QUEEN ELIZABETH

Day 3 in Napier

The day greeted us with strong southerly winds and showers.  Not that the ship noticed as it sailed down the coast toward the port of Napier. The temperature when we docked was only 17C, a bit different to the past few days.

Cunard offer complimentary transfers from the ship to the centre of the city and return. Plenty of shuttles we available so it was only a matter of minutes before our Shuttle arrived to make the short journey into the city.

We needed more New Zealand dollars so needed to find a bank to cash some currency.  A tip for those that don’t know this but the ASB Bank do not charge the NZ$5.00 fee to change currency that most other banks seem to do.

Off to the Library to post my Blog online. We were using Starbucks previously but so many are trying to get on the net at the same time it’s not easy or quick to do so.  The Library charge just NZ$2.00 for 30 minutes Wi-Fi use or the use of their PCs.

As we had been to Napier many times before we decided there was nothing else we particularly wanted to see so took the Shuttle back to the ship to have lunch.  Then it was unanimous from all two of us that we first enjoy a nice cold beer at the English Pub on board called the Golden Lion. When we sat down we noticed they had pub food menu available at no charge.  The menu was things like Steak and Kidney Pie, Steak and Ale Pie with Mushrooms and Mushy Peas, Cottage Pie, Fish and Chips and Cumberland Sausages and Chips or a Curry.  Needless to say after a beer we thought while we were comfortable we might as well enjoy lunch there…..and we did. So we have several choices of venue for lunch, the Golden Lion Pub, the Lido Buffet, the Burger bar or in the main Britannia Restaurant.

The crew are all so chatty and we seem to always attract them to our table for a chat. The barman today was Jason from Brazil who has worked for Cunard on this ship only for four contracts which equals just over 2 years. He brings his surfboard with him and when he goes ashore he finds somewhere to surf and wants to surf everywhere the ships docks in the world where possible. He’s excited about this itinerary because there’ll be lots of places for him to surf along the way. A pint of beer at the Golden Lion Pub is only US$5.60 including the gratuity.

We haven’t tried the famous Cunard afternoon tea in the Queens Ballroom yet.  It was on the plan for today but we’ve only just finished lunch and Afternoon Tea begins in just of 30 minutes so will have to make it another day. Afternoon Tea is available in the Ballroom every day at 3.30pm whether at sea or in a port.

The Entertainer last night was a guy from Wellington by the name of Ben Makisi.  He was a Maori with a wonderful voice who specialised in Opera mainly, but also sang a few Show tunes and finished off with ‘Now is the Hour’, a lovely song we haven’t heard for years, pleased we could both still remember the words so sang along with others that did too.

Napier really does know how to welcome ships into their port with such enthusiasm.  Outside on the wharf at the moment is a wonderful Jazz band playing and several vintage cars with their owners dressed in the same era as their car.  Of course because Napier is very Art Deco they love the fact that the Queen Elizabeth is as well.

Once again this is a maiden port of call for Queen Elizabeth into Napier today.

We saw a group of ladies and gentlemen being shown around the ship this morning and they were dressed in clothes of that era and really suited the elegant style of this ship. There are many paintings and photographs of life on board ships in that era around the ship. I’m sure they took a lot of photos for their home albums.

Some onboard look like they’ve been eating their way from Southampton or Los Angeles. I know the food is delicious and there is plenty to choose from but you do really need to have a little self-control otherwise zips won’t zip where they should and buttons can pop off anywhere anytime and I’m sure the Queen Elizabeth would still like some water left in her lovely swimming pools after some have jumped in… ;)

Those of us who joined the ship in Auckland have been invited to the Captain and his Officers Welcome cocktail party on Sunday night. It’s our first Formal night so looking forward to that.

As I type this we are sailing away from Napier and would you believe the sun is now although it is still quite chilly.

Tonight we are going to try the Lido Buffet for dinner. Then we might have a wander around the shops and see what they have to offer.  Can’t believe I haven’t had a look at them yet, nor can Roy for that matter.J

I've added some photos of various places on the ship.  You'll see old photos which are a reminder of the voyages of yesteryear. My photography was not so good trying to take these, sorry.