John and Diane's Amazing Adventures - Part 4

[Johnny B]

February 14 - At Sea

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

Another sea day, and if you’ve been reading along, you know how much I love them.

But let’s start with last evening’s wonderful LeCirque dinner. The famous New York restaurant has an arrangement with Holland America to sponsor four or five Le Cirque dinners during the world cruise. The entire Pinnacle Restaurant is transformed, from the circus-striped curtains in the windows to the wonderful China with pictures of frolicking monkeys.

 

It’s a four-course menu, five if the amuse bouche is included, with each course having at least three choices. Yesterday’s pre-course delight was a base of berries covered by pate mousse in a little bitty glass. It was delicious. For a first course, John had the Caesar salad, which must have had a half pound of parmesan cheese grated in the layers of whole romaine leaves. My choice was the lobster salad, and I love it, even through I don’t even much like lobster. A small lobster tail sits atop lettuce leaves, which sit atop thin slices of avocado, tomato, and grapefruit, each in a different section of the plate.

 

Course #2 contains my favorite of all the dishes on the menu: butternut squash soup with huckleberries. I know, it doesn’t sound very good, but we tried it for the first time last year on a friend’s recommendation and it is wonderful. The soup bowl is presented with a small mound of huckleberries in the center, covered by a dollop of creme fraiche. The first thought, of course, is “where’s the soup?” Then a server brings a lovely Japanese teapot filled with butternut squash soup, and pours it around the huckleberries. The diner is told to eat from the middle to the outside, so as to get a combination of the tart berries and the soup in each spoonful. Sooooo good.

 

There are five choices of mains: seared black cod, loin lamb chops, ravioli, chicken under a brick, and Chateaubriand. John has a hard time passing up lamb chops, especially when we’ve just left New Zealand, where they probably have the best lamb in the world, so that was his choice. I opted for the cod, and it was absolutely perfect. It was cooked throughout (I’m not a sushi fan), but just barely enough, and it was served on a port wine reduction with sauteed leeks. Yummmmm!

 

John opted for the chocolate dessert (as usual), which was pretty much a volcano cake, served with a small container of vanilla gelato. Because it’s Lent and I’ve given up sugar, I had a really nice bowl of fresh berries. One thing that is true of the Pinnacle is that, even though the service on board the Amsterdam is excellent, The Pinnacle’s staff runs it up a notch. They cannot do enough for you and just cater to your every dining need.

 

When we arrived on board, we found a bottle of Dom Perignon awaiting us, a gift from a realtor friend, so we decided that the LeCirque dinner was the perfect time to drink it. What a perfect choice! We drank it down to the last bubble and loved every sip. It was just a perfect evening and a perfect dinner.

 

Today is Valentine’s Day and it has been incredibly relaxing and beautiful at 70 degrees and clear. We spent a good part of the afternoon at “the beach,” and my tan is returning - finally! It’s a formal night and we’ve invited Yuri and Val of Black Tie to join us at dinner, and we’ll also have an officer, so our 9-person table will have to expand to 12, but we can do it. We’re meeting our guests in the Crow’s Nest for a glass of wine before dinner, and we’re looking to dinner being lively because of Yuri being outrageously funny. He was on our Trivia team for the last time today, because they disembark in Sydney tomorrow; we promised him a win and then delivered.

 

The cruise line left nice little “pillow gifts” this morning (usually it’s in the evening). We each received a box of Belgian chocolates as well as a Steiff stuffed bear. Pillow gifts are traditional on formal nights, and as such, I’d better start working on the red gown and find the sparkly red shoes. We’re looking forward to a very good evening.

 

S. We don’t know if it will allow you to see the photos, but our Facebook page is

Dianeandjohnstjohn. Let us know if it works.

[Johnny B]

February 15, 2013 - Sydney

 

What a beautiful city and a beautiful sail-in. We were up at 6:00 to head to the bow of the Amsterdam for Barbara’s informative narration as we approached Sydney. We sailed past the iconic opera house, under Sydney Bridge, and into Darling Harbor, our home for the next two days. While we’d rather be in Circular Quay, across from the opera house, Darling Harbor is only a 15-minute walk away, and there’s a shuttle every 10 minutes or so taking us from here to there.

