Last evening we had fairly rough seas throughout the evening and into the morning hours. We were definitely rocking and rolling but the ship did wonderful and overall it did not bother us very much. Before we went to sleep we put various items on the floor just in case the seas were rough enough to cause items from the shelves to fall to the floor.
Because of the strong headwinds which were as high as 50 knots with waves as high as twenty feet, instead of picking up the pilot at 9:30 AM and arriving at 11:00 AM the revised plan was to pick up the pilot at 2:00 PM and arrived in Dunedin, New Zealand at 3:00 PM this afternoon. Unfortunately, we learned in the afternoon that there would be additional delays, as we had to wait until a cargo ship left the harbor until we could dock in the harbor. Later in the afternoon, we learned from the Captain that we would not be able stop at this port of call. This is due to the fact that it was quite windy in the harbor and the Captain was concerned about safety issues coupled with the fact that we would have very limited time in this port of call.
The Captain also noted that it would be quite windy throughout the evening and to expect rough seas similar to what we experienced last evening. The good news is that he advised that the weather should be nice starting tomorrow. ☺
This is the last of the port of call that the ship was to stop at in New Zealand during this portion of our World Cruise adventure. Dunedin is the fourth largest city in New Zealand and has a total population of approximately 120,000 residents. It is the second largest city in the South Island. It has one of the best-preserved Victorian and Edwardian cities in all of the Southern Hemisphere.
We have greatly enjoyed New Zealand. In particular, we have enjoyed the beauty of this country along with the friendliness and kindness of its residents. For those of you who have not had the opportunity to visit New Zealand we highly recommend it and we look forward to coming here again in the future.
We have posted some pictures from New Zealand to our picture web site.
As we do each day, we awoke early to begin our day in the Fitness Center. We really find that this is a good way to begin our day. It’s nice to get our exercise out of the way early in the day and also when there are very few people in the center. Given the length of our voyage, in many ways the ship becomes our home so we find getting into a regular routine is quite helpful. Keith continued to workout on the elliptical machines. For Keith it provides him with the benefits of running, without all of the pounding on the knees. While working out Keith either talks with Mary and/or catches up on the news on the television monitor. On occasion, he’ll watch a lecture or part of a movie and typically he has been working out about an hour and a half on the machine. Anne Marie does well with the treadmill and on most days she will read a portion of a book while working out on the treadmill. Towards the end of her workout, she will put the book away and walk at a much faster pace. We also try to get in other walks during the day either on the promenade deck or on land on those days that we are in port. Also, we use the steps when going between decks almost all of the time except if Anne Marie is wearing an evening shoe where walking on the steps might be difficult and/or somewhat dangerous.
Keith was the first one in the Fitness Center this morning and Anne Marie arrived about twenty minutes later. A few minutes after that Mary arrived and, once again, Keith enjoyed a nice morning conversation with Mary while they worked out. By the time we left, only one other person was working out which is far less than the norm. We think the combination of the rough seas and the fact that we were scheduled to arrive in port at 11:00 AM today contributed to very few people working out.
The same could be said about the Lido Café. We enjoyed a nice quiet breakfast in the Café, but there were very few people up there even by the time we left. We enjoyed watching the sunrise from the Café it was quite sunny.
During this mornings talk by the Captain, he announced the delay in reaching the port of Dunedin, New Zealand. Today’s thought of they day fro the Captain is “A true friend is someone who takes the bus when the limousine breaks down.”
Because of the delay in reaching today’s port of call a number of activities were added to the daytime schedule..
We attended a couple of lectures this morning. Master Magician Mark Haslam gave a lecture titled the story of Houdini. Mark Haslam is not only a terrific magician, but he is also speaks eloquently and gave a wonderful lecture. Destination Lecturer Dr. Jay Wolff gave a lecture on the Titanic, which was added to the list of morning activities. He clarified a number of points, which had been misreported over the years and as usual delivered a wonderful presentation.
We then had a wonderful lunch in the Main Dining Room. The food and the service continue to be spectacular.
Our original plan was to visit this port of call right after we docked and we had made a reservation in the Prego Specialty Restaurant so that we would have more time in the port. Unfortunately, due to the additional delays we decided to stay on the ship since there would be very little time in port so we ended up canceling our Prego reservations and ended up going to the Main Dining Room for dinner. We fully understand that these delays were not caused by Crystal and that they did the best the could to minimize impact to each and every passenger.
Keith & Anne Marie
