Day 133: Sydney

Seldom early, never late. That may not be our approach to port days quite as often as it has in the past, but it was true today. Even better, the on board time today was not until 6pm, and, since the upcoming cruise is to Tasmania, and is considered a domestic itinerary, we could come and go from the ship as many times as we wanted AND we could do so without having to enter the terminal and passing through Australian immigration. Instead, we could go board using the “crew” gangway, entering through a gate on the south side of the Overseas Passenger Terminal right onto Deck 4 Forward. Any one of these would have been great, but all three at the same time made this an easy turnaround day that saved us a significant amount of time. We took advantage of it. 

Sometime around 3am, the Majestic Princess, which has to be one of the most stable ships on which we’ve ever cruised, bounced and shook like we were on the Ruby Princess trying to out run a storm from Antarctica in mid-October. There was no sleeping during that. The ship had probably changed heading and turned west to enter Sydney Harbour about that time. Still, it must have calmed; we eventually fell back asleep. 

I haven’t been up out on deck to watch our arrivals into Sydney Harbour since the first couple this season. We arrive far too early this year, and are berthed at the Overseas Passenger Terminal while it is still pitch dark. But the increased activity and noise as people leave their cabins early to get breakfast, and the stewards start their turnaround day barrage of duties pretty much assure we don’t sleep in. We braved the World Fresh Marketplace this morning and were out on the Open Deck Behind the World Fresh Marketplace by 7am. The view from there- of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House- still provides a ‘pinch me’ rush of excitement every time I see it. We took our phones off Airplane Mode, and started to read all the emails we’d received since we left Lautoka four days ago. We can’t open a single one using the ship’s WiFi. :-(

It was only then we saw the Coronavirus Emergency Notification from Princess regarding boarding for this Tasmanian cruise being denied to anyone from (or who flew through) mainland China, though passengers from (or who flew from) Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan were being permitted to board. We chatted with two people in Sydney today who were boarding a Royal Caribbean ship in the next couple of days and they said that their ship was denying boarding to those from (or who flew through) Hong Kong. 

We also had access to news about the Coronavirus, and were surprised to see that the Diamond Princess was being quarantined for 24 hours (why not for the incubation period of 14 days...that made no sense to us) off Yokohama because a recent passenger had contracted the virus, but it was unknown where that happened. Oh boy. We had talked about how we felt so safe on the Majestic Princess, just coming off that 14-night cruise to the islands with no Coronavirus issues. Now a new passenger group was coming on board and things would become riskier. Just when things were heating up, we’re stuck on a ship with awful WiFi. 

We didn’t spend too much time on that, though. I phoned Mom, and actually caught her in her apartment, getting ready for dinner after having played cards and served as the community welcome wagon this afternoon. We then gathered up iPads and walked off the ship and over to Circular Quay. It was fun to see the lanterns that had been constructed around the area for the Lunar New Year. They were huge, and apparently are lit up at night, though we didn’t stay in port late enough to see that happen. 

G pointed out this artwork in the Piazza

to me last night. 

It easily goes unnoticed, but it’s interactive artwork. 

Turn the wheel at the bottom right and a ball is lifted to the top. It then rolls back to the bottom.

I had to do it twice, ‘cause it was fun.  ;-)

Dragon lunar lantern in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art in The Rocks

A view of the Skywalk from the Promenade Deck

I’m shocked by how much I enjoy using this. 

The view of the Skywalk from the terminal

The lunar lanterns were huge

This dog’s tongue actually wags

Banners for the Sydney Lunar Festival

We knew exactly how to get to the Apple Store on Broadway, taking a train from the Circular Quay Station to the Museum Station, and a bus for just three stops beyond that. We were at the mall called Broadway Sydney well before the Apple Store opened at 10am, and had coffee at Starbucks while we waited. It didn’t take us long, around 45 minutes, working simultaneously on all four iDevices, to download about 20 hours of video, update apps and do iCloud backups. And we packed up, reversed the travel, and were back at Circular Quay well before noon. The day, though partly cloudy, was getting sunnier and the temp was about 74F. G ran our things back to the ship and I went to the shopping arcade next to the Holiday Inn Old Sydney to purchase some gifts to take home. 