 

Last night was the first formal night for us (obviously not the first one for the cruise), and Valentine’s Day brought out more red gowns than you’ve ever seen in one place. The entire ship was beautifully decorated, and there were tiny little foil hearts everywhere. In fact, they are so small and there are so many that we find them around our house in San Luis Obispo from time to time when we take out clothing last worn on the ship. Our table was nicely set for 12, as we had our friends Yuri and Val as table guests, and we were hosted by Peter Wallis (otherwise known as Peter Purser), who is, of course, the ship’s purser with a whole raft of stripes on his uniform.

 

The Valentine’s Day Ball began at 10:00 in the Queen’s Lounge and was really well attended. There were prizes for drawing the correct playing card, for being married the longest (70 years!) and shortest (4 months), and dancing lasted into the wee hours.

 

We began this morning with a hike down to the Darling Harbor restaurants and shops.

It’s a really lively place during the day and especially into the evening. If you’re looking for a harbour cruise or a lively place to have a drink, this is it. We found the ATM we were looking for, split up the Australian dollars, and headed back to the ship.

 

At 10:30, our Sydneysider friends Greg and Heo brought our friend Martha to the ship.

She had been staying with them for a couple of days and we shared hugs and wishes to see each other at dinner, since she’ll be joining our table. We then jumped into Greg and Heo’s car with our friend Barbie and headed out for a brief tour of Sydney. Since we’d been here twice before, we’d seen some of the sights, but we’d never been to Bondi (Bond - eye) beach before, so that’s where we went. It was gorgeous. Even though it was probably only about 70 degrees and just past this morning’s rain, the beach had dozens of people and dozens of surfers. Greg told us that the apartments around the beach sold for multi-millions, and that one was currently for sale for 30 million dollars! There’s a restaurant overlooking the beach in which the President and First Lady dined when they were here. Below the restaurant is an Olympic-size pool which the breakers help to refill every time a wave breaks. It’s spectacular.

 

After a half hour at the beach, we drove to Centennial Park in the center of Sydney. It’s the size of Central Park in New York and incredibly beautiful with lakes, trees, grass, horseback riders, and all kinds of natural beauty. Our destination was the cafe in the center of the park and a delightful lunch. We all had the fish and chips, which were about the best I’d ever eaten. They were more of a tempura fish and although I shared a plate with Barbie, I could have eaten the whole thing!

 

The guys dropped us off downtown near Hyde Park so that we could sightsee a bit on our way back to the ship. Greg had to check into the hospital for a minor procedure, so we weren’t able to spend any more time together on our visit here, but it was wonderful to see them, if only for a couple of hours.

 

By the time we got back to the ship, the late hours last night and the early hours this morning had caught up with us and it was nap time! I think we’ll just stay on board the rest of today and then head out somewhere else tomorrow. We’re thinking about taking the HOHO (Hop-On, Hop-Off) bus tomorrow, and we may take the bus to one of the northern beaches to visit friends. We’ll see how that goes.

 

Anyway, it was a great first day in Sydney and we’re really looking forward to another.

[Johnny B]

February 16, 2013 - Sydney

 

We couldn’t decide whether to visit Val and Yuri at the northern beaches or to take the HOHO bus, so we did neither. We began about 9:00, taking the ship’s shuttle into town and being dropped off at the Marriott Hotel. We had goodies to send home (we try to send regular “care packages” to our daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter), so we had to find the main post office. A hike up Pitt Street took us to the right location, and all we had to do was to wait until 10:00 when it opened. They also were able to fax a form that had to go home, so all the business was taken care of by 10:30.

 

We had read in someone’s blog (I can’t remember which one) that the sailaway from Sydney was extended to 11:00 PM, so we thought we had lots of time to take a one-hour bus ride (each way) to the northern beach area to visit with Val and Yuri. However, our source had been (very) wrong: sailaway was at 4:45! We realized we didn’t have time to do the visit justice, so it will have to wait on another tour to Sydney.

 

We had thought to do a Hop-On, Hop-Off bus tour, but looking at the map of its route didn’t “speak to us,” so we shot down that idea. We wondered what to do, and the first thing that we did was hide under an overhang for 30 minutes while the rain pounded down. Yesterday we took ship umbrellas with us and it was beautiful and sunny; today we didn’t take them and Sydney must have had an inch of rain.

