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

[NHProud]

Is photography your vocation or avocation ? Is photojournalism your day job ? Just curious because you are really good at it.  

[twangster]

2 hours ago, NHProud said:

Is photography your vocation or avocation ? Is photojournalism your day job ? Just curious because you are really good at it.  

 

Purely a hobby at this point.  A nice diversion from my real job.

[twangster]

Lunch at a local hotel that had a central courtyard and garden with a restaurant.  I didn't take pictures at lunch as I was seated with a family from Australia and it seemed rude taking pictures with them in it.  Suffice it to say we all agreed it was a pretty good lunch.

 

After lunch we drove over to the Government Gardens.  

 

 

 

The main building is closed due to damage from earthquakes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the first hot springs of Rotorua.

 

 

 

That's 212°F.

 

 

Back into the van for the drive to our next stop.

Edited February 7, 2020 by twangster

[Cruise Girl Forever]

Been following along and really enjoying your review and pictures.  What an amazing cruise.

[Sea Dog]

25 minutes ago, twangster said:

That's 212°F.

Now that's what I call a "Hot Tub."

[pink845]

Twangster, 

 

Your photos are lovely.   Some people just have a good idea for capturing great scenes.  We are booked for Radiance of the Seas out of Sydney visiting all your ports with the exception of a substitution of Auckland in the place of Napier commencing March 14, 2020.   

 

Do you know if guests who have traveled from or through mainland China in the past 14 days been allowed to board your sailing of the Ovation of the Seas as I am reading the Guardian on line and at their local time Fri 7 Feb 2020 18.36 GMT that effective one hour ago,  and I quote "Royal Caribbean Cruise operator bans Chinese nationals from its ships.  The cruise line operator Royal Caribbean has said it will refuse any passengers with Chinese, Hong Kong or Macao passports, regardless of when they were last in China."      

 

Hopefully, all will be well on your sailing. But I am kind of now secretly hoping that Royal Caribbean and all the cruise lines actually cease cruises completely for a few months until everything calms down so that more people do not have to go through the quarantine that is presently happening on Diamond Princess in Yokohama.   I myself was quarantined on Diamond Princess a number of years ago while in Yokohama because of influenza and I would not wish that on any future cruisers.  

 

 

[M-H-B]

54 minutes ago, pink845 said:

 

 

Do you know if guests who have traveled from or through mainland China in the past 14 days been allowed to board your sailing of the Ovation of the Seas as I am reading the Guardian on line and at their local time Fri 7 Feb 2020 18.36 GMT that effective one hour ago,  and I quote "Royal Caribbean Cruise operator bans Chinese nationals from its ships.  The cruise line operator Royal Caribbean has said it will refuse any passengers with Chinese, Hong Kong or Macao passports, regardless of when they were last in China." 

 

 

 

I’m boarding Ovation in a few days when Twangster’s Cruise comes back to Sydney. I got an email from Royal about 15 mins ago confirming that they are not letting anyone on who is travelling on a Chinese, Hong Kong or Macau passport now - along with all the regular restrictions that they’ve been saying for a few days now. 

[pink845]

Very good.  MHB.  I am glad that letter is going out now.  Number 4, Bullet 1 is going to be an interesting one for people.   I guess reporting to the cruise ship, upon embarcation, anyone who has been on an airplane with several hundreds of other people will not know if they have been in contact with someone specified in Number 4 Bullet 1 and should submit to additional screening so that they do not end up infecting the entire ship.      Unless, we have been in a cocoon, isolated in one's own bedroom alone, how can anyone legitimately answer Number 4, Bullet 1 correctly.  

[twangster]

Our last stop was at a Redwood Grove.

 

 

Redwoods were imported roughly 100 years ago from California.  

 

 

The other species our driver wanted to show us were the Silver Ferns.   This type of fern is only found in New Zealand.  The Silver Fern is a symbol of national identity to New Zealanders and there are even some sports teams that use the name.

 

 

 

The Silver Ferns can grow quite tall as ferns go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a popular spot and they have set up an elevated course through a section of the trees that carries an additional charge.

 

 

[twangster]

Back to the Tauranga port area we had a little bit of time to wander around the nearby beach.

 

Since it was Waitangi Day there were lots of people enjoying the beautiful day.

 

 

 

Jumping off piers and docks must be a New Zealand thing as it was popular here as well.

 

 

With a lot of walking over the past week my feet were sore so back to the ship.

 

 

Looking back down the entrance we came in.

 

 

 

 

Soon enough it was sail away time.

 

 

 

 

 

This was a really enjoyable stop with so much to do.

 

[twangster]

After a bite to eat it was back outside for sunset.

 

 

 

The moon was particularly bright tonight.

 

 

[derorim]

Your posts are a welcome diversion from current events. Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos. Enjoy your cruise.

[twangster]

As the sun was setting we sailed past the White Island Volcano.  The tragedy that occurred on December 9, 2019 resonates with me because I was originally booked on that excursion for this day.

