Day 9 - All Aboard

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We walked our cases across the street from the Marriott hotel to find our ship, the Holland America Oosterdam, docked opposite the Sydney Opera House. Then together with 2000 other cruisers of whom 47 make up kehillat Kosherica we boarded. We found our stateroom and went off to explore. First stop the dining room where we met our co-kosher travellers. We have been assigned a table with a couple from Plano, Texas. After a lovely buffet lunch we went off to visit the spa. Don signed us up for the thermal mineral sea water spa and a pedicure for me and a massage for each of us tomorrow.

At 5.30 pm the seven short blasts and one long sounded - the signal for life boat drill. This is the first cruise we had to attend drill without wearing our life jackets. After half an hour we were released and off I went for my pedicure. The luggage had arrived so we unpacked the cases completely for the first time in a week. The ship's laundry were doing a special offer - all the laundry you can fit into a bag the size of a kid's shoe bag for $20. By rolling up each individual item really small I got one week's laundry from the both of us into the bag.

Then dinner. This cruise is going to be about dining. The dinner was wonderful and Marcia and Norman are good company, even if his wife tried to drug, oops I mean over-medicate him for seasickness!

After dinner we found the casino where I indulged in $10 at the video poker slots. Lady luck was not kind. But there are more opportunities to come!

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Photos

Holland America Line - Oosterdam
Our ship ready to board, docked in Sydney harbour between the bridge & opera house