Today is a very early port call - 7am. Although we were not getting up early, we still slept with the blinds open, as we were able to enjoy the most amazing sunrise. Stunning to a certain extent as the day dawned cloudy.
We showered and got ready for one of the dullest days weather-wise on the cruise. Today for a complete change we tried breakfast in the Spa Café - which is a small café for health nuts next to the Aqua Spa. They had the most wonderful berry yoghurt granola parfaits. There are only a few tables so it feels quite exclusive. I think Pete missed his cooked breakfast.
We are going easy on eating as tonight we are going to Murano at 8pm, and it just happens to be a formal night too. Good planning or what?
Once we had breakfast we decided we may as well disembark as we would have to wait for an accessible shuttle bus. It was quite chilly on the wharf, and fortunately there was an accessible bus so we could board straight away out of the wind. Patty and Colin we already on board with a suitcase full of presents for her family as well as washing! The driver decided once we were on board to leave for the I-site as she could only take one wheelchair. So we were in town before 8am, but we had arranged to meet my sister Gillian and brother-in-law Brian at 8.30am.
Town was dead at 8am as nothing opens until 9am but the bus stop outside the I-site was chaos as there was a intercity bus loading with passengers. We had to wait until it moved to be able to put out the wheelchair ramp.
We waited outside the Masonic Hotel to be picked up, meeting with Stuart Annemarie and the girls while we waited. They were very grateful for our assistance with the money yesterday and Stuart located an ATM to pay us back. Not long after Gillian and Brian arrived.
They took us back out to their house in Hastings
On the way back to the ship we went to the Ahuriri, which is the ‘new waterfront area for dining’ etc. As it was a lovely summer’s day and everyone was put and about. Gillian had discovered a new café and was keen to try it out. The food and coffee was good - nice to have a ‘flat white’ which we only seem to get in New Zealand and Australia
The visit to Napier is really short 7am to 2 pm which is a real pity, as it means having to get the Shuttle no later than about 12.30pm especially as there is only 2 accessible buses.
Back at the Port, the locals have vintage and classic cars on display with the drivers dressed in 1930’s style, plus there is a Rag Time Band playing on the Pier. And to add to the theme a cart selling “Rush Munro” Ice Creams.
After boarding we went up onto The Promenade to take photos of pier activities. Quite a crowd of photographers where there including one chap with a very flash camera with a huge lens. He must have been able to pick out some of the close detailing on the cars.
Sailaway was at 2pm but it was fat too cold on the aft deck, so we sat inside. Jo and Graham sat with us and as usual there was a far amount of banter happening. Today Graham was teasing Jo about wanting pastries and cakes! There is always a very delicious selection in the Buffet - all small treat. Jo gave into temptation and returned with one morsel on a rather large plate. Before she could sit down Graham had devour the morsel in one mouthful!
At 3pm was Crew Showtime - one of the premier events onboard. We rated the shows as the best so far as there are some very talented crew on board. The theatre was packed to overflowing, which is pretty standard on most cruise ships. At the end the cruise director bought on a large contingent of crew and officers to rapturous applause, and then the Captain spoke. I am sure all Ccer’s onboard would agree than the Captain has to be one of the best in the industry.
The photo above and below is the Florist on board (a male) singing both parts of a Whitney Housten Duet!!!
We snuck out of the Crew Show a few minutes as we were having a Cabin Crawl starting at 4pm in our Cabin - 5061, an Accessible Oceanview. Naturally our cabin was the envy of all!! We had a really good attendance - 14 (from memory) It was quite a hoot wandering the hallways, much to the amusement of the Cabin attendants and passengers. The crew knew exactly what was happening and the passengers were mystified, and intrigued, especially when we told them what we were doing. The other cabins we saw were 8004 - Standard Oceanview, 8104 & 8106 - both balcony (verandah), 9007 - a Standard Inside, and 1110 - a Concierge Cabin, which is exactly the same as a balcony, but with the extra perks. The general consensus was the actual cabin sizes were very close to being identical, with the location on the ship - aft, midship or forward being more important than the size, and of course it depended if you wanted perks or not.
On way back to cabin we bumped into Matt - The Events Coordinator with whom we had a very long chat. He is very interested in any feedback from Cruise Critic members. He mentioned the Hotel Manager Darren Tiller was very proactive in making sure that all the Officers and Cruise Staff were very visible and approachable, and were interacting with the passengers as much as possible. And it was very evident his promotion was working and working well. Even Darren Tiller has stopped and chatted to us at length.
No day is complete without spending a couple of hours in the Cova Café and today it is for pre-dinner drink and Tapas while blogging although I have to admit at times I am merely making bullet points and returning when I have more time to elaborate on the detail.
On the way back the cabin to dress for the final Formal Night I managed to sneak in the purchase necklace at the ‘Chain by the inch’ stand. The choice is good and the prices range from $1 per inch to $5 per inch. For once the shops were very quiet and we ended up chatting with a couple and their small boy. She had purchased bracelet on a previous cruise which she showed me and said she had the matching necklace also. After she had gone, the penny dropped we had been chatting to the Entertainer Danny Elliot and his wife. Further more we realised they were the couple in the next cabin!
Once we were dressed in our formal attire for Murano, we decided it was the last opportunity to have formal portrait photos taken. We had kept an eye on which photographers were stationed where, because we were not happy with the woman who took our photos on the previous formal night with Colin and Patty - she did not seem to understand personal requests and wanted to only the pose done her way. Tonight she was on Deck 5 Grand Staircase, so we went to Deck 6 by the shops where there was a very obliging Chinese guy, who listened to our request.
The Murano Restaurant is very elegant and with the most superb silver service dining. We were given a table by the window, which we appreciated as at 8pm it was still light and we could see the world go by. The sea was very calm and pleasant to watch. We chose the four course meal with red wine by the glass. Of course the wine was expensive and the sky was the limit, hence our chose of wine by the glass. I was a little disappointed is some respects as our waiter was really hard to understand, and spoke too fast, and seemed to expect us to know how the dining experience was ‘conducted’. Perhaps I should have asked more questions.
I had the Escargot Tortellini appetizer, Wild Mushroom Cappuccino, an entrée of Pan Seared Filet Mignon (main), and dessert the famous Balsamic Strawberries. Pete had the Pan Seared Foie Gras appetizer, wild mushroom cappuccino, Sautéed Muscovy Duck Breast and the same dessert. My Filet Mignon was finished by one of the chef’s tableside, however, as it was not quite tableside – actually it was done one table away, which was very disappointing, but space was a problem. While we were waiting for dessert a miniature cake stand was presented to us, with six petite fours to ‘tempt our taste buds’. When it came to the Strawberries to be cooked tableside, they managed to get a little closer. We ended up taking back a ‘doggy bag’ of the petite fours as we had not dared touch them.
We were also offered cheese between the Main and Dessert, but there was no way we were going to have cheeses as we thought we would not be able to eat the dessert!
Would I do Murano again – yes but only because it was an elegant quiet restaurant, but some of the dishes offered we also available in the Main Dining Room, so not everything was a surprise.
We finished dining at 10.30pm and waked the few paces back to our cabin rather full! There was no way we could stay awake for the second show which started at 10.45pm, which was a real pity.
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