Day 67: Tauranga

We’ve decided that we love these New Zealand itineraries. They offer such a variety of experiences, all of them within walking distance of the ship or a short shuttle/bus ride away. These are very cruiser-friendly cruises. And so it was again today, where we had a plethora of options available to us for ways to spend our time in Tauranga. Actually, the ship docks in the town of Mount Maunganui, next to Tauranga, and we had a very full day without ever going into Tauranga. 

We set an alarm and were at breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room when it opened at 7am.  The Ruby Princess had already been at its berth and cleared for passengers to go ashore, but we lingered over breakfast, planning our day. We intended to do a long walk along the beach on the ocean side of the peninsula connecting the dormant volcano Mt. Maunganui to Tauranga, and then walk back in the boardwalk along Pilot Bay, on the harbor side. 

Day 9 breakfast menu

On our way off the ship, we could see that the decorators were on board today, putting up Christmas decorations. Yay!  We had thought we might get them tomorrow in Auckland or on our next Sydney turnaround, but we returned to the ship this afternoon to find it totally decorated. 

Exciting!!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Laying out the garland before it gets positioned

The weather was perfect today, low 70s and sunny, though the visibility was affected by haze from the bushfires in Australia. We walked on the boardwalk along Pilot Bay until we reached a cross street over to the ocean side. Once there, we walked down the beach out to Moturiki Island, connected to the mainland by a land bridge. In all the times we’ve been here in the past, we had never walked out to Moturiki Island and that was on the agenda for today. . 

A beautiful day in Maunganui

overlooking Pilot Bay

The boardwalk along Pilot Bay

Maunganui Beach (on the ocean side)

Looking out to Moturiki Island

Maunganui Beach runs southeast for miles

We spent about an hour hiking all over Moturiki Island, climbing down rocks to reach the various tiny beaches tucked around the island. The views in all directions were gorgeous, and this being a beautiful spring weekend, the beaches had more people on them than we’d ever seen before, participating in all sorts of water sports. 

Path in Moturiki Reserve

You should have seen us needing to help each other climb up and down these rocks. 

When did we get old?

Motuotau Island

Looking back at Mt. Maunganui

Looking southeast 

This path on the mountain goes around the base of it. 

Since we climbed the mountain two years ago, we want to do this yet this this season. 

We eventually made our way back to the mainland, and walked out toward Mt. Maunganui and back to the ship via the boardwalk along Pilot Bay with its beach. On our way, we contracted with a water sports rental place to rent a 16’ Hobie Cat catamaran this afternoon.  We were pretty good at sailing Hobie Cats 20 years ago, and, forgetting that we also used to be pretty skilled at scaling large rocks but seem to have lost that ability, we thought we’d still remember how to sail. Busy Pilot Bay, two cruise ships, freighters, lots of water traffic, a shipping channel, fussy tides, currents and winds...what could possibly go wrong?

The Pohutukawa tree (New Zealand Christmas tree)

We returned to the ship to grab a quick lunch in the Horizon Court Buffet and changed into quick dry bright yellow rash guards, board shorts and Teva sandals, slapped on more sunscreen and headed back out. And if you had been watching the ship’s bridge cam about 9pm EST Friday night,  you would have seen Yellow Fish and Yellow Shirt criss-crossing the bay.  I only took one photo on the catamaran and then tucked my camera away in a zip lock bag. We weren’t very good at predicting large splashes nor avoiding them and I didn’t want to tempt fate. 

We sailed over to Matakana Island with its long stretch of sandy white beach. There were several small boats anchored offshore, and dozens of day trippers using the beach. We didn’t have time to linger, but kept moving. We successfully tacked and managed to avoid knocking ourselves off or tipping the Hobie Cat over. Our most exciting moment came when we had to maneuver between a German freighter and a large sand bar, but we didn’t run aground. The afternoon was a success. 

Our sailing adventure

Our approximate course. 

Very approximate. ;-)

We finally got the camera out for photos after we were back on shore. 

We returned to the ship about 4:30pm and had to quickly shower and get to dinner by 5:15pm. I had had New Zealand currency zipped in my back shorts pocket, and, although it’s a curious mix of plastic and paper it was drenched and needed to be hung up to dry. We look like counterfeiters in here tonight.  

We were pretty worn out at dinner, having walked 16000 steps, mostly by noon and then manhandling a sailboat for an hour, but we still managed to get to the 7:30pm production show Once Upon a Dream. But that was as long as we lasted. We have two more port days on this New Zealand itinerary, and then two days to sleep cruising back to Sydney. 

Day 9 dinner menu, page 1

Day 9 dinner menu, page 2


Day 9 dessert menu



Tauranga Port Guide, page 1

Tauranga Port Guide, page 2

Tauranga Port Guide, page 3

Tauranga Port Guide, page 4

Day 9 Princess Patter, page 1

Day 9 Princess Patter, page 2

Day 9 Princess Patter, page 3

Day 9 Princess Patter, page 4

Day 66: Napier

Today was football, football, football, from morning to night, interspersed with three meals in the DaVinci Dining Room, a Captains Circle Party, and a nice walk in the Art Deco town of Napier, on New Zealand’s North Island. Add to it stellar weather, and both of us feeling significantly better, and you’ll know it was a good day. . 

