Live From the Diamond Princess – March 2, 2018 8 Day Tasmania

[ccrain]

We, Charles and Judy, are just about to leave the Hilton Sydney for embarkation on the Diamond Princess for an 8-Day Tasmanian cruise followed by a 12 day New Zealand cruise and then the 22 day repo cruise to Japan. We’ve been trying to get to Australia and New Zealand for 5 years now and have had to cancel 4 previous trips. Not this time! We finally made it. After months of google walking, YouTube watching, Tripadvisor reading and Cruise Critic lurking, we are finally here!

 

I plan to do a Live From for each of the cruises to try to keep everything separate. I hope to provide a little extra insight to those traveling to these sights in the future, as well as ship board activities, food , service, weather, just the things that make anticipating a cruise better and better – or for those of you afflicted by OCPD (Obsessive Cruise Planning Disorder), like myself, I hope you will find little tidbits of information that satiate your OCPD for at least a few hours!

 

As all afflicted with OCPD know, even the best laid plans go awry. I had originally planned to fly to SYD via LAX on Asiana Air, connecting in Incheon with a 16 hour layover with time to do a free Seoul transit tour. After planning that connection meticulously United up and offered a direct supersaver connection from COS to SYD via LAX on a 787 Dreamliner. Incheon went out the window as we would leave two days later, arrive on the same day, but not have to OCPD about luggage, timing, immigration in Korea, getting back in, etc. So on last Saturday we kissed our bags goodbye in COS and headed for SYD!

 

LAX proved very interesting. With a 7 hour layover we went to Star Alliance lounge in the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). We were able to stay airside (inside security) via the new T4 to TBIT connector hallway. I would NOT have gone outside security. The lounge had much better food options than the new United Club in T7, HOWEVER, seating, in our opinion, was much more Uncomfortable than the United Club. So we had a late lunch, a couple of drinks and watched the lounge steadily fill up around 1700. We left and traipsed back to the United Club – about a 20 minute walk above and under LAX – in T7. There we found a nice quiet corner and settled in to wait for our 2245 departure from T7. Note – United international flights depart from T7, not TBIT, but they arrive at TBIT.

 

The flight was standard 787 United International – the old Business First hard product (2-2-2) – relabeled as Polaris but only with the new Polaris soft product. This was our second flight on a 787, in Business Class, but the longest flight for sure as we would be in the air for over 16 hours due to delays getting into SYD – thunderstorms. 787’s are pressurized for 6000 to 7000 feet, right at home for us since COS is at 6500, and it makes a BIG difference. The food tastes better, the sleep is more restful, I just wish they would hurry up with the Polaris hard product upgrades so that the footwells are a bit wider and less restrictive.

 

Service and food on the flight was exemplary – for a United flight – all US airlines have a long way to go to catch up to some of the major international carriers. IFE worked and was ok. Sleeping was not bad considering the flight length. Compared to the hassle of the Incheon connections via Asiana, this was a good substitute and our luggage arrived with no issues.

 

Upon landing in SYD I screwed up by not e-verifying our passports right away. There was no signage that required you to, nor any video on the plane that told you how to. It is similar to the US system and it simply verifies that you have an e-visa to enter the country. The very nice lady at the immigration check point did it for us, but did point out that we should have gotten a little receipt from the machines prior to the immigration checkpoint.

 

Regardless, we got into the country officially and without any major international incident, into a rather long taxi que, a lot of international flights land in SYD in the morning, and headed into the CBD and the Hilton Sydney.

 

When we booked this series of cruises back in 2017, I haunted the Hilton website looking for good HH point deals in SYD and booked these days when they first became available with points. At 60k points a night, it was a bargain. The Hilton Sydney is a typical Hilton international hotel. In other words, NOTHING like a Hilton in the states. International hotels in major cities are in furious competition with each other and it shows in the services they offer. We’ve stayed in 3 international Hiltons and one Conrad, and the Hilton Sydney is the best of the Hiltons we’ve stayed and is a very close second to the Conrad in Singapore – which still remains our favorite so far. The Hilton Sydney is centrally located. If so inclined you can walk to Circular Quay, Darling Harbor, Chinatown and Central Station. The service at the hotel is fabulous, the executive lounge very, very nice with good food and happy hour (free) drinks. The buffet breakfast is fantastic. But the service really shines, from the valet to the concierge to room service to the front desk to the executive lounge staff. We were treated like royalty and we very much enjoyed it.

