"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report # 43 Sailing Towards Mooloolaba, Australia February 12, 2016 Friday Partly cloudy & 80 degrees 52 Pictures

Sent: Friday, February 12, 2016 11:50:04 AM
Subject: Report # 43 Sailing Towards Mooloolaba, Australia February 12, 2016 Friday Partly cloudy & 80 degrees 52 Pictures

Report # 43 Sailing Towards Mooloolaba, Australia February 12, 2016 Friday Partly cloudy & 80 degrees 52 Pictures

Well, tomorrow we should be in a new port called Mooloolaba. A new one for us, we have to admit we had never heard of it. The plan is that we will be tendering to shore, as there is no suitable dock for ships. From the tour descriptions, we deducted that this city with a fun name is an artisan community with arts, crafts, boutiques, and beaches. It is famous for its beach club by the name of Noosa Surf Club.

What is there to see and do there? There is Edmundi Market, a "make it, bake it, grow it, and sew it" kind of town. To see the highlights, the cost onboard through shore excursions is about $60. That would take you to the market and also the Queensland Air Museum with 70 aircraft to tour. You can also hike to the Noosa Heads National Park.

There is also a tour to nearby Montville, established in 1887. It is 1400 feet high in a mountainous village. A resort for relaxing, you can travel to the wine country. A reminder to those who want to buy local wines……you are allowed one bottle with no corkage fee ($18) per person, per day, per port. The last tour offered would take you reef and game fishing…$200 for 5 hours. Good luck catching something.

We must be close to Brisbane, because there is a 7 hour tour there. Really, it is a transfer with a drive by of all of the major sights for $95, no lunch included. You are on your own to explore.

Now that we got all of that memorized, including pronouncing the name, it appears that it will be cancelled. While we were having lunch in the dining room with Barb, Captain Jonathon announced that due to rough sea conditions, the tender landing in Mooloolaba was closed. No way in the world are they going to take any chances with those tender boats.

Not sure what the plan is now, but we kind of wondered if we will stop at Brisbane, on the way to Cairns. Later this evening, we were all delivered a note card saying that every effort was being explored to get us to shore. Maybe Brisbane, although it was never mentioned by the Captain. In his card, the Captain said that with the assistance of the corporate staff, they are attempting to reschedule our ship at an alternate port of call. Efforts had been ongoing all day, and optimistically, we hope for the best outcome. If not, we will sail directly to Cairns, the following stop. It is not uncommon to miss ports for many reasons. Safety is definitely the number one reason NOT to go. If nothing else, we will receive credit for port charges and fees. It won't be a whopping amount. In addition, they will be transporting an officer from this ship to another via a pilot at 6am. That's a first.

Assuming the aft pool would be busy today, we stayed inside and worked on photos. A two hour dining room lunch with Barb used up part of the time. Several walks later, the time for the beginning of the pool party was near. This event was called the Australian Beach Party, and would run from 5:30pm to 9pm.

The Lido pool area was transformed to a semi-Bondi Beach, complete with sand pits, and many small and large beach balls. Sure was colorful, especially when looking from deck nine. A group of young Aussie lifeguards were brought onboard yesterday, we assume, and joined our HAL dance team to entertain the guests poolside. All they did was play with beach toys thrown across the pool, and jump in between the balls in the water. A local band, Hipnosis, played live music for the entire time. The guests who like music, especially loud music, were digging it. They played songs we remembered from high school.

Food offered included chilled seafood in a buffet line. Hot food was served in the Lido. Bars were set up in several places, totally complimentary. Wine, beer, sodas, and mixed alcoholic drinks were offered. Unfortunately, they did not have our favorites, so we passed. The more crowded it became, we ducked out the aft to watch the sunset. It was a nice one, as it set over the land instead of the sea horizon. We went up to deck nine to listen to the music and watch the passengers who thought they could dance, dance. Very amusing. The more they drank, the funnier it got. A group of folks joined us at the railing, since the sound of the music drove them out of deck eight.

It was almost eight o'clock, so we headed down to change for dinner. Our entire group showed up, even though we had read that the dining this evening was only on deck four. The fixed seating on deck 5 was closed. We are fixed on deck four anyway, so Pandi knew to save our table, since we told him this morning at breakfast. The staff has never done this before, closing one dining room, so it was a test. Appeared that enough folks went to the Lido instead, and the dining room was never crowded.

It was a different type of special event, but could not hold a candle to last year's special event in Turkey. Every so many years, HAL goes all out with these events. The first was the meeting of the two ships in Dubrovnik in 2007, then the cistern party in Istanbul in 2008. Last year's event was at Ephesus, where everyone was bussed to the lower part of the complex. What a magic evening we had with the concert in the ancient ruins. Guess we have been spoiled.

Dinnertime was fun as Martha and Bob got to know Bonnie and Paul better. They seem to get our type of humor, and go with the flow. The best entrée was the leg of lamb with roasted potatoes. The gravy made the lamb even better. Much better than last night's prime rib.

Here is the pricing on the wine packages, which could be purchased either ahead of the cruise (slightly cheaper) or onboard. The Wine Compass Premium runs $511 for 12 bottles, $971 for 24 bottles, or $1838 for 48 bottles.

The Wine Compass Package is less….12 bottles for $386, 24 bottles for $734, and $1391 for 48 bottles. Those Mariner members with four stars or higher will get ½ off of that price. Hope this helps.

Bill & Mary Ann

Preparations on deck eight for the beach party