Upon leaving Sydney a few days ago, we have begun another segment of the grand voyage, which ends in Singapore. The last segment was from Auckland to Sydney, and during that short period, the number of eggs consumed was reportedly 15,120. Now that is a whole lot of omelets. The fuel used was 79,251 gallons, a significant amount as well. The number of officers and crew is 614 with a total of 33 nationalities among them.
The re-loading of food and supplies has paid off, since the good Greek yogurt and assorted fresh berries showed up for breakfast this morning. Probably with the added help of our waiters, the berries were the largest we have seen so far. And tasty. Yes, they do spoil us. After dinner last night, Slam presented us with bowls of Hokey Pokey ice cream, a complete surprise to us, since he said it was all gone. By the way, the theme for tonight’s dinner was Rainbow with multi-colored lanterns suspended from the ceiling. The idea was to celebrate life, healing, sunlight, nature, harmony, peace, and spirit. No, we did not make this up….it was written in the description of Rainbow Dinner. Gan told us the waiters would be wearing floral vests with gold lapels and bowties for the occasion.
With the sun shining for the better part of the day, we spent it outside. The heat and humidity has increased noticeably as we head north west. This part of Australia can be very warm as we recall. The Captain mentioned in his PM talk that while in Townsville tomorrow, the UV index will be 15. That is the highest we have ever heard. Gobs of sunscreen will be needed if we plan on walking the town like we normally do.
Although we missed the talks on the next two ports in Australia, we did pick it up on the TV. Of course, we have been to all of these places before, but it is always a good idea to get the updated version. Things can change, like the story we have been hearing that Townsville was hit by heavy rains and winds recently, and some places may be closed for business. On our last visit here in 2016, we found that several shops and restaurants had closed permanently. We shall find out soon.
We had some questions concerning participating in ship’s tours. Yes, we have done the majority of them over the years, either with HAL or with our travel group. Our reasoning was that if a port was new to us, we could get the lay of the land with a group. Then we could decide what ports were easy to navigate on our own, or not as safe as we would like. And unless we have to take a shuttle to exit the port area or a trip to a mall, buses are not our thing. Large numbers of passengers on a bus also does not agree with us anymore. The biggest complaints we have heard from many people has to be the waiting for everyone to get on and off, too many bathrooms stops, and hours of riding with folks that have colds or worse. Inevitably, we end up sitting in front of the sick ones. Not to mention lunches in places that offer strange food, where the only thing we recognize is rice or bread. For us, it is so much easier to do things on our own, dining where we like, and waiting on no one but ourselves. That way we are free to return to the ship at any time we wish, as long as we are not late. The same applies to most overland excursions we do.
Back to our day at sea. There seems to be more work happening onboard such as repairs being done on one of the lifeboats. Most times this is done while the ship is docked and most guests are off. For the last three days, the lower promenade deck has been closed off to through traffic with a section roped off. It does tend to create a dangerous situation when too many walkers change directions and round the blind corners. Some folks insist on speed walking, cutting corners on the wrong side. That’s an accident waiting to happen. Right now the only thing preventing this is the fact that it has been very warm and humid, keeping lots of people inside enjoying the air-conditioning. Guess this is to be expected on a ship that is soon to turn 20 years old. We sure don’t hear or see repairs going on while on the Eurodam for instance. New can be nice.
It was nice to be back at our table for dinner with Barb and her friend Cecile. She has joined us for a few days, while her roommate, Diane, has left the ship to visit family in this area of Australia. Our shared appetizer bowl of hearts of palm has returned, since they ran out of them several days ago. We also have a plate of assorted cold veggies like celery, carrots, cauliflower, and olives. With a side of ranch dressing, we all feel we are eating healthy. As much as we love to eat the rolls, we have been substituting the rabbit food instead.
The show tonight featured a comedian by the name of Jim Short. His claim to fame was appearing on the shows of David Letterman and Conan O’Brien. Doubt we will go since the heat of the day has left us both rather sleepy this evening.
And when we least suspected it, we had gifts left in our room. They were black umbrellas, another useful gift. Hope that does not mean the threat of a thunder storm will not happen tomorrow as the Captain warned.
Bill & Mary Ann
Friday, March 8, 2019
Report #49 Day at Sea March 8, 2019 Friday Partly sunny & 75 degrees 5 Pictures