 

There are two metro stations close by, St James and Town Centre. From there you can get practically anywhere in NSW. The metro system rivals the one in Singapore in comprehensiveness – although it is much more complex and you almost have to use a smartphone app to find the right track and train, especially at Central which has several dozen! But no worries – if you miss one another will be right along.

 

We tested the metro system extensively during our stay. We did trains and ferries, including a train ride to Katoomba on Wednesday for an absolutely gorgeous blue sky day in the Blue Mountains. With the Opal card daily cap of $15.40AUD we basically traveled every afternoon for free. We did the ferry to Toranga, a ferry ride up the Parramatta river, the train to Katoomba, trains around the city – it was fast, efficient, clean and safe. Very, very impressive and highly recommended for tourists to travel. In fact, when we do the two turnaround days in Sydney we will be catching the metro in Circular Quay and going out and about while the ship unloads and loads…

 

I actually look at the metro system as THE major attraction in Sydney. From that system you can ride around the city and NSW and look at the architecture and people watch, even see some wildlife, at a minimal cost. We did do some major attractions – the Sydney Tower, Taronga Zoo, Sydney Aquarium, Botanical Gardens, the Domain, the Opera House, Circular Quay, Darling Harbor, Katoomba, Scenic World along with Woolworth’s and Coles (grocery stores – one of our more esoteric excursions around the world) and several pharmacies to stock up on ‘stuff’ rather than ship it from the states.

 

So here is a quick run down of what we saw and did -

 

Taronga Zoo – Very nice zoo with great views of the Sydney Harbor, lots of Australian wildlife, a must do. The ferry ride over gives you great views of the harbor, the bridge and the opera house.

 

Sydney Aquarium – An ok aquarium. We’ve been to some world class aquariums, like the one in Alesund, Norway and Monterey, California, so this one pales in comparison to those, but nonetheless, a nice outing especially with kids.

 

Sydney Tower and Buffet – Skip the buffet. I will never complain about a ship’s buffet and drink prices again. Do the tower separately – do not do the buffet. While the food is different and ok, the service is not good, the drinks are greatly overpriced and very disappointing on everything but the view.

 

The Domain and Botanical Gardens – Fantastic. Price is right (free!) and where we have black crows and bluejays in the states, the gardens have white cockatoos everywhere. Beautifully groomed gardens, loads of plants and birds and did I mention the best part – free!? This is an absolute DIY must do.

 

The Opera House – An architects dream and a builder’s nightmare. Quite frankly it looks smaller in person than in the photos, but imposing nonetheless. One of the most recognized places in the world and the site of the ubiquitous selfie!

 

The Sydney Bridge – Impressive. The ferry system will take you underneath it and you can see it from all angles. Lots of people climbing the bridge and looking very small from below. Don’t miss it.

 

Katoomba and Scenic World – The two hour train ride from Sydney, for about $9AUD, is not bad, with lots of things to look at. One important tip. On these trains if the seat if facing the wrong direction – push the back of the seat to face the other way! They actually move! We found this out on the trip thinking we would have to ride backwards when a more experienced couple showed us the way to move the seat backs! One thing about Scenic World and Katoomba. In peak season, this place has to be a zoo! Even in the off season, on a Wednesday, the busloads of tourists at Scenic World made for long lines onto the three major rides (the incline train, the incline cable car and the tram). But these transports allow you to enter the canyons, hike along incredible trails with lots of different sights and sounds, and then ride rather than climb the thousand feet to the top again. The whole trip from the Hilton to Katoomba and back was an exhausting but very satisfying fully day adventure. It cannot, and should not, be done on a 0700 to 1600 ship’s visit, but an overnight or late departure would make this a great DIY excursion.

 

What else did we do? Eat kangaroo, of course. Had a bite of Emu, along with incredibly fresh seafood, sampled Australian cheeses – had a blue cheddar recently? – fantastic – Australian wines – very good – Australian beer – Oh Yeah!. Talked to some locals, talked to some tourists, talked to the train people, bus drivers, ferry workers, people at the shops. Incredibly diverse and happy bunch of people – not at all like New York. More like San Diego – laid back and chill. Went shopping at Woolworth’s, Cole’s, Discount Chemist, Priceline Pharmacy, Office supplies, etc. We had a blast shopping in a foreign country. Marveled at the gridlock in Sydney around 1600 with people, people everywhere, cars at a standstill, and only the trains and busses moving. Fascinating.

