Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

Reports about cruises on Aurora
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Gill W
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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#26

Post by Gill W »

Day 25

8th March

Akaroa

This port is being used as the gateway to Christchurch, while Lyttleton is undergoing repairs following the earthquakes.

It's about a 90 minute drive to Christchurch. We did some research before our holiday, and it looked as if Akaroa was a pleasant looking place, ideal for spending a few hours, so we decided to do our own thing in town.

This is a tender port. We allowed for the morning tours to depart and presented ourselves at Masquerades at about 9.45am to get our tender tickets - along with everyone else! It took about an hour for our numbers to be called to the pontoon. It was a 15 minute journey to shore, but we couldn't dock immediately as a dolphin watch boat was moored at our dock. It was finally 11.30 before we stepped foot on dry land.

Akaroa means 'Long Bay' which described its position perfectly in a long natural harbour. The terrain is mountainous, so it's very picturesque with hills all around, whatever direction you look.

The weather was a bit chilly, but comfortable enough if you dressed in layers. There were a couple of short showers, but apart from that it was dry.

The town is small, with about 1000 residents. It was founded in 1840 by French settlers and there is still a French influence today in the street names. The houses are mainly made of wood.

The little town was busy today, as we were in with Dawn Princess who is doing pretty much the same itinerary as us.

We had a good walk round, and had a coffee and Danish at one of the many little cafes. We walked around to a small lighthouse, taking photos all the time of the lovely views.

The best thing of all was The Giants House. It was actually the garden that people go to see. It is the home of artist Josie Martin, and over the last 18 years has created mosaic statues. Gaudi is clearly her inspiration. Think of Parc Guell in Barcelona, and you'll get the idea. Her work is very quirky, and you can see animals, a ship and even a grand piano. A really excellent attraction.

We got back to the ship at around 3.30pm. As you'd expect, there were quests for the tender, being a peak time.

Definitely a recommended port.

The evening entertainment was the second performances of female singer Alana Conway and Maori group Toa, plus tropical party night in Masquerades. However, we went to the cinema to see 'Muriel's Wedding'.
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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#27

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Day 26

9th March

Wellington

We docked this morning at 8am, parked in front of our shadow ship, Dawn Princess.

As usual, we had breakfast in the Horizon buffet. I normally have muesli, fruit, seeds and yogurt, but felt like a change this morning and had two slices of toast, topped with two fried eggs.

The cruise terminal is by the West Pac Stadium, and I think it would have been walkable to the city centre. However, we had no option but to take the shuttle - as the quay had been damaged by the recent earthquake, we had to go to the coach stop in groups. They didn't want passengers wandering around, tripping up over the large cracks in the quay surface.

It was like the tender operation. We had to get a numbered ticket from Masquerades, and await our numbers to be called, before going to the shuttle stop. We only had to wait about 20 minutes, and it was preferable to be waiting on the ship, instead of queuing on the quayside.

After a short drive to the city centre we went straight to the cable car station, and took to the ride to the top. We got a one way ticket, as we had decided to walk back down through the Botanical Gardens.

Wellington is geared up to look after tourists. At the shuttle stop, and at the top and bottom of the cable car station there were volunteer guides on hand, giving out maps and answering questions. The routes in the Botanical Gardens are also clearly marked. We made our way down, and stopped at the cafe in the Rose Garden for coffee and s cake. It was nice enough to sit outside, and we were joined by very bold sparrows, who thought nothing of sitting on occupied tables, in the hope of s crumb or two.

After this, we followed the route out of the botanical garden, which took us through an old graveyard. I always like to read old graves, so we lingered here for a while.

We found our way back to the shuttle stop to get our bearings, then struck out for the sea front, for a further walk. In common with many maritime cities and towns, the waterfront area is being redeveloped for leisure, which the old buildings occupied by museums, art galleries, shops and cafes.

The weather was kind, with only the shortest, lightest of shower, and the sun came out.

All in all, another excellent port call.

At the shuttle stop, shuttles were being shared by Aurora and Dawn Princess passengers, and they were frequent, so minimal queuing needed. We arrived back at the ship mid afternoon, and had a light salad lunch. Then we were able to dust off our shorts, which had been in the wardrobe for a few days, and sat out on deck for a while.

There have been little in the way of party sailaways, as we've been sailing at 6.30 pm or later, but it was very pleasant out on deck this evening as we sailed from Wellington.

