Day 112: Wellington

We had a really satisfying though quite mundane day in Wellington. It was especially nice to have visited Wellington enough to the past to know that we could accomplish the things we needed to do today, and, in general, where we needed to go to get them done. 

We weren’t in a hurry to start our day. We had promised (pinky swore, actually) that the strict adherence to a schedule we had practiced on the Ruby Princess was behind us. These are not new ports; they’re not even the first time we’ve visited these ports this season. We could afford to slow down. 

We also have the best experience in the World Fresh Marketplace when the crowds have passed. G had it figured out far earlier than I did, except for the omelet ordering process, and he’s just started doing that this cruise. It’s harder for me, needing to stay away from dairy. The cooks always seem far too busy to be able to walk me around to tell me what I can eat, so I’ve been sticking with fruit, veggies, smoked salmon and vegetarian curries. I do a lot of walking to piece together my meals. 

So we settled in at a table toward the back, watched the ferry traffic on the sunny harbor, and enjoyed a quiet breakfast. Actually, brunch, because we knew we wouldn’t likely be eating again before dinner. 

We boarded one of the free shuttles that run non-stop between the freight terminal, where the Majestic Princess and the Viking Orion were berthed, into the CBD. Though it was sunny and warm-ish in the center of the city, it was chilly along the waterfront. I wore a jacket off the ship but quickly tied it around my waist once we were in town. 

It should be no surprise that we needed to find high speed WiFi today. We were both getting tired of the notifications that were popping up on our phones:  iOS update available...this iPhone hasn’t been backed up in two weeks...22 app updates available. It was time to silence them all, at least for a short period of time. G spotted the Victoria College School of Business building catercorner to the shuttle’s first stop. Surely they would have WiFi. But he took it a step further, and asked the two young ladies (oh so young... when did that happen?) seated at the reception desk about nearby walk in hair cutting salons. He was so clever to do that, and to realize that, of course there would be walk in hair salons around a college. He was told there was one just a five-minute walk away.

First, though, we set out to silence those notifications, and update and back up and otherwise get our phones to where they would be if we were at home- or on the Ruby Princess with its wonderful MedallionNet and 24/7 internet access. It is certainly a comfort to get all of our photos backed up. And it was pure bliss, at least for a short period of time, to feel on top of credit cards and checking accounts and investment accounts and mail deliveries at home. We can’t even open emails using Majestic Princess WiFi, but, of course, they continue to fill up our inboxes. 

We were there quite a while, as I got caught up on world news (which I have kind of removed from my daily life on the Majestic Princess, quite a sacrifice as I am a current events addict), left a phone message for Mom (she is never in her apartment), and tracked some items that were being auto-shipped to her. Ain’t technology great? I was also able to read some of the very kind emails you’ve sent to me. I’m sorry I haven’t responded; that may have to wait until we are home. As I’ve said, using internet in port is quite a dance between having time and signal strength/speed and battery life. 

Eventually, though, we left the college and made the 5-minute walk to the Snip hair cutting salon. This is always a risky thing for me, and it should be apparent how desperate I was for a haircut that I was willing to take it. I lucked out here. We waited just 20 minutes or so for a technician to become available, and I was thrilled to see that the one assigned to me had hair every bit as curly as mine. It makes for a very stressful experience if I need to first explain to a haircutter that curly hair shrinks- a lot- when it dries. 

G returned to the high speed WiFi at the college as soon at I was in the chair, and, though it took awhile, my hair was cut and shaped beautifully. It is very short, and kind of edgy, which is the beauty of getting it cut in a college town, and I wasn’t sure what G would think. Actually, I was pretty certain he would be unpleasantly shocked, but since he played a role in my getting it done today, he decided to be fully on board with it. :-) Three plus months of growth- plus a littlelot more- is gone, and it takes about two minutes to style every time I shower, which is at least once a day. It’s a good thing. 

We boarded a bus back to the ship about 4:30pm, and had just enough time to get changed for dinner. I felt giddily light hearted to be 1) feeling well (finally); 2) have a haircut that will last until long after we’re home; and 3) to have an iPhone in good enough condition to last until we get back to Sydney. It’s the simple things. 

And to make a good day even better, the entertainment tonight was pianist Jon Darsk, who we had seen on the Ruby Princess. Joy!  We left dinner in time to get the perfect seats in the Princess Theater so I could see the keyboard up close, though there was a camera recording his performance from different angles and showing it on the large screens on either side of center stage. He is just fantastic, and will be doing a matinee performance tomorrow afternoon and another evening show in the next few days. 

