twangster

At 11:30am we left the ship as a group and boarded a bus to drive to the bridge.  Since this is a cargo port only approved ship provided buses are allowed to move guests within the port area.  

At the bridge the tour operator has a small shop.  There we were fitted with a harness and a jumpsuit or coveralls plus a helmet.  You can’t bring anything with you as they don’t want something falling on a car causing a crash.  Photos and video taken by our guide would be provided through a website URL at the conclusion.  Everything went into a locker.  

The company that runs the bridge climb also has other adrenaline based activities such as bungee jumping from the bridge.  Other groups that were not from the ship were being fitted for their own adventures as we waited.  We would see them again later.  

The following photos and a video were captured by the guide and provided to us included in the excursion price.

Much like the Sydney bridge climb you are tethered to the bridge as you walk along the steel walkways under the road deck of the bridge.  Once we were closer to the center of the bridge we would climb up onto the top of bridge, spend some time at the top then return similarly to how we came.  

We were fitted with an earpiece so that everyone could hear the guide who led us on this adventure.  

As we walked he would provide history and data about the bridge and the city.  We stopped briefly once we reached an area directly opposite the bungee jumping platform so we could watch the victims, I mean participants, do a bungee jump.  Discounts were offered if we wished to add a jump after our tour.  No one from our group accepted. 

The bridge has lasted beyond its intended operational lifespan so new tunnels are being explored as a replacement for this aging bridge.  At some point in the not so distant future it will be gone.  It’s a great time to climb a piece of history.  


Great views from the top!


That's Quantum in the distance.





Here is the video they provided, posted with permission:

AucklandBridgeClimb.mp4.9c485f6eb82272edda53a8ecd642357f.mp4 We didn't do the bungee jump but watched the folks in this video do it.
It was an amazing excursion and I’m really glad I did it.

The next stop is Zealandia Sanctuary.  

New Zealand didn't really have any mammals before some were brought my man.  Without mammals native species lived hundreds of years ago without their presence.  Not knowing what these strange mammals were when they arrived many species were wiped out.  
Zealandia is a project to create a sanctuary walled off from non-native species including mammals so that truly native species can flourish as their world once was before man brought new species and mammals to New Zealand.  They have been able to breed up species nearly wiped out.  It's a 500 year project because there are some species of trees that take that long to grow full cycle.

This wall goes the entire way around Zealandia keeping any mammals from entering.  

It's a pretty fascinating project.



Our guide escorted us around various trails and paths narrating frequently.


To be honest I booked this excursion for the cable car experience but this turned out to be a pleasant and fascinating stop to compliment the cable car.

Day Five
Wellington, New Zealand
Today's excursion is Zealandia Sanctuary and Cable Car Experience.
First we arrive into Wellington to clear skies and no wind.  That's pretty much unheard of in Wellington, it's a very windy city.  This is the only port duplicated from my last New Zealand cruise when on that occasion it was windy.
First we'll do the cable car which is not really a cable car any longer but now a funicular.  This has been around for a long time and been through several iterations of cable cars over the years.  

Once cleared as a group we mixed into the general population boarding the uphill service to the top.   As you approach the boarding area the line divides two ways boarding the same car from both ends.  I chose the lower end hoping to get a view downhill as we go uphill.  







Our driver will bring the bus to the top and we will board it there on our way to the next stop.  Until then we have time to ride the cable car and check out the museum and grounds at the top.  
I captured a video of the ride going up, while looking down towards the waterfront.  I sped up the video to save time watching it.

WellingtonCableCarTL.mp4.9cd854a067097c37d032421ac9b67a70.mp4  

My excursion is Scenic Cruise and Queen Charlotte Track Hike booked through the ship.     I'm very grateful I bought that hoodie.  Out here on the cool Pacific waters of New Zealand it's quite chilly.  Some guests, like me, did not come prepared for this.   
A guide walked around to illustrate where were going.





A twenty five minute boat ride over to Mistletoe Bay.


We broke into three groups each with a guide and headed around a short hike.  As hikes go it's what I would consider easy but for anyone with less mobility you'll want to consider if this is an appropriate excursion for you.  I wore running shoes without issue so it's not like hiking boots were required.  





It was a pleasant hike and an informative guide who knew a lot about the flora and fauna of the area.  
After a 90 minute slow paced hike we boarded the boat to make our way back to Picton.

The excursion bus dropped us off near the small boat harbor where our scenic cruise began but this is not where the cruise ship shuttle bus operates from.  I could have gotten off the scenic cruise and jumped on the waiting bus but I wanted to walk around a little.  Read the instructions carefully and map out where you need to go to reach the main cruise shuttle bus, it's a fifteen minute walk from the boat harbor.  
We depart from Picton and sail out of Queen Charlotte sound across to Wellington.  This will take several hours much of which is in the dark.  Wellington is at the bottom of the North Island of New Zealand.  


