On to Asia

,Day 7 - 27 June
Darwin looked beautiful today and even relatively early in the morning the temperature was in the 30s.   As we've been there twice before, we decided that a walk into town was sufficient.  We went with our friends Marilyn & Ray from Brisbane,  who were also on the WC last year.  It is only just over 1 kilometer to the bottom of town and as we found out last time, the lift at the end of the bay makes it really easy!

We had a destination of Woolworths in mind to get some "essential " supplies.  Well we were so engrossed in conversation we actually walked an extra block, before realising.  It was really sad to see all the Aboriginal people hanging around the car park.  They all had dead eyes and noone smiles. Even more sad to note a young man buying a $50 bottle of vodka.  We wondered how long it would last - this was at 11.00 am.  By comparison our 2 bottles of "sail away" wine was insignificant.

Back to the Mall and coffee called.  We were thankful for our 6 days practise in "spot the customer about to leave" in the International Cafe on board, and Ray soon grabbed us a table.  Good coffee & muffin and many thanks to Darwin City for the free and speedy internet.  That was pretty much Darwin as far as we were concerned,  so headed back to the ship and lunch upstairs.  Vivian won't let me use any variations on the official name of Horizon Court,  so I am being good (so far).

I learned my lesson last year where I made derogatory/honest comments in the blog, in the belief that my audience was limited, only to find out later that I had been "sprung ".  That is not to say that the blog is censored but perhaps I am just a little more careful in my descriptive prose.

Day 8 - 28 June
Wow, is it really a week since we joined the ship?   I suppose that being the same layout as the Sea Princess,  we feel as though we have lived here for the last year.  Well another 4 sea days as we head up to our next port of Kodak Kinabalu in Borneo.  It is still warm, with lots of cloud and a little more of a swell with quite a breeze.  I thought I'd sit outside, but all the loungers were taken on Promenade Deck.  Deck 5 is fully occupied and to make it worse, they've taken over half of the Atrium for a "Sale".  Deck 6 is woefully short of seats, with over half of them being removed.  So here I am  in the Wheelhouse Bar.  No, the bar does not open until 3.00, so it is a good spot to be, with excellent wifi.  Oh yes, Vivian has morning bridge today as there is a wine tasting in their usual venue this afternoon.

Lunch today with Maggie & Ash (from our dinner table last year).  It was great to reminisce our 100 dinners together.  The afternoon clouds gathered and a spot or 2 of rain fell, so we retreated to bed and read all afternoon!!  After dinner we made the mistake of going to the show - Trevor Knight.  While we thought that we had seen him last year, we were dismayed that his show was exactly the same word for word. Yes, I realise that new material is difficult but after 50 years in the business I would have expected a bit of variation.  I don't recall seeing so many people leave immediately after the final song,  nor the lacklustre applause. Tomorrow is another day.

Day 9 - 29 June
Today we make it over the hump into the Northern Hemisphere.  We actually went through the equator at 2.20 pm and the sun is shining.  Once again the sea is like glass and we did spot some flying fish this morning when we did our deck walk.  We also saw an abandoned "tinnie" floating by - must have come off some other boat.  We are of course sailing through the Indonesian islands and although we haven't seen many, I imagine there  are plenty of fisherpersons about.  At least we are far too far north to have any asylum seekers.

The internet has been even more erratic over the last couple of days and currently, although I can receive emails, I am unable to send any and eventually they just dissappear.  So if you haven't heard from us, this is the reason (or simply we haven't sent you any!!).

The clocks go back another hour tonight and this will be as far west (in time zone) as we go.  Towards sundown the clouds gathered and it rained, briefly but heavily (not as bad as Auckland though I understand).  The humidity is climbing steadily.

Day 10 - 30 June
Heavily overcast and humid as we progress through the Malacca Straight.  Got our walk in before the rain started and are currently sitting on our balcony.  We have another Formal tonight, preceeded by a Captain's Circle Cocktail Party, which I am pretty sure we will not be bothering to attend.  Too many people who have never had a free drink in their lives!

Another sea day tomorrow and then we start the Asian part of our cruise in earnest.  We had a pamphlet from Customer Services, detailing the different steps required to satisfy immigration in the various countries and are surprised at the formalities, such as 2 copies of passports in some countries and those where we need original passports ashore.  We'll go with the flow and fortunately in all the ports except Jeju we have Princess tours which should help us through officialdom (bearing in mind our Chinese Visa experience ).