Day 7 dinner menu, page 1

Day 7 dinner menu, page 2

Day 7 dessert menu

We followed our usual pattern of walking through the World Fresh Marketplace on our return back to our cabin (yes, astute readers might point out it actually takes us out of the way to do that, but please don’t). I think I need to cut back on the late evening watermelon. It’s delicious, of course it is, but it’s a rather liquid snack to enjoy just before bedtime. 

If you know what I mean. ;-)

Day 7 Princess Patter, page 1

Day 7 Princess Patter, page 2

Day 7 Princess Patter, page 3

Day 7 Princess Patter, page 4

Day 91: Wellington

We had the best day today.  It seemed like the entire ship and all of Wellington, New Zealand was full of seasonal cheer today, and it was really heartwarming to find ourselves in the midst of it. 

I was slow to get moving again, though not as slow as yesterday. I was simply enjoying a largely unscheduled day. All we really wanted to do was go for a walk along the Wellington harbor front, on a combination boardwalk/ pedestrian sidewalk. And we didn’t need to start first thing this morning. It was chilly!

Instead, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, dressed more warmly than anyone else we saw getting off the ship (they call it Windy Wellington for a reason, and it’s especially windy along the waterfront), and boarded a free shuttle for the 10- to 15-minute ride from the freight port into town. There are two shuttle stops in town, the first near the old Parliament building (now a law school). 

We didn’t know about or even notice, until today, the crosswalk lights in Wellington. In fact, they would have gone unnoticed today but for a friendly Wellingtonian who waited at a crosswalk with us. She pointed out the walk symbol, which was clearly a woman wearing attire from a past era. This woman was Kate Sheppard, who led the suffrage movement that resulted in New Zealand becoming the first country to introduce voting for women in 1893. Kate signals when it’s safe to cross at eight intersections near Parliament.  

Kate Sheppard, New Zealand suffragette

 

We continued down to the waterfront, and found what G was looking for. He had been seeing electric scooters for rent in several cities we’ve been visiting, and I had already downloaded the Uber Jump app on my iPhone to rent one. Actually, Wellington has at least three different companies that rent scooters, but since I already had a payment method for Uber in my phone, we elected to go with them. 

In case you are not familiar with this concept, these companies have electric scooters in the CBD and surrounding area of many cities. They are found just willy- nilly, not in any one location. When you have the app on your phone, it helps you find the closest one to your location. In our case today, there were at least three Jump scooters close together, but the app also gave us the license number and range each scooter could be used for, based on its current charge. 

G chose his scooter, and I said a silent prayer that he would survive this endeavor. I kept thinking about the song we’ve heard too often this cruise:  All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth. That may be a cute look for six-year old, but I was having trouble picturing it would serve my husband well. Just between you and me, I had made a point of looking up the New Zealand equivalent of 911 from the Wellington Port Guide before we left the ship. It’s 111, in case you ever rent an electric scooter in New Zealand. 

G had never previously ridden one of these scooters, but I knew he’d figure it out, hopefully before incurring any bodily injury. It took him less than five minutes to be confident enough to have both feet on the scooter. 

Plotting his path and checking the brakes 


Forward progress, but with one foot hanging off in case a quick save was needed

While I was following him, I noticed these three scooters from a competing company along the pedestrian walkway

Practicing turns on an empty side pier. 

Looking more confident

Mastered it!

G would be well ahead of me, then circle back around to where I was walking, over and over again. He was confident to be around the many people out doing the same thing we were today, walking along the waterfront, though he was never as speedy as the many younger people that went zipping by on their rented scooters. 

I noticed this sign for a free New Year’s Eve celebration in Auckland. 

Sydney’s celebration by the Harbour Bridge is now largely not free and, in fact, is quite expensive. 

G finally left his scooter behind when he got tired of riding (it can be left anywhere), and we eventually made our way from the waterfront to the second cruise ship shuttle stop. There were two ships in port today (the HAL Noordam was the other), and the shuttles were busy. We didn’t want to wait until the last one to return to the port.

Along the way, we encountered two more crosswalk lights unique to Wellington.  The lights, found at seven city locations, depict haka and poi poses, some of the most well known elements of hapa haka, a Maori dance and song art form that dates back centuries.

Poi pose

Haka pose

We returned to the ship with just enough time to get showered and to the Elite Lounge before dinner. The fruit carvings set out with the hors doerves tonight were especially creative.

Cook Augusto from the Philippines always greets us with a smile and a wave. 

