Wednesday, Feb 27 - Christchurch

This morning we actually awoke on our own without a wake-up call - no scheduled excursions.  Since we've been to Christchurch twice before, we were most interested in seeing how it had changed since our last trip in 2000.  We took the free shuttle to Lyttleton and then followed the very good directions from local security personnel to the #28 local bus to Christchurch.  Met Henny and Steve on the bus and we all spoke with a ex-pat from Virginia who shared her adventures in moving from the States to NZ with her husband and 2 young children.  Quite interesting - she has home- schooled the children until recently (they are now 14 and 15) while they traveled NZ for 5 years in a motor home!  They are so happy living in the Lyttleton area and may eventually move south to Dunedin.

When we arrived in Christchurch, we took the free shuttle on the loop around the city which has grown so much since our last trip.  It is very busy, crowded and lacks the 'quaintness' that we remembered.  Then we walked to the Avon River area to see the tourists punting on the river - after taking pictures, I realized that I had captured Johanna and Carl who had shared our Melborne tour with us.

  We walked to the Arts Centre to see if our little cafe with the great coffee was still there and we thrilled to find that some things don't change.   Stopped for coffee and a hot cross bun and then walked across the street to the Botanical Gardens

We walked around the city searching for some slacks for me (to replace the ones I left at home :( ) and were astounded by the prices.  Somehow I don't need basic slacks that I didn't think were well made for $149 on sale!  Decided to return to the ship for a late lunch and relaxing late afternoon and were pleased that we easily found the return bus stop.  Got out the requisite picture IDs and Sea Passes...NZ is quite security minded and both IDs are required at all ports.

Lovely afternoon - had chicken Gyros at the pool bar, relaxed in the sun by the pool with Sharyn and John and Elaine, and they the 'girls' and Art headed to the spa and the Thallosotherapy pool.  It was a great way to bring the day to a close before dressing for dinner.

We, somehow, forgot that the show was pre-dinner tonight and missed what was reported by everyone to be "the best entertainer" so far.  He was a ventriloquist and we got tired of being told how wonderful he was :)

Note: the individual entertainers on this cruise have been superb.  A male singer one night followed by a multi-instrumentalist that performed twice (described in an earlier post), a female singer, a comedienne from Australia, and several typical Celebrity singers and dancers shows.  The only one we didn't enjoy was  the singers and dancers which was quite average.  Damien, the CD, is always upbeat and fun and we have found him to be warm and friendly when we've met him around the ship.

Tuesday, Feb 26th - Dunedin

What a fantastic day! Awoke at 7 AM to a slightly cloudy sky which, by the time we ate and got dressed turned into the most beautiful, clear, cool day that we've had so far! AND this time, we had no problem meeting our group of 8 Cruise Critics exiting the ship and finding our Van. Our tour was arranged with Arthur's Tours of Dunedin based on very positive reviews on CC. Our guide was Colleen, Arthur's wife, and our driver was Charles, a quiet man originally from Scotland and, interestingly, from a small town where 2 of our group - Isabel and Tom - had lived after they got married (they are from Scotland, too).

We left promptly to ensure our arrival at the Penguin Place and enjoyed Colleen's commentary along the way. The drive was lovely on a 2 lane winding road along the harbor and across from where our ship was docked.

We had visited the Penguins (Yellow- eyed) on our last trip but that was by boat and on a cold rainy day. Today was perfect - lots of penguin sighting (adults and chicks) viewed through penguin blinds built by the owners to protect the birds and keep noise to a minimum.

And the flowers near the entrance were beautiful.

We walked along a hill to the water and saw seals and some sea birds as well.

Then we drove to the Royal Albatross Colony just a bit further down the road, ate a light lunch (savory scone for me and steak pie for Art) and viewed the exhibits in the Albatross Center. Our guide presented good information about size and anatomy of the Albatross (wing span of 3 meters) and about breeding season and raising chicks...then we climbed a VERY steep path to the top of the hill - my aching Knees - where we viewed an Albatross with a chick on the side of the hill, another one further up the hill and several flying around. They are quite amazing birds and we felt privileged to have encountered them in the wild. Of course, between the birds and the scenery, we all took lots of pictures.

If you look carefully, you can see an albatross chick under the mother!

Our next stop was Lanarch Castle (reminiscent of the Biltmore House in Asheville, NC) which we toured with Colleen as our private tour guide. It has quite an interesting history, beautiful rooms and gardens (we could only take pictures of the gardens, and lovely views.

Then we had a driving tour of Dunedin's beaches, neighborhoods, the University of Otago campus, Botanical Garden, and finally rode up and back down the steepest street in the World!! Quite a feat and even steeper than it looks!