Carrying my purchases, I happened to walk by a store called Sticky where two men were making that candy called...I forget what, exactly. That hard candy with designs molded into it. This process stopped me in my tracks. They were at the end of the building process, pressing long strips of alternating candy colors along the outside of this huge roll. This particular candy was being made for a group in Sydney and their name was built into the candy using three dimensional strips of letters. Soon, the stretching part started. I’d seen YouTube videos about this, but had never seen it in person. From this one roll of candy, they get about 240 feet of rope which is sliced into tiny pieces. I stayed way too long and left with several bags of candy with Sydney icons like the Opera House and Harbour Bridge and koalas and words like Mate and G’day and Sydney imbedded in them. Very cool!

That made me late to join G for lunch, but I walked into the Concerto Dining Room and just had a roll and water while he was finishing up. We stored my purchases in the cabin and headed off again, this time to take a ferry to Manly Beach. We had gone to Manly on our first turnaround in Sydney on October 23 with Paul and Marlene, and thought it was a fine way to end our season, too.

We checked the balance on our Opal Cards- less than $10 between the two of them, which wouldn’t get us to Manly and back- and decided to take the Manly Fast Ferry, which is a couple of dollars more expensive but can be paid with cash. We wouldn’t have to add $20 to each Opal Card and then leave town with even more money remaining on them. 

We bought AU $5 baseball caps at the cheapest (and lowest quality) souvenir shop in Manly because the 741 G already has are simply not enough, and I kinda liked a feminine looking one, and it will be a nice alternative to my Tilley hats for spring track meets.  We then continued down Victoria Parade to the beach, and we walked along the boardwalk watching the surfers and reveling in the fact that we were there, and not at home facing the bad weather crossing the country. We had added this cruise after we had already left home, and it was a good choice. We are just not quite ready to return home (honestly, G will never be ready). 

The ferry went from The Rocks in the lower left to Manly Beach in the upper right.

Our last Sydney beach day...weep!

We stopped in the Aldi’s store on the ferry wharf, and bought gum and nut bars for the trip home. It’s nice to have something on hand in case the munchies hit during the long hours between the dinner service and the breakfast service on that interminable flight to Los Angeles. We caught a 4:45pm ferry back to Circular Quay, both of us wondering if we’d get back here, to one of our favorite places in the world, ever again. 

There are always sailboats in Sydney Harbour

Kirribilli House, the historical secondary home of Australian Prime Ministers. Their primary home had long been The Lodge in Canberra, but the current and previous prime ministers have made Kirribilli House their primary residence. 

Coming home to the Majestic Princess in Circular Quay

Once at Circular Quay, we were drawn to a street performer doing ridiculous acts of balancing and juggling, all the while the trains to and from the Circular Quay Railway Station thundered just above his head. He was certainly as entertaining- more so, really- than some of what we call the ‘side show’ acts on the ships have been. But he entertained for a long while, and then there were some musical buskers to listen to along the water, and even one artist painting massive murals of Sydney Harbour on wall-sized canvases to watch as we walked back to the ship. At 5:55pm we were finally back on board, having squeezed as much into this last turnaround day of the season as we could. It had been a respectable 18000 step day, and I was starving. 

Just above his head was the elevated track for the trains to and from Circular Quay

Not brightly sunny, but still a beautiful day in Sydney

I was also filthy from sunscreen and mass transit riding and sitting on a beach walk with sea gull poop on it and had to take a shower and send clothes to the laundry before I did anything else. We watched sail away from the Open Deck Behind the World Fresh Marketplace (shortly after 7pm) and went down to Alfredo’s pizzeria for dinner. We had already told Francesco we would not likely be in the Concerto Dining Room for dinner tonight. We knew we wanted a different kind of evening. 

Bridge climbers waving goodbye as the Majestic Princess backed out of its berth

Because there’s always a need for just one more Opera House photo

With Fort Denison in the foreground

Passing by Shark Island in Sydney Harbour.

