Live on Edge Down Under - Mar 24 & Apr 5 - NZ and S Australia 🛳️🇦🇺🦘🇳🇿🥝🛳️

[kiwichick62]

Hope you will enjoy your time here in New Zealand, hopefully we can turn on some fine weather for you.  Looks like you will be here for Easter - a 4 day holiday in NZ.  Note that most shops are closed on Easter Sunday.  Have a great cruise, I will be following along.

[81Zoomie]

Sydney Day 3. 
 

We were up before sunrise again.  Our first adventure today was a must do for me.  We were out the door at 7:20 am enroute to the Featherdale Wildlife Park west of Sydney.  I researched where you could feed Kangeroos close to Sydney that was also accessible by public transportation.  DH supported my cause by researching and choreographing our transit options.  Off we ventured by train and bus to the park.  The public transport was very good.  It was timely and we were able to make our connections.  It took a little over an hour to arrive at the park.  We beat the group tours and stepped right up to the ticket window.  If you arrive in the morning you can purchase food to feed the Kangeroos along with your entry tickets.

 

All I can say is WOW!  Imagine walking through a small gate with a cup full of what looked like cereal and being approached by small Kangeroos looking for breakfast.  They were so cute, friendly, and hungry!  The Kangeroos literally ate right out of your hand.  It was an amazing experience.  We also saw Koala bears, Wallaby’s, penguins, and a wide variety of birds.  The park was clean, informative, and friendly.  It was definitely worth the trip here!  We reversed course to return to the harbor district and were back by noon.

 

We worked up an appetite and decided to eat lunch on Opera Quay along the water.  We had a very nice lunch which included a glass of wine.  We had a lovely view of the water and Ovation of the Seas which was docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal.  
 

We decided to walk of lunch and visited the national botanical gardens.  It is another example of wide open green spaces and pathways along the water.  For whatever reason I never expected Sydney to be so tropical.  There are palm trees, birds of paradise, plumeria, and the like.  There were some incredibly large fig trees with immense root systems.  It was a lovely way to relax after lunch.  We would have stayed longer, but there were dark clouds on the horizon.   Sure enough, it started to rain before we got back to the hotel.

 

We had a busy day and decided to stay in for the night.  We were thankful for another very interesting day.

 

[81Zoomie]

32 minutes ago, kiwichick62 said:

Hope you will enjoy your time here in New Zealand, hopefully we can turn on some fine weather for you.  Looks like you will be here for Easter - a 4 day holiday in NZ.  Note that most shops are closed on Easter Sunday.  Have a great cruise, I will be following along.

We are looking forward to our time in NZ.  Thanks for the warning about the long Easter weekend.  We did not realize it was 4 days long.  We packed for layering and cooler weather, so hopefully we will be comfortable.

[81Zoomie]

Day 4 in Sydney.

 

We took a little more laid back approach to today.  We took the ferries to/from Manly which is on the coast.  It was a very cute beach town.  There was a little craft fare, surfers 🏄 on the water, and many small sailboats, and cute restaurants and bars.  We walked a long path along the harbor front.  The small 16 ft skiff sailboats were very interesting to watch.  There was certainly a lot of sailing activity.  We had lunch at one of the waterfront restaurants.  The food and service were also quite good.  We took the high speed ferry over and the older more traditional ferry back.  Once again, the views were simply beautiful. Upon returning to Circle Quay we stopped for some gelato.  They have the most amazing displays of gelato here.

 

We walked about a bit after returning to the CBD (central business district).  I do have to chuckle at the initials “CBD” in this day and age.  We had another big lunch and weren’t very hungry for dinner.  At the risk of being set in our ways, we went down to the M Club and had a salad and beer/wine before returning to our room.  We have noticed several people in the lounge talking about cruising.  We expect to see them on Edge!

[Norwaylady]

😎🥰 This brings back great memories of Sydney and 🇦🇺. You will love your cruise! 
NZ & Australia is really special in many ways. 
I can promise you, that your cruise will only get you more hooked on NZ and Australia🤭💙

[vickykay]

Thanks so much for posting the beautiful photos.  Brought back many wonderful memories!

[princess76021]

Definitely enjoying precruise!!  Thanks for taking the time!!

 

hugs from Texas!!

[81Zoomie]

Awake at 5:30, who would have guessed,

I sprung to my feet, but not to get dressed.

I crept to the window to pull back the curtain,

I couldn’t wait any longer and had to be certain.

I peered through the dark and looked at the lights,

Searching the landscape for some welcoming sights.

Then all of a sudden down an the right,

Came into view an awesome delight.

Leaning upon on the window’s ledge,

I could see the “X” of the Edge!

I quietly tiptoed back to bed,

With visions of cruising filling my head.

