Nov 22 - At sea

 Nov 22 - At sea

Sadly, this is our last post from the Crown Princess! It has been a wonderful trip from start to finish!  Alaska seems so long ago, and so far away now! And San Francisco is a good memory.

Now we are preparing for the long flight home tomorrow.  We are getting packed and have all our instructions for getting off the ship early in the morning.  One more dinner, one more sleep and we’ll be on our way.

Thanks for coming along with us.  We’ve enjoyed your comments and your emails; they kept us connected with home.  I’ll' probably send a quick note from an airport, otherwise we’ll let you know when we are home safely.

Cheers from Australia!

The Two Happy Wanderers

😃😃

Nov 21 - Brisbane

 Nov 21 - Brisbane

We’re in Brisbane!  Well… 20 km outside of the city at the cruise terminal. We set off this morning on our excursion.

After we left the motorway on our hour long drive to our first destination we travelled through lush rainforest.   It was a winding drive up Mt Tamborine.

 

It started at the Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk on a spectacular elevated walkway through the middle and upper canopies of the rainforest. The circular walk culminated on the forest floor.  

Our next stop was at Cedar Creek Estate for wine tasting, a guided walk through a private Glow Worm Cave and lunch.  ‘Lunch’ was a pork chop for Dorothy and beef tenderloin for Mary; we both had a wonderful apple crumble tart with vanilla ice cream for dessert!

The final stop was at Sirromet winery for a wine tasting.  At the end of the tour everyone got a bottle of wine!

Back to the ship for the all aboard!  We did arrive back a few minutes late, but no chance of missing the ship this time as we were on one of their tours! LOL

A quiet evening in our cabin tonight as we begin to contemplate the chore ahead of us tomorrow - packing!🧳🧳

😊😊

Nov 20 - At sea

 Nov 20 - At sea

Busy day today!  

The first presentation was given by Captain Roderick Maharaj, the pilot who has been onboard since Darwin to get us through the Torres Strait and the Great Barrier Reef.  

The talk was fascinating as he described what is involved in piloting all types of ships in this area of the world. He talked about the training required, the knowledge of the waters - their depth, the tides and how they determine the timing of a ship’s passage through the strait, the rules and regulations that must be followed when passing through the reef area, and so much more.  

For more information about the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park click on the link.  

Next was the Cruise Director, Dan Looney’s interview,  ‘Meet the Captain’. Although we went to his last interview, it was different - some different questions in the interview part, and then different questions from the audience.  The one constant - his wicked sense of humour, some of it self deprecating and his quick comebacks.  

We were astounded when we got up to the buffet that there were so many empty tables!!  A quick bite to accompany the Merlot and Bloody Mary, and we were back in our cabin for a bit.

Russell’ s last presentation is Unexplained Sea Mysteries! 

Mary Celeste. 1876

SS Waratah.  1909

The Flying Dutchman  1680

Bermuda Triangle

Mystery of Flight 19  1945

USS Cyclops  1918

The unlucky UB-65 - 1918

Ghosts of the Queen Mary

After dinner we will probably go to the theatre for the Farewell Variety Show!  Sounds ominous - ‘farewell’ must mean they are saying goodbye to us!😢

Tomorrow will be an early start for our last tour in Brisbane.

Stay tuned!

M & D

Nov 19 - Willis Island

 Nov 19 - Willis Island

Slow start to the day with a late breakfast.  We each did our own thing waiting for our approach to Willis Island in the Coral Sea.

It was listed as a ‘Service Call’ to Willis Island, whatever that means as we did not stop!  There is a law in the US, the Passenger Vessel Services Act which requires ships flagged outside of the US ( and most, if not all ship are foreign flagged) to make a call in a foreign country in their itinerary.  

Apparently to comply with Australian Tax law ships must make this foreign stop.  According to Cruise Critic, ‘ Yes, it is considered an international port "visit" so that duty free can be sold onboard during the cruise. The actual visit is a cruise-by, sometimes with a commentary from one of the Willis Island staff. ’

Hutch our destination expert gave a commentary, and one of the meteorologists from Willis Island also spoke via telephone about what it’s like, the work they do, the maintenance of the island etc.

The island came into view off in the distance

As we got closer we could see the Silver Nova, the ship that was in port with us yesterday in Cairns, sailing away after their ‘stop’.

So that was the big highlight for today!

The show is a repeat, so we’ll have to decide whether we go! The singers and dancers always have great costumes and put on a lively show, so it might be better than TV!!

Another sea day tomorrow!

😁😁

Nov 18 - Cairns

 Nov 18 - Cairns

It’s Monday and we’ve arrived in Cairns!

A few hiccups and we were off on our planned excursion that another mate from Cruise Critic had organized on the Kuranda Railway and Sky Walk.

*** Here is the back story!!!  If you want to skip all this minutiae, just scroll down!!!  

First of all there had been great confusion about where we would be docked; that was important because we had to get to a nearby hotel to be picked up for the tour at a specified time. The docking location would determine whether I might walk to the hotel, or if we would need a cab.  Second, the captain had announced that we would be arriving later than expected!  Eek!

