richwmn Goes around the world in a daze

[vicd1969]

How does the spa pass work in these grand voyages? Are you able to buy for a week at a time, or do you have to buy for the entire voyage and pay $$$$? My ideal sea day on a grand voyage would be a gym visit to lose a bit of that weight gain and then after a shower, a nice relaxing session in the thermal suite.

[Duck Creek]

Hi Rich

Webcam of you leaving Sydney now. Hope you had a nice time in our lovely city!

[richwmn]

3 hours ago, Babsjo said:

Hi Rich

Webcam of you leaving Sydney now. Hope you had a nice time in our lovely city!

I did, thanks for the beautiful picture!

[richwmn]

February 11 – At Sea, Tasman Sea headed for Port Arthur

 

 

Not too much went on last night. Activities included a music trivia at 6:30pm and a Secret Identity game at 8:00pm. The music session was a bit different, instead of playing small snips of songs, questions were asked about music such as listing three double albums and asking for the artist involved. All three venues had music.

 

Today, another at sea day, had a couple of things going on. The CC Meet & Greet for this segment was held in the Crows Nest. I didn’t think about it until it was over. I didn’t really think about a segment starting until I was chatting with a friend and it came up. I’ll try and make the next one.

 

It is a beautiful day at sea. Temperatures are moderate and the sun is bright. Should be a good evening on board.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruisercl]

Hi Rich,

I am continuing to follow along. 

Very interested, of course, in the Australia ports and activities.

There seems to be a pretty good variety of things offered to do, on the ship. Saw a few things I would like to do, maybe learn how to play Pickle Ball...IDK ...lol.

Thanks again for sharing your voyage with us.

Take care and stay safe. 😊

Caron

[richwmn]

Tendering at Port Arthur, Tasmania Australia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sandiego1]

On 2/11/2023 at 2:24 AM, Cruisercl said:

Hi Rich,

I am continuing to follow along. 

Very interested, of course, in the Australia ports and activities.

There seems to be a pretty good variety of things offered to do, on the ship. Saw a few things I would like to do, maybe learn how to play Pickle Ball...IDK ...lol.

Thanks again for sharing your voyage with us.

Take care and stay safe. 😊

Caron

Learning to play pickleball on a moving ship isn’t a good idea. Too many people get hurt that way. If you want to learn, I suggest you take lessons on solid ground before attempting to do it on the highest deck of a moving ship.

[cccole]

Wow!!!!!!!!   Beautiful photos of Port Arthur.  Looking forward to what your day is like.  As many others, I really look forward to your posts and impressions of your cruise.  Cherie

[richwmn]

February 12^th – Port Arthur and Hobart, Tazmania Australia

 

 

Last night on the World Stage we had a performance titled ‘Playback’ featuring Zuiderdam’s singers and dancers. This group has performed several times so far and each show has been pretty good. They are talented artists, and put a lot of energy into the show.

 

 

 

Today we visited Port Arthur, Tazmania. This is a small tender port which has a large prison as its main feature, along with a visitor center and museum. It is was an easy tender ride today, although the Captain had indicated that it might not be. We had a short visit to Port Arthur, leaving at 4:00pm. We are now headed to arrive at Hobart at 8:00pm. We have been told that today is a holiday and there is to be a big celebration along with fireworks this evening. Should be fun.

 

 

 

 

 

[Seasick Sailor]

Rich are you eating in Lido or MDR at night? The menu's look delicious!

[richwmn]

1 hour ago, Seasick Sailor said:

Rich are you eating in Lido or MDR at night? The menu's look delicious!

some of each, mostly Lido.

[richwmn]

February 13^th – Hobart, Tazmania Australia

 

 

It is 10am on Monday morning, an unusual time for the Super Bowl, but that is what is currently starting. Shortly I will head to the World Stage to see what the ship has set up for the occasion. Luckily I have been to Hobart before, so that is not a priority.

 

Last night was full. After dinner we had a bit of a different session of trivia. Hyperion Knight, the pianist who entertained on the World Stage earlier hosted a session which was actually more of a performance for him, and he started out by admitting that. He then proceeded to introduce each song segment before playing quite a bit of it. For the most part we could determine the answers he requested from the comments and verified it by the song played. The songs were evenly divided between pop and classical with three questions for the pop questions and two for classical. My group totally missed one song, giving us 23 of 25 points, the winner was perfect.

 

At 9:30pm a local band ‘Tasmaina Uncovered’ played local music for about an hour. They were very good both with the music and the stories that accompanied it. They played in the Lido Pool area, and while the acoustics were not great, they still sounded pretty good.

 

During the concert there were fireworks nearby which were nicely visible from the Seaview Bar area. A nice selection of fireworks lasted about 30 minutes or so. A good number of guests were on the aft lido deck to watch them.

 

The ship spent the night moored in Hobart. Early this morning I got off and walked around a bit. The city is as nice as I remember it. The setup the passengers have to go thru to exit and enter the ship seemed to have the same items for sale as I saw in 2019.

 

It is still a beautiful day around Hobart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aliaschief]

Thanks Rich! B.

[richwmn]

February 14 – At Sea Tasman Sea headed for Adelaide, Australia

 

 

Yesterday the theme aboard was ‘the Big Game’. The game was shown on the big screen in the World Stage and was attended by about an equal number of Eagles and Chiefs fans. It was a good quality feed and looked impressive on the large screen. They had various ‘tailgating’ type foods available (Hot Dogs, wings, sandwiches) in the World Stage area, and more available in Billboard during halftime – which happened to come around lunch time on board. The Gallery bar was also set up for viewing, but I didn’t go in there so I don’t know what all was done, but that bar is also convenient to Billboard and the offerings there.

