Wednesday, 19 December, 2018
We flew to Sydney via Brisbane today and checked into the Mercure Sydney Downtown Hotel. We love staying at the Mercure - it's a classy hotel and the rooms are nice and large. We picked up dinner and ate at the hotel. We than spent the evening relaxing and watching tv.
Thursday, 20 December, 2018
After
breakfast (McDonald's breakfast sandwiches), we lounged around until 11:30am when we had to leave the comfy room
and caught an Uber to the port. We boarded the ‘Norwegian Jewel’ and after a
delicious lunch (the orange chocolate mousse was divine), we headed to our
room. We have an inside cabin (#11137) and we are quite pleased. The room
itself is small, but the bathroom is large and that suits us quite well. The
ship itself is quite beautiful and it’s decorated really nice for Christmas. We
spent some time after lunch checking out the ship and then spent time relaxing
in the cabin before we got dressed for dinner. We decided to go to O’Sheehan’s
Bar and Grill as they had advertized they were having prime rib and we both
LOVE prime rib. When I saw the size of another cruiser’s portion, I suggested to Mike that we share one dinner. It was delicious and we are very pleased with the food we
have been served so far. What a difference from P & O! We had dessert and, although it was tasty, it wasn’t fabulous and so, we are going to pass on sweet
stuff unless we feel that it is going to be amazing. The show in the Theatre
tonight featured a husband and wife duo called ‘String Fever’. They were
fantastic! She plays the cello and he plays the violin and piano - they also
both sing. They played a variety of tunes: some contemporary, some classical,
some show tunes. We are looking forward to their next show in a few days.
This was my favourite dessert on the ship - orange chocolate mousse
More Christmas decorations on the ship
My dessert for dinner
The Sydney Harbour Bridge
Me with the Sydney Opera House in the background
The evening entertainment in the 'Stardust Theatre'
Friday, 21 December, 2018
Christmas decorations in the main dining room
Mike with his appetizer at our first lunch on the ship
Our desserts at lunch our first day on the ship
The Sydney Opera House
The door to our cabin
Mike with his appetizers at dinner - mmm chicken wings
My dinner appetizers at dinner - mozzarella cheese sticks - yummy
Friday, 21 December, 2018
It’s been a nice relaxing day today. The ship anchored off
the town of Eden, N.SW. and we took the tender in to the pier. We walked from
there into town (up hill 1km) and walked along the main street, stopping in at
a store to pick up a couple of ponchos - it was raining today and we thought it
might be a good idea to have a poncho in case it rains in any of our other
stops. We were back at the ship by lunch time and, after lunch, went back to
our cabin and had a very long nap. We weren’t hungry by the time it was our
usual dinner time (5:30pm), so we went to the evening show before dinner. The
show was called ‘Velvet’ and it took place in a ‘nightclub’ (based on ‘Studio
54') - disco music was on the program. The female lead singer is fabulous, the
male lead singer is pretty good, the dancers are good, but the two acrobats
were incredible and the costumes were amazing. The food on this ship has been
superb so far - we have been really impressed with the quality and quantity of
the offerings.
The evening entertainment in the 'Stardust Theatre'
Saturday, 22 December, 2018
Today we docked at Burnie, Tasmania - we have now been to
all of Australia’s states (and one territory). Burnie is a small city whose
main export is paper - they actually grow trees specifically for making paper
(the trees take 12 years to grow). After catching a bus into the city and
talking with a woman at the Tourist Info place, we decided to walk to the Fern
Glade Nature Reserve. It’s a place where you can sometimes see platypus in the
wild. We walked along the boardwalk beside the water for quite a while before
we headed into the reserve. We looked into the water in a variety of places
looking for the elusive platypus. We were told by a couple in the reserve to
look for bubbles coming up through the water - that was a sign that a platypus
was under the water at that spot. We saw lots of bubbles, but alas no platypus.
