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Published: January 24th 2009
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On Saturday we awoke excitedly to get ready for our trip. The Metropolis had kindly agreed to a late checkout so there was no rush. Matthew came down and we went off into town for a brunch fry-up. It might be the last decent meal we get for 2 weeks! Afterwards he offered to help us carry our cases down to the docks to the cruise ship. It felt strange just walking down the street, knowing that our fellow passengers would have arrived from all corners of the world.
So we said our goodbyes and set off through the multiple layers of security, immigration, customs, etc. We got to the final stage, where they were just checking our credit details for our bill, when they asked for a contact phone no. I reached in my pocket; why is it that you can't remember mobile numbers? To my horror, there was no phone. So immediately we texted Matthew and asked him to return to the hotel and see if it had fallen out of my pocket there. They hadn't seen it, so we checked into our cabin and then decided to go back to the hotel and see if it
was in our room. Nothing's ever simple! When we got there the lifts had stopped working so there was no way we could get back and check, even the stairs were inaccessible because the electronic locks had failed. So I decided to cut my losses and go and join Matthew & Becky for a cup of tea, as they had just sent Phyl a text.(No good sending me one, was it?) Sitting there sipping tea and sulking, I suddenly had a brainwave, and remembered where the phone was! I'd emptied my pocket into the tray at the security check, and forgotten to retrieve it when I got to the other side! What a prat! So I stopped blaming everyone else and set off back to the ship, eventually managing to find the right guy who could get me back on the ship without having to go through all the immigration stuff again. What a stupid nightmare!
The first impression we got of the ship was just how vast it was! Being our first trip on a cruise ship, we didn't quite know what to expect. There were corridors, bars, restaurants and theatres everywhere, and no way of knowing how
Tauranga
Mount Maunganui to get from A to B without reading the instructions. Read the instructions? Me? Don't be ridiculous!
Eventually we worked out how to get out on deck, in time for departure at 6pm. The dockside was packed with well-wishers, the deck thronged with passengers; bar stewards selling drinks (which is a bit unkind, they were quite nice people actually). The sun was shining, music was playing, a hooter was sounding which could be heard in South Auckland, and the ship pulled away in a party atmosphere which seemed to say "You're on holiday! Enjoy!" Who are we to argue?
So after a first-rate meal, we fell into bed quite shattered and didn't have any trouble sleeping at all.
The next day I awoke with sun streaming brightly through the window, and threw the curtains open just after the sunrise. I then dragged Phyl kicking and screaming out of bed to see the view. It's a long time since either of us saw a sunrise! We had sailed right the way round the Northern Tip of New Zealand, and were approaching the small port of Tauranga, on the Western side of the Bay of Plenty. We watched the
ship pull into port, then amused ourselves for a while by watching all the professional tourists piling off the ship and onto buses for their organised tours, while we waited for our breakfast to be delivered. Phyl reckoned we had been up at least 2 hours before it arrived! Maybe we should order it for 6.15 tomorrow. Or maybe we'll just face the intellectual challenge of finding the breakfast room and get it ourselves.
Later we went for a stroll around Tauranga. You can just walk along the beach and then there is a lovely circular path which takes you around Mount Maunganui, where you can see some lovely coastal views. When we completed the circle, we came across a big crowd, who turned out to be watching an important beach volleyball match which was being televised there.(Unfortunately it was the male version of the sport)
So we returned to the boat, and after a bit of sunbathing and swimming on deck, the ship pulled out (I'm sure that's not the correct nautical term) while the local brass band played the Maori Farewell (Now is the Hour) and Auld Lang Syne; quite tear-jerking!
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