We had an uneventful 3 sea days on the way to New Zealand.
We spent the time learning the new ship, which in our opinion has a bizarre layout. We are told that it is common for “Princess” ships to have a deck plan where one needs to walk up a deck, than down a deck to reach one of the dining rooms. It’s also much bigger than the Celebrity Solstice.
The Port of Tauranga is not actually in Tauranga, rather it is in Mount Maunganui. We didn’t have an excursion, so we decided to just hand out there, rather thann going to Tauranga. The town is on a spit of land with beaches on both sides. At the end is Mount Maunganui. It’s a pretty spot, and very touristy.
We once again have found New Zealand to be an amazingly warm and hospitable country. It feels a bit like going back a decade or two, where people really care about each other, their community, and country.
I found a nice T-shirt, we had lunch, and headed back to the ship for a nap. Next stop was overnight to Auckland, where we had signed up for sailing on an America’s Cup boat. We weren’t entirely cognizant of the tropical storm (98P) developing north of us around Vanuatu. Turns out we got to know Typhoon Tam a bit better over the next few days.
What an unbelievable adventure!
Sure wish I’d been with you in NZ. Some of my best memories are from there! Can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed your posts, guys. Thanks for sharing it all with us.
Audie and I are on a 2 week road trip that’s been very good. We’re entering the visiting-friends phase of the trip later today, starting in Annapolis.
Love to you both and Happy Easter!
Sounds ominous!
We are looking forward to your return, unless you decide to move to one of the beautiful places you’ve been visiting! We will make sure to have a really nice bottle of wine to share, and some bread from Buon Giorgio. Does that entice you to return?
Yes it does! We’ll be available on the 22nd. (Suffering from a wee bit of travel fatigue)