Cruise Ship Australia

Fri Feb 23

Today is embarkation day.  We checked out of our hotel and took an Uber, the 3 miles to the cruise terminal for the 11.00am embarkation.  Check-in only took a few minutes, and we were on board by 11:15.

Our stateroom was ready, but we had to wait a while for our bags to be delivered.  Our room door had a welcome message from Janice and Randy and an invitation to dinner at 6:30 in the grand dining room. 

We had lunch inside the terrace dining room as it was too hot on the patio.  After lunch, we checked out the ship.  This is the same ship we spent six months on in 2022, so everything was familiar.  I wanted to drop off a book in the library, connect the internet for our phones, and check out the artist loft and the Horizons lounge.

Our luggage had arrived by three o'clock, and we unpacked and got our stateroom ship-shape.  The Phone rang.    Janice invited us to afternoon tea in Horizons at 4pm.  We met up with big hugs and proceeded to catch up and discuss what had happened over the last two years between us over a scone with cream and jam and, of course, tea with the string quartet playing in the background.

Six pm was the cast-off party, just as a thunderstorm erupted, so there was no deck party today.  Cousin Rob contacted me to say his pilot partner would let me accompany him on the bridge, but the Italian Bridge crew were too grumpy to agree.  A wonderful opportunity missed, but I really appreciate Rob's attempt.

We watched the transit under the Sydney Harbor Bridge and passed the ever-impressive Sydney Opera House, and we set course for Newcastle, an easy night's sail.

We again met with Randy and Janice for dinner and started counting how many other passengers we knew from the previous cruise.  We are creatures of habit.

After dinner, we went to the 9:15 show, which was an introduction to the full show team for the new passengers.  Dancers, singers, string quartets, show bands, and the familiar and ever-outgoing cruise director Ray Car.

Sat Feb 24

I was up early, so I headed to the Horizons Lounge, where early coffee is available, and I watched the sunrise and the sail into Newcastle Harbor.

We had a 9:15 excursion booked, so there was no time to lose.  It was a dull, rainy, and windy morning, and warm weather was selected.  A coach took us on a sightseeing excursion.  Newcastle is the largest exporter of coal in the world.  The port was discovered by Captain Cook in 1778.  Our first stop was Fort Scratchley.  It is a very windy location, so our stop was brief.

Fort Scratchley has spectacular views over Nobbys Beach and the Hunter River.  It was a former coastal defense installation but is now a museum.  It was built in 1882 to defend the city against a possible Russian attack, which never happened but was used to defend against the Japanese successfully.

We quickly moved on to our second stop, “Maitland Gaol”, a jail.   It is a heritage-listed former Australian prison.  It opened in 1848 and closed in 1998.  We took a full tour and heard of all the gory details of life inside the prison and the executions.  It was replaced by modern and more humane institutions.

Our final stop was a charming town nearby called Morpath.  We had time to pursue the little tourist shops and taste the meat pies.  As a Brit, this is something I miss.  Merry was so charmed that I had to drag her away from the shops and back to the departing bus [a few minutes late].  We looped back to the ship for a bite and a short nap.   

We joined a trivia team at 5:30 [more new friends], coming in joint third out of about ten teams.  Then, on to dinner.  We shared a table and met new friends, then attended the evening show, a wonderful piano player visiting Billy Joel and Elton John's music.  The clocks go back one hour tonight, preparing for our visit to Whitsunday Island (Airlie Beach) after two days at sea.

Sunday, Feb 25 Sea Day

We started the day with some business to take care of.  We received notice one tour had been canceled, my trip to the Great Barrier Reef.  Apparently, the boat had broken down and could not do the tour, but this was a very important excursion, so I had to wait in a long queue [line] and rearrange my excursions to fit a new trip to the Great Barrier Reef.  All done.  Next, I had to see the internet guru to assist with the internet access.  Done.  Next, I needed a different TV remote so I could change HDMI to see my Amazon Firestick to see the Manchester United football [soccer] games and other satellite shows.  Finally, sign up for the art classes. We attended the very interesting guest speaker lectures and had afternoon tea.

We attended the trivia meet and then quickly changed for the Captain's cocktail party [that is code for free booze].

At dinner, we met up with old friends Kevin, Margaret, Helen, and Leroy and had a blast. 

The evening show was a violin player.

Monday, Feb 26

Another day at sea, so a similar routine.  We did a project in art class. We will find out how it comes out in a few days.

In the evening, we had dinner with more dear friends, Eliz and Joe, and Janice and Randy.  Another ball of laughter.

My take on Australia so far

The countryside is rolling green hills and very lush vegetation.  They seem to get plenty of rain.  It reminds me of Hawaii.  The British influence is very strong in the people, culture, and architecture.  Because of my British background, this is not all good.  

I knew it was a hot climate, and in February, they are still in the summer season, and yes, it was [to me] hot, but most of all, it was humid.  Humidity changes heat from pleasant to unpleasant.  I was also expecting bugs, big bugs, and especially flies.  So far, I have had minimal contact with flies, mostly when food is present, and no creepy crawlies to speak of.  However, we are told this will change drastically as we head north. 

As we get into the red zone, everything wants to eat you.  We are beginning to feel we are not quite at the top of the food chain.

Tuesday, Feb 27

We have left the State of New South Wales and are now in the State of Queensland.  We arrived at the anchorage in the bay off Whitsunday Island and took a massive catamaran ferry holding over 300 passengers on the twenty-minute ride to Airlie Beach. 

Unfortunately, One passenger was loaded onto the ferry on a gurney due to a medical emergency.  We hope he recovers soon. 

It was a rainy start to the day, which gave a little relief from the usual oppressive heat and humidity.

Airlie Beech is a beachy upscale town that is one of the primary staging ports for travel to the Great Barrier Reef.  It is also part of a trail for backpackers that can double the 10,000 population often.

We took a bus ride to a museum that depicted old Australian life. 

The bus driver told us the population had just reached 25 million, and Australia was about the same size as the continental USA.  He also said the population of kangaroos is greater than people.  We are skeptical as no wild kangaroos were spotted again today.  We wound our way through endless sugar cane fields, which is a big crop in this area.

On the way back, we stopped at some scenic lookouts.

Then, we got off the bus at the far end of the main street and ambled along the shops and pubs, ending up back where the ferry takes us back to the ship. 

On the ride back to the ship, we spoke with the wife of the husband, who was sent to hospital.  Apparently, she was not allowed to stay at the hospital, so she can only communicate with him by phone, and hopefully, he can return to the ship soon.  Apparently, he needed a stent.

In the next post of this blog, you will read about the final Australian cities we visited before moving north to Asia.  To be notified of upcoming blogs, please enter your email and press subscribe.