Our evening entertainment was My Generation, from the Headliners. This show was also performed on the previous leg, but it was an afternoon performance that I didn't see. I've only seen this show once before, so it was still quite fresh. I gave the 'other' evening offering a miss. It was Craig Halliday the 'Ultimate Violin Showman'. It conjured up visions of Gary Lovini, so I decided it wasn't for me.
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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#28

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Day 27

10th March

At sea

A welcome sea day after three port days in succession

Unfortunately, still not the sunny weather that I hope for on sea days. It's quite cloudy, but no rain. If you put your fleece on its perfectly comfortable to walk on the prom deck, which I've been doing.

We still have the same speakers on board - I expect we'll get a new batch in Auckland. All the normal sea day activities are going on - line dancing, deck quoits, bridge, shuffleboard, Spanish class, bowls, camera club, chess, backgammon, etc. However, none of that is my 'thing', so I'm happy to either walk on the prom deck or read.

There was a change of Cruise Director in Wellington - we now have Leon de ste Croix.

As we are at GMT +13, Britain Today comes out at 4pm.

Yet another female singer has joined us, Elisha Hulton, from New Zealand. I did see her show, which was fine.

At the moment we have about 250 Australian passengers and about 50 New Zealanders. Much less than we had when sailing around Australia. I expect a lot of these passengers will disembark in Auckland.
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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#29

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Day 28

11th March

Tauranga

The good news today - it was nice and warm this morning. The not so good news - it was overcast and raining. This part of New Zealand has had heavy rain over the last few days. While we were out and about we noticed standing water in the fields and I understand there's been some flooding in the Auckland area.

There were two excursions we had been interested in at this port. There was an excursion to the film set of Hobbiton village from Lord of the Rings or a trip to Rotorua and the Thermal Valley.

The latter option won, and we had booked it several months ago. It was a very popular excursion, with six buses going.

Our first stop was at the Agrodome, for a sheep show, featuring 19 different breeds of sheep, shearing and sheep dogs. This was in a large indoor auditorium, with a large crowd, including us, coaches from the Dawn Princess (once again with us in port) and several other coach parties.

It was interesting, but I'm a bit ambivalent about some entertainments with live animals.

When we left this venue, it was absolutely hammering down with rain.

Fortunately, our next location was undercover too. We went up by cable car on Mount Ngongotaha, to the Skyline Restaurant, for our lunch. When we got to the top, the skies cleared a bit, so we were able to see the panoramic view of Rotorua and the lake.

The buffet lunch was very decent, with lots of different choices. Afterwards we had a Maori show, then back down to the coaches to be taken to the Te Puia Thermal Reserve. We saw Maori carving and weaving, before going to the thermal area.

We saw the geysers, which we viewed whilst standing on a bridge. Just as we got to the bridge, the heavens opened again. So what with the crowds, and everybody putting up umbrellas, it was difficult to see much. I did take some photos, but they are just grey blobs really!

Same with the bubbling mud pools - just one vantage point, which was crowded, but the rain had stopped by this time

I have to say, there was more to see in Iceland. I think it also makes a difference that, when in Iceland, we had sun and blue skies, which everything look better.

Overall, I enjoyed the day out, and we can't do much about the weather.

We arrived back at the ship at about 6.30pm.

We had dinner in the buffet, and while we were there, saw the arrival of a P & O Australia cruise ship, the Pacific Pearl. After our meal we went out on deck to watch Dawn Princess sail, then our own Sailaway. It was still warm, so this is encouraging.

Then we retreated to our cabin after a long day out.
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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#30

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Day 29

12th March

Auckland

This port was high on the list of the places I really wanted to see.

We docked at the Queens Wharf, with our shadow ship, Dawn Princess parked at the nearby Princes Wharf. Both berths are in excellent locations, right in the city centre.

However, it was raining, which was not a good start. Fortunately, at 9am, just after we'd finished our breakfast, the rain had stopped, so we decided to go out without any further waiting. We first walked along the waterfront to the Wynyard Quarter, and looked around there for a while. We then decided to walk to the central area. Just as we were passing the Maritime Museum, it started raining again. It was 10am, just as it was opening, so we thought it'd be a good time to go inside. This is an excellent museum, highly recommended.

While we were in the museum, the rain was bucketing down in stair-rods. We finished our visit at about 11.30am - by this time the rain had abated to merely pouring. Reluctantly, we decided to go back to the ship. We had lunch in the buffet, and it was very busy, packed with people who either hadn't been out yet, or who had returned to the ship.

We spent a bit of time on the prom deck watching them load up the supplies, but still it rained.

