Travel On My Terms: Newcastle and at Sea

March 31 we docked at New Castle. I chose to stay aboard and rest since we had been going 100% plus prior to the cruise. Suzan went ashore and did a little shopping.

The were activities and talks each day. We went to the talk on the barrier reef to be ready for the multiple snorkeling trips we had booked. Spent some time in the sun and wandering around the ship. My two favorite places became the coffee shop on deck five - great lattes and mochas. And the grand foyer on deck three where there was pre dinner music that was really nice. We would listen to the music before and after dinner before going to an activity or show.

They had gaming classes on things like Black Jack and Texas Holdem. I learned with Texas Holdem that I will never play for money, I lost my "play" money so fast I don't know what happened. I did much better with Black Jack, but it was still play money and I opted not to try it with. We played the slots for a while and that was far more successful.

April 1 and 2 were days at sea. It made the ship feel much more crowded and it was a bit of a challenge to find a quiet place.

April 1 we read, wandered, had several lattes/mochas at the coffee shop. After dinner we went to the show Broken Strings put on by the ships cast. It was a love story told in song. Both singers and dancers were very good but the show itself was OK.

We scheduled our first dinner in one of the specialty restaurants Tuscan Grill. It is an Italian/Steak house and was quite nice. We shared an antipasti platter then I had calamari that was really well done. Suzan had the bronzino which they called the sea bass of the Mediterranean, but it was terribly over cooked and quite dry. I had a rib eye with a demi glace that was really quite delicious. We also shared some fresh spinach sauteed with garlic. Over all it was a nice dinner but what we paid extra to dine in the restaurant would have been close to the bill to dine in an equally nice restaurant at home, so I chalk it up as their way of padding on board income. Of course that didn't stop us from trying one more restaurant, but I have to say the value for money was not really there.

Anti pasta

Calimari

Ribeye

Bronzino

Lobster pasta we shared - very little lobster

Sauteed spinache

April 2 got a little more exciting as Cyclone Iris decided to rebuild and turn back towards shore. We were about 150 km from the eye of the storm and it certainly changed the sea. My standing joke was that I was "drunk" because I stumbled from chair to chair as the boat rocked. Someone told me that if I was drunk, I would walk straight, but sober I would "rock" with the boat.

The weather said the storm was turning away from us and the captain announced that the shore activities for the next day might be cancelled. Our scheduled stop was at Airlie Beach. We were to anchor near the reef and shuttle passengers to the shore or their excursions. There was a snorkeling trip to a pontoon on the reef that many people had booked prior to boarding. We had settled for a "booze cruise" that would take us around the Whitsunday islands/beaches since all the snorkeling trips were fully booked.

We went to the show that night, Simon Palomares who was an Australian comedian. He picked on everyone, Canadians, Americans, Australians and any other nationality in the audience. I laughed out loud almost the entire time, especially when he started talking about teenagers. It's funny he got mixed reviews from other passengers, but I thoroughly enjoyed him.

April 3 the captain announced that the tour guide had cancelled all the tours for the day and that the harbor master for Airlie Beach had closed the port, so we were turning around and heading towards Cairnes (Yorkeys Knob). So another day on the boat but today included rough water and rain. We spent the morning in the adult only pool in the solarium and it was fascinating to watch the waves in the pool caused by the ship rocking. But it was warm, the water in the pool and spas was lovely and it was a great day just to hang out. Again it was crowded on the boat, but for whatever reason, the pool was not a popular place, which was perfect for us.

Since all the excursions were cancelled, the ship added some activities. We went to the tour of the Galley which was amazing. The chefs were introduced to the group. They said that they were surprised at how many people had signed up for the tour. I am sure the pouring rain had something to do with it. We toured in small groups the galley for the main dining rooms on decks 3 and 4. Since it was an American ship they followed guidelines set by the US for sanitation. I noticed gloves were worn by food handlers and lots of "wash your hands" signs. They actually had signs for the passengers as well in all of our bathrooms reminding us to wash our hands and there was hand sanitizer everywhere.

Chandelier in the main dining room

Introducing kitchen staff prior to galley tour

Our tour guide, Conroy a sous chef

Kitchen prep

Sample of what is provided to assure that all dishes look the same

Menu for the entire cruise with pictures of how each one should look

Displays from specialty restaurants

We tried bingo. Didn't win anything but boy did people spend lots of money. Fun but our first and last try - just too expensive and in all honesty, the chance of winning the big pot was virtually nil. But the hope kept people coming.

We also tried a slot tournament. Suzan came in 2nd, I came in 11 out of 12, but it was fun. We stayed in the casino for a while, skipping the show which was a violinist. We heard later it was just OK, so good choice.

We ended the day rocking in our room. It was quite the ride over night, but the seas would eventually calm so things were looking up for the next day.