There’s a reason most of the harbor beaches have a shark fence :-o

But if we had gone to dinner:

Day 1 dinner menu, page 1

Day 1 dinner menu, page 2

Day 1 dessert menu

Violinist Chris Watkins did two shows in the Princess Theater tonight, but we instead had a leisurely pizza dinner while we listened to duo Acoustic Rush performing in the Piazza and were tucked into bed at 10pm. It had been a perfect day. 

We’re starting the eleventh cruise of our season. 

We’re (knock on wood) healthy. 

Life is good. :-)

Day 1 Princess Patter, page 1

Day 1 Princess Patter, page 2

Day 1 Princess Patter, page 3

Day 1 Princess Patter, page 4

Day 119: Sydney

This was the prettiest day we’ve enjoyed in Sydney in quite a long time. We were happy- for the Aussies, for the animals, for us- that the recent heavy rain, despite what other problems it may have caused, did clear the air. The sky was blue, and air was dry and the temperature was in the mid-80s. Perfect. 

Unfortunately, today was kind of an abbreviated day in Sydney; we had to be back on board by 3pm. We’ve had quite a variety in on board times this season, varying by as much as three hours (6pm). I think the run up to the islands is a long one, which forced the early on board time before this cruise. Not that it mattered too much. Despite the glorious weather and the fact that we were both feeling great today (quite a change from last turnaround), getting to an Apple Store- an open Apple Store- and simultaneously using its high-speed WiFi and power ports was our highest priority. 

We had breakfast in the Concerto Dining Room before we left the ship. I hadn’t done that in awhile, but, as I’ve said before, the World Fresh Marketplace (buffet) is scary on disembarkation morning. We returned to our cabin, gathered up passports, immigration forms, Opal, credit and ATM cards, Aussie dollars and two iPads and two iPhones and walked off the ship about 9:15am. 

G had not yet ridden the new light rail, and since it travels above ground (and right past the Apple Store under renovation), we decided to take it instead of a train (subway) to Central Station. The Apple Store on George St. is still closed (darn it), so we continued on our way. We had a bit of confusion at Central Station, as we usually do when we are looking for the correct bus stand outside the  railway stations, but finally found our way. It was just five stops or so and then a five minute walk to the Apple Store on Broadway. 

Actually, that was a little confusing, too. This was an older neighborhood, on a street with tightly packed stores, one against another, and not the kind of place we’ve typically found Apple Stores in the past. We couldn’t imagine how this was going to turn out until we suddenly came upon a city mall built in what looked like an older structure that had been gutted and then extended upwards. Four floors of every store imaginable, including a Coles Supermarket, even a Target and a KMart, and, finally, on the top floor, like the promised land, the Apple Store. I am such a product of the Midwest. Land is cheap, things are spread out, we drive everywhere we need to go and malls, where they still exist at all, are short and wide, not tall and skinny. 

It’s amazing how easy it is to quickly accomplish what needs to be done when we have high speed WiFi. We updated the operating systems on the iPads, backed everything up, updated apps, checked on the house and financial stuff and I even made a phone call to a doctor, all in less than 20 minutes. And then I started downloading video content from Netflix and Prime Video until I maxed that out. We were soon packing up and on our way. 

G lost a swimsuit on this ship (don’t ask; we don’t know either), and was down to just one, so he wanted to check out Target and KMart for a replacement. Target had nothing (Target stores in Australia are not as complete as our Targets at home), but he hit paydirt at KMart. They had racks of them, including some on sale on an end cap. AU $3 each. $3!  That’s just over US $2, and they were really very nice. For that price, he bought two of them and then paid for them with the coins he had in his pocket.

Worn with his Princess Transpacific T- shirt purchased on the Ruby Princess, he can be well dressed for a beach day for less than $3.50. What a hoot!!

At some point he decided he wanted to get back on the ship in time to go to lunch in the Concerto Dining Room. Those embarkation day beef tenderloins were calling his name, I guess. So then it was a big rush to reverse course and take a bus, this time to the Museum Railway Station, and a train (subway) to Circular Quay. The train, because it travels mostly underground, is obviously faster the light rail. This was our first time at the Museum Station. It’s smaller and was nearly empty at that time of day, but I’m sure is a different experience during rush hour. 

