Enjoy the "Treasures of the World" with Bill & Mary Ann on the 2014 World Cruise

[WCB]

Report # 42 Sailing Towards Sydney, Australia February 9, 2014 Sunday Partly cloudy, much cooler with 75 degrees

 

Who would guess that one night sailing south would bring such a difference in temperature? Not that we mind too much, after the last week or more of extreme heat and humidity. This will help the over 200 passengers who are packing today and tomorrow to disembark the ship in Sydney. This segment of the world cruise has flown by so quickly, with such diverse ports and many lovely sea days. We have been most lucky to have had smooth seas and light winds for most of the trip so far.

 

Our big job of the day was to pick up our passports at the front desk. Inside of the passports, were copies of the front pages for us to keep. Now on past trips, we always had the Australian officials sailing with us for a few days prior to our arrival to Sydney. The drill was to pick up our passports outside the dining room, then proceed into the Kings Room for a face-to-face check with the officials. Once the books were stamped, we would hand them back to our staff for their safe-keeping.

 

The new procedure is different, as we will do this face-to-face check once we arrive at the White Bay terminal in Sydney. Tomorrow we should have more details on how this will work. No one on the ship is thrilled with the change of terminals. Up until the last two years, the ship has always docked near Circular Quay, right in downtown Sydney, and close to the Opera House. We were spoiled, and did not know it. For the last two years, we have docked in Darling Harbour, with a 1/2 hour ride to George Street and downtown. That was not bad, although the folks missed seeing the Opera House lit up at night. However, Darling Harbour is not available anymore, due to developers purchasing that valuable property to build highrises.

 

So, we will be in White Bay, a considerable distance away from everything we understand. The good news is that there will be a complimentary shuttle to take us to downtown. But it may take 45 minutes one way during the non-commute time. It is what it is, and we will just have to deal with it. Our port lecturer mentioned during her Sydney talk that if we could add another deck or two and higher stacks to the ship, we would be able to dock at Circular Quay. That way, we would not fit under the Sydney Bridge and could not dock anywhere else. Oh wait. Yes, we have seen cruise ships at anchor in the harbor, and they were tendering their guests to shore.

 

We did spend some time at the aft pool, but it was windy with lots of clouds and little sun. It has been difficult to keep up with the reading, or should we say re-reading to remember what the story was about. Time to move on to new books. Or better to go watch a movie in our room and eat "take-away" from the Dive In Grill. A new movie, Runner Runner, was on, and it was good for a change. So was the Cannonball Burger and the High Flyer Hotdog.

 

There were only five of us at dinner.....two were at the Canaletto and the other two were not feeling well. There has been a cold bug going around, but mostly with the staff. Unfortunately, it is spreading among the passengers. Short of staying in your room all day, it is impossible not to be exposed to such viruses. Bet there will be a thorough cleaning of the ship now that we are getting close to getting new passengers. That should help kill the bug.

 

One more day at sea, and we will be in Sydney.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[cruz chic]

Thx for the latest.

[windsor26]

Yes you are correct Darling Harbour was acceptable if we could not have Circular Quay but it is being built as an hotel and casino - we all wonder how they got planning permission - but of course we should not wonder:D:D:D:(

[Bellair]

Hi Bill & Mary Ann,

 

When next you indulge in a Tim Tam, bite the top & bottom corner of one & use it as a straw with a coffee or milk to draw up to drink. The centre will collapse but the outside will stay intact and make the most delicious eating experience!

 

This is a favourite treat here.

 

We love the Casino supermarket in Noumea and always make a bee line for it before sailing. Tim Tams are currently A$1.69 a large pack here in Coles Supermarket...so buy up!

 

Enjoy Australia

 

Love the blog

 

Regards

 

Bellair

Edited February 10, 2014 by Bellair
added

[Lauranne]

Thank you for all the time and work you put into your blog. It is my pleasure to read the blogs each evening. Perhaps some day I will be one to write a blog of a world cruise!

Lauranne

[WCB]

Report # 43 Sailing Towards Sydney, Australia February 10, 2014 Monday Partly cloudy, 74 degrees

 

OK, we've got the drill down pat for tomorrow. All of us got a letter with the Australian Immigration Procedures directions for tomorrow after we land in White Harbor. The formalities will begin at 7:45am in the terminal. The number we received is seven, but we have no idea what time we will be called off. In fact, we do not know if they start with the number one for that matter. Once through the inspection, no one will be allowed to return on the ship until everyone, including staff, have cleared the inspection. The officials have to have a "zero count". They hope to have that count done by 9:30am. We shall see........

