Today is Wednesday Jan 31, another month has passed. Monday we were in Sydney for refueling and supplies for our trip around New Zealand. Doing several cruises back-to back is nice since we have the same cabin for 29 days. I did see the playoff games Monday morning. I thought it was funny for the advertisement I saw for the Super Bowl for Monday morning Feb 12th. We have a free day in Melbourne so we can watch the game around lunchtime.
In Sydney we got off ship to do some shopping. Bonnie needed some long sleeve shirts since temperatures in NZ will be a little chilly (50-70 deg F). We also took Giddy on a tour of the North Star which is a feature of this ship Ovation of the Seas. It is an extended arm that goes 100 meters above the ship. Nice views in Sydney. As we sailed out of Sydney harbor, I took a nice pic of the skyline from harbor entrance.
This cruise will be pretty busy with 5 stops (4 tours planned and one day on our own in Wellington). We have three train trips during this trip with one to Arthur’s Pass which I am hoping for a nice clear day to see the mountains and snow. It is one way to visit the snowcapped area without all the cold weather clothing.
Today is a sea day and I am enjoying sitting on Lanai watching the water for signs of whales. Pretty calm day sea is basically flat and puffy clouds above. I finished my book Multiverse and thought I would write-up this post before beginning another book.
Being at sea, is tough you sleep in to around 8am and then go to breakfast. There are so many decisions to make what to do, but I prefer the simpler approach, 1) a quick walk around the ship for 4 laps (equivalent to 1 ¼ miles). This is only 20 minutes of time, so no extended effort required 2) coffee in the Crown Lounge, and 3) then relaxing and reading my book. Benefits of being a past cruiser many times on Royal Caribbean is the Crown Loung previously known as the Diamond Lounge is easily accessed and quiet with only a few people. I can make a double expresso and Long Black coffee in one cup which I like. Bonnie is doing her Sudoku and need to find her a new Sudoku book since she has completed most of them.
As I walked through the Centrum area deck 4 of shops, I was surprised at the line for the one jewelry store where they were having a free raffle. The line was over >150 people. It is the same raffle every week, hopefully someone wins this week.
It is already 1 pm, and need to make another decision, have lunch or a snack so I have an appetite for dinner. My options are Main Dining room, Solarium Bistro, Cafe 270, Fish & Ships, Seaplex Doghouse (good bratwurst and kraut), Sorrento’s Pizza, Windjammer buffet or one of the 3 specialty restaurants. The last thing you want to do is stuff yourself by having a full meal at each feeding station. Overall, I can say the meals are ok from a quantity and preparation point of view. As many of you know I am picky and like really good food. The food lacks spice, such as garlic or other flavors, but then they are prepared institutionally and not individual meals. We opted not to go to specialty Dining this cruise since “Chops” is the only one that Bonnie and I both like on this ship. We tried Jamie’s Italian on previous week and were truly disappointed with food quality and overall service from this venue. Our favorites on Royal Caribbean are “150”, Giovanni’s Table and Chops.
We have the same dining table this week as last which is table for two at a window so we can watch the waves as we have dinner. However, we lost our waiter Libor and assistant Waiter Nymond, who made dining entertaining. Our new waiters this week don’t seem to be as interactive besides taking order and providing the meals. Time will tell this week.
I started thinking about what we need to do to pack for Feb 9th and our trip to Melbourne. We are only going with backpacks and already made arrangements with Marriott in Sydney to store our 3 larger bags. However, I have appressed that thought until the evening of Feb 8th which is over a week away.
Well, that’s all for now, as I need to think about some lunch – maybe pizza. Haven’t had any in 3 months and could enjoy slice a NY style pepperoni.
BTW – The slice of pizza was good.
Take care
Jim, Bonnie and Giddy