Sailing Away

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Blog 17



Part 1:

Sydney - March 28, 2018 – Weather forecast: mostly sunny, daytime temperature of 27°C; overnight temperature of 18°C



Ah, cruise day has finally arrived. We have repacked our bags, ordered the cab (actually a van that can hold four adults and all the luggage) and now we are off to a leisurely breakfast. Right at 11:00am the cab arrived and the hotel porters loaded our bags into it, didn’t have to lift a finger.



Check-in, security screening all went along smoothly and we were aboard by noon and at lunch in the main dining room by 12:45pm. By the time we finished lunch our bags were in the room ready for us to unpack. The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the ship, but not before we got our laundry ready for the stewards. The mandatory emergency drill at 4:30 had a technological update where the crew scanned our room key to verify that we were in attendance; saved them calling out room numbers over the noise of the milling crowds. Sail-away was scheduled for 5:00pm; in reality it was closer to 5:50 before we cast off and weaved our way through the harbour and under the bridge as we headed for the Pacific.



Passing under the bridge was quite the experience, as the tide was coming in and there was not a lot of spare room between the top of the funnels and the bottom of the bridge. I’m sure it was all done to give the passengers a thrill. The journey out through the harbour also presented classic photo opportunities.



Part 2:

At Sea - March 29, 2018 – Weather forecast: partly sunny, daytime temperature of 18°C; wind 32kts (6 Beaufort)



First day at sea on our way to Hobart, Tasmania. Totally relaxed laid back day; leisurely breakfast, a little shopping, reading, lunch, cooking demonstration, wine tasting, dinner.

Tomorrow our tour leaves at 8:45am so we have decided to place an order for room service and avoid the rush in the Lido Restaurant.

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Photos

1
The approach

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Bridge walkers wave us through!

3
Close enough!

4
The famous chair

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Harbour mouth & the Pacific

6
City outlined in evening haze

7
Sunset behind the bridge