 

Few people were out and about today, since there are a number of them packing to leave us tomorrow. The promenade deck was virtually empty, making walking at any speed a delight. You would be surprised how many people think it is a roller derby competition. But not on this trip, at least so far. Now when the new passengers board on the 12th, it may be a different story.

 

Talks in the Queens Lounge continued with On Location Stephen Kent speaking about 60,000 years of Australia's indigenous people. Artist in Residence, Benjamin Sack, presented a film on global art history, with an art sale following the presentation. Finally, Dr. Whitford delivered an interesting speech on the strangest weather on earth. Reports from fellow passengers have given him an A plus. We totally agree.

 

Dinnertime was extremely noisy this evening, with most of the surrounding tables full of guests. They were have a great time, mostly because some of them eating their final dinner with us. The first segment of about 36 days will end tomorrow morning. The total distance traveled will be 10,711 nautical miles (1.15 nautical mile to the statute mile). And we still have a long ways to go.......

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Gaznjo]

Yes you are correct Darling Harbour was acceptable if we could not have Circular Quay but it is being built as an hotel and casino - we all wonder how they got planning permission - but of course we should not wonder:D:D:D:(

 

 

Hey... It was Paul Keating ..... He doesn't need planning permission LOL

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic on iPad

[windsor26]

Hey... It was Paul Keating ..... He doesn't need planning permission LOL

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic on iPad

 

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm:D

[ozcruizer]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm:D

 

I didn't think Paul Keating had anything to do with it - isn't it JP, the son of the late KP?

 

Ozcruizer

[WCB]

Report # 44 Sydney, Australia February 11, 2014 Tuesday Day One Chance of rain, 75 degrees

 

Oh what a day we had. A long day, beginning with an early, but silent sail into the Sydney Harbour. We're talking like about a 5:30am entry, with final docking by 7am. We have never had a silent approach as Barbara, our port lecturer, has always given an excellent commentary as we approached either Circular Quay or Darling Harbour. Apparently, the local residents must have finally gotten tired of the noise, since so many ships dock here. We will, however, have a scenic commentary on our way out tomorrow.

 

The disembarkation procedures went fairly smoothly in our opinion. Group numbers were called to go off, but not in any particular order. We were told not to block the gangway or stand in the stairwells waiting our turn. No problem for us, because we went to breakfast in the dining room like we always do.....only earlier at 7am. We knew it would not matter if we went well after our number was called, as long as we did not go before they called it. Since we would not be able to come back onboard for awhile, we wanted to leave at a later hour, taking what we needed for the day.

 

As it turned out, the letters with our names and the number were never collected, as sometimes they are not. After weaving through a Disneyland-like line in the terminal, we met with the official, and were cleared in a matter of minutes. Guess who finally got off today? The Russian "priest", aptly named Rasputin by fellow guests. Last night at dinner, we witnessed him draining wine from nearby glasses that went undrunk, filling his plastic bottle, then sharing it with some ladies near his table. Can you believe this....they drank it. Then he proceeded to take whatever he did not consume from his meal, and put it in a bag and walk out of the restaurant. What in the world does he do with these tablescraps? Anyway, today while at the officials counter, he was led away and into a room by several agents, and never came out the entire time we and our friends were there. One of our buddies said he was slightly disappointed because he will not have anything to talk about now. He has seen the strange behaviour this man had when he was doing pushups in the Crows Nest. While he was down on the floor, he was eating dropped peanuts off of the carpet. The assistant beverage manager had to tell him to stop doing that or leave the lounge. Like we said, really out there, but gone now.

 

There were some pretty pricey tour today such as taking a seaplane ride with a lunch for $670. For a mere $360, you could climb the Sydney Bridge and take a walk through the Rocks area. How about an evening at the Opera House to see Carmen? Well, the best seats went for $335. and the cheaper ones sold for $255. The most reasonable was a ride to the Blue Mountains with a lunch for $195....a bargain. We have done that tour twice in past years, and many other city tours. So today, we planned to walk the town on the Circular Quay side.