We'd almost given up, but at 2pm it stopped raining. So off we went, for another exploration. We spent time in the city centre, Albert Park and around Queens Wharf. But we were reluctant to go further afield , as it was still periodically spotting with rain.

We eventually returned to the ship at around 5pm. I feel happy that we saw some of the city, but the poor weather did restrict us. If it'd been better weather, we'd have taken the ferry to Devonport, and maybe have gone up the Sky Tower.

This evening there was a deck barbecue. It was held undercover in the Crystal Pool and it was very popular indeed.

The entertainment offering this evening was the second show of the singer Elisha Hutton. Although she was ok when we saw her two nights ago it seemed too soon to be seeing her again. We've seen the film offering in the Playhouse, so we just spent some time on deck looking at the view of Auckland by night, and waving goodbye to Dawn Princess for the final time. We sailed at 9.30pm.

The launch of the November 2018 - March 2019 cruising programme happens tomorrow. This evening there was a flyer in our cabin mailbox, giving brief details of the cruises available. I'm not looking to book a cruise in that period, and it's just as well, as there nothing that grabs me that much. The only new thing is Oceana doing the Arabian Gulf. Oceana was a bit below par last year, although she will have had a refit by 2019. But not sure I fancy flying for a shortish 11 day cruise.
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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#31

Post by Gill W »

Day 30 - 31

13th - 14th March

At sea

We now begin the long crossing of the Pacific Ocean, and, at last the sun has come out.

On the first of these sea days, it was still a bit fresh, and the sun would periodically hide behind a cloud for a while, but by the second of these two sea days, the sun was properly out, it was hot and any breeze was welcome. In short, the sea day that we've all been waiting for, for some time.

As we normally do on these sorts of sea days, we spent the mornings outside in the sun, but, as we are both quite fair skinned, spend the afternoons undercover, apart from a bit of strolling around.

We have a new batch of speakers. Steve Ragnall, who is speaking about Captain Cook, Ingrid Visser who is talking about marine life, Brian Lawerson who is talking about 'tales from the South Pacific', and Commodore John King who is talking about his life at sea from cadet to commodore. The latter is part of the the 180 years heritage theme.

I can see that the speakers are relating to the area of the world in which we are travelling, but it seems to me that many of the subjects are similar. It might be nice to have something completely different for a change.

On the first of these sea day evenings it was a formal night, the seventh of ten, for these two legs. I think there were many more in formal attire compared to the start of the cruise, I think this is due to there being less Aussies on board now.

It was also Bond Night in the casino hosted by senior officers where entrants could win raffle prizes.

On this evening, the entertainment was a group called The Ladykillers. Not one, but three female singers! We went to see them, but it was a reminder why I'm not keen on female singers on the cruise ships - to much trilling vocal gymnastics for my liking. We won't see their second show.

For the past few days, we've seen the film offering in the cinema, so that hasn't been an option.

On the second of the sea days, the main evening entertainment was a double bill of violinist Craig Halliday and singer Peter Cutler. I must apologise to Craig Halliday - we didn't see his first show as I thought he would be like Gary Lovini. He was far superior. I've seen Peter Cutler before. He styles himself as Yorkshire's answer to Michael Bublė.

I don't know what's the matter with me on this cruise, apart from Headliners, there's only been a few acts I've really enjoyed!

As an aside, on the first leg the theatre was often only three quarters full. On this leg it's been packed out
Gill

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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#32

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Day 32

15th March

Lautoka, Fiji

Years ago, I visited my mum and dad on the occasion of her 57th birthday. I remember my dad saying it was her 'Heinz Varieties' birthday. At the time it would have seemed beyond the realms of possibility that I would be spending my Heinz Varieties birthday in Fiji. But that's exactly what happened. Cruising really does open up the world.

Overnight, the clocks had gone back an hour, in line with Fijian time, so there was a welcome extra hour in bed.

We awoke to a perfect hot and sunny day, docking at 9am.

We had opted to do a tour at this port.

Our first stop was at South Sea Orchids. This is a property owned by a family originally from Scotland. Their great great grandparents originally emigrated to New Zealand, and then on to Fiji. They have many artefacts that belonged to their ancestors, which are on display. This homestead is a building with a massive living area, with a couple of bedrooms and the kitchen off the main space. Most of the living area is given over to the old furniture and objects. There's just a small corner where they actually live, with modern furniture and a rather large TV. There were also orchid gardens to look at and the undercover area where they grow orchids commercially. We also had coffee and cakes at this venue.

