Happy Valentines Day from New Zealand. Since we are one day ahead of most time zones it is already Valentines Day here. It is hard to believe that it was only last year when we were celebrating Valentines Day while in Buenos Aires, Argentina during last years World Cruise.
Last evening we sat on the verandah for the sail away from Auckland. We enjoyed this beautiful city and we enjoyed the spectacular views of this city during the sail away. We spoke with a couple who we know quite well who are in an adjacent room next to us on the ship during the sail away and we all agreed that this is a very beautiful area of the world.. We look forward to returning again.
This morning we woke up early to begin our day and were the first ones in the Fitness Center. Keith worked out on the elliptical machine for the entire time while Anne Marie worked out on the treadmill. Mary was on the treadmill in between us so we both spoke with her during the workout. We enjoyed hearing about what Mary and Stan did during the time we were in Auckland and likewise we told Mary about our time in this lovely city.
For the first time during the cruise, all of the elliptical machines were in use towards the end of our workout. It seems that some younger passengers (in terms of biological age) came onto the ship in Auckland, which probably explains why all the elliptical machines were being used.
We enjoyed a very nice breakfast in the Lido Café. In particular, the fruit was delicious especially the bananas and the grapefruit as new fruit has been brought on board. And we enjoyed wonderful tasting blueberries last evening and other delicious fruit during the day such as strawberries and raspberries. The café was not to busy since today is a sea day and some passengers were sleeping in a little later.
When we got back to the room, we decided to do some laundry and it is a good thing we started early as before not too long all of the machines were in use. It was good to get this out of the way. Many of the passengers who embarked in Auckland had flown in several days before the cruise began and evidently had accumulated lots of laundry to be washed.
During the Captain’s daily report he mentioned that we were making good progress as we cruise towards the next port of call. We are moving at a very nice clip. The Captain’s thought of the day is “It’s not so much what you do but what others do because of you.”
Today is a busy day in terms of activities. Keith attended the Rap with the Rabbi while Anne Marie finished the laundry. We had a terrific discussion during this mornings session.
Other lectures in the morning included Dr. Wolff who presented “Aborigines and Explorers” which was a talk about a people older than time who inhabited a vast and almost empty continent. Dr. Wolff is truly an exceptional lecturer and we have enjoyed all of his presentations.
Later in the morning, Rob Warne, Diplomat, Professor of International Relations and CEO presented “New Zealand: A Young Nation assumes an international Role”. He presented a wealth of information about New Zealand and during the course of this segment of the cruise will be giving three additional presentations.
We enjoyed a very nice lunch with another couple who we first met on last years world cruise.
Before dinner, we attended the Captain’s Welcome Reception and had a wonderful time. Afterwards, we attended dinner in the Main Dining Room. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner made even more special since today is Valentine’s Day.
The Captain Announced that on February 18 at approximately 4:00 PM we will be in the same area at sea as the former Crystal Harmony which was the first ship in the Crystal Fleet. We are looking forward to seeing the ship which we last sailed on in 2002.
Tomorrow, we will visit our next port of call, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Keith & Anne Marie