So, after looking for awhile, we headed back to where the bus waited for us
cruisers (about 1 1/4 hours to walk) to take us back to the ship. All told today, we
walked 21,364 steps (almost a record for us). Our feet were hurting after that
long walk, so after lunch, we went and rested in the cabin until it was time
for the evening show. Tonight’s show was by a group called ‘Black Tie’ - two
vocalist brothers (bass/baritones) and their wives (a pianist and a cellist).
Their show was a mix of a variety of music (from classical to musical theatre
to contemporary) and also a lot of comedy. They were just fabulous - so
talented and so funny. We had another late dinner tonight and another fabulous
tasting one - roast beef - and amazing desserts (lava cake for me - oh my
goodness - so yummy - and apple crumble with ice-cream for Mike - marvellous,
he says). We are so impressed with the quality of the food on this ship - I
already want to go on another cruise on the Norwegian Jewel.
View from our dining room table at breakfast time
Mike and me in Burnie with our ship, the Norwegian Jewel, in the background
Me in front of artwork spelling out 'paper' - the influence of forestry had a major role on Burnie's development in the 1900s with the founding of the pulp and paper mill
Mike looking for a platypus in the Fern Glade Nature Reserve
Seeing bubbles on the water - there's a platypus beneath apparently, but we didn't see any
Another towel animal on our bed in our cabin
Sunday, 23 December, 2018
The evening entertainment in the 'Stardust Theatre'
Sunday, 23 December, 2018
We docked in Melbourne today and we decided to purchase a
‘myki’ card (their transit card for Melbourne) which allowed us to catch the
bus right from the ship to the cbd (Central Business District) of Melbourne.
From there, we caught a tram to the Shrine of Remembrance. The Shrine “honours
the service and sacrifice of more than 400,000 Victorians who have, and
continue to serve, in the defence of Australia.” The Shrine is a beautiful
building architecturally and a beautiful memorial to those who have fought for
this country. We were there at noon when they had a special moment where a
light is shone across a stone in the Sanctuary which has “greater love hath no
man” written on it. While the light shone across the stone (shining for a
longer bit on the word ‘love’), the 'Last Post' played. It was a sombre moment.
The gardens of the Shrine are beautiful, as well. After visiting the Shrine, we
walked across the road to the Botanical Gardens and walked through there. We
just love being in nature and it was wonderful to be in the middle of such a
lovely place. We walked from the gardens along the river to get back to the
bus. After dinner, we watched the movie ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’
(starring Jim Carrey) in the theatre - what a heartwarming movie. Following
that, we watched a comedy show starring Scott Williams (an Aussie comedian). He
had been billed as a “clean, fast moving and hilariously entertaining
performer”, so we decided to give him a go. It’s so hard to know if a comedian
is going to be appropriate, but since he was said to be “clean”, we went to the
show as we love to have a good laugh. Well, Scott did not disappoint - he had
us laughing out loud a ton - we are looking forward to his second show in a few
days.
Christmas decorations on Federation Square in Melbourne
The Shrine of Remembrance
Views from the Shrine of Remembrance
The cenotaph on the forecourt of the Shrine of Remembrance - the names of the defence forces together with the theatres of war they served in are inscribed on its surface - atop there is a sculpture of six servicemen carrying a bier with a corpse draped with an Australian flag - in front of the cenotaph is an eternal flame - it represents eternal life and it burns continuously
Animal sculptures in the Royal Botanical Gardens
Me in the Royal Botanical Gardens
Dad lazing around in the Royal Botanical Gardens
A Cockscomb Coral-tree - I'm in front of it
Mike in front of a cool looking tree in the Botanical Gardens
In the Botanical Gardens
Sculpture on the roof of the National Art Gallery of Victoria
Love the architecture in Melbourne!
The evening entertainment in the 'Stardust Theatre'
Another towel animal on our bed in our cabin
The movie we watched tonight
Monday 24 December, 2018
We can’t believe we are on Day 5 already - where has the
time gone - it’s going way too fast! This was our second day in Melbourne and
since we have seen so much of Melbourne already and will be coming back down
here in a few weeks, we decided to just go and get our 10,000 steps in by
walking up to some local shops. We checked out the windows of the shops as we
walked and enjoyed the Christmas decorations along the way. On our way back, we
stopped at a bakery which we had received a coupon for being cruise passengers.
