Golden Princess New Zealand 11th to 24th February 2016 - Complete Picture Review!

[utahtea]

Happy Easter everyone.

 

Friday Feb. 18th Todays Weather 23

 

Tauranga arrive 7am - all aboard 5.00pm

 

..... Since we had already spent 3 days in Rotorua on an earlier visit to New Zealand we didn’t wish to visit again....

 

Really enjoying your review and pictures!

 

On the 3 days you spent in Rotorua on your previous trip did you visit the geothermal areas? If so, which ones and which do you recommend. The geothermal areas are what I want to see most when we visit the Tauranga port.

 

Utahtea

[Joberri]

Really enjoying your review and pictures!

 

On the 3 days you spent in Rotorua on your previous trip did you visit the geothermal areas? If so, which ones and which do you recommend. The geothermal areas are what I want to see most when we visit the Tauranga port.

 

Utahtea

 

Utahtea, I live in Rotorua, best to visit Whakarewarewa and Te Puia which are side by side. If you have time to walk by yourself try and take a walk down to Ohinemutu village by the lake and visit Saint Faiths Church, beautiful stain glass window looking out over Lake Rotorua. Enjoy your visit to my hometown.

[azdmelani]

Really enjoying your review and pictures!

 

On the 3 days you spent in Rotorua on your previous trip did you visit the geothermal areas? If so, which ones and which do you recommend. The geothermal areas are what I want to see most when we visit the Tauranga port.

 

Utahtea

 

We went to Te Puia on our Diamond cruise this month. Lots of geothermal activity, our guides told us new areas popped up since they were there in the previous week.

[hopestotravelmore]

So I left you at Tauranga were you will find us returned to our home away from home – The Golden Princess. I certainly love this ship. She is a grand mature lady (aren’t they the best…smiles) and being our first she will hold a special place in my heart.

 

After dropping off our things and picking up our books we headed up to Deck 15 for a well-earned drink. It didn’t take us too long to surrender to the aroma of those delicious pizzas. Once again I was happy after that bank scare. I still was able to withdraw on my account and took out $40 New Zealand money. Usually we use our card for purchases but I wanted a couple of notes and coins to take home with me. I have a habit of collecting currency from every country I visit. It’s a fun memento of our trips. I will never part with my little bundle of cash.

 

 

We settled into our lounges and watched The Golden leave the Port of Tauranga at 5.22pm. The Sail away party with Mosaic was in full swing by the reef pool on deck 14. The rain had disappeared by early afternoon and it was lovely up there.

 

 

 

 

About 6.30 we headed to the Bernini Dining room on deck 5 for dinner. James and I shared a cheese platter for first course, next a yummy rack of lamb for me and fish for James. I then said to James that I ought to try a dessert. This would be the first and only time I would have dessert in the dining room. It was really sweet and I found it just too rich. I had a Love Boat Chocolate Heart and James consumed a Pavlova. We sat at a table for 8 and everyone was very talkative and friendly.

 

Later we went to the Vista Lounge to watch the movie Woman in Gold. The movie began at 9pm but we only lasted to 9.30pm. We couldn’t keep our eyes open and called it a night, which was a shame because it looked like a good movie. Oh well will have to download the movie one day to watch.

[hopestotravelmore]

Oh I do feel for you at the ATM. We had a similar situation in Mexico of all places when we could not access funds. Same situation, the hotel was gradually putting a hold on our account rather than waiting until we checked out. It was fine in the end once we worked out what was happening[emoji849]

 

Oz scot---It was a frightening experience especially as it was our first cruise and we didn’t realize that Princess did this. I wish they had informed us at the beginning so we would not had such a big fright.

You poor thing having that happen in Mexico. At least I had enough funds to cover the amount and still use my card plus there was always James cards.

[hopestotravelmore]

i never saw those dummy transactions but yes they would give you a fright i know they would give me one too

 

Hi Hawka. I think that Princess should inform all passengers that this will happen to their account. This is the reason why we have a special card just used while we are on holidays and we use on the internet. Its never tired up with our other accounts. Just in case.

[hopestotravelmore]

Wow! This is one of the most amazing trip reviews I've read on CC :D

 

This very cruise is high on my list! We actually had this itinerary booked (Jan 2017) but recently had to cancel due to other obligations so hoping to reschedule soon.

