Rotary Presidents Charity Cycle Challenge is on 23 February 2019. more details to follow in next week's bulletin.
If you are keen to attend, or to find out more about proposed accommodation at Waitaki Boys or to reserve your seat in the mini van
Having come back from 24 days at sea I thought I could share the merits of cruising in big and small ships. Our latest cruise was from Seattle to Sydney with stops in Hawaii (2), Fiji, Vanuatu (2), Noumea and then Sydney, so most of the time we were at sea.
Explorer of the Seas has a capacity of over 4,000 passengers and a crew of 1,180. There were about 2,500 on our trip, so very full. Despite that there were plenty of places you could go on the ship to find solitude if required. We always have a balcony cabin because we like to open the door to the sea breeze.
Why Cruise?
I couldn’t imagine anything worse than getting up at 5 o’clock in the morning, packing my bag, gulping down breakfast, climbing into a bus and then do the same thing again the next day, then day after day after day.
We like to get on board, pack our clothes away in the wardrobe, get changed, crack open a bottle of champagne on the balcony and watch the ship leave port. Thereafter, our hotel shifts and we stay put with our biggest decision of the day, being where to eat or what to drink.
Explorer has 4 speciality restaurants, and two main dining rooms – one semi-formal and one casual, along with every amenity that you could hope for. There is always plenty of things to do or not do depending on the mood. Deborah likes to sit, I like to be active.
The ship cruises along at about 35-40 kph. The sun sets are spectacular and there is something magical about looking at the sea and the moon on a starry, starry night.
We had some days with winds around 35-40 knots (that’s 70-80 kph) with moderately rough seas, but the ship is so big you hardly notice it. If you haven’t cruised before, and think you might get sea sick, take some pills along. I doubt you will need to use them.
The staff on board were fantastic and looked after all our needs. They were extremely obliging and helpful.
Now that we are back in reality after being rocked to sleep, I have had to get used to not waking up, rolling over and calling for a cup of tea to be delivered. Oh well it is a hard life, but someone has to step up to the plate and do the hard yards.
With our own boat it is on a much smaller scale but everyone has their own cabin with ensuite, and days spent sailing and fishing or just cruising around uninhabited tropical islands. Sunshine, warm weather, great company (the crew), good food, too much wine. Life’s good.
By the way I took a book with me to read, just in case. I read it on the last two days at sea. If you want a holiday where you can chill out and relax, CRUISING is the way to go.
Jon Turnbull
