Cristiano Posted November 8, 2022 #201 Share Posted November 8, 2022 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkacruiser Posted November 8, 2022 #202 Share Posted November 8, 2022 Sydney is one of my most favorite cities that I have visited! The evening I attended an opera at the Opera House, the Hop On/Off bus trips, the walks through the Rocks, my visit to their excellent Maritime Museum: so much to enjoy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sallyandtex Posted November 8, 2022 #203 Share Posted November 8, 2022 On 11/5/2022 at 11:19 PM, Btimmer said: Tonight we received another change of itinerary letter cancelling our stop at Kaikoura, NZ on 11/14/22 and substituting an additional day in Wellington. For this change we will receive $250 each as a non-refundable shipboard credit AND 10% of our cruise fare paid as a Bonus Future Cruise Credit. The terms and condition of the credit were erroneously not included on the reverse side of the letter. We'll probably learn those tomorrow. Wow! We arrived on the ship today. I was really disappointed about Kiakoura as I had booked a whale watch tour. We didn't get this letter, hope it eventuates. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted November 8, 2022 Author #204 Share Posted November 8, 2022 Our 6:30pm departure has been delayed because certain passengers did not have the required NZ ETA. 6:45pm was the drop dead departure time due to tide conditions needed to pass under the Sydney harbor bridge. The next opportunity to depart is near midnight. The Captain also indicated this may affect scenic cruising in Milford Sound. There were audible cries in the Lido to "throw them off the ship". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jettaleea Posted November 8, 2022 #205 Share Posted November 8, 2022 23 hours ago, Btimmer said: Our 6:30pm departure has been delayed because certain passengers did not have the required NZ ETA. 6:45pm was the drop dead departure time due to tide conditions needed to pass under the Sydney harbor bridge. The next opportunity to depart is near midnight. The Captain also indicated this may affect scenic cruising in Milford Sound. There were audible cries in the Lido to "throw them off the ship". Tim I agree. They should never have been allowed to board. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted November 8, 2022 Author #206 Share Posted November 8, 2022 (edited) There seems to be a bit more to the delay story, but I'll refrain from commenting just yet. I can tell you that at 10pm local time the Captain came on the PA system and said that our departure will now be at 3:30am due to a shortage of pilots. Interestingly, that's about the soonest time that we can pass under the Sydney Bridge according to the tide charts that I consulted when the first announcement was made during dinner. He also said that he'll update us tomorrow on the possible effects of scenic cruising in Milford Sound. On the plus side, we got to enjoy a full eclipse of the moon. We watched it from Deck 9 fwd. At times it was obscured by clouds but was interesting to watch it develop. Below are a few pictures of it along with an interesting sunset picture. Edited November 8, 2022 by Btimmer 12 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted November 8, 2022 Author #207 Share Posted November 8, 2022 We're finally underway after an 8 hour delay. Here's our position as of 5:07am (ship time). Our clocks were advanced 1 hour at 2am. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakridger Posted November 8, 2022 #208 Share Posted November 8, 2022 I love those eclipse pictures! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted November 10, 2022 Author #209 Share Posted November 10, 2022 Currently we are in the Milford Sound and are rotating 540° to begin our sail out. 9 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lido deck main Posted November 11, 2022 #210 Share Posted November 11, 2022 Wow, your pictures are great. Love the eclipse pictures. If I remember correctly on a previous cruise you had great northern lights pictures. And then the turtle pictures. The Sydney arrival pictures and zoo. You are quite the photographer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted November 11, 2022 Author #211 Share Posted November 11, 2022 Here's a sleeping seal from on the way out of Milford Sound. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cccole Posted November 11, 2022 #212 Share Posted November 11, 2022 Wow, fabulous photos. A cruise I would love to be on. THANK YOU!!!! Cherie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare erewhon Posted November 11, 2022 #213 Share Posted November 11, 2022 Thanks for sharing your photos of a lovely day in Milford Sound. You may experience rain tomorrow, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted November 11, 2022 Author #214 Share Posted November 11, 2022 (edited) The second half of our scenic cruising was in Dusky Sound. It's walls are much more rounded and we entered the fjord with a bunch of low hanging clouds. There weren't as many waterfalls, but I saw a bunch more wildlife in the form of seals, an otter, and large fish that didn't break the surface of the water. Here are a few pictures. Edited November 11, 2022 by Btimmer 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted November 11, 2022 Author #215 Share Posted November 11, 2022 (edited) HUGE CAUTION IN PORT CHALMERS If you visit here and expect to take the public bus #14 to Dunedin, it only takes 1/2 a bus load. I highly recommend taking the shuttle from the port at $35NZ round trip. As an update, a second bus came 1/2 hour after the first and was totally filled with cruise ship passengers. I still recommend the shuttle for maximizing time efficiency. Edited November 11, 2022 by Btimmer 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwifan56 Posted November 12, 2022 #216 Share Posted November 12, 2022 I have family living in Port and although the locals love cruisers there is some angst over the buses. Sadly after Covid there is a shortage of drivers and there are some horror stories of how much the cruise lines are charging compared to public transport. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted November 12, 2022 Author #217 Share Posted November 12, 2022 In his departure message, the Captain just announced that per corporate direction masks are required of all guests indoors on all Carnival corporation ships in this region. There are reports of a major outbreak in New South Wales. We currently have 3 cases in isolation onboard (2 passengers and 1 crew). I'll write more about the bus situation in today's blog. It's a difficult situation for the community and tough for the passengers. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare erewhon Posted November 12, 2022 #218 Share Posted November 12, 2022 7 minutes ago, Btimmer said: In his departure message, the Captain just announced that per corporate direction masks are required of all guests indoors on all Carnival corporation ships in this region. There are reports of a major outbreak in New South Wales. We currently have 3 cases in isolation onboard (2 passengers and 1 crew). I'll write more about the bus situation in today's blog. It's a difficult situation for the community and tough for the passengers. Are masks being provided by HAL? News reports state that the Majestic Princess on arrival in Sydney with 800 cases of covid. Who is the current Captain of the Westerdam? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare WriterOnDeck Posted November 12, 2022 #219 Share Posted November 12, 2022 Yes, the Majestic Princess had 800 cases in Sydney this morning. I was surprised Capt. Wouter van Hoogdalem didn't mention that in his announcement. The news is all over the Australian and NZ media -- including here in Dunedin, where the Princess ship had visited last week. https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/cruise-ship-major-covid-outbreak-visited-dunedin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare erewhon Posted November 12, 2022 #220 Share Posted November 12, 2022 (edited) @WriterOnDeck thank you for your reply. The Westerdam was looking very good today in Port Chalmers, wonderful to see a BHB back in a New Zealand port. Watched Westerdam departing on the webcam, four great toots as she departed the harbour. The weather co-operated for the Westerdam, with none of the rain which was forecast for this afternoon. Edited November 12, 2022 by erewhon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted November 12, 2022 Author #221 Share Posted November 12, 2022 2 hours ago, erewhon said: Are masks being provided by HAL? News reports state that the Majestic Princess on arrival in Sydney with 800 cases of covid. Who is the current Captain of the Westerdam? While the Captain's announcement and the letter said masks were provided in our stateroom, we've not seen any. But I have an ample supply of KN95 masks I've brought with me. For me the two interesting things about the Covid outbreak. For the Princess cruise, it's a cruise that originated in Sydney. But the magnitude surprises me. For our ship, it's that our case count remains low at 3 and never went over the mid 50's. Personally, we have been masking for a week or so when many crew members started masking up. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted November 12, 2022 Author #222 Share Posted November 12, 2022 1 hour ago, erewhon said: @WriterOnDeck thank you for your reply. The Westerdam was looking very good today in Port Chalmers, wonderful to see a BHB back in a New Zealand port. Watched Westerdam departing on the webcam, four great toots as she departed the harbour. The weather co-operated for the Westerdam, with none of the rain which was forecast for this afternoon. Along with the 4 toots as we left the harbor, as we passed by several points of land, people were gathered to watch the ship leave and more toots were given. It was a very interesting sail away out of the harbor and past the Albatross Sanctuary. We also saw many sheep on the hillsides. However, it was a bit chilly. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouChamp Posted November 12, 2022 #223 Share Posted November 12, 2022 Thank you as always for your posts. Mahalo for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare erewhon Posted November 13, 2022 #224 Share Posted November 13, 2022 (edited) @Btimmer So, HAL no longer pays for the shuttle buses? On several cruises we have used the shuttle buses, but did not have to pay extra to do so. There is a nationwide shortage of bus drivers, not just Dunedin. You were fortunate to have such a lovely warm sunny day yesterday, today it's raining, temperature 12 C Edited November 13, 2022 by erewhon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted November 13, 2022 Author #225 Share Posted November 13, 2022 3 minutes ago, erewhon said: @Btimmer So, HAL no longer pays for the shuttle buses? On several cruises we have used the shuttle buses, but did not have to pay extra to do so. There is a nationwide shortage of bus drivers, not just Dunedin. For Port Chalmers to Dunedin and Lyttelton to Christchurch the shuttle busses were $35NZ RT & $20NZ one way. They were not free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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