The photo below is Vivian with Marilyn & Ray in Darwin.

Along the Australian coastline

Day 3 - 23 June
Beautiful calm sea, sun and just the right ingredients for the morning walk.  Yes, it is shorts time, with the temperature up around 24 degrees.  Last night we had full complement at our table, with the final couple from Tairua,  which gives an even spread of 4 from the Coromandel and 4 from Auckland North.

The day has pretty well fallen into the "sea day" routine, with an added trip to the library - where there were literally only a dozen books left!!  We managed to score a couple of paperbacks from the passenger donation cupboard.  No doubt the regular library books will make a return soon, but some passengers must have stocked up large at embarkation.

Tonight is the first of many formal nights,  although I doubt that we will worry about the Captain's Cocktail Party,  as this is generally one  big bun-fight.  There is an early comedy show featuring Ivor Richards but we have seen his show at least 3 times before so are definitely giving it a miss.  Last night we saw the Australian violinist, Patrick Roberts and thoroughly enjoyed his performance.  He is a "cross-over" performer,  with many modern pieces.

Sad to say that the Captain's Cocktail party turned out to be what we expected, we got to Deck 7 just as the official part was starting.  Couldn't see or hear a thing, with all the racket from those around, who were taking the prime positions, yet carrying on their own loud conversations. 

Day 4 - 24 June
The humidity is building and it is pretty misty. Too hot to do the walk in the morning, so we did it just as the sun was setting.   We eventually caught up with Rick & Beverley from Snells  Beach. We had heard that they were cruising from friends in the Bowling Club, but had not had the opportunity to actually meet before the cruise. 

Still seeing the odd Whale, but plenty of Dolphin around.  At one stage we were overtaking a coastal freighter and there were about a dozen dolphin playing in front of it - but none around our ship for some reason.  Otherwise a standard sea day.  Went to the late show, which was Kiwi singer Chris Powley.   We have seen him on other cruises and he was very good, with a standing ovation.

Day 5 - 25 June
Clearer day, but with quite a strong breeze as we exit the Great Barrier Reef and prepare to round Cape York early afternoon.  We were actually late waking up this morning so we skipped the early morning cuppa, to get to the MDR in time.  We had a Cruise Critic lunch, where about 200 attended, putting a bit of a strain on MDR staff - but they coped very well. 

As the cruise goes on we see more and more people from last year, so I think that my earlier estimate may have been a little light.   Just a note that where as the Sea Princess had a "Buy 1 get 1 free" happy hour, this has been reduced to a "Buy 1 & buy another for $1", plus there are a number of drinks which are not included in the promotion, which is a little disappointing.

Day 6 - 26 June
A-ha, last sea day as we hit Darwin tomorrow.  The weather is a bit "sticky" with low cloud.  The sea however has been so flat thus far that it doesn't seem like we are at sea - long may that last!  The clocks went back half an hour last night,  so a little lie in this morning.  I see we gain another half an hour on  Wednesday as well.

The ship has a free intranet system, which allows access to programmes, on-line account etc. and this is also the portal for accessing the internet (pay for, although we get an allowance, not as generous as last year).  I digress, we had good access on days 1 & 2, but as more and more people started using their devices, the whole system basically crashed a couple of days ago.  I can get pretty good reception by standing at the stateroom door, or going on line late at night or early morning.  Yes, I know, a first world problem!

Cunard at last
As an aside, those who read my "Day 10 onwards" entry relating to our Queen Victoria cruise earlier this year...... (waiting for those who have gone off to read it ☺☺), this was resolved just before we left.   I emailed Cunard in  February, March, April & May and had no response, so I found the email address of the Senior Vice President of Carnival Corporation  (owner of all the brands, the largest cruise company in the world).  Had an almost immediate response asking for the details & amazingly an apology (& some credit ) from Cunard followed a day later (ouch!)

As Carnival Australia looks after all the brands, including Princess etc., I imagine that staff share responsibilities,  so why is one brand so slack at acknowledging errors, when I have had nothing but prompt & courteous attention from Princess?  I was delighted to see that Sun Princess put through a pre-authorisaton on Day 1, so I can be happily assured that we will not suffer the same fate on this trip.  The pre-authorisaton was one of the aspects I highlighted in my letter to Cunard, so perhaps this has filtered through!

