Days 45-46 Feb 20-21 & PS

Day 45 (Waiting) Wednesday Feb 20

A really good idea, all the people dis-embarking in Auckland went through immigration & customs on board today, the guys joined the ship in Tonga. I discovered that the small wooden carved dish I bought for my sister from the Pitcairn islanders is OK to take in, I just had to declare it, so I’m really pleased, I thought I’d have to ship it home. The luggage is still subject to the sniffer dogs and you may get stopped, but it certainly saves a queue. There are 46 of us getting off in NZ, not very many! There are 800 leaving in Sydney but another 800 joining, quite a few from the Queen Victoria, it sounds like it will be chaos. We plan to stay on board till after lunch, since we are in no hurry to leave, and can’t check-in to our hotel until 14:00 anyway.

Spent quite a time getting my bag sorted out to send home with the ship, it costs $60 to get it through Customs & then it can be stored if it can’t be picked up. My friend Aileen has very kindly agreed to pick it up for me so I’m sending all my ‘posh frocks’ home plus some evening tops, absolutely no call for them in NZ, together with daily programmes from the ship. Despite all this my other 3 large suitcases are pretty full & very heavy, not sure how I’m going to manage on my own with it all!

We had a ‘good-bye’ party on the Funnel Deck, for the people we’d met who are getting off in Auckland, plus Josie & Alan from the quiz team, plus Uwe the dance host (Tricia invited him). The Chilean wine tasted pretty terrible so we threw it away! I invited Bob, and we parted as ‘good friends’, but I’m convinced he has a partner at home in Queensland so that’s the end of that! We are all very sad to be leaving the ship, & a few tears were shed I think.

Day 46 (Time to go) Thursday Feb 21

We got up early to see the arrival in Auckland at 7 a.m. which was pretty spectacular. We were greeted by a group of Maoris doing the Haka, and people out on their balconies to welcome us, it was one of the best welcomes we had. Tricia, Hilary and I decided to stay on board for a bit, but Alan & Sylvia had a plane to catch to Wellington so they left at 9. Alan didn’t say goodbye to Tricia or Hilary, truth to tell I think he found Tricia a little hard to cope with in the last couple of weeks, she is a very dominant personality! I will be staying with T & H until Saturday in a very small apartment but I’m sure we will get along fine!

Hilary had a surprise when we finally disembarked because her sister Theresa was there to meet us, she hadn’t replied to any e-mails or letters so Hilary wasn’t expecting her at all. We made our way to our student accommodation, quite a come-down after the ship, but necessary for the budget. The main problem was the number of steps down to the ‘hotel’ entrance coupled with the amount of luggage we all have (mine mainly I admit!). We were able to store it until check-in time, so we went back to the quay & booked ourselves a boat trip on a charter to say goodbye to ‘the marvellous QE2’.

This evening we joined about 40 others on the charter and eventually had the fantastic experience of speeding alongside as the ship left the dock and made her way through Waiemata harbour. When you’re on the ship you certainly don’t appreciate the speed she goes at, but it was absolutely thrilling to ‘track’ her for about 15 minutes. Eventually we tooted and turned away, & we watched with tears in our eyes as the old lady disappeared around the headland on her way to Sydney. We’ll miss her.

Postscript Feb 23

Buy several good quality T-shirts especially for the cruise, you will wear them a lot and wash them a lot, & the washing machines are not kind.

Do not bother with skirts, unless you prefer to wear skirts to trousers or shorts of course. I took several, & only wore one once.

Trousers and shorts with pockets are a very good idea. You can carry your cabin key & ship’s card around without the need for a handbag.

If from the UK, get your dry-cleaning done on board, it’s very cheap.

I think a world cruise probably is a good place to find a new partner if you’re at ‘a certain age’ and aren’t too fussy! But, if you’re a reasonably attractive female (or male for that matter) be aware that some people are on the cruise for one aim only, and a long-term relationship is not it. It’s nice not to be invisible any longer, but a bit like being a teenager again and very unlike real life!

Highlights for me: Easter Island, New York (because of the historical nature of the occasion), & Rio. Rio would’ve been second if the weather had been better. If we’d made it in, I’m sure The Falklands would’ve been on the list too.

Was it worth it? Yes it was, though personally I think a month is probably long enough to cruise. You will make new friends, some of whom may very well become life-long.

Being on the QE2 on her Farewell World Cruise was a fantastic experience which I will never forget I’m proud to have been a part of it.

Days 41-44 Feb 15-19

Apologies for the delay, no access while in Auckland or on holiday with my sister!

Day 41 (Funny) Friday Feb 15

Everybody is feeling rather tired after yesterday, it must be the heat. It is a steady 82 on deck, but the breeze means it’s deceptive & easy to get burnt. I spent some time on deck today but avoided the sun mostly, trying to get my legs brown but they’re still pasty white!

