About meOne of the things I love about cruising is that, as a vacation, it really can become whatever you want it to be. If you want to sit and read, you can do that to your heart’s content. If you prefer food, well it’s there in abundance. Let’s not also forget the activities available on Royal Caribbean’s ships. I believe there’s plenty to occupy just about anyone even on the smallest ships in the fleet.
With that in mind, here’s where I’m coming from. I’m a frequent cruiser with 20+ cruises (all out of the US) spread over various lines though lately I’ve been “loyal to royal” because of their beautiful ships, competitive prices, loyalty incentives, and onboard credits. I’m a graduate student still working on my doctorate but prefer a secluded view of the ocean to the party scene. I’m cruising with my dad who has a few fewer cruises than me but recently retired and this cruise is his retirement trip. We are both diamond Crown and Anchor members. Originally my mother was also supposed to join us but was eventually unable to due to some family circumstances.
About the tripWe booked this voyage on the Rhapsody of the Seas (12/21/09-01/07/10) over a year ago so that we could combine our available NextCruise with stockholder benefits (we’ll see how that goes). We thought this was an interesting sailing for several reasons. First of all, in leaving from Sydney, we’d get a chance to visit Australia which is something we’ve both been wanting to do. Secondly, most of the ports of call are in New Zealand, which seemed like a convenient way to visit that country as well (I suppose there’s call to mention the
Lord of the Rings nerd in me). Third, well, it’s a 17-day cruise over Christmas and New Years … what could be better? This will be our first NYE on a cruise though we have spend several Christmases cruising.
PlanningI’m quite an avid cruiser, but the logistics of this cruise were such that I definitely encountered some new experiences. Beyond just booking the cruise and looking at tours, of course, there were additional challenges when it came to securing flights, confirming proper documentation, making hotel reservations, packing for such a long voyage, etc, that has really made this trip unique. I’ll go ahead and discuss some of these things a little for others who might be thinking about a cruise like this in the future.
Booking the cruiseThe actual booking of the cruise was as simple as it usually is when booking a cruise from the United States. We called C&A, converted our NextCruise, and away we went. The only difference was that we were reminded that we were expected to secure our own visas for entering Australia and that we would not be allowed to board (or really, enter the country to board) without them. We used a NextCruise reservation made from before the change in rules, so after receiving our invoice, we emailed Shareholder Services and had the RCCL shareholder OBC applied to our account as well. After watching the prices for months and months (and seeing categories fill and prices shoot upwards),right before final payment we transferred our booking from RCCL to an online travel agency we have used before in exchange for additional OBC. We felt confident in doing this because a) we’d had a positive experience with this company before and b) with the rate of sales, we were fairly sure that we would not have to worry about getting a price drop … of course, we did make sure we
could get a price drop if one just so happened to appear.
Booking the flightsWhether or not we were actually going to come on this cruise really depended on flight prices. When we booked last December, flight prices were in the neighborhood of $3,000 apiece, which was way beyond what we were willing to pay. Prices fluctuated a bit for the next few months but still hovered in the $2,500 range. When Delta announced that they were going to enter the market in the early part of the year (with first flights in July), we found that there was suddenly a price war occurring between Qantas, Delta, and Virgin. We had to play with the dates a little (and ended up booking an earlier arrival for a substantial rate reduction), but on April 1 we booked our roundtrip flights from Indianapolis to Sydney (with stopovers, of course) for $1,080 apiece after fees and taxes … it seemed pretty amazing to me.
Applying for the VisaYou can visit Australia’s Vista site (
http://www.immi.gov.au/) to see what kind of visa you need to receive in order to visit. As a US citizen, I was eligible for an ETA (electronic travel authority) visa. You can navigate to the official website, apply (you need your passport information), and then your visa is electronically added to your passport so you don’t need any other paperwork or stickers. There is a $20 AUD fee for this service, payable by credit card. If you apply through a site other than the Australian government one, I believe you will go through the same process though be charged quite a bit more (I’ve seen as much as $60). These visas are for visitors only (3 months or less visit) and good for one year after your application.
FlightsAnyone who has flown over the past few years probably can relate to the flight-time ping-pong Delta played with us for the 8 months leading up to our flight. Our 5:30 PM non-stop IND-LAX was terminated and eventually replaced with an 11 AM IND-ATL and 12:45 PM ATL-LAX, leaving us 7 hours or so to sit in LAX waiting for the flight to Sydney. I found this the best possible alternative, however, as I’d rather be sitting in LAX waiting for the last flight rather than sitting in ATL hoping the middle flight doesn’t have any problems. We had to run a bit to the ATL-LAX flight as our originating flight was delayed a bit for de-icing, leaving us with a 40 minute connection in ATL to change terminals. Thankfully we were able to grab some doughnuts quickly or be stuck paying for sandwiches, even on a cross-continental flight. We arrived in LAX on time, then headed to the Delta SkyClub where we had gotten a few free passes from their branded credit card. It was not an overly impressive room, but there were snack-type items, an open bar, chairs, Internet access, and even showers available. We boarded our Sydney-bound flight at about 10:15 PM (PST).
While I had dreaded that long 15-hour flight, it ended up being not-to-bad in my opinion (we’ll see about the way back). They asked us to stay up an hour or so after take-off for dinner (beef or chicken, salad, drinks including complimentary wine and beer), take a nap and wake up for a snack (egg and cucumber sandwich with cookies), go back to sleep, then be woken up for breakfast about an hour and half before landing (French toast or ham/eggs, potatoes, OJ, fruit). There was a seat-back entertainment system with a large selection of complementary, unedited movies (from The Sound of Music to Inglorious Basterds) as well as music and games. Being exhausted (and taking a half-tab of Xanax) helped sleep away some of those hours, so I actually didn’t feel too bad stepping off of that flight 2 days after getting on .
After getting off of the plane in Sydney, you proceed through customs. There is a customs form to fill out and make sure you declare EVERYTHING it ask, specifically any wood products and food. The line for customs was a long one (evidently several flights had landed at the same time), so they opened up the Australia/NZ line for others to make it go faster. We presented our forms and passports, then were waved through to collect our baggage. While waiting by the baggage carousel, an agent approached and asked about the items we had declared. After a brief chat, she signed off on our cards and told us where to exit when we received our bags. We finally got the bags, waiting in line to exit, then were waved through a side exit without having to go through additional screening for quarantined items. Once outside, we got into the taxi queue that was probably about 20 minutes long (made longer by the huge bags handled by children who couldn’t navigate the switchbacks).
SydneyI’m sure that our stay in Sydney pre-cruise would be unimpressive to most, but we went into our planning a) unsure about what we really wanted to see and b) unsure about how jet-lag would affect us. This made us hesitant to book anything early. Also, since we were paying so much for the cruise and the airfare, price was also quite a consideration for what we would do in Sydney and where we would stay. We’ve talked to several from our Meet and Mingle group who had a wonderful time on the Royal Caribbean cruisetour and saw quite a bit all around Australia. If you can afford it, it sounds like a great, once-in-a-lifetime experience (perhaps like this cruise).
In searching for a place to stay in Sydney, price was a huge factor in our decision making process. I’m normally a person to use Priceline for hotels, but I’ve never used it for rooms outside of the US and, when we were booking this cruise, it was way too early for discount rooms to become available. In the end, I turned to TripAdvisor and sifted through accommodations looking for highly rated places that were within our budget. We ended up making reservations at the Hotel Altamont which is on Darlinghurst Road near King’s Cross. Advertised as “bargain luxury” and with glowing reviews, it seemed to be a good compromise to recognizable chain hotels at about twice the price per night.
