Cairns, Australia and Sea Day

01-18 Saturday: Cairns, Australia. Stuart has stopped coughing and seems to feel just fine. I am glad because we have a great excursion planned: The Kuranda Scenic Railway: Gold Class. It departs: 12:30p. Tour was approximately 4 Hours, which turned out to be 5 hours. (Adult $189.95; Child $169.95) First on the agenda of the day is immigration. We already have our Australian ETA but there must be face to face immigration and everyone needs to disembark, even if you don’t have a tour or choose to get off. We did all of that, which was pretty fast. After that we walked along the Wharf and stopped at Wharf One Café for a bite to eat. We split a Peri Peri chicken sandwich. We are not sure when we might get to eat something else. After a bit more walking around, it was time for our tour. Meeting back by shore excursions, 4 of our friends were also there to go on the same tour. We transferred by air-conditioned coach to Kuranda village, which is a panoramic drive that sets the tone for the great scenery and relaxing atmosphere of the hinterland. We spent 2 hours in charming Kuranda to explore and to shop in the colorful and inviting boutique stores. Stuart bought me a twist fan, which really helped a lot in the heat. We split a meat pie, this one was chicken curry, and very good. We washed that down with a beer. Later I had a popsicle as it is so hot. I did find a postcard but once again, no stamps! About 3:15p we boarded the train, which left at 3:30p. This is a premium, themed Gold-Class carriage on the very famous, and incredibly scenic Kuranda Railway. We traveled through 15 tunnels and over 37 bridges with sheer cliff faces most of the journey. Stuart was by the window and took all the photos, a nice break for me from photo taking. Views included the Coral Sea and across Trinity Bay to Green Island, with Cairns in the foreground surrounded by sugar plantations. A taste of the tropics, local delicacies and accompanying beverages were served on the train. This included a welcome drink of your choice from the menu. This was followed by a little plate of cheese, dried fruit, crackers, and spread. All of it was very good. There was even dessert; Mango Sorbet. Everything was very good and very filling. The only thing that would have made the day better would have been cooler weather. The heat was oppressive. We were pretty tired when we got back at 5:30p, the last “all aboard” time. Of course, they would have waited for us because we were on a ship shore excursion.

After relaxing a bit, showers, and cooling off, we decided to stay in our cabin tonight. We are beat from the heat and not really hungry. We did end up ordering a sandwich to split later in the evening. It was good and plenty to eat. We played Phase 10 and had an early bedtime.

01-19 Sunday: This was the first Sunday Brunch we went to. They only have the brunch if it is a sea day. Instead of a “Tasting Menu” brunch, it was a regular order from the menu brunch. Stuart had Banana’s Foster pancakes and I ordered the Seafood Poutine. The waiter described it and noted how popular and good it was, so I tried it. I did not care for it because it was mostly calamari rings. I asked for the savory mushroom and tarragon crepes and that was much better to me. Since we slept in, we made a quick stop in the casino and still made it to Mexican Train on time. It was a relaxing afternoon resting and playing Rummikub. The heat of yesterday really zaps the energy. We walked along the outside decks for a little while. Today is called cruising the Barrier Reef, but there really isn’t any part of the reef that we see. We might not be looking in the right places. Scenery is pretty. 

Dinner was very good tonight. Stuart had the veal plicata and I had lasagna. There was a nice salad and tasty, hot egg drop soup. Stuart felt it was the best dinner he had so far. We headed to the show after that. Joyce came in to sit with us and mentioned that Chuck was at the craps table. Stuart joined him and Joyce and I enjoyed the show. It was Broadway Boys. They were 4 Broadway actors from different plays putting together enjoyable melodies for the crowd tonight. They did a great job. When the show was over Joyce and I joined Chuck and Stuart to see how they were doing. Both of them were winning, so we didn’t join in as we didn’t want to change the play in any way. Both of them did very well. After they finished there, Chuck and Joyce left and we, unsuccessfully, played a bit of Black Jack. It was the Rolling Stone lounge after that until 11p when they closed up. There is no late-night life on this ship. We played a Rummikub for a bit and then off to bed. 

