So, Australia is at the top of my shit list today. For some reason, they made us all get off the ship at 7:30 this morning, so we could sit around and wait for 2 hours before reboarding. Some immigration thing, I guess.
Well, we have come to the official end of our first segment of our trip. So, about 200 of our mates are leaving us and a good number of crew. We will pick up 200 new guests and some new crew. We are also provisioning again. That means IPA again (we didn’t get any). Last time we provisioned, the IPA lasted less than 2 days. The bar manager said that has never happened before. I told him that I hoped that most of the 200 guests leaving were the IPA drinkers and we may be okay. We will see.
Last night around the pool, we had an Epicurean Delight. Epicurus was a Greek Philosopher, and his ideas centered around an orgy of Greek food and drink. Well, that it was, it was wonderful. I hope no one is getting the idea that all we (I) do around here is eat and drink. That’s absolutely not correct, we have to sleep sometimes!
This afternoon, we had a huge thunder and lightening storm. Kim hid in the cabin; I sat by the pool and watched the spectacle unfold. Local News said 4 people were struck by lightning, the airport was closed for a while, there were scattered power outages and over 7500 strikes per hour were recorded. That’s a big storm.
We leave Sidney tonight bound for Queensland, day after tomorrow. Yep, tomorrow is a sea day.
I’ve been on a lot of cruises over time, and I always make sure to get my hair cut a few days before I board the cruise ship, so that I don’t have to go to the expensive spa for a haircut. Well, obviously after just over five weeks on board, I needed my hair cut. So, yesterday I got my first on board haircut in the spa.
What a fantastic experience. From now on, I will go aboard every cruise needing a haircut. I was in the chair for nearly an hour. She washed my hair, massaged my scalp, cut my hair, trimmed my eyebrows and mustache, shaved my little ear hairs, and trimmed my neck. WOW, it was good. Great Clips, about ten minutes. I had no idea what I was missing. Just a heads up if you get the chance, try it. I booked a pedicure for Tuesday; I’ve never had one of those either.
And now it’s time for another episode of Pool Chronicles:
I have now officially been crowned Pool Deck Monitor.
As such, I have made some interesting observations. No matter how early I get to the pool or how long I stay, there is one couple that sits in the same chairs at the same table every day. They drink Champagne over ice, all day. And the glasses are refilled several times an hour. For the record, I saw them in the Club while I was eating Sushi one evening and sure enough, they each had a glass of champagne over ice. I don’t know how they can do that. The retired Doctors are there every day and are always interesting to listen to. And I’m sure there are guests that would mention the fat guy that sits around the pool drinking Margaritas all day, but I never see him.
Yesterday afternoon was the Cardboard ship building classic. Some guests collect, with the help of the crew, cardboard and other recyclables from around the ship, build a boat and sail it from one end of the pool to the other. This cruise produced 6 teams and 6 boats. It’s clear that some people take this competition very seriously, bringing items like lights and self-propelled SHARKS from home. Others show little imagination or planning. It is always a highlight among crew and passengers and today was no disappointment.
The task was to haul a 4 ½ pound tin of caviar from one end of the pool to the other. The first ship capsized almost immediately. The rest made the complete sail. The judges – Ship’s Captain, Engineer, Hotel director and, First officer –judged on seaworthiness, design, efficiency, and appearance. In the end, there was a clear winner (pictured). The greatest thing about the winning team is that they involved Arnold, one of our cabin stewards. He requested time off to attend the event and was honored like any other guest. This was special and he really appreciated it. Arnold is the guy from the town in Honduras where our orphanage is located.
Enjoy, it’s almost time for my next pool shift to start.
Once each cruise on Seabourn, they have what they call their “World Famous Galley” luncheon. This is the only time any guests are allowed in the galley. The chefs pull out all the stops for this one. The galley is u shaped and quite large. The first thing you have to do when entering is wash your hands. Then you are presented with the largest buffet lunch in the World. Both sides of the aisle are loaded with food. Of course, there is a huge salad bar, dessert bar, caviar, and bread stations.
The highlights for me are prime roast beef, spit roasted whole suckling pig, Fried shrimp, calamari, and cod. Grilled shrimp and fish. Sushi, Chilled shrimp, crab legs and lobster (no limit).
The highlights for Kim, well, look at the picture.
Our last day in New Zealand, for a couple of years. It was just another day until……..wait, let me back up a little.
Throughout this entire Cruise, we have always docked with the starboard side of the ship to the dock, leaving us with a great view of the harbor all day, But, today, we docked with the port side to the dock, so I got to watch cargo ships and fishing vessels come and go.
We weren’t scheduled to set sail until 11:00 PM, so after dinner, we sat out on our veranda and just watched the activity around us. About 9:00, a heavy-duty looking flatbed truck with a crane on the back showed up. Soon after a pickup truck with advertising identifying it as a diver and salvage company, parked next to the truck.
The crane backed up to the edge of the dock and set out his stabilizers. The diver put on a wet suit and tank. We were wonder what in the world we were watching.
The crane operator signaled to the diver that he was ready, so the diver stepped off the dock and into the water. The crane operator was moving the crane around, but we couldn’t see anything. Soon, the diver showed up back on the dock. So, now it’s becoming quite obvious that the diver hooked the crane up to something. But what? Did a boat sink? Did something large fall off a cargo ship? All the dock workers were positioning themselves for a good viewing platform. What could it be?
Soon, we saw it, it was a car. Not an old piece of junk, but a late model silver sedan! Wow, what’s the back story here, how did it get off the dock and into the water? Was there going to be a body? Was it stolen? There are a million questions we are asking each other. But sorry, No clue.
By now at least my Liars Club friends are calling B.S. and probably some other are too. But I have photos! It really happened.