Upon arriving at the hotel after our flight at about 10:30 AM, we were told that our room would be ready in about 30 minutes. Sure enough, at 11, we were escorted back to our room (there are only 12 in the whole place) which was a king bed and a roll-away. The building itself had more of a youth-hostile feel, and while our room was private, had air-conditioning, and had a private bathroom, it was otherwise spartan with half-carpet/half bare cement, a rack instead of a closet, and no place to store luggage. Not to get too down on the place, however, there was free wi-fi available, a free breakfast (consisting of cereal, toast, and drinks), and guys working the reception desk who were nice to talk to and very helpful in offering directions or giving suggestions for things to see. Most of the clientele seemed to be Australians as we seemed to be off the beaten tourist path a bit.
With all of this said about the hotel, the worst part about it was probably its location. On one hand, it is conveniently close to rail and bus lines and about a 20-30 minute walk to the harbor. On the other hand, King’s Cross has a bit of a party reputation and is, in my opinion, an area that I was not necessarily wanting to spend a lot of time in. The windows to our room overlooked a small alley and, being that they were single-paned glass, anyone talking in that alley sounded like they were standing next to you. This was not a problem our first or last night, but Friday and Saturday night … wow … let’s just say that the drunks coming from King’s Cross liked to talk, argue, and show off their sound systems until about 4 AM or so, which was not the most pleasant of experiences.
As for things we did in Sydney, we kept it fairly low key. Each day we spent most of our time walking around the city and various harbor areas. We managed to catch Avatar at the Darling Harbor IMAX (largest screen in the world). We also walked to the opera house, visited Star City (lots of construction, no bags allowed, and a decided lack of check-rooms), and sat for long stretches in Hyde Park people-watching.
The US dollar is, as it is world-wide, losing ground against the Australian dollar, so lots of things in Sydney seemed very expensive (when we booked, rate was 1 USD = .65 AUD, now rate was around 1 USD = .92 AUD). For two people, we would end up spending $25-30 on two sandwiches and two drinks at a café and perhaps double that when visiting nicer restaurants. It is all part of the experience, I know, but I think knowing about pricing may help planning. Also, when it came to getting cash, ATM’s definitely seem to be the way to go. We used a bank ATM and were charged a $3 transaction fee to receive the bank rate. When we first arrived, we used a money change booth and were given an absolutely horrid rate plus and $8 transaction fee. I also used credit cards for items and Visa, Mastercard, and to a smaller extent American Express, were accepted in most stores and larger restaurants.
Embarkation DayDuring our few days in Sydney, we had occasion on several days to head down to Circular Quay and visit the Overseas Passenger Terminal, which is where the Rhapsody would dock. It was definitely a different experience from US ports when no ship is docked as the area is open for pedestrians and outside dining. When a ship is in port, however, the area is more gated off on the ground level, though there are still pedestrian areas and viewing platforms right next to the ship.
According to our documents, the Rhapsody was set to sail at 6:30 and boarding was to commence at 3:00. Upon the advice from others on our Roll Call thread, we arrived at about 11 AM, just as we would at an American port of departure. Right at 11 there was a bit of a queue outside of the building, but it started moving just a few minutes later and was cleared out a few minutes after that. We handed our baggage to porters wearing bright vests who loaded it onto a truck (no tipping required or expected). We were asked to show our SetSail Pass to enter the terminal building, then proceeded up the escalators and through metal detectors. One through security, we were asked to fill out health forms (stating we did not have H1N1 or had not knowingly been around someone with it) and then we were asked to present ourselves to Australian customs who scanned our passports. We were then able to proceed to the standard check-in lines. We mistakenly went into the Priority line, which had a few people in front of us, when we could have continued on the standard line where no one was waiting … oh well, we didn’t notice our mistake until it was too late, though it was only a few minutes wait. We were checked in fairly efficiently and then proceed aboard Rhapsody where the security photos were taken.
Once onboard, I would describe the onboard experience as fairly typical. Cabins would not be ready until 1 PM, but the Windjammer and public areas were open for use. We proceeded to the WJ for lunch which offered fairly typical selections including the (in)famous Honey Stung Chicken. The food had obviously been sitting out for a while as the chicken was bone dry and when I went to scoop the mashed potatoes the plastic spoon bounced off of the top of them. Once the food was switched out it was much better, but that early food was of very low quality.
After finishing at the WJ, we proceeded to the Schooner Bar to sit down and figure out which excursions we wanted to take. Our choice, due to our budget, seemed limited as many of the excursions were over $150/pp. We opted for cheaper excursions in more places as opposed to expensive ones in only a few. Since we wanted to use OBC for our excursions, we could not book online. As such, we headed to the shore excursions desk early, figuring there would be a line as it opened at 1 PM. Much to our surprise, there was not a single person in line at 12:45. We stood and waited until 12:55 or so when someone opened the desk and input our tours, by which point, there was still no one in line … so either many booked online, there is less excitement for the tours, or most people didn’t know they could board early. We were able to book all of our desired tours and times … and this being our first “destination” cruise, were still shocked at the price tag of almost $700, not including the one private tour we are taking in Wellington.
At 1 PM we proceeded to our cabin, 7065, which is an interior on the seventh deck. It has a unique sideways layout that differs a bit from other inside cabins I have been in. The cabin definitely feels a bit small, though there does seem to be a lot of storage space. I do miss the larger bathrooms with a shower door found on newer ships, but I knew I’d be doing to shower-curtain tango going into it. Luggage arrived sporadically and the stairwell landings were absolutely filled with bags … I’ve never seen so much luggage before, but then again, I guess I’ve never gone on this long of a cruise before. Muster drill was at 5:15 and as on other ships now, life-jackets were not required to be worn. Muster was fairly brief as it was done in English only and many cruisers arrived before the warning bells. Sail-away was at about 6:30, which was right in the middle of main dining. We elected to eat and watch sail-away from the dining room (we have a window table), though the dining room was quite sparse so I figure quite a few people elected to skip main dining in order to be on deck for sail-away. Main dining was also rushed a bit to be finished in time for the 7:45, one-time-only welcome aboard show which also seemed sparsely attended. It featured, as usual, the cruise director, singers, and dancers. The variety act at the end was a juggle who seemed alright though did not have a confident or competent stage presence in my opinion. There was a late trivia competition at 9 PM in the Schooner Bar which my team managed to win, so now at least we can say that we won trivia at least once (and were given Vitality keychains as a prize).
Day 2: At Sea (Dec. 22)On embarkation day, a letter had been stapled to our C&A Diamond coupon books with information about the Diamond privileges available onboard Rhapsody. Beyond the nightly Diamond Event (held in the back of the Viking Crown from 5-8:30), we have also been given a Diamond dining area in the main restaurant for breakfast. We decided we would check it out, so we went down there for breakfast. We were shown into a small room just off of the entrance to the Deck 4 dining room with some continental fare available as well as waiters to take dining room breakfast orders. I did not inquire if specialty coffees were available free of charge, but I’m not sure that we will be going back as it seemed a bit lonely and secluded (we ate with the other 4 people in the room). When we went to leave, a side door was opened so that we could exit directly to the hall and not through the dining room.
There were many different activities through-out the day, from various trivia games to cha-cha dancing and cooking demonstrations. There was also time to appreciate how nicely the ship is decorated for the holidays, capped off by the large Christmas tree and gingerbread house display in the Centrum. The Meet and Mingle was held in the Viking Crown at 11:15 and had good attendance. The group coordinator and cruise director hosted the event, providing drinks and canapés. After the Meet and Mingle, we went to the dining room for lunch (only open on sea days). I was surprised to see a different lunch menu than I had seen over the last couple of years. The nice salad bar in the dining room was also available and seemed to move very efficiently as the salads are passed from station to station as opposed to having a single person follow you through the line.
