We were given late checkout at the hotel so had a relaxing morning.  We weren’t very far from the pier, a 10-15 minute walk that we had done several times, but we opted for a taxi given our luggage. 

Queen’s Wharf has two cruise ship terminals.  Cruise ships have been coming to Aukland for 14 years.

The process of checking in on the Westerdam took about 45 minutes. We  were always moving so it went quickly.

This is our cruise itinerary – mostly New Zealand, and three ports in Australia.

We found our cabin and our key cards. Randy was pleased that he finally had some status as we were Mr. and Mrs. R. Matthews.  Because I do all the travel planning, status accounts are almost always in my name. He’s always “complaining” that he doesn’t exist!  He’s just a kept man on our travels!

This was our first view of our signature suite, a new cabin category for us. 

We had lovely flowers from our travel agent.

We watched the safety video and then the end of the Chiefs-Texans football game.

We were able to watch some of the Sail Grand Prix from our balcony. We had seen a lot about it during our stay in Auckland but were out of the city on Saturday.  On Sunday morning, we were more focused on getting on the ship. It was a nice surprise to see a little of the racing and what all the fuss was about.

And if you don’t know, because we certainly didn’t know, Sail GP is an international sailing competition featuring high-performance F 50 foiling Catamarans. 

We completed our last required event for embarking, to find our muster station for lifeboat evacuation in case of emergency. 

Next up was the Mariners’  Reception for loyal Holland America cruisers with status. We barely qualify, but we do!  We sat with a couple from Florida we had met in line to embark.

Because this smaller class of Holland ship is new to us, we spent some time finding our way around. 

We went to the spa for a tour and signed up for the raffle.  I won $100! Of course, given the inflated prices on a cruise, my $100 discount makes it about the same as Phoenix prices.  I’m all in!!

We opted to pay $119 for unlimited laundry on this cruise.  As we’d already been away from home for a week, we sent off our first bag of clothes for cleaning.

We went to dinner in the main dining room and then to the theater for a talk about our next few ports.

Most of that information will come out as we reach those ports, but he told us a few general items of note. 

The footwear people in the US call flip flops are called jangles in NZ.  Those same sandles are called thongs in Australia.  (I actually grew up in the Pacific Northwest calling them thongs.)

New Zealand money is very colorful and durable.  They have done away with 1$ bills, nickels and pennies.

New Zealand is generally cashless with almost everyone using cards.  There is no expectation for tipping as workers are paid a livable wage.

Instead of 911 for emergency, NZ uses 111.

The longest place name in the world is in New Zealand. There are 85 characters!  The presenter didn’t want to attempt the pronunciation so he played a recording narrated by his sister!

We boarded the Westerdam on January 18 2025.

Next Up: Tauranga