 

The complimentary shuttle worked out fine. They were running six buses to George Street and Alfred, right at the beginning of Circular Quay. The ride took only 15 minutes, even though we had to cross the neat Pyrmont Bridge to get there. From Circular Quay, where the Rhapsody of the Seas (RCI) was docked, we walked to the Opera House to take tons of photos. The weather was not the best. The sky was completely gray with rain clouds, although it was still humid and not cold at all. Again, packing those umbrellas guaranteed that no rain would fall, at least until tonight.

 

We began our way past the bustling ferry docks of Circular Quay. That is where we had been told we could purchase a senior ticket for all of the local buses and ferries at the train station. Anywhere we wanted to go for 24 hours for $2.50 Australian. The kicker was that we believe it may be for Aussies only, even though we were told that the tickets may be checked for the proper date. Being that we were going to walk, which we really needed to do, we decided against it. If anyone would be caught doing something wrong, it would be us.

 

So we continued walking around the outside of the Opera House, and through the Botanic Garden Gates around the back. Spending the majority of the morning in the park, we made our way to Mrs. Macquarie's Point and Chair, which we have only done by bus on prior trips. There was a Communist demonstration happening on the point, even though it was fairly quiet with a handful of young Asian people. This has to be a very popular spot for the Asian tour groups, because we were surrounded with buses full of them. One nice thing is that they added vibrant colors to our photos as they tend to dress in modern and chic clothing.

 

Watching our time, we continued to the garden shop in the center of the Botanic Garden. This is where we spoke to the park's docents who were full of interesting information. They commiserated with us for the fact we were stuck at White Bay Terminal, which used to be the new automobile dropoff pier. Not the best place for so many passengers to get into town easily. The ladies also told us that the old temporary pier in Darling Harbor, Barangaroo, was sold to developers who were constructing hotels, condos, more shopping malls, and more importantly, a casino. Always a big money-maker in large cities. We asked about the fruit bats that used to live in these gardens. They told us that all of them had to be gathered and re-located, due to the fact they were destroying ancient groves of native trees in the park. Besides that, they were messy with their nasty droppings. We thanked them for their help, and we were on our way to continue our explorations.

 

We exited the park at the gate near the Intercontinental Hotel, then walked downhill towards George Street. Throngs of locals were in the streets during the lunch break, either going out or getting fast food. Several closed off streets house major stores that you can find around the world. Even though we were not interested in any souvenier shopping, it is always fun to watch those who are. In this city, there are thousands of folks shopping, mostly locals.

 

Making our way to Woolworth's, a convenient all purpose store, we checked out the prices of sodas and room snacks. We need to mention that the Aussie dollar is quite close in value to the US dollar. The only kicker is that everything.....everything is double the price here. A medium bottle of Coke was $4.50 Australian dollars in a local 7-Eleven. Not wanting to pack heavy bags with us to lunch, we decided to come back tomorrow and do some grocery shopping.

 

Lunch was on the agenda, and since it was getting to be past 2pm, we needed to find someplace qjuickly, in case they closed at 3pm. Several years ago, we dined in an semi-outdoor Italian cafe in the Rocks. But since then, we have had trouble finding it. So today, we decided to search endlessly, assuming it was still there, because their pizza was the best. And find it, we did. Caminettos was the name, and the location was on a narrow street behind the main road that goes through the Rocks. We were in pizza heaven by ordering a large margherita pizza with two large Victoria Bitters beers. It was not cheap, by any means, but well worth it. It was really great to sit and relax after all the hiking too.

 

By 4pm, we joined the shuttle which had us back to the terminal in less than 20 minutes. Not bad, we think. We spent the remainder of the afternoon downloading pictures, catching up with news, and reading. Dinner was going to be fun tonight as we had company coming.

 

Former tablemate and great friend, Martha, was a visitor today, along with friends Greg and Heo. Since there were so many in the group, we divided into two groups to share their company. In hind sight, we could have all fit at our table, because two of our couples did not make it to dinner. However, the arrangements were out of our hands, and we were pleased as ever to welcome Martha and the arts and crafts instructor, Maureen, to our table. We spent a wonderful evening catching up on our comings and goings with each other, sharing ship gossip, and having a great time. We sure miss Martha on this cruise, although, she may be back next year with husband Bob. The time flew by, and we were exhausted, glad to get between those cool, white sheets.