Then it was on to the shopping experience, a tourist market in a large town called Nadi. Fortunately this only lasted about 20 minutes. Most of the things for sale were quite overpriced.

Then it was on to Sabeto Village. We went to the meeting hall, where we were greeted by a welcoming ceremony. Our chief ( a passenger volunteer) accepted a cup of the local drink, kava ( this is made from s root vegetable). Our chief accepted the cup with the traditional greeting 'Bula', had to knock it back in one gulp, and return to cup with the thanks 'Vinacka'. (Although not sure how to spell it). We were then accepted into the village, and the kava was offered to the rest our our party. Although I didn't partake, as it looked suspiciously like dish water.

We then watched traditional Fijian songs and dancing. This was actually very good. I liked that it was a real village, and the local small pre school children were watching shyly from the edges, but with a bit of encouragement started interacting with us all, shaking our hands and exchanging 'Bula' greetings.

Then it was back to the ship and we had lunch - a sandwich from Grab and Go.

A bit later it was Party Dance Sailaway. This was the first real big Sailaway event on these two legs of the World Cruise. We often sailed late from ports in Australia and New Zealand and on days where there were sailaways planned, the weather didn't play ball. We used our free glass of champagne vouchers while we had the chance.

It certainly appears that the Ents team is now smaller. The event was hosted by Leon, with just three entertainment officers.

However, Leon is a master of the Sailaway party, and he leads his team from the front. He soon had everyone dancing and singing. I don't know if anyone watches Coach Trip, but Leon looked exactly like Brendan!

The event was marred slightly by two older men 'dancing', but they looked like they'd been drinking all afternoon, and were falling down drunk. I don't know why someone didn't have a word, preferably their wives. Why would anyone allow their husband to behave like that in public.

Then, later, we went to Sindhu for my birthday meal. The restaurant was very quiet, just us and one other couple. Apparently, they are quiet on port days, but much busier on sea days. But it was, as ever, and exceptionally good meal, and rounded off a memorable 57th birthday.

PS I got a birthday card from the captain and I had some chocolates delivered to the room
Gill

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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#33

Post by sunseeker16 »

Birthday congratulations and thank you for your cruise report, which i am really enjoying. I wish more people would post their appreciation, perhaps encouraging more to post reports altogether.
Thanks for taking the time.
It's a big undertaking, isn't it, a world cruise, or far-flung sectors, as you did. Weather! Such a shame you didn't see the best of New Zealand. You'll just have to watch The Hobbit again

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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#34

Post by GillD46 »

What a way to celebrate your birthday. My husband's birthday is in April so he has had some wonderfully exotic days, mine in June means no World Cruise so have been less spectacular.
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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#35

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Leon de St Croix, just the best. Glad you have him as cruise director.

Belated birthday wishes.

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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#36

Post by Belle53 »

Really enjoying your reports, thank you. How wonderful to spend your birthday in Fiji.

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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#37

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Day 33

16th March

At sea

Today was the most perfect sea day. Hot at 29C, but with a cooling breeze, and seas so calm it looked almost glassy.

The clocks were advanced by an hour at noon, so we returned to GMT+13. The clocks also advance one hour at 2am tomorrow, to put us at GMT+14 ready for our arrival in Samoa tomorrow morning. I think it must be quite unusual to advance by 2 hours in a 24 hour period.

Just a couple of vignettes from the main dining room to tell you about. When we eat in the MDR, we like to eat early, so we normally join the relatively short queue just before 6pm.

There's a group of 4 couples who eat together on a table for eight. Instead of meeting and joining the queue all together, one of the couples starts off in the queue, then the other couples gradually turn up and join the first couple in the queue, effectively pushing in. Other passengers in the queue have started to mutter about this, I'm wondering how long it'll be before someone actually says something.

This evening, something went wrong with the table allocation, and the four couples were split between two tables. There was a bit of a kerfuffle as they tried to get other people already seated to swop tables, which understandably, the seated people weren't keen on doing. In the end, everyone sat at their allocated table, but not without a lot of fuss.

The other thing I noticed was a head waiter speaking to a male passenger wearing a round necked t shirt and a pair of jeans that looked like something I'd wear to do heavy work in the garden. It looked at if he wanted to turn the passenger away as he wasn't in compliance with the smart casual dress code. From the body language, the passenger was getting angry, and in the end he was allowed in, which I didn't agree with. I think it's bad when a customer who is in the wrong gets his own way due to being stroppy.