As is traditional, the first sea day was also the first formal night with the Captain’s Welcome Aboard reception. Dress for the evening seemed to skew one direction or the other, with many either dressing very formally or others dressing very informally. Since we could check two bags on an international flight, we actually brought our dress-up attire, including my new tuxedo. The reception was held in the Shall We Dance lounge at the back of the ship and there was quite a line to get back there as there were photo lines holding things up. Dinner featured prawn cocktail, lobster bisque, escargot, filet of beef, duck, and the Grand Marnier soufflé. I thought that the escargot and duck was very good, and I was also pleasantly surprised about the sugar-free layer cake offered.
We made a brief stop at the Diamond Event which seemed sparsely attended during times available for main dining. The waitress there informed us that we could have wine, champagne, and soft drinks complimentary (as well as juice mixers only) while anything else had a 25% discount. This is slightly different than the advertisement which does not include soft drinks, so that might be interesting to some folks.
After dinner, we changed and headed to the main show only to find almost every seat in the house taken about 15 minutes before show time. This is the first we’ve experienced shows being this full when there are two shows a night, so it was a surprise. Instead of fighting to find a seat, we just left, wandered around the ship, and then headed to bed.
One interesting note: Every time I pass through the casino it seems to be fairly empty. I’m not sure exactly what the cause is, though it may be a combination of both the availability of casinos in some cities in Australia along with the fact that the Rhapsody’s casino only takes US dollars. For whatever reason, however, I’ve never seen a casino so empty and smoke-free.
Day 3 - Melbourne (Dec. 23)The Rhapsody pulled into Melbourne at around 7 AM as scheduled. We headed up to the WJ to see how much we liked it and found it much too crowded for our tastes. It offered fairly standard breakfast items including eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and cold selections like cereal and fruit. There is also an egg station that will make eggs/omelets to order, though it seemed to be fairly busy.
As when coming into Australia in the air, quarantine regulation was very strict and you are told not to take any ship food ashore or face a heavy fine. Bags were given a one-over in the terminal building by a customs dog. I know a lot of people try to pack snacks from the ship for excursions and day-trips and, while they might get away with it in Caribbean and Mexican ports, I definitely wouldn’t try it here.
Also in the terminal building was an information desk staffed by volunteers. Not really having a plan, we stopped to talk with them and they gave us a map and some ideas of things to do. There is a public tram into town that stops about 300 yards from the terminal building that will take you right into downtown Melbourne. They sell public transportation tickets at the terminal, with an all-day pass costing us $6.80 AUD (cash only) each. They also have discount tickets available (called “concession” tickets), though for seniors, for example, you need an Australian senior card … no go on the US driver’s license.
J. You can also take a city bus from the terminal downtown, but it is evidently slower as it has to contend with much more traffic in its lane. The bus, however, is much closer to the terminal than the tram, so if you have mobility issues it may be your chosen mode of transportation. Besides public transportation, there are also several walking routes. Leaving the terminal area, you can turn either way and walk several kilometers along the harbor. You can also walk on a bike trail that follows the tram line all of the way into town, but that is at least a 1-hour walk, so it might not be advisable unless you want a bit of adventure. We opted for the tram which seemed the easiest route. There were volunteers stationed on the tram platform to show you how to validate your ticket (and make sure you had a ticket).
The tram ride into town was fairly brief (10 minutes) and then there were multiple choices where to get off. We got off on one of the Collins St. stops and wandered around a bit. There is obviously quite a lot to do in Melbourne (museums, shopping, eating, arts, etc) so we decided upon none of the above. We actually ended up getting on one of the free tourist busses that make about 13 stops around the city. We boarded in front of the visitor’s center and rode the bus all around the city, checking out the different shopping and cultural areas. The bus had some automated narration as well as a driver that would throw in some interesting facts along the way, as well. An entire loop on the tourist bus takes about 1.5 hours and you can get off at any stop you wish and pick up a later bus (they supposedly arrive about every 30 minutes at the designated tourist loop stops). There was also the City Circle tram route that was also free, but it makes a smaller circle around the city than the bus does. Of course, if you purchase the one-day transportation pass, you can get on any of the for-fee busses to take you to specific destinations such as the zoo or the beach.
All-aboard was at 4:30, so by the time we made it into town and circled around it a bit, it was already going on 1 PM. This didn’t really leave us a lot of time to do in-depth exploring, so we headed back to the ship for a late lunch and a little less-crowded ship time. Trams back to the port were well labeled (109 – Port of Melbourne) and as the ship is at the terminal stop, you don’t really have to worry too much about missing it. I noticed upon our return that the terminal building no longer had any volunteers offering information, so keep that in mind if you decide not to explore until the later part of the day. There was a single, small souvenir store in the terminal that looks a little dreary on the outside, but had cheaper prices on Australia souvenirs than anything I saw during my four days in Sydney.
Entertainment onboard for the night included the 70’s Dance Party (with the ever-popular, pseudo-Village People) and a production show called “Piano Man.” I can’t really comment on the party (never really go to them except on Voyager-class ships when they are on the promenade) but I did attend the production show which was fine. I think they put on a pretty decent show given their resources, though you have to enjoy the source matter, which in this case included Billy Joel, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, and Barry Manilow mash-ups. I have to admit that I have grown a little tired of these type of shows where you get lots of little pieces of songs with many of the songs fundamentally altered (to be duets, etc) but the singers and dancers on Rhapsody are good for the most part.
Note: Clocks were to be turned ahead one hour tonight.
Day 4 – At Sea (Christmas Eve)Our first of three sea days to get over to New Zealand also happened to be Christmas Eve. The crew appeared to be in a festive mood around the ship with many wearing Santa hats. Some passengers also got into the spirit of the season, while others suffered a bit from the rocky sailing in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand. Personally, I did not find the motion too disturbing or any more extreme than bad conditions in the Caribbean, but I believe there are many first time cruisers aboard and some ran into problems. You can always tell when it is going to be a rough day when sea bags are velcroed to the stairwells. The ship felt a bit crowded today as it was too rainy and windy to spend any time outside (deck 5 outside promenade was close for most of the day).
Many different activities were offered throughout the day, from exercise to bingo, as is usual for sea days. A few special activities were thrown in for the holidays including some holiday craft making. Unfortunately the reindeer racing could not be held on the pool deck, though it may be rescheduled for tomorrow. The trivia sessions have been very well attended and highly contested with a typical score of 13-15/15 needed to win. The first few sessions of the cruise were quite easy, but they have gotten progressively harder as the days have gone on.
There were several big events held especially for Christmas Eve. First of all, the show tonight was a Celebrity showtime show starring Rhonda Burchmore. This announcement made many of the Aussies very excited, though I’ll admit that coming from the US, we’d never heard of her. Her show was quite good and was basically a singing/lounge act. After that, there was Christmas caroling in the centrum at 10:30 PM on Christmas Eve. The entertainment staff and quite a few of the officers showed up to sing and people joined in from decks 4-8 in the centrum (though the bottom deck only seemed to be the one where people received song books). At the end of the caroling, those of us up on deck 8 helped the crewmembers drop white balloons down into the centrum for the “Let it Snow” finale. A Catholic midnight mass was also offered in the main theatre for those who wished to participate.
