Subject: Report # 36 Sailing Towards Melbourne, Australia February 5, 2016 Friday Partly cloudy & 78 degrees 19 Pictures
Report # 36 Sailing Towards Melbourne, Australia February 5, 2016 Friday Partly cloudy & 78 degrees
Today was a special one, because it was Barb's 80th birthday. We began the day by running a card to her room, so she would get it first thing. She's a late sleeper, so she may not find it until almost noon. At least before trivia time. Then our host Tom, who is also a longtime friend of Barb's, had left a special card for her that we all signed. All of us would be Bill & Leta, Don, Peter, the Purser, and the two of us. We would all meet at 8pm at our table for dinner.
The sea swells that the Captain promised that would hit us are here. Not quite 15 feet, they still are substantial enough to cause the ship to pitch severely and list as well. The morning started off fairly mild, but as the day progressed, so did the rough seas. At one point, Captain Mercer described the waters as angry and confused.
When visiting the front desk, we noticed that the telltale crackers and apples were out for the taking. Sometimes when the folks suffer from seasickness, that combination of food is the only thing that will stay down. A better bet is to take meclizine, a common drug used to combat dizziness. Think they still dispense it for free at the front desk.
Today we had to turn in a form for the Australian face-to-face passport check in Melbourne. The entire population on the ship will have to disembark, and present themselves to the authorities. We had a choice of the time we would be called off. The early people will go off, and join their tours, while those of us on our own, will go later. The ship has to be totally emptied before anyone can be let back onboard.
The weather has taken a sudden change. Along with the wave action, the temperature dropped at least 20 degrees. No way was it going to be 78 degrees today. With the wind chill, we bet it was in the 50's. Very few passengers were outside walking or lounging in the teak chairs this morning. What we did find were the two workers still fixing the tender boat. Today they had put up a blue tarp, blocking the dust and debris from blowing down the deck. The boat is still far from being completed. The other prop had been taken off yesterday. Now two are missing along with the shafts. Not an easy fix.
We met with Barb for lunch in the dining room. They served vegetable taquitos and very good burgers with hot fries in a basket. It was nice for a change, and we spent quality time with our buddy. A nice treat for dessert, we had the mini pavlova with strawberries and whipped cream. Too good.
No pool time today….too windy and way too cold. It was a good time to work on emails and photos from yesterday.
During his PM talk, Gene mentioned that they still need 20 folks to play the game of bingo at 4pm. Don't recall ever having had this problem getting players. Bingo used to be the biggest activity on the cruise. Especially the short ones where the final bingo was big. Someone always won it, but it sure wasn't us. Close, but never close enough.
Chef George Geary had his first demo today as he prepared rack of lamb, Afghan and New Zealand butter cookies. He is quite the character, and puts on a good show. We are signed up with a class with him before he leaves the ship. Should be interesting.
The guests speakers continued their series of talks. We understand that the star gazing at night on deck 10 has drawn a crowd. Doubt that will be the case this evening, due to the rough seas and cold winds. It is scheduled at 10pm, but if there are clouds, then it will be cancelled.
Good thing the clocks went back one hour tonight, because our special celebration dinner ran overtime tonight. By the time we left the dining room, very few, if any, diners were left. Barb thanked her "winter friends" for being her family on this day of her 80th birthday. It was a fine night and we enjoyed being part of it.
Now we hope the seas calm down, at least a little.
Bill & Mary Ann
Special dinner for Barb's 80th birthday
Guests, Bill & Leta
Don, Peter, and me
Balloons
Wuyhu, our waiter
A table of eight guests
Had caviar appetizers
Barb had doubles
Singing happy birthday
The carrot cake
Made us all happy
Or was it the wine?
Yes, the wine
Oscar presents the carrot cake
It was very good
Special for us
The gang
The skies at 10:20pm
Amaryllas blooming