The Ladykillers were doing their second show. Based on their first performance that was one to miss, so we went to see the Headliners vocalists, signing their own choice of songs. Most of the songs were from the musicals, which I really enjoy, so this was a good show for me
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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#38

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Day 34

17th March

Apia, Samoa

This was another of those places I never imagined I'd visit.

Samoa is not as developed as Fiji, but it doesn't seem to be a poor island. It wasn't like the Caribbean where you see people living in tin shacks. It is also a very religious island. A cathedral dominates the waterfront view, and if you visit on a Sunday, nothing much happens at all, as they are all in church.

We opted to do a tour at this port. However, for someone who just wants a look at the town, it is very easy to walk from the dock to the centre.

Our first stop was at the Samoan Tourist Authority Village. Unlike Fiji, this wasn't a real village where people live, but a place to showcase Samoan traditional life.

There was the almost ubiquitous singling and dancing, which I thought was livelier than the Fijian version. We also had a cooking demonstration, which was fascinating, as they showed us how they prepare the food (coconuts feature heavily) and how it is cooked in a huge fire with covered with coconut leaves to keep the heat in. Unfortunately we had to leave before the food was cooked, so no tasting.

There was then a short drive around the town, then up in to the hills to our final location, the Aggie Grey Homestead. Aggie Grey was a Scottish woman who settled in Samoa, and founded a hotel. She was a very respected figure in Samoa, and met the Queen and Prince Phillip when they visited.

Although we didn't get a chance to taste Samoan food at the previous location, we did here. We were given a coconut with a straw in for a drink (completely delicious, should have that everyday if I could). Then there was a small buffet, where we could try various local dishes. A type of spinach in coconut cream was amazing.

Then there was a short look around the grounds of the homestead. The visit was hosted by Marina, who is Aggie Grey's daughter in law. It's customary for people to be.buried on their own family land in Samoa, so we even saw Aggie Grey's grave, along with other deceased family members. Then finally it was the farewell song and off we went.

We returned to the shop at about 2pm. I hadn't really expected much from this tour, but it was certainly pleasant enough.

There was a 'sing a long' Sailaway party at 5.30pm, but I didn't bother with this one. It seemed too soon after the one in Fiji. It's like buses, you wait ages for one, then two come along together.

The entertainment this evening was excellent. A ballroom dancing couple called Epic Moves. Some of the lifts they did were unbelievable. A great act, will definitely see their second show.

Tonight we cross the international date line, and the ships clocks go back 24 hours to GMT-10. We therefore have another 17th March.
Gill

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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#39

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Day 35 - 39

17th - 21st March

At sea

We've had 5 exceedingly good sea days. Each day has been hot and sunny, with only isolated cloud and only one short shower. There has been either a breeze or gentle wind to mitigate the temperatures, which have been 30C at the highest and 26C at lowest.

We have now returned to the northern hemisphere, and following our crossing of the international date line, haven't needed to change the clocks, as GMT-10 is correct for our next port, Honolulu.

As a result of all this, we find ourselves in a perfect sea day bubble of relaxation.

We have been having breakfast on the terrace at the back of the ship, then will sit in the sun until we feel it's time for lunch, which is often at the Crystal Pool area, utilising the Lido Grill or Grab and Go.

Then we relax inside the ship, it may be more reading, or a film, or a daytime Headliners show. The Headliners Queen and Abba shows have been performed in Carmens at 4pm on a couple of sea days.

We've also been trying to keep healthy. So far we have not used the lifts at all, and we make sure we get a walk on the prom deck each day, at least a couple of miles.

We've had a couple of good evening shows - the second Epic Moves dancing show, which was in Carmen's, and was more ballroom based. Then we've had two shows from Robbie K, who calls himself an 'unusualist' - a blend of comedy and magic. Also, we saw for the second time The Headliners Show 'New Romantics.

There's been a couple of shows which we didn't bother with - Peter Howarth ( who has been on nearly every cruise we've ever done) and Peter White 'doing' Kenny Rogers.

I haven't attended any of the lectures and talks for a couple of weeks, but there have been a couple of speakers on this segment which have been a bit out of the ordinary.

There's been Henry Allen and Sherron Nohea on the history of the ukulele. They were also going to present a ukulele beginners class, which had to be cancelled as the airline mislaid their ukuleles. However, there was an announcement that the classes were able to proceed, as 12 passengers had their own ukuleles with them!

Also, we've had Caroline Hawley speaking about antiques - I think she's been on Antiques Roadshow.

