A glimpse of another world

An albatross and its chick watch as the cruise ship Azamara Journey enters the Otago Harbour for the first time yesterday. Photo by Stephen Jaquiery.
An albatross and its chick watch as the cruise ship Azamara Journey enters the Otago Harbour for the first time yesterday. Photo by Stephen Jaquiery.
Azamara Journey cruise ship executive chef Fabio D'Agosta in one of the ship's restaurants yesterday. Photo by Craig Baxter.
Azamara Journey cruise ship executive chef Fabio D'Agosta in one of the ship's restaurants yesterday. Photo by Craig Baxter.

Floating luxury docked in Port Chalmers yesterday.

As I stepped into the boutique 690-passenger Azamara Journey cruise ship, the sight of rusted containers and Port Otago machinery was replaced by marble floors, golden banisters and a concierge clad in black.

As a native of Port Chalmers, I have often stood outside these giant hotels on water and wondered what opulent world lay inside.

Within minutes of setting foot on the cloud-like caramel-coloured carpets on the first floor of the 11-floor ship, my expectations of opulence were surpassed.

This is the first time the ship, complete with butlers and chilled French champagne, has entered Dunedin waters.

It will return on March 15 once its passengers have consumed crayfish and caviar in ports throughout New Zealand.

Photos of old American film stars follow me from a spa suite complete with glass walls to an al fresco pool-side dining area.

It is in one of the ship's restaurants I meet executive chef Fabio D'Agosta.

The Sicilian chef tells stories of cooking for the Queen, Robert De Niro and Madonna in a similar way we, the luxury cruise ship novice, might swap weekend tales with colleagues on a Monday.

Yes, cooking at Windsor Castle was an honour, as was feeding the star of Taxi Driver, he says. But ''all passengers on the ship are like celebrities''.

Perhaps being in the lap of luxury had clouded my judgement, but Mr D'Agosta's comment certainly felt true as I travelled across balconies that would offer passengers front-row views into the far-off ports of Bangkok and London.

But grandeur does not always need to be larger than life.

Azamara Journey docked in the shadow of the 3000-passenger Emerald Princess.

New Zealand manager for Azamara Club Cruises, Mark Kinchley, said the ship focused on ''destination immersion''.

Most passengers would leave their cashmere blankets and private butlers on board and head to the Chisholm Park Golf Club while in Dunedin, he said.

''In modern cruise ship terms, she is a small ship.

''The beauty of that is she visits ports that other larger ships can't, and of course it is about staying longer in ports and allowing visitors to experience more in port.''

This emphasis on immersion is taken up by most passengers.

Bikes for exploring Port Chalmers and surrounds lean against walls.

Most bikes are on the road and so are passengers.

The visit is expected to inject $165,000 into Dunedin's economy.

Next year the ship will embark on a cruise starting in Auckland and finishing in London.

I mull over the possibility in my head, but the view of Port Chalmers bathed in sunshine steals my thought.

I step out of luxury and swap opulence for the luxury of reality.

margot.taylor@odt.co.nz

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