Did the rain stop? Not in the slightest so we battened down the hatches and tried to catch up with some sleep in a bed as opposed to an economy plane seat. We must have needed it because we both slept really well.
Both awake at around four so just pottered about with a bit of re-ironing, repacking and some form filling in. All the time we could hear the rain hammering against the window.
For the first time in our cruise history we have been given the health questionnaire before arrival at the pier. Its a great idea in my opinion.
We also have a New Zealand Passenger Departure Card each to fill in. I’m not sure when we are supposed to hand that one in as we will still be here in a weeks time.
We have also been hearing the news about the fires in Christchurch and wonder they will have any impact on our itinerary. We dock at Akaroa and all the fires are between there and Christchurch so will be keeping an eye on how things develop.
So with the forecast of the rain easing we set off from the hotel at 8:15 for the 15 minute walk to the Sky Tower, we were pleased to see all the clouds gone and I’m pretty certain we were the first to up just after 8:30. We had a lift to ourselves and when we arrived on the 51st floor we had the whole deck too. The view up there is amazing and we caught the first glimpse of our ship down in the harbour.
There is then a second lift which then takes you up a further 19 floors to the Sky Deck which is as high as you can go. I thought there was a much clearer view up there and the windows were certainly cleaner. The bungy jumping doesn’t start until 10:00 so we didn’t see anyone taking the plunge which was just as well as it would probably have totally spooked Nicole.
With Sky Tower ticked off the list it was back to the hotel for breakfast and to wait for the transfer to the ship at 11:30.
Things turned a bit wobbly at the next stage, we had a transfer included in our package and the past I would say they have all been managed fairly well. Today was an exception, there we all were about two dozen of us all waiting in the lobby presumably expecting a Celebrity rep to turn up with a coach to take us to the port. What we ended up with was a lone driver who only knew of his task some 10 minutes before he was despatched. All he had was a list of names with a start point and a finishing point. What’s wrong with that you ask? Well he was driving a single storey city bus for 51 passengers. It didn’t take long to fill said bus and as a result 7 of us had to wait 40 minutes for him to come back and get us. He had no idea we would all have cases with us and pretty surprised when he discovered what was actually needing doing.
I will make a complaint when I get home but for now will just have to laugh it off. Thank goodness it never rained!
Embarking would have been much quicker had it not been for New Zealand Immigration who slowed the process up considerably. Once on though it felt like we had come home.
We have had sunshine with some heavy showers this afternoon so have mainly stayed below decks.
We sail at 8:00 tonight just before we go to dinner. An early night is called for as we have our first port tomorrow and need to meet our guide at 8:30.
And before I forget, our steward has made her introduction too and goes by the name of Mimie. She has 16 years service under her belt and was telling us she is now solely responsible for 13 cabins following recent policy changes. I will find out more from her in due course what’s actually happening.