With luggage trolleys piled high with suitcases, 3 kiwi's set sail on 107-night cruise around the world. Video / NZ Herald
Looking at the luggage trolley piled high with suitcases, you’d be forgiven for thinking Ellen Lee had overpacked for her trip abroad.
Standing behind the tightly stacked bags, she resembles someone preparing to move country, not visit 28 of them in quick succession. Yet this is exactly what the Waipukurau local is about to do. Even better? She will need to unpack only once.
Lee is one of 208 Kiwis boarding the Coral Princess cruise ship in Auckland today for its annual World Cruise: a 107-night, 28-country, 44-port adventure that begins and ends in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Her husband Greg and his friend David are two others. The men have been friends since primary school and both worked as farmers until Greg retired several years ago.
World Cruise passengers tend to book at least a year in advance but the trio have been waiting much longer than that. They booked in 2018 for a 2020 sailing but then Covid-19 happened and, well, we all know how the story goes.
A map of the journey the Coral Princess will make around the world. Photo / Supplied
On board the Coral Princess
A cabin on the Coral Princess for the full journey starts at $29,699 and includes food and accommodation. It’s not a small price to pay but people are paying it; today’s cruise is fully booked, 2024 is fully booked and 2025 is half booked already.
At almost 300 metres long, Coral Princess can hold 2000 guests and 895 crew as well as more activities and facilities than one could hope to use, even in 109 days. There are four swimming pools and five jacuzzis, a casino, a movie screen, a performance theatre, a fine art gallery and a wedding chapel should you meet someone special at sea.
There is a steakhouse and ice cream bar, trattoria and pizzeria and a selection of bars. The trip involves dozens of days at sea but passengers can easily avoid cabin fever by taking part in a range of sports on board.
Golf, cricket, tennis, pickleball – take your pick. Cricket is a favourite of Greg and David and, as self-appointed leaders of the Australian New Zealand competitions on board, they’ve brought their own kit. Matches take place on the top deck, but don’t worry, Greg adds, there’s a net so they don’t lose the ball.
An amazing itinerary
Aside from having to unpack only once, Ellen said she was excited about all the destinations they would stop at.
“I think also the whole itinerary is absolutely amazing,” she said, adding that Petra, Iceland and Greenland were places she had only ever dreamed about visiting. They plan to visit family in Australia and friends in London and New York.
Meanwhile, Greg can’t wait to visit the White Cliffs of Dover, in Kent. Specifically, the Fan Bay Deep Shelter, a network of tunnels built during World War II, on orders from Winston Churchhill. The Nazca lines in Peru are also on his list.
“You see it from outer space,” he said of the giant geoglyphs. “It’s something special and I’m looking forward to that as well.
“The beauty of the ship is you get the daily planner each day and so you can go to whatever activity you want.” If nothing takes your fancy, you can read your book by the pool, he adds.
Now is the time to travel
The three were originally part of a larger group in 2018 but many travellers decided to pull out after the pandemic cancelled the sailing. However, Ellen said she felt eager to get out and explore the world again.
“Now is the time to do it, now is the time to go,” she said. “I think the world has totally opened up.”
Ellen Lee says they are already planning future travel abroad. Photo / Sarah Pollok
They aren’t wasting any time either. In 2024, a group of 28 of them are booked to visit Turkey for Anzac Day. After that, they’ll consider another cruise.
“We’re going out there to have fun,” she said as they grabbed their luggage trolleys and wrestled them around to point towards the queue forming outside Shed 10.
Looking at them, Ellen with her large tortoise-shell sunglasses and Greg with his white Panama hat, you had no doubt they would.
“See you in summer,” they shouted back with a laugh.
