The seas were so rough last night that we fell asleep not knowing when we might eventually arrive in Auckland. Captain Wilson had said that the port might be closed due to the high winds. Well, somehow, thankfully, the winds calmed down a little overnight, and we arrived on schedule this morning. Unfortunately, the stormy weather forecast still held; it was grey, chilly and rainy, not a day to inspire us to get an early start. Instead, we enjoyed breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room while G researched if there was a nearby grocery store where he could get some more Coke and shampoo (he doesn’t like the ship-provided shampoo, either). He determined there was one right across the street from the harbor about three or four blocks away. As soon as there was a break in the rain, we set off to find it.
Quay Street, along Auckland Harbour, is under construction while (we think) light rail is being installed (we’re going to encounter the same thing in Sydney on George St.), and we had to walk around some blockages to leave the port area. Eventually we found Countdown Supermarket, not underground, as it might be in Sydney, nor at ground level, as it would be at home, but above a large parking garage. It offered everything we needed and much more. I bought some Cadbury chocolate bars to share on board, and G found an 18 can carton of Coke on sale. We started to walk back to the ship, dodging the large puddles already in place from the morning rain when the skies suddenly opened again and it deluged. We were soaked, and even worse, G’s Coke carton was disintegrating. Luckily, I had taken two cloth Target bags and he was able to use one as backup.
Back in our cabin, we peeled off wet clothes, but, when it came to shoes, we were kind of stuck with them (mine were still wet tonight). I used the hairdryer to not only dry my hair but to try to dry my long sleeved T-shirt before we headed down to lunch in the DaVinci Dining Room. We were lucky; to us it was a port day and the dining room is not generally open for lunch on port days, but it was also a mini turnaround day, and 1000 new passengers were boarding the Ruby Princess today. The dining room was open and featuring the embarkation day menu, G’s favorite because of the beef tenderloin. I had the garbanzo soup made dairy-free and a large salad as my entree.
Day 21 lunch menu, page 1
(This is actually the embarkation day lunch menu)
Day 21 lunch menu, page 2
Lunch salad done dinner-sized
Our intention was to leave the ship again after lunch to walk a few blocks in the other direction to the New Zealand Maritime Museum. Though sail away wasn’t scheduled until 6pm, and we had to be back on board by 5:30pm, we actually wanted to return by 4pm, to get front row seats for the Maori folkloric performance by Haka the Legend. We’ve seen this at least three times in the past, but it’s always a little different and always excellent. Just as we were about to leave the ship, it started to rain again. Still wet, we weren’t anxious to go out in that again, and decided that waiting for it to stop would cut into our museum time too much. We will be in Auckland several times this season; we’re sure to find better weather at least one of those times.
We were in place in the Princess Theater well in advance on the 4:30pm folkloric show performance time. In the past, any seat behind the first row meant that every photo had a hand with a camera in it. The show did not disappoint (and not just because there were bare-chested men, although that didn’t hurt).
The bulging eyes and hand flutters meant to look more fierce to enemies
Maori women typically wore chin tattoos
Maori women typically wore chin tattoos
Maori poi performance to develop wrist flexibility for combat
See Maori poi for its purpose and significance.
Maori taiaha, used to stab enemies
Demonstrating the haka, performed by warriors before battle
We went directly from the folkloric show to dinner, and were surprised to see, from our window table, that the sun was out and the sky had largely cleared. Hopefully, this is a harbinger of our weather tomorrow in Tauranga. We enjoyed watching sail away through beautiful Auckland Harbour as we had dinner.
Day 21 dinner menu, page 1
Day 21 dinner menu, page 2
Day 21 dessert menu
Calamari stir fry (delicious)
Sail away from Auckland with the Sky Tower in the center
We returned to the Princess Theater after dinner for the 7:30pm performance by multi-instrumentalist Andy Joy. Though this was much the same kind of entertainment as last night’s show, this performance had a totally different feel and featured several genres of music. It was another great show.
At 7:15pm
We are tucked in bed with the alarm set for 6am. It’s payback time after all those schedule-less sea days, I guess, but we love it. New Zealand is one of my very favorite countries and I’m happy to simply be here.
Day 21 Princess Patter, page 1
Day 21 Princess Patter, page 2
Day 21 Princess Patter, page 3
Day 21 Princess Patter, page 4