Museum Railway Station

I still can’t get over Sydney’s transit system

It would be entirely possible (and probably preferable) to live here without a vehicle. 

Loved the Aeroplane Jelly (American: jello) ad

I saved these notifications to show you how, now that we can use the local cellular network, we get step by step Google Maps directions.

Once at Circular Quay, I told G to run ahead of me. It was the only chance he had of getting through immigration and security, back on the Majestic Princess and to the Concerto Dining Room before it closed at 1:30pm. Besides, I wanted to run to a pharmacy in The Rocks and overpay for a small box of bandaids. If we hadn’t had to abandon the mall so quickly for the possibility of beef tenderloins, I could have got them cheaper there. Just sayin. :-| Besides, since the salmon is no longer on the embarkation day lunch menu, I’m not nearly as interested in rushing back to the ship. 

It was a beautiful day, and the buskers were out in force around Circular Quay, providing every kind of music imaginable, including didgeridoo. People were enjoying the sun, the ibises were doing whatever they do, and I found a bench and phoned Mom. She is quite busy planning the Valentine’s Day singalong and putting together the program for that, but still found time to ride the bike for 25 minutes yesterday. You go Mom!

Clear blue skies.  So nice to see!

Once back on the ship, I braved the World Fresh Marketplace (using the aft elevators, where there is not the backup at the handwashing station that there is midship) and found some garbanzo bean salad and watermelon to tide me over until dinner. I  chose a seat on the open deck behind the World Fresh Marketplace...okay, I am going to take of that right now. If I can’t figure out a shorter name for the open deck behind the World Fresh Marketplace, I am at least going to set up a keyboard shortcut. odb= Open Deck Behind the World Fresh Marketplace. Done. Anyway, I texted G where I was and he soon joined me on the Open Deck Behind the World Fresh Marketplace. The view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge on this smokeless day: priceless!

Lunch on the Open Deck Behind the World Fresh Marketplace ;-)

The announcement was soon being made for the 3:15pm muster drill, so that was my cue to finally return to the cabin (I was still lugging around a tote bag with iPads and swimsuits and bandaids) to shower. It is so nice to again be wearing the tropical clothing that just doesn’t seem quite right on the New Zealand itineraries. This cruise definitely has a beach-y vibe. 

Apparently there was a passenger who needed to be disembarked for a medical emergency (we had heard an announcement for the Medical response team to go to a passenger cabin), and that’s always sad. The ship was still berthed at the Overseas Passenger Terminal! Captain Tony Draper, who just took command today made an announcement that, if we could sail before 4:30pm, we would, but if it took longer than that, we’d have to wait until 7pm due to rush hour ferry traffic in Sydney Harbour. I guess things got settled, because by 5pm, we were on our way. It was undoubtedly the prettiest sail away we’ve had from Sydney in months. It still gives me goosebumps. I took just a few photos from the open decks, choosing instead to just enjoy the moment. Besides, how many more photos do I need of sailing out of Sydney? (Apparently, at least three.) :-)

The Sydney Harbour Bridge


Luna Park is such s great photo op

Because the 1273 photos I already have of this building are simply not enough

The Concerto Dining Room was nearly empty when we went at 5:15pm, and it was the first time waiter Cyril and Headwaiter Francesco have had time to really chat with us. Francesco told us he has been with Sitmar or Princess for 43 years this year. What a joy it has been for us to spend time with him again this season. He is a consummate host and a genuinely nice person. 

The Welcome Aboard show in the Princess Theater returned to a more traditional format for the first time this season, introducing the members of the Cruise Director’s staff before the entertainment, which tonight was aerialists Susie Q and Toby J. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will discourage me from a bedtime buffet grazing session like seeing these two lithe, muscular, 0% body fat athletes lifting both their body weights with one hand. We need to see them every night. Princess would cut their food costs in half. 