We were at breakfast with Samuel and Arjun when the DaVinci Dining Room opened at 7am. We love having this table by the window from which to watch our sail ins; the downside is that we don’t want to take it for granted, so we are there, like clockwork every morning. It’s a bit like working again, this having to be somewhere first thing in the morning. We feel it’s worth it. And Samuel and Arjun are the best.  We are very, very spoiled.  

Day 8 breakfast menu

Starting my day with lots of vitamin C

I still couldn’t taste my food at breakfast but could feel I was on the very edge of a breakthrough. It wouldn’t be long, I knew, and I couldn’t wait. This has been a long almost two weeks!  After breakfast, we returned to our cabin to find the first of three NFL games on ESPN2, those games being played in Thanksgiving Day at home.  Now, we have been seriously football deprived, which, considering how our Broncos have been playing, is more of a blessing than a curse.  But we stayed in and watched until the end of that game, and then walked off the ship onto a waiting (free) shuttle to town. 

In Napier, the ship docks at a commercial port, but it’s just a short distance from the city (it’s actually a small town). Within 5 minutes we were dropped off at the i-Site, the New Zealand version of a tourist information center, right on Marine Parade Road along the beach. Napier’s primary claims to fame are as a gateway to the Hawke’s Bay region, with its many vineyards, and its Art Deco design. When the city was razed by an earthquake in 1931, it quickly rebuilt in the style of the day, and Napier plays this up to the fullest. Antique cars offer city tours, locals are dressed in the attire of the 30’s, shops offer vintage clothing and local musicians play the music of that day on the streets. 

We walked through the town for about an hour, soaking up the ambience, but, honestly, a little of that goes a long way, and I was ready to see Napier’s natural beauty. And it’s right there, as a black sand beach lines the entire western edge of town for miles.  It’s spectacular. 

There is a boardwalk that runs along the beach all the way back to the port, and the day was so beautiful that we decided to walk back to the ship, just as we did two years ago. ‘That foot’ is feeling the best it has felt since I injured it 27 years ago. I’m sure part of it is the prednisone that I just finished taking this morning, but I am like an 18 year old with a brand new car,  I want to try it out and see what it can do. And what I really want is to walk long distances on level, even surfaces with a view, and this boardwalk was a perfect example of that. We could see thousands of recently planted annuals in flower beds along our walk; my only disappointment is that we won’t get back here again to see them at the height of their season. 

A perfect bird of paradise 

Once we reached the port security gate, we had to wait for a bus to board to take us a couple hundred feet to the ship. That’s ok, we knew from two years ago that we would need to do that. Napier has cruise ship visits down to a science. They are extremely well organized, very friendly, and offer a spotless town with a unique experience. It is a bit like Disney Does Art Deco.

We arrived back at the ship at noon, and went directly to the DaVinci Dining Room for lunch. The dining room was open for lunch today because we were sailing at 2pm, and all guests had to be back on board by 1:30pm. Hot and sour soup was on the menu, and I had three bowls of that as my lunch.  Frankly, that’s my favorite ‘cold food’ at home, hot and sour soup from the local Chinese restaurant. It always makes me feel better, and so it did today, too. 

Day 8 lunch menu, page 1

Day 8 lunch menu, page 2

It was a beautiful day, and the outside decks were full of sun bathers and swimmers, but we returned to our cabin.  We wanted to continue to watch football, plus we needed the rest. This short port day is well timed on this itinerary, and gives passengers a little break right in the middle of the cruise. We watched the games and texted friends at home until it was time to get cleaned up for dinner. 

Day 8 dinner menu, page 1

Day 8 dinner menu, page 2

Day 8 dessert menu

I had salmon, broccoli and a slice of quinoa loaf (I love that and need to find a recipe to make it at home) for dinner. And, for the first time in several days, I had sorbet for dessert. My taste buds are working at about 75%, and 75% of the taste of pina colada sorbet is still pretty darn good. 

We asked new friends Helen and Allen to join us as our guests for tonight's Captains Curcle Party.  We were honored to be this cruise’s Most Traveled Guests.  The top three ranged from the 700’s to 1100’s days, and Michael and Leone were second most traveled. It was the Golden Princess all over again. We missed the 7:30pm Princess Theater performance, and didn’t want to stay up for the 9:30pm show, but I think we’ve seen multi-instrumentalist Michael Young before, maybe even this year (I need to search my blog, because performers are kind of starting to blur together). We have a long day tomorrow in Tauranga, and then two more port days after that, and I have some major walking plans. ‘Cause I’ve got places to go and the feet that will take me there. 

Life is very, very good. :-)

Napier Port Guide, page 1

Napier Port Guide, page 2

Napier Port Guide, page 3

Napier Port Guide, page 4

Day 8 Princess Patter, page 1

Day 8 Princess Patter, page 2

Day 8 Princess Patter, page 3

Day 8 Princess Patter, page 4