Almost Live Auckland to Sydney

[Azulann]

I am loving your trip report.

I am usually ready to call it a night by (9;30 when on a cruise too.

[SteelCity Cruiser]

11 hours ago, PasadenaDave said:

Boxing Day was more of the same at sea.  All meals in the World Cafe today as we need a break from mega dining.

 

Three highlights:  I finished my book about Shackleton, I did a full mile walk around the ship, and I saw a pod of whales at a distance.  Today I learned that there had been a pod of ten near the ship.

 

Bed by nine, yes we love excitement 

Sounds like a thoroughly delightful day to me!!!

 

[SummerStar57]

Hee hee. We live on our boat half the year and we call 9pm “Cruisers Midnight”.

[PasadenaDave]

Wednesday the 27th was more of the same.

 

The seas were rough with walking, I mean waltzing to and fro around the ship.

 

Our excitement, we watched Baggo while waiting, was booking a River Cruise to Portugal and a Japan to Hong Kong journey.

 

We ate at Manfriedies.  It was a disappointment, poor service and my pork chop was very salty.  The Carbonara was very good.  We would have had a better meal at the Restaurant which has been good.  Yes, I am critical when served a dish that I could have made it better myself.

 

Tomorrow is Hobart!

 

Hint, it was better than imagined with Maxi class racing yachts!

[PasadenaDave]

Today, Thursday the 28th was such a great day that I am awake after nine!

 

The day began with cappuccino from the Living Room at 0630 and then steam and soak at Nordic Spa.  Breakfast in World Cafe and wait to leave ship which was delayed until 11:35.

We took a taxi to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary.  There is a tour but it was full and we are glad that it was.  We were almost done there when the tour arrived.  We had a great time feeding and petting kangaroos and seeing Tasmanian devils.  The taxi hung around as business is slow and he drove us back via Richmond to see a historic bridge and village.

 

Upon returning we walked the city and waterfront.  We were very lucky to see the number 3 and 4 finishers of the Sydney to Hobart race, the winners crossed the line at 0800.  I was so excited to see this as it is to me the World Series or Super Bowl.

 

Shared hot dog and relaxed in room and on sailing watched number five approaching the finish.  Nap and then dinner in restaurant which was the bast meal ever at sea.

 

Tomorrow is a sea day.

[OneSixtyToOne]

8 hours ago, PasadenaDave said:

Our excitement, we watched Baggo while waiting, was booking a River Cruise to Portugal and a Japan to Hong Kong journey.

We also have booked Tokyo to Hong Kong. Which sailing are you on?

[kag3120]

I’ve been following your travelog with interest as we’re doing the Auckland to Bali cruise in February. The Bonorong Sanctuary is also sold out on our itinerary and you mentioned you took a taxi to go there. Sounds like a great idea. Did you have to arrange ahead of time or was it easy to get one just walking off the ship?
Thanks again for your “Almost Live” commentary. I’m enjoying it and learning a few things too! 

[PasadenaDave]

4 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

We also have booked Tokyo to Hong Kong. Which sailing are you on?

October 2024

[PasadenaDave]

18 minutes ago, kag3120 said:

I’ve been following your travelog with interest as we’re doing the Auckland to Bali cruise in February. The Bonorong Sanctuary is also sold out on our itinerary and you mentioned you took a taxi to go there. Sounds like a great idea. Did you have to arrange ahead of time or was it easy to get one just walking off the ship?
Thanks again for your “Almost Live” commentary. I’m enjoying it and learning a few things too! 

We walked off ship and took the first taxi.  There is a shuttle service by an outfit which is unaffiliated with the Sanctuary, however they take this time to go on holiday, he was very responsive to my inquiry.

 

You can purchase admission on website of Sanctuary with no specific time, it is good for one year

[PasadenaDave]

I think I forgot to post about our sea day on Friday, it was more of the same except for two visits to the Nordic Spa!
 

Yesterday which was Saturday the 30th was Melbourne.  Showers as we arrived and no morning spa due to an excursion.

 

 We did the included to the War Memorial and Botanical Gardens with driving through downtown and narration.  I have seen many war memorials and don’t need to see any more.  The Botanical Gardens was nice despite my answering a few questions about trees that the docent could not.  We have the world class Huntington Gardens and Galleries ten minutes from where we live so there is that.  I thought that we would be dropped off near the ship shuttle but the directions were vague and we were chilled so we returned to the ship.

 

 I made my visit to the Nordic Spa and had a nap due to two beers at pool grill when we returned from excursion.   We had sailed twenty minutes when we returned to the wharf to discharge a passenger needing hospital care.  Slight diversion which won’t impact our journey.

