We arrived this morning to a cloudy, chilly Hobart (the capital of the Australian state of Tasmania), and rain to boot. It was not a morning to motivate us to rush off the ship. Still, we did rush...out of the cabin and were in the DaVinci Dining Room for breakfast shortly after it opened at 7am. Every cruise is different, and on this cruise, people want to be served in the dining room. When we finally left about 8am, the line to be seated stretched far into the Piazza. G said yesterday the Maitre d’ was telling people at the of an even longer line at 9am that they would not be able to be seated by 9:30am when the dining room closed. Yikes!
Where in the world are we?
However, once we were done eating, we returned to the cabin. G immediately fell back asleep and I did too, once I was a page or two into my book. There was nothing we had to do today, and we enjoyed being lazy as a result. When we went to lunch in the Horizon Court Buffet about noon, we could see a break in the clouds. We dressed for the weather (50s by then), and though we walked through a few rain drops just as we walked off the ship, they quickly passed and we had a decent afternoon.
I didn’t think we had walked very far, but my Fitbit proved we got about 13,000 steps simply by walking along Hobart’s scenic waterfront area. This city is spotlessly perfect, with not a piece of trash anywhere and everything in pristine condition.
The Hobart waterfront, with Mt. Wellington looming in the distance
A fishing boat returns to the marina
University of Tasmania School of Arts
I’ve taken a photo of this before. I love this restored steam shovel.
It reminds me of the book Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel that
my dad read to me when I was young.
I will get there one day!
Heading South sculptures on the Hobart waterfront
We returned to the port terminal just after 4pm. The Tasmanian Government offers 30 minutes of free WiFi in several spots around the city; the terminal is one of them. When we were here two years ago, we interneted ourselves silly here, downloading and uploading as quickly as we could. Things have changed now, but I still logged in for old time’s sake. Check out that speed!
No wonder I was able to download the entire second season
of The Crown in just a few minutes two years ago.
But even the ship’s MedalionNet WiFi was pretty darn fast today.
We got cleaned up for the evening and went to dinner at 5:15pm. I forgot to mention that the Elite Lounge is being held in Skywalkers again this cruise. That, and the fact that laundry is being returned in just two days indicates there are fewer Elite passengers on board.
Day 3 dinner menu, page 1
Day 3 dinner menu, page 2
Day 3 dessert menu
The entertainment in the Princess Theater tonight was a concert by the Tasmanian Police Pipe Band. They had performed for us on the Golden Princess two years ago, and we really enjoyed them. Besides, where else can one hear Yankee Doodle played on bagpipes in Tasmania?
The Tasmanian Police Pipe Band
The performance also featured six Scottish dancers
It was still twilight-y when we returned to the cabin about 8:30pm. We just discovered today that there are Southern Lights, called the Aurora Australis, that can be seen from Tasmania. The best viewing season ended in September, but they were seen as recently as a week ago. The Ruby Princess sails at 11pm, and, as soon as we leave the lights of Hobart behind, we’re going to run outside for a quick check to see if we can spot them tonight. The odds are very slim, but this will also provide an excuse to make a pass through the Horizon Court Buffet before it closes. ;-)
E Hobart Port Guide, page 1
Hobart Port Guide, page 2
Hobart Port Guide, page 3
Hobart Port Guide, page 4
Day 3 Princess Patter, page 1
Day 3 Princess Patter, page 2
Day 3 Princess Patter, page 3
Day 3 Princess Patter, page 4