Funny storyI sailed on the Navigator in November of 2008 on a cruise that ended on Thanksgiving. I was cruising solo on that cruise and wasn’t too interested in the ports, so I spent quite a bit of time talking to the various members of the cruise director’s staff. When I went back on Navigator in February of this year, I attended the opening night parade and one of the staff, Lara (spelling?), picked me out three rows back while she was performing and welcomed me back onboard. Sure enough, guess who was running trivia today on Rhapsody? I went up for a sudden-death play-off during Name That Movie Tune and when I went up, Lara still recognized me and remembered my name … not too bad considering the amount of people she interacts with each cruise … so either I’m just completely memorable, or I’ve been cruising way too much ….
Days 5 and 6 (Christmas Day and Sound cruising)Christmas Day was our second consecutive day at sea and the conditions were much like the first … cold, wet, and a little rocky (though not as bad as yesterday). It was a bit of a “lazy” day for most it seemed, especially with all of the late activities on Christmas Eve. Santa arrived in the morning and handed out presents to children in the centrum while they sat on his lap … though I noticed quite a few adults sneaking onto his lap, as well. Holiday trivia was a fun time, though I really was kicking myself for not remembering some of the answers from my Christmas cruise last year. The weather once again canceled any pool deck activities, though reindeer racing was eventually held in the centrum. The pool deck BBQ was supposedly moved into the WJ, though I could see no evidence of BBQ there. There was quite a spread in the WJ for lunch, however, with New Zealand mussels (in shell) and huge dishes of large, peel-and-eat shrimp. Dinner was our second formal night and also had special menus that featured turkey and plum pudding. There was a special holiday production show at night, though I did not attend. I heard it was fairly standard, Christmas-y fare.
Note: Clocks were to be turned ahead another hour tonight.
December 26th was technically our third consecutive sea day, though we spent much of the day navigating through three different New Zealand sounds. We arrived at Milford Sound at around 7:30 AM (listed for 8:00) and stayed until about 9 when we turned around and navigated out. After that, we visited Doubtful Sound (11:45 AM – 1:15 PM) and Dusky Sound (2:00 PM – 3:30 PM), both of which are one-way passages that return to the sea without a turn-around. The weather continued to be cool, rainy, and windy. These conditions made being out on deck a little harder, though they did make for some spectacular waterfalls coming down off of the ridges. We stuck completely to the deck 5 promenade as that offered at least some cover from the rain. Quite a few others had the same idea and the railings were quite crowded near the doors though you could always find your own space if you traveled a bit down the deck. I’m not sure how crowded the pool deck was, but given the conditions, those people would have been soaked. We just would walk from side-to-side to take in the different views. There wasn’t much wildlife visible, though we did see a large pod of dolphins entering Milford Sound as well as what looked to be a seal. Otherwise the sounds were quite beautiful though not quite distinguishable to my eyes. You’ll have to wait a few weeks for me to get a good Internet connection to be able to upload my photos.
The rest of the day was pretty much organized around the timing for entering the sounds with quick breakfasts and lunches taken in the downtime. The headliner show tonight featured Glenn Amer who is a singer and a pianist. We stopped in for a bit of a song and then left … the music was quite old and not really to my tastes. I finally noticed in the Compass that they have been playing full movies in the afternoon in the main theater, so that is an interesting way to spend a sea day if you are so inclined. After today, I’m going to have a lot more tour reports as I’m doing all of my ship-organized tours in New Zealand.
Day 7 – Dunedin (Dec. 26)Rhapsody pulled into Dunedin, New Zealand at about 8:00 AM, with tours starting to meet in the theater shortly after that time. This is primarily an industrial port, so simply walking off the ship to explore was not allowed. You needed to either be taking a ship tour, taking the ship’s shuttle into town, or hiring a taxi to take you someplace directly. The shuttle into town from the ship was $9.00 each way on the half-hour (an all-inclusive pass for all shuttle ports was something like $42/pp), with the trip taking perhaps 25 minutes and dropping passengers off at the Octagon.
We chose to take the Dunedin Panoramic tour which was the cheapest “out and about” tour just to get a flavor of the area. Our morning tour was to meet in the main theater at 8:45 with a 9:00 departure. Upon arriving at the theater, the place was in chaos. Whichever members of the ship’s cruise director/explorations staff that were running the place seemed to achieve the tri-fecta of making cruise passengers angry: giving wrong information, giving contradictory information, and being disorganized. None of the passengers seemed to know what was going on and quite a few were frustrated. Ok … enough about that, but hopefully it will improve from here on out. Perhaps it is because it is an industrial port, but I was surprised we were asked to meet in the theater and not on the dock. It is a bit of a journey from the theater to the gangway and many of the older guests had a rough time keeping up with the person giving directions.
Once we located our bus and boarded, we set off for Dunedin with our driver, Graham, offering facts about the town. Our first stop was at the Octagon which is where the cruise shuttles let off. We were given a few minutes to wander around, take pictures, and perhaps do some shopping. We traveled down the street a bit to find an ATM, as this was our first New Zealand stop, so that we could get some local currency. After loading back on the bus, we traveled down the road to the Dunedin train station, which is quite pretty (our driver said mentioned it was one of the 10 must-sees in the world … not sure I’d go that far ….). After leaving the train station, we made our way to Baldwin Street, which is the steepest street in the world. We had enough time to hike it if we wanted, but that was more physical exertion than I personally wanted. There was also a gift shop to buy New Zealand and Baldwin Street souvenirs, of course. Our final stop was at the botanical gardens where we got quite a bit of time to walk around and explore. We appreciated the different trees and plants on display, including a few sequoia trees. On our way back through town, we were offered the chance to get off and do some independent exploring if we wanted to take the pay-shuttle back to the ship. This offered some the opportunity to do a bit more shopping or visit other town highlights, such as the Cadbury’s chocolate factory tour. In the end this was a short excursion at just over 3 hours, but it covered a quite a bit in downtown Dunedin. Other longer, more expensive excursions traveled to a castle or took the Taieri Gorge Train. One family we talked to hired a cab and ended up paying around $120 for four people to go to the four or five specific places they wanted to visit … this seems like a reasonable alternative to a ship’s sponsored tour if you do your homework ahead of time. There was definitely plenty of time for exploring as all-aboard was at 5:30.
There were lots of activities in the afternoon and evening. The afternoon movie in the main theater was “UP!”. Lamb chops and fried calamari made the dinner menu, which were a few things I’d never seen before. The headliner show was Los Pampas Gauchos which we missed (have seen similar shows before) though many people seemed to enjoy (dancing, jokes, whip work, and bolos). The entertainment staff also put on The Liars Club in the evening for those who like trying to determine who was telling the truth.
Day 8: Christchurch (Dec. 28)Rhapsody arrived early in Christchurch, New Zealand, right before 7 AM. Our tour was to meet in the theater at 7:15, so it was also an early morning for us. With the dining room only opening up at 7 AM, we were forced to eat breakfast in the WJ which started serving its full breakfast at 6:30 this morning. Upon arriving at the theater, it was already evident that things were much more organized than yesterday morning, starting with the fact that the staff were meeting people as they came into the theater (instead of making them come to the front) and they already had signs in place for where each numbered sticker (corresponding to individual tours) would be sitting.
Christchurch is yet another industrial port, so once again it is impossible to walk off of the pier, which is actually in Littleton. Royal Caribbean, of course, offers a shuttle into Christchurch (20 minute ride) for $9 USD/pp each way. The port of Littleton offered a free shuttle off of the pier. If you wanted to try to find a cheaper way to do something, you could take that free shuttle. Some caught the public bus from Littleton to Christchurch for $2.80 NZD/pp each way (or one fare for 2 hours). Some also said that they were able to hire a taxi in Littleton for a cheaper price than could be had on the pier, so that’s something else that you can keep in mind.