It was Italian night in the dining room, which is kind of Christmas-y in its own right because the waiters wear green and white and red and white striped jerseys. 

Day 12 dinner menu, page 1

Day 12 dinner menu, page 2

Day 12 dessert menu

We were excited to see tonight’s Holiday Wishes show in the Princess Theater. Apparently, everyone else was, too. There were going to be two performances tonight, but the 7:30pm one was full well before 7pm. These shows are left entirely up to each ship’s entertainment team to design and create, and we’ve seen our fair share of them over the years. This one was one of the best. The huge hit was the children’s choir. The cuteness factor was through the roof, especially when the kids walked on stage waving to their parents, and when the snow making machine was turned on during Let it Snow. One little boy was jumping up and down with excitement. He must have been an Aussie who’s never seen snow before. 

The production show dancers

The children’s choir stole the show 

The stage was beautiful

Following that, at 8:30pm, there was Christmas caroling with the ship’s company in the Piazza. G said it best, that nothing will ever match Christmas on the intimate Pacific Princess, but the Ruby Princess offered one of the best. 

Caroling in the Piazza

There is a non-denominational service tonight at 11:30pm. We are trying to stay up for it, but if we don’t, it’s offered tomorrow at 9am, too. Meanwhile, Merry Christmas Eve to most parts of the world. New Zealand is among the very first in the world to celebrate the holiday, so Christmas is just two hours away here. 

Wellington Port Guide, page 1

Wellington Port Guide, page 2

Wellington Port Guide, page 3

Wellington Port Guide, page 4

Day 12 Princess Patter, page 1

Day 12 Princess Patter, page 2

Day 12 Princess Patter, page 3

Day 12 Princess Patter, page 4

Day 65: Wellington

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends! I’m hearing about the wicked weather crossing the country on of the busiest travel days of the year. Safe travels to all those celebrating the holiday away from home. 

When was the last time I did something for the first time?  Today, when I walked a dog named Izzy through the Wellington Botanic Gardens on American Thanksgiving Day. And also today, when I had vegetarian coconut curry for Thanksgiving dinner. But it made me a tad bit nostalgic for the Thanksgivings of my youth, when extended family crowded around two 4x8 pieces of plywood set up end to end across the basement, covered with batting and tablecloths, all of us sitting on whatever chairs could be found. It was not unusual for Mom to cook dinner for 24 people. She and Dad were entertainers extraordinaire. Those days are not forgotten, Mom, and thanks for making those memories! ❤️

American Thanksgiving was recognized in each of the dining rooms

We’re not sure about the significance of the fish. ;-)

We were at breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room shortly after it opened at 7am, and watched our arrival in Wellington, our first port on the North Island of New Zealand, from our table. G fueled up with The Lumberjack breakfast; I had the melon cocktail, orange segments and smoked salmon. Whatever.  It doesn’t matter; I am well into my second week without taste or smell, and if it lasts much longer, my clothes will fall off me. What a weight loss plan. 

Day 7 breakfast menu

Wellington, a city of about 1.6 million people, is the third capital of New Zealand. The first was at the northern tip in the Bay of Islands, the second was Auckland, but when a more central location was needed, Wellington, an existing city, was chosen. This means it’s the home of the coolest prime minister anywhere, Jacinda Ardern.  The Ruby Princess docks at the freight dock, just a short distance from the city’s center, but passengers are required to take a large shuttle bus into town (free). We were dropped at the first stop on Lamdon Quay Street, and walked down a few blocks to the base of the Wellington Cable Car. We waited for just 5 minutes until we could board a cable car for the 5 minute ride up to the suburb of Kelburn and the Wellington Botanic Gardens. 

The famous Wellington cable car

Once at the top, we took in the view of Te Whanganui-a-Tara Harbour, visited the Cable Car Museum.  Here’s what I said about the museum in a blog post two years ago:  Our first stop at the top was the Cablecar Museum, housed since 2000 in what was the original winding house. The winding house was built in 1902 to accommodate the steam engine and winding gear and to serve as a maintenance depot for the grip cars. Over the years, the building had been altered to accommodate changes in the pulley system, most dramatically in 1933 when electricity replaced steam as the force driving the winding gear. When new technology rendered the winding house redundant in 1978, the building sat vacant until opening as a museum. The museum was excellent, and I had a hard time getting G out of it (my dad would have still been there, reading every single word of the displays). 