We were both excited to have new videos on our iPads to enjoy tonight, but need to watch them sparingly. They have to last for two weeks. But, honestly, I watched The Two Popes so many times last cruise that I feel like I am fluent in Italian and can speak Spanish with an Argentinian accent.  It’s time to move on. 

Day 106: Sydney

We were up early, not so early that we caught the Majestic Princess sail into Sydney Harbour, but before 6:30am. It wasn’t a surprise; after all, we had slept a lot yesterday and were in bed by 7pm last night. But G had had a rough night, and I awoke feeling like I had been run over by a truck. Still, at least I wasn’t in danger of passing out; the IVs yesterday seemed to have fixed that issue. 

G did not want to go to the doctor this morning, but he also didn’t want to go to breakfast. I went to the World Fresh Marketplace and got him cereal and fruit, then went to the Concerto Dining Room for breakfast myself. The buffet on disembarkation day morning is only for the brave. 

When I returned to the cabin, G said he didn’t feel well enough to get off the ship today in Sydney. That was a disappointment, but I felt well enough to get down to the Apple Store on George Street to use their high speed WiFi. I gathered up our two iPads and my iPhone in a backpack and headed off the ship by 8:30pm. G planned to meet the other in transit passengers not getting off the ship today to go through immigration with them, then reboard the ship as soon as he could. 

I could have walked to the Apple Store, but I was excited to ride the new Sydney light rail that goes right down George Street. Two years ago, George Street was totally torn up while light rail was going in, and we had to walk down a block to Pitt Street and then back on King Street to get to the Apple Store. The light rail deposited me just a few minutes walk away.

Hazy, smoky Sydney

Poor Australia. These bushfires are such a tragedy. 

The light rail trains have great location signs...

...even telling passengers on which side the doors will open. 

I noticed as I was approaching the Apple Store that the two-story glass front of the store had been covered in white, and when I finally reached it, I could not believe what I saw: this Apple Store was closed for renovation. My luck has been running bad lately, hasn’t it?

Ugh :-(

Still, I saw at least ten people standing around on the sidewalk in front of the store, apparently using WiFi, so it was immediately obvious that the store had left their WiFi turned on. It reminded me of a pilgrimage to Mecca; people just gather at Apple Stores, regardless of whether they’re open or not. I settled on a concrete barrier, trying to avoid a large depression on its top that had been used as an ash tray and, as a result was filled with cigarette butts and rainwater, and apparently my bottom is wider than I realized, because I soon felt my shorts soaking up cigarette butt water in the area of the pocket when my passport was stored.  Lovely.  The WiFi speed was good; I started downloading videos on two iPads and updating apps on them and my iPhone despite the fact that I was on a very busy Sydney street corner while I was doing it.

Once I had done as much as I could, I packed up and walked up and over a block to the Wynyard Railway Station to go to the Coles Supermarket housed there on a lower level. We needed more Sudafed and throat lozenges...and the gum I hadn’t yet purchased. I was able to text G, who was by then sitting in the Crown Bar waiting to go through immigration, to see what else we needed. I loaded my purchases into my backpack, topped up my Opal card by $20 right in the supermarket, and caught a train from Wynyard Station back to Circular Quay. 

My duties for the day complete, it was time for some fun. Today was my birthday- my 60th birthday- and, on your birthday, you can get into Sydney’s Taronga Zoo for free. I had already completed the application process online, and had saved the voucher I’d been sent. I just needed to show proof of my birthday (in my case, my passport), and I’d get in for free. We’ve been looking forward to this for months. 

Ok, so going alone with G back on the ship sick, and after I’d spent yesterday in the Medical Center is not how I’d imagined this outing would go, but it was either go alone or miss out entirely. Thankfully, I’m very comfortable sightseeing alone, so, once at Circular Quay, I got a ferry on Wharf 4 for the 12-minute ride across the harbor to the zoo. Naturally, the ferry was packed with lots of grandparents, parents and kids, many of them in strollers; solo, senior me was an anomaly. Sydney today was thick with smoke and very muggy; neither side of the harbor was visible from the ferry in the middle.  We were deposited just below the Taronga Zoo, and had two options to take us to the main entrance on top of a hill overlooking Sydney Harbor: a gondola called the Sky Safari or a Sydney bus. The line for the Sky Safari was very long; I opted to hop on a waiting bus for the five minute ride up the hill. 

