Yellow Fish cruises: 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. :-)