Looking down at Te Whanganui-a-Tara Harbour

We then started walking back to town through the Botanic Gardens. Our first stop was at the Dominion Observatory, which offered benches with expansive views if the city and harbor. We took advantage of one of these for G to snack on the potato chips he’d bought at a little shop in town.  I had bought a water bottle there, too.  New Zealand bio security is so strict that non-commercially bottled water is not allowed to be brought off the ship. We’ve traded our minibar water bottles for Coke, and I’ve been buying a bottle of water in port.  

The Dominion Observatory, built in 1907 and used to maintain New Zealand Mean Time

 for the Time Service based on astronomical observations

Ferry arriving from the other side of the harbor

There is a much larger inter island ferry that travels across Cook Strait between 

Wellington on the North Island and Picton on the South Island. 

It leaves from near the freight port.

We’d heard that the rose garden at the Botanic Gardens was in full bloom, and set out to find it on one of the many trails through the park.  Unsure if we were going the right way, we asked a man walking a dog (which earmarked him as a local) and he said we would get there eventually going that way, but he would show us a faster route. And that’s how I came to be walking on these beautiful trails holding Izzy’s leash. Izzy was Keith’s son’s dog, but Keith watches him while his son is at work, and walks him in the Botanic Gardens every day. 

Seriously, every person we’ve met in New Zealand is incredibly friendly and welcoming. We spent at least a half hour walking with Keith and Izzy, as Keith told us about his city and answered our questions. G had heard that Wellington gets one noticeable earthquake every week, and Keith said that’s true. However, he said that their building codes are very strict, and the destruction that occurred during the Christchurch earthquake is less likely to occur in Wellington. Still, I’m not sure I could comfortably live with that risk. 

One of the walking trails in the Botanic Gardens

Izzy and his grandpa Keith in the Herb Garden

The Lady Norwood Rose Garden

We left Keith and Izzy at the top of the Lady Norwood Rose Garden, and G and I made our way down to the rose displays. They were spectacular, at the height of their blooming season. I took lots of photos but didn’t want to spend the time tonight to label them all with their names. So simply enjoy some pix of pretty flowers. 

Lunchtime ruggers (American: rugby) game

During WW2, this field was the site of an American military hospital where troops wounded

in the Pacific were sent for recovery. The troops were well looked after by the Wellingtonians. 

We followed signs back to the city, which took us through the historic Bolton Street Cemetery. It initially seemed rather unusual to be routed through a cemetery but we were two of dozens of people doing the same thing, and some people were walking up the hill wearing sports clothing and carrying rugby balls to reach the rugby field next to the Botanic Gardens. 

Path through the historic Bolton Street Cemetery

Once back to Lamdon Quay Street, we took a minute to check out the nearby Railway Station.  We saw several backpacking groups of all ages, at the station, traveling New Zealand by train and hiking its many tracks (American:  trails). Like Picton on the South Island, Wellington is a gateway for travelers. 

We caught a shuttle bus back to the ship about 3pm. Given a choice between grabbing some lunch in the Horizon Court Buffet and putting our feet up, we chose the latter. We had walked a respectable 16000 steps today, much of it downhill, and for the first time in 27 years, I did that without pain. I have much to be thankful for tonight!

We met Helen and Allen in the Elite Lounge in Skywalkers and enjoyed chatting about our day while enjoying the beautiful views of Wellington, the harbor and the surrounding mountains. We then went to the DaVinci Dining Room for dinner when it opened at 5:15pm. There was a turkey dinner on the menu but G ordered the carved beef filet, and, as I said, I had the curry.  It was a most non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but that’s fine by me.

Day 7 dinner menu, page 1

Day 7 dinner menu, page 2

Day 7 dessert menu

The Princess Theater entertainment tonight was a comedian-magician-yo-yo artist-top spinner. I can’t say we weren’t warned, and, considering we were, he was probably the best we could have hoped for. Let me just say that it’s nice Princess offers something for all passenger tastes. One of the production show singers, Brittany Howk, was doing her own show in the Explorers Lounge, most likely to round out the entertainment offerings a bit, but we were done for the day. There’s still a lot of coughing and sneezing going on in this cabin, but at least now it’s mostly not me doing it. 

Wellington Port Guide, page 1

Wellington Port Guide, page 2

Wellington Port Guide, page 3

Wellington Port Guide, page 4

Day 7 Princess Patter, page 1

A different front page printed just for Americans

I wasn’t expecting there to be any recognition of the holiday since we’re such

a small minority on board. This was nice. . 

Day 7 Princess Patter, page 2

Day 7 Princess Patter, page 3

Day 7 Princess Patter, page 4