I upgraded my phone for this trip to enjoy a better camera and I'm still exploring it's capabilities.

Not terrible for a handheld phone from my balcony.

Dolphins on the port side.

PictonDolphins.mp4.f8da625426e377dcf1449da9b269fdf8.mp4 Eventually we reach Picton where we do a 180 and reverse into the cargo slip.  Free shuttle busses will take us into town. 



Water cannon welcome.









A time lapse of our transit into and through Queen Charlotte Sound.

PictonTL.mp4.15834bb58cb8a3bf441b08aa1d853b35.mp4 The cargo port with wood exports being readied for shipment to China. 

Cabin decor remains the same as does the decor in areas like elevator lobbies.
The amplification in 2019 was pretty amazing.  It focused on guests venues as opposed inside guests cabins.  Caribbean pool, slides, Playmakers, PortSide BBQ etc.
If you don't mind the cabins being pretty much the same as they have always been, Oasis is in great shape with many modern or current venues.    The new Aqua show is one of the best.

Day Four
Picton, New Zealand
With Picton positioned on the top of the South Island we enter the gap between the North and South Islands then sailed down Queen Charlotte sound to reach Picton.  It's very beautiful.  







I love on the older Q class ship the suite sun deck allows you to quickly move from side to side.  On various trips on this class I've used this area extensively for great photos.  On Odyssey this is a Teen club area.  

Here is a time mind bender from my arrival in Australia.
When I landed in Sydney flying in from Tokyo a couple of days ago it was one hour different from Brisbane.  Upon taking off from Sydney enroute to Brisbane I moved my watch by one hour so my watch would be correct when I landed.
When I boarded the ship in Brisbane on our way to Sydney I was expecting we would change time on board.  We didn't.  Yet when we arrived in Sydney we were on the same time.  

Day Two (B)
I have chosen to label the replicating days as A or B since that is how Royal is handling our crossing of the international date line.  A letter in our cabin explains we will have a day nine A and a day nine B, both occurring on April 16, 2025.   

We now have two sea days to cross the Tasman Sea on the way to our next port of call, Picton New Zealand.

In addition to the NZeTA travel authorization app that is required to visit New Zealand there is also a separate app or website for the purpose of making a customs declaration.  Deciding I didn't need or want another app with another account, I just used the website.  Fortunately I have a Voom internet plan but for those that don't they did have crew available to assist guests who are having issues with this requirement.  I don't recall having to do this a few years ago so I am guessing it's new, at least to me.

 

Cabin 6128 - Category 5D Balcony
Technically as a 3 person cabin I didn't qualify for this cabin being solo but since they moved me from Ovation and on Ovation this is a 4D cabin, I was allowed to keep it.  







I like the location of these cabins and that they are directly over the ocean.  No walkways, lifeboats or anything else between you and the view to the sea straight down. They are super convenient and down one flight of stairs to deck five and Schooner Bar.  Down one more deck to the Theater and Esplanade.  Very convenient.  



Two bottles of water courtesy of the CAS for a 21 night cruise.  I'll need to ration them carefully. 🙂

I figured I might as well have a local beer or two and some lunch while I waited.

When ABF gives you lemons, make lemonade. 🍋
Having sailed from Sydney before and knowing the area I decided to walk over the Sydney Harbor Bridge to get some photos of Quantum in Sydney.  I already knew the route, it's pretty easy with elevators in places where there are stairs if you need a lift.







A constant flow of ferries in and out.

Overcast with rain forecast.






No Godzilla!  Don't attack Sydney!

Day Three / Day One (B)
Sydney and the end of cruise #1.
An early arrival into Sydney.

Later that night...
The Instant Reward Casino offers are different down under.  There is no short versus long offers, there is only one list for any cruise from Australia.

 
Ah.  Smell that smoke free casino air!

I took a quick nap and woke up just as we were sailing away.  Quick shower and off to Coastal Kitchen for dinner.


I already knew I made the list for the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen access on the transpacific so I made Coastal Kitchen dinner reservation on select nights.  I didn't want to book all twenty three nights in Coastal Kitchen figuring that by picking select nights there would be some time slots available for Sea class or Junior Suite guests as well.   On other nights I'd have a burger in The Pub or eat in the Windjammer.  There is no shortage of food on a cruise.

The Brisbane cruise terminal as seen from the ship:




 

I have sailed on Quantum to Alaska and three other sister ships in this class so I was already comfortable with the ship.  I had received an email letting me know as a Pinnacle I had made the list for access to the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen.  The top forty are given access to manage the numbers and save space for suite guests.   I headed to Coastal Kitchen to make dinner reservations.  Night one is still the Filet night so how could I resist?
Given that I made the booking for the two night repo cruise not long before the sail date I had a different cabin compared to my cabin for the transpacific.  With only two nights I didn't unpack my suitcase for the first cruise.
Cabin 7244 - 2D balcony

Cruise Day!
My friends are loyal Royal cruisers who had just gotten off Quantum having completed several consecutive cruises to wrap up the Australia cruise season the day I arrived.  As frequent cruisers their car pretty much drove itself to the port albeit on the wrong side of the road.  
The cruise terminal in Brisbane is nice but a bit of a drive from downtown.  