 

Tomorrow, we plan another marathon day of walking, but this time in the darling Harbour area, followed with some shopping, maybe. We'll be leaving by 6pm, so will need to watch our time carefully.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[windsor26]

We began our way past the bustling ferry docks of Circular Quay. That is where we had been told we could purchase a senior ticket for all of the local buses and ferries at the train station. Anywhere we wanted to go for 24 hours for $2.50 Australian. The kicker was that we believe it may be for Aussies only, even though we were told that the tickets may be checked for the proper date. Being that we were going to walk, which we really needed to do, we decided against it. If anyone would be caught doing something wrong, it would be us.

 

 

You were very wise not to risk it and the info given to you was incorrect. It is Australian citizens with senior cards who are able to travel for $2.50 and some others on long term working visa's but not every state will give seniors cards to the working visa residents. It is a duck shoot who gets it from where you live.

[boards]

WBC was there a free shuttle for the passengers who were ending their cruise in Sydney? We are cruising to Sydney from LA in Sept. 2014 and I was wondering about the transfer to Sydney or the airport. There is no information available yet on the Hal website about transfers.

[WCB]

Report # 45 Sydney, Australia February 12, 2014 Wednesday Part Two Very cloudy, chance of rain, 77 degrees

 

Sydney sure has changed since the days when Captain James Cook sailed into nearby Botany Bay in 1770, and declared the entire east coast of Australia for Britain, naming the area New South Wales. It was not many years after that 1400 convicts, soldiers, and administrative officials were sent here from England. Between farming the fertile valleys and discovering gold, the population of Sydney boomed to over one million people by 1925. The rest of the 20th century saw the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Tower erected at 305 meters, the iconic Opera House appear, and the most successful Olympic Games hosted here. Bet the aboriginals never saw this coming.

 

And here we are, lucky to spend another full day exploring part of the city we did not see yesterday. Joining the shuttle bus was just as easy as yesterday. And again, the ride was swift, so we cannot complain about docking here. Yes, it is not as pretty, but at least it has been made accessible thanks to HAL providing transportation for us. While riding back to Circular Quay, we sat next to a lady who was going to take a free bus up George Street to Chinatown. Hey, that's where we were heading also. She shared the info with us that the 555 local bus was free for everyone. All we had to do was walk the waterfront to the C platform, and board the bus. There was a huge line for the Ho-Ho bus at platform B, but few for the free bus. We found seats with no problem, since this was the beginning of the ride, and the commute hour was over.

 

We stayed on the bus, finding that it did stop at every major cross street. Once George and Pitt Streets merged, all of the passengers had to get off, and the bus turned around, and went back to Circular Quay. That found us a bit past Chinatown, but the walk was easy to find Market City and Paddy's Market. Also called the Haymarket, Paddy's is housed in a 19th century brick building. It is chock-full of toys, souveniers, footwear, clothing, swimwear, travel gear, and fresh food. And they bargain too. Most all of the vendors are Chinese, and most all of the products come from China. One of our favorite items to purchase is a singing bird in a cage. Battery-operated, the little bird will sing and flap his wings with a loud clap or noise that activates it. The room stewards also like it, especially when they are surprised when it goes off unexpectedly. We just have to remember to turn the switch off at night, or we will be the ones surprised in the middle of the night to hear him singing.

 

There was one other item one of us was searching for.......a 3/4 length crocheted lace tunic that was spotted last year while strolling past each stall. But this place is so huge, we had trouble finding the same stall when we back-tracked. Oh well, we figured we would find it this year. Yes, we found the stall, but the styles had changed, and were not even close. Lesson learned.......if you see it, buy it. The price was right at $20. too. Oh well, there is always Hong Kong and the Ladies Market.

 

It was getting increasingly crowded with folks buying mainly Aussie souveniers. Like we said, the prices were good, and the vendors were willing to bargain more if you were willing to buy in volumn. The happy tourists left with lots of boomerangs, digeridoos, koalas, kangaroos, and Tasmanian devils (stuffed ones, of course). We picked up packages of a dozen koalas to use as Christmas ornaments last year. Adds a little international flavor to the tree.

