Day 22 ~ Almost to Sydney

AUSTRALIA, n. A country lying in the South Sea, whose industrial and commercial development has been unspeakably retarded by an unfortunate dispute among geographers as to whether it is a continent or an island. ~ Ambrose Bierce

This has been a day to prepare for our visit to Sydney. Our disembarkation will require more official activity than any of the other ports have. Usually, Princess is able to arrange for a mass approval of all and we never stand in a customs line. Here we’ll present our passports, entrance cards and visas to customs officials face to face. We filled out the declaration cards and changed some US dollars into Australian dollars. Since we have 6 ports of call in Oz, we figured it would be worthwhile to have some local currency.

Tomorrow will come early. The Harmony Choir is meeting near the pool at 5:15 AM so we’ll be in place to sing as we sail beneath the Harbor Bridge (affectionately known as the Coat Hanger). Then we’ll have to hightail it to the Cabaret Lounge to gather for our excursion to the Blue Mountains at 7:30 AM

Today, our book club met to discuss the two books we read—Little Fires Everywhere and The Orphan’s Tale. It’s always interesting to hear what struck other readers. Both books began with a chapter that really ought to have been labeled “Prologue.” It was chock full of information that would make sense later, but because it was called the first chapter, everyone expected the story to begin right then and were confused when it didn’t. I’ve had this discussion with other writers and editors and the consensus is that prologues are out of fashion, but I maintain that they have a definite purpose. (That’s why I’m bucking the trend and having a prologue in both The Singular Mr. Sinclair and Lord Bredon and the Bachelor’s Bible—Book 1 & 2 in my new Mia Marlowe House of Lovell series.)

The DH and I sang a duet in the Passenger Talent Show this afternoon. Once again, we had a very appreciative audience. Unfortunately, I’ve picked up a touch of a cold so it didn’t feel right to me, but lots of folks said the song moved them.  Hopefully, I’ll shake off this sore throat quickly. Coughing makes my vocal cords swell and I don’t sound like myself to me. I may have to make it an early night and try to sleep it off.

We sat outside the Panorama Buffet on the fan tail for quite a while today, enjoying some iced tea and watching the Pacific Princess’s wake spread out behind us. The water is a deep blue and is behaving itself quite nicely. It’s a day for relaxing.

It’s also a day for saying goodbye. We are losing a number of people in Sydney—notably our trivia partners Reynald and Pierre. But they aren’t going home just yet. Their travel plans include a river cruise up the Mekong to see Ankor Wat (that may be spelled incorrectly. Sorry.) It’s an incredible temple complex deep in the heart of the jungle.

And over 100 new passengers will be joining us tomorrow. Not everyone on the PP is going all the way around the world. Some have only signed up for certain segments. This segment begins in Sydney and ends in Dubai.  The next one after that starts in Venice and will take us all the way to Ft. Lauderdale.

In case we don't get enough enjoyment from eating the delicious food served on the PP, Oscar, Lynn & our executive chef give us a cooking demonstration.

We’ll jump up a Captain’s Circle loyalty level after Sydney. Right now, we are lowly “Rubies.” The next level is Platinum, which comes with the timely perk of 500 free internet minutes for each of us. This is a big deal because I only have 80 minutes left of the 640 I started with. Ditto for the DH. We’ll get another 500 each in Dubai, and then 250 each in Venice (because that last segment doesn’t have as many days as the others.)  Even after this cruise, we’ll be short of Elite status by about 24 days. The biggest benefit of being “Elite” is that you get free unlimited laundry, dry cleaning and shoe polishing.

Someday…