 

After the break, it was coffee/internet time, and then a walk over to “The Rocks” where there’s a wonderful market every Saturday and Sunday (remember, we’re a day ahead of you in the U.S.). We found goodies for our kids as well as ourselves and then ended up at a branch of “Pie Face,” an Australian chain as ubiquitous as McDonalds, where they sell all different kinds of meat pies. John had beef and mushroom and I had Thai chicken curry and they were hot out of the oven and delicious - if a bit messy.

 

Then it was time for the return shuttle to the ship, and we did the “happy dance” because it was only the 200 new passengers who had to attend the boat drill - not the rest of us. That, of course, left time for a lovely nap.

 

There are some ports in the world which have the most beautiful harbors for sail-in and sailaway, and Sydney is one of them. Promptly at 4:45 the captain turned the ship around and headed out under Sydney Bridge, followed by a stream of boats of all kinds. We sailed past the Opera House, and finally out of the harbor and into the open sea, our favorite place. The sailaway was, as usual, great fun, if a little cold, and we stayed out there talking with old and new friends until it got just too cold and windy.

 

We had two wonderful days in Sydney, but it could have been a week. Maybe next time.

[Johnny B]

February 17, 2013 - At Sea

 

Just one day between Sydney and Tasmania, but it’s been lovely. We did a little walking this morning, only twice around the deck (not even a mile), but we were short on time because Sunday services are now at 8:30 instead of 9:00. We have a new Protestant minister named Sam, and he’s wonderful. We finally have a choir and congregants are asked to read scripture as well as lead responsive readings. The attendance is way up over the last couple of cruises.

 

There are so many little things that are wonderful about the world cruise, and I don’t even know if they are common to all HAL cruises. Every single morning I have fresh-

squeezed orange juice, an incredible treat. I love the fact that the public restrooms have individual rolled-up hand towels instead of paper or the electric dryers that I hate. It’s wonderful to have someone to make my bed and replace my towels. We never even run out of facial or any other kind of tissue; it’s replaced before it runs out.

 

The crew is invariably warm and friendly, and whenever there’s a problem, it’s solved almost immediately. I mentioned a tiny little problem with the shower curtain to one of our room stewards last evening as we left for dinner, and sure enough, it was fixed by the time we went to bed. The bar stewards know what everyone likes to drink, and the officers who have been on for more than one cruise know our names. When we embarked in Auckland, we had several crew members and officers give us big hugs and tell us how happy they were that we were back. I would suspect it not to be genuine, but it happens so often and so sincerely that it must be real.

 

Over the years, we have developed friendships with some crew members, and we keep in touch via Facebook. It’s great to exchange greetings, to see up-to-date photos, and to hear about their new babies.

 

Probably the only thing that I don’t enjoy about the cruise is the complainers. I really, for the life of me, can’t imagine how anyone who is lucky enough to be on a world cruise can complain about things. Last year I even had one woman tell me how the floral arrangements were “below par,” when everyone else on the ship thinks that they are absolutely beautiful.

 

I’m not a person who believes everything and everyone is wonderful (how could I after teaching junior high for 35 years?), but I think just about everything on this ship is pretty darned terrific.

[Lauranne]

What a wonderful attitude. You brightened up my morning. I very much enjoy your blog. Thank you for taking the time to do this.

Laurie

[woldridge]

 

Probably the only thing that I don’t enjoy about the cruise is the complainers. I really, for the life of me, can’t imagine how anyone who is lucky enough to be on a world cruise can complain about things. Last year I even had one woman tell me how the floral arrangements were “below par,” when everyone else on the ship thinks that they are absolutely beautiful.

 

I remember following a World Cruise blog last year of a female lawyer from California (Legally Blond) who complained endlessly about everything, especially the food. She actually wrote that she "went to bed hungry" one day. The comment infuriated me, and I imagine others. If she went to bed hungry, it was by her choice and a huge insult to those that really do go to bed hungry with no choice.

 

I too do not understand the complainers. Nothing is perfect, but a cruise is what one makes of it.

