Day 2 On the high seas

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Welcome to Day 2 of our cruise.

We had an uneventful flight from Sydney and eventually arrived at Circular Quay in the pouring rain. We got to the embarkation point an hour early so “checked in” our luggage. This involved leaving the cases in a gazebo tent (just a roof on four poles) with rain beating in. The bags were then taken out into the rain. We were a bit concerned about not having luggage tags but the staff put paper ones on for us. Thus began the case of the disappearing bag.

Our first impression of the ship was that it was huge!! Our cabin is quite big. It has a nice queen sized bed, compact bathroom, tv, fridge and the cutest little balcony. I can’t believe how many little cupboards and drawers there are to put things. It’s good though, we tend to trash rooms when we are on holidays. Our steward is Balinese so we nicknamed him Katut. We haven’t seen Rhonda anywhere but we are keeping an eye out for her.

I had forgotten that I had ordered a pamper package so when we arrived we had a bottle of Chandon sparkling wine waiting for us and a tray of cupcakes. Interestingly, the Chandon was from California rather than Victoria. It was a bit sweeter than we were used to but very nice still!!

Last night we were moored opposite the opera house. It was fabulous watching the ferries and other boats scurry around right there in front of us. The opera house was lit up and it looked lovely. We anxiously watched the weather reports and announcement by the Premier about the potential flooding. Apparently we have a small river running under the house but there’s not much use worrying about it.

My suitcase was delivered around 5:00pm but Peter’s was nowhere to be seen. OK we thought it will show up later so we headed to the Magic Flute dining room. I dragged out one of my nice dresses and off we went. The menu sounded great but the food didn’t live up to expectations so we were a bit disappointed. However earlier in the day, I had a slice of gluten free pizza which was superb. The best I have ever had so I think the food is a bit of a lucky dip. Sometimes you win and sometimes not.

By 9:00pm Peter’s bag hadn’t arrived. He went off to retrieve in indubitable Peter fashion! He came back with an incredible story about the number of lost bags and angry people in two floors. In the luggage room, there were around 150 people and a gazillion bags, the tags of which had dissolved in the rain. It was a very unhappy place to be apparently. At about 10:30pm Peter went on a bit of a prowl around the floors where he knew the bags to be, saw his, grabbed it and came back a happy little vegemite. The shipping line, Royal Caribbean, needs to get its act together.

The ship left about midnight and I really felt the rolling. I’ve been staggering around a bit today but not feeling sick. I’m pretty happy with that outcome. I went to the movies and saw Kung Fu Panda in 3D and everybody WAS Kung Fu fighting! Peter was quick to get away lest anyone think he would go to a movie like that. I loved it!!!! Peter went to a trivia competition and met some more people. We have met quite a few now.

It’s still raining today so we’re staying indoors. Hopefully the rain will have eased when we get to Melbourne tomorrow. We are currently relaxing in our cabin in readiness for the first formal night. What dress shall wear? What a problem to have J.

pj and sandy

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