For today is a day so exciting for me,

The start of another journey at sea!!!
🛳️🛳️🛳️🛳️🛳️🛳️🛳️🛳️🛳️🛳️🛳️🛳️🛳️🛳️

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 23 by 81Zoomie

[whitshel]

Hi,

 

Were on the Edge too. Arrived yesterday from San Diego, direct flight on Delta in Premium. The Edge is here!!

 

 

The flight wasn't bad at all except when I booked our seat in the 2 4 2 config with a window and aisle bulkhead seats, when we were boarding the called our name and told us one of the tray table and arm rests was broken and they had to move our seats 😞 We ended up in "4" part of the configuration a couple rows back but we had the whole row to ourselves 🙂  The flight had over 100 empty seats so they actually had to move peoples seats from the middle of the plane to the back as we were nose heavy they said, weird.

[whitshel]

Just a couple of shots of Sydney from our room.

 

 

 

(Sorry don't mean to hijack your thread but thought id throw a couple pics in)

[81Zoomie]

We were going to try a little different approach to bag drop 🧳🧳🧳🧳 and boarding this morning 🧐.  Sort of over the tram track 🛤️ and through all those debarking and all the runners 🚶🏼‍♀️🚶🏼🚶🏾‍♂️🏃‍♀️.  We are planning to walk our suitcases down to the bag drop early, and then return to the hotel to relax for a bit.  It’s about a 1/4 mile walk a touch downhill. The pavers are pretty level.
 

Then we can stroll down with a carryon between 12 and 1 when hopefully the crowds and lines have thinned a bit.  We shall see how it works out.  It’s a small test to see how we do schlepping bags in the city.  We have a European land/cruise combo 🇮🇹 🇳🇱 🇺🇸 in the fall which will entail some baggage movement.  Moving our bags today will be a trial run.  Will this be an elegant “bag drop”?  Or, will it resemble a military “bag drag”?  We are hoping walking MAY be easier than trying to get a taxi 🚕 or Uber to go less than a 1/2 mile.  Time will tell!

 

IT’S SAIL AWAY DAY!!!  Please join us as we experience Edge 🛳️🇦🇺🛳️🇳🇿.

 

 

 

[mahdnc]

2 hours ago, whitshel said:

Just a couple of shots of Sydney from our room.

 

 

 

(Sorry don't mean to hijack your thread but thought id throw a couple pics in)

 Looks like you are staying at the Shangri-La.  How do you like it?

[mahdnc]

16 hours ago, 81Zoomie said:

I want to give a shout out to the Aussie’s on our roll call.  They have been so helpful by providing information and insights as only locals can.  It has made our planning so much easier 😁

 

GOOD MORNING SYDNEY!  Wow, we are waking up in Australia ❤️.  Our plan for the first day was to take it easy and monitor the weather.  Rain was forecast.  We woke up early, about 5 am.  So it goes when you are flying west!  At 6:30, about the time the sun was coming up we ventured out to see the images we have dreamed of for so long.  We watched the sun come up over the Sydney harbor, walked around the Opera house, and marveled at the bridge.  I can’t tell you how amazing it felt to see them up close.

 

It looked a bit like rain after breakfast, so we pivoted go shopping.  Water and wine…right?  DH did some research and found a great wine store at Martin Station, Dan Murphy’s The Cellar.  It has a diverse selection and much better pricing that the little Bottle Shops scattered throughout the city.  We picked up a couple of bottles for the cruise.

 

Yes, it did rain, probably because we left our umbrellas in our suitcases 😂☔️😂.  We managed to escape a drenching and rested for a bit.

 

We were certainly a bit tired, but kept moving by walking across the bridge.  The views were great!  However, we were not that excited about walking back.  It was time to figure out the mass transit and buy our Opal card.  It worked perfectly, just as advertised!  Mass transit is so efficient and easy here!

 

 

Nice photos and review.  We stayed at the Marriott the last time we visited Sydney before our New Zealand cruise (Solstice).  Very nice hotel.  I've enjoyed your posts.  Have a terrific cruise.

[81Zoomie]

Well, most plans don’t survive contact with the enemy.  In our case, communication was a shortfall.  The term “bags” is open for interpretation.  My idea was all the suitcases 🧳🧳🧳🧳.  DH, thought it meant the 2 big bags 🧳🧳.  So, the fine art of compromise prevailed 😘🥰😘.  My 2 bags went along for the ride/push as well as DH’s big bag.  So 🧳🧳🧳.  DH is so attached to his dirty laundry that he has elected to wheel it onboard himself 🤣.  He is eager to stuff the first laundry bag he finds with a weeks worth of his clothes.  At any rate, I am happy that my bags are gone 👍👏😎.