We ordered an iced chocolate and received a free lamington which were both
delicious. After lunch on the ship, we spent the afternoon sitting on deck
chairs enjoying the warmth while working on our puzzle books. It was such a
lovely way to spend the afternoon. After dinner, we went up to the pool deck
again and enjoyed some time in the hot tub. The waves are quite big this
evening and the water in the pool was swishing every which way. Thankfully,
things were calm in the hot tub. It’s been a very relaxing day and we now have
three days at sea.
Our morning tea - iced chocolate and lamington (we shared it)
Seadoos on Port Phillip Bay (taken from the ship)
Video of the swimming pool looking more like a wave pool
Another towel animal
Tuesday, 25 December, 2018
We started off our day attending a non-denominational church
service in the theatre. It was a nice way to begin our Christmas Day. A
volunteer pastor and his wife led us in singing carols and then the pastor
talked about the life of Jesus Christ. There were quite a few people at the
church service which I was a bit surprised at, but which was nice to see. After
that, there was a Christmas Day Parade led by David, the Cruise Director, riding
on a mobility scooter decorated as Santa’s sleigh. Many of the crew were
dressed in Christmas outfits and were singing and playing Christmas carols as
they walked behind David. Santa Claus brought up the rear of the parade. It was
so fun to watch and made us feel like it was actually Christmas. The rest of
our day was just relaxing - sitting outside on a chaise lounge by the pool
working on our puzzle books and (me) having a little nap. Then, it was relaxing
in our cabin before heading down for our Christmas dinner - turkey, of course,
along with mashed potatoes, stuffing and green beans. I was hoping dessert
would be a pavlova, but no....so I had a chocolate mousse Yule log with lemon
curd and Mike had a Christmas fruit cake - both were yummy. The show in the
theatre tonight was really well done. It was called ‘Christmas Show: My Holiday
Wish’ - the show was filled with singing and dancing and some amazing aerial
entertainment - and it was a lot of fun to watch.
Ready for church Christmas morning
Video of crew members singing and playing music in the Christmas Day Parade
David, our cruise director, riding on his 'sleigh' (a borrowed mobility scooter) leading the Christmas Day Parade
The Christmas Day Parade
Christmas decorations on some of the cabin doors
Dressed for dinner on Christmas Day
Christmas Day dinner in the 'Azura Dining Room'
Christmas Day dinner dessert
The stage for the evening entertainment
Another towel animal
Santa bringing up the rear of the Christmas Day Parade
The evening entertainment in the 'Stardust Theatre'
Wednesday, 26 December, 2018
Another sea day for us and a very lazy day, to be sure. We
didn’t get going in time for breakfast, so we had a nice brunch in O’Sheehan’s
which is a small venue with a limited fixed menu. We were able to get a seat by
the window looking at the ocean as we ate - very calming. After eating, we
walked around the ship to get a good start on our 10,000 steps. Since we ate
brunch so late, we decided to just have an appetizer around 2:30pm so that we
wouldn’t be too full for our early dinner at 5:30pm. In between the appetizer
and dinner, we relaxed in the cabin. For dinner, we went back to the Azura
Restaurant - we have decided to make that our regular dinner venue - it’s
smaller, quieter and more quaint than the other main dining room. We also
enjoyed our waiters, Ernest and Jerome, last night, so we asked to be seated in
their section again tonight. They are very personable, cheerful and chatty - it
makes for a nice dinner time. Tonight, the show’s performers in the theatre
were ‘String Fever’ - a duo who performed previously on our cruise. This show
(a violinist and a cellist) they performed classical, Broadway and bluegrass
music mixed with a great sense of humour. They finished off this show playing
‘Waltzing Matilda’ and saying/singing the words along with it - a great way to
end the show. From there, we went straight to another venue to watch a game
show called ‘Battle of the Sexes’. Six men and six women participated in a
variety of activities which was a competition between the men and the women -
the women won!