 

Out of respect for those impacted by this tragedy I wasn't sure if I was going to mention it.  I wasn't even sure we would be close enough to see it.  With a solemn heart and with the victims in my thoughts this will be the only post that I'll share.

 

 

[Oceansaway17]

Well the tour you took from Tauranga was wonderful with a variety of things to show us.

Was kinda like Redwoods meets Yellowstone Ntl park.

I enjoyed your photos and actually the Redwoods in NZ are nicer.

Kiwi ice cream looks really good as well. And sail out looked great as well

 

 In case you have not heard, coast of Australia and Sydney are getting lots of rain now.

Toodles

[twangster]

3 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

 In case you have not heard, coast of Australia and Sydney are getting lots of rain now.

 

Our call on Dunedin is in jeopardy, as is the trip through the sounds.  Dunedin has strong winds and the flooding in the Fiordland area has washed lots of debris into the sounds and fjords so we are waiting to see if we'll get there.  Oh well, such is cruising.  

Edited February 8, 2020 by twangster

[Chiliburn]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

 

Our call on Dunedin is in jeopardy, as is the trip through the sounds.  Dunedin has strong winds and the flooding in the Fiordland area has washed lots of debris into the sounds and fjords so we are waiting to see if we'll get there.  Oh well, such is cruising.  

I doubt if you will be doing the fiords then .

 

You will have to come back next year  .before January.

 

PS Have you seen the drink card and the drink of the day?

[perfect match]

I can’t imagine living on top of those geysers! 
 

I can’t thank you enough for taking us along with you on this cruise! 

[twangster]

Housekeeping items:

 

Pools are heated to 24°C or 75°F.  Indoor and outdoor.

 

BOGO Deluxe package reappeared on day 4 but has since not (that I've seen).  No drink cards that I've seen but buckets of beers have been available for a small discount.  When a deluxe beverage package discount appears mid cruise it generally means sales have been slow so YMMV.

 

Voom internet has performed just like it does when sailing in the Caribbean on Anthem.  Typical speeds are 4 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up.  This may be slow for people used to fiber or other super fast internet on land but for a ship at sea it's pretty darn good.

[pink845]

Such lovely photos of the silver ferns.  I see you have your name at the top to protect your property.  Good idea.    The beach at the bottom of the mountain appears to have a lot of seaweed.  I wonder if that is simply because of the time of year.  I hope that you do get to Dunedin because it would be nice to see your lovely photos from that port.  

[Oceansaway17]

13 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Our call on Dunedin is in jeopardy, as is the trip through the sounds.  Dunedin has strong winds and the flooding in the Fiordland area has washed lots of debris into the sounds and fjords so we are waiting to see if we'll get there.  Oh well, such is cruising.  

Very sorry to hear this but you have a good attitude. Perhaps the ship will go north to Auckland now. Great substitute.

 

Have ya heard about Anthem issues with possible coronavirus? Delayed a day(Sat) and possible one more day from Bayonne . Lots of angry folks and media coverage while waiting for Atlanta CDC results soon.

 

I will keep my fingers crossed for the rest of your trip. I hope my Nov trip to the Sounds is ok but if not then hoping ship does other ports.

 

But hey here is a thought, book a cruise to Norway this summer to see their fjords.

I am doing it a second time as they have many to see and usually no weather issues.

 

Toodles. Go do the bumper cars.

[twangster]

6 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

here is a thought, book a cruise to Norway this summer to see their fjords.

 

Already booked.  🙂 

[Sea Dog]

16 hours ago, twangster said:

The moon was particularly bright tonight.

 

Looks like you brought the monster lens. Was it a 250?

[twangster]

16 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Looks like you brought the monster lens. Was it a 250?

 

300mm

[twangster]

Day 6 - Napier

 

Our progress so far...

 

 

Our first glimpse of the port.

 

 

Napier is a fairly technical port to sail into and it requires the use of tugs to complete the maneuver into the pier.  That little sliver of water to the left in this photo is where we need to navigate but the aft has to go in first.

 

 

It's like backing into an "F" where the ship will dock at the horizontal top of the "F".  The sharp turn requires the use of tugs. 

 

 

This is a shuttle port.  The port is industrial and meant for cargo ships so it's not a port you can walk off the ship and into town.  Free shuttle buses are used to go through the secure port area to reach town.  Like with tenders, tickets are used to manage crowds.  

 

Since I had a Royal excursion we met in the theater and left as a group not requiring a shuttle ticket.

 

[twangster]

Update:  Actual time of this posting is day 8.  Skipping Dunedin today due to winds.  I'll use the extra sea day to try to catch up on this thread but we've crossed below 45° S latitude where O3b satellites meet their operational Southern limit.  Voom is becoming sketchy so I may go silent for a day or two.  

Edited February 8, 2020 by twangster