 

We also gave our new Tmobile accounts and phones a real workout. After the 500MB and $1k fiasco with Verizon last cruise I was motivated to find an alternative. The T-Mobile 55+ account with the $10 plus add-on has kept us in data, albeit at 256kB/sec, free texts and $0.20 per minute calls, for the entire trip so far. The data rate is not fast but sufficient for Google maps, without which we would be lost – basic email, facebook and even still connections to the cameras at home. Not bad considering the more expensive alternatives.

 

So that’s a quick once over of the trip so far. Depending on internet connections I will try and keep everyone up to speed. Ask questions and I will try to get them answered, but if someone else chimes in with the answer, that’s ok as well.

 

Later!

[MauiBabe1]

Will be following your postings as we will be doing a cruise to New Zealand next March. Starting in Auckland, then around N.Z. over to Hobart, Tasmania and ending in Sydney. Can't wait to here all about your trip....Bon Voyage

[Clarea]

This should be very interesting, looking forward to following this.

[Keith1010]

You are off to a great start.

 

Following along.

 

Keith

[GUT2407]

Glad you’ve enjoyed your visit so far.

 

tas is our go to cruise, if we can snatch a week, or want to try a new ship it is just perfect.

[OzKiwiJJ]

We'll be on the repo cruise too, so see you there. :)

 

I had to laugh at your comments about the Sydney train system. It certainly would rival Singapore's, if only Sydney was the size of Singapore. But it isn't and for us locals it isn't all that great. Still, it is really good around the central city, and for some longer trips like the Blue Mountains.

 

Do you realise you can walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge at no cost? OK, it's not the bridgeclimb but you do get great views towards the east part of the harbour - the walkway is only on the eastern side of the bridge. The easiest way to get up there is to go to the far end of Circular Quay from the OPT where you will find a lift (elevator) up to the Cahill Expressway and the walkway on that links to the Harbour Bridge. There is a museum and lookout up in one of the pylons on the bridge. There are some lovely cafes at the other end, Kirribilli, and if you want great Australian seafood I highly recommend Garfish which is in a side street opposite the station. You can get the train back if you don't feel like doing the walk again but you'll have to change trains at Wynyard Station to get to Circular Quay.

[hopestotravelmore]

Hi Crain

Loving your review so far. Wow three cruises 😵😃 I’m sure you will love them all. Cant wait to hear more.

[billco]

Does the Diamond Princess have BOGO plus $1.00 in the afternoon and evening?

[CruzinNoony]

Hi Charles! This sounds like a wonderful trip and I will be following your travels. Bob and I will be on the Diamond next May doing 14 days in Japan. :DMeredith

[shipmatesforlife]

I love your detailed explanation of “everything”!!!!! I do tend to worry about “everything”.

Now....about validating your passport for your Australian Visa.....where should we do that so we are properly prepared for immigration?

 

Anxious to hear your impression of the Diamond. We were on her during her maiden voyage year. I’m sure she has aged, as we all have.

 

See you on the flip side....Sydney to NZ then to Tokyo,:D

[voljeep]

be sure to report back on the 2 pats of butter on a 2 top table in the mdr situation;p

[ccrain]

March 3, 2018 – At Sea To Wineglass Bay

 

Partly cloudy, sea state minimal, beautiful full moon last night in the southern skies – lunar full moon, not the other kind…

 

So we boarded in a very smooth and orderly fashion. Elites, platinums and suites got to bypass most of the major ques outside the passenger terminal, inside at checkin and security. Everyone else was stuck in very long ques in all three locations. We arrived at the terminal around 1215 and by 1245 was in our room and the luggage arrived soon after. By drill time we had completely unpacked and settled in.

