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.