Returned to the ship at 5:40 - just 20 minutes before we were due back...we chose not to get the certificates saying that we had driven the steepest street due to our concern about time. It was a wonderful day - full of new experiences and a wonderful appreciation of beautiful Dunedin.

It was lovely to snack on Pizza and wine on our balcony as we sailed out of Dunedin harbor.

We were so tired that after dressing for dinner (thankfully casual tonight), we went to the Cova Cafe for coffee for me and a Coke for Art for a caffeine boost....lots of walking up and down hills all day had worn us out. We enjoyed our dinner conversation - tonight trying to solve the problems of the world! Laughed a lot over the antics of our terrific waiter, Keith, who keeps challenging us with his mind bender tricks, and talked about plans for our stop in Christchurch tomorrow.

Monday, Feb 25th - Milford, Doubtful and Dusky Sounds

I can't believe this is a vacation - set our automatic Wake-up call for 5:30 AM and set a back-up on my cell phone.  Damien (CD) told us we would be entering Milford Sound at 6:30 AM, so we got up at the appointed time, gathered our cold weather gear (jackets, gloves, jeans and long sleeved shirts) and our cameras and coffee mugs and headed for the Buffet to fill up the mugs and grab a couple of bagels.  Then we found seats near the front of the ship in the Navigator lounge just as we had done to view the Hubbard Glacier on our Alaskan cruise.  There were surprisingly few people there ahead of us (in Alaska, we thought we were early and the lounge was full when we arrived).  It was still dark outside and the water very rough...we were heading into the waves going south today rather than 'riding' them as we had the day before.  As the skies got lighter, we realized that it would be another cloudy, rainy day.  But entering Milford Sound was as majestic and beautiful as when we had experienced it in the rain 13 years ago! 

We were thoroughly WOWed by seeing the many waterfalls, cloud covered mountains and sea birds.  As we left Milford, we looked forward to Doubtful Sound but wondered how it might be different from Milford.  We went back to the cabin - I ordered room service for Danish pastries and water to make our good 'french press' coffee.  Elaine joined us and we took pictures from the rainy balcony and drank our coffee.  Very rough seas - our cabin steward met me in the corridor and told me that when we left to go back to the Navigator Lounge, he found all of our coffee 'stuff' on the floor in the cabin!.  I'm just glad it wasn't my laptop on the floor!

Then we went to the Navigator Club for our 2nd Cruise Critic gathering...only about 15 people came (from the 100 onboard) - I'd so say that some went back to bed after getting up at the crack of dawn and others are just enjoying the down time with 4 port days coming up in a row starting tomorrow.  Those who were there shared coffee/pastries and shore excursion info for the next days and just enjoyed visiting with each other.  It's a very nice group and so good to get to know each other.  And we do appreciate Celebrity for arranging a 2nd meeting - Thanks to Damien and Sheila (not me, the Event Planner :))

While transiting the open sea to the entrance to Thompson sound, which would connect us to Doubtful Sound, Art and Elaine picked up turkey kabobs and French Fries from the Pool Grill (didn't want to miss anything by going elsewhere for lunch).  Seas continued to be very rough and our entrance to Doubtful was delayed by 45 minutes.But it was worth every minute...it was a magical place with a special moment when the sun tried valiantly to break though and cast it light on the magnificent scenery.

Lots of pictures to be posted later, lots of rain, brief sun, and cold wind.  As we left the sound we viewed our exit from our balcony window and bounced our way to Duskie Sound - entry time 3:15 PM - nap and blog time for an hour and 1/2!

Will post this and add Duskie Sound when I get the next chance...so many pictures to choose from!

Gotta get ready for our 2nd Formal night tonight.  Showering will be an interesting experience with the ship rocking like crazy.  This cruise has been wonderful for us but not for those prone to seasickness (although we haven't heard of many) or who get nervous on roller coaster rides.

 

 

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Sunday, Feb 24th - Day 2 crossing the Tasman Sea

Woke at 8:30 AM - late for me, but with the time change, my body is on normal time (7:30)!  Cloudy skies and rough seas about the same as yesterday but with more breaks in the clouds. I'm hoping for clear skies tomorrow when we enter Milford Sound.  I keep remembering that the Antarctic is south of us and that we shouldn't expect warmer weather at least until we reach Dunedin on the 26th (or maybe later). We are at the very beginning of fall and I wish I had packed more warm clothes.  Made good use of the laundry deal for Elite Captain's Club members and managed to fit a good amount into the small laundry bag with a cost of $15 for the whole bag. Tightly rolling clothes makes it a real deal!

