And I call Australia home ...?

On our way to Darwin, where we arrive on Sunday (great planning Princess!).  However, looking back to Vivian's birthday - as there was no bridge as it was a port day, we went up to the top lounge/restaurant (Sabatini's) which is reserved for "special" passengers.  We have never been before as there is too little time between bridge/afternoon tea/dinner.  Anyway this was a great opportunity to get some fantastic views of Komodo & the other islands as we sailed away.

As it was Vivian's birthday, she had a large Pina Colda, which lasted all the way through dinner too.  I had the cocktail of the day "Chairman of the Board" which also lasted all evening . However the night was all Vivian's.  Diane had decorated our table with balloons and had a birthday card for Vivian. All of our table companions made an effort and attended, so that was a nice touch. At the conclusion of the meal, our Head Waiter, Meg our waiter & assistant waiter Nikolai, along with Victor (another waiter) & his assistant, Fernando (another Head Waiter), Eleana and Marina sang a very merry "Happy Birthday" and presented a birthday card from the Captain, along with a little chocolate birthday cake (just one candle).  A very happy occasion.  For some reason, there were no shows that night, so we saw a movie - Red 2.  I was unimpressed at first, but it was actually a spoof James Bond type of film and we had a good laugh.

Friday was an uneventful day (shortened once again by an hour) and was also a formal night, so we took the group photo as it may be the only time that we are all together. Preceding dinner, was the Captain's Circle cocktail party - we haven't been to the last couple of cocktail parties, so thought that we would. Just like the last Captain's Circle gathering - line up for 15 minutes, get a seat, wait 20 minutes for a drink, wait another 20 for a nibble (literally) & listen to the Captain give his standard talk!  Vivian's bridge buddies from Adelaide won the "most cruised" award - again. They have won it on each sector, so did #2.  Their cruise days are up in the 700s, so our 120 is insignificant :-)

We have been looking and thinking about future cruises, and there are a wide variety of choices, but we'll wait until we get home to plan, rather than rushing in now.  Might have to do a couple more Australasian ones first, to get our status level up!!  Although there are not as many Elite passengers on this sector, they still make up about 15%, with Platinum (us) just under 25%.  We have established however that status and long term loyalty do not get upgrades, rather the amount you pay & a lot of luck. As with the NZ cruise earlier in the year we have heard a number of stories of people being contacted just before they left Australia, being offered a downgrade (yes, a downgrade) in exchange for large cash payment equating almost to a free cruise!

It is now Saturday afternoon and we had another of their famous Brunches, where they turn the main dining room into a bunfight for 3 hours in exchange for not having a proper breakfast nor lunch. I've got to say that the presentation is great, but just not my thing.  I am starting to get past all the food stuff and am really looking forward to some good old simple home cooking - but without the preparation or the cleaning up.

We are in the Timor Sea and once again I suspect that we are running ahead of schedule as we are barely doing 8 knots. The sea is like an absolute millpond and this weather is predicted for tomorrow, but with higher temperatures.  We arrive in Darwin at 7.00 and have no plans other than going into town, as we were there just last year.  A bit annoyed however that we have to go to Australian Immigration at 7.15 - how about our sleep in?  Well, it seems that once we've done that they'll leave us alone until we disembark in Sydney.  Don't want to think that far ahead yet.

Sunday 27th.  Well, here we are in Darwin (again).  We are surprised that many Australians have not been here before.  Our biggest surprise however was the amount of development which has gone on around the waterfront. Numerous apartment blocks have been built around the inlet, which has been fenced off to keep out stingers, Crocs, sharks etc.  There are 2 areas, one which is about 8ft deep, complete with lifeguards and another much deeper for serious swimmers.  Under the apartments are all the cafés & bars. There is also a lift which almost takes you to the bottom of Smith Street (main street/mall).  It was a very pleasant walk from the ship and much better for us than paying $A28 for a 5 minute shuttle!!

Talking of Smith Street, quite a bit of redevelopment is going on, but at the same time there are many empty buildings, but overall Darwin was looking better than when we saw it a couple of years ago.  Another surprise was that as we sailed in, we saw that we were to berth next to a warship (seems a common thread), but we could not identify it as there was no flag flying or any other identification. Turns out that it was HMNZS Te Kaha - a piece of home at last. We spoke with one of the seamen and they've been away about the same time as us.

We were in town just after 9.00 and as we passed the Cathedral, we heard singing and to cut a short story shorter, we attended the service.  Interesting that they have a new Bishop & a new Dean arriving/going or whatever next Sunday.  Following Church we resumed our walk through town and grabbed a coffee - first flat white for months.  Darwin city is really small and a couple of  hours was plenty, so we went back to the waterfront area and had a beer, watching the sights along with the gathering rain clouds. The moment we stepped into the open the spots started, but the torrential rain held off until we were just about to leave the security area to board the ship. Being tropical however it was all over in less than 5 minutes and the sun dried it all up in no time flat.

We only have a short time here and we are due to set sail for Airlie Beach, Queensland just after 3.30.  So another 3 sea days are on store and we hope that the fantastic sea conditions we have been experiencing continue, particularly as Airlie Beach is a (last) tender port.

I have just been reviewing some of this & other posts and see that sometimes the spell checker/correcter has a mind of it's own - so belated apologies if some sentences don't make sense :-)