Onboard grand Princess 21st of December till 22nd of January

[Tranquility Base]

7 minutes ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

Cold and miserable outside today.

Hopefully it will clear up by 11am for Napier

We are 8 miles out, turning towards the approach channel.

It’s a lovely day here.

 

[yes!yes!yes!]

36 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said:

We are 8 miles out, turning towards the approach channel.

It’s a lovely day here.

 

Great to hear

[yes!yes!yes!]

2 minutes ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

Great to hear

Today in the buffet the smoked salmon is on a huge platter instead of individual dishes.

 

[yes!yes!yes!]

Wake view chairs

[yes!yes!yes!]

Side view chairs

[yes!yes!yes!]

Other chairs in one5

[OzKiwiJJ]

11 hours ago, buchhalm said:

Was that menu from Retro Night?

What a 1980s motel dining room selection. 👎👎

Honey and rum pineapple? As a starter?

No. Just no to that entire menu.

It wasn't my favourite menu on all our cruises, apart from the seared tuna medallion Escabeche which was very yummy.

[MMDown Under]

3 hours ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

Wake view chairs

Thank you for the photos of the comfy chairs.  Looks so inviting!

[spersephone]

In the dining rooms, do they do breakfast? We always go to Horizon Court, but I’d like to try it out. Do you just turn up or do you book? 

[Aus Traveller]

8 minutes ago, spersephone said:

In the dining rooms, do they do breakfast? We always go to Horizon Court, but I’d like to try it out. Do you just turn up or do you book? 

Breakfast is served in the dining room every day. Just turn up - no booking.

[sewgood]

8 minutes ago, spersephone said:

In the dining rooms, do they do breakfast? We always go to Horizon Court, but I’d like to try it out. Do you just turn up or do you book? 

No need to book for the dining for lunch or breakfast. Just turn up and enjoy the service.

Check the patter to see if lunch is on in the dining room in tender ports not just sea days.

We were caught out with this on our last cruise but now know better.

[buchhalm]

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

It wasn't my favourite menu on all our cruises, apart from the seared tuna medallion Escabeche which was very yummy.

That's exactly the one thing that looked tempting.🙂👍🏻

[cruiser3775]

12 hours ago, buchhalm said:

Was that menu from Retro Night?

What a 1980s motel dining room selection. 👎👎

Honey and rum pineapple? As a starter?

No.

I had the honey and rum roasted pineapple wedges with the strawberry coconut relish  on Coral last month. I was a bit dubious about it, thinking maybe it would be very sweet, in the usual US style. In fact, it was excellent, one of the more memorable dishes.   The pineapple was a little tart, and the barbecuing had caramelised the fructose and the rum marinade made it a bit smoky. The relish was a good accompaniment. 

It's not the sort of thing I would normally order, but it seems it pays to be adventurous when cruising.

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

I had the honey and rum roasted pineapple wedges with the strawberry coconut relish  on Coral last month. I was a bit dubious about it, thinking maybe it would be very sweet, in the usual US style. In fact, it was excellent, one of the more memorable dishes.   The pineapple was a little tart, and the barbecuing had caramelised the fructose and the rum marinade made it a bit smoky. The relish was a good accompaniment. 

It's not the sort of thing I would normally order, but it seems it pays to be adventurous when cruising.

It certainly does but even then you can get blinkered. Once I discovered that tuna escabeche I never got past it, I liked it so much.

[yes!yes!yes!]

Went into Napier on the free shuttle bus. Did a bit of shopping. Will do a day tour of some sort when I'm back in a couple of weeks without mum.

 

[Womble99]

20 minutes ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

Went into Napier on the free shuttle bus. Did a bit of shopping. Will do a day tour of some sort when I'm back in a couple of weeks without mum

 

We loved Napier the last time we were there, pity it was a really short stop that time ☹️

 

This time we are planning just the City Drive & Aquarium in the morning, leaving plenty of time to explore again by foot after. Such an interesting little place.

[yes!yes!yes!]

46 minutes ago, Womble99 said:

 

We loved Napier the last time we were there, pity it was a really short stop that time ☹️

 

This time we are planning just the City Drive & Aquarium in the morning, leaving plenty of time to explore again by foot after. Such an interesting little place.

The shuttle stops at the aquarium too.

 

[RobinBancs]

We have plans for Napier on the next cruise that look something like this:

 

[yes!yes!yes!]

56 minutes ago, RobinBancs said:

We have plans for Napier on the next cruise that look something like this:

 

Is that thru Princess or an independent trip?

I'm on board next time it's in Napier 

[yes!yes!yes!]

Tonight's menu

[RobinBancs]

41 minutes ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

Is that thru Princess or an independent trip?

I'm on board next time it's in Napier 

We booked independent from the cruise line who offer the same thing (through the same provider) at a much higher rate.  It's gentle, but travel insurance won't cover much higher

https://mohakarafting.com/cruise-ship-package-grade-2/

[RobinBancs]

The princess official one is listed here at $A279.95 (Adult) and $A269:95 (Child)

 

 

 

 

Through the company direct it's $NZ 205 and $NZ 185, so cheaper even before the favourable exchange rate.

 

 

[yes!yes!yes!]

[yes!yes!yes!]

[yes!yes!yes!]

Just watched the singer and violinist in the theatre. Now at strike out in explorers