 

Your photos and all the detailed info is very much appreciated. :)

 

Hi Anthony

Thank you for your kind comments. It takes just a long time to do a cruise report. Hoping I finish it by next weekend.

I hope you get to re book this cruise. It was an amazing cruise and I could do it again. I love New Zealand. It’s a stunning country.

[Cruisin' Along]

Just discovered your TR today. I'm enjoying both your photos and commentary very much!

[hopestotravelmore]

Really enjoying your review and pictures!

 

On the 3 days you spent in Rotorua on your previous trip did you visit the geothermal areas? If so, which ones and which do you recommend. The geothermal areas are what I want to see most when we visit the Tauranga port.

 

Utahtea

 

Hi Utahtea

We did the Rotorua Duck Tour first. Which was great. We went to the Tamaki Maori Village at night. That was amazing. We went to Hells Gate. – truly spectacular. We also toured Te Puia and watched the Pohutu geyser blow its top. Whakarewarewa Thermal Village was next. It’s a living village were people still live and where we had a hangi meal. And Lake Rotorua was lovely also.

 

If I could only do one or two I would miss Hells Gate. It was great but its out of town and the living village was amazing and so was the Pohutu Geyser

Hope this helps

[hopestotravelmore]

Just discovered your TR today. I'm enjoying both your photos and commentary very much!

 

Hi Cruisin Along

Thank you for your kind comments. I hope to finish my report this week. Need to get on with other things in my life. Didnt realize it would take so long to do.

[hopestotravelmore]

Saturday Feb. 20th Todays Weather 23

 

Auckland arrive 7am - all aboard 4.30pm

 

 

Welcome to Auckland. We arrived Port Side alongside Queens Wharf cruise terminal in Waitemata Harbour at about 6.26am. It was a great place to dock because you are right in the city and just over the road from Britomart Transport Centre (train and local bus service) and adjacent to the Auckland Ferry terminal. Queens Wharf is an easy 5 minute walk to Queen Street CBD.

The closest tourist information centre is at Princess Wharf I-Site Visitor Information Cente a short 2 minute walk from the cruise terminal.

 

There is free Wi-Fi services downtown offered by Tomizone which provides maximum of three 30 minute sessions daily though you can pay for more time. The public library on Wellesey, McDonalds on Queen St and most cafes provide free Wi-Fi.

 

We had holidayed in Auckland before. Previously we chose a harbour cruise and enjoyed it very much. So what could we do with our time in Auckland with this stopover? Spending the day over at Devonport or Waiheke Island, along with a winery tour or a jet boat ride all seemed like great ideas. But James has a bad back and I didn’t know how his back would stand up to a jet boat zooming across the harbour. In all our planning, I even looked into the Skywalk on top of the Sky tower but every slot was booked out during the hours we were in Auckland. Damn, there was some exciting stuff to do in Auckland but they were impossible for us to do. Perhaps next visit.

 

 

I usually study the Princess shore excursions as well as on Trip Adviser and any reviews I read and save any links that look interesting to us. So I have lots of information on all these ports we visited. Since we both love animals and the farming life, I decided to book a Princess farm tour. This is what we had booked in for below:

 

“Muriwai Gannet Colony and Country Farm Tour 6 HOURS $164.95pp

Travel to a family farm on the Kaipara Peninsula. Enjoy a BBQ lunch and watch a sheep dog and sheep-shearing demonstration. Visit Muriwai Beach for cliff-top views of its famous gannet colony - depending on the season you may see these seabirds mating or nesting.

Board your motorcoach for a 60-minute narrated drive through Auckland's wine country, farming districts and coastal shorelines en route to beautiful Muriwai Beach.

 

Unspoiled natural vistas, a rugged terrain, pounding surf and the bright red flowers of the Pohutukawa Tree - New Zealand's own Christmas tree - greet you at this magical viewpoint. A wide range of birds call Muriwai Beach home, but it is the gannets (takapu) that most visitors come to see. From the cliffs overlooking the beach, walk approximately 400 yards to a viewing area for a close-up look at the life cycle of this native sea bird colony. Depending on the time of year, you may observe these aeronauts breeding and nesting.

