Last evening Anne Marie attended the farewell show for the conclusion of the second segment of the World Cruise. She thought that the show was very good.
Many of the crew that we spoke with last evening was planning to spend time in Auckland after their shifts ended last evening, while others were planning to go ashore this morning. They were all looking forward to enjoying the city. There are many restaurants and other venues located in close proximity to where we are docked, which is at the Prince’s Wharf in downtown Auckland.
This morning those who will be leaving the ship disembarked. We have met some very nice passengers who are leaving us and we look forward to sailing with them again. This segment of the World Cruise sold out quickly as it is an extremely popular itinerary. There will be about 50 more passengers on board the ship for this segment compared to the previous segment.
During this second segment of the World Cruise we sailed from Papeete, Tahiti to Auckland, New Zealand. We cruise a total of 3,295 Nautical Miles or the equivalent of 3,789 land miles.
Today marks the start of Segment 3 of the World Cruise. During this segment we sail from Auckland, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia. We stop in several ports along the way located in New Zealand and Australia.
Once again, we woke up quite early and began our day with our daily workout in the Fitness Center. There were very few passengers in the Fitness Center since many are departing the ship this morning while others chose to sleep in a little later this morning.
We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in the Lido Café. We spoke with the headwaiter from Prego who also works in the Lido Café and he is going back home today. He will be back in April and we look forward to seeing him again.
This morning we took our second shore excursion since arriving in Auckland. This one was called Maori Heritage Walk. We were taken by bus to the top of Mt. Eden, which is the highest volcanic mountain in Auckland. Just as we did yesterday when we visited here we took in 360-degree views of this beautiful city. We then descended down the mountain by foot as our tour guide pointed out many areas as we descended to lower levels along the mountain. He told us a great deal about the history of the Maori people who lived here We then took a short refreshment break before we continued our walk through the Domain and then we arrived at the University of Auckland. During our walk we also went by the High Court, the Old Government House, and the former post office, now Auckland’s new railway station. The tour actually took two hours longer than the original schedule, which provided an opportunity to learn more about the area and to see some additional sites.
During the welcome talk that was given by the tour guide, which included a talk in the Maori language, we were asked to select someone from the group to introduce our tour group and to provide some background. As it turned out, Keith was selected to give the talk.
Our tour guide was outstanding and during the course of the tour we also had the opportunity to meet his wife during the refreshment break and one of his sons accompanied the tour in its entirety. We also met his cousin as we were leaving the Auckland University.
We are very fortunate to have spent almost two full days in this very beautiful city and it is clear to us why they refer to Auckland as the City of Sails. It is a very unique city from its two harbors, to being surrounded on all sides by water, to its lush greenery, to its 48 volcanoes, to its rolling hills, to its very diverse population, to its wonderful restaurants specializing in seafood, to the diversity and enthusiasm of its residents.
By the time we got back to the ship, it was too late to go to the Main Dining Room for lunch and several of the other dining venues were closed, so we ordered room service and enjoyed a very nice lunch in our room. The weather was wonderful today, which added to our enjoyment of this beautiful city. We wanted to mention, once again, that we thought that Auckland is one of the most beautiful cities we have ever visited.
Before dinner there was a lifeboat drill for all of the new passengers embarking the ship in Auckland. We enjoyed a very nice dinner in the Main Dining Room.
We also spoke with our daughter and our son earlier today and it was great to hear their wonderful voices. This is a very big week for both of them.
As part of our son’s college major, tomorrow evening he and a college student partner are in charge of the entire dinner that is being served at his college’s restaurant, which should be attended by approximately 100 patrons. They had to do all of the planning for this dinner from developing the menu, to deciding on the food, to coordinating the execution of the meal and developing the dinner’s theme, to signing up the students to attend. If all 100 patrons show up that would fill every seat at every table at the restaurant. We wish him all the best as he has worked so very hard in coordinating all aspects of this dinner as part of this class.
Also, this weekend, our daughter is running in her cities marathon and we wish her all the best as she runs in her very first marathon. We know she has worked so very hard in preparing for this event. Her husband, our dear son-in-law, also had trained equally hard for this event but injured his knee in a soccer sports related accident, which prevents him from running in this marathon.
We wish we could be with our son and our daughter and son-in-law this week and we wish them the very best and will be thinking about them as we do each and every day.
We will be at sea all day tomorrow as we sail to Christ Church, New Zealand.
Keith & Anne Marie