Sample of a dessert menu in the 'Azure Dining Room'
The Bridge of the 'Norwegian Jewel' - Mike was really interested in the viewing room at the front of our deck where we could observe bridge operations
Another towel animal
Thursday, 27 December, 2018
Another day at sea with a few sails into the fjords on the
west coast of New Zealand and it was a perfect day to see the amazing scenery
in Milford, Doubtful and Dusky Sounds. In fact, at each of our meals today, we
were sailing through one of the Sounds, so we got an up close and personal view
of them from our dining room tables. We even got a bonus during dinner when we saw a pod of about ten
dolphins swimming just off the ship - that was a real treat! In the afternoon,
we went to the theatre to watch the movie “Christopher Robin” - what a
delightful, heartwarming movie. At dinner tonight, there was nothing on the
dessert menu with chocolate (boo!) and when I showed my ‘frowning face’ to our
wonderful waiter, Ernest, he went into the kitchen and came out with two
brownies (with chocolate sauce and cream) for me - so yummy! :-). We took a
long time eating dinner tonight, so missed most of the evening show - we
decided to go and catch the last bit of the show to see if we wanted to go and
catch the 9:15pm show, but we didn’t find that the singer was that good, so we
gave it a miss. We got in our 10,000 steps today again which (other than
Christmas Day), we have completed each day on our cruise.
Views of the three Sounds (Dusky, Doubtful, Milford) - some pics taken through the window of the 'Tsar's Dining Room' - beautiful scenery
Kayakers
Dressed up for dinner
Splashes from the dolphins who were playing off the side of the ship
Movie we watched in the afternoon in the 'Stardust Theatre'
My special dessert - brownies with chocolate sauce and ice-cream
Another towel animal
Friday, 28 December, 2018
Today, we docked in Port Chalmers which is a suburb of
Dunedin (on the south island of New Zealand). We have been here before, so we
decided not to go into the city of Dunedin, but rather to just have a walk
around Port Chalmers. It’s a small town (we walked the main street in ten
minutes at a saunter) and it’s surrounded by water and hills. The water is this
incredibly beautiful teal colour and the hills are so green. We walked up to
the top of one hill to 'Flagstaff Lookout'. We then walked
through the Hotere Garden and then followed some paths down to the water. We
walked along the path beside the water admiring the amazing scenery. We walked
over 13,000 steps today and it was so nice to be able to do that outside in
this beautiful town. We spent the afternoon sitting on chaise loungers by the
pool doing puzzles and enjoying the hot tubs - so relaxing! After dinner with
our wonderful waiter, Ernest, we headed to the nightly show which was a second
show by Scott Williams whose show is described as “deliciously funny finely
tuned comedy that’s loaded with laughter - Scott dispenses a clean, fast moving
and hilariously entertaining performance with side splitting results”. This
second show of Scott’s was just as funny as the first and had us laughing
throughout the whole show. We have been quite impressed with the quality of
most of the nightly entertainers on this ship.
More nice architecture
Me standing in front of the Lilliput Library - a little free library where you can exchange books - it was in front of a house - love this idea!
View from 'Flagstaff Lookout'
'Flagstaff Lookout'
Our ship from 'Flagstaff Lookout'
The following four sculptures below were returned to their home n the Hotere Garden at Observation Point in 2005 - they had previously been displayed at the studio of Ralph Hotere which stood nearby, but was demolished in the development of Port Otago in 1993
'They do cut down the poles that hold up the sky'
Walking in Port Chalmers
'Penguin' (made out of sheet metal) in a real wheelchair at the end of a dock
'Stone boat' in water in Port Chalmers
Evening entertainment in the 'Stardust Theatre'
Nice architecture in Port Chalmers
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year written on the sidewalk in Port Chalmers
Beautiful Port Chalmers
Saturday, 29 December, 2018
Today, we anchored in Akaroa Harbour near the town of Akaroa
which is a really lovely little town - we have been here before and did a bus
tour at that time which included a drive around the countryside up to a lookout
and a couple of other stops along the way. There really isn’t much else to see
in Akaroa, so we decided to just walk around the other part of the town which
we hadn’t seen last time we were here (it also helped toward our 10,000 steps).
