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!!!