Who would guess that one night sailing south would bring such a difference in temperature? Not that we mind too much, after the last week or more of extreme heat and humidity. This will help the over 200 passengers who are packing today and tomorrow to disembark the ship in Sydney. This segment of the world cruise has flown by so quickly, with such diverse ports and many lovely sea days. We have been most lucky to have had smooth seas and light winds for most of the trip so far.
Our big job of the day was to pick up our passports at the front desk. Inside of the passports, were copies of the front pages for us to keep. Now on past trips, we always had the Australian officials sailing with us for a few days prior to our arrival to Sydney. The drill was to pick up our passports outside the dining room, then proceed into the Kings Room for a face-to-face check with the officials. Once the books were stamped, we would hand them back to our staff for their safe-keeping.
The new procedure is different, as we will do this face-to-face check once we arrive at the White Bay terminal in Sydney. Tomorrow we should have more details on how this will work. No one on the ship is thrilled with the change of terminals. Up until the last two years, the ship has always docked near Circular Quay, right in downtown Sydney, and close to the Opera House. We were spoiled, and did not know it. For the last two years, we have docked in Darling Harbour, with a 1/2 hour ride to George Street and downtown. That was not bad, although the folks missed seeing the Opera House lit up at night. However, Darling Harbour is not available anymore, due to developers purchasing that valuable property to build highrises.
So, we will be in White Bay, a considerable distance away from everything we understand. The good news is that there will be a complimentary shuttle to take us to downtown. But it may take 45 minutes one way during the non-commute time. It is what it is, and we will just have to deal with it. Our port lecturer mentioned during her Sydney talk that if we could add another deck or two and higher stacks to the ship, we would be able to dock at Circular Quay. That way, we would not fit under the Sydney Bridge and could not dock anywhere else. Oh wait. Yes, we have seen cruise ships at anchor in the harbor, and they were tendering their guests to shore.
We did spend some time at the aft pool, but it was windy with lots of clouds and little sun. It has been difficult to keep up with the reading, or should we say re-reading to remember what the story was about. Time to move on to new books. Or better to go watch a movie in our room and eat "take-away" from the Dive In Grill. A new movie, Runner Runner, was on, and it was good for a change. So was the Cannonball Burger and the High Flyer Hotdog.
There were only five of us at dinner.....two were at the Canaletto and the other two were not feeling well. There has been a cold bug going around, but mostly with the staff. Unfortunately, it is spreading among the passengers. Short of staying in your room all day, it is impossible not to be exposed to such viruses. Bet there will be a thorough cleaning of the ship now that we are getting close to getting new passengers. That should help kill the bug.
One more day at sea, and we will be in Sydney.