 

We had to keep our eye on the time today, since the last shuttle back to the pier was at 4:30pm. If we got stuck in town, we would have up to a $25. taxi ride back to White Harbor. So we headed back to George Street to see if we could catch the bus back downhill. What we did not know, was that if the 555 bus was full of passengers, the driver will not stop to pick anyone else up. Instead of shopping at Woolworth's, we decided to walk to Darling Harbour, passing by the Chinese Gardens, the numerous ponds and fountains, and the kids playground. Nothing was very crowded, because today was Wednesday. Had it been the weekend, the area would have been full of kids and families enjoying a day out.

 

Many photos were all we took from here, because we needed to make our way to lunch. Bet you can guess where we went to lunch once again? Yep, the Italian Restaurant in the Rocks. Why take a chance and mess with perfection? When the friendly waitress saw us, she quickly seated us at the same table, and asked if we would like the "usual". Same as yesterday's order. We had to laugh, because we get that routine at home from waiters we have known for years.

 

Another ship had docked in Darling Harbour.....the Celebrity Solstice. Compared to us, she is a giant. Looking back at the ship from the Opera House, it blocked out the view of the Rocks completely. Judging from the crowd at the Rocks, these passengers are a tad bit younger than our world cruisers. The time was flying by, and we wanted to spend some of it walking the harbor, and maybe buying a cup of creamy ice cream. We did both, while listening to and watching an aboriginal group performing near the water. Always spell-binding. These fellows also had a snake coiled at the bottom of their digeridoo, either paralyzed from the noise, or drugged, since it was not moving.

 

It was nearly 4pm, so we decided to go back to the ship. It only took about 15 minutes....not bad at all. There was a mandatory muster drill for everyone at 4:45pm, so we might as well get it over with, because we were warned if we missed it, we would have to re-do it tomorrow. Since it was much cooler, the drill went by quickly.

 

Sailaway was between 6pm and 7pm with a scenic commentary from Barbara H. It was difficult to hear her talking, because so many new passengers were at the aft deck, drinking and talking loudly. Looks like the new group is going to be a fun one. By the way, with the folks leaving and some new ones joining, we are down about 50 people.

 

We had company for dinner this evening........our hotel manager, Henk M. He did his best to answer tons of questions and enjoy dinner as well. One of the sensitive inquiries was concerning the internet, and the lack of consistent service. Far from it, it does not seem to be working as expected. We had been under the impression that the system was fixed, but after running into problems ourselves, we realize it is not. Taking 20 minutes to send one email, which never goes anywhere, is not working. Henk said to fill out a form to get credit back, which is fine. He did promise that a new team is coming onboard to help solve the many problems. In a shared opinion, this may not have been the best time to start a new system. Keeping this information in mind, our postings may be delayed.

 

After most of our tablemates left, he told us and Barb a funny story about his and Christel's run today. They had time for their usual routine run in town, but also had to pick up a wheelchair that had been lent for a disembarking guest. They ran to the hotel, grabbed the folded wheelchair, and proceeded to run with it. Of course, they got some really strange looks from the locals, who were probably wondering which one of them was going to need that chair. The more they struggled with the chair, they finally summoned a taxi, and sent the thing back to the ship without them. Doubt they will try that manuever again. Oh what fun they have.

 

Looking forward to a lazy day at sea tomorrow and an extra hour back on the clock this evening.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[boards]

I am really enjoying reading your reports of your time in Sydney, since we will be there in Oct. this year. But I do have a question regarding where you said the Celebrity Solstice was docked, because the description what you saw and did sounds like the Circular Quay. Please forgive me, I am not criticizing the report, I am enjoying them too much, just want make sure I know what to look for in Oct. and where.

[Cruise NH]

Love your reports. Quick question...

 

since you went through the customs process in Sydney, does that mean you will be able to walk right off the boat in Brisbane without waiting in line or getting a 'number'?

 

Thanks.

[MMDown Under]

Love your reports. Quick question...

 

since you went through the customs process in Sydney, does that mean you will be able to walk right off the boat in Brisbane without waiting in line or getting a 'number'?

 

Thanks.

 

Yes.

 

Ship berths at Portside Wharf, with shops, restaurants and movie theatre.