The tour we chose to take was labeled “Christchurch Town and Country.” We started out by taking the long, scenic route to Christchurch (ie, over the mountain and not through the tunnel). There was a photo stop along the way, and then we continued to Christchurch itself. We were dropped off at Cathedral Square (which is also where the shuttles dropped, only they take the tunnel only) and given 30 minutes or so to explore. Many stores were closed as it was the first weekday after Boxing Day. Down the street a bit from Cathedral Square is the Avon River where some excursions head to go punting. I’ll just say this … save your money. I would call the Avon a creek more than a river, and the punting is just through some very shallow water along a public park. It might be relaxing to do if you came on the shuttle, but I don’t even want to look at how much an excursion there would charge you to do it.
Our next stop was the botanical gardens. We only got a cursory glance at the gardens because, as often happens with these bus tours, people returning late cut into our schedule. We were only given 15 minutes to look around the gardens and surrounding buildings. There seemed to be some nice grounds, but not really any time to explore them.
For the last part of our tour, we were taken about 20 minutes or so out into the country to the Manderley farm. On the farm, we were greeted by the owners, Mary and Ross. Ross gave us a sheep dog demonstration by sending one of his dogs all of the way up one of the hills to bring down a small flock of sheep while Ross gave the dog both verbal directions and directions on his whistle. After that, we were taken into the shearing building where Ross gave a shearing demonstration on one of his sheep. He also discussed some of the problems facing currently facing farmers. After the demonstration was over, we were invited into their home and onto their patio where Mary served coffee or tea along with some shortbread cookies and berry scones. We were then given some time to wonder a bit around the yard or sit, drink, and chat. There were toilets for the tour guests out front in their own building. After leaving the farm, we drove back another 20 minutes and were dropped off at the ship.
In the end, we liked this tour because it took us out in the country and we got to see a bit more than the standard “shopping” type tours. The farm was definitely the highlight and received more time than any other stop. This is a good “look around” tour, but otherwise, I think anyone interested in serious shopping or other types of sightseeing in Christchurch would be disappointed. I also have to say that, after all of the buildup of Christchurch being a very “English” city, it did not live up to my expectations. In my head, I for some reason envisioned something smaller and more quaint. Sure there were some examples of gothic architecture, but for the pieces that we saw of the city … well … it looked like a city … and the more I see, the more I suffer from what I call “city creep” where they all kind of start to merge, especially from a ground level.
Back on board the ship, there were afternoon activities and trivias to attend. The evening show was “Soul Mystique” which is labeled “As Seen on TV! … A Magical Transformation Spectacular Direct from Las Vegas & The London Palladium.” We arrived about 30 minutes early and were able to snag a seat, but with about 10 minutes to go until the show, almost every seat was filled in the theater. A few people lucked out, I guess, as we left about 20 minutes into the show. It turned out to be a dance show with a few quick-change acts dispersed through it. It wasn’t horrible, but it was not to my taste and I have seen better quick-change acts.
Day 9 – Picton (Dec. 29)Picton was a one-and-only stop for the Rhapsody, which is a shame because it was a nice little town without all of the over-the-top tourist stores and prices. You could tell that the townspeople were happy that the ship visited because they offered a free shuttle into town (once again, no walk-offs). Also, on the gangway exiting the ship, local women handed out fresh-flower, hand-made sprigs of flowers along with a pin to wear them around. Upon arrival on the main street (5 minute ride), the bus driver pointed out the locals whom you could ask for information or directions. There was a very pretty park, bay, and beach area right at the drop-off point, and a little bazaar was also set up in the park area selling local crafts. Some people got into trouble buying fresh cherries and apricots because the ship would not let them back on with them even though the New Zealand quarantine officials assured passengers they didn’t care what was brought on the ship, only carried off of it.
After a morning trip into Picton, we returned to the ship for lunch and an afternoon tour, Taste of Marlborough. This was an average tour and I won’t go into a lot of detail since it won’t be offered again the foreseeable future with the ship not stopping. We were taken to a shopping complex called The Vines which was small, over-priced and where we were given way too much time to look at the 6 stores, in my opinion. Then we were taken to a vineyard, Clos Henri, where we were given a fairly in-depth wine tasting. This was probably the most interesting part of the tour because we sampled wines of the same type and same vintage, simply grown in different types of soil on the property. Next we were taken to the Makana “chocolate factory” which was really just a shop with one plexi-glass wall overlooking where chocolate was being made. We were not given a tour or even a description of the process … just a few small samples and then plenty of time to make a purchase. In general, I dislike these kinds of shopping tours (I was thinking it would be more informational) because you spend a lot of money, and then you are taken to tourist places that are overpriced and where you are expected to spend more money without really getting anything else out of it. The vineyard was the most interesting, even though we didn’t see any wine-making (only tasting), because at least we were led through the tasting process and the grapes and soils were discussed.
There was a production show this evening entitled Pure Country. I’ll admit that I skipped this one as well as country music is not my favorite. It was very windy this night, with the wind spraying water from the high waves all over the deck 5 promenade. We kept a very slow pace with some circling as we only needed to go across the strait to Wellington.
Day 10 – Wellington (Dec. 30)We awoke fairly early to find ourselves docked behind the Silversea Whisper in Wellington. It was a bright, sunny day, which was evidently the first nice day Wellington had seen in about a week, so we lucked out on the weather. It was quite breezy in Wellington, hence the nickname “Windy Wellington,” but it seemed like a very nice, medium-sized city.
On tap for today was a Wellington-area Lord of the Rings tour. The tour was arranged by fellow CruiseCritic member Susie2Shoes with tour operator Flat Earth. This ended up being quite a good tour, though it was a tad pricey at $145 NZD/pp. The flip side of that, of course, is that we rode in a very nice van, had a guide that really knew what she was talking about, and were on a tour with only 9 passengers. At the start of the tour, after we had picked up a few passengers at a local hotel, our guide (Andrea, I think) took us through the government district to show us the buildings a give us a little history. Then we headed out of town for our Lord of the Rings stops. Our first stop was along the road at the site of the quarry where the Helm’s Deep and the city of Gondor scenes. We then went to a small car stop along the river where one of the fellowship river scenes was filmed. Moving on, we visited the national park where the Rivendell set was created, and we also took a swing bridge over the water to see some authentic New Zealand wooded areas. Next we headed to a park where the Isenguard ground scenes were filmed. Finally we headed back into Wellington, past the Embassy theater where the Return of the King premier was held (and most recently, The Lovely Bones) and to Mt. Victoria where the hobbits hid from the black rider at the start of the first movie.
This tour was a very interesting combination of things you see and things you don’t see. On my own and without a guidebook, I would not have found any of these sites as they are literally spread all about. Also, we were told that the reason that Peter Jackson is given free-reign to film in New Zealand is that he makes sure that every trace of his production which takes place in natural settings is erased. This means that trees and plants are transplanted and then replaced after production. In fact, we were told that the only outdoor set pieces to remain are the ones from Hobbiton as they reside on private property (and amazingly enough, can be visited for a fee). Our tour was also given a little extra flavor because our guide works on Peter Jackson movies as a seamstress (though not LOTR), and the rest of her family does as well (she also mentioned that some of them were just on holiday after finishing work on Avatar with WETA Digital). Besides her own insight, she also brought along a book with movie stills so that when we reached a particular location, she could refer to it and perhaps point out remaining landmarks.