 

I love your postings and have been following you for years. Thanks for taking me with you!:)

 

Barb

[wander]

Johnny B,

On the 1997 70+ day Asia-Pacific cruise (now known as a Grand Voyage) the Priest, Rabbi and Minister had a presentation each sea day. In a sea day rotation, they would each hold a individual session talking about something related to their religious perception of a topic, religion based or world events related. For the fourth session of each rotation they would have a panel to discuss one topic from each perspective. These group sessions were terrific and very well attended. Both the Priest (a retired Bishop) and the Rabbi (also retired) were wonderful speakers who were well prepared but could also talk easily in response to questions. They always participated in the group sessions. The minister was fine, but did not have the mind of the other two so sometimes skipped the group sessions. (As a minister for services he was fine, just could not "keep up" with the other two", few of us could as they were exceptional speakers and quick minded.)

 

I have never experienced this since Grand Voyages or World Cruises. So happy to hear this is occurring on WC 2013.

 

Love your dialogue!

[brazilgirl]

Wonderful posts !!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[ozcruizer]

I too love your positive attitude - life is never perfect but it comes close at times, and especially during a wonderful cruise. There are always the complainers unfortunately. On our last cruise (Volendam) on the morning after sailaway I asked a fellow passenger how he was enjoying it so far. In the probably 15 hours since departure he'd found it just didn't measure up to Princess and I wondered how anyone could judge that quickly, sailing on the lovely Volendam. He must have had a miserable two weeks if that was the case.

So pleased you enjoyed our home port, Sydney. It's a pretty wonderful place for a big city. I agree that Barangaroo isn't as nice as Circular Quay (we sailed from there too) but hopefully before too long it will be just as nice to berth there as CQ.

Ozcruizer

[Johnny B]

Thanks for your wonderful comments. We were on board with "Legally Blonde" and got to hear the complaints up close and personal. I just didn't get it, but we had a wonderful WC and, so far, we're having two wonderful segments, from Auckland to Capetown. Right now we're in Hobart, Tasmania, the second oldest city in Oz - more later.

[Johnny B]

February 18, 2013 - Hobart, Tasmania

 

Who hasn’t heard of the Tasmanian Devil? Well, we’ve been here all day and haven’t seen even one. We could have gone to the nature reserve nearby, but it was an hour’s drive and since we’re only here from 8:00 until 3:30, it didn’t seem like a good idea.

 

We decided that since Hobart is the second oldest city in Australia, settled only after Sydney, that we should see it. Its age is due to the fact that England believed that an island like Tasmania would be an idea place to send convicts, so it was settled early on. Much of the city’s landscape and architecture is the work of those convicts, including a large amount of land reclaimed from the sea as well as some beautiful old stone buildings.

 

We began our walk alongside the harbor and saw lots and lots of coffee shops and pubs. I guess any town settled primarily by convicts and the military would have the pubs, but I think the coffee shops are a more recent addition. Our Sydneysider friend Greg has told us more than once that Australians love their coffee, but it wasn’t until we began seeing three or four coffee shops on each block that we realized just how much they loved it. He told us that Starbucks opened several stores in Sydney a few years ago, but that the Aussies were so loyal to their own coffee shops that almost all of them have closed. Indeed, the only Starbucks we’ve seen in Australia was the one just next to Circular Quay, the main cruise ship terminal, in Sydney.

 

We discovered a part of Hobart called Battery Point, one of the oldest sections. It contains really charming old homes, churches and shops as well as Prince’s Park, the largest park in town. We continued our walk up and down small streets, reading plaques telling why this or that building was important. We then continued to the main downtown area, where we found an enclosed mall containing, of all things, a Target. After picking up a few necessities, we decided it was coffee time, so we settled into a section of the mall called The Cat and Fiddle and had some really excellent cappucinos.

At precisely 12:00, we were shocked out of our seats by chimes immediately above our heads, accompanied by the movement of the Cat and Fiddle sculptures on the wall.

 

There was also a McDonald’s down the hallway, but it was close enough for us to piggyback on its free wifi, so we got to check most of the important things: email, Facebook, and, of course, Cruisecritic.com (thanks again for your lovely comments).