We had to take a tender to get into Akaroa which was about a 15 minute boat
ride. It’s a lovely little harbour in which there were a number of smaller
personally owned boats and a number of tour boats, as well. After getting off
the tender, we made our way to a street which we knew would take us along the part of the town we wanted to walk through. We stopped at the Coronation
Library which now serves as a used books store and reference library. There
they gave us a map of the town which we used to find our way. We decided to
take a walk through The Garden of Tane - Tane Mahuta is a giant kauri tree of the northland region of New Zealand - the tree was named after the Maori god of forests and birds. The garden as a variety of trails going through a beautiful forest. Mike and I enjoyed walking through this area and came across two cemeteries in
the garden with headstones from back in the 1800s up to the mid-2000s (from
what we saw anyway). The trails were wet and muddy in parts and we were able to
get around most of the mud by going slow and hanging on to tree branches.
However, in one spot I slipped and fell and wouldn’t you know it, I was wearing
white capris today (thankfully I was able to wash out the dirt when I got back
to our cabin). The walk took us to ‘The Lighthouse’ - it was completed in 1879
and was relocated from the heads to Akaroa in 1980. We then walked back to the
tender and were back on the ship by 1:30pm. After lunch, we spent the afternoon
in our cabin just relaxing (our favourite thing to do on the ship - the
relaxing part :-). After supper, we checked out the evening entertainment which
was comedy hypnotist, Greg Hudson. We didn’t find his show to be very
entertaining, so we decided to give it a miss and just have some more
relaxation time in the cabin.
Great sign in Akaroa which made us chuckle (voted best coffee in the world 'BY US')
Views in Akaroa we saw on our walk through the town
Information board explaining who Tane was in Maori culture
Bird in a tree in the Garden of Tane
Mike walking in the garden
Me standing in the garden
Akaroa Harbour with the lighthouse on the left
Road leading to the lighthouse
The Akaroa Lighthouse
Sailing out of Akaroa
Another towel animal
Akaroa Harbour with our ship in the distance
Sunday, 30 December, 2018
Today, we docked in ‘wet and windy’ Wellington and took a
shuttle into the city. We have been here twice already - we did a bus tour the
first time and did a self-guided walk the second time. This time we decided to
go to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. We took a guided tour with a
tour guide named Roger and he was fabulous! He gave us a brief history of how
New Zealand’s people came to be in New Zealand and also told us a bit about the
other parts of the museum. There was another guided tour we could have taken
about the Maori people which we would have loved to go on, but it was only at
2pm and we wouldn’t have had time to do that and get back to the ship on time,
so we had to give it a miss this time. After our guided tour, we checked out a
bit of the artwork in one area and then went through a display about the
Anzac’s (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) participation in Gallipoli -
what a powerful exhibit! It would have been good if we had been able to spend
more time in the museum, but the museum does have a website about the Gallipoli
battle which we can look at when we get home. After we got back onboard the ship, we
spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the deck reading and doing our
puzzles. After dinner, we went to the evening show called ‘Rock You Tonight’
starring the Norwegian Jewel Production Cast. They did a show featuring the
songs of Carol King, James Taylor, Queen, Journey and the Who. They had new
singers for this show, so we wonder if the previous headline singers got off in
Wellington today. The lead singers were really good and the costumes of the
cast were fabulous. The music was very loud and not really our taste and the
choreography was a bit pitiful. We hope that if they have another show on this
cruise, that it will be better and measure up to the first production cast on
this cruise. P.S At breakfast this morning, we invited a fellow called Joe to sit with us at breakfast (he was looking around for a seat in the very busy cafe). While talking with him, we found out that he had worked for United Airlines as a mechanic. I mentioned that Mike had had a boss from United who had caused a lot of problems for the maintenance department and caused Dad to be stressed for the first time in his career. When I mentioned that this guy yelled at everyone, Joe said that he had had a boss like that and then mentioned his name - Sig Mueller. Joe looked at Mike and said that that was the name of his boss, too. We couldn't believe it! What a small world! One American and one Canadian/Australian meeting up on a ship in New Zealand 'just happening' to sit together at breakfast and finding out they shared the same man as a boss (although in different cities).
