Blogs from Coral Sea, Pacific, Oceans and Seas

Day 7 and 8 We were headed back to Sydney and although it felt a little like the holiday was almost over we still had 2 more days at sea. There was still lots to do on board and we wanted to make the most of it. We checked out and played a few games. Watched shows and drank cocktails, sunbathed, ate lots and used the time to relax. Nicki and I did a Latin dance class together, which we both enjoyed even if we did look frogs in a blender..and so did everyone else. We may even do more lessons.. we will see.. Kym went missing for about an hour, no one knew where he was. The ship had 2 water slides. The yellow one was open, slow but afforded a view of the oceans ... read more

Day 3 Another day at Sea. We chose the Empire silver service for breakfast. It just meant that I wasn't tempted to overstuff myself... I wanted to attend the ladies pamper session so went early as we had realised that some of the activities filled up fast. There was a semminar before it that I ended up sitting in on about detox and arch support... I'm so rocking this cruise.. anyways the pamper session was a cleanse, tone and moisturize with a quick makeover from something like a Thin Lizzy all in one make up thingy. We did most of it ourselves and of course the whole thing was a plug for the beauty services on board which were higher than normal prices (Adelaide prices anyway) Back at the cabin and spent a bit of time ... read more

Day 1 An early morning start of 4am to catch the red eye to Sydney saw us tired, however landing in Sydney the excitement increased. Kym and I were appropriately dressed for a cruise. I donned a navy and white nautical inspired outfit right down to my shoes and nails and Kym wore his Captain Hellfire tshirt and 3 quorn pirate hat, which had comments all day about him being Captain Jack Sparrow and his got excited seeing a real pirate. An uber shared between the four of us and we were at Circular Quay. Dropping off our suitcases at the terminal we had a few hours to kill before boarding and walked to the Opera House and bought our first celebratory drinks overlooking our cruise ship and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. The warm sun felt ... read more

Monday Gizo Island required tenders and with a 2.5'metre swell and a choppy blustery sea the decision was made to cancel our island stop. The information was piped into the cabin by the captain early morning with the advice that safety was paramount. Imagine people going over by tender and not being able to get back on board due to deteriorating weather.So we did a lazy 3 hour loop of the island and set sail for Honiara.Pablo the cruise director then came over the intercom to tell of of the new sea day arrangements. A new what's on sheet was issued, outdoor decks closed and most people seemed content with the changes. Celebrity mugshot, trivia, dingbat, battle of the sexes, and the funniest game of celebrity heads kept us amused all day between eating and drinking ... read more

WednesdaySea Day This started with me walking 5 laps of deck6 which is the only longish walking area. 2.5 laps are 1km, quite a few walkers enjoying the breeze and sea spray, with the ship hooting along on its way to PNG. We were joined at breakfast by Norma and her daughter from Eden which is on the Sth coast of NSW. Lively elderly people, used to cruising, having a great time. Today was the joining in day. Shuffle board where I placed 1st out of 8 people, table tennis where I was runner up in quite a fierce comp, and then Karaoke tonight where I sang 3 songs. My usual The Rose and then 2 others. Ocean bar is the place for many of our activities, which today included 3 games of trivia, one evening ... read more