 

Trivia sessions at 4:00pm and 6:30pm were also geared toward sports, with the 4:00pm dealing with half time shows, and the 6:30pm session with highs and lows of the game itself, as in who won or lost in particular years, which city has hosted the most, and the like.

 

The show last night was a comedian originally from Australia named Jim Short. Trivia was over in time for me to grab the seat I like for the early show, so I went in and listened for a while. There was a good crowd, but the area was not packed. He got a good response from the audience, so most people enjoyed his routine.

 

This morning I joined some others for breakfast, then took a couple of laps around the promenade deck. Then, the menus were already available so I grabbed them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

Just delivered by the Cabin Steward

 

 

The card -- A GRAND GIFT FOR YOU, "Life is short. Eat dessert first." -- Jacques Torres.

Captain Frison & the Zuiderdam crew wish you a pleasant Valentine's Day

 

[richwmn]

February 15^th – On the way to Adelaide, Australia

 

 

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day aboard Zuiderdam. Every event had a Valentine’s theme and the ship’s lighting tended toward Red or Pink. I posted a picture of the Valentine gift yesterday. Special activities included creating Valentine’s paper flowers, Valentine’s Painting and Wine, The Couples Game Show, and a Valentine’s Day Dance in the Crows (Love) Nest and Rolling Stone (Love) Lounge. The trivia sessions at 4:00pm and 6:30pm also had Valentine’s themes – About Valentine’s Day, and Love Songs of the ‘60’s. At 9:30pm they brought out a Chocolate Surprise, which was chocolate covered nuts and berries. The Valentine’s Dance lasted until after 11:00pm and was declared a happy hour. Everything was well done.

 

We had a time change by 30 minutes last night, and I didn’t change my clocks until this morning. That messed me up a little bit, but I recovered. We are due to arrive at the Adelaide pilot station around noon and be able to leave the ship at around 2:00pm. There will be a trivia session at 11:00am, then more later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

 

 

Our Welcome to Adelaide

[grapau27]

Paulines cousin emigrated to Adelaide Australia 16 years ago and it is on our future cruise list.

Looking forward to seeing any photos you post Rich.

Graham 

[richwmn]

February 16 – Second day in Adelaide

 

Just a quick posting of activities and menus, then off to the city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

Some views of Adelaide, from the ship and in town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

February 17 – Kangaroo Island

 

 

Last night was again special on the World Stage. We had another local show, this time from Adelaide. It was a trio consisting of two men and a lady, all with good voices. The lady played guitar, one man played the bass, the other man played several instruments including a fiddle. The set list included two songs from the Seekers (a ‘60’s Australian Group) and several traditional Australian songs. All were very good and the group had a lot of energy.

 

At 4:00pm Spencer hosted a trivia session with a Culinary theme. Interesting questions and Spencer proved to be a good host for that session. At 6:30pm the theme was songs with a girl’s name. Out of 33 points we got 27, so I was happy. We managed to get second place with that.

 

This morning we pulled into Kangaroo Island, which is a tender port. I boarded the tender with a friend and the trip took about 20 minutes. Once there it was a very nice day to walk around. From the tender dock to the main town was a short walk uphill, but the angle wasn’t too steep. Very nice views from the high point of the area. Part of the main area was a supermarket, where many crew members were making purchases of snacks to take back to the ship. The ride back to the ship was smooth, as was the transfer to the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by richwmn

[richwmn]

February 18 – at sea toward Fremantle / Perth

 

 

After a nice day ashore on Kangaroo Island yesterday I spent a relaxing evening on the ship. We had good sessions of trivia at 4:00pm and 6:30pm. After the later session I did something unusual for me. I participated in a game of Ring Toss. Only a couple of people were involved, but it was fun. It is definitely worth trying again.

 

This morning we are back to the ‘at sea’ routine.

 

 

For the second time on this cruise we had to turn in our passports. This was done at 9:00am in the mid ship elevator lobby on each deck. It was a quick and painless operation, and we were given a receipt. I got there a few minutes early and had time to go to Ian’s Coffee Chat with a Priest, a Minister and a Rabbi. For the World Cruise we have one of each assigned. For the Minister there were two representatives. They each introduced themselves and provided a very entertaining hour. It was held in the Billboard Lounge, formerly know as the Queen’s Lounge,

 

 

 

 

and had a full crowd.

 

The weather is actually quite nice outside!

 

 

[Cruisercl]

Sounds like a good day!

I like that they have clergy onboard for (almost) everyone.

I have had to turn my Passport in when I went on a Med and a BI cruise. The first time it was unsettling but all went well.

I haven't played ring toss since many years ago, but glad it was fun, I am sure it would be now. 

It appears your cruise is all going well.

Take care and stay safe. 

[richwmn]

February 19 – at sea toward Fremantle

 

 

Things were hopping on Zuiderdam last night. The show on the World Stage was ‘Chart Toppers’ featuring the Zuiderdam Singers and Dancers. After the 6:30pm trivia session I walked by and they sounded ok. I planned to go to the 9:30pm show, but other things got in the way. Music was happening in all the other venues, and I got a call to meet others at the Ocean Bar for the Jazz group. I got there a few minutes later and ended up staying there the rest of the evening. The music was decent, the conversation was better.

 

 

This morning again has been a slow, easy going, sea day. Good walk around the Promenade Deck. Good conversation over breakfast. I turned in laundry yesterday morning and for the second time it was ready the same evening. I put it up this morning. It is another beautiful day out, and the afternoon activities start shortly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aliaschief]

Hey Rich! Gaining weight? One of my concerns on our 155 day World Cruise next January! Do I need to buy expandable waist band pants!😁

Edited February 19, 2023 by aliaschief