This morning we went to the main dining room for the first time for breakfast because they were serving Brunch from 10-1230.  So we went thinking we'd just have a very light late lunch after a good brunch. The food was very similar to the choices on the regular buffet with a few fancier selections (strawberry crepes and steak benedict).  It was nice to sit at a white clothed table viewing the rough seas but juice and coffee service was slow and the juice warm.  We did enjoy meeting some new people and discussing various travels. Too cool to sit outside today; although some hardy souls were wrapped in blankets by the pool.  We were only on our balcony to take pictures of the surf

and to, unsuccessfully, try to get some of the Albatross that are following the ship...too fast for my camera!

Another lazy day, reading in the library, posting to this blog, visiting with friends and napping.  Weather was intermittent sun and clouds with some rain, especially later in the day.  Tonight was informal dress - another lively dinner table discussion with lots of laughter. I

:( didn't have any except on my laptop...so will have to schedule a slide-show for the group! We seated the men together and they were 'poorly' behaved as usual - lots of jokes and funny stories.  And we did pass pictures of grandchildren around.  I, And a long discussion about the food - none of us has had big complaints, but, neither has anything been excellent.  Lots of the usual complaints about the poor quality of the coffee and lack of interesting desserts (mousse-type desserts continue to be the norm) - we had the key lime pie that I requested - good but not great, but I am quite appreciative that they met the request. 

Evening entertainment was pre-dinner, which we love, and very good - singer and more from Marc Donoghue, the multi-instrumentalist.  We went to bed soon after dinner since we are entering Milford Sound at 6:30 AM.... Our lazy life on sea days may sound boring to some, but it's wonderful for us...lots of rest and plenty of time to do whatever we wish!

Saturday, Feb 23rd - crossing the Tasman Sea

Wow, what a night...howling wind, large waves and lots of rocking.  No problem for us - we believe in preventive medication :)

Woke at 8 AM and made our way to the buffet for breakfast..omelets were on the agenda this morning and although smoked salmon omelet sounded good to me, it was too salty and I didn't eat much - not to worry, there are many substitutes.  Spent some time updating blog, watched lots of wave action - not easy to show the height of the waves on my pictures because we're so high above water level. 

We decided to go to Bingo again (I can't believe we're getting into this because of our free card - but this time I was a small ($17 )winner and, somehow, winning keeps you coming back :).  At the bingo game, they announced a wonderful spa special...so I signed up for an afternoon appt.  We had stuffed baked potatoes for lunch and then checked in with the New Zealand customs who came onboard yesterday to check everyone in onboard prior to getting to NZ.  Very efficient and painless. Now when we get to Dunedin in a few days, we're all set.

I went to a digital photography class this AM.  Good info, but a lot to cover in a short time and a bit repetitious for me, so I left to spend time in the Thallassotherapy pool for a 1/2 hour before my massage/facial appt.  Lovely relaxing afternoon. 

Got a call from the Hotel Director to let me know that she had some things to donate to the people of Christmas Island if they could use the so I'm using some of my precious minutes sorting that out.  So nice that Celebrity is getting so involved in our project.

Spent most of the afternoon catching up on blogging and organizing my pictures.  Dinner was a good example of excellent service on Mercury.  Our waiter, Keith, is quick to pick up on any request (even one made in a joking way.  Sharyn requested shrimp on her salad and now gets it every night, we all wanted a minor change in dessert - a different sauce or peaches or strawberries instead of bananas foster and that's what was delivered.  I asked for the caramel sauce from the bananas foster for my 'sugar-free' banana beignets (I know, a bit of an oxymoron) AND a bowl of the sauce accompanied my order.  Our Ass't Maitre D' Nixon is equally accommodating bringing 5 desserts on one plate to show us that, indeed, cakes are available :)  One of our disappointments in desserts is that almost all cakes are mousse-types when a good-old fashioned layer cake would be a nice change (Nixon confided in me that he would (if he can get them) bring 10 desserts on a plate tomorrow for the person who made the cake request. We are requesting to be at the same table for the next cruise - love our waiters and Nixon and have so much fun with our new friends.

We also seem to close the dining room each night!  Tonight we went up to the Navigator Lounge to see how the Rock and Rock White theme party was going...Very lively with VERY loud music and too many strobe lights for me, but everyone was having a ball.  We didn't stay long but enjoyed watching the fun.  Another night of moving the clock ahead one hour (did the same last night)!

Friday, Feb 22nd - Hobart

Up at 7 - once again awakened first by the vibration of the thrusters when we came into the dock, then by the call to say that our breakfast was on the way.  I could easily get used to having breakfast delivered every morning. Unfortunately when we peaked out the window, we saw clouds and drizzle!

