Had final breakfast. The day was pretty disorganised (no surprise given what we had seen to date). Eventually got off the boat, and got home.
Cruising was fun, and we look forward to doing a bit more in our old age. But at our current point in life, we would prefer to pick the places we go to and spend more time at them, rather than the quick glimpse at each place that we got, and being very limited in what could be done at each location.
The island-hopping is over, so back to the big, blue sea to go home…
Today was at Noumea
For your information / reference, Noumea is pretty much closed Christmas Day. Any tours that people try to organise and advertise “Christmas Day At Noumea” are a crock!
Today was at Mystery Island.
Today was at Isle of Pines
Today was at Mare
Running out of steam with the blog. I don’t have enough time to write it all, so we’re going with notes so I have *something* to look back on!
Today was at Port Villa
I had a bit of a sleep in – compared to yesterday! We had breakfast around 7.45, and the group we were with finished by 8.30. So it was a slow morning. 10.00 Kaoru and I did the bow climb again, as it was one that she enjoyed. Then we did a flying fox at 11 (I went off backwards which was fun) and a segway obstacle course at 12. Kaoru and I had lunch at Waterfront, and we were seated with some 19/20 year olds. They weren’t as fun to talk to as the other people we had been talking with for our previous breakfasts.
I had a bit of a lay down (which turned in to a one hour sleep!) and Kaoru went to her day spa. I caught up on some emails, and then we went to 5.00 trivia with Mum and Dad, and Julie and Darren. 6.00 was the “name that song”, ’80’s, which Darren did well at (I knew a lot of songs but not all the bands, but Darren was good with bands). 7.00 we went to see a hypnotist show which was entertaining. Then the 6 of us went to the Waterfront for dinner, and finished by preparing for the next day.
We came up with the idea of watching the sunrise this morning. So 5.15 we were running up to deck 14 to see what we could see. Unfortunately it was cloudy so we didn’t get the best view, but it was still nice to be up with so little activity on the ship. We couldn’t eat though, so we just had some tea, and at 7.00 we joined a morning stretch class. My body really needed that as I was quite sore – possibly from the rock climbing, although that was 2 days ago.
Finally we could have breakfast. We were with the same couple as yesterday, and another gentleman, and another lady. We were having a great talk, and before we knew it, it was after 9.15 and Kaoru and I had to rush off. This morning we started our Edge activities by climbing a ladder up the bow (front) of the ship, with Julie and David. It was quite windy, which made it a bit more exciting. We had to learn how to operate two hooks to ensure we were always connected by at least one. Then we did our “Titanic Moment” – standing up the very front of the ship. We had a number of photos taken up there.
We found Mum and Dad and joined them for a while. Then went for a flying fox ride at 11ish. But then we had our new experience – segway driving at 12! None of us had tried this before, and it took quite a bit to really feel in complete control of the vehicle. David was very good at it, and Kaoru also picked it up very well. Once finished we were “inducted” and ready to do the obstacle course, but that will be in our next session. Kaoru and I then went to see “Hunt for the Wilderpeople”. We had missed the first half hour, but had seen it before, and it was still very amusing.
I decided it was time to get in the pool, so I got changed. And arrived just in time for it to be closed for the pool volleyball comp. As luck would have it, they needed another player, so I jumped up and in I went. So we played for about an hour, which was great fun. Then it was 3.00 spirit tasting – to decide if we wanted to purchase any duty free alcohol. Dad, Julie and I worked out how much to buy between us all. I had time for a quick nap, before going to trivia at 5.00 with Mum and Dad. Kaoru arrived just as it finished. At 7.00 we went to the Marquee to see a musical show – Disconnected, which was quite fun. Then it was off for dinner, and relax for a bit, before a 9.45 “Guess That Tune” game show, where we had to pick the song, and be first to run up to a chair on the stage to name it. that was just Darren, Julie, Kaoru and I. Finally it was time to call it a night, after a few Long Island Ice Teas.
Kaoru slept through sunrise today. We got up just after 7, and went to breakfast at Waterfront again. We met a few other passengers again – it’s very enjoyable chatting away over a casual breakfast – we didn’t have to rush off for laser tag today, but did need to be out by 9 for our Edge activities though. So after a big breakfast for me, and a bennedict for Kaoru, we brushed our teeth and headed out to deck 14. Julie was already there, and receiving the bad news – 45 knot winds, so Edge is cancelled for the day. On the plus side, we get an extra day on our pass!
Julie, Kaoru and I then went and did the day spa tour, and Julie signed up as Kaoru’s “partner”, meaning it only cost her $100 instead of $189. Given it’s a full glass of champagne when you’re in there, she’ll make her money back just on that! And the relax room without any kids will be good too. Kaoru and I then went and explored the ship a bit (the lower decks). Then relaxed in the reception area, before noticing that the Edge people were there, so went and booked the Segway for the 6 of us for tomorrow.
It was then time for Kaoru and I to relax at the Oasis – the child-free area at the back of the ship. So we laid down there for 10 minutes, and were bored so came back to our room and did some studying (me Japanese, Kaoru driving) on our balcony. There were a few specs of rain and I didn’t want my book to get wet, so we came inside and had a lay down.
