We had a real blast last night in the Observation Bar! We haven’t laughed that much in a very long time. Charlie had many of us singing along with him—so much fun and such great energy all around.
Earlier in the day, we decided to try the Chef’s Market Dinner in the Colonnade. During lunch, we spotted the bulletin board listing the evening’s offerings—lots of fresh seafood—and we were instantly sold! We invited Mr. C to join us and sat out on the outside terrace.
What a perfect setting. The food was absolutely delicious, and we more than did our share of crab legs, mussels, and huge shrimp.We finished dinner with the Croquembouche (small, cream-filled profiteroles stacked into a cone-shaped tower and held together with threads of caramelized sugar). Wow—what a finish! The conversation was intriguing, the laughs kept coming, and we were the last ones to leave.We later returned to the Observation Bar and found it fairly crowded with many of our new friends. It turned into a roaring good time! We ended up staying until almost midnight—a definite record for us. 😄
This morning we arrived at our first New Zealand port, the Bay of Islands.
We’ve been here twice over the past several years and have already explored everything the port has to offer, so we decided to stay onboard. We enjoyed breakfast in the Colonnade with Mrs. B from Belgium while tackling two loads of laundry (living the glamorous cruise life!). Mrs. B is disembarking tomorrow in Auckland, and we exchanged contact information—she’s invited us to visit her in Belgium for a tour of her homeland. How amazing is that?The Carnival Splendor is anchored nearby.
The Observation Bar, usually very quiet during the day. We attended Ross’ noon Super Bowl party in the Grand Salon, and what an entrance it was!
The place was decked out with decorations, and Ross was right there at the door in full football attire—too funny!!!There was no shortage of food: sliders, hot dogs, wings, spring rolls, nachos, and popcorn.They also had a full beverage table (always appreciated) and a delicious raspberry-filled cake to top it all off.As you walked in, guests were invited to pick one football pool square per person, with gifts awarded after every quarter. The only thing missing? The Super Bowl commercials. We were stuck with ESPN ads—and honestly, the commercials are half the reason we usually watch the game. Bummer. And don’t even get me started on the halftime show. Spanish is my native language, and I maybe understood about 20% of what was said! 🤷♂️Tomorrow is turnaround day in Auckland. 🚢