We met the 8 others from our Roll Call who were joining us for a full day tour of Hobart, in the Guest Relations area and exited the ship at 8:15.  Then the fun began - first we were told by the security people that tour vans were not allowed to come through the security gate to pick us up at the Wharf (where we had been told that we would be met); so...we took the shuttle that dropped us outside of the Gate.  No Van!  Several other groups were waiting for their drivers as well, so we weren't concerned until we had been waiting 1/2 hour.  With some grumbling, we finally borrowed a mobile phone from a nice tour guide competitor of our firm and called Heather to report our dilemma.  She insisted that "Charles" had been waiting for us next to the ship since 7:30.  It was a little like the keystone cops (first Heather left her tour to come over to speak with us, then another driver stopped by to see if he could help, then 2 members of our group sprinted back through the security gate to find Charles and THEN, Charles drove up with our folks in tow and we finally boarded and started our tour an hour late - after negotiating a $100 discount from Heather!

Phew! ruffled feathers relaxed and we headed on our way.  First stop a drive up a steep mountain road to the peak of Mt. Wellington (a mountain that is the back-drop for Hobart), the weather was cool and gray but not raining.  When we arrived at the end of a very curvy road, it was downright cold - I was thrilled to find gloves in the pocket of my jacket and really needed them. The views were spectacular and pictures were taken quickly

before the clouds rolled in. 

 

Lining up for rustic bathrooms in the cold and finding the facilities less than desirable ended our stay at Mt. Wellington :)

Back down the mountain and a drive through Hobart's residential areas (with a discussion of real estate prices in Hobart), across one of the two bridges that separate the east and west parts of the city with pictures of the place where the bridge was reconstructed after being hit by a boat in the 1990s and keeping the people on each side of the river separated until a ferry service and pontoon bridge could be constructed.  Then  a lovely ride through the countryside to Richmond Village - one of the preserved historic villages in the area. 

We walked around, had traditional pasties (pies) for lunch (one cauliflower and cheese, the other meat) mmmmm, very good.  Then we stopped for a wine tasting at a pretty little winery.

The tasting was done by the owner - a young man who, with his wife, had moved to Richmond while continuing to work full time at their jobs in town and started the winery on their own about 15 years before.  Now they run the winery full time and have a 2 year old and a 7 month old.

We also stopped at Nelson's point (part of Bicentennial Park) which had beautiful views  and much nicer weather then returned to the ship.

  Nice overview of Hobart and so much more to see - worthy of another trip.

Had another fun dinner with our new friends that included our desire to stay together for the next cruise.  Art went to bed after dinner - these late dinners take a toll on you after a busy port day - but I went to the evening show with Elaine.  And excellent performance by Mark Donoghue, a multi-instrumentalist.  His choice of music plus amazing ability on the mandolin, guitar, harmonica and violin were amazing.  Then off to bed to dream of a relaxing day at sea - our first on the Tasman Sea.

Thursday, Feb 21st

I actually slept until 8 AM this morning - very unusual for me.  The ship's rocking must have been like a baby's cradle last night.  Clearly a plus for my sleep habits.

Splurged on breakfast this AM with banana pancakes...I know that the Celebrity waffle fans reading this are probably appalled that I prefer pancakes to waffles...however, no fear, I will eat the requisite waffles as we go along :)  We shared the breakfast table with Elaine and Gray and found that we have much in common...a lively conversation ensued about family background and past travels.  Then Art and I went to a lecture about Tasmania entitled Penal Colonies, Aborigines and Wilderness. The content and pictures were interesting but the delivery was dry and monotone...almost dozed off during the presentation.

It is quite cool and windy today so we went back to the cabin to grab jackets before heading to talk with the Events Coordinator, whose name is Sheila - yesterday when she called me, she had called 2 other Sheilas before reaching me.  It's really unusual for there to be so many Sheilas in the same place!  We planned a 2nd Cruise Critic Connections party for the day we sail the NZ South Island Fiordland (between Milford Sound and Doubtful Sounds). 

Then off to the Senior Officers party for Select and Elite Captain's Club members (our first as Elite).  We really enjoyed conversing with Damien about Cruise  Critic and then visited with some of the MANIACS.  There are more than 100 of us on the ship - for those who don't know MANIACS is the acronym we picked for those on our Roll Calls - Mercury Australia New Zealand Islands Awesome Cruise Society! Two Bloody Marys later, I decided it was time to post to this blog before having a manicure!