At the end of the tour, we were given the option of being dropped off in town or back at the ship. We considered being dropped off in town, but by this point we were tired and decided to return for a late lunch and a bit of rest. Royal Caribbean offered a pay-shuttle in Wellington, but it is also a port you can walk off in, though it is probably a 20—30 minute walk into the main part of town. I guess I haven’t mentioned this yet, but in every New Zealand port, you must show your SeaPass and photo identification to get back into the port area. All busses and shuttles are boarded by port security to check these items. Photocopies of passports are not accepted, so you either need to have your original passport or some sort of state-issued identification like a driver’s license (which is what I’ve been using). Younger kids are exempt from this, but I’ve heard some security guards raise concerns about teenagers coming back without ID. If you have teenagers, you might plan on bringing either a passport or some type of identity card just to avoid the hassle.
The headliner showtime this night was Danny Elliott. This was a pretty good show as his act is to play a wide variety of instruments, from guitar to bag-pipes. I thought that the music selection was a little weak, but overall, it was at least entertaining.
Day 11 – Napier (Dec. 31)New Year’s Eve brought the Rhapsody to Napier, New Zealand. The story with Napier is that it was mostly destroyed by an earthquake in the 1930’s, so the parts of the city that were rebuilt were built entirely in the Art Deco style of the time. Many of the souvenir stores sold trinkets fashioned in an art deco style (compacts, jewelry boxes, etc). Some people from the town also put on a car show at the port where they drove in their vintage autos and wore clothing from that time period.
Napier, once again, was a working port, so no one was allowed to walk out on their own. Napier provided a free shuttle into downtown, which took approximately 10 minutes or so. Once dropped off, you are right in the main shopping district which seemed more geared for locals in that it was made up more of retail stores and cafes rather than souvenir stores selling cheap, trinket-y type things. Napier also had some beach access, but I didn’t go down there, so I can’t make a comment as to the quality of the beach. Down one of the main roads was also the Art Deco center which offered not only art deco souvenirs for purchase, but you could also purchase local tours through them. I did not compare prices, but my guess is that if you wanted an Art Deco tour, this would be cheaper than one from the ship (which probably uses the same service).
The ship’s tour we decided to go on this day was called A Taste of Hawke’s Bay, which included a stop at The Filter Room to sample local micro-brewed drinks, the Silky Oak chocolate factory/museum, and finally, a stop at a sheep tannery. We chose to go with the afternoon tour as drinking in the morning didn’t sound too exciting, so our tour left at 1 PM (as opposed to 8 AM). At The Filter Room, which is a working brewery/restaurant, we were led into a large room with chairs and tables. At the front was the bar and lists of the various drinks the establishment made. We were able to choose 6 different beverages, ranging from hard ciders to lagers (they only had 2 non-alcoholic drinks), by placing the labels for the drinks we wanted in a rack, with the racks then filled with our selections. We were advised to just get one sample at a time so that it would move more quickly, but everyone seemed insistent that they get all of their drinks at once, so the wait was a bit long. Also, there was a bit of confusion because other patrons would come in to buy drinks, so some people were paying, others were not, and the line was muddled. We split one rack between the two of us and found that to be plenty (each rack held six glasses of maybe 8 ounces). The ciders, lagers, and ginger beers ranged from decent to fairly good, but I didn’t really taste anything that knocked my socks off. We were given an hour for this stop, so even with the line, there seemed to be plenty of time. There was not really anything else to do at this stop besides to do the tasting, purchase their merchandise, or to buy food from the restaurant.
After The Filter Room, we headed to the Silky Oak chocolate factory. Like “factory” in Picton, this consisted of a chocolate shop which had a section blocked off in plexi-glass so you could watch the workers making chocolates. We were given a few samples (chocolate seemed decent but the fillings were not). At this stop, at least, one of the store managers walked us through how they made their chocolates (buy it from Belgium, melt it, put it into molds, add fillings, close molds, chill). Besides the shop, we were also able to go through their chocolate museum and eat at the chocolate café (for an extra fee). The museum was interesting and consisted of placards and signs with scattered artifacts … it was nothing special, but it did at least show some effort. We were given about an hour at this stop as well, which was plenty of time. Some chose to make purchases at the café while others sat on the porch, but they were shooed away after a while because the café workers were anxious to stack chairs and close (it was NYE, after all).
Our final stop was at a sheep tannery. We were led through the back rooms of the tannery and given a description of the various machines, their purposes, and what sheep skins looked like at various states. The factory was not working at this point and as it turned out, the workers were all allowed to leave at 3 PM (we arrived at 4:20 or so) for the holiday, so the only people working were the guy giving us the tour and the woman working in the shop at the end. There seemed to be some decent prices on the items in the shop if you wanted anything that had to do with sheep skin or wool.
After the tannery, we were taken back to the ship while given a brief tour of the area. I wasn’t exactly happy when the driver stopped to let one couple run into a liquor store while everyone else waited, but at least they were quick. In the end, I was less than impressed with this tour as all it did was go to public establishments and give us the opportunity to buy things after small samples. I suppose people were most intrigued by the tasting and the chocolate factory, but both were underwhelming in my opinion. As for the drinking, if that is your goal, my suggestion would be to take the money you would spend on this tour, go to a local bar, and drink there.
Once back onboard, it was time to prepare for our third formal night. The dinner for NYE featured surf and turf with sirloin and prawns. Everyone’s table for NYE was decked out with paper top hats/tiaras, streamers, and noise makers. The headgear and streamers were a nice touch, but I soon felt an intense desire to toss whoever thought the noisemakers were a good idea overboard. We were seated next to a large family with many small children, and their racket along with the others throughout the dining room, made having a conversation next to impossible and left me with a splitting headache. One thing I’m going to write on my comment sheet to the company … save the formal night dinner and give out the party favors closer to midnight.
As for the NYE festivities themselves, the headliner showtime was singer Darren Williams. He was fairly entertaining. When things got closer to NYE, there were three party centers for the ship … the Viking Crown Lounge, the Centrum, and the pool deck. We pulled up chairs around the Centrum on Deck 7 and drank the sparkling wine we had pre-ordered. Closer to midnight they started giving out the standard, quite horrible, free “champagne” in monitored areas (though there were still at least one pack of roving, drunken teenagers). A few screens had a countdown to midnight and Captain Stein led the countdown in the Centrum once it got to the final 30 seconds. The party evidently raged well into the morning, though I have to say I was in bed by 12:30.
Day 12: Day at Sea (Jan 1)New Year’s Day aboard Rhapsody was spend lazily sailing at sea. Most seemed to make a late morning of it, though the usual sea day activities were lined up throughout the day. I’ll forgo the details of my day as it wasn’t very interesting. On this day they held the Walk for Wishes where passengers wishing to donate at least $10 to Make-a-Wish were given t-shirts and participated in the walk-a-mile on deck with the captain, officers, and entertainment staff. The headliner showtime was Martin Lass, a violinist.
Day 13: Tauranga (Jan 2)Since tides evidently play a huge part in arriving at the Port of Tuaranga, the Rhapsody had an early arrival (7:00) and departure (all aboard 4:15). The most popular destination at Tuaranga seemed to be Rotorua which has hot mud pools and other geothermal sights, but there were definitely other things to do. Local visitor information people boarded the ship and were available to give advice and maps out right before debarkation. While there was a free shuttle offered into the city of Tuaranga, this was a port you could walk out of on your own. Within close walking distance were two beaches (one next to the ship was black rock and one 5-10 minutes across the peninsula was white sand and much busier). There was also an extinct volcano to circumnavigate or climb right by the ship. We originally set out to walk the path around the volcano next to the ocean (about an hour’s walk we were told) but instead decided to climb the volcano. We took a paved, drivable path for most of the way. It was quite steep, but there were plenty of benches and places to stop and take in the view. Near the top we had to leave the road and take paths with more steps in them. It took us about 1.25 hours to reach the top and we could definitely feel it in our legs. We took a different path down that was almost all narrow steps and had very few rest points so if you are interested in climbing the volcano, I’d suggest the incline and not the stairs.