 

You'll have ample time to photograph this exquisite area, the spectacular views of the Tasman Sea, and the wild black sand coastline as well as the feathered inhabitants.

 

Continue your drive through the lovely countryside, arriving at the family-run Haumoana Farm. Located on the South Kaipara Peninsula, this working farm offers you the unique opportunity to see the sheep dogs in action and to watch a sheep-shearing demonstration. The farm is also home to a herd of gentle, friendly, fallow deer, quite familiar with having their picture taken! You'll delight to these creatures that respond when called.

 

Amidst this picturesque setting, a delicious barbeque buffet lunch is served. Situated high on a hill, overlooking breathtaking views of the land and the Kaipara Harbour, you'll feast on a wonderful, home-cooked meal and sample wines from the local vineyards. After your refreshment, take a stroll through the expansive property and enjoy the fragrant gardens and tranquil pond. Before departing, take a look at your hosts' fine handmade artwork that is for sale.

 

A scenic journey back to port via the magnificent Harbour Bridge is a relaxing end to your bucolic day.”

 

Sounds good hey? But I was worried that it would be too unexciting for us.

 

How wrong was I?

 

There was no haste for us to depart the ship today, as we had to meet at the Princess Theatre on deck 7 at 8.30am for our excursion. By the way, today was our last port of call. How sad it that because that means after today we had back to Melbourne Australia.

 

We boarded our coach and were on our way to Muriwai Beach by 9am. Our driver and guide was a woman and she had a witty personality. Another guide I really liked. 60 minutes later we arrived at Muriwai Beach. What a beautiful part of New Zealand.

 

Muriwai Beach is known for the Takapu Refuge Gannet Colony. The birds have a single chick each season.

 

 

A 5 minute walk along the cliffs brought us to the first viewing area to see the Gannets (Takapu). These striking birds were in there hundreds.

 

 

We saw many parents feeding their young chicks, some flying off the cliffs into the sky and some landing with fish in their beaks to feed their young. We were given an hour to observe the birds and we both felt that was enough.

 

The odour from that many birds all in the one place was a little too strong. After visiting the second viewing area we walked back to the coach and waited for the others to return. It was wonderful to witness nature up so close and personal.

 

[hopestotravelmore]

Back on the coach were we travelled another 20 minutes to our next stop –Haumoana Farm.

 

 

Haumoana Farm is a family run working farm and the owners Greg and Barb Ross have opened up their farm to tour groups for the last 20 years. Haumoana means ‘sea breeze’ in Maori. Greg and Barb own 200 acres here on the South Kaipara Peninsula and they own another farm further along the coast. We encountered ocean vistas along with green rolling hills as we pulled into the driveway. Haumoana Farm is located in a spectacular part of New Zealand.

 

 

The Ross family have a small herd of 30 fallow deer which we were allowed to feed with small tins of grains. Some were timid but there were also a couple who were friendly and ate from our hands. A massive buck, who was the most sociable of the deer wouldn’t hesitate to come up to anyone for a feed. I asked Greg if he kills them for meat and he said no, these deer were their pets (thank goodness) he usually hunted in the hills not far from his farm. I could have stayed there for hours talking to these sweet animals.

 

 

Next up we followed Greg’s son to a shearing demonstration. They have a small herd of black faced Suffolk sheep. So cute. I have always wanted these sheep. We have Merino back home.

 

There are around nine sheep to every person in NZ - That’s a lot of sheep. And we couldn’t believe the price of lamb in NZ. It was around $10 a kilo. Wish we could have taken home a freezer full. Here in Australia a leg of lamb sells for around $25 per kilogram.

 

 

Two dogs helped with the shearing. Both were NZ breeds. Sorry forget their names. The bigger of the 2 dogs was a ‘Baker.’ Not too quick or smart, but he had a high bark and was great to get the sheep moving, especially at the pens. He was a beautiful dog and so friendly and could take pats all day from us all. Could I take him home please, I asked.

 

The other dog was smaller and had the brains. They called him the ‘worker’ and he generally did all the work and running around, bringing the flock from the paddock up into the yards. Even though we own a sheep farm and shearing and sheep work is a part of our everyday life, I still enjoyed the demonstration and the time with the dogs.

