Live(ish) from Westerdam Xmas/NY cruise from Auckland 20Dec22

[sewgood]

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

It was a group called Cantarè.

 

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

They are regulars on Holland America.

We saw three great shows from them in the first half of our cruise then they seemed to disappear off the ship, (maybe they went over to the Nordam) and then we had the BB Blues band start up.

The One step dance Company stayed on the ship the whole time, they are also really worth seeing.

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, boeckli said:

Is Lyttelton worth a walk-around etc.?

That depends on how keen you are at walking up and down steep hills! I'm not! 🤣 Luckily the bus took us the long way around so we could admire some of the lovely older houses.

 

What is lovely, if you can get a car or an appropriate tour, is driving around the harbour. We did it some years ago. It's a beautiful drive.

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

I've always wanted to visit Picton.  We crossed on  the ferry from the North Island then drove around the west coast.  Could we have visited en route without knowing?

The ferry comes in to Picton so it would be hard to miss, although you don't see the best part of the town from route from the ferry terminal - we went past the ferry terminal from the ship.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Westerdam Atrium dressed for Christmas:

 

From Deck 3.

 

Looking into the Atrium.

 

The gingerbread house display, complete with train.

 

One of the many Christmas trees.

 

Large screens can be very useful. A lovely fire without the heat!

 

Edited December 24, 2022 by OzKiwiJJ

[MMDown Under]

34 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Westerdam Atrium dressed for Christmas:

 

From Deck 3.

 

Looking into the Atrium.

 

The gingerbread house display, complete with train.

 

One of the many Christmas trees.

 

Large screens can be very useful. A lovely fire without the heat!

 

Thank you  I like their beautiful Christmas decorations.  Brighter colours and more tropical!  

[OzKiwiJJ]

Let's play "Spot the Difference"!

 

These are the Christmas Eve menus from Westerdam. Go over to the Grand Princess thread and spot the similarities, and the differences!

 

 

Edited December 24, 2022 by OzKiwiJJ

[OzKiwiJJ]

This is the Westerdam version of Australian pavlova:

 

 

[possum52]

6 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

This is the Westerdam version of Australian pavlova:

 

 

Oh no Julie, they are just meringues with chocolate cream (?) and a tiny amount of fruit. How disappointing! And I don't even like pav.

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, possum52 said:

Oh no Julie, they are just meringues with chocolate cream (?) and a tiny amount of fruit. How disappointing! And I don't even like pav.

I think it was strawberry or raspberry cream. Disappointing but not unexpected given my past experiences of cruise ship pavlova.  Luckily I chose the chocolate log which was mostly very nice mousse.

[arxcards]

3 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Let's play "Spot the Difference"!

 

These are the Christmas Eve menus from Westerdam. Go over to the Grand Princess thread and spot the similarities, and the differences!

 

 

Wow. What a co-incidence 🤣

The surf & turf is +$40, not that you could eat the double serving.

[SilvertoGold]

11 hours ago, boeckli said:

I don't want to steal Julie's thunder 🙂 but here are some shots I took the day the chefs put the display together back on Dec. 4

 

 

The guy behind the display (without the hat) is German Exec Chef Thomas Schumann who was very hands-on during the installation.

 

The finished product 🎅

 

 

 

These were found at the Lido buffet the next day.

 

[SilvertoGold]

Lovely photos.  I love HAL ship at Christmas. Chef Thomas' wife Jessica should be your over-the-top excellent Hotel Manager!

[SilvertoGold]

6 minutes ago, SilvertoGold said:

Julie 

 

Really helpful info about Picton and the pricing of the transfer into Christchurch. Great photos!  Pavolva on HAL is just not worth it. The pecan pie is usually a winner but I have my doubts about the Yule Log, having had something similar on HAL (very meh!). 

 

[MMDown Under]

6 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I think it was strawberry or raspberry cream. Disappointing but not unexpected given my past experiences of cruise ship pavlova.  Luckily I chose the chocolate log which was mostly very nice mousse.

I hope they manage to have some Aussie input for Christmas Day, Julie.  Hope you have a wonderful day.

I was happy to disembark from Celebrity Century in Sydney on Christmas Eve.  There was no Christmas, as we know it.  I've spent many Christmases in the US and loved it, but it is very different to ours.  We raced up the street to David Jones Window Displays to feel like Christmas.  Boxing Day we sat on Watson's Bay harbour front and watched the start of the Yacht Race.  

Maybe in the future Aussie/Kiwi Christmas cruises will have an Aussie atmosphere.  Party hats, bon bons,  plum pudding with custard, proper big pavlovas with fresh tropical fruit, etc.  Would be nice if they included some Aussie Christmas music in the mix.  "How to Make Gravy" would be a good start. I'm enjoying watching ABC Rage's continuous Christmas music. Happy Christmas everyone!