The entertainment for the night in the main theater was the Love and Marriage Gameshow and the crew talent show. I skipped both of these, but many seemed to enjoy them. The gameshow is fairly standard and definitely adult-oriented. I’ve caught a bit of the talent show on TV and most people seem to have really enjoyed it.
Day 14: Auckland (Jan. 3)The Rhapsody arrived in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, at about 7 AM with debarkation soon after. This was a walk-off port, so if you want to strike off on your own, you can easily exit the ship and walk down the pier into the city. The pier actually felt unique here as it is filled with shops and even a hotel. Looking across at the Hilton out the ship’s windows, you might think you were parked next to another, very large ship with large, plant-decorated balconies.
Just wanting to look around, we decided to take the Auckland Panorama tour, and quite frankly, it was disappointing. We loaded onto a bus and were first taken to Mt. Eden where we were given 20 minutes or so to get out, walk around, and take pictures. Leaving Mt. Eden, we were taken to the Botanical Gardens and given about 40 minutes to look around inside the greenhouses. We then loaded back onto the bus and were taken on a very short hop to the Auckland Museum and given 30 minutes or so to look around outside (but obviously not enough time to go in). With that, our last stop, we were taken around to different neighborhoods and then dropped off at the ship. In other words, every place we were taken was a “free” stop and the rest of the time was spent on the bus … yes, I know … this is what you get with a panoramic. Frankly, however, you could get off the ship and grab the hop-on-hop-off bus on the main street off the pier and see most of the same stuff without the time limits for a cheaper price.
After our tour we explored the city by the pier a bit with most of our time spent looking in shops on Queen Street, which seemed to be the main shopping area. Upon returning to the ship, security was very tight. Beyond the usual metal detectors, there were also two other times where we had to display our IDs and SeaPass. It turns out that someone had attempted to illegally board the other ship in port that day so security was tightened everywhere. There was a small area right before getting on the ship with tables and souvenirs. After looking around, the pricing here was comparable (or better) than the shops out in the city, though obviously selection was limited.
Other highlights from the ship’s schedule on this day were tropical night and an evening on-deck buffet paired with dancing under the stars. The main show were illusionists Scott and Panitra Davies who did mostly card tricks … they were good, but still … card tricks for a large-venue performance (video camera and screens required). Oh, and on a side-note, the honey-stung chicken was once again offered in the Windjammer buffet for lunch … I felt like it was embarkation day all over again (though it was much fresher this day).
Day 15 – Bay of Islands (Jan 4)Sadly the first of the last-milestones arrived … our last stop of the cruise and our last day in New Zealand. Bay of Islands is a tender port, which means that you have to board boats to be taken ashore as the ship does not dock. As you may imagine, this does create a bottleneck for people trying to get off the ship, and people on ship’s tours are given priority. Diamond members received priority tender tickets in their cabins so they could get in line to board at any time they wished. Otherwise, tender tickets were handed out starting at 7:30 in the Schooner Bar. For those that don’t know, a tender ticket is a ticket with a number. Once you are ready to leave, you grab a ticket and wait in public areas for that number to be called. You can then proceed to the gangway to board the tender and be taken ashore.
We had a very early morning on this day taking a tour as we were instructed to report to the theater by 7 A.M. to be taken off of the ship. The tour we chose was the Glow Worm Caves and Kauri Forest excursion. We were in the tender probably by 7:30 or so, and in the bus by 8. This was intended to be a half-day tour, but let’s just say that our tour was extended. Our driver was quite entertaining an informative, but he was not too familiar with this tour. we made it to our first stop, the kauri forest, the people who were supposed act as guides were not waiting out in the turn-around as he was expecting, so after a brief stop, he continued down the road. Once he realized that he had gone too far, there was no place to turn the bus around as we were on a very narrow road on a large hill, so we had to continue for about 15 minutes until there was a space to turn around. We then, of course, had to travel 15 minutes back to the stop. By this time it was raining quite hard. We met our guides, were split into two groups, and then taken down a boarded walk into the forest. I had the unfortunate luck to go with the female guide who did not speak very loud (over the sounds of 20 people, rain hitting the trees, etc), and when she was asked to speak up, she instead told everyone they needed to get closer (we were already in a tight group). We were guided along this looping boardwalk for 15 minutes or so, and to be honest, the guides weren’t that necessary as the area was obviously setup for self-exploration with information placards along the way. After that, we got right back on the bus (not sure if there would have been more time if we had been on time or if it had not been raining) and headed towards the glow worm caves.
By this time, however, we had been away for 2 hours or so and people started to complain to the driver that they had to go to the bathroom (there were no restrooms at the forest). The driver eventually found a public restroom, but after more than half of the bus got off to use the small facility, we were now more than an hour late. Once we finally got moving again, however, we ran into another snag … a large accident had closed the road we needed. We ended up taking a single-lane, dirt road detour through the country. We finally arrived at the caves, waited for another bathroom break, were given a description of the caves by the owners, then led inside. Photographs were prohibited past the entrance. You essentially walked along a raised wooden pathway, and occasionally the guides would stop and have everyone turn out their lights to see glow worms at the top of the cavern. There were a few steep sets of stairs to climb inside and a couple of slightly narrow spaces. Once you exit the caves, you have to climb quite a few steps through the woods to get back to the entrance and the people who had any mobility issues really had problems at this point. As we loaded into the bus, the afternoon tour bus arrived (to signify how late we were). We made our way back to the ship, making a brief scheduled stop at an artistic public toilet.
In the end, our 4 hour tour turned into a 6.5 hour tour. Oh well, things happen. I would, however, still hesitate to recommend this tour. The forest part was a bit of a joke. Yes, you see some huge trees, but it is literally a few minutes on a looped path (perhaps I was just expecting more). Then the caves … there was a bit of speculation that the “glow worms” at this stop were faked. When the lanterns were turned off, they appeared just as dots on the ceiling. Others who did better glow worm grotto tours in other stops told us that everyone had to be quite or the worms would dim or go dark. There were no directions to be quite on our tour, and every speck seemed to be uniform in both size and brightness. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I’m still suspicious.
Upon return to the pier, we boarded the tender and returned to the ship. The tender did not drop passengers off in any sort of commercial area, so if you wanted to strike out on your own, you would have to use a free bus to get to a more commercial area (unless you wanted quite a walk). Our tender ride was interesting as a speed boat cut in front of us, between the tender and the ship, causing perhaps a 5 –foot wake in otherwise calm water. We bounced around and actually slammed into the Rhapsody a bit until the water calmed down, though that didn’t stop one guy from continuously trying to get around the crew blocking the door and jump to the docking platform (believe it or not).
This night was the last formal night (thank goodness … 4 was more than enough for me). The evening show was The Rat Pack’s Back, which was obviously a tribute band. They were … OK, but nothing special. This night we started the process of returning to Sydney time with the clocks rolling back one hour at 2 AM.
Days 16 and 17 – At Sea (Jan 5-6)The final two sea days were a little sad as we returned to Sydney, but they were definitely a bit smoother than East-bound trip across the ditch. The same sea-day routines were followed with activities all day, bingo, etc. The show on day 16 was Ballroom Fever, a dancing production show which I skipped. The show on the last night was The Artistry of Fluorescence which was definitely one of the most unique shows I’ve ever seen on a ship.