 

Our walk continued back down to the harbor where we found a lovely little restaurant called Mures. We had small portions of scallops and chips as well as calimari and chips (except they called it squid). It made a wonderful lunch, and by the time we finished it was nearly time to get back to the ship. Walking miles and miles for sightseeing made us realize that we needed some time to just take it easy, and as it’s a port day, this evening will be very low-key. Tomorrow is another wonderful sea day, so it will be as laid back as possible.

[DFD1]

Nice day! Thanks for sharing it.

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

February 17, 2013 - At Sea

 

 

Probably the only thing that I don’t enjoy about the cruise is the complainers. I really, for the life of me, can’t imagine how anyone who is lucky enough to be on a world cruise can complain about things. Last year I even had one woman tell me how the floral arrangements were “below par,” when everyone else on the ship thinks that they are absolutely beautiful.

 

I’m not a person who believes everything and everyone is wonderful (how could I after teaching junior high for 35 years?), but I think just about everything on this ship is pretty darned terrific.

 

First of all, let me say that I am enjoying reading your blog....and I am very happy that you are having such a great trip!:)

As for "the complainers", there are some folks out there that just can't be pleased, no matter what. Either they are too wealthy or too spoiled to appreciate the beauty of their surroundings or appreciate the fact that just being able to take such a grand cruise is a "gift". One thing for sure, you would never catch me complaining about anything on that ship! I will never have the opportunity to take such a wondrous voyage, so I guess that is why I enjoy reading your blog about your adventures. Don't let the "complainers" get to you, just ignore them and hope they won't ever sail with you again! Happy travels!

[Johnny B]

February 19, 2013 - At Sea

 

I believe that if you’re at sea, you ought to know you’re at sea. The problem with a ship this size (and it’s categorized between small and medium) is that it just floats along, and most of the time it’s so smooth you could be in a limousine driving down a concrete highway. Right now, however, we’re in the Tasman Sea, which lies south and east of Australia, we’re comfortably rolling from side to side, and it’s great. Last evening, after dinner, we decided to take a stroll around the deck to see what the weather and the wind were like, but there was striped “crime scene tape” across the doors to the outdoor deck, so we had to be content with remaining inside. It wasn’t so rough that it woke me, but the gentle roll was wonderful for sound sleep. Being on Deck 1 is soooo much smoother than on Verandah Deck 6 where we spent two world cruises. Up there, the top of the ship is really rocking and rolling, which we both think is a great deal of fun.

 

A friend from previous cruises, Denise Vivaldo, boarded in Sydney. She’s our guest chef until Perth, and she had dinner at our table the night after she boarded. Denise is great fun and excellent company. Her “real” job is as a “food stylist,” working on still photos for advertisements as well as television shows. She’s the one who makes the food look so wonderful. She was trained as a chef at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, and has worked in restaurants as well as being a personal chef to half the people in Hollywood.

 

After dinner that evening, Denise was so tired from jet lag that she headed straight to bed, but we headed for the Queen’s Lounge, where the entertainment was one of our very favorite acts: The Aussie Boys. They are three absolutely gorgeous young men who sing beautifully, dance like professionals (whoops, I guess they are) and have more energy than should be legal. We met them through another friend last year, and they’re also pretty darned funny. They sing Australian songs, everything from “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport” to “Waltzing Matilda,” and they include some really great songs that we’ve never even heard of. They get the audience involved and received a long standing ovation at the end of their act. They’re doing a variety show tonight with the flautist, and although I can’t see how the two go together, it should be entertaining.

 

Tomorrow we arrive at the port for Adelaide, although we’ll be 45 minutes outside of the city. One of the nice things about Grand Voyages is that when the port is away from a city, a shuttle is usually included to take us there. We’ve never been to Adelaide and are really looking forward to it. Since we don’t sail until 11:00 PM, we’ll have a long leisurely day to explore as much as we wish. It’s not a sea day, but it will have to do.

[Johnny B]

February 20, 2013 - Adelaide, Australia

 

Lions and tigers and (panda) bears, oh my! We had such a good time in Adelaide today. While our port is 45 minutes out of the city, there was a shuttle so that everyone could spend time there. However, there was also a train across the street from the port, and because we’re not fond of crowded shuttle buses, we popped for the fare and took a lovely train into Adelaide.

