MaryS

S: Good, actually, great news about your Anthem of the Seas sailing
Good morning! Late last night, we sent you an email sharing the news that the New Jersey Health Authority advised us that they received the results from CDC, and the individuals tested negative for novel coronavirus. (We decided it was a little too late to text you.) The good news, our departure from Cape Liberty, New Jersey will remain the same, at 3:00 PM EST on Monday, February 10th. The even better news, our team has been tirelessly working and has advised you can board the ship today! So, come start your vacation early with us. The terminal doors will open at 3:00 PM today and boarding will take place today from 3:00 PM - 7:00 PM EST, or Monday from 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM EST. Please know, since stevedore availability is limited today, you may need to bring your bags onboard with you, so it may be a good idea to pack lightly.
We really appreciate your understanding during this unexpected and very fluid situation. Our top priority is your health, safety, and wellbeing. We would never put you at risk, especially when it comes to health. So, thank you for your patience and we look forward to seeing you later today, or tomorrow!
 
Yippee !  Boarding today at 3:00. Ready to get this party started !

Royal excursion today - Wellington Panorama
Wellington is also a shuttle bus port.  You can't simply walk off the ship and wander into the city.  After meeting in the Royal Theater we boarded our tour bus directly.  As we were leaving the port an endless line of shuttle buses were arriving to carry guests without a Royal excursion into the city.


Our driver provided commentary as he drove around the city.   The road network was originally designed in London, England by individuals who had never been to Wellington, NZ.  They just laid out the roads like Wellington was flat which it isn't. 
Once it came to actually building the roads in Wellington they had to deal with hills that in some places were sharp cliff walls.  Back in the day it seemed logical to simply start and stop streets across these cliff faces.  Stairs or walkways were added for pedestrians.  In modern times though it presents a challenge for GPS where you can find yourself driving into a dead end that ends with stairs to the next section of road.  
Consequently it helps to know Wellington if you are going to drive around Wellington.

Our first stop is a botanical garden.

The centerpiece of this garden is the Lady Norwood Rose Garden.









Also featured is a small section dedicated to peace.



Here one will find the Hiroshima Stone.

The stone is from the former Hiroshima City Hall that was destroyed by the atomic bomb.

Waiting for the initial Genie email after submitting the survey sort of feels like this...

“Follow that STAR…Our Journey back to Oasis.” - March 15-22, 2020
Oasis…
” A fertile or green spot in the desert, a shelter from the storm, a moment of respite from the conditions of the desert…”
We’re back with another blog and that line above pretty much sums up what this cruise means to us this time around.  Our lives, since entering dry dock back in August 2019, has been work, work, and more work.  To say that the last seven months have been busy is an understatement.  However, all is going to be well soon as we are about to embark on not just another cruise, but another Star Class adventure!
And full disclaimer!  In fear of being blog shamed (I won't mention any names here lol), I debated waiting on this one until about a week out but then I would have to back track to outline the Star Class process.  This is just easier.  Oh, and I am excited too! 
Please note that this is only 5 weeks early. ?
Let's begin...

The beach front has a paved sidewalk or you can stroll on the pebbles of the beach.





It's a very nice area.



Time for a New Zealand beer...

The line for the cruise ship shuttle is right across the street and it was starting to build so I thought I'd wait it out with another beer and a bite to eat..

Some more pictures while I let some time pass.


Well I might as well jump in line.  Actually it went very fast.  They had three or four coaches boarding at the same time so it was only five or six minutes.

Back at the port where the buses dropped us off they had more cars on display.

As well as some live music from the era.

It was a pretty great day.  Everyone in Napier was very friendly and welcoming.  I could definitely see coming back in the future.

Driving back to the port area we drive along the coast for a few minutes.

Back into the city...

We had a choice to get off the bus in town and use the free cruise ship shuttle or to return to the port.  We had several hours and I wanted to explore the city a bit.

