Jamesszy94

Day 6 - Final port: Wellington.

We stopped at our final port for the cruise in the capital of New Zealand! Wellington

Windjammer for breakfast, nothing too fancy. Gangway opened at 8am, I think a lot of people were already off the ship or waiting to get off by like 8:30. Dad and I got off the ship around 9:30 (Virgin Voyages's Resilient Lady was docked behind us, she's smaller than Ovation. Ovation is ~80-90metres longer and I think maybe ~20-30 metres taller. She's also about 58,000 gross tonnes larger, but I digress). By the time we made it into town, it was already like 9:45. We walked around for a bit and took some photos, I went to the Lego store to get my Lego passport stamped.. the lady who did it for me didn't stamp it properly but I realised too late and couldn't go back. 

Then we walked around for a bit more. I wanted to go to the Space Observatory... me being a huge space nerd, but I was like "I'll walk there, it's only 25 minutes".. I got about 1/4 of the way there and realized it's all hills which I wasn't going to walk, so I walked back down to meet dad who I had told to take the cable car to the top. One of Wellington's most famous attractions is its cable car.  The line was very long.... I'll show you photos when I get back to cabin. We got up to the top where we got off at Kelburn Terminal. Dad was tired so he sat down while I went to walk around. I went to visit the Space Place Observatory where they have a whole museum dedicated to the Planets, Star Formation and Galaxies. I watched a show inside the Planetarium which was pretty cool - it was about how Astronauts prepare for spaceflight - when the show finished, the guide gave us a 20 minute lecture on the different constellations in the skies and how they were used for navigating in the olden times etc. Once the show finished, I walked around the museum for a bit more and then I went to the gift shop - nothing really caught my eye that I wanted to buy. We caught the elevator back down to the bottom to Lamtom Quay Terminal where we then proceeded to be basic and ate at McDonalds, it was that or Subway... then we walked around the city for a bit more - I went to visit the Whitcoulls Store, it's 2 levels!! And they have so many books, toys and stationery inside, but didn't want to carry it all the way back to the ship...  At this time it was about 3:30pm already so we decided to head back to the ship.

Back on the ship - We went to the Windjammer for some fruit and some drinks then went back to our room to nap. I napped to about 5:30pm and then started getting ready for Izumi's. Went down to Izumi's about 6:28pm. 

First time trying specialty dining onboard a cruise ship - Izumi's was great and $39.99 for basically 3 dishes is pretty good considering how big the portion of sashimi is. My dad and I both ordered the sashimi dish, I ordered a beef bowl and he ordered sushi, but he didn't like the sushi. The Chocolate Lava Cake was so good! Dad ordered the Assorted Mochi Ice-cream which was also very good. Will definitely be dining there again... soon...

Tbh, I was pretty full from sushi, but I went up to the Windjammer to have some watermelon (I LOVE Watermelon and honestly could eat a whole one if it was possible) After Windjammer - I went down to charge my phone cause it was on 2%. Dad stayed at the Windjammer for a bit more. I got some work done until about 9:50 then proceeded to two70 where the game "Crazy Quest" happened... let's just say things got pretty interesting to say the least. Crazy Quest is always a hoot! Back in the room now, pretty exhausted. Day 7 to 10 are all sea days now except 8 or 9 when we go through Dusky/Doubtful/Milford Sounds - I can't remember which one but will keep everyone updated. 

Day 7 - Sea Day tomorrow. Hoping to attend more trivia's. Dad wants to try the bumper cars tomorrow. I think tomorrow night's cuisine is Italy - so that should be good, expecting a heap of pasta (they have Lasange!!!!) and I think it's Greek/Spanish in the Windjammer - might have a stickybeak after dinner. 

Goodnight everyone. 

They literally have it on repeat...

Speaking of Cats.

They have a documentary on Royal Entertainment right now on Ovation about the making of Cats. 

Day 5 (cont): Dad and I went to the Windjammer for lunch - there weren't that many people cause I think most people were still walking around Napier. Had a nap after lunch, it was exhausting walking around the entire city. But also, when you're so full from lunch, you kinda just wanna rest instead of doing anything. 