Our meeting time was 10:45.  We arrived into Cairns at 9:30.  Looking over our balcony I could see it was quite a walk to the exit, and an ambulance was pulling up to the ship! Oh boy!!   We had emailed John, the organizer, last night that we would meet up at the hotel, rather than on the ship so Mary and I went down to Deck 5 to wait until the ship had been cleared and disembarkation could start.  OMG!  Hundreds of people had the same idea!

I found a spot close to some other people with walkers/ wheelchair to wait, rather than joining the huge line that snaked all the way around the atrium!!   When the crush of people started to move we inched our way forward with the other handicapped passengers and when we got to the elevator lobby, a crew member pointed to the elevator for us to get in! (I always feel badly when I bypass dozens of people who have been waiting in line, but when I realize how long it would have taken to get through the other line, I get over it!!)

Now we start the trek to the terminal where we need to exit,  and when we arrive there are dozens of people waiting for a taxi, many with luggage as they are disembarking - and no taxis!!  We milled around for a bit and then I heard a man saying he was going to the Skywalk, so my ears perked up and I asked if he’d like to share a cab!!  By this time it was 10:25 and my mind had jumped to Plan B ( or is it C or D?) and I figured we had to take the cab right to the Skywalk terminal, so sharing would cut down our costs.  He didn’t know how to call a cab there, but I just happened to have the phone number and email for Cairns Taxi!!!  So a quick call, and a couple of minutes later along came a cab!!

It was a van type cab and a few other people decided to join as well!  We started out for Skywalk, and about a block out of the terminal I realized we were going to pass the hotel meeting place so after a quick glance at my watch, realizing we could still make the pick up time I asked the driver if we could get out there!!!  As we ‘hopped’ ( a figure of speech!!!!)  out and the guy who had called the cab helped me get the walker out of the car, one of the other couples we were to meet was standing right there!

John and his wife had stayed at the ship in case we were still there, so Mike called John on his cell phone and told him we were at the meeting place, and within minutes we were all together!!!  PHEW!  Poor Mary!  She had resigned herself to the fact that we weren’t going to make the tour a few steps back in this process!!  But here we were ready for a lovely day!!

Skywalk was first - Gondolas that would take us up to Kuranda!  Because I had the walker they put the two of us and my wheels into one car so we didn’t have to share.  The view was spectacular!  We felt like birds flying over the tops of the trees!  

The gondola ride was in two stages - the first took us to Barron Falls where we changed gondolas for the second stage to the top.

We had a couple of hours before we needed to get to the train for the trip down, so we wandered a bit, had some ice cream, and relaxed in the shade on this beautiful sunny day!

We had reserved seats in the Gold Class car on the train (lah-Dee- dah!)!  This gave us comfortable upholstered seats, and refreshments!  First we had wine with a little package of Macadamia Nuts.  Then more wine, and individual little trays of nibblies! And for ‘dessert’, a Dixie cup with Mango Sorbet!  It was very civilized I must say!  Liquid refills were always available! LOL

A stop at Barron Falls on the way down and great scenery rounded out this lovely day!

 

Our next challenge was hoping they still had my walker ( someone took it away to store before we left Kuranda!), and then figuring out how to get back to the ship by cab!  The others were going to walk back, so we got directions to the cab stand and soon we were on our way.

It was great to get back to our cabin where it was cool!  These hot humid days are very tiring.  Mary went in search of something to eat and I opted to stay put and have a granola bar for dinner!

Lights out early after a lovely, scenic, eventful day!  We have been blessed with wonderful weather (albeit ‘hot’) in every port!   Now just Brisbane remains on our itinerary!

Sea day tomorrow as we pass by Willis Island.

😴😴

Nov 15-17 At sea

 Nov 15 - At sea

Phew!  I slept for 9 hours straight!  I was so tired last night, but now I finally feel rested!

Today was our usual programme - a talk on Cairns in the theatre and another presentation by Russell Twomey.  This one was on the Rogues of the Pacific with interesting tales of some of the scoundrels in the Pacific in the 1700’s and 1800’s.  One unsavoury character in particular - Bully Hayes!     

Another formal night tonight! After a tasty dinner, Garlic Prawns, Salad, Reef and Beef (Prawn Dumplings and Beef Tenderloin) and a chocolate creation for Mary and Trifle for Dorothy, we are going to take in the show.  It is a production show with the Princess Singers and Dancers - Disco!

Hopefully I won’t fall asleep like I did last night!

Come back here tomorrow for the update!

😴😴

Nov 16 - Still rolling along….

As I write this we will soon be rounding the northernmost tip of Australia, Cape York Peninsula, and then will be entering the Coral Sea and sailing in a southerly direction towards Cairns.   As you can see from the map, we are very close to Papua New Guinea.

It’s been a very uneventful day!  We did go to Russell’s talk, the Mutiny on the Bounty, a very well timed presentation as it happened in this part of the world!  

I am looking forward to dinner tonight as all I had for lunch was a bowl of pea soup in the International Cafe!