Christopher Biggins is on board, I think he got on in South America somewhere, we’ve certainly all been aware of his presence, his laugh is very loud! Robbie Coltrane was on the transatlantic bit, but I didn’t see him, he must’ve stayed in the ‘posh’ bit. Apparently Carol Thatcher is on board, she wrote a very good book about the QE2 which Alan was given for Christmas and can recommend. CB gave a lecture on his career this morning which as expected was very amusing, he also offered to have his photo taken with anyone who asks round the ship so I may avail myself of the opportunity. I didn’t watch Jungle Celebrity, but I think his talks about the experience should be worth attending. We should catch one of them before we disembark, only 4 more days to go (we lose tomorrow, see below).

Gary Williams was the entertainer tonight, he’s a very good singer who played Sinatra in ‘The Rat Pack’ in the West End apparently. Not really my cup of tea but he was very professional.

Day 42 (So where’s) Saturday Feb 16?

We crossed the International Date Line so we lost Saturday, very careless of us! Don’t ask me to explain it, I’m sure it’s all very simple, but even the 3^rd Officer had trouble in the noon-day announcement yesterday, I don’t think he understands it either!

Day 42 (Shirking) Sunday Feb 17

The first day on board when I’ve actually done very little. Some people spend all day reading or sleeping but today that’s exactly what I did for most of it. Today was memorable for one thing only and that was my first (& only I think!) ‘date’ on board! Tricia met an Australian called Bob at ‘Singles-Mingles’ after Valparaiso, and he’s been in the ‘boys’ quiz team since then. He asked me ‘out’ for a drink after the show this evening, and I went! Unfortunately he’s not a millionaire either, but he’s a nice guy originally from Cornwall (the rest of his family still live in Saltash), now living in Mackay Queensland. He’s 70(!!!!) but looks younger I think. I like him but I can’t honestly see much future in it, obviously there’s only 3 days left before Auckland and I don’t think he’s that fast a worker!

Day 43 (Mad Dogs) Monday Feb 18

It was a really really hot day today in Tonga, hence the ‘mad dogs & Englishmen’ title! We anchored between 2 little islands & then the 2 large tenders, which carry 150 people, & 4 of the small ones as used in Easter Is took us the very short journey ashore to the capital Nuku’alofa. It looks a pretty poor place, a lot of the houses I saw were little more than tin shacks. Despite this the people we saw all seemed very friendly and smiled a lot. The children in particular were delightful, and sang for us at one of the stops on the tour I took, ‘Historic sites’, of which there weren’t many! I missed the fruit bats and the blowholes, and was sad about that, but it was much too hot to get a taxi afterwards. The others took a taxi independently & had a great time, I wished I had gone with them really. Couldn’t find any postcards either, just bought 2 small packets of ‘Royal’ coffee! All the other souvenirs looked as though they’d be impossible to take into NZ, which has very strict customs rules.

The King of Tonga died last year, and his son will not be crowned king until this August. There were riots in November 2006 here, I believe about the lack of democracy, and our guide hinted that there might be problems with the accession. The prince is ‘not married’, I leave you to draw your own conclusions, and may not be acceptable to the majority. So I will definitely be keeping an eye on the news.

We were all tired once again this evening, & the entertainer, a good Australian singer called Julia Daniels, had a pretty hard time keeping us awake. Warren & Simon (Cruise Entertainment Director & deputy) in their TV morning show joked about getting a cattle prod on the stage, you can sometimes hear people snoring, it must be pretty depressing to try & perform under those circumstances!

I’ve decided not to ‘see’ Bob again, at least not on a one-to-one basis, I’m too busy packing (no room despite sending a bag back with the ship) & thinking about the future. Fortunately he understands my reasons, & it is flattering to be asked ‘out’.

Day 44 (Tired) Tuesday Feb 19

We are feeling very down in the dumps today, I even had a little weep this afternoon, very unlike me! I was packing while watching ‘Two Weeks Notice’ on the TV, it is a sentimental film starring Sandra Bullock & Hugh Grant, which I have seen before. I guess it’s the realisation that I am leaving ‘the marvellous QE2’ the day after tomorrow, & it’s sad. I think we have all become a little institutionalised, we will have to remember how to cook & clean and remember to pick up our own towels!

Fortunately I did have a good morning before the glums set in, went to a Peter Crimes lecture on Auckland, to see if he mentioned anything I didn’t already know about, & he was as always amusing & informative. Then Christopher Biggins talked about the ‘celebrity’ show, and told us what he thought of the other contestants, it was very funny and since I hadn’t seen any of the programme when it was on TV it was fascinating as well. He raised over £300K for charity while doing the show, and then won £125k for himself, not bad for a couple of weeks ‘work’! You certainly wouldn’t get me anywhere near some of the creatures he had to have variously poured over him, to eat etc etc.

The Cunard singers & dancers gave their last performance before leaving the ship in Sydney, and it was absolutely the best yet, by quite a way, simply stunning, fantastic costumes and amazing dancing. They deservedly received a standing ovation. We want some of their energy! I stayed up till late after going to the Computer centre, and joined Tricia and Hilary for the midnight buffet. I didn’t eat anything though, I couldn’t even manage much dinner this evening, I think everything has got on top of me a little, especially the realisation that it’s decision time imminently. I am meeting my architect in Auckland to finalise the initial plans and then go for the build (or not!!!!).