 

Downtown Adelaide is a wonderful place to visit. It’s a combination of very old buildings and lots of modern conveniences. Right now, in fact, there is the Adelaide Fringe, a month of incredibly varied artistic endeavors that take place all over the city. Today, for example, we saw a list of the plays/performances/displays and it must have totaled at least 25. It reminded us of the summer arts festival in Avignon, France, but with a great deal more variety.

 

We walked along North Terrace and really enjoyed the buildings from the 1800’s, including Parliament, Government House, and the buildings of the University of Adelaide and Southern Australia University. We then discovered Rundle Mall, several pedestrian-only blocks with shops (including K-Mart and Target!), cafes, and restaurants. There was a box office for the Adelaide Fringe, and the queue (we’re using Aussie-talk now) was quite long.

 

We decided that we wanted to go to the Adelaide Zoo, and it turned out that we spent about four hours there. We knew that they had pandas, and that decided us. Because it was about 1:00 when we arrived, our stomachs were telling us it was lunch time, so we found a nice little cafe in the Zoo, and it wasn’t until we were halfway through our meal that we realized we were overlooking (from about 18 inches) the enclosure for the huge, 37-year-old tortoises. They just trotted all over their enclosure, and one even came over and peered at us.

 

Then we found the panda area, where the zoo has constructed an inside/outside home for the zoo’s two pandas. We only ever saw one, but he was an active critter. We first saw him in the outside section, but we was taking a nap and faced away from us. When we returned, however, he was ready for action. He wandered around the indoor part of his home, and then when the outside had been tidied up by his keepers, he went outside and became the object of probably a thousand photos. The continuing clicking noises we heard from the cameras made us think that Brangelina had appeared and that the papparazi were “shooting.” A couple of people had lenses long enough that they could have taken photos of craters on Mars, but most of us just had our own modest little point-and-shoot devices. Nevertheless, we got some great panda photos.

 

After taking the return train to the ship, we joined the assembled multitudes around the indoor Lido pool where an Australian barbecue was in progress. They had several open grills, cooking “shrimp on the barbie,” steak, salmon, sausages, ribs, and beer can chicken, along with all the side dishes you could ever want. There was an Aussie trio playing and singing and everyone was having a great time. The food service stopped at 8:00, but the music (and dancing) continued until 9:00.

 

It was a wonderful day in Adelaide and the Aussie barbecue was a great finish. We’re certainly looking forward to the next one!

[Johnny B]

February 21, 2013 - Kangaroo Island

 

One million kangaroos, one million wallabies, and the most dangerous predator is the feral cat? Yep, we’re on Kangaroo Island, 45 minutes south of Adelaide by ferry, but 8 hours by cruise ship. We sailed last night at 11:00 (that’s what they said, anyway; we were asleep) and arrived this morning at 7:00 AM. We must have sailed at about five knots per hour!

 

In the past, there has always been a “foodfight” in tender ports. Four and five-star cruisers (more than 200 and 500 days respectively), President’s Club members, and suite guests are supposed to get “first dibs” on the tenders. However, traditionally, the ship’s tours have boarded first, and there have been some unfortunate events resulting from those situations. I guess they’ve come up with a solution: there are now TWO tender boarding areas, one in the front for tour members and then non-four, etc. members who have to get boarding passes and board in order of their boarding number. There is also a boarding area in the back of the ship for those mentioned above. We arrived and tenders began at about 7:30 this morning; by the time we got around to going ashore it was about 8:30, and for awhile we thought we were going to have a private tender. However, another couple came along and the four of us shared the very bumpy ride into port.

 

We were told in advance that there was no public transportation on the island: no busses, no taxis, no nothin’. However, when we did arrive, we found out that there was a free shuttle from Penneshaw, where we and all the ferries arrive, to Kingscote, the largest town on the island. With a total island population of only a little more than 4,000, I think they’re all towns rather than cities.

 

Along the way, we saw a group (herd? covey? bunch?) of kangaroo grazing in a nearby field. Unfortunately, we also saw at least five or six wallabies and miscellaneous critters left as roadkill. It was very sad, but we saw the humor in it when we went into a shop and saw a cookbook called “Kangaroo Island Roadkill.” Not on your life!