The only minus point to report is that we've both had colds. But fortunately, its been fairly minor - not like the terrible hacking coughs we ended up with on Oceana last year.

We've continued to receive Britain Today at around 4pm, but, as we are so far behind GMT, we get tomorrow's paper
Gill

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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#40

Post by Kenmo1 »

Gill W wrote: 26 Apr 2017, 15:09
The only minus point to report is that we've both had colds. But fortunately, its been fairly minor - not like the terrible hacking coughs we ended up with on Oceana last year.


Just got back from Oceana, Gill, so know exactly what you mean. Three of us have come back with colds and hacking coughs - so far I'm the only one who has escaped it. It was often freezing in the theatre and atrium.

I'm enjoying your review. Love the thought of a Heinz 57 variety birthday. You most certainly have had one.



Maureen
Last edited by Kenmo1 on 26 Apr 2017, 16:16, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#41

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Gill - just remembered you are back from your adventure so I have removed a sentence which said enjoy the rest of your cruise.

Maureen

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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#42

Post by Gill W »

Hope you continue to escape that cold Maureen, and the rest of your party make a good recovery. Our Oceana cold and cough last year was lethal. After we got home it took at least three weeks to get over it completely.
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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#43

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Day 40

22nd March

Honolulu, Hawaii

We arrived at around 7am. Turning on the TV we were shocked to hear of the terrorist attack in Westminster, seemed very strange to be tucked away in the Pacific when something so major was going on at home.

As this was our first USA port, everyone had to go through immigration. The immigration officers came on board and set up in Carmens. We had all been divided in to groups, and had to wait until our colour was called before we could go along.

Fortunately, we were in the second group, no doubt because we were on tour.

As to be expected, there was some queuing. When we joined to queue, it had snaked back through Champions to the wooden stairs that go up to the Glass House. But the queue was quite fast moving, and there's always fellow passengers to watch and listen too, like to woman behind us who was moaning constantly about the queue, or the couple who had clearly came down the aft staircase, and had to walk half the length of the ship to the end of the queue - it looked as if the husband had suggested using the aft staircase, and the wife was berating the husband through gritted teeth, saying, Well, that was a good idea, wasn't it'!

The face to face interview itself was cursory to say the least. The immigration officials had no laptops with them. It was just stamping the paperwork and passport, and that was it. The official I saw seemed more interested that I was the fourth Gillian he'd seen already that morning. I explained it was was a relatively popular name for the over 50's in the UK, so he'd likely see a few more.

On the way out of Carmens we were given a card to confirm we'd been through the process and we also picked up our tour stickers too.

By then it was 8am, so we went and had our breakfast.

Our tour was to Pearl Harbour. It was originally timed to start at 8.30am, but had been retimed for 'operational reasons' to 10.30am. I think this was to allow for several other departure times for this tour - it was very popular.

We arrived at Pearl Harbour shortly after 11am. Our tickets were timed for 11.45am, so we had time before and after to see the rest of the visitor areas. We saw the 25 minute film explaining the lead up to the attack, and what happened on that fateful morning of December 7th, 1941. Then we boarded the launch to take us over to the Arizona Memorial. The Memorial itself is a kind of viewing platform over the wreck, which is visible under the clear waters of Pearl Harbour. Even now, more than 75 years after the attack, oil is leaking to the surface. They say that there's still 500,000 gallons of oil left on the Arizona.

Of course, this is also a war grave, and the names of the men who were lost are engraved on the wall. It is a beautiful location and very respectfully presented. Men who survived the attacks have been buried with their fallen comrades when they eventually died - their names have also been recorded.

After this very thought provoking visit, our coach took us to the Pali Lookout, the Punchbowl National Cemetery, and a brief tour of downtown Honolulu.

To go to Pearl Harbour had been one of the main reasons for continuing this cruise beyond Auckland, and I'm very glad that had this opportunity to go.

When we got back to the ship, I was feeling a bit washed out as my cold was making my nose run and my eyes water. So we gave the Hawaiian folkloric show a miss.

We had a shower, then went to the buffet for dinner. As we weren't sailing until 8pm, we sat on the top deck watching the lights of Honolulu. It was still nice and warm - it had been a hot and sunny day.

Our entertainment for the evening was a comedian, Jeff Stevenson. I've seen his name around a lot, but he's never been on any of our cruises before. Anyway, I thought he was very funny indeed. I think his show would be slightly different every time, as there was a lot of interaction with the crowds, but in a nice way, not like some of the comedians you get.
Gill

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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#44

Post by Gill W »

Day 41 - 44

23rd March - 26 March

Four more days at sea, between Honolulu and San Francisco.