Mike in front of a cool tree on the way to the museum
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Carving just inside the entrance of the museum
One of the cannons which was thrown overboard from a ship called 'The Endeavour' - Captain James Cook's ship - James Cook discovered Australia in 1770
Animals brought to New Zealand from Europe
How people came to populate New Zealand
Painting in the museum
Other items in the museum
Artwork in the museum
Gallipoli exhibit - it was amazing
The over-sized figures were so life-like
Our supper desserts - mine was so yummy!
Another towel animal
The evening entertainment in the 'Stardust Theatre'
Monday, December 31, 2018
Today we docked in Napier and originally we weren’t going to
go in to town as there wasn’t a lot of time to spend there - the ship
landed early in the morning and all aboard was 1:30pm. After breakfast, though,
we looked out at the town and decided that, since we haven’t been here before,
we would go in and check it out. We were glad we did as it’s a cute little
town. The shuttle bus dropped us off in town and we started walking along the
waterfront. They have done a fabulous job of planning the things which are
along the waterfront in Napier and it’s really geared to families. Whoever
designed this area should be commended! As we walked, we passed by a wading
pool/splash park, two swimming pools, a huge skate park, an aquarium, three
playgrounds (one of which was a cute bike park for little ones with real
stoplights), a floral clock, beautiful gardens, fountains, a mini golf course,
picnic/bbq areas and sculptures. We absolutely loved walking along that path! We then walked back along a street parallel to the waterfront and checked out
the stores in the town. After our bus ride back to the ship (and lunch), we
spent the afternoon sitting by the pool reading. doing our puzzles, swimming
and spending time in the hot tub - the weather was fabulous and so we really
enjoyed being outside and relaxing. Our dinner tonight was a special dinner as
it’s New Year’s Eve today. Mike ordered lamb chops and I ordered chateaubriand
and then we shared each other’s meals. We decided to wait until after the
evening show to have dessert. The evening’s entertainment was incredible
tonight - the best we have ever seen on any cruise ship and was equal to any
professional theatre production. Tonight’s show was called ‘Signature of Love -
Aerial and Acrobatic Artistry’ and starred Sergii and Anastassiia Khrystiuk.
They are young, artistic acrobatics from the Ukraine. I can’t even find words
to describe their amazing show - their skill level is crazy - they are both so
strong and they received applause after each move they did which culminated in
a standing ovation at the end of their show. Truly spectacular! Dessert was our
treat after the show and again we shared our desserts - mine was a volcano lava
cake with strawberry compote (so yummy!) and Mike ordered a chocolate mousse
cake - mine was the tastiest! :-).
Along the foreshore in Napier
The aquarium
Unofficially known as the 'Spirit of Napier' - actual name of this statue is the 'Gilray Fountain'
Classic car tours of Napier can be taken in this vintage automobile
Art Deco architecture is everywhere in Napier - there was a massive earthquake in Napier in 1931 and most of the city was destroyed by the quake and the fires that followed - the town was then rebuilt in the Art Deco style
Mike and a cool bike advertizing the summer cycling carnival in Napier
More beautiful architecture
Beautiful garden along the foreshore
Pania of the Reef -
Tuesday, 1 January, 2019
Happy New Year! We did stay up until midnight last night,
but it was a bit of a stretch as we were quite tired. We kissed at midnight and
then turned over and began snoring within minutes. :-). We awoke today docked
in Tauranga. We have been here before and walked around the town at that time, so we knew there
wasn’t much to see unless you chose to go on a ship tour. Tauranga has nice
beaches and tons of shops, but that’s about it to look at. There is Mount
Maunganui, but that would take ages to climb up - it’s a steep large hill, but
there is a path which winds around and around it. We chose to walk from the
ship along a path until we got to the edge of the ‘mountain’ and then walked
two blocks to get to Mount Maunganui Main Beach and walked along a path beside
the beach. We then walked up and down and up the main street checking out some
of the stores and stickybeaking in others. Although it was New Year’s Day, most
of the shops were open (there are a ton of restaurants and cafes on the main
street) - we think it might have been because there were two cruise ships
docked in Tauranga today. After lunch, it was up to the pool deck for a
glorious afternoon sitting on our chaise loungers doing our puzzles and
reading. We had a dip in the pool (which was super warm today) and I even read
in the pool as they have a wide ledge around the pool which has a couple of
inches of water on it - I can enjoy the water of the pool and read at the same
time - that was awesome! After dinner (boy, was it nice today: chicken cordon
bleu and dessert for me was cannolis which I had never had before and they were
yummy and Mike had cream cheese filled carrot cake which he said was delicious). Mike was feeling wiped out from the day and so we gave the night-time
entertainment (which was a magician) a miss and relaxed in our cabin for the
evening.