 

Speaking of drills – NO LIFE JACKETS REQUIRED! (Except for a few people who didn’t get the memo – not as entertaining as those who put on their life jacket before entering the muster station while trailing the straps on the deck, talking on their cell phones and smoking…but still amusing.) New recordings, new voices, a little bit lighter banter in the presentation, more entertaining. Sort of in the tone of Southwest Airline safety briefs. Without that darn life jacket we were able to wander the ship. We have not been on the Diamond since 2012, so here, in no particular order, are some things I noticed.

 

No International Café. Still with the old Patisserie and Atrium. The new Sushi restaurant looks really good. We are headed there for sure. Prices, in AUD, are quite reasonable with 2 pieces of nigiri around $4.50 AUD and combo plates. The Old Sterling Steakhouse in part of the HC seating area is there. No Crown Grill. Saw the Japanese bath location, but did not go in. (Too chicken,) The hallway carpets are no longer color coded for Port and Starboard– now we are truly lost. The showers in the Diamond balcony cabins are about 2” larger than the Island Princess – either that or the shower curtains on the Diamond are not as friendly as the Island…The ship is showing its age in spots. Rust, bumps and dings, stained carpet, the old beds. Hopefully the Singapore dry dock scheduled in January 2019 will fix a lot of these issues as well as upgrade the IC. The horizon court has the newer Grand class layout, and had the dessert stations outside the main area.

 

The Elite lounge has the new ‘drinks of the day’ menu. While the names are weird, the drinks themselves are familiar – Mayan Mule is a Mexican Mule – resposado tequila in a ginger beer – the Lemon Drop Martini adds a sprig of mint and no sugar on the rim, etc. The food layout is the new style with veggies in a glass, the main is served (beef tartare was the main last night, but had a liver pate as well), and there is a selection of cheese and crackers.

 

The biggest plus for us so far is the TV system. No longer seeing bits and pieces of the Princess Bride, or What Women Like, or Kung Foo Panda (1, 2 or 3), the TV system is On Demand, with lots of selections of movies, TV shows and the same destination videos I have been looking at on YouTube for the last 6 months! In other words you can now fall asleep watching a show from the beginning.

 

Coffee cards – We have 6 unused coffee cards from prior cruises – trading in mini-bars. They are undated and marked with the prior cruise. No issues using them for coffees, although black coffee, per the rules, requires using a punch when using a previous cruise card. No problems, no muss, no fuss. I have not seen the new cards to see if they are dated or not. I will look…

 

THERE IS NO HAPPY HOUR ADVERTISED IN THE PATTER. Sorry about that, but no BOGO was in yesterday’s or today’s patter. I will keep on the lookout.

 

As far as the pats of butter controversy, it may be a while before we resolve that one. We tend to avoid the MDR as I like to eat the entire bread basket, butter or not, and its too late for Judy who has to eat early to avoid reflux at night. But we do try to do at least Italian night in the MDR. When we do I will personally assess the butter situation.

 

I know the Sydney mass transit system, to Sydney daily users, is not that popular. No mass transit system is. But to el cheapo tourists like me, it’s a wonderful thing to NOT DRIVE, yet get anywhere I want at a reasonable time, for a very reasonable price. The only thing about the Sydney system, as opposed to the Singapore system, is the complexity and the absolute necessity of using an app like google maps to navigate the system and the city if you are unfamiliar with either. For example on the train back from Katoomba, I needed to connect to a train to Town Centre. Katoomba arrived on Track 5 and, unbeknownst to me, tracks 16 and 17 are dedicated to trains that stop at Town Centre. But I had to pull up Google, no screens were around Track 5, type in where I wanted to go, skip the bus options, determine that I needed to be on Track 16, go for it, only to miss the train by 60 seconds. But the next train was only 3 minutes wait, on the same track. So for us, everything was good. And, while it may seem weird to natives, I get a kick out of challenging myself to use public transport as a DIY option for touristing around a new city. And since they speak mainly English in Sydney, it’s a great training ground for when we get to Japan and really have to rely on Google maps.

 

Yes, I did know you can walk across the bridge for free, having google walked it several times. It was on the list of ‘things’ to do, but ended up getting pushed out when we spent the day in Katoomba. It would be easy to spend 2 weeks in Sydney to see everything.

