April 19, Part 2: Afternoon and Evening on the Ship

(Glad you're back! Now let's continue with the tale of this day.)

Patrise returned from the Māori excursion about 3:30 pm in the afternoon. We went to the Concierge Lounge, intending to get some afternoon snacks – since she had not eaten much of her lunch, and our dinner reservation was until 7:45 pm. We went to the lounge; however, nothing was yet set for afternoon snacking. All we could get was tea; she had chamomile and I had English breakfast. We waited until 4:30, by which time the staff had set out the snacks. We ordered a drink to go along with our snacks. Here is how the Concierge Lounge snack bar looks when it is first set out.

(Concierge Lounge: Patrise getting tea, before the hors d'oeuvres are set out.)

(Concierge Lounge, as viewed from the food area)

(Concierge Lounge hors d'oeuvres)

(Concierge Lounge hors d'oeuvres)

(Concierge Lounge hors d'oeuvres)

(Concierge Lounge hors d'oeuvres)

We had a brief conversation with Danilo (the Concierge), and learned he was from Sao Paolo. He was pleasantly surprised to hear that we had been to Brazil visiting both Rio de Janeiro and Igazu Falls. He said Rio and Sao Paolo are similar only Rio has more crime. We all agreed that Igazu Falls was beautiful. He asked if we had visited both sides. (Igazu Falls is the world’s widest waterfalls, not the highest, and it is on the border of three countries: Brazil, Argentina, and a fractional part in Paraguay. The popular local saying is “See the falls in Brazil, feel the falls in Argentina.) We told him that we had been to both sides, but did not get to discuss it further, as he had to attend to another passenger with a problem.

(Sunset, as seen from the lounge, as we are leaving. Sorry about the streaks on the window.)

While in the lounge, the captain announced that our departure from the port would be delayed, because there were two excursion shuttle buses that were being held up by traffic and would not return in time. We agreed that my fear of going on the Māori excursion and then the airport to retrieve my passport may have been a bit misplaced: either that or they would have left me if I was the only passenger late returning to the ship (LOLOLOL). We watched a freight ship being maneuvered for docking by a tugboat. Then we went to walk some on the ship track (Deck 15) and while there, we saw the late arriving shuttle buses and passengers.

(Selfie on the ship track, deck 15)

(Watching the passengers from the second late shuttle bus. We've been waiting for their arrival in order to depart Auckland.)

(Departing views of Auckland)

(Departing views of Auckland)

(Departing views of Auckland)

(Departing views of Auckland)

(Seen while walking around the ship track. One passenger "surfs" on the Flowrider.)

(Seen while walking around the ship track: the rock climbing wall.)

(Seen while walking around the ship track: the bumper cars.)

(Seen while walking around the ship track: this machine lifts you up above the ship to get a 36o-degree view of the sea and the ship.)

We returned to the suite and occupied ourselves for a while, before preparing to go to dinner. We went to dinner at Jamie’s, an Italian cuisine restaurant whose recipes are the creation of Chef Jamie Oliver. Patrise had watched Jamie Oliver on the Food Network. He is not on television so much anymore; at least, he doesn’t have a regular show anymore. His first show as a young chef was called “The Naked Chef.” No, he wasn’t naked or risqué. He used the phrase “naked” to characterize raw and fresh ingredients. Inside the restaurant, there were two television screens, each showing him preparing recipes. The screen nearest us was showing “Jamie’s 30-minute Meals.” We could not hear it, but we could watch much of what he was preparing, as we awaited our meal order. Patrise had pasta carbonara and I had penne pomodoro for “entrees”; we both had eggplant parmigiana for our “mains”. All of the food was delicious. We took special note of the eggplant parmigiana, for it was the first time we had ever had it prepared as a roasted dish, not breaded and fried. It was lighter and more flavorful than any previous versions we’ve had. Altogether, a very satisfying meal; in fact, we felt it was the best on the ship so far.

We returned to our room – no shows tonight – read a little, watched a little TV, then called it a night. Tomorrow, no excursions, or appointments: no reason to have to wake up early. YEAH!!!

(Take note the date and the cruise day on the daily calendar -- Day 6A., April 20th. Tomorrow will be Day 6B and it will be April 20th again, because tonight we cross the international date line. Our clocks get set back 24 hours!)