Walking along the beach
Statue of a blue dog in a suit on a balcony across the road from the beach
Welcoming the passengers of the 'Norwegian Jewel' to Tauranga
Love, love, love this saying on a tea towel in a shop in Tauranga
Cool sign 'Let's Summer' on a store in Tauranga
Wednesday, 2 January, 2019
Today we docked in Auckland. As we have been here twice
before and one of those times we spent three days here, we felt that we had
seen what there was to see that we were interested in. So, we decided just to
walk around the streets to get in our 10,000 steps (we ended up getting in over
15,000 steps all. up today). Our afternoon was the same as it’s been for the
past few days - spent up on the pool deck sitting on chaise lounges reading and
doing puzzles and spending time in the pool. So relaxing! After dinner, we went
to the evening show which starred a singer named Brenda Edwards - she was in
the tv reality show ‘X Factor UK’ back in the mid 2000’s and she now performs
in musical theatre shows in London’s West End. She is a soul singer and she is
amazing! She has such a powerful voice and we really enjoyed the show.
Our ship docked in Auckland
More architecture
Different paths for pedestrians and bicycles
Thursday, 3 January, 2019
Friday, 4 January, 2019
We got up a bit late today and so we didn't have breakfast until later in the morning. After that, there was a vegetable carving demonstration given by one of the ship's professional artisan chefs. He showed us how he carves a variety of vegetables into 'magnificent sculptures'. He was really good, although we thought that the demo went on a bit long. Since we had had a late breakfast, we weren't ready for lunch at the regular time, so we went up to the pool deck and did our usual lazing around on chaise loungers. After having a quick snack, we went to the 'International Crew Talent Show' which was a half hour show featuring a number of the crew from the housekeeping, waitstaff and entertainment departments. There were two singing/dancing groups, two singers and one guy who played the saxophone. They were all really entertaining and we enjoyed the show. After that, we headed to the Spinnaker Lounge to attend a Q & A with four of the entertainment staff (two singers and two dancers) who shared with us how they came to be working on cruise ships and what their life was like on the ships. It was really interesting to get this behind the scenes information. The nightly entertainment show tonight featured a singer called Belinda Marks who sings a variety of genres of music. We decided to give the show a miss and take an extra long time at dinner. We have so enjoyed our two waiters, Ernest and Jerome, and wanted to make this dinner last as long as possible. We were so impressed with them that we gave them a nice tip each. We also tipped the girl at the front of the restaurant who arranged for us to be seated in Ernest's section each night and two waitresses who had stood out to us who worked in the buffet: Marvellous is from Zimbabwe and Gladys is from Singapore (where the majority of the crew is from) - these two girls are such beautiful people and made us smile each time we saw them and conversed with them. Each of these people has helped to make this a fabulous cruise!
Saturday, 5 January, 2019
The shipped docked back in Sydney today and it was our day to disembark. We were sad to leave as we have had a fantastic time onboard the Norwegian Jewel. We took a shuttle to the airport, flew to Hervey Bay via Brisbane and took another shuttle home. It is nice to be back home, but we are looking forward already to another cruise on NCL.