Lunch was in the Waterfront restaurant, with the kids too. Then Dad wanted to check his email so he and I went in to the Casino and Kaoru went to the day spa. Dad and I went to see The Liars Club in the Marquee at 3.00, which was very amusing. Unfortunately we had to leave early and rush down to deck 2 for family photos at 4.00.
Mum, Dad, Kaoru and I sat through the second half of the trivia while Julie and Darren got the kids fed and under control, and checked in to kids club. We saw a 7.00 show of Tony Williams playing the piano which was very entertaining, and then it was off to The Salt Grill for some Luke Mangan cousine for Mum’s birthday dinner. It was a very nice meal, but also very big and filling, so we walked around the deck for a few laps. Then it was time to call it a day.
Kaoru woke up early and went for a wander around the ship about 5.30! She got to see the sunrise along with a small number of other people. She came back, and we got out of bed a bit before 8. Off to Waterfront for breakfast, where we met a few other passengers and had a nice social time. Then it was off for laser tag at 9.00, followed by a 10.00 “shore talk”, to give us more detail about the excursions. 11.00 it was the family lego building competition, so we all went to that (the kids can let themselves out of the day care – not Ethan though). Then it was all 9 of us at Waterfront for lunch, followed by a dance lesson for Kaoru and I (which Julie and Darren were at too) at 1.30. This certainly isn’t relaxing! The whole day has felt like we’ve been busy!
Kaoru went for her first day spa, and I had noticed a few work issues I had to resolve, so I got that done sitting in the casino lounge (the closest place with internet access). Then I had some relax time before a 4.00 “rock climb” up the chimney!
I bumped in to Dad and Darren; Dad gave the coffee a try and I had a lemon, lime and bitters. We left there and bumped in to Kaoru, fresh from her day-spa and complementary (very full) glass of champagne. So we changed our shoes and went to the Edge desk for the climb. We booked a couple of activities for tomorrow while we were there.
The rock climbing was quite challenging. They certainly weren’t basic holds. The kids (David, and the others in the group) had no problem climbing but I barely made it half way up, and Julie and Kaoru were the same. There was an automatic belat, so it didn’t need somebody else to support you in the activity. We spent about half an hour there, and then it was back to our room for a shower and dress up night.
We met Mum and Dad in the Connexion Lounge for pre-dinner drinks. We then all moved in to the Waterfront for Julie’s birthday dinner, followed by a “music of the Naughties” show in the Marquee. Izzy was hypnotised by the dancing and we all had a laugh at how intensely she was concentrating. We got changed in to more comfortable clothes, and then all the adults met in the casino for a drink, while the kids were back at kids club. Kaoru and I left about 8:50 as “The Pantry” closes at 9.00 and Kaoru wanted a snack. So we got a couple of burritos to keep us going for the night.
To finish the evening, Kaoru, Julie, Darren and I went to see Garry Who do stand up comedy back in the Marquie lounge. We were pretty worn out though – Kaoru was falling asleep during the show, and I’m sure if it wasn’t so funny I would have been too! It was then time to finally go to bed.
It’s been a long time between trips! But here we go with something new…
Just before 1.00, and we were picked up from home in the mini bux. It already had Mum, Dad, Julie, Darren, David, Izzy and Ethan, with a trailor on the back for our bags. So in went Kaoru and my 3 suitcases, and we were off to Port Melbourne.
Boarding was relatively painless. Our bags were picked up from the car and we were told we would see them in our room. We went upstairs and “checked in”. Immigration wasn’t too difficult, except I was told my watch was OK, yet I set off the metal detector. So after scanning me, and giving me a pat down, I suggested that maybe I try without the watch. And hey, Presto!
We then boarded the ship and went to our room. Kaoru and I had upgraded to a balcony room, and whilst I haven’t seen the non-balcony yet, it was worthwhile! A small balcony but we can at least sit out there on a warm night – hopefully we get some time for that!
We got our bearings around the ship. We found the kitchen, and the Edge booking desk (and booked our first couple of activities). We had a tour of the day spa, where Kaoru signed up to the unlimited pass, so she can have her relax time. Then it was off to our muster station for the 3.30 briefing.
We met up with everybody else up on deck 12 / 14 and had a drink as we sailed out of Melbourne, with lots of excitement! Then it was time for our first activity, which was a Flying Fox across the top of the ship! That was a bit of fun, and given they were running late, it kept us amused for a while. Kaoru and I did a bit more exploring of the ship, finding the “no kids area” at the back (but it was a bit too sunny at the time so we didn’t stay for long). We wandered around a bit, and bumped in to people now and then. We went to do the bungy tramp, and it was very windy and cooling down! Julie and Darren checked the kids in to kids club, and Kaoru and I took a round of drinks to Mum and Dad’s suite, which was very nice.
We all ate dinner at Waterfront. Kaoru and I explored the ship a bit more and had a cocktail, before finally going back to our cabin to unpack our suitcases (we had been told that everybody else already had!). It was about midnight by the time we went to bed.