March 13, 2018 Auckland New Zealand

March 13, 2018 Auckland New Zealand

Today we landed in Auckland at noon. Weather forecast is partly cloudy and 72 degrees F.

It was windy but not cold all day.

We went to the port talk about Wellington in the morning.

The ship docked around 12:15 and everyone without tours started disembarking a few minutes later.

Since our tour was meeting at 1:25 we had lunch and then went to the Wheelhouse .

When our tour was called we got our bus number sticker and then went into y theater where we sat in the rows for our tour.  When our number was called we went out of the theater to the gangplank to disembark and go to our assigned coach.

 Our tour was for a visit of the Kelly Tarson Aquarium and the sky tower.

We saw some of the city on the drive to the aquarium.

 Fairy Penguin

The aquarium was not very large but had a very good penguin exhibit, one sea turtle, some sharks and sting rays and a few other types of fish on display.  The allotted time of 1hr. and 30 mins was plenty of time to see everything.

On the way to the Sky Tower we went through Pelham  Village, an old district of Auckland.

Our guide told us that the Sky tower was a casino, had  bungie cord type activity and one could walk outside on the edge of the observation platform tethered to a metal bar for safety reasons.

 view from the tower

Sophia at the tower observation deck

Sophia went up to see the view and I went and had a coffee in Andy’s Burger Bar and worked on my emails. The visit was 1hour and when time was up we boarded the bus to return to the ship.

Our driver recommended a gift shop two blocks from the ship so we headed there to get some souvenirs.  I found a good sticker of New Zealand to put on my carryon suitcase.

night view of Auckland

We had dinner on the ship and after wards I went to the Simon Cotter show, a Canadian comedian.

March 11, 2018 first sea day on the Diamond Princess

March 11 first day at sea.

We got up around 8:30 am and the sky was cloudy and it was sunny and windy-boat a bit rocky.

When we entered the buffet area there were staff to watch diners either to wash their hands at sinks or to use the Purell machine.  Seems to be a big emphasis on preventing illness.

Buffet arranged way different than Celebrity buffet. Crowded counters with staff to greet us when we entered buffet line area, handing us plate and silverware.

Once we got our food we left the buffet area through the exit and found a table. There was a lot of tables and chairs available inside and outside in the covered area.

We attended a port excursion talk, a port shopping talk and the took a break, walking around the ship and the getting ready for our first formal night dinner. When we came back to the cabin we found our fixed dining assignment in the International Dining Room.

When we went to the dining room we were shown to a table of 8.

Turns out that out of the  6 at our table two from Ventura  and the other 4 from So. Cal.

Four are work friends and cruise a lot. All of them nice and interesting.

At 7:15 we headed to the theater for the big production show.

The show featured show tunes and some songs by a Filipino Soprano who had several solos and a beautiful voice.

All the performers and musicians were really good.

The theater it self was large and had comfortable padded seats.

At bedtime the sea was still a bit bumpy not not an issue.

March 10, 2018 first day on the Diamond Princess - sailing to New Zealand

First day at sea on the Diamond Princess.

We have not sailed on a Princess ship for 9 years so we did not know what to expect when we arrived at the cruise terminal. Everything was well organized, bags dropped off, we completed our health forms, got in line to get our cabin card keys, went through Australian border control and on the ship in an hour- really good time.

One big difference with Celebrity is that the boarding is done by time slots per decks ie our deck could checkin and board between 12:30-1:30 and there is staff to operate the elevators and only those passengers who are in the boarding time slot can use the elevator to go up to their cabin. Unlike Celebrity our cabin was ready and we dropped off our bags and headed to the buffet for lunch.

The emergency drill was at 3:14 and our room cards were scanned to confirm we attend the drill.

At 4:15 the shipped left the pier sailing by the iconic Sydney Opera House for the open waters.

There was a sail away party on the Lido deck and everyone was having a great time.

When we entered our cabin our bags were inside so we spent time to unpack and get ready for dinner.

Since we booked the cruise close to the sail date we did not have assigned dining so we had to go to the anytime dining line which was slow at 7 PM. 

Dinner was good and since we finished late we couldn’t make the last theater show.

I went to find the Maitre’D to see If we could be assigned to fixed dining and he said he would let me know tomorrow.

We had to advance our clocks one hour to get ready for New Zealand time.

Ship was rocking through the night but we were so tired it was not an issue.

March 9, 2018 our first full day in Sydney, Australia

March 10,2018

Sydney Radisson Blu Hotel.

