October 13th, 2023 - 13-Night South Pacific Cruise from Honolulu to Sydney

[choomTOP]

I saw that SYD-HNL had a thread but I didn't see one for this date yet! Anyone else joining us? I'm traveling with my mother and we're extra excited because we just recently got back from an AbD Antarctica trip, so once we reach Sydney, we'll have officially walked on all seven continents!

We just booked our flights and pre/post stay, so now I'm ready to start planning how to spend those extra days in Oahu and Sydney. I've been to Oahu once as a kid when my dad attended a work event (my mother wasn't going to let him to go Hawaii without us!) but I don't really remember much except driving around the island, going to the beaches, and eating lots of delicious pineapple. So I'm ready for a rematch, lol.

 

[gallaj0]

We'll be on- me, wife, and two adult children. We're just coming in the day before to Hawaii and leaving that night we arrive in Sydney due to a lack of extra vacation time with the adult kids.

 

[choomTOP]

Yay! Welcome!

I'm fortunate enough that I WFH so I only need internet access. I'll be working in the morning while in HI but will have the afternoon and evening free to explore and be touristy. I'll still have to work while in Sydney, but hopefully I can avoid meetings so I don't have to be awake at 3am, pretending to look presentable on Zoom.

I'm not planning to work while on the ship because I don't trust the ship's wifi connection, so at least those two weeks will be a proper vacation!

 

[mama&me]

Mom and I will be on this sailing. We have done a TransAtlantic and are so excited to do this one. I booked our flights today and already had our post cruise hotel stay booked.

 

[JAM9842]

We are on the other South Pacific cruise next February but I want to hear ALL about your cruise when you get back! The merchandise, if the characters have different outfits, special events, etc. We are so excited for this trip and I cannot wait to hear all about it from you guys!

 

[Hubie]

Hello,

We will be on this cruise. We're flying from MSN to HNL on 10/11. Then once we debark the Wonder in Sydney, we'll be staying there for 5 nights in the Crowne Plaza Darling Harbor Hotel. Then we plan to fly back to HNL and stay at Aulani for 5 nights before heading home to MSN.

We just purchased our Australian visitor visas via my phone yesterday. They sent us a confirmation email and we printed them off. Do I need anything else besides the email print offs or do I still need to send the actual visa from my phone to my computer and print that off?

Looked at your Antarctica Cruise/Trip Report. What a wonderful experience.

 

[KDG]

My husband and I are on this cruise. Looking forward to crossing the equator and international date line as it will be first time experiences for us. I hope there is commemorative merchandise for these.

Does anyone know what cruise port we will dock at in Sydney? We have hotel reservations at the Shangri-la.

 

[KDG]

Upon research, we’ll be docking at the White Bay Cruise Terminal, not the Overseas Passenger Terminal which is located close to public transportation.

 

[choomTOP]

It looks like they've finally added some Port Adventures!

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/south-pacific/

There aren't a ton of options, but there's a couple that look like they'd be fun! I'm only Silver so who knows what will be left when it's my time to book, lol. Also my mum has mobility issues so I'll have to figure out what she can handle. But I'm excited to start researching and doing more planning!

 

[cedricandsophie]

Hello,

We will be on this cruise. We're flying from MSN to HNL on 10/11. Then once we debark the Wonder in Sydney, we'll be staying there for 5 nights in the Crowne Plaza Darling Harbor Hotel. Then we plan to fly back to HNL and stay at Aulani for 5 nights before heading home to MSN.

We just purchased our Australian visitor visas via my phone yesterday. They sent us a confirmation email and we printed them off. Do I need anything else besides the email print offs or do I still need to send the actual visa from my phone to my computer and print that off?

Looked at your Antarctica Cruise/Trip Report. What a wonderful experience.

The ETA site and I believe The confirmation states that the visa is linked to your passport. But I printed out copies of the confirmation for the 4 of us just in case. We are going to New Zealand after arriving in Sydney so I needed to get New Zealand visas too,

 

[Hubie]

Just got email from DCL and my travel agent that we will have to pass COVID test before embarkation in Hawaii. We arrive in Honolulu on Oct. 11th. Hopefully we can just bring along a couple of home tests to do on Oct. 12th, but I'm not sure what DCL will require us to do with the results. I'm hoping we can just bring the test results to the Port since we won't have access to a computer.

 

[choomTOP]

Same for us regarding the testing. We get to Oahu the weekend before we sail, so are planning to bring a couple kits with us and then just wait and see what Disney says will be the best way to submit the results.

I also wanted to add that we were able to get the Port Adventures we wanted! I didn’t originally get everything on the Silver booking date, but I’ve been keeping an eye the app each day to see what opens up, and was able to switch some things around! Also managed to get a few drink tastings, although with the price increase since the last time we sailed, I’m not sure if I will keep them. Also planning to get on the waitlist for Palo brunch when we board, but I’m not too bothered if we don’t get it.

Everything else pre-and-post cruise has been booked and paid for (no turning back now!) —except for luaus in Hawaii. We’re still undecided what we want to do, although we definitely are intrigued with the Toa Luau, so I think we’ll ultimately end up there. Once that’s decided, then everything is planned and it’s just a matter of waiting (and figuring out what to pack!).

 

[Hubie]

I read where other cruises lines required home tests to be photographed with an official government ID and the photos to be presented at the Port. That sounds pretty simple if that's all we have to do.

We're also wondering what to pack. The temperatures should be in the 70s during the day in Australia and maybe in the low 60s in the evenings. It definitely will be cooler near the harbor. We always pack something warm to wear just in case and bring along a waterproof parka wherever we go. But on two trips to the big island, we ended up only having to wear shorts and T-shirts.

 

[mama&me]

Was anyone able to book the Amedee Lighthouse excursion in New Caledonia? I am Platinum but when I logged in at midnight it was Sold Out, and now it doesn't even show.

 

[choomTOP]

Was anyone able to book the Amedee Lighthouse excursion in New Caledonia? I am Platinum but when I logged in at midnight it was Sold Out, and now it doesn't even show.

I heard that it wasn’t an option as a recent hurricane wiped out the beach so there aren’t any tours going there until it can be restored. Not sure if that’s the official reason, though.

 

[mama&me]

I heard that it wasn’t an option as a recent hurricane wiped out the beach so there aren’t any tours going there until it can be restored. Not sure if that’s the official reason, though.

Ah, I see. That's too bad. Thanks for the info.

 

[taysmom]

Found the thread with a month too spare LOL. Can't wait to be on vacation. I have a lot of books ready to go.

 

[gallaj0]

Found the thread with a month too spare LOL. Can't wait to be on vacation. I have a lot of books ready to go.

I love all the sea days with this cruise; so much reading and trivia contests!

 

[KDG]

And cooking classes and cheese tastings!

 

[mama&me]

I just read a post that mentioned the cruise before ours ( Vancouver to Hawaii) is a Halloween cruise. Is ours a Halloween cruise? I don’t participate in Facebook, so I don’t know juicy details.