 

 

Barb then called us to the house for a delicious barbeque lunch. All the meat they prepared for us was from their own farm. We had home-made sausages and lamb along with Wild Rice and Ginger Salad, Kumara and Thai Nut Salad. Kumara, once a key ingredient of the Maori diet is a sweet potato and it was yummy.

 

We washed all that scrumptious food down with locally grown red or white wine, beer or juices. Dessert was either Boysenberry Cheesecake or Pavlova. Greg and Barb produced a wonderful buffet.

 

Australians and New Zealanders have argued (nicely) about who owns the rights to Pavlova. Did it come from us Aussies or the Kiwis? Neither!

 

Doctor Andrew Wood (a Kiwi) and Annabelle Utrecht (Aussie) have traced the origins of Pavlova and found out that it was first created in Germany as a German Torte and then travelled to US where it became the Pavlova. How funny is that! We Aussies and Kiwis always disagree about sport and food but it’s all in fun.

 

After lunch we had about an hour to just explore the beautiful garden or visit with the deer again. Greg and Barb were great hosts and mingled with the group. James and I spoke to them about farming practices and the price of wheat and wool. At one stage I took myself off to the bottom of the garden for a quiet walk about the lovely tress and ferns. The farm also had cows and pigs but we never got to pat them.

 

 

I mentioned to Barb how much I loved her salads and she gave me a sheet with the recipes and also a lovely t-towel. Thank you Barb.

 

Far too soon it was time to leave and make our way back to the Golden Princess. Both James and I had a wonderful time at Haumoana Farm. We felt at peace when we left. It was such a tranquil and calming place. And it was one of the best excursions we did while in New Zealand. Thank you Princess Cruises.

[Hawka]

Hi Hawka. I think that Princess should inform all passengers that this will happen to their account. This is the reason why we have a special card just used while we are on holidays and we use on the internet. Its never tired up with our other accounts. Just in case.

 

thats a good thing to do

maybe i was lucky and they didnt do it or if they did i never found out i had a different card for cash as i had a velocity card that i could put nz dollars on for if i needed some only drew out money twice spent it all to don't ask me what though i didnt think i spent that much but must have :eek::D goes so fast and that was not including the on board account with what i spent there but i would do it again that i do know :)

[Hawka]

so enjoying your review i will remember to try it your way for next time :) i got to remember where to put photos so i can post them like you can rather than how i can only post them

Edited March 28, 2016 by Hawka

[crochetcruise]

Here are some more pictures of my base walk around Mount Maunganui.

 

 

 

 

By the way, it pays to be friendly towards people and pause and exchange a quick word or two while out walking. You do learn a thing or two this way, just like me. While on the track, I noticed a man with a board with lots of flyers advertising tours etc. I spotted the one from KEWPIE CRUISES.

 

As usual, when I see a captive audience, I began a conversation with the poor man and told him I was doing a harbour cruise at 3pm with Kewpie Cruises. “No you’re not,” he said. “They have cancelled their cruise due to the storm last night causing damage to their boat.”

 

We were not having any luck with our organized harbour cruises. That was the second one called off.

 

So I had better hightail it back to the ship and inform dear grumpy hubby. I wonder if he is in a better mood. After the exhausting walk, especially with the humidity, I needed to replenish my body so I returned to the Golden by the wooden boardwalk along the beach front. There were people swimming in the bay. It looked so inviting. But I was on a mission to inform James of our cancelled plans and work out what to do after lunch. Should we climb the Mount?

 

I re boarded the Golden by way of Deck 5 and the aroma of food coming from the International Café stopped me in my tracks. James could wait I thought to myself as I lined up to get some lunch. While scoffing down a Tomato and mozzarella sandwich, I messaged James on Princess Messenger about the called off cruise. Surprise, Surprise but he finally texted me (the first time on this cruise mind you) and his words were “deck 15” - a man of few words.

 

So I headed up to deck 15. James was watching a special on Alaska on MUTS. He informed me that he had a lovely relaxing morning. He went for a swim and read his book in our cabin. And he was a lot happier. Horary! Must have needed a rest from silly old me! I do so much talking it would drive anyone a little nutty.