The weather has been very decent indeed. Gradually reducing temperatures, as to be expected, but still plenty of sun, and we have been able to spend time outside on each day.

We haven't had much in the way of marine life sighting on this cruise, but on the third day a flock of albatrosses began to follow us, which caused a lot of interest. In comedian Jeff Stevenson's second show he suggested they might be spies sent out by Donald Trump, which caused some amusement. They disappeared on day 4, but I spotted two just at the time the captain did his steering gear test before re-entering US waters.... So perhaps they are spies after all!

Along with Jeff Stevenson, we've also had the Flywrights, who went down well with the audience. We also had a Cilla Black tribute, but I gave that one a very wide berth, didn't fancy it at all.

I've made a point of seeing all the talks by our celebrity guest, Karen Hardy, from Strictly. She spoke very well about her professional career, her Strictly career and the benefits of dance. She is obviously passionate about dance, and comes across as a very genuine person. I hope she's the new Strictly judge to replace Len, I think she'd be excellent.

We've also had a Great British Sail On. In the absence of a suitable port to do the Great British Sailaway, it was done on the 4th sea day. There were a few additional songs for our Aussie and Kiwi passengers. As ever, it was a fun event, and Leon was leading the singing and telling lots of corny jokes!

We are very near the end of the cruise now.

On balance, I've had a fantastic time.

The seas have been calm almost all of the time. The sea days around Australia were disappointing with the lack of sun, and the weather in New Zealand was dull, and the last two ports Tauranga and Auckland were, frankly, soaking wet. But the lovely weather for the entire crossing of the Pacific has made up for that.

I've been very happy with the food both in the MDR and the buffet. The new menus in the MDR have been very good, and going to the buffet for dinner from time to time has meant that things haven't been too repetitive. There's also been themed menus in the MDR such as Pacific and Americas. Plus Beach House, Sindhu and Glasshouse. All have been excellent experiences.

On a personal note, when I started the cruise, it was just after a vertigo attack. I'm pleased to say that over the cruise my ear seems to have settled down again. My hearing has improved more and my tinnitus has got less. As I feel more confident now, I've been able to slightly loosen my dietary restrictions on salt, and also allow myself a glass of wine a day!

On the entertainment front, I accept that you don't like everything, but at one point I was getting fed up because I didn't like anything much!

This seemed to get better in the second half of the cruise, and seemed to coincide when Leon took over as Entertainment Manager in Wellington. I know the CD doesn't book the acts, so it was a matter of luck that there were more cabaret 'turns' that appealed to me. However, I think Leon did make a difference. He's much more hands on with sailaways and even did a Sailaway on a sea day, so we could have the Great British Sailaway experience. This didn't happen on our first leg of the cruise. Likewise, we had a Crew Show on this leg, but not on the last leg. I think this is evidence that the CD does make a difference.

I've seen so much over the last 6 weeks, and when I get home will no doubt remember more when I see all the photos that I've taken ( currently about 1500). But the things that stand out are Kangaroo Island, the first day in Sydney, my birthday in Fiji, the beautiful crossing of the Pacific, Pearl Harbour and the evening sailaways from Singapore, Auckland and Honolulu - it was great to see all the lights of the city.

Hopefully, there'll be another highlight tomorrow when we reach San Francisco.
Gill

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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#45

Post by Gill W »

Day 45

27th March

San Francisco

Well, San Francisco was another highlight, from beginning to end. In fact, it was the icing on the cake of a great cruise.

We were due to sail under the Golden Gate Bridge at 7.15, so we were out on deck to see this. We watched the sun rise over a clear morning. It was a little chilly, but nobody seemed to mind as we made our approach to the bridge. I don't know what the clearance between the ship and the bridge was, but from my vantage point, it wasn't very much at all. As we went under, I did wonder if we were going to make it! But we negotiated the bridge successfully, and , like everyone else, walked to the aft end of the ship to take more photos of the bridge. Then we had breakfast, and after we had eaten, took even more photos of the Bay Area, including Alcatraz Island. It was spectacular, with the blue skies and bright morning sun.

Then it was off on our excursion - Alcatraz Island and Sausalito.

Of course, it was only a short hop to the pier for Alcatraz, but being part of a group, we were given priority boarding, so there wasn't quite so much waiting round.