 

When one arrived at Kingscote, there was also a free 90-minute tour of nearby places, but we didn’t sign up on time, so we missed it. We did have a nice walkabout in Kingscote, stopping for coffee and seeing as much of the town as possible. We do love to explore grocery stores in other countries (usually for such fine health food as chips and wine), and we found an actual necessity: toothpaste.

 

After we took the shuttle back to Penneshaw, we walked around that even smaller town and then had lunch at the Penneshaw Hotel pub, which has a terrace sitting up over the ocean. It was quite wonderful, and we really enjoyed the calamari and spring rolls which made up our lunch. I do admire the Australians’ quest for truth when they insist on calling it “squid.” I don’t think anyone in the U.S. ate that lovely little creature until we attached an Italian name to it; in Australia they call it like it is.

 

Back on board, John uploaded four of today’s photos, including some kangaroos, on our Facebook page (DianeandJohn St John).

 

We were back on board by 2:30, even though we don’t sail until 6:00. We had done a lot and were ready for some reading and resting and maybe even a cookie or two!

[gelo7]

Thanks for reporting.

[callmedeb]

It's a Troop of Kangaroos =)

 

Loving your reports!

 

Deb

[Johnny B]

February 22, 2013 - At Sea

 

Another sea day - wonderful! However, one of the most common questions we hear when people talk to us about long cruises is, “What in the world do you do when the ship’s at sea? Don’t you get bored?” The answer, in a word, is NO! There are soooo many things to do on this ship that only the boring people could possibly be bored. (Reminds me of something I used to tell my eighth graders: Interesting people are interested; only boring people get bored).

 

So, what can you do on board the m/s Amsterdam as it sails from here to there? If you wake up with a sore back (leg, arm, etc), you can do early morning stretch in the gym at 7:00 AM, and follow it by “Fab Abs” at 7:30. If you like aquatic exercise, there is Aqua Aerobics in the Lido Pool at 8:00. There’s mass every day with Father Boll, and then Tai Chi at 8:30. There are computer and camera classes taught throughout the day by Tom, the “techspert,” watercolor classes twice a day, bridge classes and play, and indoor cycling.

 

To prepare for the next ports, Barbara, the expert on all things port related, gives talks in the Queen’s Lounge. There are also two speakers on board who give talks daily, also in the Queen’s Lounge. This morning’s talk is about indigenous Australians, and this afternoon’s, by a different speaker, is called “Cattle Duffing and the Legend of Captain Starlight.”

 

There is almost always a guest chef on board to give demonstrations and then small classes for 12 (which cost $29). Right now it’s Denise Vivaldo, who has become a friend and who is one of the most entertaining chefs we have on board. Another is George Geary, another friend, who will be boarding, I believe, in Hong Kong or Singapore.

 

If you like games, there are onboard sports every day; today is, believe it or not, jousting this morning and a “flail challenge” this afternoon (whatever that might be). There’s team trivia twice a day (as I have mentioned), and other games like Bingo and, of course, the ever present casino.

 

After dinner there’s always a Queen’s Lounge show as well as music in at least three or four other venues, for listening or dancing. Tonight’s show is performed by violinists Laszlo and Claudia, who play gypsy music, tango, jazz, Broadway, classical, and music from the movies.

 

There is truly something to do from early morning until late night, so if we ever run into each other on board, please don’t tell me that you’re bored!

 

P. S. Thanks Deb for the info on those roos.

[colbe]

Collective nouns for kangaroos are mob, troop or court.

[Johnny B]

February 23, 2013 - At Sea

Happy Birthday John!

 

We’re heading for a town in Australia that I’ve never even heard of: Albany, in Western Australia (the name of the state). One of the things I love about these cruises is that we sometimes go to places that we’ve never heard of and learn things that we never even knew we didn’t know. I know that some people are afraid to try new things and new places, but I have seldom regretted trying something new, and I don’t think I’ve ever regretted going somewhere new - even when we had to sleep on the sidewalk in Belgrade (a whole other story).

 

As I’ve mentioned before, we begin (almost) every day in the gym for 45 minutes or so, and one big difference we’ve noted on this cruise is the crowd in there. On previous world cruises, there was always a great deal of availability on the various machines, but on this cruise, there are people everywhere. We generally arrive at about 7:00, and that’s when about 30 people crowd into the “class” corner for the 30-minute stretching class, followed by about the same number at 7:30 for the 30-minute strength class. When we walked in this morning a few minutes before 7:00, every machine but one elliptical cross-trainer was busy; I took it and when John came in he had to wait for something to open up.