 

World cafe for roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and sleep by nine.

[mariners]

Happy New Year, PasadenaDave!  I'm enjoying reading your live postings.

[PasadenaDave]

Sunday, New Year’s Eve a sea day.

 

Nordic Spa to start the day.  Breakfast in World Cafe and watched passengers beat crew in Baggo.  Reading, a one mile walk, a nap and lunch at the World Cafe to fill up the day.

 

Dinner in restaurant where we were the last to be seated, our choice at 8:30.  Prime Rib and Eton Mess.  We explored finding Torshaven for the first time out of now 29 Viking Ocean nights.  We enjoyed a drink while watching NYE from Sydney on the screen.  Watched some big party at the pool, only time a crowd on Viking and in bed at 11:45 to watch the television from Sydney until the fireworks began.  The first time up at midnight NYE in many years, but sleeping almost immediately.

 

Happy New Year 

[millybess]

28 minutes ago, PasadenaDave said:

Sunday, New Year’s Eve a sea day.

 

Nordic Spa to start the day.  Breakfast in World Cafe and watched passengers beat crew in Baggo.  Reading, a one mile walk, a nap and lunch at the World Cafe to fill up the day.

 

Dinner in restaurant where we were the last to be seated, our choice at 8:30.  Prime Rib and Eton Mess.  We explored finding Torshaven for the first time out of now 29 Viking Ocean nights.  We enjoyed a drink while watching NYE from Sydney on the screen.  Watched some big party at the pool, only time a crowd on Viking and in bed at 11:45 to watch the television from Sydney until the fireworks began.  The first time up at midnight NYE in many years, but sleeping almost immediately.

 

Happy New Year 

Happy New Year to you also!

[PasadenaDave]

Monday, New Year’s Day.

 

0630 cappuccino from Living Room with normal 0800 visit to Nordic Spa.  We ate breakfast at World Cafe before the Giant Brunch was set out in Wintergarden.  This was a huge spread that we nibbled on after watch entry into Sydney Harbour.  This is an amazing sail.

 

We took the included coach tour to South Head and Bondi, it was windy and damp but people were swimming.  I don’t understand the attraction to Bondi Beach, a small crowded beach, but a great party atmosphere if you are young.

 

We packed, ate at the World Cafe and set bags in the hall for pickup.

 

Note that we docked at Circular Quay, but moved at 11:30 at night to White Bay Cruise Terminal, I neither felt or heard the ship move.

 

 We are staying here on our own until Thursday and I will post our activities to help future travelers 

[gr'aunt]

Pasadena Dave: I'm a "southern neighbor" in Orange County, but I lived in Glendale until I was 5 (so I once was a closer neighbor, if that matters! LOL). I am enjoying reading your day-by-day cruise report. We have never sailed on Viking. I just booked this same cruise for next December 13th (Auckland to Sydney). I have read every word you wrote and took notes too!  Before I stumbled onto this, I also read every page of the well-documented-but-ill-fated Dec 22, 2022 Orion cruise, written by Katlew. I noticed you commented a few times there as well. I was very nervous about going forward after reading about the "hull snails" and how everyone on board basically ended up with a port-less cruise. I have 2 1/2 days to cancel without penalty for this booking I just made. Ugh. Any talk of "snails on the hull" during your cruise?

I noticed that you booked your own hotel pre-cruise, took taxis when needed, and also withdrew cash from ATM's. Sounds like you did a fair number of excursions on your own too. My concern right now is if my expected return on investment (PV1 stateroom, Viking business class air, pre-and-post Viking-chosen hotel stays...for approximately $41k total, for two...cha ching $$$) will be worth it...or if we will find out after it's too late that a port (or all of them) is/are closed due to "fill in the blank". I've only cruised on Oceania in the past (3x), but it's been awhile. (Twelve years actually). I used to be adept at making our own plane reservations, planning private excursions via roll call with other passengers, using the ATM's in Europe, even taking a taxi in Turkey when the private driver failed to show up to take us to the airport. (We were nervous but we survived). I'm admittedly rusty and worn down after a much-researched Spain-to-Portugal Regent cruise was cancelled in 2020 (Covid closed the world that day), the day before we were to fly out of LAX. We have not attempted to book a cruise since. But things seem to be recovering since the ravages of Covid and I'm ready to get back in the game. I hope you can expand on this blog when your cruise is over and you are in the mood to reminisce with more details about the good, the bad, and the hopefully not-ugly. I would love to hear any insider "tips" (what's on the menu's in the restaurants? your favorite dishes? what do you wish you would have brought with you but left at home? what class of stateroom were you in and do you wish you would have bumped up...or down...? best side of the ship for days at sea?...etc etc) for those of us who have yet to cruise with Viking. Thank you! 