 

We took a few minutes to explore.  We sail out of Pt Everglades quite a bit.  I will say, the baggage handlers here portray a very different vibe.  They were lined up ready to take our bags with a smile on their faces.  As with the rest of Sydney, they were chipper, young, and vibrant!  And, we walked right up at 9:30 am with no line 😁.  The only thing they asked was if we had liquor in our checked bags. For those in suites, we saw no signage or suite lines anywhere.

 

Next we went to the observation deck of the passenger terminal.  The provisioning had already begun.  For those of you with a beverage package… we spied, cartons of Markers Mark, Chopin, Macallan, Tito’s, Heineken, Coors Light, bottled water, and more!

 

 

One of the lead baggage handlers told us to avoid the rush at 10:30.  He said noonish would be much calmer.  That sounded like the voice of experience and we will heed his advice.

 

We have a bit more time to pass and then we will board 👏🛳️👏

 

 

 

Edited March 24 by 81Zoomie

[mauimary]

We stayed at this same Marriott when we were here last time. We schlepped our bags in the reverse from the ship up to the Marriott!! Very nice to have the M Club for breakfast and a light dinner. Very nice lounge.  It will be fun to follow along with you as we are doing a B2B2B Oct-Nov this year.  We are cruising down from Honolulu and doing a similar flight to you on Hawaiian Air on our return to the west coast. 
Have a wonderful trip

Mary. 

[81Zoomie]

3 minutes ago, mauimary said:

We stayed at this same Marriott when we were here last time. We schlepped our bags in the reverse from the ship up to the Marriott!! Very nice to have the M Club for breakfast and a light dinner. Very nice lounge.  It will be fun to follow along with you as we are doing a B2B2B Oct-Nov this year.  We are cruising down from Honolulu and doing a similar flight to you on Hawaiian Air on our return to the west coast. 
Have a wonderful trip

Mary. 

Thanks.  We have been very happy with the Marriott and the service in the M Club lounge.  The location is very convenient.  The M Club is way above and beyond Hawaiian’s Plumeria “lounge” in HNL!  The Plumeria lounge was dismal.

[Beachlover1989]

Wonderful LIVE! Can’t wait to hear about your time on the ship too!

[barneyboy]

Hope you have great cruises. We disembarked in Sydney this morning. My husband and I were in a sunset veranda and our son was in a single IV cabin. 
we had a great time and were so lucky with the weather. The cruise director, Guiseppe, is the best we’ve sailed with. 
 

we’re spending tonight in Sydney and flying home to Edinburgh tomorrow which we’re dreading!  Looks like it’s going to be a lovely sailaway. 

[81Zoomie]

2 hours ago, barneyboy said:

Hope you have great cruises. We disembarked in Sydney this morning. My husband and I were in a sunset veranda and our son was in a single IV cabin. 
we had a great time and were so lucky with the weather. The cruise director, Guiseppe, is the best we’ve sailed with. 
 

we’re spending tonight in Sydney and flying home to Edinburgh tomorrow which we’re dreading!  Looks like it’s going to be a lovely sailaway. 

@barneyboy, sounds like you had a wonderful time.  We have heard great things about Giuseppe!  
 

Someone on another thread was asking about lounge chairs on the SV balconies.  Did you have one or two, or just sitting chairs?

 

Safe travels home!  ✈️

[barneyboy]

30 minutes ago, 81Zoomie said:

@barneyboy, sounds like you had a wonderful time.  We have heard great things about Giuseppe!  
 

Someone on another thread was asking about lounge chairs on the SV balconies.  Did you have one or two, or just sitting chairs?

 

Safe travels home!  ✈️

We had 2 loungers and 2 chairs although it was a little crowded so we stacked the loungers when we weren’t using them. 

[barneyboy]

views from our balcony this morning. 
 

[81Zoomie]

Getting on board was quite easy at 12:30.  There was a Retreat lane for boarding.  We had our documents checked and pictures taken.  Then we move on to immigration and breezed through.  Last stop was security and that was quick as well.  We were onboard in less than 15 min.

 

We dropped our hand luggage.  Our checked bags were not waiting for us.  We headed up to Luminae for lunch.  My food allergy was annotated 👍.  DH had the Lobster Roll and I had the kale salad.

 

 

 

DH thought the lobster roll was a bit sparse, but it tasted good.  He had a beer and I had a glass of Decoy Cab.  We have been drinking great Australian red blends the last several days and Decoy wasn’t really on par with them.

 

After lunch we completed our mandatory safety check in and then returned to the cabin hoping for our luggage.  DH had his large bag.  I found my small bag 20 cabin #s down the hall.  I eventually found my large bags 30 cabin #s down the hall.  Yes, we had printed luggage tags on our bags 😂.  We were happy to have all 🧳🧳🧳🧳, and were unpacked before sailaway!

