previous space film after the feedback. The planetarium is quite nice, but I think losing the seating space on the upper level is a shame.  We tried out the spa facilities & the steam room & jacuzzi are great!  This is a really nice perk but can be crowded, especially on a Sea day.  We are loving this cruise & are looking forward to our second leg!

[stretchcruz]

Our Auckland included tour yesterday was actually good!! Unfortunately it was raining and overcast but our guide was good. She was very informative....as a matter of fact she never stopped talking! But she had a lot of good information and stories. She got off of the bus and showed us around at Bondi Beach and Mrs. McQueeries (sp?) Point. She gave us some good ideas of what to do today. It was easily the best included of our cruise despite the weather. Pictures won't be great but what can you do? 

Had dinner last night at the Restaurant to say goodbye to our friend Angela the head waiter. She's going home today to Macedonia for 6 week vacation. Last night at 8:30 the cruise director came on the loudspeaker (only happens at noon) to say he had a special show at 9:15 of Aborigine dancers. Kind of strange, less than 45 minute notice with most people packing. We were tired and went to bed.

Today took the ferry to Manly's Beach. Walked to Shelly Beach. Beautiful day...but HOT!! Was so happy that the sun was out and it stopped raining then once I got all covered with sweat and I was hot and bothered I wished it was cooler!! Funny how that happens. Drank 5 bottles of water, got back on the ship at 4:45 just in time to split a burger at the pool bar for our first food of the day.

I'd love to come back to Sydney some day. Beautiful city, friendly people!!

[Pushka]

Mrs Macquarie’s Chair. Hand carved by convicts in the early 1800’s for the wife of the then Governor. 

[MasterNotCommander]

How was Newcastle today? 

[SM77]

6 hours ago, MasterNotCommander said:

How was Newcastle today? 

It was a beautiful area. We had sunny, warm, & humid weather, a preview of what’s to come. We did the included tour which focused on the coast line. Great views from the fort.  The memorial walk along the coast most enjoyed. I had skipped it since it involved steps at the end & I didn’t want to hold up anyone. We stopped at one beach - the tour was originally advertised as two hours but it was three. Probably lengthened to allow for the opportunities to get off the bus more. We had a great tour guide & bus driver. The driver was maneuvering in tight residential areas.  There was a shuttle into town but we did not go in. Newcastle has a population of 850K in the city, 1.5 million in the greater metro area. 

 

 

Edited March 11, 2019 by SM77

[stretchcruz]

We, as well, had a good included tour in Newcastle. Good driver, good history and commentary. We got off downtown and they had local people in red shirts with "ask me" buttons on. One of them told us about a nice walk that we took (ended up at one of the same beaches that we saw on the tour but that was fine). Circled around and ended up back in the city centre. Had a meat pie from a food truck for lunch. It was good! Very friendly locals. Beautiful sea views and a nice little town. At sea today. 

[Little Monty]

4 minutes ago, stretchcruz said:

We, as well, had a good included tour in Newcastle. Good driver, good history and commentary. We got off downtown and they had local people in red shirts with "ask me" buttons on. One of them told us about a nice walk that we took (ended up at one of the same beaches that we saw on the tour but that was fine). Circled around and ended up back in the city centre. Had a meat pie from a food truck for lunch. It was good! Very friendly locals. Beautiful sea views and a nice little town. At sea today. 

 

Welcome to Brisbane (tomorrow) to you and all on board. The weather forecast is for hot, humid weather (fairly typical for this time of the year).

 

I believe you will be berthing at Hamilton Portside  - which is way better than the outer commercial Port of Brisbane.

 

I hope you enjoy the day and I hope all excursions go to plan.

Regards, LM

[SM77]

7 minutes ago, Little Monty said:

 

Welcome to Brisbane (tomorrow) to you and all on board. The weather forecast is for hot, humid weather (fairly typical for this time of the year).

 

I believe you will be berthing at Hamilton Portside  - which is way better than the outer commercial Port of Brisbane.

 

I hope you enjoy the day and I hope all excursions go to plan.

Regards, LM

Thanks LM for the welcome!

 

We are at Sea today & it’s been fun sitting on the balcony looking for wildlife & enjoying the calm waters.

 

Speaking of ports, kudos to Viking for providing a water ferry from White Bay Cruise Terminal to Circular Quay, especially on the transition day when we had free time to explore.  It really made a difference in enjoying Sydney - I was really stressing over what was the best way to get to Circular Quay & Viking took care of it!  Plus it was a great ride in the Harbour.

[Little Monty]

1 minute ago, SM77 said:

Thanks LM for the welcome!

 

We are at Sea today & it’s been fun sitting on the balcony looking for wildlife & enjoying the calm waters.

 

Speaking of ports, kudos to Viking for providing a water ferry from White Bay Cruise Terminal to Circular Quay, especially on the transition day when we had free time to explore.  It really made a difference in enjoying Sydney - I was really stressing over what was the best way to get to Circular Quay & Viking took care of it!  Plus it was a great ride in the Harbour.

My pleasure.