Had Pasta and Salad from the station near the Aft pool then relaxed on our balcony with a book...

We are not Bingo players but since Art won two packs of Bingo cards last night, we decided to give it a try...no luck but it was fun and the Activities Director was a good MC. 

Tonight was 'informal dress'; most people seem to be adhering to the daily dress code.  Dinner was good once again.  Our table is getting quite raucous...lots of laughter and fun every night. Once again, this cruise has demonstrated how much we prefer traditional dining.  We've developed solid comradery at our table and are talking about requesting that we stay together on the next leg of our cruise. Unfortunately we'll be losing one couple who are ending their trip in Auckand.  I know that Julie, from our Roll Call, will be seated with us in Auckland - I hope she can put up with the antics at our table.  Our Waiter, Keith, is a delight and participates in our fun.

Tonight's entertainment was a Singer (Baritone/Tenor) who was marvelous.  Everyone enjoyed his style and talent and he got a standing ovation at the end.  Another wonderful end to a very nice and relaxing day.  Up early tomorrow for our stop in Hobart, Tazmania.

Wednesday, Feb 20th - Melbourne

Very early wake-up call this morning....the call was loud sounds and vibrations (the warnings we had read on CC were for real!!) in the Aft part of the ship.  I had ordered breakfast via room service so our 2nd wake-up call was the one that told us breakfast was on the way.  Art enjoyed his bagels with Lox and cream cheese and I had my usual juice and cereal.  We noted that it was raining lightly and that the temperature was in the 50s to low 60s....quite a change from the 90s that we had heard that Melbourne experienced the day before.

Before we headed off ship, I went down to the Rendezvous lounge, where I've been getting good Internet connections, and uploaded another blog post.

Shortly after breakfast, I had an upset stomach and was really concerned that I wouldn't be able to go ashore.  Must have been something I ate yesterday because, after a couple of doses of Pepto , I was feeling fine and off we went.  Met Johanna and Carl in the lobby by Guest Relations and we left to find our way to the tram to the city.  Carl and Johanna were so sweet - insisting on paying for our tram tickets since I had done the planning for the trip.   We found the tram, figured out how to put the ticket into the onboard machine and, in good order, got off at the correct station and found the Visitor's Centre which has a wonderful Volunteer greeters program. Volunteers takes 1-4 people on a tour of city spots that might not be on the typical tourists list.  We were early for our 11 AM appt. so went for a cup of coffee (Tea for me) and then met Peter, our tour guide at 11 AM.

The challenge was the weather but our new waterproof jackets, Chanukah gifts from our son's family, did the trick and the ship's umbrellas (packed in my backpack) came in handy.  We visited Indigenous Art of the Aborigines at the Museum of Victoria and then walked in the rain to the other section of the Museum (International to see the largest stained glass ceiling in the world. We were fortunate to hear an orchestra playing in the room with the beautiful ceiling. After we left the Museum, we wandered through the city's arcades, saw the lovely Victorian metal work and architecture...stopped to have a light lunch, then visited the original city library with a room for historical books about Australia.

By this time, we were cold, wet, and tired so said our thanks and good-byes to Peter and took the tram back to the ship.  Warmer clothes and warm drinks were the order of the day. 

Since the show (a hypnotist) was scheduled before dinner tonight, we actually made it through the show in which Art was a participant.  What fun to watch him lead an orchestra, play drums and be a guitarist during the show.  So sorry that I didn't have my camera with me - could have blackmailed him with those pictures! Then we were off to share our day with our dinner partners.

Tried to eat light this evening due to my problems earlier in the day but did succumb to the Cheesecake our table had requested the night before.  Not quite real NY Cheesecake but we were appreciative of the positive response to our request (and I've put in my request for Key Lime Pie later on the cruise.

Tonight was the raffle in the Casino - our whole table went together and make quite a spectacle of ourselves, booing and applauding - the only winner in our group was ART who won a High Roller shirt (not really his style :)), Bingo cards, free drinks, etc.  Lots of fun - we made so much noise that we told Damien he owed us free drink coupons and he, nice guy that he is, complied...so tomorrow the drinks are on the Casino!  And off to bed as the ship rocked and rolled on the way to Tasmania.

Tuesday, Feb 19th

Awoke at 7 AM and were delighted to find a clear, warm morning and calm seas.  Went to breakfast at the buffet since I had forgotten to order it in the cabin last night.  Ate with Alexandra and her parents on Aft 11 deck enjoying the sea and glimpses of the Australian coastline.

