Sea Days - Feb 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 & Mar 1

Sea Day - Feb 24 

Busy morning going through photos. I’m still working on Sydney, but about finished. I stopped to work on a few from Cairns to send to the group.

Had lunch with a couple we have met on previous world cruises and the young lady we had lunch with at Alfredo’s Pizza and a single guy we hadn’t met before. Interesting mix. One guy orders a Peanut butter and Jam sandwich and a tall glass of skim milk. (older couple) The single guy seemed afraid of all the things that could go wrong in ports and on tours. The single lady is intriguing as she is young by world cruiser standards and isn’t working. She’s vague about future work and said I guess I’m retired. (independently wealthy, by saving, investing, lottery or????) Good for her! She is quite pleasant to talk to. 

Stopped by Tom & Cathy and Bob & Phyllis’ table to chat on the way out of the dining room. Bob & Phyllis shared their day in Cairns. They had a good day, but their Princess tour went awry when they were a bus short bringing people back. 

Spent the afternoon going through photos and me writing notes for the blog. (if I ever have time to get another post together) We had on Rocky Horror Picture Show while we worked on photos. 

I sat in something a few days ago in my white slacks and I was unable to get the stain out. We picked up some different stain remover in Cairns and I used that today and they wouldn’t rinse out, so went to the laundry room to use a washing machine. In half an hour a washer became available. I tossed in my white sweater and the pants and went back when my time was up to get them out. It still was at 28 minutes (runs for 30). 2 people in there said some lady came in and yanked the door open because she thought it was available and then just shut it and didn’t restart it. I had 30 minutes before dinner and now there was only time to wash them. We hung them up in the cabin and after dinner tossed them in a dryer for about 15 minutes to get the wrinkles out. 

No one at our table was at dinner last night, so we got caught up on each other’s day in Cairns. 

We still had time to catch the early show which was Tom Lowe one of the lead singers for the production shows doing a one man show. Another singer was to perform but didn’t make the ship. No reason given, but in the past it’s either visa or airline issues. He put on a good show. 

We then went to the Australia Quiz game. Many obscure songs only popular in Australia and a few most of us knew. A few other trivia type questions with only a few that were “obvious”. Always fun to play the games, they are either funny or we actually learn something. 

We came back to the room and worked on some photos while watching “Walk the Line”. 

Two more sea days before Darwin.

Sea Day - Feb 25

Normal morning stuff for us and we had lunch in the dining room. Sat with a couple we have had dinner with a few times and an Aussie couple that just boarded in Sydney. Great talks. There was another medical helicopter evacuation today at lunch. Ashwin was our waiter and despite only waiting on us for a couple of weeks before he got moved to make room for the terrible more experienced waiter, he greets me with "Hello mam Annette, Diet Coke, Ice and a straw?" 

We had dinner in the dining room and the show was another show by the Rat Pack Reloaded. They only had a bit of new material as I don't think they planned a second show but had to go on since the new entertainer didn't make the ship in the last port. Still an enjoyable show. 

Our cruise director Cole is leaving us in Darwin. He is the best cruise director we have had in 50 cruises on any ship or cruise line. He will be missed. He introduced the new one, Andi tonight. Very different personalities. (not in a good way)

After that we went to the True or Moo game. Same as true or false except True answers were "Ye Haw!" and the no answers were a "Moo". Fun and interesting facts.

We got to set our clocks back by a half hour tonight. That's right Darwin is a half hour different than Cairns.

One more sea day until Darwin.

Sea Day - Feb 26

Normal morning routine and we opted for lunch upstairs in the buffet. I am finally caught up with the photos until we visit Darwin tomorrow. Watched Andi's first "Wake Show" and wow what a change. He is treating this like a short cruise, and everyone is new to cruising. He read lots of stats (heard on every 7-day Caribbean we have ever been on) on how much of each type of food is consumed on the average 7-day cruise. Then he proceeded to read famous people's birthdays. What a snooze. Like a radio show. 

Just as we were entering the dining room for dinner, the captain came over the intercom and told us that due to weather we will be missing Darwin. He said the port authorities recommended not docking there.

So, before we even left home, we had San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua canceled due to political reasons, then 3 ports in New Zealand canceled due to the typhoon, Now, Darwin due to weather. So far, we have received no refunded port fees. Princess said we were refunded for San Juan del Sur prior to boarding and that Melbourne's port fees were more than the other 3 ports combined. Hmmmmm...... We'll see what happens with Darwin.

The show tonight was a performance by David Crathorne. He plays in Crooner's Bar and leads the passenger "choirs". He is a super nice guy and a great performer. Especially Broadway songs. Very enjoyable show.

After the show we went to the game show Majority Rules. Andi, the new cruise director is quite boring. All of his questions were quite generic, and he made up a lot of the answers as he read the ones from the passengers so he could set up his tired jokes. His main assistant seems to be Kymie and we haven't seen much of Mark or Liberty. 

Cole was supposed to get off in Darwin, so not sure what happens to him. We were to pick up new performers in Darwin, so we will get some "interesting" entertainment over the next few days. I imagine we also were picking up supplies & fuel. 

Tomorrow, we don't visit Darwin, Australia, and now we have 3 more sea days until Komodo Island. 

