Onboard grand Princess 21st of December till 22nd of January

[Womble99]

1 hour ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

I'm looking at day trips for this cruise to stop me being a hermit. First port is port chalmers/ Dunedin. I have done the train trip before. Last cruise mum and I just wandered around port chalmers. 4 years ago we just went shopping in Dunedin.

Is the olveston house and larnach castle day trip worth doing?. 5 hours. Includes morning tea $159.95.

We are doing this one, it has been on my wifes list for a while but the kids were never interested.

[Tranquility Base]

1 hour ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

I'm looking at day trips for this cruise to stop me being a hermit. First port is port chalmers/ Dunedin. I have done the train trip before. Last cruise mum and I just wandered around port chalmers. 4 years ago we just went shopping in Dunedin.

Is the olveston house and larnach castle day trip worth doing?. 5 hours. Includes morning tea $159.95.

A nice DIY day I’ve done.

1. Ferry from Port Chalmers to Portobello. ( Port to Port website.) Leaves from Back Beach.

2. Bus into town from Portobello.

3. Get off at Queens Gardens for a beer at the Duke of Wellington.

4. A look through First Church.

5. End up at the Octagon for a return to the ship when ready,

[cruiser3775]

21 hours ago, arxcards said:

Horror Zone Court. Menagerie or zoo, tough choice

Having skipped breakfast, I found it was OK if you arrive just as it opens for an early lunch. Hardly anyone else there, everything is fresher.  Half an hour later, the crowds were beginning to arrive, but by then, I was up to dessert, and everyone was clustered around the earlier courses displays.

[Normanville]

The Chinese Gardens in Dunedin are worth a visit. We have been to the ones in Shanghai and they are very authentic, a sister city gift I think. They are near the railway station.

[yes!yes!yes!]

[yes!yes!yes!]

Yes/no show was good.

Strawberries in my room again tonight

[yes!yes!yes!]

Had room service breakfast for the first time on a cruise.  I didn't have mum here to go get my early cup of tea

[yes!yes!yes!]

Today everyone has to do a covid test in their room.

 

[MelbTone]

1 hour ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

Today everyone has to do a covid test in their room.

 

Yes - strangely though the instructions are to report it to your cabin steward if positive, bin it otherwise. There doesn't appear to be any check on some testing positive and binning the wrapped test.

[yes!yes!yes!]

2 hours ago, MelbTone said:

Yes - strangely though the instructions are to report it to your cabin steward if positive, bin it otherwise. There doesn't appear to be any check on some testing positive and binning the wrapped test.

Just an honesty system 

[NSWP]

1 hour ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

Just an honesty system 

No doubt some shonks will test positive and not tell the cabin steward.   They will then carry on in their merry way and pass it on to other pax. The honesty system is not good enough.

[yes!yes!yes!]

Forgot to take a photo of tonight's menu.

 It's just the night 3 prime rib menu.

I chose  dishes I haven't had before.

The Turkey chilli  was a decent casserole, it's stretching it to imply it's remotely Mexican.

Tried corn bread for the first time. It's like a sweet Irish soda bread. I prefer soda bread.

All goes down well with a couple of wines.

[yes!yes!yes!]

As a general observation, this cruise is a younger crowd than the last 13 night to new Zealand cruise 

[yes!yes!yes!]

Although my age stays the same 

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, NSWP said:

No doubt some shonks will test positive and not tell the cabin steward.   They will then carry on in their merry way and pass it on to other pax. The honesty system is not good enough.

On HAL the cabin stewards checked all results. Much more sensible I thought. 

[yes!yes!yes!]

6 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

On HAL the cabin stewards checked all results. Much more sensible I thought. 

Yes. But if you tested un observed, then it makes no difference. 

 

[yes!yes!yes!]

[MelbTone]

The rib of beef (I'm on this cruise too)

 

 

[yes!yes!yes!]

6 minutes ago, MelbTone said:

The rib of beef (I'm on this cruise too)

 

 

Yes. I love this one with lots of horseradish 

[NSWP]

Great food pics my friends.

[Aus Traveller]

2 hours ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

Yes. But if you tested un observed, then it makes no difference. 

 

But if you have to show the test strip to the cabin steward, how can anyone hide a positive result?

[OzKiwiJJ]

31 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

But if you have to show the test strip to the cabin steward, how can anyone hide a positive result?

Exactly. Some people, knowing they have symptoms, might try to fudge the test but then they risk getting an invalid result and having to repeat the test, possibly under full supervision.

 

Because HAL released the Covid numbers each day it was interesting to see how they developed. The initial mandatory test netted 12 cases. New cases were low for a dew days then started rising. The second mandatory test, which was only for those continuing on to Singapore, also netted 12 new cases from about two thirds of the passengers (the rest of us disembarked in Sydney so didn't need to test). 

[arxcards]

49 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

But if you have to show the test strip to the cabin steward, how can anyone hide a positive result?

If one thinks they have caught something and their partner hasn't, the partner provides for both strips. It is still better than a total honour system, provided the issued test strips look distinctive enough not to be replaced by a "here's one I prepared earlier" sample.

 

PS: and there is also the possibility of barely tickling your nose with the swab.

Edited January 11, 2023 by arxcards
PS

[arxcards]

Enjoy the fiords. I hope it is a nice day for it.

[yes!yes!yes!]

3 hours ago, arxcards said:

Enjoy the fiords. I hope it is a nice day for it.

Thanks. It's nice and sunny. I'm not sure if it's cold. I haven't stepped outside since Melbourne.

Thinking I might try the dining room for lunch as the buffet is getting so monotonous.

Although I will do a quick check that it's not sushi day first. It was on last sea day on the other nz cruise.