Conflict Islands and Sea Day

01-16 Thursday: Conflict Islands, Papua New Guinea. Panacesa to be exact. This is a privately-owned chain of islands in the Coral Sea. The island we docked at is uninhabited and the owner opens it up to cruise ships.  It was absolutely gorgeous here. The entire chain of islands is currently listed for sale at $36M! This is another tendered port. We debated not going ashore but decided to go. We were glad we did. Yes, it was hot but we greatly enjoyed floating around in the beautiful, clear water. There were some white fish with black lines swimming around. One bit me on the back of the leg. It was a small fish, not painful, but surprising. We had a few local treats; a tasty meat pie, beer, and coke. I was happy to finally find a postcard, the first one I have seen since leaving Singapore, but disappointed they were out of stamps. I bought it anyway and will try to mail it in Australia. The Conflict Islands are located in a tropical zone, meaning the water temperature will be consistently warm throughout the year. Today it was 85˚F. 

Tonight, we had dinner in the Pinnacle Grill again, a complementary dinner. It was very good. I wanted to try the short ribs, but they are out of some things. I had the Chilean sea bass instead, Stuart had the filet again, Billboard and the casino after that. off to bed.

01-17 Friday: Sea Day. We slept in and ordered room service for lunch. It is a sea day so it was Mexican Train in the afternoon. We got our passports back today because we need them for the port in Australia tomorrow. Stuart played a bit in the casino and I worked on my photos. Tonight we were scheduled to have dinner with Chuck and Joyce Jordan. Stuart has been coughing today, so we switched the dinner to the 21^st. We had room service dinner, Phase 10, and off to bed early.

 

Rabaul and Kiriwina Island, Papua New Guinea

01-14 Tuesday: Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. Mask Festival on the Volcanic Ash Plains. While the exotic Mask Festival in Rabaul takes place in mid-July each year and gives visitors to East New Britain a chance to witness a wide range of cultural dancing, singing, ritual performance, with a variety of arts and crafts also on display, we saw a mini version of this today. It is very hot with high humidity. In addition to the dancing and singing, we enjoyed some local flavors and coconut water. The food consisted of a roasted banana (with little to no flavor, I think it was a green banana), some sort of greens in sauce, and a piece of chicken in the same sauce. The chicken and greens were tasty. They also served fresh fruit. When we came in, they gave us this woven “purse” with shell money, mango, lychee, and peanuts still in the shell on the stems. These were traded for the coconut water. You didn’t really need to trade them but that was the thought process. We didn’t keep our purses but they were ours to keep if we wanted them.

The money exchange spot on the ship this morning was impacted this morning, so we didn’t get any local currency. Of note, this was not available at home for exchange. They do accept US dollars. We aren’t really in the market for souvenirs anyway, maybe a cold beer, but there was nothing like that available. We have 2 more Papua New Guinea ports, but maybe we will just skip getting currency.

We were back to the ship a little bit past noon. We were really just too hot to eat. We dropped things in the cabin and headed to the Crow’s Nest for a cold drink. There we ran into Tom again, and his sister Rose who is traveling with him. We chatted with them for a bit, then on to a small bite for lunch, and back to the cabin for Rummikub. Dinner was one of the best we have had onboard! We started with coconut shrimp, then a salad, followed by Beef Wellington, and a sugar free lemon chiffon for dessert. We played Black Jack for a little bit but I lost my limit quickly. Stuart played on and then to a slot machine, where I watched. Back to the cabin and off to bed. I tweaked my hip a little bit when getting in the vans yesterday. It is off to bed with a muscle relaxer!

01-15 Wednesday: Today is Kiriwina Island, in Papua New Guinea. There are no tours in this port. It is also a tendered port. We decided not to get off and have a pool day instead. A couple reasons for this: 1) I don’t want to irritate by hip. It is much better and I want it to stay that way. 2) It is very hot, of course, and we were told the only thing to do was go to the beach there. Any way it was a nice day by the pool, lunch, to the cabin, and a special treat tonight with the Wine Cellar Dinner in Canaletto. 

We had such a good time! We sat with another couple Maureen and Paul. They were a delight to chat with. They are from Sacramento. We exchanged numbers and for sure we will stay in touch. These are the first people we have met that their children complain about their traveling. I thought I would never run into another couple with those issues! They were on the Africa cruise, but we never met them on there. They are also going on our South Pacific cruise so that is fun to know. As some other couples were leaving, who were also acquainted with Paul and Maureen, they introduced us. It is a small world, they were all from California, one woman was even born in Vallejo! Stuart gambled a bit, I watched. I have already spent my limit for losing. There was no show tonight, instead a movie we chose not to go to.

Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia and a day at sea

01-12 Sunday: Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia. Today was a tender port but it went well. Typically, we have breakfast delivered to our cabin. I don’t eat much, just enough to take my morning medications. It is quite hot, no surprise. We walked into town. The only thing open was the market. We looked around there and bought some Pringles and water. We ran into John and Blanche. There is nothing else to see or do, we walked around a bit and then headed back to the ship. We had a small bite of lunch. We don’t want to eat too much because we have Morimoto at Sea tonight for dinner.

 We greatly anticipated the Morimoto dinner tonight. There is only one night that this is offered on this first cruise (29 days). Before dinner we went to the Pinnacle Bar and sat with Garry and Joan from Canada. We had a nice visit with them. They have gone overland from Sydney to Perth on the train. It sounds like quite the adventure, also very expensive. 

Off to dinner now. Initially, the hostess was not there and we stood waiting to be checked in. It is not near as busy as we thought it would be, yet the service, or at least our waiter, was very slow. People came in after us and were served before we were. Our appetizers were the Tori ramen noodle bowl, pork gyoza dumplings, and Morimoto’s fresh tuna pizza. All three if these were good, but nothing spectacular. For our mains I had Angry Lobster Thai Pad and Stuart had the Ishiyaki Buri Bop, which was yellow tail seared in a stone bowl. My lobster tail was a bit over cooked, tiny (4 bites), and lacked flavor. Stuart’s fish was so thinly sliced it just crumbled when he tried to eat it. We had 3 sides, wok seared bok choy, Wasabi mashed potatoes, and house fried rice. The bok choy and mashed potatoes were delicious. It was all “okay” but our expectations were not met for this special evening. I’m not sure we want to try this venue again. It is $95 and a bit disappointing.

(Photos on Facebook)

We played for a short time in the casino, then on to Rolling Stone Lounge, back to the cabin to play cribbage, then off to bed. We turned the clock forward another hour tonight.

01-13 Monday: A quiet morning, feeling tired from that hour ahead. We opted for lunch in the dining room. Our drink order took 20 minutes to get to us, and they forgot Stuart’s drink. When his burger arrived after 30 minutes, the burger was raw in the middle. Needless to say, he was not happy. I will say the dining experiences on this ship compared to the Zuiderdam is greatly lacking. It’s odd when people arrive after you do and they get served first, even the same dishes were ordered. It is weird. After that we played Mexican Train and that was a lot of fun.

The afternoon was spent relaxing and playing games. We had dinner in the dining room and listened to the music in Billboard Onboard. The show was pretty good with these interpretative dance group with great music and video enhancements. The evening was finished off in the Rolling Stone Lounge.

At Sea

01-10 Friday: There was a King Neptune Ceremony today when crossing the equator. We didn’t go, it is crowded and we have been to a few of these! We did meet Tom Vassos at the Black Jack table a few nights ago and he stopped by our table at dinner last night. We discovered that he is a speaker. He contracts directly with Holland America for his speaking engagements. We went to his presentation today. It was very good and well done but lasted 90 minutes. That is just too long. He teaches Astronomy at the University of Toronto. Interesting guy. After the presentation we had to rush through a quick lunch in Lido to get to our Mexican Train game on time.

We had a little casino time in the afternoon, then a rest, and off to dinner. I skipped the casino tonight as I am tired. We turned the clock ahead an hour before going to bed.

01-11 Saturday: Slept in, at lunch at Pinnacle Grill followed by playing Mexican Train with our friends. Now it was time for a bit of housekeeping. While we do have free laundry, I don’t want to send things that I don’t want going through the dryer process.

Tonight, we chose the dining room, we sat with Peter and Barbara from Vancouver. They were an interesting couple. He was born in Amsterdam and she in Munich. We had some interesting travel conversations. It always takes longer when you share a table, but we were in no hurry. Casino, Billboard Onboard, and Rolling Stone Lounge completed our restful day.

Bitung, Indonesia

01-08 Wednesday: Today we are sailing in the Celebes Sea. This is the day to do a few things in the cabin. After that it was a quick lunch at Dive In where we met up with Raine and Mina. We were meeting our group for Mexican Train at the Crows Nest. However, it was impacted so we found a table in the Library Café where we played from 1p to 3p and then back to the cabin to play a bit of Rummikub and take a rest. We thought about the pool for a brief moment but it is really hot today. I guess there is less breeze or cloud cover. It is 84˚ with 70% humidity but feels much hotter than yesterday for some reason.