 

Once the show was over, we headed off the ship and walked into the Mount main shopping village. This was where I discovered something very unsettling. Will talk about this soon. After the walk we decided to get an ice-cream at the shop on the beachfront, just before the Salisbury wharf. It was very nice eating our delicious ice-cream while watching people enjoying the sunshine.

 

Here is a fact I learnt today:

 

Dd you know? The Princess Cruises seawitch logo first debuted in 1967. Prior to that, the Princess logo was a character with a sombrero painted on the stack due to Mexico-focused itineraries.

 

Now for that disturbing news. While at the shops, I decided to get some New Zealand cash out of an ATM machine. As usual, I always check my balance and got the shock of my life, when I realized I was missing $600. We rang our daughter in Australia who logged onto my bank website and sent us pictures of the account. There were about 7 entries in total all withdrawals for different amounts adding up to $645.70. As I am not really a big shopper when on holidays, I knew what I had spent and how much should be in my account.

 

We rang our bank back in Australia and the friendly man said that all these amounts were drawn against the Golden Princess. He informed us that they were not actually taken out of my account, but those funds were not available to draw against. So we felt a little better knowing that my account hadn’t been hacked into.

 

Now I understand that Princess Cruises, throughout the cruise will do dummy transactions to make sure you have enough funds to pay them. They were still doing these four days after we returned back to Australia and after they had taken the money that we owned them out of my account. It was a little nerve racking until they finally stopped doing these withdrawals.

 

We are not getting any younger and can not handle these sort of shocks, so we decided to call it a day and return to the Golden. I needed a drink.

 

Goodness that WOULD been scary. I was warned about this, and am organising a stand-alone account, so I have additional funds already budgeted and totally separate from my regular account. I will make sure the "ready notes and coins" are brought with me from my hometown-travel on a Saturday, and no chance to personally go to the bank while away, don't know about the access, so safer to take cash with me.

 

Thoroughly enjoying your review., 228 days to sailing for me, now back your review! :D

[utahtea]

Hi Utahtea

We did the Rotorua Duck Tour first. Which was great. We went to the Tamaki Maori Village at night. That was amazing. We went to Hells Gate. – truly spectacular. We also toured Te Puia and watched the Pohutu geyser blow its top. Whakarewarewa Thermal Village was next. It’s a living village were people still live and where we had a hangi meal. And Lake Rotorua was lovely also.

 

If I could only do one or two I would miss Hells Gate. It was great but its out of town and the living village was amazing and so was the Pohutu Geyser

Hope this helps

 

Thank you everyone for your feed back on Rotorua!

 

Utahtea

[hopestotravelmore]

Goodness that WOULD been scary. I was warned about this, and am organising a stand-alone account, so I have additional funds already budgeted and totally separate from my regular account. I will make sure the "ready notes and coins" are brought with me from my hometown-travel on a Saturday, and no chance to personally go to the bank while away, don't know about the access, so safer to take cash with me.

 

Thoroughly enjoying your review., 228 days to sailing for me, now back your review! :D

 

Hi Crochetcruise

I wish I was warned about this then it would not have been such a shock. But we will be ready for the next time.

 

228 days - I hope that comes around quick for you

[hopestotravelmore]

We returned to the Golden Princess around 3pm and the first place we headed was to the Piazza and the International Cafe for cookies and a pot of tea. I love those mouth-watering Princess cookies and I miss them now that we are back home.

 

After afternoon tea, we headed to our regular place on deck 14 by Neptune’s Pool and James went for a swim while I curled up on a lounge and gobbled on a soft serve ice cream from Sundaes Ice cream bar. Heaven!

 

Our family, especially the girls, have a practice of keeping a journal while on holiday and sending each days entry to the others stuck back home. So, that afternoon, I typed up my journal entry for the day on the IPad and sent it back home to the kids. They love reading what we do each day.

 

 

The Golden hauled up her anchor at 5.30 and we commenced sailing through Auckland harbour. Oodles of passengers hugged the railings up on Deck 15 and 14 to watch sail away. At one stage, Captain Laakkonen informed us of a sighting of whales on the port side. My god there was a mad rush over to the port side by everyone to see if they could spot them. No whales sighting by anyone around us, I hate to say.

