Sometimes we think a sea day may turn out to be boring. That certainly was not today. During breakfast, we took note that the seas were rough and the winds were blowing pretty strong. Not as bad as expected, however. Taking a walk after breakfast, really showed us what was happening outside.
To back track a bit, we had a problem with the temperature in our room last night. It was nearing 80 degrees, and not cooling down. We heard it was pretty much ship wide, and many guests had trouble sleeping through the night. Unless you lived on decks six or seven, there is no way to get fresh air into your room. It’s not like you can open a window. First thing this morning, we reported it to the front desk, and of course, we were told it was being addressed. Something was mumbled about problems with a compressor. Makes sense.
We did get fresh air for sure during our morning walk, but almost blew over board. No wonder all of the lounges had been lashed to the side railings last night. By the time we did a few laps, the outside doors had been roped off with signs on the window to stay inside.
It was a good time to continue working on photos from Hobart. Sometime around 10am, the Captain made an announcement that we could expect 60 to 70 knot winds as the ship turns westerly towards the Banks and Bass Straits. He warned that the seas and swells would increase dramatically the further we got. He advised all to be careful.
We turned on the information channel on TV, and found out that the winds were already a 12 on the Beaufort scale. Hurricane force we think. Also learned that we have traveled 11,892 nautical miles so far from Ft. Lauderdale. Guess we have been lucky to have had such fair skies and smooth seas to this point. We were still busy in the room, when the Captain came on the speaker again, repeating his message, warning us to stash all the breakables and to be careful out and about on the ship.
We met Barb in the dining room for lunch once again. She had an interesting experience this morning, while sitting at the aft pool. The motion of the ship is such that it may be smooth one moment, then rocking, pitching or listing the next. That makes the pool susceptible to rolling and peaking, dumping water everywhere. It happened with one big roll of the ship, and most of the water emptied, flooding many cabins down under deck eight. Not sure how that happened, but it did. Even more shocking, was watching a chair blow over the back deck, and into the sea below. Like we said, never a dull moment.
Then while we were eating lunch, the cruise director came on the speaker saying that the Valentine’s Ball was cancelled or postponed. But only the dance. The gala dinner was still happening, but the dress code was relaxed. Mostly because the ladies might wear high heels, and it was dangerous to walk around like that. So it would be a first to see how the folks will dress this evening. To be certain, even with the three of us, we all heard a mixed message with that announcement.
Oh yes, we had chocolate bars from Seattle’s Best, left on the bed this morning, along with a single red rose with a card. It was compliments of the Captain for Valentine’s Day. Nice touch.
One of us did sneak out on deck three to take some photos of the massive waves hitting the hull, and the swells that were making the ship list. The Captain had mentioned that the ballast would have to be adjusted in order to straighten the ship up. By 5pm, it was necessary for the Captain to announce that we had slowed to a crawl, and would endure the waves head on. It was our only hope to keep us all comfortable until the worst was over.
So, we dressed for the gala evening as we had originally planned. Some folks did not. It was OK, as long as we were all safe. As we have hosts most nights, we were a bit surprised to have the future cruise consultants as our “officer”. A bit crowded with 10, they kept busy with sharing wine and conversation with our new guests George and Ken. The motion of the ship kept up all evening, so the night was long for some of us.
We do know there was substitute entertainment, but for us, we called it a night, and headed back down to the most stable deck of the ship for the night. Hopefully tomorrow will bring smoother seas, and it will be a “go” for Kangaroo Island on Friday.
Bill & Mary Ann
Entrance to the dining room, deck four
So pretty, decorated for Valentine’s Day
The most decorations yet
Like the combination of colors
Tables for eight are a good size
Seattle’s Best candy bars and a single red rose
Looking out our window……
The decks were a ghost town
Notice the color of the water
Turquoise blue due to the shallow depths
Deep swells
Hitting the hull
No wonder the decks were closed
Explosive waves
As high as deck three
Makes you dizzy
Hope it calms down soon
Maybe it is always like this here
Never ends…..
Best to watch it from the room
You don’t get wet here