At 10 AM we had the Cruise Critic connections party (called a Gathering on the invitation).  Damien, our Cruise Director, and Sheila (the Event Coordinator) attended and welcomed everyone.  Name tags were distributed and introductions were done by Damien.  Finally we were able to put names and screen names with faces. We had a large turnout of more than 50 people!  It was fun to see the photographer and CD standing on the bar trying to fit us all into a picture (I took one of them taking one of us!).  Lots of good conversation and comradery - we will plan another get together on a sea day to compare notes on shore excursions and the cruise. 

We were LAZY for the rest of the morning and then off to lunch! Sandwiches again on Aft 11 deck...do you see a pattern developing here.  Read on our balcony and napped in the afternoon...what a life!

I had a meeting with the Hotel Director, Sonja Gruber, at 1:45 PM to discuss the Christmas Island project.  She was very interested in the project, assured me that she had been in touch with the appropriate agents in Auckland to receive the educational materials there and would contact the Agents on Christmas Island to assure that the Cruise Critic members who are bringing gifts can bring them off ship with us onto the island.  I requested that our group be allowed to go ashore on the first tender and she agreed to that as well.  After 6 months of planning, it is wonderful to see our project come together.

This evening was our first formal night, so we dressed early and made our first visit to the Martini Bar...Cosmos were the drink of the day so I had one (2 oz)...Art ordered his favorite Bombay Sapphire straight up, not dry, with Olives (he got the full 3 oz Martini).  Our friend Bill stopped by, took our picture and chatted for awhile. 

 

Another nice dinner with 6 of our congenial table-mates (Sharyn and John ate at the Chief Engineer's Table tonight).  Elaine went with us to the show.  These late starts for shows - tonight 11 PM after the Captain's toast - don't work well for us after long days and heavy meals...so, although we were enjoying the show,  we wimped out again after a few numbers and we went to bed.  The ship rocked us gently to sleep in a matter of minutes as we went off to Melbourne.

 

Monday, Feb 18th

I apologize for the date mix-up of the past few posts.  I had changed the format to Hawaiian time and forgot to change it again when we got to Sydney :( ...  since time changes will occur frequently on this trip, I'll put the actual date in the post headings from now on and not worry if the time is a bit off :)

We are in love with our aft balcony - which is a special treat in Sydney.  Waking up to a view of the Harbour Bridge in the dark and watching it change as the dawn breaks is breathtaking.  I'm not sure that my many pictures of the same sights do it justice.

We had a lovely dinner last night.  Our table-mates come from NJ, California, and Holland.  We have the fewest cruises among the group with one couple tallying 53 cruises!!  Conversation was lively with lots of opinions about cruise lines and recommendations, suggestions, etc about needed changes...reminded me of Cruise Critic posts!  Food was good but not great.  No real complaints though. I enjoyed getting back to my Celebrity cold soups (tangerine last night, mmmmm) and my first Creme Brulee (big splurge - not a nightly venture).  No show last night; many people had flown in on boarding day and it was an early night for many including us.  Slept well last night despite the strange bed configuration in our Aft FV room.  Still trying to figure out how to make the sleeping arrangement comfortable for 29 days (28 to go!).  Up early and went to the buffet for hot water to make my in-room Starbucks with my travel French Press - drinking Starbucks on the balcony watching the sun rise was a great way to start our last day in Sydney.

We met Pam in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art at 9 AM and walked up to George St to meet Ray in the car.  Then we headed across to bridge and drove to Shelly Beach.  Walked along the path to Manly Beach stopping for coffee along the way, beautiful views, lovely beaches, and wonderful company.  

Pam and Sheila on the way to Manly Beach

Interestingly, we met Pam and Ray in NYC last May while waiting for the elevator at the Residence Inn, Times Square!  They asked us to let them know when we were coming to Sydney  and, generously, offered to show us around the Northern Beaches. 

We stopped to view the Heads through which our ship will pass this evening on the way out of Sydney Harbour. 

Then had lunch (fantastic fish and chips) at a beach-side restaurant in Balmoral.  Then a leisurely drive back to Sydney with much lighter traffic than in the morning.  What a wonderful day! New friends who were local guides :) made our love affair with Sydney even stronger.  We are so grateful to and appreciative of our Aussie Hosts for starting our time in Australia off on such a positive note.  

SAILAWAY

This was a magical experience...sailed out of Sydney Harbor with sunset behind the city, sail boats in the harbor, beautiful weather and lots of Cruise Critics together on the Aft Deck 11.  Cameras snapping, fancy drinks, and laughter.

 

The only thing gone awry was the disappearance of the MANIACS nametags that I had printed.  Somehow they were taken from my chair while I was at the railing snapping away!

