Live - Standing Ovation from the Land Down Under - New Zealand, 11 Nights Feb. 2, 2020

IRMO12HD · February 10, 2020

@twangster, what do you use for data when you're traveling? Do you use a different sim card, or an international plan from your provider?

twangster · February 10, 2020

3 hours ago, IRMO12HD said:

@twangster, what do you use for data when you're traveling? Do you use a different sim card, or an international plan from your provider?

I have TMobile so my phone works internationally. Granted the "included" speeds are slow and voice is $0.20 per minute but if I have a 10 minute phone call that's $2. I don't have many phone calls never mind 10 minute phone calls so the included free data works fine for me. If I feel data hungry I can splurge $5 for 24 hours of faster data. I haven't done so on this trip, the slow but free data is all I usually need when I have Voom on board.

twangster · February 10, 2020

Day 8 - ~~Dunedin~~ Sea Day

I had a feeling based on prior announcements we wouldn't make Dunedin. Morning confirmed that.

Given our position well off shore at this hour I knew we wouldn't be visiting Dunedin on this day.

This is perfect. We never made it to the South Island of New Zealand. This is actually pretty ideal. Now I have full and legal justification to book another cruise to New Zealand.

We slowed our speed and took the windy swell under a nice gentle speed. Eventually our pilot for the sounds approached and we turned to shelter the pilot boat from the wind.

The turn gave those on the port side a nice view of the coast.

I'm time shifting here. Captain Ryan recorded a video that was put on RCTV later on this day. I'm cheating by throwing it in here.

I always appreciate when the Master of the vessel takes the time to explain in detail why we had to skip a port.

The channel into the port is very narrow and not a simple straight line. That makes it complex for a large ship (or any ship) to navigate safely in strong winds.

And so we will slowly continue our way towards the sounds for tomorrow.

twangster · February 10, 2020

Day 8 continued...

Kind of a gray dull day but the sea was amazing to watch from my balcony. It's quite mesmerizing. I used the day to catch up on this thread. My Royal excursion for Dunedin was automatically refunded.

Tonight live from the Ed Sullivan Royal Theater... The Australian Beatles!

Very good and quite enjoyable.

banzaii · February 10, 2020

On 2/4/2020 at 8:16 AM, twangster said:

Desk power includes two 110v North American outlets, 2 USB outlets and a 220v Euro power port.

Bedside there is one 110v North American outlet.

It's not every day your balco

Thanks for these pics. Can you also confirm if there are any USB ports bedside or elswhere in the cabin?

twangster · February 10, 2020

5 hours ago, banzaii said:

Thanks for these pics. Can you also confirm if there are any USB ports bedside or elsewhere in the cabin?

There is a USB port on the TV that can charge slowly. No USB port on the phone, no other USB ports that I know of.

Sea Dog · February 10, 2020

13 hours ago, twangster said:

It's quite mesmerizing.

I feel the same way. I could just sit out on my balcony all day and watch those waves. That sound also is music to my ears.

twangster · February 10, 2020

Day 9 - Cruising Through The Sounds

Last night our Captain had apologized again for having to skip Dunedin but was very optimistic about Dusky Sound.

Milford Sound was still questionable since they had sustained flooding recently. Something like a month's worth of rain in a few hours. That had washed a lot of debris into the Sound and as of last night it was closed to ship traffic.

Overnight we had cruised around the Southern tip of New Zealand.

This far South we are out of range of O3b satellites. That period of intermittent connectivity yesterday occured as we switched over to traditional satellites for internet and so our internet speeds had slowed and ping times (latency) had increased dramatically. Very much like Voom in Alaska.

For those keeping score at home, 12°C or 54°F.

Little did I know we were about to experience the highlight of the cruise.

twangster · February 10, 2020

Somewhere around 8am we approached the entrance to Dusky Sound.

There was a sea mist in the air that made photography challenging.

At this early hour the sun was low and very bright. That didn't help with photography.

Pictures don't do it justice. It was stunning.

Looking forward it was hard to see where we were going or how we would fit in between the islands.

As we slowly made our way forward a path opened up for us.

twangster · February 10, 2020

With the sun rising by the minute the beauty of this region became more apparent.

Like Alaska in some ways this is what sets these cruises apart from a traditional cruise. It's amazing to see the ship in such close proximity to land and the peaks of the mountains around us. It has to be experienced in person to fully understand.

Amazing for a ship this size to navigate in these narrow waterways.

twangster · February 10, 2020

Everywhere I looked was a photo opportunity.

On both sides were inlets and fjords.

As we sailed along islands emerged from what appeared to be solid land.

twangster · February 10, 2020

The open sea appeared in the distance.

twangster · February 10, 2020

It's hard to capture in pictures or words but perhaps this time lapse better represents the experience.

Sea Dog · February 10, 2020

WOW! Stunning.

Chiliburn · February 10, 2020

Like you said pictures don’t do justice.

The smell ,the oxygen in the crisp Antartic air

Biker19 · February 10, 2020

5 minutes ago, twangster said:

It's hard to capture in pictures or words but perhaps this time lapse better represents the experience.

Were they charging for Northstar rides?

twangster · February 10, 2020

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

Were they charging for Northstar rides?

Not that I saw. To be honest I didn't plan to try North Star in the sounds.

I did North Star when Ovation was in Alaska and I found the time spent queueing and then going for the ride consumed too much time for my liking. We have approximately one hour in the sound and to lose a big chunk of that time would take too much away from the overall experience.

When I go back I might try North Star in the sounds having experienced the entirety already.

Access to the suite sundeck is a game changer. It's very easy to move from port to starboard and the crowds are much thinner. Without access to the suite sundeck and a place to leave my phone capturing the time lapse I might have a different opinion.

ScubaDo · February 10, 2020

I have enjoyed following your review and your pictures are amazing. I am curious if you enjoyed the Wellington tour. I am trying to decide whether to do the tour or just walk around on our own. This will be in 2 months. Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

twangster · February 10, 2020

1 hour ago, ScubaDo said:

I have enjoyed following your review and your pictures are amazing. I am curious if you enjoyed the Wellington tour. I am trying to decide whether to do the tour or just walk around on our own. This will be in 2 months. Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

I did enjoy the tour because it exposed me to different areas so on a return trip I can self explore better. The commentary from our driver provided color and insight to the city.

Edited February 10, 2020 by twangster

John&LaLa · February 10, 2020

On 2/6/2020 at 1:53 PM, twangster said:

With my backpack full of memories that will bring this day back to me it was getting quite warm so I hopped on a free shuttle bus back to the tender dock.

Looks fun, what wide angle lens are you using?

twangster · February 11, 2020

3 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

Looks fun, what wide angle lens are you using?

I have three zoom lens with me. 12 -24mm, 24-105mm and 70-300mm.

twangster · February 11, 2020

Doubtful Sound

Named by Captain Cook in 1770 when he wasn't sure he would be able to get his ship out of the inlet so he never entered it. As it turns out like Dusky Sound there is a passage we will transit through. If there was any doubt that we would get to experience this sound today that fear was put to rest.

Photos do a poor job of showing the scale of the terrain right next to the ship. It's quite amazing and needs to be experienced in person.

twangster · February 11, 2020

Maybe it was a better understanding of what we were experience having been through Dusky Sound, or maybe it was better lighting with the sun higher in the sky but it seemed like Doubtful Sound was even better than Dusky Sound.