A cruise from Australia 🇦🇺

[little britain]

Deck Leven:  sad but true story.
In a crowded lift 🛗 a young lad of around 13 said shhh 🤫 as we moved from deck 10 to deck 11 just so he could hear the “Deck Leven” announcement 📣!!
I 🙌 high fived him! 

[perfect match]

I loved the sunrise shot of the Opera House! The view of it from North Star wasn’t bad either. 😎

[FionaMG]

4 hours ago, little britain said:

Deck Leven:  sad but true story.
In a crowded lift 🛗 a young lad of around 13 said shhh 🤫 as we moved from deck 10 to deck 11 just so he could hear the “Deck Leven” announcement 📣!!
I 🙌 high fived him! 

 

Haha, reminds me of that YouTube video of the two Scottish guys in a lift with voice recognition technology. Uhluhvvin. 😂

[hammo]

On 1/29/2024 at 11:47 AM, M-H-B said:

I think the demonstrations are very Australian actually. I guess we must have a very different view of what it means to be Australian

Yes I guess we do thats for sure .

[DbPA]

10 hours ago, little britain said:

A very different demographic for this one - The kids are back in school 👏 so there are only 400 on board. 

 

We left Sydney in glorious sunshine, reverse out of the dock and it seems like we come dangerously close to backing into the bridge!

Sydney must be one of the best ports to go up on NorthStar. It’s magnificent looking down on the Opera house ! 
 

 

 

 

How did you book appointment for Sydney North Star?  Do you have to wait until Onboard to schedule?  We sail same cruise on Feb 21. Cruise Planner only shows sailing days and sold out. 

[Biker19]

44 minutes ago, DbPA said:

Cruise Planner only shows sailing days and sold out. 

The free in port rides will likely not show up until on board - use the app. You might also go stand by.

[DbPA]

29 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

The free in port rides will likely not show up until on board - use the app. You might also go stand by.

Thanks 

[little britain]

6 hours ago, DbPA said:

How did you book appointment for Sydney North Star?  Do you have to wait until Onboard to schedule?  We sail same cruise on Feb 21. Cruise Planner only shows sailing days and sold out. 

As we were on the previous sailing the Concierge kindly did it for us. 
But I would do it asap you can connect the the app in the terminal. 

[ckmommy]

Thanks for doing this review.  We were in Australia in September.  Now, planning a NZ cruise.  Not sure when, but hopefully in the next few years.  Can't wait to see the photos of the NZ leg of your trip!

 

[little britain]

20 hours ago, DbPA said:

How did you book appointment for Sydney North Star?  Do you have to wait until Onboard to schedule?  We sail same cruise on Feb 21. Cruise Planner only shows sailing days and sold out. 

The complimentary North Star  opens at 6:30p for the next port day. 

[little britain]

Detailed port shuttle instructions for New Zealand 🇳🇿 

[little britain]

Stunning sail into Picton 

 

[MLAW]

Loving your review!  We sailed on a Celebrity ship in 2008/2009 over Christmas and New Years from Aukland to Sydney.  Our girls were 11 and 14 although our youngest celebrated her 12th birthday on the ship.  We all have incredible memories and photos from that cruise.  Truly a once in a lifetime experience for us.  Our girls still stay in touch with kids they met from around the world on that cruise.  It is fun to read your reviews and remember our own experiences.  Enjoy New Zealand!

[little britain]

Picton:  our first steps in New Zealand 🇳🇿 

As you disembark you are met by local ladies who present all ladies with a hand made corsage.. the ladies of the town apparently get together the day before a ship visits to make these. Charming!

You dock in an industrial logging port.. have to take a bus ( free) into the town centre. Picton population is 4,000 so we doubled it!

 

We took a wine tour with Jade Tours . A group of 10. It cost NZ $410 for 2 of us. 
Our guide Chris was charming and informative- we visited 4 wineries and tried about 4 wines in each. We had a superb lunch .. prices in NZ are very reasonable and good quality is outstanding! 
 

Took a stroll around the small town.. a great area for hiking and general outdoor activities. 
 

so many familiar names 

 

this was the venue for lunch and the best wine imho 

 

a tasting platter for 2 - only NZ$72. Green lipped mussels are only grown here

 

some wineries were so stylish 

 

Vines at Johanneshof

 

stunning scenery 

 

a lot of logs 🪵 

 

 

 

 

[little britain]

Some sort of upgrade to tv 📺 🤷‍♀️

[xpcdoojk]

3 hours ago, little britain said:

Some sort of upgrade to tv 📺 🤷‍♀️

Interesting

[DbPA]

First stopped looked awesome. We are doing wineries tour also.  Enjoying your reviews and photos, and Getting excited for our upcoming trip.  Any special theme or dress nights on this ship? Maybe they don’t publish in advance. 🤷‍♀️

[little britain]

7 hours ago, DbPA said:

First stopped looked awesome. We are doing wineries tour also.  Enjoying your reviews and photos, and Getting excited for our upcoming trip.  Any special theme or dress nights on this ship? Maybe they don’t publish in advance. 🤷‍♀️

There are a few dress themes and the Australians love to follow these themes…

Tropical / white / formal / dress your best and the rest are casual.  Last night was tropical and there were a lot of flowery shirts and dresses! 

[little britain]

Napier is a charming art deco city. Free shuttle into town. 

Old cars, people dressed up, and lovely buildings 

 

Even the road dignage

 

Māori woven chair in the cathedral depicts the Last Supper

 

Edited February 2 by little britain

[little britain]

But the highlight of the day was the penguin 🐧 feeding experience at the National Aquarium of New Zealand. They only allow 4 people a day to do this, so book early! NZ$300 for 2 

 

They are the smallest penguins in the world.. Little penguins 

 

 

3 months old, fully grown and just getting her feathers 

beautiful teal colours

 

 

 

[little britain]

Important info: beer size in NZ!!

Half

Schooner

Bucket 

[Coralc]

17 minutes ago, little britain said:

But the highlight of the day was the penguin 🐧 feeding experience at the National Aquarium of New Zealand. They only allow 4 people a day to do this, so book early! NZ$300 for 2 

 

They are the smallest penguins in the world.. Little penguins 

 

 

3 months old, fully grown and just getting her feathers 

beautiful teal colours

 

 

 

I love these photos and your experience LB! ☺️($184 US) 

Edited February 2 by Coralc

[Chiliburn]

3 hours ago, little britain said:

Important info: beer size in NZ!!

Half

Schooner

Bucket 

AND what did you go for the bucket?

[little britain]

3 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

AND what did you go for the bucket?

Lol! Cheeky … I had the small one! 

[little britain]

Due to weather our port tomorrow, Wellington has been cancelled. 
So it’s now a sea day heading towards Christchurch. It’s not called Windy Wellington for nothing!