We went down to the MDR for dinner pretty late today, around 5:15. The theme was tropical night so naturally a lot of people were wearing their tropical shirts and so were the waiters. It was also Caribbean themed - honestly, nothing on the menu really looked that appetising to me. I went with the Crispy Coconut Jumbo Shrimp which was very good and then also the Asian Style Pork-Bao which was also very good. Main course I had the Pesto Tagliatelle - which was decent, not the best, but also not bad. (I didn't take a photo cause I simply forgot to). I ordered a lemon and lime bitters (yes I know, I'm very basic) but it was so bitter and had almost no flavour - I think the bar tender forgot to add the thing that makes it orange/red (idk what it's called  the bitters?) - he was nice enough to make me a new one though! Desert was strawberry ice-cream as usual - Honestly. I'd say my least favorite part about the MDR menu so far are the desert options - every desert I've tried didn't taste good so I've just kinda stopped getting the fancy deserts. After dinner was just a pretty chill evening - did some laundry in the bathroom sink (yes, I'm that kind of person) - now just waiting for it to dry - the aircon is at like 19 degrees. Then went to the music hall to watch the game show "Who Wants To Feel Like A Caribbeanaire" - apparently Royal got in trouble by the producers of WWTBAM because its original name was Who Wants To Be A Carribeanaire so they had to change it. Nevertheless, it was pretty tame, the questions were kinda basic - the host was pretty funny though, but people just wouldn't shut up and kept yelling out the answer even after she told the audience not to. Anyway. Bed time now, pretty exhausting day. 

Wellington tomorrow - Hoping to get to the LEGO store and explore the capital of Auckland.

Izumi's for dinner tomorrow. First specialty dining experience on a Royal cruise .

Also St. Patrick's Day tomorrow so I expect a lot of people will be wearing green. I had totally forgotten about St. Patricks Day - luckily I have a green graphic tee that I threw into the suitcase. 

7 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Then, I lost 90 minutes of my life watching Cats. The things we do for our kids

These people were all smarter. 

People were leaving in droves! Entire rows were emptying out. Sort of rude. It was not my favourite either, but still. I felt bad for the cast. Not sure if they are used to it or not. 

That's kind of sad that the performers work so hard to try and put on a good show but people leave because of the bad reputation the movie has.. it's a shame. I think some of the comedy shows aren't that funny, but I'd never leave because I know they worked so hard to try to put on a good show for people!

6 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Our night started off with Giovanni’s. Yummy food. Super stuffed! 

That food looks so good! Why does the food in the MDR never look like that  

Should just get a Flowrider in your backyard at home (assuming you have the space for it )

Day 5: We're docked in Napier. Gangway opened 9:30am, all aboard time is 4:30pm! Napier is way bigger than Picton and actually has shops. They had markets here which was pretty cool. The markets were pretty small though, and it was half a street long. Not sure if that's always the case or if it's just because it's Saturday. Dad sat down in the city centre while I walked around. Spent ~$40 at Timezone just for a bit of fun. Then I went to the Aquarium... to look at the gift shop...then it was about 1:30pm so we headed back to the ship. I was originally going to book a shore excursion for Napier where they take you around the city on a bus and then you go inside the Aquarium, but I basically walked around the city and went to the aquarium anyway... I just didn't go inside. 

Some observations: Mike (CD) specifically told people to not bring food or drink off the drink, lo and behold, two people thought it wise to bring their coffee off the ship. Unsurprisingly they were stopped at the gangway and told to chuck it. Which held up the line for like 10 minutes. Pretty chilly in Napier

Day 4: We arrived in Picton around 11:00am but the gangway wasn't open till 11:45am. One of the downsides to living on Deck 3 is that they block off both sides so you can't get to your stateroom easily... everytime we'd have to get someone to move the barrier for us if we wanted to go back our staterooms...but it's whatever, not the end of the world, but I should have known when Royal assigned us Deck 3.

Picton is a nice little town that basically takes about 1 hour to walk around the entire city centre. Royal? Or the Port? provides you with free shuttles into the town centre though, since Picton is a working port and pedestrians aren't allowed to wander. It's full of timber logs. I didn't want to pay for a shore excursion cause it was a bit expensive.. I walked around the city why my dad just sat and waited for me (He had a sore leg so he couldn't walk much, which is fair enough), we got back around 2:30pm. I booked North Star for 4:15pm but went earlier cause they had room... I don't get why you'd want to do the North Star on Sea Days.. it's basically just ocean. 