Impression- great place- good service from all the staff and very good lunch and breakfast buffet the nest morning. 

Centrally located as promised by the travel agent.

Glad we’re are staying there again when we return from the cruise and several more times during our tours.

It was close to the cruise terminal , Circular Quay and the Opera House. We heard the Queen Mary II was in port so we walked down to see her, the opera house and the Harbor Bridge.

We stopped at cafe along the promenade for coffee and crepes. Afterwards we went into a nice gift shop to shop for local souvenirs planning to go back and buys souvenirs on our last day in Sydney so we don’t have to pack them around on our travels.

On our way to Australia and New Zealand March 7,2018

we have been planning a trip to Australia for almost a year now and today we left on this trip.
We chose to fly on Qantas in premium economy class. Interesting that the flight leaves at 8:45 pm and arrives two days later at 6:45am.


We boarded the aircraft and found our seats to be very confortable and a good amount of leg room.
We were offered drinks before takeoff as well as a menu for dinner and breakfas)t.

After take off Darren came around to take drink 🍸 orders.
Later dinner was served on real china plates- all food and drinks were served on plates and glasses.


Once all the meals/plates were cleared away the cabin lights were dimmed (10:30pm) and I read and Sophia watched 3 billboards. We slept until 6am.
Around 9am breakfast was served along with the best coffee.
The 14 hour flight went by quickly since we slept some of the time and Darren gave us excellent service. He found out we were Greek and he grew up with lots of Greek friends, learned Greek from them and spent layovers in Thesolonica and Kalamata.



March 9


At the border control there is an passport system and since we had electronic visas we put our passports into the kiosk and get a pass , stand before a camera and continue. I was told to go to service assistance desk and wait for a border agent to inspect my passport and then let me through to go to baggage claim. We got ou. bags, found our driver and went to our hotel , the Radisson Blue.
 Ecause got to the hotel at 9am our room was not ready.
We had breakfast in the lounge and now waiting till noon on to check in.



We took a walk in the afternoon down to Circular Quay to see the Queen Mary II. It was really a nice view of the ship docked across from the iconic Opera House.  We walked along side this and then alon the promonade taking photos of the ship and the Opera House.
We walked done to the tourist area and looked at the shops, stopped for a dessert and coffee and then made our way back to our hotel.

The concierge recommended the Athenian Restaurant for dinner so off we went to experience a Greek meal.
We looked at the menu and there were very few traditional Greek foods. Speaking to the only Greek waiter we found out the business was sold in Dec. to new owners who changed the menu.
We ordered what the waiter recommended and the food was very good.
Back to the hotel to rest and get ready for our New Zealand 🇳🇿 cruise tomorrow.

Dinner at Taverna Opa in Orlando, FL July 2017

We were in Orlando to attend the AHEPA National Convention at Disney World. One of the advertisers in the AHEPA program was the Taverna Opa. Since we had a free night I researched Tripadvisor to get reviews of the restaurant. All reviews were positive but mentioned loud music.

The music and entertainment started at 7 pm so I made reservations for dinner at 6pm so we could have a quiet dinner and stay for the entertainment.

The place was packed with large parties when we walked in at 6. We were seated in a table close to where the food was prepared - open kitchen  concept and we could see the whole dining room and bar.

The menu had a lot of appetizers and meat and fish entrees. We ordered cocktails and several appetizers to start.

 After the food and drink was served we ordered dinner- my wife the roast lamb and potatoes and I the lamb chops.

The appetizers were delicious and the dinner divine. My wife said the roast lamb and potatoes not only reminder her of her Mom's version but maybe even better. Major compliment.
My lamb chops were cooked to perfection and very tasty.

After dinner we had coffee and Ekmet which was very very good.

Now it was around 7 and the Dj started playing music and the belly dancer came out and started dancing. Some young girls climbed on tables and danced and then more guests got on tables to dance.
See video below- much more on Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/edit?video_referrer=watch&video_id=8KTiaTEYKG0

There were lots of birthdays and  the birthday boy or girl got on the table with the belly dancer and the waiter brought a cake with a giant sparkler ablaze.

Same time the waiters and waitresses started throwing napkins in the air and it was snowing napkins all over while the DJ played a lot of Greek music and some popular music.

What a show! What fun!

Got a photo with the belly dancer...

Then the belly dancer led a group of diners in a line dance all around the restaurant and then suddenly a second belly dancer appeared and danced all around the dining room.

We stayed a while and enjoyed the festivities before we called it a night.

This is a must visit place if you find yourself in Orlando.