[PasadenaDave]

Tuesday January 2.

 

Gr’aunt, I will reply to your message later.

 

today was “get evicted day”.  My wife got our cappuccino’s from Living Room as she was up and ready early.  We were leaving the ship by taxi so our departure time was 8:30 to 9:30.  We ate at World Cafe joining crowds in living room around 8:00.  I had seen people struggling with luggage on gangway as they self-carried.  Note, that this is Viking, only 930 passengers max, have them get your luggage ashore as it is easy to find.

 

when our color was called we were the first off the ship, I didn’t check the time, but we barely broke stride from gangway to luggage to first taxi in line.  Arrived at Marriott to a zoo, many with Viking excursion.  Room wasn’t ready but they had a room to relax and have tea.  No sooner was tea done when room was ready and in room at 0945.  We were on our way soon and people from the ship were still checking in.

 

A fun day at Art Gallery of New South Wales including walk to and from 12,000 step day.  Relaxed in room and I had a sauna and swim.  To early dinner and Opera, La Traviata where I saw a colleague whom I previously worked with.  We had a similar experience in 2019 in Paris!

 

To bed exhausted, what a great city and the opera was amazing 

[PasadenaDave]

Wednesday January 3

 

We slept in until 8:30!!!  That never happens.  We had a rude awakening in that there was no Living Room to visit.  Never fear, I found a great coffee place in the alley next to the Marriott.

 

We visited the Sydney Museum which is a top notch small museum with exhibits on the history of the area and excellent video about settlers encroaching upon aboriginal lands.  Also great photos, dioramas and memorabilia from the Opera House.  We walked to the Rocks area for a late lunch and saw a gigantic ship loading people.  A short walk through the Contemporary Art Museum which wasn’t too our liking.

 

Resting with tea and proper Cadbury chocolate.  We will pack for a taxi at 7:30 tomorrow to the airport.

[PasadenaDave]

22 hours ago, gr'aunt said:

Pasadena Dave: I'm a "southern neighbor" in Orange County, but I lived in Glendale until I was 5 (so I once was a closer neighbor, if that matters! LOL). I am enjoying reading your day-by-day cruise report.

 

I am glad that you find this useful, I retired from City of Anaheim and lived in Brea for twenty-five years.
 

We have never sailed on Viking. I just booked this same cruise for next December 13th (Auckland to Sydney). I have read every word you wrote and took notes too!  Before I stumbled onto this, I also read every page of the well-documented-but-ill-fated Dec 22, 2022 Orion cruise, written by Katlew. I noticed you commented a few times there as well. I was very nervous about going forward after reading about the "hull snails" and how everyone on board basically ended up with a port-less cruise. I have 2 1/2 days to cancel without penalty for this booking I just made. Ugh. Any talk of "snails on the hull" during your cruise?

 

There was much talk at each port concerning Biosecurity.  I think all cruise lines learned from last year the problems with sea creatures riding for free.  To me this is nothing to worry about.

22 hours ago, gr'aunt said:

I noticed that you booked your own hotel pre-cruise, took taxis when needed, and also withdrew cash from ATM's. Sounds like you did a fair number of excursions on your own too. My concern right now is if my expected return on investment (PV1 stateroom, Viking business class air, pre-and-post Viking-chosen hotel stays...for approximately $41k total, for two...cha ching $$$) will be worth it...or if we will find out after it's too late that a port (or all of them) is/are closed due to "fill in the blank".

 

I refuse to judge on what one person values for their money spent.  I think it’s silly to pay hundreds of dollars to see professional sports, yet many people do.  At the same time we spent $299 AUS for the opera last night.  It is hard to find a better product than Viking and one reason why I do consulting work is to not question my sanity on funding these trips including business air.  I do scoff at what adult children spend on first class Disney hotels, they are too young with children to waste that kind of money.  Pre and post excursions are great in certain places like Israel and Jordan, but in countries that speak a language very similar to American English, I find they lack value for me but they allow less confident and single travelers a wonderful experience.
 

I've only cruised on Oceania in the past (3x), but it's been awhile. (Twelve years actually).

 

Oceania is the only cruise line that I have been told is close to Viking.  One person on this cruise prefers them but most comparisons rank Viking tops.  I think it comes down to itinerary.