 

 

Auckland known as ‘the City of Sails,’ has around 135,000 yachts moored in her harbour and is more per capita than any other city in the world.

 

Population of Auckland is 1,414,700 and the city is New Zealand’s largest city.

In 1840, the British arrived and established a colony by then Governor of New Zealand, William Hobson.

 

Auckland has the tallest man-made structure in NZ and the southern hemisphere - the Sky Tower which is 1,072 feet tall. We have never been to the top of the Sky Tower. Perhaps we will get to climb it on our next visit to New Zealand.

 

 

We left the harbour at 5.44 and commenced our sea passage towards Melbourne. How miserable do I feel, knowing that we are on our way home? I wish this cruise could go on for ever. Perhaps take us all over the world, visiting a new port every day. Sounds like heaven, don’t you think? But time and money are against us.

 

 

I would love to tell you that we partook in ‘Happy Hour’ each evening were you buy 1 and get 1 for $1.00. Or we danced the night away up in Skywalkers Night club up on Deck 17. I wish I could share with you some great photos of the Drink of the Day but we are such boring people and we just loved being up at MUTS enjoying the evening movie or sitting around the Atrium on Decks 7, 6 and 5 and having a quite drink (either wine, beer or a cup of tea or hot chocolate) and listen to whoever was playing heavenly music or enjoying the comical sketches of The Scottish One. That sums up most of our evenings on the Golden Princess.

 

 

After dinner in the Horizon Court we snuggled up under our blankets and watched the 7.45pm showing of Jurassic World at MUTS. We hadn’t seen this movie and really enjoyed it. Most of us watching even cheered when one of the friendlier meat eating dinosaurs slaughtered one of the evil ones. There were a few good laughs throughout this movie. As usual the pool boys brought around popcorn, cookies and milk. Where is my pool boy now when I need those cookies?

 

After the movie we headed off to bed and I watched a couple of episodes of The Love Boat while James slept. A lovely ending to a stunning day.

[Hawka]

Glad your captain on the golden told you about the whales etc the one we had never told us about any whales or dolphins I found out about the whales when we were going into Milford sound after the event sadly , I did see flying fish that was it

Edited April 2, 2016 by Hawka

[hopestotravelmore]

Sunday Feb. 21 Todays Weather 26 –At Sea

 

Speed 19.7 Knots Slight seas with long/moderate SW’ly swell

Today Golden Princess followed course towards the North Cape of New Zealand’s North Island. Then she headed a westerly course across the Tasman Sea towards Melbourne.

 

Today is a sea day. After 7 busy days all in a row, we were ready for one or two leisurely days. James was up early (what’s new) and I slept in until 7.30am. I decided to have a lazy morning and watch The Wake Show with Cruise Director Neil and Corey on stateroom TV channel 21. As I mentioned before, these two guys are so much fun to watch. They were usually on TV from 6am to noon every day. I only watched them till 8 when James came in from being up on Deck 15 chatting with some smokers. He got rather friendly with a few guys while smoking up there.

 

One in particular was an older man (let’s call him Tim) about 80+ who was on his first cruise with his children, grandchildren and ex-wife. I think you are asking for trouble going on a cruise with your ex. Tim was having a terrible time. He actually hated the cruise and couldn’t wait to get to Melbourne and off the ship. Poor guy! I sat with him a few times in the remaining sea days and he was so unhappy. Tim said that all the others had left him to do their own things and he had no one to hang out with. I just wished he could relax and enjoy this cruise. Every time I saw Tim, he looked as if he was off to work, the way he was dressed. No shorts or t-shirts for this man. He could never chill out just like the rest of us up there on deck 14. I guess some men just can’t kick back and enjoy themselves.

 

We had breakfast in the Horizon Court. Pancakes and maple syrup were delicious.

 

After breakfast, I headed down to piazza, on deck 5 to read and people watch. Because I arrived there at 9am, there were lots of chairs available, which is usually not the case around the Piazza. I could choose any seat I wanted. If you know this area, I selected a chair up beside the staircase. As usual when I sit here to read, I order a pot of tea and enjoy my cuppas all to myself – no sharing with hubby. I know I am a greedy woman. I love my tea and at home I cannot start the day until I have had at least 3 cups. I realize all that caffeine is not good for you, but it sure helps wake you up.

