The day we met the Princess

File picture by Ian Ruru

THE “Princess” slipped into Poverty Bay for the first time this cruise season last Tuesday morning like some beautiful giant white monolith, and before day’s end she had laid her secrets bare.

How stunning and huge did the Golden Princess look at anchor in our Bay? She will call here seven more times this summer.

At nearly three rugby fields long, half a field wide and more than 16 decks high, she looks much more impressive up close and personal.

The 15-minute trip out in the ship’s tender was like a ride on a ferry on a placid day. Smooth as silk and out in the breeze on the tender deck it was totally pleasant.

As the tender drew closer the Princess grew and grew till she towered over us like a colossus. You strained your neck to see her upper reaches.

Apart from a few paint smears here and there on the hull she was as pearly white up close as she appeared from the beach.

The step from the tender onto the ship’s gangway was hardly a step at all and then you were inside the Princess, with no “curtsy” required.

The stairway up into the interior was like any other but then you stepped out into the lavish and expansive open spaces of the gorgeous Princess.

She was built in Italy 15 years ago and is chock-full of Italian style.

American designer Teresa Anderson planned and executed the interior and layout of the passenger areas of ship and she did a beautiful job — walnut and oak fittings, intricate mosaics on the walls and floor and more carpet styles than you could keep up with.

Map of the world at your feetThe map of the world carpeting is a real feature in some areas of the ship.

The colour schemes are vibrant yet soft on the walls and low intimate ceilings. Artworks straight from boutique studios perfectly complement the decor.

A lavish theatre larger than our new War Memorial Theatre is the venue for three live shows a night and there’s an outdoor movie theatre with a giant screen on the top deck.

The Princess has 13 bars, two speciality restaurants, three dining restaurants plus buffets, cafes and an ice-cream bar.

She also boasts three good-sized swimming pools, one of them indoors with a removable roof, and numerous spa pools.

The elevated superstructure right at the stern of the ship is in fact “Skywalkers” night club and that’s what it feels like when you’re up there on the sky deck.

With more than 1000 crew serving 2650 passengers, at first glance, the service seemed exceptional.

There are not sufficient words to describe the food we had for lunch that day — there were more than a dozen different food variety stations in the restaurant where we ate.

The choice and quality were almost overwhelming — almost — we did our best!

Security was tight and very efficient coming and going which was good to see.

The Princess came across as a safe, secure and completely relaxing laid back “Golden” holiday environment.

She’s quite simply stunning — and Liam’s pictures capture the heart of our frequent visitor this summer more than words ever could.