Dinner was fun  - another couple joined us tonight making for a table of 10 (Elaine and Gray from Sydney (orig. South Africa).  Food was good, conversation excellent.  We went to the opening show which began with good music from the Celebrity orchestra, a rousing dance number and a terrible magician/comedian.  We left early and slept well...the rocking and vibrations in the aft section were nervana for sleep!

Onboard Mercury

We were able to drag out luggage down the street from hotel to dock at 9:15 AM with ease. Then we bought 4 bottles of wine to take onboard and went back to the hotel to pack them in our carry-ons, check out and head to the ship for an 11 AM boarding. Went without a hitch. We had lunch at the pizza/pasta bar, enjoyed the lovely day on Aft deck 11 overlooking both the bridge and the Opera House - what a fantastic start to our cruise. Karyanne and Bill and Joannie and George came by to introduce themselves and we also met Joanne and Art. Two Arts in one group, how unusual!

After lunch we unpacked and left the ship to wander through the Sunday market in the Rocks. Very nice - bought one small pendant and left the real shopping to others. Back to the ship to sign up for wireless Internet - nice to have a 20% bonus on minutes since we are now Elite in the Captain's Club and to find out that we can carry over any minutes to the next cruise. So...here I am in Michael's Club (no access in our cabin :( ) typing away. From now on (now that I know that the access is good), I will do all of my blogging offline and just upload the post...big savings.

Our cabin steward is Norbert from India. Seems like a nice, talkative guy and he's been very helpful already - 4 wines glasses in our room for guests on our balcony and, we hope, a few more chairs!

Sydney - Feb 16 - Hunter Valley Wineries Tour

NOTE: This really is the 16th...we lost a day somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Hopefully we'll find it and add it back in on the way home :)

Had a wake-up call at 6:15 AM and used our travel alarm clock to be sure that we had time for breakfast before we met our tour guide and 3 other members of our Roll Call (Alexandra and her parents from Germany) at 7:45 AM for our day long tour to the Hunter Valley Wine region.

Our driver, Nigel, has received excellent reviews on the Internet, so we were ready for a great day. First we drove around the Rocks area of Sydney - within walking distance of our hotel - with an historical narrative by Nigel. Then we crossed the Harbour Bridge
and rode for a little more than an hour to a coffee break stop and on to the Hunter Valley (another hour away). We visited several wineries, had a cheese tasting and then a lovely lunch with 7 folks (one couple from London, another from Brisbane and our 3 Roll Call friends) on our van.

Our last stop was a liqueur tasting...with the culiminating brew being Dragon's Breath - a chili Schnapps. Needless to say, we had flames shooting out of our mouths (especially Art who chugged the whole tasting according to directions - I tasted a bit and quit quickly :)). Would be a fun drink to spring on one's unsuspecting friends!

We didn't buy any wine to take on the ship (as we had planned since we didn't like any well enough to pay the prices :)) but we will buy some to bring onboard tomorrow. The scenery was lovely - pictures will be posted soon. On the way back to Sydney we detoured through a neighborhood across the harbor from Sydney where the Prime Minister lives and took some pictures of 'our ship' sitting by the dock waiting for us and of the Opera House.

Here's a link to some pictures from the time we left Honolulu through the Hunter Valley tour

The tour was a big success and a nice way to see the countryside north of Sydney...highly recommend it.

We returned to the hotel at 5:45 P.M. only to find that our room was still not serviced. Needless to say, I had a 'little discussion' with the manager and now have complementary Internet access and a late check-out tomorrow. Not the experience we're used to at Marriott, but at least I can post this :). Off to get ready to meet our Roll Call friends in the lobby bar for our first face to face meeting.

What fun....we had a nice group of about 20 people with name tags (I hesitate to list names for fear of leaving someone out....but I talked with Maureen and Biil, Terry and Doug, Tom, Shirley and John, Jan, LeeAnne, Alexandra and her parents and others) and we found out which screen names matched the faces. Everyone told tales of travel and shared their fun in Sydney - most having arrived several days before we sail. Sharon (TenerifeSharon for those who read Cruise Critic threads) came directly from Mercury to meet us and give us a first hand (very positive) trip report. She and her husband Hugo will spend time in Sydney and Adelaide before heading back to Tenerife and Germany.

We walked to Circular Quay for a bite to eat (McDonald's :)) and then to 'our' ship. The dock is truly about 200 yards from the hotel and a sight to behold...all lit up with music from a dockside restaurant, street (dock?) entertainers including a juggler tossing fire-lit batons in the air and lots of people. The atmosphere reminded us of Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Back to the hotel and to bed with high anticipation of packing up and moving in the morning to our home for 29 days.