 

While I was enjoying myself in the Piazza, James went for a swim, read in our stateroom and hung out on Deck 15. I can’t understand why the hubby likes to lock himself away in our room to read. I asked him one day and he said that he enjoys the peace and quiet in our room; he can’t concentrate when there is allot of noise. Don’t look at me please. I am not the one making all the noise while he reads. Smiles I love to read to and that’s when you usually find my mouth shut!

 

At 10am he joined me for morning tea from the International Café. We decided to try our hand at something we hadn’t done before while on this cruise - Morning Trivia Challenge 10.45 in Vista Lounge. And let me confess here that we were terrible. We laughed so much at how dumb we were. We would never be winning a prize at Trivia that’s for sure.

 

After trivia, we went back up to Deck 14 by the main pool to enjoy the sunshine and music. Pumpin’ Poolside Tunes with DJ IV Real was happening around Neptune’s Pool.

 

At one stage the sun became a little too hot for me and I moved to the undercover area beside the pool. I hate sitting out in the sun for too long. James decided to take himself to lunch in the Horizon Court. Me – Lets be truthful here, I am tired of buffet food and decided to head down to the International Cafe and ordered myself a grilled Tomato and Mozzarella sandwich.

 

After lunch, I headed to the’ Holiday Store at sea’ 3 hours only 10am – 1pm. For sale were watches, jewellery, bags, wallets, clothes and much more for only $15 in the Bernini Dining room. I am not really into shopping, but I wanted to check out if they had any Princess fridge magnets. I collect fridge magnets from all the places I visit while on holidays. What I found were 2 books on Alaska and Glacier Bay. How cool was that. I brought both plus a fridge magnet not one from Princess but on Alaska. Yep, I know I have never been to Alaska but thought it would be great to buy for when I do an Alaskan cruise. You never know you may not be able to find one when you have been. That was my logic for buying it.

 

The movie ‘Italian job’ was on MUTS in the afternoon and lots of people were watching this movie or just sunning themselves. At 4 I went alone (always alone) to the Explorers lounge for a Future Cruise Presentation on Alaska. An excellent presentation.

 

 

 

 

[hopestotravelmore]

Glad your captain on the golden told you about the whales etc the one we had never told us about any whales or dolphins I found out about the whales when we were going into Milford sound after the event sadly , I did see flying fish that was it

 

Hawka sorry to hear about your naughty Captain for not telling you about the whale sighting. We never did see the whales but talking to others later and they saw them.

 

The only wildlife we saw while on the ship were birds and some sort of bug.

[hopestotravelmore]

Around 5.20 that afternoon, I was sitting in the sun studying my copy of the Princess Patter, which is something I do a lot. I don’t want to miss out on anything you know. I happened to turn it over to the back to have a read when I noticed that the Crab Shack was on tonight from 5.30 to 9.00pm Deck 14 Aft. This was the first and only time the Crab Shack was offered on this cruise. Well the shock it caused me when I saw it was real funny. I yelled out to James, while I punched him in the stomach. Poor guy was asleep and nearly fell off his lounger. The lady next to us couldn’t stop laughing.

 

You see while I was researching all I could on Princess everyone commented on the Crab Shack and said not to miss it. Apparently the meal would be wonderful. So after James snapped at me for hurting him, he told me to see if we can make a booking. I rushed on over and sure enough there was only one table available that night. But the problem was it was only at 5.30pm. And it was now 5.31pm. I told them I would have to go and tell hubby and rush off to our cabin to get changed. He said “why do you need to change. What you are wearing is ok.” So we didn’t have to get all dolled up to go to the Crab Shack which was at the back of the Horizon Court where we have never sat before.

 

 

Once seated, we had a lovely waitress from Russia who looked after us for the evening. The meal was $25 per person and like I said earlier it’s only on for one night on this cruise and there was no advertising for it except on the back of Princess Patter. And it wasn’t really an advertisement just added to the Dining Guide on the back of the Patter.

