The rainy weather that had been forecasted for today did find us, and, frankly, it made me happy that we had heat instead of rain for the two days we were in Melbourne. Rain definitely changes the look of the city, and would have made it more difficult to do all the walking and sightseeing we enjoyed so much.
We finished up the last of the cereal and almond milk for breakfast, and did dishes and gathered up towels and took the trash down to the garbage chute. It was a bit like being home, and, I don’t know if it was that or the fact that, for three days we were able to stay in touch with friends so easily but it made me really homesick. This happens at least once each season, so it wasn’t a surprise, but I think today’s rain and gloom made it worse.
Luckily, though there were puddles everywhere when we checked out of our apartment, the rain had slowed to a moderate drizzle, so we decided to take trams to Station Pier, where the Golden Princess was docked. We had to add $5 each to our Myki cards, as the tram we connected to left the Free Zone, but we managed to figure out how to do that. We arrived at the port about 11:30am and were on the ship having lunch by 12:30pm.
Good grief it is good to eat healthy again. I told G that I think Hawaii is going to be brutal for me in that way. Maitre d’ Carlos Justina has returned home to Portugal, and we met the New Maitre d’, Carlos Serrano Rosa, also from Portugal. We will be dining in the Bernini Dining Room for the remainder of our time on the Golden Princess.
Other changes around the ship: Captain D has returned home and Captain Georgio Pomata is in command, and Cruise Director Fernando has left and the Golden Princess is switching to the new management system for entertainment where an Entertainment Director is in charge of the administrative aspects of on board entertainment and the Cruise Director is more in front of the passengers and there is no Deputy CD. Tim Donovan (we cruised with him many, many times as CD) is the Entertainment Director and Jen Glancey (we know her from the Pacific Princess) is the CD.
I’m sure there are lots of other changes but those are the most notable ones. It’s funny how quickly things change from one cruise to the next on ships. Luckily, our cabin steward Karen is with us until we leave, and it was a wonderful thing to come back and see her.
The weather went from bad to worse and by mid-afternoon there was a steady downpour. Sail away was kind of a bust, but here’s the thing...sail away from Melbourne does not compare in any sense with sail away from Sydney even on the best of days. I truly miss Sydney already (which I think is contributing to my depressed mood). Luckily, we’re heading to the islands, which is always certain to perk me up.
Our wait team for dinners this cruise is Alona and Lydia, both from the Ukraine. We’ve been here long enough that we already know them well from the Horizon Court Buffet. They are fantastic. I ordered the Moroccan vegetable ragout tonight but was brought sautéed vegetables (delicious) instead. Apparently there is cream in the ragout recipe, and since I hadn’t special ordered it, I couldn’t get it. They take my dietary concerns very seriously (better than a personal chef, or a mom, which is nice), and it made me thankful of the fact that many vegetarian meals I order are tweaked to be vegan-compliant just for me.
Yep, Hawaii is not going to be easy.
Happily, we are back to two Welcome Aboard shows, instead of just one at 9pm. We went to the 7:45pm show with the singers and dancers and then comedian Ivor Richards (new to us) did a short routine. He is from Liverpool, England and was brought on board by Tim Donovan (also from Liverpool). Unfortunately, we understood nearly nothing of what he said, and that’s a first for us on the Golden Princess. Sure, there have been times we haven’t understood Australian humor, but this is the first time we couldn’t understand a comedian’s words. But he must have been funny. At least the Aussies, who apparently understood him, thought he was.
The Tasman Sea is showing its true colors tonight, and the nightstand drawer dance is in full swing. Though I hope we are out of the bad weather by tomorrow, I suspect it may take a couple of days. The meteorologists on TV in Melbourne spoke of record breaking precipitation over the next several days. That’s ok; as long as the islands are sunny, I can deal with it.
Milestone 1000th day cruise