22 hours ago, gr'aunt said:

 

I used to be adept at making our own plane reservations, planning private excursions via roll call with other passengers, using the ATM's in Europe, even taking a taxi in Turkey when the private driver failed to show up to take us to the airport. (We were nervous but we survived). I'm admittedly rusty and worn down after a much-researched Spain-to-Portugal Regent cruise was cancelled in 2020 (Covid closed the world that day), the day before we were to fly out of LAX. We have not attempted to book a cruise since. But things seem to be recovering since the ravages of Covid and I'm ready to get back in the game. I hope you can expand on this blog when your cruise is over and you are in the mood to reminisce with more details about the good, the bad, and the hopefully not-ugly. I would love to hear any insider "tips" (what's on the menu's in the restaurants? your favorite dishes? what do you wish you would have brought with you but left at home? what class of stateroom were you in and do you wish you would have bumped up...or down...? best side of the ship for days at sea?...etc etc) for those of us who have yet to cruise with Viking. Thank you! 

 

Nordic Spa best especially steam room.  I like the beer and most included wine.  Food is good but we don’t like Manfredi’s ate there once each cruise.  Steaks in restaurant always cooked properly.  The food was really good this trip.  We do smallest room on ship which is fine.  The side of the ship is really what you like based on itinerary.  We bought a drink in the bar twice.  We brought on board a bottle of gin and a small bottle of Jack Daniel’s which I will finish tonight.  The drinks bought and bottles brought on board means our bar bill was $120US vs $50 per day for spirit’s package $25 pp both have to purchase.

 

Ask any questions you have 
 

 

 

[gr'aunt]

Thank you so much Pasadena Dave, for taking the time to respond.  That was very kind of you. Small World: My husband grew up in Brea. His family moved there when he was in elementary school, in 1959. His mom lived there till she died in in 2012, and his sister still lives there. (We lived there for the first three years after we married, but we live closer to SJCapistrano now).

 
Last night I found a detailed review (including menus) of Orion. It was written shortly after the first sailing. The writer had a bias, I’m sure- (“comped” trip?)-but I felt she did a fair job. After reading it, I could tell there were familiarities /similarities to Oceania. But the Oceania I knew has changed. It used to be owned by Frank Del Rio when we sailed. Now it’s part of the Norwegian Cruiseline conglomeration. That’s where Viking wins…the founder who had the vision STILL holds the majority shares. 

I called Viking today to ask some specific questions and was lucky to reach someone who was attentive, knowledgeable and answered my questions, and then had questions of her own…which resulted in me feeling more confident that we’ve made the right choice for “us”. We’re not big drinkers and will be satisfied with an occasional beer. The stocked booze in the mini fridge can go to someone nice we might meet on board who would appreciate it LOL!

 

Wishing you pleasant memories of your recent cruise in 2024…

Gr’aunt (Cody and Taylor’s “GREAT” aunt Debra)

[PasadenaDave]

Final Post, except for questions

Today was one long January 4 which began in Sydney don't ask me how many hours ago.

 

We took a taxi from the Marriott and for $65 AUS and 23 minutes we were at the airport at 7:50 but the counters didn't open until 8:30.  Note that I heard that the price of light rail from Circular Quay is $18-$20AUS per person so I think spending $25 AUS extra for no hassle and no luggage trudging and learning the system to be money well spent.

 

Flight boarded and departed timely and but for a few bumpy spots including one major drop we arrived a few minutes early.

 

It is now early afternoon PST and I had a 55 minute nap, hoping to stay up until 8 or 9 tonight.

 

Happy Cruising

[new2cruise]

On 1/2/2024 at 10:49 PM, gr'aunt said:

Last night I found a detailed review (including menus) of Orion. It was written shortly after the first sailing. The writer had a bias, I’m sure- (“comped” trip?)-but I felt she did a fair job.

Hi Gr'aunt, 

Could you direct me to the detailed review that you mention here?

 

On 1/2/2024 at 10:49 PM, gr'aunt said:

I called Viking today to ask some specific questions and was lucky to reach someone who was attentive, knowledgeable and answered my questions, and then had questions of her own…which resulted in me feeling more confident that we’ve made the right choice for “us”.

And if the questions you asked were not personal, would you mind you sharing the answers you  received?

We're going on the Orion on the reverse route - Sydney to Aukland and look forward to gaining as much advance info on the ship and the cruise as possible.

 

Thanks!

[gr'aunt]

33 minutes ago, new2cruise said:

Hi Gr'aunt, 

Could you direct me to the detailed review that you mention here?

 

And if the questions you asked were not personal, would you mind you sharing the answers you  received?

We're going on the Orion on the reverse route - Sydney to Aukland and look forward to gaining as much advance info on the ship and the cruise as possible.

 

Thanks!

Yikes! I did not write down where I found it and those notes are long gone. But I’m sure it was via a “search” on CruiseCritic. Sorry I can’t help you…