The photos below are as we pass around Cape York (& associated islands). 

Darwin, here we come!!!

We are sailing, we are sailing

Day 1 - 21 June
Despite the dire predictions, the weather in Sydney has been pleasant and we were treated to a bright and sunny  (albeit chilly) sail away.  Out through the heads and turn left and full steam ahead.  5 straight sea days will certainly sort out the cruisers from the "others",  but I doubt that there are many of the latter on board.  Funny how the ship feels like an old slipper - comfortable and familiar, even if a little chewed around the edges.

On Monday we flew over to Sydney (between us we had just under 1kg (luggage weight) spare!).  Very pleased with accommodation at the Park Royal, Darling Harbour.  Checked out at 10.30 and took a taxi to White Bay Cruise Terminal, which is miles from civilisation - if you catch my drift.  We had memories of the chaos which prevailed last year,  but no, all went extremely well.  The exception was the security photos on board,  apparently the Korean authorities have strict requirements of no smile, no teeth, look grumpy (which is hard when you have just got on board).  We got to our stateroom just on noon and went down to the MDR, which had a total of less than a dozen for lunch  (including the Captain), as everyone was being directed to the buffet.

The usual "Muster station drill" was at 3.30 and we were out of there and up forward on Deck 10 for the sailing out of Sydney.  Quite a brilliant afternoon, although a bit chilly for Vivian.  On our way back to the stateroom,  we spied our luggage and had it delivered and unpacked by 6.00.  So, being one of the first on board seems to equate to last to get the luggage.

We have 2nd seating dinner at 7.45 and once again have a table of Kiwis - well we think so!  We are at a table for 8, but only 6 of us were there - a couple from Whangamata & another from Mangawhai.   So we will have to wait to see whether there is another couple coming to join us.  I don't blame them if they flew over on the day, as it would be pretty tiring.  We are so pleased to have come on Monday and had plenty of relaxation & a good night's sleep.  Talking of which, we retired immediately after dinner.  Princess have just updated the mattresses & pillows etc. and, yes VERY comfortable.

DAY 2 - 22 June
The body clock has not quite adjusted yet, so I was up ordering our cup of tea before 6.30.  I commented to the steward that this would be a regular order and he almost took me literally, so I explained that while the order will be the same, the timing is bound to change.  After breakfast we bumped into many of the cruisers from last year and we're delighted to catch up with Maggie & Ash from our table last year.  I think I've already mentioned that they are only 3 doors down from us.

Although the Sun Princess is the same as the Sea Princess from last year, there have been a number of changes in the interior  public areas,  which results in less seating space, particularly on Deck 7.  This is partially offset by the increased space on Deck 5, which is now the International Cafe, serving variety of food (free) in addition to coffee & tea.  The added bonus is that the Atrium is no longer used for indoor bowls, golf etc. which was a bugbear previously.

Our first Cruise Critic gathering was at 11.00 and there were over 200 in attendance along with senior officers, including the Captain, Rikard Lorentzen,  from Norway. He is a very personable man and even thus far, is very visible around the ship.  Of course Vivian has her bridge this afternoon and is partnered up with Danny, her partner for the second half of last year's cruise.  Thus I am able to get this blog up to date (before I forget what happened a couple of hours ago).  I also have managed (I hope) to get the photos up, although I recall that previously I had been able to label each one, I am happy with them as a block.

As I started this issue, the Captain came on and advised that due to a medical situation they were going to do an evacuation by helicopter, so we changed course heading towards the coast,  just south of Byron Bay.  You have to be impressed with the helicopter pilot as he hovered over the ship, almost landing but keeping off the deck, while we are motoring along and there is a keen breeze blowing.  Anyway the evacuation was successful and we resumed our more northerly course after about an hour.

Interestingly, by coming closer to the coast we travelled through a large pod of whales,  as they come here from Antarctica for birthing.  A number were really quite close to the ship,  but as you'd expect, I have some great shots of water - not the whales.  The  sea is calm and as we enter into Queensland, the temperature is getting warmer.  Shorts MAY be out tomorrow, we'll see.  Did our  mile walk this morning and it was freezing.....