[OzKiwiJJ]

10 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

I hope they manage to have some Aussie input for Christmas Day, Julie.  Hope you have a wonderful day.

I was happy to disembark from Celebrity Century in Sydney on Christmas Eve.  There was no Christmas, as we know it.  I've spent many Christmases in the US and loved it, but it is very different to ours.  We raced up the street to David Jones Window Displays to feel like Christmas.  Boxing Day we sat on Watson's Bay harbour front and watched the start of the Yacht Race.  

Maybe in the future Aussie/Kiwi Christmas cruises will have an Aussie atmosphere.  Party hats, bon bons,  plum pudding with custard, proper big pavlovas with fresh tropical fruit, etc.  Would be nice if they included some Aussie Christmas music in the mix.  "How to Make Gravy" would be a good start. I'm enjoying watching ABC Rage's continuous Christmas music. Happy Christmas everyone!

Thanks Marion. 

 

I can't recall if I posted about this earlier but it's a bittersweet Christmas for me this year. We've been doing NZ cruises as a nice way of catching up with family and friends in NZ, especially my only brother in Dunedin. Sadly he passed away two weeks ago. We are spending the day with my SIL and nephew tomorrow.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Last night thete was a Christmas concert put on by the officers and crew of Westerdam. It was lovely event. The highlights for me were the Filipino choir and everyone singing Silent Night at the end.

 

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

There was a Christmas Brunch today, mostly breakfast / brunch items though. Not much if you wanted a light savoury dish without eggs. I tried the mushroom crepe but it was swamped in bechamel sauce so a bit too rich.

 

The eggnog creme brulee was weird. A really nice flavour but the custard was not a set custard, it was runny and a bit lumpy. Good brulee topping though.

 

 

There is a Christmas afternoon tea, and a sneak peak at the dinner menu shows turkey and plum pudding. 😊

Edited December 25, 2022 by OzKiwiJJ

[Aus Traveller]

15 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Thanks Marion. 

 

I can't recall if I posted about this earlier but it's a bittersweet Christmas for me this year. We've been doing NZ cruises as a nice way of catching up with family and friends in NZ, especially my only brother in Dunedin. Sadly he passed away two weeks ago. We are spending the day with my SIL and nephew tomorrow.

I am sorry to hear your sad news Julie. All the best.

[MMDown Under]

14 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Thanks Marion. 

 

I can't recall if I posted about this earlier but it's a bittersweet Christmas for me this year. We've been doing NZ cruises as a nice way of catching up with family and friends in NZ, especially my only brother in Dunedin. Sadly he passed away two weeks ago. We are spending the day with my SIL and nephew tomorrow.

i'm sorry to hear that Julie  I knew you planned to visit a brother on your cruises.  

 

[Tranquility Base]

23 hours ago, boeckli said:

Is Lyttelton worth a walk-around etc.?

Indeed it is.

Just did the coastal path from Lyttelton, past Corsair Bay beach, past Cass Bay beach and went as far as Pony Point.

Many families enjoying Christmas and lunch on the grass reserves and the beach.

A very pleasant few hours.

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

The Christmas afternoon tea was a bit disappointing. No mince pies but there was stollen, speculaas, Christmas cookies.

 

 

[boeckli]

2 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

The Christmas afternoon tea was a bit disappointing. No mince pies but there was stollen, speculaas, Christmas cookies.

 

Sounds just right for me 😉

[boeckli]

17 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said:

Indeed it is.

Just did the coastal path from Lyttelton, past Corsair Bay beach, past Cass Bay beach and went as far as Pony Point.

Many families enjoying Christmas and lunch on the grass reserves and the beach.

A very pleasant few hours.

 

Thank you.  Haven't looked at a map yet but that sounds like quite a hike ...

[boeckli]

3 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I can't recall if I posted about this earlier but it's a bittersweet Christmas for me this year. We've been doing NZ cruises as a nice way of catching up with family and friends in NZ, especially my only brother in Dunedin. Sadly he passed away two weeks ago. We are spending the day with my SIL and nephew tomorrow.

 

Sorry for your loss Julie, especially hard this time of  year.

Condolences to you and your family. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, boeckli said:

Sounds just right for me 😉

The stollen and speculaas were nice, we often have stollen at Christmas and Rolf was sulking because he forgot to get some this year so he's happy now. The Christmas cookies looked very colourful but were a bit tasteless and too sweet. But without mince pies it wasn't an OzKiwi Christmas! 🤣 Hopefully dinner will make up for that.