 

First we started with Popcorn Shrimp and Hush Puppies in a basket with dipping sauce. This tasted OK. 2nd course was Manhattan clam chowder and again this was OK. Main course we chose The Golden Mixed Steamer – two huge and I mean huge bowls of all sorts of seafood such as king crab, crab cluster jumbo shrimp, crab legs, lobster legs, clams, mussels, corn and new potatoes. Again this was OK. Dessert was brought to us on a trolley with a selection of Gateaux and tarts from the Pastry Shop and they were yummy.

 

 

Now I am guessing you are asking why I don’t sound overly wrapped with the food. You see I don’t really like seafood. I will have some flake or fish cooked in batter when we travel to the seaside. But having a whole meal just devoted to seafood is not my cup of tea. On the other hand, dear James loves seafood and every evening we went to the dining room for dinner he had seafood. I knew he would love the Crab Shack. Turns out he did like the seafood but he thought some of it was a bit dry. A man on the table next to us asked us what we thought of the seafood and he also reckoned it was dry. I hate to say something bad about Princess Cruises but I think they need to improve the quality of the seafood they serve at the Crab Shack.

 

Another thing I guess you are asking is why someone who doesn’t like seafood would rush over to the Crab Shack for dinner. Well as the good wifey that I am I did this for James. I knew he would love dinner here.

 

Before we tucked into the main course they brought around aprons for us to wear and then the ships photographers suddenly appeared and guess what? We had to have our photo taken much to James’s horror. Smiles.

 

 

After an alright meal we moved back to the MUTS area and sat around watching the James Bond movie - Spectre

 

When we returned to our cabin we found this waiting for us:

 

 

Night All

[Hawka]

The crab shack Had two sittings when I was on board, if I remember before we fly to Auckland and another layer on , Corey was on there when I was on there he was great our cruise director was Tim he was great too and there were two others that were great too one I know left a couple of months ago

[hopestotravelmore]

The crab shack Had two sittings when I was on board, if I remember before we fly to Auckland and another layer on , Corey was on there when I was on there he was great our cruise director was Tim he was great too and there were two others that were great too one I know left a couple of months ago

 

I found out later that I could have got some dinner at the HC and taken it to the Crab Shack while James ate his seafood. Next time I will do this.

 

I really liked Corey. A very funny guy

[hopestotravelmore]

Monday Feb. 22nd Todays Weather 26 –At Sea

 

Speed 19.7 Knots Slight seas with long/low SW’ly swell

 

Today the Golden Princess will remain on a westerly course across the Tasman Sea towards the Bass Strait and Melbourne.

 

Our 2nd sea day was another relaxing day. I headed to the Piazza for a read on my iPad and drank a whole pot of tea to myself – my usual morning obsession. At one stage, I decided to sit in the Library for a while and read. Got to try all these places on board. At 10am I headed to Movie under the stars – Mamma Mia. It’s one of my favourite movies. I love musicals.

 

Lying there singing along to Mamma Mia, James suggested another go at morning Trivia. We seemed to do better this time.

 

There is usually so much to do during the day and evening but James was happy to remain by the pool. Next time I think I will head off on my own and do my own thing more often. We missed things like The Great Egg Drop Challenge, bingo, Photography classes, Talent Guest Show, 60 second Frenzy and Hole in One Golf Challenge.

 

One thing I really wanted to watch but forgot about was Elevator Roulette. Now this sounded like fun. You bet on which door will open next. Amusing hey!

 

Lunch again was in the Buffet for James and International Café for me, while listening to the Pianist Leandro. Then our afternoon was spent by the main pool enjoying the sun until it became too uncomfortable to sit outside and we moved under cover but still on Deck 14.

 

At some stage in the afternoon, I headed to Deck 12 and the Aft Pool – Terrace Pool for a swim. I was the only one using this pool. It was never crowded in this area of the ship.

 

 

The Terrace Pool was a great place to relax and watch the waves created from the Golden. I enjoyed myself here so much that I wish I had come here every day to use the pool and just sit and watch the ocean.

 

 

Afternoon tea-time saw us back at the Piazza where we had our usual pot of tea and cookies. While there the Runway at sea Fashion show began at 4.45pm. Some of the passengers offered to model these clothes taken from the on-board shops and we were told they were allowed to wear them tonight which was Formal Night.