25th February 2019

A considerable number of passengers disembarked in Auckland, their places taken by new faces, not Kiwis, as one might expect, but Australians making use of a relatively short cruise home. We have been informed that a further 200 will disembark in Sydney, ourselves among them.

On the 22nd, we met a couple at lunch who, as it turned out, had been assigned to our evening dinner table. Unsurprisingly, they were British expats who had relocated to Australia many years ago and were now in the process of downsizing their home near Sydney to another property a short distance away. They were taking the cruise to escape the stress of the lead-up to moving day, an option that was not available to Sarah or Jamie during their recent house moves, though I’m sure they would have appreciated the benefits.

Unfortunately, on what should have been our first evening with a full complement of dinner guests, Ian and Diane were absent, having been invited to the celebratory meal of another couple renewing their vows.

As we made our way towards Australia, the temperature dropped to a more comfortable 25°C, but the swell increased to around three metres, causing some erratic movement of the ship. While walking along the decks, one moment you would feel as if you were trudging uphill with a heavy body, and the next, as if you were floating effortlessly downhill, despite no visual clues to indicate the ship’s motion, only the sensation. In bed, this rhythmic shift from heavy to light has a strangely soothing effect, lulling me to sleep. I’m not so sure about Sue. On past cruises, her seasickness has occasionally meant I’ve had to dine alone, but so far, she has been fine on this trip.

Coincidence is a funny thing. Our cabin is on Deck 6, our lifeboat is also number 6, and, strangely enough, on every single shore tour, we have been allocated number 6. So, what’s our assigned three-digit dinner table number? 666? No, 111. Also, I recently noticed that there is no Deck 13 on the ship; it took me 50 days to realise this. I wonder if Chinese cruise ships omit Deck 7?

On our final evening before reaching Australia, the captain made an announcement during dinner. He had been closely monitoring a cyclone developing over the Tasman Sea and had decided to extend our stay in the safety of Sydney Harbour for two nights rather than one, meaning we would miss visiting Hamilton Island. I was surprised by the cheers that erupted in response. Clearly, this decision was welcome news to many. While I know Sydney is a fantastic place to spend extra time, I have never been to Hamilton Island, so I am disappointed. But a cyclone is a cyclone, and at sea, they are not to be taken lightly.