These buildings are called the Six Sisters.  A father wanted to keep his daughters close to home so he built each of them a house.  Being of wood construction they survived the 1930's earthquake that struck the area and now they contain different businesses.

Earthquakes damaged or destroyed a lot of buildings in the 1930s.  Much of the town was rebuilt in the style of the era and so Napier is now known for its Art Deco architectural style.  They have embraced that by adding some vintage cars.  Rides are offered.

I'm really glad this tour took us out of the city to see the countryside.

In the far distance is the port area.


Lots of grape vines.

No farmland is complete without some...

Did I mention this region has a lot of wineries?



We continued our drive in the countryside to the sights of Te Meta Peak range.


More rivers at low levels.


Beehives in the foreground.

Stunning views for a bus ride.

Update:
 
 

No, we don’t have a car and decided to just stick around the hotel. I will say, downtown Newark is quite an experience.  At least we will be thrilled to get out of here and get on the ship finally. 
 
No new updates so it looks like 5:00 today for boarding and 10PM departure.  Yippee !

No more updates for now so hopefully things have stabilized.  At this point they are refunding 2 days of cruise fare, 2 days of prepaid packages and reimbursing hotel and food up to $200.  They’ve cancelled Nassau (yippee) and cut out 1 sea day.  IF things go smoothly tomorrow I think all will be well.  I have a 4:00 checkout at the hotel so if they begin boarding at 5:00 that should work out.

As the sun was setting we sailed past the White Island Volcano.  The tragedy that occurred on December 9, 2019 resonates with me because I was originally booked on that excursion for this day.
Out of respect for those impacted by this tragedy I wasn't sure if I was going to mention it.  I wasn't even sure we would be close enough to see it.  With a solemn heart and with the victims in my thoughts this will be the only post that I'll share.

Back to the Tauranga port area we had a little bit of time to wander around the nearby beach.
Since it was Waitangi Day there were lots of people enjoying the beautiful day.


Jumping off piers and docks must be a New Zealand thing as it was popular here as well.

With a lot of walking over the past week my feet were sore so back to the ship.


Looking back down the entrance we came in.



Soon enough it was sail away time.




This was a really enjoyable stop with so much to do.

Our last stop was at a Redwood Grove.

Redwoods were imported roughly 100 years ago from California.  

The other species our driver wanted to show us were the Silver Ferns.   This type of fern is only found in New Zealand.  The Silver Fern is a symbol of national identity to New Zealanders and there are even some sports teams that use the name.


The Silver Ferns can grow quite tall as ferns go.






It's a popular spot and they have set up an elevated course through a section of the trees that carries an additional charge.

After the presentations we were given some free time to explore on our own.
We had been told there area is dry right now and in need of rain.  Normally these would be mud puddles bubbling with steam.

The geysers were going off again.




It's kind of weird seeing steam coming from the ground in every direction.




With that it was time to meet our driver and move on to our lunch stop.

We were led to a viewing platform for two geysers, a small one on the left and a bigger one on the right.   



In places everywhere you look there is steam coming from the ground.

This small pool of water is at or near 100°C or 212°F.  It's bubbling like a pot of water on a cooktop. 





The geysers from a different view platform.

After leaving the farm we drove for an hour or so to the Rotorua area.  The entire Rotorua area is within the collapsed dome of a volcano.  This includes a recreational freshwater lake and the town.  It also includes a Māori living community where we went next.
This is home to many people who open it up to run tours during the day.

Known in short as Whaka the proper and full name is presented below on a sign.  

An old tradition will see children swimming and diving for money thrown by visitors from the bridge. 

Our guides tells us he used to do that as a child but now he has other duties to fulfil around the community including being a guide for tours.

Everywhere around us steam is coming out of the ground.

In some spots they've built a box on top of these natural steam vents that are used for cooking.




This one natural thermal pool is around 80° or 90°C so it's way too warm to swim in but works great for cooking corn very quickly.


The water is constantly bubbling being fed from underground sources that heat the water.


Since this is a living community we see a number of homes like this one which are naturally heated in the winter months.

