Today was the start of the cruise portion of the trip. I decided to sleep in, but Joe and Kevin decided on breakfast. They went to a spot near the hotel and afterwards went to a wine store to get some wine for the cruise. We plan to have some private bridge games and need the 'refreshments' part of that.
We ordered a cab to take us to the International Cruise terminal located not too far from the hotel. It is located in Sydney Harbor. We arrived around 11:30 AM. We checked our large suitcases and got in the cue for registration. We found Gary, our friend from Indiana. He had arrived by air around 6:30 AM today, so he had gotten to the terminal first and saved us a spot in line. Very fortunate to be able to stand in the shade rather than in the sun like others. We visited and filled out paper work for the check-in.
The line started to move shortly before noon and we all made it to the registration rather quickly. There wasn't a long cue. Everyone got checked in quickly....except me. They said that there was a problem with my registration and to take a seat and when they figured it out they would call me. A bit concerned, I did what was told and took a chair in the back of the room. I noticed that I was not the only one in this situation. I told the others to go ahead, which they did and Kevin and Gary were able to snag a table on the Lido deck outside near the pool, and in the shade.
After about 30 minutes, Joe came down to see what was happening. He waited with me for a bit and I told him to go on and I would meet him on the Lido. I inquired as to what was the status and why the hold up for my registration. It turns out that the port operations had a different room number than the ship's manifest said for me and quite a few other guests. They said that they were waiting on a ship's officer to solve the problem, and when he did, would be allowed on board. Two hours later, they told me that I could go onboard, but I would have to check-in at Guest Services as they couldn't do it in the terminal. I also had a new room number.
When I got to Guest Services, there was another 20 minute wait. Holland America Staff apologized for the inconvenience and gave me an upgraded room for my troubles. I got to my cabin around 3:45. My large suitcase wasn't there, But I expected that as I had checked it in using my original cabin number. I was upgraded to a Neptune Suite room, which is REALLY SWEET. It has a king size bed, couch, very large bathroom (with a shower and separate tub, double sink counter), and it also has a make-up/dressing area. But the sweet spot is the balcony. I am in the starboard aft corner of the ship. My balcony consists of a large area in the rear and extends around the side with enough room for 2 lounge chairs. I could have a party back here. We did use it for the sail-away
I put my stuff in the room and joined Kevin and Joe on the Lido deck. Gary had gone down to unpack and grab a shower and a rest. I was very impressed with the harbor. I grabbed my camera and took a few photographs. Next, I went in to get a bit of lunch from the Lido dining area. We sat on the deck until it was time to go down for the Muster Drill. When that was finished, we all met in my cabin for the sail away.
The ship left a bit late as we had to wait for smaller ferry boat traffic to ease up a bit. It was interesting to see all the different types of boats in the harbor. We sailed at 6:45. I have to say that this was one of the most impressive harbors I have seen. With the Sydney Opera House and the iconic bridge right here it made an impressive event, surpassed only by Venice, Italy. My room came with a chilled bottle of Champaign and we ordered 4 cheese and cracker plates from room service. BEST SAIL AWAY EVER.
After the sail away, we broke up and made plans for an 8:30 dinner. We met about that time and Gary had gotten there a bit early again and saved us a long wait. The meal was very good, I started with the scallops and salad and had stuffed pork loin. I tried the Tim Tam Torte, but it was not like I had seen in the bakeries in Melbourne. A bit disappointing as it just tasted like lemon cheese cake. I am going to try a 'real' one when I get back to Melbourne.
After dinner we tried our luck at the casino. Joe and Kevin did OK, me not so well. Bedtime was around 11:00 for me, the rest stayed for a bit longer.