Honolulu - Feb 14 - Happy Valentine's Day

Our prepaid shuttle showed up late but we made it to the airport in plenty of time.  Checked in and while on the TSA line met Maureen and Bill from our Roll Call...they recognized me...what fun to put faces with names finally.  Stopped at Starbucks for a quick breakfast and then to the gate.  Once at the gate,  I saw Ruth from our Roll Call sitting in her scooter and chatted with her for awhile.  Boarded on time and left Honolulu on Hawaiian Air flight at 12:05 PM.  We  had barely had time to adjust to the 5 hour time change from home to HNL - now it was time to think about crossing the International Date Line (losing a day, yikes!) and changing time by another 3 hours plus one day. Makes my head hurt doing the calculations, but we've really done well adjusting to the new times.

The 9 1/2 hour flight was uneventful (except for the unusual experience of being served a full meal for lunch, free wine and beer, frequently being offered water and Ben and Jerry's chocolate fudge ice cream mid afternoon as well as a sandwich and chips about 1 hour before landing)!  In addition, service was wonderful from all flight attendants.

Arrived in Sydney a bit early - now 7 PM on Feb 15th - passengers to Australia wait on the plane for the quarantine folks to spray the overhead bins for bugs then wait another 5 min. for it to work!  Retrieved all pieces of luggage!  We had a long wait to go through customs, then a stop at an ATM machine and on to the taxi queue - got a taxi van...at a much higher cost than a reg. taxi (didn't know that :)).  About 3/4 of the way to Sydney city center, I heard a loud pop, asked the driver what it might have been..no answer, another mile or so heard the clear noise associated with a flat tire suggesting that the loud pop was a blow out!  So...we sat on the side of the road (fortunately just before entering the tunnel) until another driver stopped (about 15 min), transferred luggage, paid an exorbitant taxi fare to the first driver and finally ended up at the Marriott Sydney Harbor feeling a bit frazzled.

Checked in and, after some discussion, did not get access to the Executive Lounge as we usually do but did end up with a room on the 18th floor with a wonderful view of the Harbor Bridge and a cruise ship (not ours) - looks like a fairy land with all of the lights reflecting on the water.  Off to bed at a 'normal' bed time - hard to say what that is with all of the time changes - so that we can get up early for a 7:45 AM pick-up for our winery tour tomorrow.

Wandering around in Honolulu

Up at the crack of dawn - time change of 5 hours playing with our sleep patterns -so out early to get our Starbucks fix and enjoy dawn in Honolulu. Lovely walk aroun Ala Moana park with beautiful views of Diamond Head, morning surfers, beaches and the homeless sleeping in Paradise in the park. On and off drizzle (liquid sunshine) mixed with sunny skies and rainbows, WOW! Some morning pictures

Confirmed our flight to Sydney and found out that Hawaiian Air will feed us a real meal on the way...so no need to shop for food before we board. Changed our minds about walking to Waikiki for lunch. Instead...lounged by the pool, had lunch at the pool bar and were just lazy! Great for acclimating to the time zone and getting ready to do it all again tomorrow.

Tonight - dinner at the Plaza Club overlooking Aloha Tower and the cruise dock!

Journey's beginning....

And so the day begins with a wake up call at 3:30 AM!! Shuttle driver on time; easy airport procedures because NO people.  I actually think the TSA folks were glad to see us.  Boarded on time; flew as the sun rose.

we arrived at DFW almost on time despite a detour around a storm.  Discovered that, even on a flight as long as the one to Honolulu, there is NO food except sandwiches for purchase. Oh, for the good old days of bad airline food :)  So we picked up a sandwich and a salad to share on the plane.

Our flight was posted on time with a weather forecast for HNL that suited us!

Boarded on time; very long flight (7/12 hours), older plane with poor screen placement for our narrow seats so no movie :(.  We read, napped and talked and arrived early in HNL.  So glad we had booked a shuttle service that met us at the baggage claim area...no luggage to schlep and relatively short ride to the hotel.  Our room at the Ala Moana Hotel is nice with a balcony overlooking the water.  Early dinner and off to bed in the hopes of having more energy in the AM.  So glad that all connections were on time and all luggage arrived intact.  A good beginning to our wonderful trip!

And we're off!

Spending tonight at a hotel near the airport. It will be nice to have them take us sleepy people to the airport at 4 AM instead of having to drive, sleepily, and thenpark a car. Of course, leaving a 3:30 AM wake-up call makes me tired just thinking about it. But since we're all wired for the beginning of this trip, I'll probably not sleep much anyway. After a light take-out meal in the room, we're bunking down early. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