Alcatraz was another of those places I'd always wanted to visit, and I was not disappointed. We were given an audio tour, and made our way round the prison at our own pace. The tour was very interesting, and the sound effects made the stories come alive - it was also very clear giving instructions on where to go, so you never lost your way. In the isolation wing, one of the cells was the same number as our front door, do I had my photo taken outside. Then I went in the dank, dark, windowless cell. It was a terribly oppressive atmosphere, not nice at all.

Then we caught the ferry back to San Francisco, and it was off to our next destination, Sausalito. We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge. Some years ago, I had read a story set in Sausalito, so I was pleased to have to opportunity to visit. It is a pretty seaside town, with great views over the bay towards San Francisco. We had about an hour here. There were some interesting looking shops to browse in,but we preferred to walk along the waterfront. We had an ice cream, there were a multitude of different flavours to chose from, but after deliberation, decided on Mocha.

Then it was back to our pier. We were docked at pier 27, not 35. However, it was still an easy walk to pier 39, so we went there. It reminded me a little bit of places like Downtown Disney. Lots of souvenir shops and themed restaurants. We enjoyed looking round, and also saw the sea lions and some street theatre, a bit like Covent Garden.

By this time it was 5pm, so we made our way back to Aurora, in order to finish off our packing.

After dinner in the buffet, we looked at the nighttime views of San Francisco - I always like bright lights of an evening cityscape.

We were tired after a busy day, so didn't bother with the Flywrights second show. So we had a fairly early night, after our busy day.

I am writing this on our very last morning, March 28th. Our transfer to the airport is at lunch time, and we should be home sometime on the afternoon of Wednesday 29th.

As the cruise is over, I'm mentally prepared to return home. However, if we were sailing on to Southampton, I'd be more than happy to stay. The time really does pass quickly. I've seen people say on forums that they never book two week cruises anymore as they are too short, and I totally understand this.

In three years time I'll be 60, and we are already thinking it'd be nice to do something similar, but a bit longer. Maybe fly out to Sydney and spend a few days there, then cruise back to Southampton.
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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#46

Post by Gill W »

AFTERWORD

It's now just over four weeks since we returned from our cruise, and it already seems quite a while ago.

Our journey home was problem free. We were taken to San Francisco airport by coach, and our Virgin Atlantic flight home was uneventful. We had hired a local car service to take us to the airport at the start of the holiday and collect us, and that all went very smoothly.

Sunseeker commented that a world cruise or 'legs' of a world cruise is a big undertaking, and I agree with that. A lot or preparation beforehand, such as ESTAs and Visas, researching destinations, booking excursions, etc. Then getting the house ready to leave it for so long (my friend came in every so often to make sure all was in order. She's a Godsend). Making sure all the general admin is done, such as finances etc. Then the packing - we had to really think about packing smart for nearly 7 weeks in two suitcases.

When you get back, it takes a while to settle down again. The usual washing needs to be done (I used the laundry service on board. Luckily, I went back up to Baltic for the 2nd leg, so the 50% discount was welcome) garden tidied, general admin.

But all of it was 100% worth it, as it was a fantastic cruise. The longer I stayed on board, the more I was enjoying it. Some great memories were created.

Having said that, I'm not sure I'm cut out for very long cruises every year, as I like my home as well. We had 5 weeks away last year on Oceana and now nearly 7 weeks on Aurora, so I need a bit of a break from these really long cruises.

We have a week on CMV Columbus in August, two weeks on Fred Olsen Balmoral next March, and then it's back to Aurora in Sept 2018, for the USA & Canada cruise. It's a 24 night cruise, but only half of the length of the cruise we've just done, so seems a manageable prospect. Plus, it's the cruise we've always wanted to do, ever since we started going on cruises.

I think 2019 may be a quiet year for cruises, but after than, I think I'll be ready for another 'leg' or two.

Thanks to everybody who's read my diary.
Gill

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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#47

Post by GillD46 »

And thanks to you Gill for an interesting read.
Gill


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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#48

Post by cruisin_duo »

Thank you for posting your cruise diary. It's great to hear about places we've been to and also to find out about other destinations.


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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#49

Post by Quizzical Bob »

Thanks for taking the trouble to post all this Gill, fascinating reading. We have visited several of the ports that you have described but on a round the world trip instead of a cruise and it has been interesting to see your description of the experiences.

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Re: Aurora - February - March 2017 - Two legs of a world cruise

#50

Post by sunseeker16 »

Thanks so much for your review

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