Circular Quay Wharf 4 packed with zoo goers 

I had no issue getting my free admission, and was given a large pin to wear that read “Today is my birthday!”  Yeah, no, I don’t think so.  That went into the backpack. However, I didn’t realize until a bit further on that I still had to show my receipt and the pin to go through the Zoo gates, and I was again encouraged to wear the pin because it would get me some special treatment. I didn’t wear it, but I pinned it to my backpack strap, and from then on, every employee wished me a happy birthday. It sounds lame, but here I was on my birthday going through a zoo all by myself while surrounded by happy groups.  I was feeling like an over-aged Bridget Jones, and suddenly the friendly greetings no longer embarrassed me. I kind of enjoyed them. 

I wish I could say the same about the Taronga Zoo. This is almost certain to irritate some Sydneysiders, but I was really underwhelmed by the zoo. Maybe it’s because we’ve been to so many wonderful animal sanctuaries since we’ve been Down Under, with up close and personal encounters with lots of native Australian animals at each one, but I felt there there were precious few animals at the zoo, of either Australian or non-Australian varieties. I walked through the entire zoo from top to bottom, and most enjoyed the tree kangaroos (I didn’t previously even know there were tree kangaroos) and the chimpanzees with their babies. I know I’ve been spoiled by visiting some great zoos in the past (the Toledo Zoo is one of the best in the country, and not just because my nephew works there), but Sydney’s zoo was a bit of a letdown. I recommend Featherdale Animal Park as a better alternative, if you are visiting Sydney from another country and want to see native Australian animals. 

A tree kangaroo

A mini zip line for kids

A ropes course for adults

And now I know!

Kangaroo

Wallaby

They are quite different when you see them in close proximity

A Cape Barren duck I last saw on Phillip Island when we saw the little penguins two years ago

Australian emu

I eventually reached the bottom of the zoo near the ferry pier, and caught a ferry back to Circular Quay. I took a chance and tried to phone Mom again (I had left her a message from outside the Apple Store), and found her in her apartment this time.  She sang happy birthday to me, and I don’t care how life is treating you, hearing your mom sing happy birthday to you on your 60th birthday is a pretty special thing that really makes you count your blessings. And by then my guys were home from school and texting me birthday greetings and I heard from my “Sis” and other friends and suddenly I didn’t feel like I was spending my birthday alone halfway around the world. 

I re-boarded the Majestic Princess before 3pm and was happy to get my backpack, heavy with iPads and my purchases, off my back. I would have loved to have been able to drop it off before going to the zoo but I could only re-board the ship one time. I do not like that rule!  G was feeling slightly better and accompanied me to dinner in the Concerto Dining Room. We finally have our table for two by a window with Francesco as our headwaiter and all’s right in our world again. As soon as dinner was done, we were back in our cabin, before we even sailed out of Sydney Harbour. I am feeling better from a dizziness perspective, but am coughing too much and feel pretty stiff and sore from my fall. G may be at the Medical Center himself tomorrow; we’ll see how his night goes. We are such a pair. 

And, finally, I had said before we left home in September that I hadn’t yet come to grips with turning 60. I’m feeling very differently these days. What changed?  Well, real life continues, whether we are cocooned on a ship or not. Since we left home, we learned that a friend suddenly died from a massive heart attack at the age of 59. We were very shaken by this news. In processing that loss, I realized that we who are getting older are the lucky ones. All the lines and wrinkles and grey hairs are gifts. We are being given the opportunity to grow older. Not everyone is. 

I am old. Aren’t I blessed?

Life is good. :-)

I was not at dinner last night to scan today’s menus, and forgot to do it tonight at dinner, but here are the Patters for today. 

Day 1 Princess Patter, page 1

Day 1 Princess Patter, page 2

Day 1 Princess Patter, page 3

Day 1 Princess Patter, page 4