 

We were berthed at White Bay in January and used the ferry to get to Circular Quay - so yes, well done again Viking. Sydney has a beautiful harbour so I hope there were some blue skies to make it all the more enjoyable.

 

We have nothing like Sydney Harbour in Brisbane but there is much here to enjoy. Have good day. LM

 

[Little Monty]

For the next few hours ... the view of Brisbane from Viking Orion.

 

https://viking.panomax.com/orion

 

It's just after 8am local time (Wed) under blue skies - it was 28C (82F) at 8am and later will get above 30C.

 

Orion is berthed at Portside Hamilton, about 7k's (4.5m) to the city centre (left side of forward facing panamax view). Portside is a much better location than the Brisbane Commercial Port - where World Cruise on Sun berthed last year.

 

I hope all on board have a great day. LM

Edited March 12, 2019 by Little Monty
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[Aussie Cruise Nuts]

Thanks for the reminder Little Monty.    I had forgotten Orion was in Brisbane today. 

 

I headed down to see her and took a few pics from the opposite side of the River, then went across to Portside Cruise Terminal for a closer look.   

 

She is looking great and we will join her in Hong Kong on 21 April for our cruise to Vancouver.     Can’t wait.   

 

A few pics follow -  

 

 

[Little Monty]

45 minutes ago, Aussie Cruise Nuts said:

Thanks for the reminder Little Monty.    I had forgotten Orion was in Brisbane today. 

 

I headed down to see her and took a few pics from the opposite side of the River, then went across to Portside Cruise Terminal for a closer look.   

 

She is looking great and we will join her in Hong Kong on 21 April for our cruise to Vancouver.     Can’t wait.   

 

A few pics follow -  

 

 

 

Well done ACN .. nice photos.

 

And wow .. HK to Vancouver sounds fabulous - I hope you have a great time and I hope seas are calm.

 

I'm not sure if you have been to HK before and you probably already know way more than me .. and by all means do all the 'popular' tourist stuff in HK (a place I really love) … but of all the things you do in HK I recommend you go here, peace and tranquillity in the middle of chaotic fun;

https://www.hongkong.net/attractions/nan-lian-garden.html

 

I note you disembark in Vancouver the day before board in Bergen .. so please do keep us up to date with your adventures.

 

Cheers from Woody Point

 

And to CC members and all on board Orion, I truly do you had a good day and would love to know what you did and what you enjoyed.

 

Regards, LM

 

 

 

[Aussie Cruise Nuts]

Thanks Little Monty.        We have had many trips to Hong Kong - and done all the main  tourist places.   But never been to Nan Lian  Garden which looks fabulous.   We only have an overnight in HK before boarding Orion on 21 April, but will try to fit in a visit to this garden.   

 

I note you are a Woody Point resident.    A nice part of Greater Brisbane.   My Brisbane cycling group do an annual ride from Toombul to Woody Point as a memorial to two of our departed riders.     Our wives join us at Woody  Point Jetty for a fish and chips lunch on the water before we cycle back to Brisbane.  Such a nice part of the world.  

 

And yes, a big hello to all on board Orion as she cruises the Queensland coast and on towards Hong Kong.    I did note a lot of new supplies loaded in Brisbane and hope there is a beer (or three) left for me in Hong Kong.  

 

Happy cruising all.  

 

Rod  

[Vonnie's Girl]

11 hours ago, Aussie Cruise Nuts said:

Thanks for the reminder Little Monty.    I had forgotten Orion was in Brisbane today. 

 

I headed down to see her and took a few pics from the opposite side of the River, then went across to Portside Cruise Terminal for a closer look.   

 

She is looking great and we will join her in Hong Kong on 21 April for our cruise to Vancouver.     Can’t wait.   

 

A few pics follow -  

 

 

Hi Aussie Cruise Nuts - we have just booked the Hong Kong to Vancouver cruise for 2021. It would be great to hear all about your adventures. Like LM, my husband and I live just a little north of Brisbane. We are at Burpengary. I hope you have a wonderful time on your April cruise.

[Aussie Cruise Nuts]

Vonnie’s Girl.     Your 2021 itinerary is likely very similar to our 2019 itinerary, although  Viking may make a few changes in port stops as they learn from this inaugural  Hong Kong to Vancouver Cruise.      This is our first Viking Ocean Cruise, although cruise number 16 in total.      Itinerary (and the new Viking Ocean ships) were our main reasons for trying Viking Ocean.    I am confident we will have a wonderful cruise and explore many interesting ports.     

If we have any concerns, it would have to be the included shore excursions.   The cruise critic reviews for Orion shore excursions in her months since launch have not been encouraging as she made inaugural visits to Asian, Australian and New Zealand ports.

I feel Viking is “listening” to this feedback and one can only hope they are making changes to the only cruise feature that is disappointing so many Viking Ocean Cruisers.    We live in hope that some of the changes will be implemented for our cruise, and believe they will certainly have addressed the problem by your 2021 cruise - lucky you !!!!!

 

We will certainly post our views on the Viking Ocean Cruise Critic page, and hopefully it will be good news on the included shore excursions.  

 

Rod