Boarding had already started so it was very quick through the regular boarding day steps.  I will say that security was very particular, even more so than the security at the Sydney domestic airport terminal, requiring anything electronic, anything at all, to come out of my backpack.   It was more thorough than the airport security in the US, Japan and Australia.  At least I know we will be safe on board!

Brisbane
My friends live just outside of the Brisbane city limits.  After taking them out for dinner it was time to head to bed.
The next day they took me to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.  You can't visit Australia without seeing Koalas and Kangaroos!   
So cute!





They warned me to keep an eye out for drop bears.  Fortunately non presented themselves during my visit.
First time feeding a Kangaroo using the Roo food acquired at the sanctuary.  These things have incredible teeth and claws.  Note to self - don't ever upset a Kangaroo.

A transpacific has long been on my bucket list so this was my first.  The ports in New Zealand had just one duplicate port with my last New Zealand cruise and with three new stops in French Polynesia a lot of this cruise would be new to me.  I liked that.  As it turns some of the port stops were over weekends so that meant I didn't need to take as much time off work since I can work remotely on sea days.
Cruise #1
Sun 06 April 2025 Brisbane, Australia - 04:30 PM Boarding
Mon 07 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Tue 08 April 2025 Sydney, Australia 06:30 AM - Departure

Cruise #2
Tue 08 April 2025 Sydney, Australia - 05:00 PM Boarding
Wed 09 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Thu 10 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Fri 11 April 2025 Picton, New Zealand 11:00 AM 08:00 PM Docked
Sat 12 April 2025 Wellington, New Zealand 07:00 AM 06:30 PM Docked
Sun 13 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Mon 14 April 2025 Auckland, New Zealand 07:30 AM 06:30 PM Docked
Tue 15 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Wed 16 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Wed 16 April 2025 International Dateline - - Cruising
Thu 17 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Fri 18 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Sat 19 April 2025 Papeete, Tahiti 08:00 AM 11:59 PM Docked
Sun 20 April 2025 Moorea, French Polynesia 08:00 AM 08:00 PM Tendered
Mon 21 April 2025 Raiatea, French Polynesia 07:00 AM 05:00 PM Tendered
Tue 22 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Wed 23 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Thu 24 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Fri 25 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Sat 26 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Sun 27 April 2025 Honolulu (Oahu), Hawaii 07:00 AM - Docked
Mon 28 April 2025 Honolulu (Oahu), Hawaii - - Departure
Australia has laws regarding smoking inside and these are enforced on cruise ships sailing from Australian ports.  On this cruise the interior smoking ban remained in effect for the full voyage all the way to Hawaii.  
Twenty three nights of smoke free bliss.  

Cabin decor remains the same as does the decor in areas like elevator lobbies.
The amplification in 2019 was pretty amazing.  It focused on guests venues as opposed inside guests cabins.  Caribbean pool, slides, Playmakers, PortSide BBQ etc.
If you don't mind the cabins being pretty much the same as they have always been, Oasis is in great shape with many modern or current venues.    The new Aqua show is one of the best.

Kind of disappointing there are some gaps in their database for many cruises in between 2016 and 2025.  Some common routes too, it's not all of those were on obscure ships in weird places.  Dozen plus cruises didn't compute for them.  
Cool idea, poor execution.  

The thing is, the more you shop TAs for maximum monetary discounts and incentives you need to understand that may come at a cost in another direction.
Royal pays a host agency a commision for each regular booking.  Typically the host agency takes a portion and depending on the agreement with the individual agent, the agent receives a fixed full time income, a blend of fixed income plus a portion of that commision, or an individual agent might work just for the commission as their sole means of compensation.
For the most part those monetary perks you may be seeking are typically funded using that same commision.  Receiving more monetary perks sounds great until you realize that if there is little or nothing left for the individual agent to take home, they may not be motivated to spend a whole lot of time servicing a booking. Instead they need volume to make a living, investing very little labor into any one of the mass volume of bookings needed to make a living.
Want to change cabins?  Looking at an upgrade?  See a price drop?  Got an issue?  When an agent isn't motivated to spend very much time working on any one booking you will likely get the level of service you are effectively paying for... very little.  But you got maximum perks so there is that.  
Agents work.  It takes time and knowledge to become a seasoned pro.  They need to earn a decent level of compensation or else why bother?
So be careful shopping on the basis of maximum monetary perks.  

Do NOT hide them in Central Park.  There are cases where kids have ruined live plants rummaging through Central Park with no regard to the destruction they are causing.  
If you are going to hide ducks you shouldn't expect anyone to update you when they find them.  Hide them hoping to bring joy to someone's day but that's it.