We had dinner at Canaletto tonight. It isn’t a very special venue, just a corner of the Lido deck separated from the rest. Service was pretty good. The food was good, but not great. Seems the food overall on this cruise has been lacking. I’ve had a few tasty dishes but the food here is nothing compared to what we had on the Zuiderdam. Staff is great, but the food lacks flavor.

About onboard activities, there are many: Sunrise Stretch, Coloring for Adults, Game Shows, liquor tasting at various times, ballroom dancing, Art Auctions, Cooking Shows, Pickleball Instructions, Bingo, Coffee with Gage (the cruise director), flower arranging, Arts and Crafts, and more…

01-09 Thursday: Today we are in Bitung, Indonesia. This is a small port without a lot of interesting things. None of the tours appealed to us so we just got off and walked around. It was brutally hot and humid. We walked into town, basically had a cold beer, and walked back. The Starbucks seemed to be a destination for some… really? There were 3-4 places selling gold jewelry on the short walk. Everything else looks very poor. There were a lot of children with little notebooks asking for signatures. I think I heard it was a school project for them. Many locals asked for their photo to be taken with us. I declined but several cruisers accommodated the request. Shortly after we returned to the ship it began to rain. By now we are sitting on the balcony playing Phase 10. The weather is pleasant when protected from the sun, having a slight breeze, and sipping a cold drink. The rain lasted an hour or so. As the rain left in came the thunder and lightning. That also lasted about an hour and was anywhere from 2-15 miles away. A fun experience on the balcony. There are a lot of friendly people here and it was nice to see Holland America let visitors onboard. I am sure some of the crew were thrilled to see some family. As we departed hundreds of people were on the dock waving and such. Captain Zoll really played it up big honking at them on departure. There were a few flying fish to see as well.

We had dinner in the dining room this evening. The one appetizer of Shanghai ribs was very good. Stuart had the fresh seared tuna. We saw this come on board in Puerto Princessa. He enjoyed that. I had sweet and sour roasted duck, but it was overdone and tough, but had good flavor. We skipped the show tonight and joined friends in the casino. I left early because I was tired (even after my afternoon nap!) and I was losing. Until now I have mostly stayed “even” with the bank. Stuart played on and did okay for the day.

(see some photos on Facebook, takes too long to upload here)

At Sea

01-05 Sunday: Today everyone is getting the Philippine entry codes. Ours were fairly easy because we downloaded the app and filled things out first. So many people did not. It is a mess for them. Raine and Mina didn’t do it and they are in the que to have help. We both tried to help them but since they could not get to their email for the confirmation code, it was useless. The rest of our day was filled with games, dinner, and a brief visit to the casino. We ran into another couple from the Africa cruise (Chuck and Joyce). We plan to meet with them tomorrow evening for craps.

We went to the brief Captain’s welcome then on to dinner in the dining room, which was okay. The soups, while delicious on the last HAL cruise leave a little bit to be desired on this cruise. There seems to be no depth of flavor and not served really hot, we will see how it goes from now on.

01-06 Monday: We are cruising in the Sulu Sea at the moment. Breakfast delivered to our cabin again. After that we went down for the Thermal Scan that is required to enter the Philippines. It was sure easy because all we did was walk through the area after getting our cards scanned. It automatically takes our temperature and we were good to go. Stuart talked with Adrianne for a bit and I chatted for a little bit with Jeff. I am so glad we have the internet phone service. From there we went to the Sea View Bar to play Rummikub. It had rained before we got there and before we finished our games it rained again! It was a brief rain and though people left the area, we stayed because it was not much and we wanted to enjoy the breeze, sun, and sea. By noon we headed to the Lido deck and got a few snacks to put in our fridge for later. We went to lunch in the dining room. I had the chicken Korma and it was delicious. It is like a mild curry. I would love to try making this. We saw John, Blanche, Paul, and Diana when leaving the dining room. We are all set up to play Mexican Train the next sea day at 1p, Crows Nest. A quick trip to the casino for some fun, then back to the cabin to catch up on this blog and housekeeping.

Dinner in the dining room and on to the World Stage for the show tonight. It was a techno light show with dance by Step One Dance Company, called Humanity. Actually, it was quite good. After that we met friends in the casino to play craps. That was going pretty well (Stuart, John, Chuck, Joyce, me) when I started to feel very light headed. I only had 1 wine with dinner and crème de menthe at the show. I had to leave the table and sit down. When I didn’t improve, Stuart cashed in my chips for me and took me back to the cabin. I felt fine after lying down for a while. I’m not sure just what happened!