BTimmer's Almost Live Sydney - Seattle 4/10/24-5/12/24

[Btimmer]

We're in Sydney waiting to board the Majestic Princess and just received word that our embarkation is delayed until 7-10pm tonight due to the port being closed.

 

I see on Marine Traffic and the webcam that the Celebrity Solstice is still docked at Circular Quay and it was supposed to depart yesterday.  
 

In any event, we're looking forward to experiencing a trans Pacific crossing on Princess and compare it with the many crossings we have done on HAL.

[HotRoot]

Live thread was started on March 27.  You might want to use that one instead of starting a new one.  Lots of information there.

[Btimmer]

14 minutes ago, HotRoot said:

Live thread was started on March 27.  You might want to use that one instead of starting a new one.  Lots of information there.

Sorry, I want my own thread.  I am aware of the other thread.

[Btimmer]

The Solstice just cleared the harbor and the Majestic is waiting to come in.  We have hundreds at the Marriott waiting for a luggage truck to arrive so we can be free for the rest of the day.  Our plan is to walk the Sydney bridge.

The other large blue marker is the Majestic starting to enter the harbor.  We are on an 8 hour delay.

[sunviking90]

Glad to see you’re doing a live trip report. We always enjoy following along. There is certainly room for more than one as they are often the most interesting content on these forums.

[Btimmer]

Our luggage was just loaded on the truck so we are free to roam until 7:45pm tonight or we might just walk down to the pier at 7.

[Ken the cruiser]

Your cruise looks awesome! Here’s hoping you have an awesome time!!

 

[Btimmer]

Our ship is finally arriving about 6 hours late (closer to 7 by the time it's docked).  Taken from the Sydney Harbor bridge.

[Btimmer]

Here are a few more arrival pictures from the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

 

 

 

[woodinville cruisers]

Have a wonderful time.  I look forward to reading your posts.

[charliedalrymple]

If I may make a suggestion, have cocktails in the bar at the top of the Shangri-La Hotel.  Magnificent views of the harbour!

[Btimmer]

1 minute ago, charliedalrymple said:

If I may make a suggestion, have cocktails in the bar at the top of the Shangri-La Hotel.  Magnificent views of the harbour!

Great suggestion, but we now don't have time.  We did enjoy dinner meal at the Westfield Tower.  Great views there as well.

[Btimmer]

While were instructed to not show up until 7pm, we joined the queue in the terminal at 5:30pm and it took an hour to complete the process including the border exit and security screening.  The security screening was the tightest we've experienced and I had to take off my belt and my legal extension cord was scrutinized but cleared.  We visited our muster station and watched the safety video and met David, our stateroom attendant. Here's our evening balcony view and the refueling ship left around 7:15pm.

 

 

We're enjoying Lido buffet dinner and plan to attend the comedian's show at 9:30pm.  We're a bit tired after walking over 15k steps and climbing 200 stairs to the top of the bridge tower.  But it's good to be on our way.

Edited April 10 by Btimmer

[HotRoot]

2 hours ago, Btimmer said:

While were instructed to not show up until 7pm, we joined the queue in the terminal at 5:30pm and it took an hour to complete the process including the border exit and security screening.  The security screening was the tightest we've experienced and I had to take off my belt and my legal extension cord was scrutinized but cleared.  We visited our muster station and watched the safety video and met David, our stateroom attendant. Here's our evening balcony view and the refueling ship left around 7:15pm.

 

 

We're enjoying Lido buffet dinner and plan to attend the comedian's show at 9:30pm.  We're a bit tired after walking over 15k steps and climbing 200 stairs to the top of the bridge tower.  But it's good to be on our way.

We arrived at 6:15 and were on the ship 20 minutes later.  Dinner in the MDR.  Love that pork tenderloin.  Secured our table for the entire cruise.  Not sure our cabin steward knows we are on the ship.  No turn down.  No shore excursion tickets.  No invite to the Platinum/Elite Cocktail Hour.  Two suitcases unpacked and we need about 30 more hangers.  There is always tomorrow.

[Btimmer]

We departed around 11pm and here's a night view of the Opera House.  The Kiwi comedian was pretty funny tonight.

[tulok]

Sounds like a great cruise ahead. 

[Btimmer]

As we complete our first full sea day, there's definitely been motion to the ocean.  Most of our activities today have revolved around Maori presentations.  I also learned we only have around 3,000 passengers or 75% capacity.  The ship definitely doesn't feel crowded.  Here's a picture of the Maori dance activity.

 

[Btimmer]

Today we reached our first port (Picton, NZ) on this cruise after 3 days on the Tasman Sea.  This ship takes the waves well and apart from the end of day 2, it's been relatively stable.  The Captain took us on a southerly course to avoid a big storm to the north.

 

Picton is a small town on the north part of the South Island.  The inter-island ferry runs from here to Wellington on the north island which is our next port of call.  We didn't book any Princess shore excursions and decided to walk the town and perhaps visit the Kaipup Sanctuary which can be reached only by boat or kayak.  The first part of the day we walked the town's Main Street called High Street with all sorts of cafes, shops, grocery stores, ATM's etc.  Nearby was a small craft market with all kinds of crafty items.  

 

To access Kaipupu Sanctuary which is free, all one needs is boat transportation and we purchased tickets on the 12 noon Beachcomber Cruises water taxi.  It's only a 5 minute ride to the island and the trail around the island is 2.7 kilometers or 1.6 miles and we walked it in just over an hour.  Parts of the trail are quite steep and we saw a few birds, but we could definitely hear them.  

 

After returning to the dock we walked over to the Edwin Fox Museum which holds in a drydock the remains of the merchant ship Edwin Fox which was built in India and served as a refrigeration ship for beef carcasses before surrendering that machinery to a land based operation.  The stripped ship then languished for many years before being floated to its resting place in a drydock.  It's not going to be restored; only preserved.  

 

Afterwards we returned to the ship on the port provided shuttle (we docked at a log loading berth about 10 minutes from the city center, and shuttles were required to leave the ship and get to town. It was a nice day albeit a chilly one. The sailaway should be quite pretty and I have a nice seat in the Hollywood Conservatory which faces forward. Below are a few pictures from today including one of our track. I got in 11,202 steps as of this writing.

 

Our anchorage

 

Log yard next to the ship

 

Majestic Princess berthed in Picton

 

Entrance sign to the sanctuary

 

A few of the birds we saw.  We heard lots more.

 

Edwin Fox in drydock

 

Model of the Edwin Fox in her heyday

 

Our day's track

[sailingkiwi]

The birds in your photo are pīwakawaka or fantail. One of my favourite native birds. 

[Btimmer]

We just returned to Wellington for a medical emergency disembarkation.  We only got about 1/2 hour out of the port before returning.

[Yehootu]

Amazing how quick the turn was.

[Btimmer]

Yesterday we spent most of our time on a Princess excursion to Shenandoah (you can read all about it in my daily blog found at https://timmer2024mp.blogspot.com  ) Additionally we took the cable car up to the top of the hill and strolled back down through the botanical garden.  While it's the end of the season, I still was able to take a few flower and wildlife photographs.

 

 

 

 

 

Try to get straight lumber out of this tree!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 16 by Btimmer

[Btimmer]

This afternoon passengers formed the Majestic Princess choir and performed in the Piazza.  My wife us in the black and white wavey top in front.

 

 

Angela with Morgan, the choir director 

[ShipWalker]

Great concert!

[Btimmer]

We just arrived in Tauranga and were among the first off the ship.  We got the last 4 tickets for a private excursion to Hobbiton!  Score!  Here's a few pictures with Mt.Maunganui in full view.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 16 by Btimmer