Sea Day - Feb 27 - Not Darwin

2019 - Jumping Crocs River Cruise https://photos.app.goo.gl/wtTsLDVUS7wYpj4B8

2019 - Litchefield Park, Humpty Doo Cafe & Prawns & Bubbly at Sunset https://photos.app.goo.gl/XSuDYrANfosXDJmF6

This time I set up a Birding Tour with Ian McKerrow with Experience the Wild - Full Day Bird Watching Tours in and around Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

Tom & Cathy were joining us, but alas it was not meant to be on this trip. We were looking forward to the Fogg Dam area in search of birds and other critters.

Plan B:

Normal sea day morning for us. The dining room menu didn't appeal to me, so we went upstairs to the buffet, and they had some Indian food which was good. 

Oddly, the Pub Lunch has not been offered since before Melbourne. No Alfredo's Pizza either. With all these sea days, hopefully, they will do them again. They were offered often in the first half of this cruise. We are almost at the halfway point of this voyage. Sigh......

Apparently, some people were to get on the ship in Darwin. Yikes! Komodo would be almost impossible to embark I imagine, so Singapore may be the best bet. Same thing happened in NZ with the skipped ports. 

After dinner in the dining room, we went to the show which was cruise director Andi. Andi is a pleasant enough singer, but not a lot of range like Mark has. It was an enjoyable show.

We then went to the game show which was Can You Survive? Kind of boring if you went just to watch. For the first 15 minutes people wrote down in order what you would need to survive on the moon. (things were listed and you had to prioritize them) Andi definitely isn't into the "fun" games that are fun to play or watch. It was odd that the room was full when we got there and I thought "wow, this game must be good". However, there was a big surprise at 8:30 and that is why everyone was there. They wheeled out a large cake and Grace's Secret did an unrecognizable rendition of Celebrate. Sadly, the big reveal was the 2025 World Cruise which has already been unveiled and really not much of a change in itinerary. Looks like we will have to "jump ship" and do another line for more imaginative stops. 

We came back to the room and watched a movie.

We got to set our clocks back another half hour tonight. 

Two more Sea Days before Komodo Island.

Sea Day - Feb 28

Usual morning routine and we had lunch at Alfredo's Pizza and sat with a couple that are on their first world cruise. They seem to favor Andi over Cole apparently since we said we really miss Coles high energy and freshness. Andi has been doing the same schtick for 23 years or however long he said he's worked here. It's clear he is used to short cruises where you can do the same routine every 7 days and it's new for the next group. He acts like we haven't been on here for a couple of months. He's new to the cruise, we are not. Everyone has different likes and dislikes so plenty of people are pleased with him. 

They had another Deal or No Deal today and we won a scratch off and a free bingo play. Since we had the cards, we went to bingo. Nothing has changed with Bingo. Still the same annoying schtick with Fortuna Luck and 2 of the same people that always win won. Quite predictable. 

Dinner in the dining room wasn't all that appealing so we opted for the specialty restaurant Sabatini's. Edmundo (the one who called us in to have our dessert that didn't get delivered to our cabin because he didn't want the ice cream ball to melt) remembers us and comes out almost every time we walk by and is always at breakfast with a cheery smile and a Hello Mr. Gregory. 

They have a new menu which was good. They automatically serve Arancini al Tartufo which are Sicilian fried rice balls scented with black truffle, filled with mozzarella and served with a tomato & herb marinara.

They serve a nice bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to start, and I had a couple of glasses of Bellinis which are prosecco and peach puree, and Greg found a white wine he really likes there.

We both had the Ensalata Mista.

For the next course I ordered the Fritto Misto alla Veneziana which was Venetian-style fried shrimp and calamari with a fried polenta in a "spicy" marinara and Greg ordered the Piadina Italiana Di Verdure an Italian Flatbread with grilled Mediterranean vegetables and stracciatella. We split those. Other than the calamari not being crisp it was very tasty. (and the sauce could have been spicier and tastier)

We skipped the pasta course.

For the main course I had the Ossobuco Milanese - braised veal shank crowned with a gremolata of minced parsley, garlic and lemon zest resting on a bed of saffron risotto and Greg had Filetto di Branzino alle Erbe Mediterranee - roman-style artichoke, fingerling potatoes, and sauteed garlic spinach.

We had the same desert as last time, the Rocher. I could eat a bowl full of the little ice cream balls that sit on top.

A blend of chocolate, pralines and hazelnut ice cream sealed in milk chocolate, surrounded by crushed candied hazelnuts. This all sits atop a chocolate cake circle on top of a thick chocolate custard. 

The show tonight is a re-peat of Do You Wanna Dance. So far there has only been 3 different production shows in 2 months. We made the late show since our dinner took longer tonight. We sat in on a bit of the Liar's Club before we went to the show. Just not as fun with Andi, though it's a great game show.

We got to set our clocks another hour back. 

One more sea day until Komodo Island!

Sea Day - Mar 1

Yep, more of the same on this sea day. Normal morning routine and we did go to lunch in the dining room as it was a menu we hadn't seen since 2019. (banana split for dessert)

The weather is looking a bit better, so time will tell if we make Komodo tomorrow. (spoiler alert, we did!)

Dinner in the dining room and the show was a 3rd show from the Rat Pack Reloaded. We said at least they are pleasant to listen to as on one WC we had entertainers not make the ship and we had a couple of Polynesians that literally twirled umbrellas and we had them for several nights. We didn't go for their other shows. (which is unusual as we go to all the entertainment even if it's not really our genre) 

We skipped the game show which was the Yes No game which is always funny to see how long someone can go without answering Yes or No to all the questions they ask you, but we needed to get ready for Komodo Island and we had to be up at 4:45. (earlier for Greg)

Tomorrow, Komodo Island!