 

We had an amazing day to sail away and sail by the Sydney Opera house.  Definitely checks off a bucket list item ✅.  We couldn’t have had more perfect weather!!!  First impression of the ship is that it is in very good condition.  It looks great.  We noticed the odd chairs and strange Eden creatures are no longer 👏👏👏. The furniture is all more Scandinavian looking and comfortable.  All live outdoor plants are covered due to agricultural restrictions.  Otherwise, all is as you would expect.

 

 

[TheHawk1]

10 hours ago, 81Zoomie said:

DH thought the lobster roll was a bit sparse, but it tasted good.

I would ask for just the lobster and hold the roll. That looks like more bun than anything else.

[81Zoomie]

Good morning from the middle of the deep blue Tasman Sea!

 

Finally had a better nights sleep!  As you can see, the sea conditions and weather is lovely!

 

A quick recap on our boarding day afternoon and evening.  DH and I played a little ping pong 🏓🏓.  It was a throw back for me because my brother and I used to spend hours playing ping pong as teens when we cruised on family vacations. Both DH and I were more than a little out of practice 😂😂.  We had a lot of laughs 😅.

 

 

Sailing out the channel and into the sea was beautiful.  It was a bit breezy, but the decks were lined.  The scenery and the homes along the coast were quite enjoyable to take in.  We toasted with a sail away celebratory drink 🍹 🍸as did most around us.
 

We cleaned up and proceeded up to Luminae for dinner at 7:10.  We were delighted that there was no line!  Well, there was no line because they were handing out buzzers.  

We were told to go wait in the Retreat Lounge.  Estimate was a 20 minute wait.  Up we went and were delighted to get a seat right in front of the windows. We had a spectacular view of the sunset and passed Ovation of the Seas 🛳️. The Retreat was pretty empty and there was nice music playing.  It was quite relaxing.  I ordered a glass of wine from the menu to sample the offerings.  After 30 minutes went by, we went down to Laminae without ever being buzzed. (Same thing happened at lunch).  

 

The lady at the podium escorted us to a table immediately adjacent to the kitchen and the long alley.  I remember @Norwaylady referring to this location as I-95 🚘🚗🚖.  I politely asked if another table was available.  Our request was honored 😁

 

DH and I both ordered the Vegetable Udon Stir fry.  He ordered the Opulence Cab for $10, and I had the Kendall Jackson Elegance Cab for $3. Calling it like it was, dinner service was very slow ⏱️.  We were seated at 7:35.  It took 15 minutes to get water.  Then came butter, and finally rolls. 25 minutes to get our wine 🍷🍷.  Our entrees arrived one hour after we sat down.  The waiter put our entrees down and said something to the effect, “You can pull the chilis out if you wish.”  I didn’t recall seeing chilis or a spicy 🌶️ annotation on the menu, so I was a bit confused.  And, normally cruise food leans toward bland to appeal to more guests.  

 

 

Well, the first bite got my full attention 🌶️🔥🚒🌶️!  WOOZA, 4 alarm fire⏰🚨⏰🚨!  I like a bit of spice with red pepper flakes in chili, pasta, pizza etc.  I infuse my tequila with jalapeños. My mouth was on fire 🥵. Now, I am picking through my noodles searching for the little red chili slices. It was like hide and seek 🔍🕵️🔍.

The waiter asked how my meal was and I told him it was extremely spicy🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.  He offered to bring me some milk.  Hmmmm, mixing milk and wine didn’t sound to good to me 😝, so I passed.  I didn’t want any more surprises, so I picked a few noodles out and was done.  DH was a bit tired and didn’t want to wait any longer for the dessert menu.  We elected to go up to the Oceanview for ice cream 🍦🍦.  We then called it a night 😴😴.

 

We had a great day overall.  I am hoping our dinner experience in Laminae was a one off. 

 

 

[81Zoomie]

We love the leisurely sea day mornings!  In a departure from the norm, DH and I did not eat breakfast together.  He went up top to Tai Chi 🥋. I needed some caffeine and elected to go to the Captain’s Club/Elite breakfast in Tuscan.  I ordered a cappuccino.  The breakfast buffet is back!

 

It was not crowded and there was background music playing.  The wait staff was very attentive. The only thing I noticed that was different is that the shrink ray appears to have had an effect on the pastries. The chocolate croissant was about 1/3 of the size I’m used to.  The pain croissant was about 1/2 size. Granted you can grab more, but I thought it was interesting.

 

 

Our water 💧💧was not replenished last night.  2 bottles didn’t last long.  DH asked for a tote bag so he could retrieve some from the Retreat.  We have not yet(?) received a tote on this cruise.  I usually leave one in my suitcase, so that was the only option.  What can I say… cross branding!

 

 

 

One other observation.  I remember seeing pics of low white coffee tables in the Edge Sky suites.  We had a low one on Apex.  We have a higher table that makes room service and eating much easier.  Maybe they were swapped out during dry dock?  The higher table is a positive change 😄