The two week delivery of our President's Club amenity has arrived again. We always ask for Cokes, and they were brought this morning. As soon as we saw Santa Claus on the cans, we knew the date had expired. Glad we were "home" when the room service fellow came, and when we pointed out the fact that it had expired, he immediately took it back. Actually, we still have one 12 pack left from our delivery two weeks ago, also Christmas cans. We don't mind a few old ones, but not 40 more. He promised he would be back later with the fresher batch. He did not say when, but it was not today.
The Polynesian ambassadors are onboard with daily activities that include sarong tying, Polynesian dance class, and ukulele lessons. We have a guest chef, Bertrand Jang. Fijian-born, he is here to give a special group of diners a traditional experience with dishes from both New Zealand and the Pacific. His talents will be on display in the Pinnacle Grill this evening with a pop-up dinner.
The Volendam has sailed far enough southwest that the weather has changed. The temperature was 75 degrees with 64% humidity. The winds were 13.8 mph and the seas were confused. The sea swells are still around 6 feet, and we do have some motion, but not extreme. The skies were overcast most all day, and there was very little heat in whatever sun did peek through. We sat at the Seaview Pool with just a handful of people and a small number of smokers. During his noon update, jolly Captain Rens reported that we have been successful in skirting around the cyclone conditions, and we had about 940 nautical miles to reach Auckland on March 2nd.
This afternoon was a good time to research restaurants in Auckland, since the last time we were here was in 2023. Not that long ago, but long enough for cafes or pizzerias to come and go or change names. We usually end up in the Parnell District and have gone to several different venues over the years. And in recent years, we discovered that New Zealand does not accept all credit cards. So because of that, we always buy some NZ dollars. It was not announced before the cruise that the ship would carry many foreign monies, but it does look like they will be selling the NZ dollars.
After a light lunch, one of us went to buy some money at the front desk. It appeared that only one person was doing that and that person was on a break. Thinking a good time to go there would be during the first dinner time, it worked. Best not to wait until the last minute, because they might run out of it.
Dinner was good in the dining room. A different type of appetizer, a spring roll with shrimp was wrapped in a thin noodle and had peanut sauce under it. It was served cold. We both had Caesar salads, which have been on the small side. Then one of us ordered the BBQ ribs, and the other spaghetti Bolognese. Both were excellent. Desserts were lemon jello and watermelon.
The entertainer this evening was another instrumentalist by the name of Akos Laki with happy Latin vibes. His instrument was a saxophone and he played Latin jazz and Balkan music. The Dam Band was playing in the Ocean Bar. We notice how much louder they are compared to the other performers. It's no wonder that our neighbors had moved from the room over the Ocean Bar because they heard the noise almost every night.
One more lazy day at sea, then we will be in beautiful New Zealand.
Bill & Mary Ann
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