Here’s what we had!

West Coast Seafood Bouillabaisse

Classic Caesar Salad

Calves’ Liver, Onions, Bacon and Apple with Roesti Potatoes

(Sorry! Forgot to take the photo before I had started eating!)

Grilled Australian Striploin

New York Cheese Cake

Flourless Chocolate Cake

The entertainer is Tim Motley, a mentalist with more magic tricks that I can never figure out!  It should be fun and will keep us from falling asleep!

Tomorrow I’ll post the last update on our sea days, so come back here to read that - or not! 🥱

The World Travellers

Nov - 17  Still at sea!

Our last day to relax before we get to Cairns.  

Today was a ‘regular’ day with the two presentations we usually attend.  Hutch gave an overview of Brisbane in preparation for arrival there on Nov 21. 

Russell's talk was on the Titanic, and although we all know the story, he presented lots of details about the events of the fateful voyage and left us with a lot of ‘what if’s’!  For example, what if the Titanic had not left Southampton when it did after its near collision with the SS New York in the harbour?  Going back to check for damages would have delayed their departure.  What if the helmsman in charge of the binoculars for the watchmen had not forgotten that he had the only key to the cabinet containing the binoculars when he left the ship before it set sail?  This left Reginald Lee, the watchman, with only visual clues and he saw the iceberg too late.   What if Captain Smith had not tried to avoid the iceberg by turning sharply to port and had opted to hit it head on?  There would have been far less damage to the Titanic and many more lives might have been saved.  All speculation now, but interesting to think about.

The programme is different tonight.  Rather than a new show, there is a repeat of last night’s Disco.  I think they are trying to figure out how to accommodate more people as the theatre is always overflowing for the production shows. This way they perform three times instead of two, allowing 800+ more people to see it!

So instead of seeing the same show again or going back to our cabin right after dinner we are doing something different!! We are in Explorer’s Lounge for 70’s Music Trivia, not as participants with a team, but just to get a seat for Liars Club which follows!! Liars Club, as I remember from years ago, is a fun game where three of the cruise staff give a definition of the same word, and the contestants have to decide which one is telling the truth.  It can be a little risqué at times,  but it’s usually very funny!  Of course we will fit in another 🍷🍷!!

We don’t have to be ready to leave until 10:00 AM - so a leisurely start to a full day. Tomorrow’s blog will be about our day on the Skyrail,  the village of Kuranda, and the train back to Cairns!

Stay tuned!

The Two Adventurers

Nov 14 - Darwin

 Nov 14 - Darwin

Land again!   This time we are in Darwin, the capital city of the Northern Territory with a population of about 140,000.

Our tour was Jumping Crocodile Cruise.  From the pier we drove south to the Adelaide River, complete with running commentary about Darwin and the Northern Territory.   The drive was on paved highway through bushland and mango groves, through a few very small towns ( or settlements). We turned off the highway onto a dirt road through a cattle farm and a man made lake / pond teeming with water birds.

Suddenly we were at the landing dock for the boat cruise.  We had a lively skipper who knew where some of the inhabitants of the river would be and took us there.  It was interesting to see the plants along the shore of the river and how you could see the changing tides by the watermarks.

We saw a few saltwater crocodiles and were warned not to lean over the railing of the boat!!  The reason became apparent as we saw how fast a croc can move as one left his muddy resting place and slid into the water!!

He was there in a matter of seconds, leaving a trail in the mud! 

We learned lots of details about crocodiles - their size, they have 66 teeth, how there teeth are like a stack of inverted ice cream cones - when one breaks off, another is already there!  The very white teeth are the ones that have just emerged!   

They can survive without legs!   She has lost both front legs!

 

As they swim they use their tails to propel them and keep their legs close to their bodies.

They do actually ‘jump’ out of the water; we saw this guy jump up for the meat that was dangling on a pole!  he followed the boat, keeping his eye on the prize, and then suddenly leapt up to grab it.  The sound of his jaws snapping down on the meat was very loud! Another reason not to have anything dangling over the edge of the boat!!!

On the way back to the boat we stopped at a local pub, the Humpty Doo Hotel, for a snack (bag of potato chips) and a drink!  LOL

Further along on the way back to the ship one of the people on the bus was not feeling well and we made an unexpected stop in Palmerston where it was decided that she and her husband would take a cab back to Darwin!  

Then, as we got back to the city we came upon a car crash!  When we got to the site, there were three police cars, a fire truck down the block, and an ambulance.  One car had its front end smashed in, and another was on its side at the entrance to the intersection??  How would that have happened??

Because of the two delays, we arrived back at the ship just at dinner time, so hurried to our cabin to freshen up.  I was so tired!  I think it’s the heat and humidity!  We did go to the show and I caught my head bobbing several times during Nathan Sinclair’s Spain’s Guitar performance!  

It was a good day!  Not the very best tour we’ve been on, but interesting and educational.  I crashed at 9 PM while Mary went out to watch the sailaway and another medical evacuation!

Sea day tomorrow!

D & M