I've just spent a day with
Kate, a beautiful and charming lady and daughter of my dear friends Pat and Dave on Lewis. She was in Napier on board the
Crystal Serenity, a luxurious cruise ship. Now a cruise is about the last sort of holiday that I would choose and I found the experience of being shown round quite bizarre. However if I ever were to go on a cruise I'd love to be able to afford
that sort of cruise.
After I'd been shown around Kate and I went to lunch. I had intended to go to the Black Barn winery but when we got there we discovered that they don't serve lunch on Tuesday. However the nearby
Te Mata Cheese Company do a splendid lunch and we enjoyed a splendid cheese platter. I discovered that, despite the top class restaurants on board, American cruise liners do not consider fine cheeses a priority so Kate was well pleased. On second thoughts I'll definitely give the cruise a miss. No proper cheese! I don't think so.
The only irritation of the day is that the brilliant sun and 30 deg temperatures of yesterday were replaced by grey skies with some drizzle and a cool 22 deg.
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| Deck 6 - where it all happens |
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| No. It's not a London Club. It's a cruise liner bar |
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| The retail experience |
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| The centre of things |
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| This is huge and very popular. I just can't believe it. |
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| The larger of the two theatres |
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| From the top of that hill it seems much bigger than it seems from this deck |
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| The library - part of it anyway |
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| Fine dining |
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| Just another restaurant - heaven knows how many there are, I suppose someone has taken an inventory of them. |
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| Under the grey Napier sky |
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| Deck shoes? |
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| The Palm Court Deck |
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| The Reception Area |
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| Again. |
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What a treat just to be given a chance to have a look around. I can well imagine it feeling bizarre though. Even apart from not being a "sea-person" (I like the sea best looking at it from ashore, just dipping my toes into it) I think I would feel "lost"... ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking so many pictures Graham. It is nice to see where one's daughter spends most of her time. The shoes are so Kate - one of about 50 pairs - most at home!
ReplyDeleteI now know why she heads for the deli counter at the co-op as soon as she gets home - for real cheese instead of plastic. You could not have taken her to a better lunch stop.
Thank you for your kindness my friend. xx
Looking through your photos makes me want to be there, as usual. Although, you'd not find me wearing those deck shoes ;) oh my - my feet can't even come close to that - you know me enough to remember how much I like to be barefoot, right?
ReplyDeleteI hope you told the man in the last photo to take his hat off indoors.
ReplyDeleteHow the other half lives indeed.
Wealthy Americans can wear hats anywhere - and probably do! Just like wealthy Brits, wealthy Anyones come to think of it.
ReplyDeleteAnother good set. Can't imagine myself paying for the surroundings but it is good to see how the other half live.
ReplyDeleteOh the life you lead! Your post always make me smile!
ReplyDeleteUm, yeah, wealthiy anyone, for sure. My hats are knitted or crocheted. Not the sort of the wealthy. unless if find the pattern that they can't live without!!!
I think I'd enjoy a tour around that ship, too. I'd rather go to sea in a little boat than a big ship, though.
ReplyDeleteWow. The decadence of wasted space on board a ship. A lovely set of rich, soft, images.
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