 

Now, it’s not that we mind having to share; it’s just that it’s so unusual to have so many people be so active. Actually, it’s great. And it’s not just the gym; one of our crew friends told us that there were so many people who wanted to do so many things that new activities had to be added. Instead of just seeing everyone sitting around in the library reading at any time of day, they’re up and about and participating in all those activities I mentioned yesterday.

 

Right now, we’re up at the midships Lido pool, where “surf’s up.” The ships is rocking and rolling and the water is slopping over the side of the pool onto the deck. (A suggestion: if you’re ever on the Amsterdam, never leave anything on the floor next to your lounge chair near this pool - it could end up soaking wet.) At one point, when the glass roof was open partway, the rolling of the ship demonstrated that someone had forgotten to lock the roof in place, and both sides of it were going back and forth and crash bang. I was sitting under part of the roof at that point and very quickly went under cover. I didn’t want to be below glass if it was going to break. That’s the first time that I ever remember that happening, and it pretty much cleared out this area!

 

Tomorrow we’ll be in Albany, and I’m sure we’ll learn lots more things we don’t mind finding out about.

 

P. S. More information on kangaroos. Thanks! See, you learn all kinds of things while traveling.

[boze9999]

February 22, 2013 - At Sea

 

Another sea day - wonderful! However, one of the most common questions we hear when people talk to us about long cruises is, “What in the world do you do when the ship’s at sea? Don’t you get bored?” The answer, in a word, is NO! There are soooo many things to do on this ship that only the boring people could possibly be bored. (Reminds me of something I used to tell my eighth graders: Interesting people are interested; only boring people get bored).

 

So, what can you do on board the m/s Amsterdam as it sails from here to there? If you wake up with a sore back (leg, arm, etc), you can do early morning stretch in the gym at 7:00 AM, and follow it by “Fab Abs” at 7:30. If you like aquatic exercise, there is Aqua Aerobics in the Lido Pool at 8:00. There’s mass every day with Father Boll, and then Tai Chi at 8:30. There are computer and camera classes taught throughout the day by Tom, the “techspert,” watercolor classes twice a day, bridge classes and play, and indoor cycling.

 

To prepare for the next ports, Barbara, the expert on all things port related, gives talks in the Queen’s Lounge. There are also two speakers on board who give talks daily, also in the Queen’s Lounge. This morning’s talk is about indigenous Australians, and this afternoon’s, by a different speaker, is called “Cattle Duffing and the Legend of Captain Starlight.”

 

There is almost always a guest chef on board to give demonstrations and then small classes for 12 (which cost $29). Right now it’s Denise Vivaldo, who has become a friend and who is one of the most entertaining chefs we have on board. Another is George Geary, another friend, who will be boarding, I believe, in Hong Kong or Singapore.

 

If you like games, there are onboard sports every day; today is, believe it or not, jousting this morning and a “flail challenge” this afternoon (whatever that might be). There’s team trivia twice a day (as I have mentioned), and other games like Bingo and, of course, the ever present casino.

 

After dinner there’s always a Queen’s Lounge show as well as music in at least three or four other venues, for listening or dancing. Tonight’s show is performed by violinists Laszlo and Claudia, who play gypsy music, tango, jazz, Broadway, classical, and music from the movies.

 

There is truly something to do from early morning until late night, so if we ever run into each other on board, please don’t tell me that you’re bored!

 

P. S. Thanks Deb for the info on those roos.

 

John & Diane - Your question is asked by many! What a great way to summarize a leisurely day at sea... Having completed many port intensive cruises, this is what makes it the perfect vacation!

[localady]

Happy Birthday John! Here's hoping it was a lovely one! :D :D

[MMDown Under]

February 23, 2013 - At Sea

Happy Birthday John!

 

Nice way to spend your birthday on a relaxing sea day. Hope you had a happy birthday.

[hpf]

Happy Birthday John. I am so enjoying reading your posts and traveling along with you.

Have a nice day.

Helen