I wish I could adequately convey how beautiful it is to enter Milford Sound that early in the morning. The fiord is still in darkness at the water level; only the tops of the mountains and their north side is lit up. The sun was not out brightly when we first sailed in, but by the time we reached the the closed end of the fiord, it was getting a little lighter. .
On Deck 16, looking toward the back of the Majestic Princess, with the MUTS screen view of the front of the ship.
That tan area in the middle of the ship in the dancing fountains
One of the sightseeing boats in Milford Sound
I also wish I could say that this was our prettiest day ever in Milford Sound. It wasn’t, only because they’ve had a bit of a dry spell (which ended with a bang a few hours later), and the number and volume of waterfalls was greatly diminished from what we’ve seen in the past. But it is still such a beautiful area, and, really, we were fortunate to simply be able to get in.
Captain Dino told us we’d have a lot of rough water as we re-entered the Tasman Sea and made the turn to the south. He said the weather was quickly deteriorating, and, boy, was he right. We had gale force (10 on the Beaufort scale) wind and 15 foot swells. And then the rain started...torrentially.
We watched the swells from our lunch table in the Concerto Dining Room and it was like watching fireworks, keeping everyone with a view entertained. “Oh, look at that one!”, over and over again.
Day 3 lunch menu, page 1
Day 3 lunch menu, page 2
There was little doubt we’d miss Doubtful and Thompson, and Breaksea and Milford Sounds. It seems the chance of seeing all the fiords on a cruise is kind of like the chance of getting into Easter Island on a cruise. G and I settled in at the Sur La Mer restaurant on Deck 7 with its beautiful floor to ceiling glass walls and watched as the rain fell in sheets on the Promenade Deck. It felt rather cozy (and not too crowded) on the ship.
As soon as we rounded the southern tip of the South Island, everything calmed down, as the island was breaking the wind. We made a very quick stop at the Elite Lounge in the Vista-less Lounge and then went to dinner. Showtime tonight in the Princess Theater featured violinist Chris Watkins. What a performer. He confirmed my suspicion, and said he would be getting off the ship tomorrow in Port Chalmers and would not be back until September (so I’m left to wonder what will happen to his parts of Encore). He also said he was booked for the entire year with Princess Cruises. I’m glad; he is one of their best instrumental guest entertainers (the other being pianist Jon Darsk, who we will see later in this cruise).
Day 4 dinner menu, page 1
Day 4 dinner menu, page 2
We are ready to get to a port with cellular data tomorrow. I hope to upload some blog posts. It’s a delicate balance of time and battery life and signal, so all I can do is try. Thank you for your patience!
Day 4 Princess Patter, page 1
Day 4 Princess Patter, page 2
Day 4 Princess Patter, page 3
Day 4 Princess Patter, page 4