On the last day, Diamond members, as part of the Diamonds in December celebration, were given invites for a bridge tour. For some reason we did not receive invitations, but that was quickly remedied by the Phillipa, the Loyalty Ambassador. The invitations were very clear … show up at this place, bring the invitation and SeaPass for security, and know that ONLY the invited people could come. Of course, at least three parties tried to bring other people along and were flatly denied by bridge security. After that, we were led to the bridge in a group of about 15 or so and given what really amounted to about 20 minutes of face time with Captain Stein. All but a small section of the bridge was roped off, though we were able to look out the front and walk out on one of the side wings. The most amazing thing (and by amazing I mean rudest thing I saw on this cruise), however, were the two Italian passengers who decided they were bored about 5 minutes into the time and decided the only way to end the experience quickly was to talk as loudly as possible to each other over the captain (and ps … one of them was the same guy who kept trying to jump off of the tender while it was still bouncing around).
Self-debarkation of luggage is not allowed in Sydney due to customs and quarantine, so all large baggage was to be placed outside by midnight on the last night.
Day 18 – Sydney (Jan. 7)During the noon report on the last day, Captain Stein briefly made mention of arriving a little late to Sydney. As it turned out, our 6:30 AM arrival ended up being about an 8:30 AM arrival. This left a few people who had booked early flights a wreck, but for everyone else, it meant that we pulled into Sydney at a reasonable hour and could truly be enjoyed. Both the Windjammer and main dining room were open for breakfast with most people heading to the buffet for the view (and to then clog up seats). We headed to the Diamond debarkation area (deck 5 dining room) which was also opened up for Platinum members on this cruise. They offered some juice, coffee, and rolls, but mainly it is just a place to wait for priority debarkation. At around 8:45 or so, Phillipa came through to find people who had early flights and escort them out. A little after 9:00, the rest of us in the lounge were given the go ahead do debark, and as we exited and hit the stairs, we ran into a huge mass of people coming from another lounge. Everyone forced themselves into a line to get off on deck 4, only to then find out that that exit was only for white tags. The others from above had (green?) tags and were supposed to exit on deck 1. This was a bit of confusion that could have been better handled. While the compass advertised two exits, you do not have a pick of the two. Certain tags must debark from either deck 1 or deck 4 because that is where your luggage will be waiting. If you try to get off on the wrong deck or too early they will send you back because your luggage will not be there. It was quite a mess trying to find our bags, and of course I couldn’t find mine for a while, but we finally claimed our bags, cleared quarantine, got in line to exit, then got into about a 15-minute long taxi queue (a lot of baggage to load).
A lot of people with early flights were going to struggle to make them, making me glad that I had decided to spend an extra night in Sydney. Here was my thinking … besides getting one last day in Sydney to explore and buy the souvenirs I had decided I wanted, I am hesitant to try to book an early-ish flight for a city, pier, and airport that I am unfamiliar with. Add in that I would be flying internationally and everything screamed to take it slow. I know a few people were booked on that day-of debarkation Delta flight at 11:20 AM and I hope they made it but I would have been totally freaked out.
Instead of being freaked out, we grabbed a taxi and headed to the Marriott Sydney right beside Hyde Park. This is a 5-star hotel I had won on Priceline for less than $100 USD a night, so I was curious how it would turn out. When we arrived a little after 10 AM, the lobby was quite full of people waiting around. When I checked in, I was told that a king room was available or that I could wait for a room with two beds. Not wanting to mess with storing luggage, I took the king room. It was a wonderful room with a view of the park, huge sitting area, huge bathroom, and a sleeper-sofa (so we had two beds anyway). Wired internet was available at $.55 AUD/minute with a 24-hour cap of $29 AUD (and it was much faster than the ship’s internet, of course). There was a 2.5% surcharge for any credit card usage by the hotel, and a $50 hold was placed upon check-in.
We ended up taking it easy this day. We did return to the harbor (about a 15-20 minute walk) and took a ferry to Manly where we ate lunch and did our souvenir shopping.
Jan 8 (the day that never ended)We woke up early and grabbed a cab at about 7:30 to go to the airport. It ended up taking about 20-25 minutes to get to the airport from the Marriott and cost a little over $40 AUD. Upon arrival, we found the Delta line to be mostly full as they hadn’t opened the counter yet. Around 8:20 or so (3 hours before the flight), they opened up the line with about 4 agents. We had no problem checking in, though my large suitcase was now a little bit overweight. The agent was pretty cool about it though, checking to make sure that my second checked bag, my garment bag, was well below the allotted weight. Since it was, he went ahead and checked both through instead of making me try to re-arrange stuff on the spot or pay a large surcharge. I’m sure that if my bag had been extremely overweight it would have been different, but I think it was about 3-4 pounds or so.
After checking in, we had to clear Australian customs again by filling out a departure form. I must say, I’ve never filled out so many forms to both enter and leave a country. We then headed through security which I had expected to be a little slower because of the Detroit thing. After that, we progressed through all of the duty-free shopping available and grabbed some breakfast at McDonald’s, which seemed to be the place everyone was trying to shed the last of their Australian money. I used credit, but it still cost me over $12 for a combo with a sandwich, 2 hash browns, and a coffee. When we arrived at the gate, we saw the new security measures in place for flights to the US. The gate had been blocked off with walls and each person was required to show their passport and ticket to enter. Passengers were then randomly selected for additional screening (50% we were told, though all days before had been 100%) which consisted of removing everything from your carryon and a full pat-down.
I have to say that the flight back was definitely worse than the Sydney-bound flight. The same amount of meals and entertainment were offered, but leaving in the morning instead of the evening meant, at least to me, that it was much harder to sleep. In fact, I’d be surprised if I slept more than an hour. Thankfully some of the movies had changed so I had more to watch, but it was a long haul.
Upon arriving at LAX, the real fun began. We knew that we would be re-boarding the exact same plane to go to Atlanta, but we also knew we’d have to get off and clear customs. It started with deplaning and heading down a few hallways until you came to customs. They made non-US citizens wait while everyone else was filed into a few various lines. Our customs forms were glanced at by an agent, we were asked a few questions, then we headed to collect our checked luggage. Of course one of our four bags (my evil garment bag) was one of the last bags off of the plan, so we sat there for 20-30 minutes waiting for it. Once it arrived, we proceeded through the checkpoint and were pointed towards agricultural quarantine because we had honestly answered we had visited a farm. We placed our bags on a conveyor belt and then collected them on the other side of an additional scan and we were through. We then left the checked bags with security to be rescanned and checked back to the plane. At this point, we were outside of a secure area and had to find the security line to re-enter the gate area. Joy of joys, the security line by this point was contained in three switchbacks and out the door. We got in line then moved fairly quickly until people realized that they could circumvent the line by taking the elevator to the second floor. There was a single agent there to check IDs and send people into the security line while there were four agents at the bottom of a set of stairs checking, but they could only send people when the line had cleared as no one was allowed to wait on the stairs. Essentially the one agent at the top kept the queue from emptying very quickly by filling it with everyone going around the main line, slowing down the main line at the bottom. We finally made it up, through security, and by the time we were at the gate, our plane was boarding.
**Note** With this security process, unless your air journey ends at LAX, you will not be able to bring any duty-free liquids (read liquor) purchased in Sydney in your carry-on. I supposed you could try to get it into your bag before you re-check it, but I’m not sure you want to be trying to open you bag up and root around to get it secure and safe in there.
Our flight to Atlanta was fine and our final flight to Indianapolis was delayed a bit, but we finally arrived after all, of that at about 7 PM on the same day we had left in Sydney, leading to an extremely long and tiring day. By 9 PM, I was home for the first time in three weeks and in serious need of some sleep.
Link to my photo album:
http://community.webshots.com/user/silentbob007
