Live from Orion - Auckland to Bali - Crossing Tasman Sea

[stretchcruz]

We are getting off in Bali. 5 weeks off of work was a lot for me!! We have 2 nights at the Melia Bali then a night in Hong Kong on our way to Tucson.

I think that the ship handles the seas just fine. We feel a little rocking sometimes, but we are on a ship! I find it soothing.

Tomorrow is Komodo. I'm not sure what to do. They are saying 1 and a half to 2 hours walk. Normally, no problem! But the humidity/heat has me double thinking. They are saying to bring umbrellas as there is no shade. I'll let you know. Went to a Q and A with the entertainers this afternoon. So talented and personable.

[Pushka]

2 hours ago, stretchcruz said:

We are getting off in Bali. 5 weeks off of work was a lot for me!! We have 2 nights at the Melia Bali then a night in Hong Kong on our way to Tucson.

I think that the ship handles the seas just fine. We feel a little rocking sometimes, but we are on a ship! I find it soothing.

Tomorrow is Komodo. I'm not sure what to do. They are saying 1 and a half to 2 hours walk. Normally, no problem! But the humidity/heat has me double thinking. They are saying to bring umbrellas as there is no shade. I'll let you know. Went to a Q and A with the entertainers this afternoon. So talented and personable.

 

Ive read here that this trip can be difficult as there’s a lot of walking in the sun. Indonesia’s heat is relentless and we always wear hats. And then there’s the humidity. 

[Aussie Cruise Nuts]

21 hours ago, stretchcruz said:

We are getting off in Bali. 5 weeks off of work was a lot for me!! We have 2 nights at the Melia Bali then a night in Hong Kong on our way to Tucson.

I think that the ship handles the seas just fine. We feel a little rocking sometimes, but we are on a ship! I find it soothing.

Tomorrow is Komodo. I'm not sure what to do. They are saying 1 and a half to 2 hours walk. Normally, no problem! But the humidity/heat has me double thinking. They are saying to bring umbrellas as there is no shade. I'll let you know. Went to a Q and A with the entertainers this afternoon. So talented and personable.

 

OK,    Disembark at Bali.     More heat and humidity but an interesting place with friendly people, some good food and very cheap beer.    Have a Bintang for me since I can’t buy you a beer in HK.  

 

I may be too late to add value to your Komodo visit as I have been totally absorbed all day in following the sad and dramatic events aboard Viking Sky off Norway.      We did that trip in June 2013 on Seabourn Sojourn and the sea was a millpond for us.   Hard to reconcile the pics I am watching with my memory of this beautiful part of the world.    Our thoughts and prayers are with all onoard and the rescue teams.    Seems the worst is now past - hopefully. 

 

As to Komodo, well worth a visit.   We did a private tour with around 10 pax (arranged through our CC roll call) from Seabourn Encore in Nov 2017.    It’s dry, hot, humid but some interesting animals to see and photograph.     And some interesting tropical plants pointed out by our excellent guide.   It was nice to be in a smaller group, away from the larger ship excursion group, and a mere fraction of the price.   I recall buying a great little T Shirt for our grandson with dragons on it at the local stall at the end of the tour.  

 

Enjoy the remaining days of your cruise - and please keep the entertaining reports on the good ship Orion flowing.  

 

Cheers.   Rod 

Edited March 24, 2019 by Aussie Cruise Nuts

[stretchcruz]

I sucked it up and did the Komodo Dragon tour. Included. About an hour and a half of walking. Yes, it was hot. There was more shade than I anticipated. Our guide was very informative and knowledgeable and we had 2 guys with forked sticks to fight off the dragons. We saw lots of dragons and a few wild boars and some deer hanging out on the beach waiting to be eaten by a dragon. Lots of pretty foliage too. At one point in the hike he gave us the option to stop and rest while the rest of the group hiked up and down a hill to a savannah. We all chose to hike the hill. Next time I wouldn't as it was a single file trail with lots of roots and rocks. One lady fell but she's ok, and my husband got stabbed by tamarind thorns but he's ok too. At the end we walked through a shopping area. I probably would have looked and bought something but I just felt accosted. So many people yelling come look, come see. It was uncomfortable. What they had, basically, was t shirts, painted masks and bowls and dragon carvings. There are children in canoes paddling around our ship begging passengers to throw coins that they will dive for. One of the kids was bailing water as fast as the other was paddling. Then when the tender pulled up to the ship they came alongside the tender putting fake pearls on the floor of the tender to sell. It was sad.

As we were walking up the pier to the tender there was Viking staff there spraying us with some kind of cold spray, giving us mango juice and cold towels, and water. I'll stay it again, it was HOT!!! It was so nice to shower and change.

I'm so sad that this is almost over. We just got notification that we are tendering into Bali. Our tender is scheduled to leave at 9 AM so I had to contact our driver to meet us later. Should be interesting!

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Thanks for posting.  I'm going to some of these ports on another cruise line much later this year, so I'm following Aus, NZ, Bali posts to learn what I can. 

 

In case anyone reading this finds themselves going to Sydney on a day that their cruise ship does a turnaround (disembark and embark same day), I can tell them that there is a regularly-scheduled ferry by Captain Cook Cruise from White Bay to Circular Quay.  It is only scheduled when a cruise ship is at White Bay, and taking it requires some walking (with luggage if you're embarking or disembarking), but it's certainly useful to those staying over in Sydney without a shuttle arranged by their cruise line.  That will be the case for me, so I may take it - or get myself to Balmain and then take a ferry to Circular Quay.

 

Now I'm off to read about Little Monty's adventures....thanks to both of you for  posting your experiences. stretchcruz, hope you are able to post about Bali.  I'm as excited about that as I am Aus and NZ!

[Heidi13]

8 hours ago, stretchcruz said:

I sucked it up and did the Komodo Dragon tour. Included. About an hour and a half of walking. Yes, it was hot. There was more shade than I anticipated. Our guide was very informative and knowledgeable and we had 2 guys with forked sticks to fight off the dragons. We saw lots of dragons and a few wild boars and some deer hanging out on the beach waiting to be eaten by a dragon. Lots of pretty foliage too. At one point in the hike he gave us the option to stop and rest while the rest of the group hiked up and down a hill to a savannah. We all chose to hike the hill. Next time I wouldn't as it was a single file trail with lots of roots and rocks. One lady fell but she's ok, and my husband got stabbed by tamarind thorns but he's ok too. At the end we walked through a shopping area. I probably would have looked and bought something but I just felt accosted. So many people yelling come look, come see. It was uncomfortable. What they had, basically, was t shirts, painted masks and bowls and dragon carvings. There are children in canoes paddling around our ship begging passengers to throw coins that they will dive for. One of the kids was bailing water as fast as the other was paddling. Then when the tender pulled up to the ship they came alongside the tender putting fake pearls on the floor of the tender to sell. It was sad.

As we were walking up the pier to the tender there was Viking staff there spraying us with some kind of cold spray, giving us mango juice and cold towels, and water. I'll stay it again, it was HOT!!! It was so nice to shower and change.

I'm so sad that this is almost over. We just got notification that we are tendering into Bali. Our tender is scheduled to leave at 9 AM so I had to contact our driver to meet us later. Should be interesting!

Thanks for the Komodo report, as we will be there next year at the end of February.

[baycruising]

We are boarding Orion in Bangkok and cruising up to Hong Kong.  Who are the senior officers on board at present and are they likely to change before our cruise?