Went to get a bite at SeaPlex Hotdogs. Very underrated venue that I think many people don't know about. 

Dinner was UK themed... the Fettucine Alfredo was very good, and the soup has been the best since Night 1. Definitely better than last night. Tomorrow is Caribbean themed. 

There was an encore performance of Live. Love. Legs that I considered going to, but I'd already seen it so I decided to walk around the Royal Esplanade instead... I would buy one of the Rolex's or the Invicta's... if they didn't cost an arm and a leg. But alas. It was around 9:20 so I decided to get to the Royal Theatre early to secure a seat for the Love and Marriage game show. Needless to say... some secrets were revealed. A couple from Indiana won  , there was this couple who were married for 58 years, but I don't think they really knew what was going on, cause some of the answers didn't make sense. Regardless, it was still extremely funny to watch. Although, the woman sitting next to me would not stop talking the entire show and it was very annoying and everytime she laughed she did that really weird squeal thing that people do when they think something is hilarious. She ruined the show for me... plus the guy on my right spilled my drink as he was sitting down cause he accidentally knocked it over - he offered to buy me a new one after the show, but it's whatever, it was already almost finished so It wasn't like a huge deal, just a slight annoyance. Nothing else really on now so bed time! 

Day 5 tomorrow- Napier

The ship is rocking again.. we're back in rough seas...

2 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

No clue. I just haven't seen it in awhile!

Bloody annoying to say the least... I just want to be able to order on my TV or at least let us order on the app. I hate having to use the in room telephone cause half the time they can't hear you or you can't hear them.

We're docked in Picton. Just waiting for all the logistics and then we can get off the ship!

Day 4: We've arrived in our first port of call - Picton. Nice little town on the very north of New Zealand's South Island. We dock around 11:00am and gangway opens for people to get off around 11:45am. 

No breakfast in the WJ for me today. Honestly, it's just the same thing everyday. Bacon, eggs and mushroom. Might head up to get some fruit... I HATE not being able to room service on the television anymore!!!

Can't wait to see pictures of Wonder. 

There's another production show at two70 later in the cruise. Spectra's Cabaret.  

I saw it on my last cruise so don't know if I should see it again. 

Waiting to watch Live.Love.Legs.

No idea what this show is about. 

I'm guessing this is a Royal Genie...

It rocked so much that stuff just fell over in the Windjammer. As usual people flock to see what happened... 

She's been rocking all day... I guess no matter how big you are... you're bound to get motion on rough seas.. I can only imagine how bad it is on the smaller Radiance and Vision class ships..

Dinner on Night 3.

Shrimp cocktail... underwhelming as usual. Probably Frozen shrimp..

The Spag Bol again was nice, but was a bit salty...

I also had pork enchilada. That was fine I guess. My least favourite dishes of the cruise so far. 

Tomorrow is UK night...

17 minutes ago, F1guynz said:

They are loaded on to your sea pass card and I usually just mention I want to use it just to be sure.

For casino cash you can log onto any slot machine using your card and transfer the money to your casino account.

the Internet is much more expensive than pre-purchasing in the cruise planner so I would not use that on the ship.

Thank you! Yeah probably better to mention it. 

Someone tell me how the discounts work. Do I have to tell them or is it automatically loaded onto my SeaPass card?

5 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

No worries! lol

Me too! 

For me yes, for the freeloaders, not so much. 

It doesn’t affect me as I was not going to get off the ship anyway. The kids are a bit disappointed because they got rained out the last Labadee day when we sailed OY for NYE. Hubby is somewhat relieved as he is a bit tired and sunburnt from PDCC and flowriding. So a day of rest is good for him. I am sure he will be back on the FlowRider tomorrow. Regardless, safety is most important. However, does anyone know if we get our port fees back? 

Get your genie to go down to guest services to ask about the port fees

30 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

I can't remember the last time I went to one of those. But hey, you got a glass of really cheap champagne, right?

No, I got a samosa.. which tasted disgusting but also... I don't drink either way.

But good news is.. Star Wars Trivia is happening atm. Bad news is. I've not seen a single Star Wars film so know absolutely nothing about the franchise. 

Okay that was anti-climactic....

A couple from Brisbane whose favourite ship is Ovation.... not Quantum?