 

http://www.portsidewharf.com.au/cruise-terminal/

[WCB]

Report # 46 Sailing Towards Brisbane, Australia February 13, 2014 Thursday Partly cloudy, 85 degrees

 

We had a busy day at sea today. We are not sure why breakfast in the dining room was so crowded, but we are certain it has something to do with getting new people that boarded yesterday. Spoiled as we are, we did not get our "usual" table by the window, as some strangers had it. They really do not assign permanent tables to the guests, but if you arrive early enough, you can choose where to sit. The waiters in this area have come to know us, and we like the excellent service. We did request this table for tomorrow, so we shall see if it works.

 

The weather has really cooled off with cloudy skies. At least it is not raining, although we think Sydney is suffering from a drought, like we are in California. The park guides told us yesterday that this part of Australia gets tropical rain from cyclones that come from the Indian Ocean. She said it just was not happening this year. In California, the heaviest rains we get come from the Hawaiian Islands, and are commonly called the Pineapple Express. This has not happened until recently.

 

In following up with last night's discussion regarding the current internet problems, we all received a letter from CEO's from SVP Fleet Operations and Marine Hotel Operations. Basically, the letter stated that the ongoing problems have been dealt with, but not solved. As a result, additional staff will be coming onboard as soon as possible to help remedy the bugs in the system. This has been impacting the guests in a very negative way, but they are asking for our patience and understanding. According to Henk M., other ships in the HAL fleet are also in the process of changing over to this same system. Now they have a whole lot of angry passengers to deal with. Sure hope they can live up to their promises.

 

With two ports in Papua New Guinea coming up soon, we had passenger declarations cards to fill out and sign. They pretty much ask the same questions such as are we criminals, are we bringing dangerous articles into the country, or bringing large amounts of money with us? Are we bringing food such as meats, eggs, fish, seeds, fruits, etc.? Have we been to a farm recently? Well, if we answer yes to any of these, we doubt we would be allowed off of the ship.

 

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) sent each of us a survey about our recent visit to Sydney. By answering numerous questions regarding our experiences in Sydney, it will allow them to enhance the visitor's visit in the future. Many of the inquiries involved money, and how much was spent for lodging, food, purchases, entertainment, and sightseeing. We feel they go a little too far when asking personal pre-tax gross household income, and why does that matter, other than targeting the folks with more disposable income to spend.

 

The Princeton Tailors are onboard with their line of custom made clothing. They make it easy for the busy passenger, who wishes to spend as much time while in Hong Kong sight-seeing instead of being fitted with dresswear. Everything is done onboard, your order is made before we arrive to Hong Kong, and the fittings are onboard at your convenience. Yes, they are pricey, but the service and quality of their items are top-knotch. We have already ordered two formal dress shirts to add to the tuxedo and several vests and bowties we ordered on previous trips.

 

Although it was windy, it still was pleasant enough outside to spend the afternoon at the aft deck, catching up on gossip and reading books. Originally, we were supposed to dine in the Pinnacle Grill tonight, but we were cancelled. When the Australian chef, Mark Best, joined the ship back in New Caledonia, the 13th was reserved for his special 5 course Pinnacle Grill dinner including the almighty wines for $79 each. We are sure that this meal is fine, but we just want to collect on our "freebie" regular dinner there. So we moved the date up to next week with many apologies from the Pinnacle manager.

 

Some new items have poped up on the dining room menu, such as skirt steak with guacamole, salsa, sour cream, and a soft shell taco. Also in the same vein, was the poblano chili stuffed with cheese served with spicy hot rice. That was our meal last night.

 

Also, a little ahead of time, we received a box of See's truffles from our travel agency, our agent, and our hosts for Valentines Day. Nice touch along with a cute card.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

PS Just a little off the track, but while sort of listening to TV in our room, an annoying word seems to be mentioned every other minute. It is AMAZING. Do you notice how many ads include that word? We are referring to commercials dealing with vitamins, insurance, make-up, lobster, Valentine's flowers and candy, prune juice, diet plans, hotels, and even mortgages. Come on, how can all those things be so AMAZING??? With that in mind, you will NOT see us using that word ever in our blog. Now maybe awesome, but never AMAZING!

[cruz chic]

That so funny about amazing. I hear awesome out of people so often I could pay for a cruise if I had a nickle every time I've heard it. That said, I say it way too much myself. Thx for the latest.