We were offered some freshly cooked corn on the cob to sample.

Our driver toured us around town a little before getting on a highway and heading away from town.  Eventually we made our way through Kiwifruit Country.  
On each side of the road were tall natural barriers separated each parcel of farmland.

We had arrived in the land of Kiwi!






Samples of the Golden Kiwi (left) and the popular Green kiwi (right).

The store featured endless products made from kiwi.  Jams and chocolates to just about anything you can put fruit in was available including kiwi ice cream.  Yum.



Restrooms were also available.

My excursion today is booked through a 3rd party.  We were directed to meet outside the port exit.
There is a short walk down the pier to the exit.

Maps were handed out for anyone who wants to self explore.


The port entrance.

Immediately in front of the port entrance was a crowd of 3rd party vendors meeting their guests with sign boards.

My excursion today is the Deluxe Rotorua Geothermal Valley Geishers, Redwood Forest and lunch.  We were presented a menu to pick from and pre-order.

Kids menu:

Our driver had arrived early to secure a great parking spot right in front of the port entrance. 

A few observations: 

Does anyone really truly understand how this thing works? It controls the big balcony  curtains in the suite, but really I just found myself randomly mashing the buttons until the curtains opened/closed. There is quite a sense of accomplishment when it actually works. Maybe I’m just an idiot. ?
Our suite is stocked with 15 - yes 15 - boxes of tissues. I counted them this morning out of sick curiosity. They must think that folks who stay in this suite have horrible runny noses or some such. 
We also have 27 washcloths in our suite. So maybe we are smelly, too?
Here is the finalized laundry tag collection that I have accumulated. I feel like I’m missing some, but I had fun stashing them  away in a drawer.


And here is our final towel zoo. The lights make it a little difficult to get a good photo without shadows, but you get the idea. 

 

The North Star Bar is a secret gem at dusk.  It's seems so few people are present when the sky offers some of the best views of the day.



A movie was playing on the outdoor pool TV screen.

I didn't think there was going to be much of a sunset but then in that space between the sky and the sea a hole opened up and the sun presented itself in the gap.


I spotted a small boat returning to land.




It's always pretty special watching the day end this way and tonight's wrap of our first day in New Zealand was no exception.  

For reference here is the tender dock:

Back on board I hopped in the shower and enjoyed a beer on my balcony while the remaining hour wasted away before our departure..

The sail out is very pretty.


Up to the North Star Bar to watch us depart the area.


North Star was running.



It's a beautiful coastline.

Approaching the end we passed by a nearby town that is a free shuttle bus ride from the tender dock.


The preparations for the Waitangi Day festivities were continuing.

A Māori longboat.

 

Back on the boat we continued down into the bay.  
Remember that rock formation from my earlier pictures?

Darryl explained there are 140 islands in the region.  To qualify as an island there must be something like 130 sq. meters of vegetation.  
It was getting to be that time...

Lunch preparations continued as we boated around sailboats and around some of the bays in the area.

The panoramic nature of this boat lended itself to the scenery. 

Lunch on the barbie.  Or is that only an Aussie thing? 

New Zealand Venison, medium rare.  Cooked to order so if you prefer charcoal they were willing to cook it that way. 

Salad and other fixings.  Beer and wine was around $7.50 NZD per glass or ~$5 USD at the moment.    They ran a tab and collected payment at the end.  I didn't have any NZD cash so just used my credit card that doesn't incur any foreign transaction fees.  A beer and a glass of wine came to just under $10 USD.

Picture intensive post.  
Mid-thread reminder...  please don't quote pictures.  Thanks!
We stopped in a quaint little village called Russell.  In the days of whaling Russell was known for two things.  Bars and brothels.  It's come a long way since then... 








Interesting note for pedestrians, the cars don't stop.  Fortunately there aren't very many.  Cars that is.







An hour was plenty of time to explore from one end of the beach to the other.  Russel is a pretty little area that is popular.