[BellBoys]

Jimmy Kimmel ridicules how often amazing is used on the The Batchelor, however the Oscars took the prize:

 

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/everything-was-amazing-at-the-oscars/17wkwlk8m

[WCB]

Report # 47 Brisbane, Australia February 14, 2014 Friday Partly cloudy, humid & 75 degrees

 

We did not realize this, but the Amsterdam had to travel about 5 hours up the river to get to the big city of Brisbane. Brisbane is also a new port for us, as the world cruise has not stopped here for several years, we understand. The population of this city is 2.1 million, although you would never guess that back in the 1800's, Brisbane was a penal colony like Sydney. Today, the lucky citizens get to enjoy a balmy subtropical climate with summer temps under 90 degrees and winter temps in the 60's. The centerpiece of the city is the Brisbane River, which snakes through the downtown and suburb areas. A great way to see the city is by taking the CityCat ferry. Someone told us it was free, but we are not sure of that.

 

There are many things to do and see here in the city or outside the city. Surrounded with many parks and gardens, the downtown area has a huge mall with every store you can think of. Within walking distance of the mall are many museums, art galleries, theaters, the state library, performing arts center, and Customs House Gallery, to mention a few. There are too many restaurants and cafes to mention.

 

Take a ride out of town, and you can find the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Mount Coot-tha, beaches, rainforest, and mountains.

 

What did we do? Well with a complimentary shuttle to downtown, we joined the bus around 11am and headed to the malls and shops. Since we had cleared the ship in Sydney, we did not have to do that again here in Brisbane. The ride took us over the river across a bridge to Elizabeth Street, right about where the Queen Street Mall began. This reminded us of downtown Sydney, with highrise buildings full of shops and boutiques....so many it was hard to count them. We were shopping for some very simple items we needed for our room, which led us to Target, a pharmacy, Woolworths (the local supermarket), and a shop called the Reject Store. Sounds funny,but they have tons of household items that are difficult to find, and the price is right.

 

We came across what we perceived as a city-employed local guide asking if we needed help with directions. We found it strange that she admitted to us that she could not read maps, such as the one we were carrying. What she meant was that she could not read, period. Anyway, she did point out some local icons, then added that this area was non-smoking. If we were caught smoking, there was a $300. fine. Caught littering? Well that was another $300. fine. And if you were late in paying that fine, another $150. was added on top of it. Was all of this really true? We never did investigate it, but decided as we walked away that this gal was a street person, whose bottom line was to ask for money after giving directions. The fact that she was wearing a bright green vest had thrown us off, and we assumed she was legitimately working for the city.

 

We ran into friends Margaret and Keith, who had just walked across the Victoria Bridge to visit the Queensland Art Museum. They spoke highly of their time they spent there, so we decided to check it out, since it was close by, air-conditioned, and free. We were not disappointed either, although we do not always choose to go to museums. This was an exception. The artwork was fabulous, but the building also housed some pretty elaborate fountains...indoor and outdoor.

 

Located next to the Art Gallery was the Museum & Sciencenter, which was right up our alley. Several levels in this museum housed examples of Australian animals, reptiles, and birds, not just from modern days, but what existed back milleniums ago. In the retile display was a glass enclosure with a young, extremely lime green-colored python. There was a suggestion box for us to name him. Naturally the first name to come to our minds was "Monty", so we added that to the box. We could have spent a lot of time here, but once again , the time had flown, and we needed to find a place for lunch soon. The last shuttle was leaving downtown at 4:30pm, and we did not want to wait until the last bus.

 

There was a second floor restaurant in the Queen Street Mall by the name of Jo Jo's. Seeing that they advertised wood-fired pizza, we knew we had found a good spot. Today was not the day to be picky, since it was Valentine's Day as well as a Friday, where scores of the locals were out for lunch. Many of the restaurants and cafes operate in a different manner than those we have at home in California. It almost a fast-food type of service in that you order your food and beverages at the counter, pay for it, then the server delivers it to your assigned table. The manager had warned us that it was busy, and we may have a longer than usual wait. Hey, no problem for us, since it was great to sit down and watch the foot traffic down below in the mall. Ice cold beers arrived in a short time, along with our margherita pizza, which was very good. Maybe not quite as tasty as the ones we had in Sydney, but still nice.

 

Taking the bus back to the ship went quickly, as the traffic was moving along fine. At home, by 2 or 3pm, we would have been in bumper-to-bumper traffic with a ride that normally would take an hour turning into a 3 hour jaunt. Sailaway took place from 5:30 to 6:30pm, where hot appetizers had been promised. For some unknown reason, these treats rarely reach the guests at the back railing, as we and friends Bill & Marianne soon found out. We politely summoned the waiter to come back with his tray, and his indicated that he would fill it, and be back. Well, that never happened. Willie, the Beverage manager, happened to walk by all of us, and Bill mentioned the fact that all of us back here were being ignored. With that, several waiters started to appear with pastry-wrapped sausages and sweet and sour chicken on skewers. This is the first sailaway that we have had such service since the beginning of the cruise. No, we would not starve wthout the appetizers, but if they advertise this, and they don't deliver, then the folks stop coming. Some of the newly-embarked Aussies were also not afraid to voice their opinion as Willie walked past them. If no one speaks up, then they do not know there is a problem.

 

The wind had picked up, and by the time we left the dock, the crowd began to thin out. After all, it was Valentine's Day, and many people were off to dress for formal night. It is unusual for a port day to fall on Valentine's Day, but it keeping with tradition, the formality of the evening remained. By the way, when we got back to our room at 5pm, we had two single red roses on our pillows, along with boxes of Seattles Best candies. And Valentines cards from the Captain, hotel manager, and the crew.

 

At dinner tonight, we had double company with arts and crafts teacher, Maureen, and Julie, the Human Resources officer for the crew, who has joined us many times on past cruises. The dining room was decked out in total red with hanging heart balloons and glitter moblies. What they could do without are the tiny red plastic hearts that are sprinkled over the center of the table. They end up everywhere....all over the seats, the floor, under the plates and glasses and all over our laps. Then there is a trail of them in the stairwells and on the stairs. Bet the room stewards just love the extra vacuuming.

 

Anyway, the top entree tonight was the grilled lamb chops, and our favorite dessert....the bomb. This was by special request, since the cappachino bombs have not been on the menu yet. These were not quite the same, however, since the chocolate shell was only half full of chocolate? ice cream. Then they were floating in a pool of coffee, on a decorated plate with strawberry sauce. Not everyone likes them, so Julie ordered a souffle, and three of us added a slice of watermelon pie. That is another favorite, which also showed up on the dessert menu for the first time tonight.

 

The Valentine Ball was held at 9:30pm in the Queens Lounge, so Julie, an officer, had to attend, even though she did not seem overly thrilled about going. She stalled until 9:50pm, and asked for our backup that she was being polite by staying with us instead. Can't say we blame her. We do not attend the balls, since they are always crowded and high-schoolish. What we did like, was pianist Debbie Bacon, who played her piano all throughout dinnertime from the center of the lower dining room. This was a "first" and we hope there were more positive compliments than not.

 

We have two days at sea on our way towards Cairns, our fial stop in Australia.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[erewhon]

Enjoying reading your updates, thank you.

[bet410]

With major health issues in January that required extensive hospitalization and rehab, I've now been enjoying catching up on your blog. It's great entertainment since we can't be on this year's world cruise. (We had the privilege of doing the Grand World in 2012 and 2013 and are booked again on the 2015.)

 

I so thoroughly enjoy traveling along with you this way - best way to go since we aren't there in person this year! (And fortunately we were not booked for it this year!) Looking forward to your future posts! :)

[ColumbiaSC]

bet410 --- So good to know you are feeling better and recovering. I, too, had major surgery last August, so I know how difficult it is to adjust to the realities of growing old. I recall so well the 2012 WC on the ms Amsterdam with you and your brother. I can't be on the 2015 WC as I am taking the ms Maasdam 42-day voyage beginning Oct 31, 2014, from FLL to FLL across the Atlantic to the Med. Happy Trails!

 

Don, Lord Kay of Shandon.

[GanGan]

We are joining this cruise in Hong Kong. My question: how many formal nights will we have on this 56-day segment Hong Kong to Ft. Lauderdale?

[RuthC]

We are joining this cruise in Hong Kong. My question: how many formal nights will we have on this 56-day segment Hong Kong to Ft. Lauderdale?

 

Check your on-line documents. The number of formal and smart casual days should be listed on them. It's easy to overlook, but it is there.