 

So now, back to the ship. Here is some info from the first patter of the cruise. For those of you keeping track we have Gennaro Arma as Captain, Pieter Boucher as Hotel General Manager, Caroline Desbuquois as Entertainment Director, Marcus Prince Juanta as Cruise Director, Maarit AArtoaho as Customer Services Director, Steve Reynolds as Food and Beverage Manager, Dirk Daumichen as Executive Chef, Adrian Cristian as Maitre’d – the same guy we had on the Island last October – which bodes well for cold salads in the HC! Except for Dirk, we didn’t recognize any of the Cruise Staff, and Marcus is new to us as well. Very young and energetic staff.

 

In the summary of entertainment we have Bravo, I Got The Music, Piano Man and Born to be Wild as production shows. Emma Kirk is doing an Adele experience show tribute – not sure what that is. Cameo Rascale, from Australia has talent, is the juggler – saw him at the welcome aboard show. Good show. We also have Adam Dean for Comedy Magic, Lena McKenzie as vocalist, an Everly brothers tribute act, the Tasmania Police Pipe Band and Irish Dancers, probably during the Hobart overnight, Rock and Roll night, Country and Western night, Karaoke, Marriage Match and Yes/No. MUTS movies were not listed.

 

Jon Persson is the solo pianist, strings are the Anima String Duo, party band is Euphoria, wheelhouse is the Domino Duo, Kory Simon is the Crooners Pianist, David Barrett is the Solo Guitarist/Vocalist and the Destination Expert is Luca De Pasquale.

 

So I think I’ve covered the basics. Now off to breakfast and the CC M&G at 1000.

 

Later all!

[billco]

Deleted

[partybarbie]

Do not miss Emma Kirk. She does a tribute show to Adele, singing her major hits. It's an excellent show.

 

We also enjoyed hearing Korey in Crooners. He's really very talented and funny. For the best martini, hopefully Derek is still there. His Dean's Dirty Martini's are perfection.

[GUT2407]

Be interested to hear how Kai Sushi goes, when we were on Diamond for 33 nights, Circumnavgatin of Aus, didn’t see one person in there, I think it could be repurposed while in Australia

[OzKiwiJJ]

Great info, ccrain. Thanks. :) I'm thrilled to see Bravo is one of the production shows. We saw it on Sun Princess about 18 months ago and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen on land or sea.

 

I'll be counting every one of your days onboard leading up to our embarkation on the 22nd. ;)

[partybarbie]

Be interested to hear how Kai Sushi goes, when we were on Diamond for 33 nights, Circumnavgatin of Aus, didn’t see one person in there, I think it could be repurposed while in Australia

 

DH and I disembarked the Diamond on 2/18/18. We never saw anyone in Kai Sushi either, but it's kind of in a weird place, and hard for some passengers to find. We were on the Sun Princess in January and ate at the Kai Sushi there. It has a better location, right in the middle of the Promenade Deck. We both liked the sushi. I would eat there again.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I’m very much enjoying your Live From, especially as we were just in that area. From our experience, our T-Mobile affiliate data plans were faster in Tasmania than in mainland Australia and even faster in New Zealand. Nothing to write home about, but, as you said, enough to load Google Maps and research transit schedules, etc. we’re hooked!

 

ShipMates- there are validation kiosks located in the airport on the way to immigration. Simply scan your passport and a ticket is printed. At immigration, inset the ticket and look into the camera. Your face and passport photo are digitally matched.

[ccrain]

I’m very much enjoying your Live From, especially as we were just in that area. From our experience, our T-Mobile affiliate data plans were faster in Tasmania than in mainland Australia and even faster in New Zealand. Nothing to write home about, but, as you said, enough to load Google Maps and research transit schedules, etc. we’re hooked!

 

ShipMates- there are validation kiosks located in the airport on the way to immigration. Simply scan your passport and a ticket is printed. At immigration, inset the ticket and look into the camera. Your face and passport photo are digitally matched.

 

The signage could be clearer as to the use of the kiosks, or else my bleary eyes just didn't focus on the right signage. I thought they were for e-visa people, similar to our Global Entry I thought, of which we did not have, or maybe we did! In any event, use the kiosks!

[sawtooth]

I think you should enjoy Kai Sushi.

We did, and dined there several times on our SE ASIA cruise.

The crew also did fun Japanese lessons on the leg to Japan.

[ccrain]

March 4, 2018 – At Sea to Wineglass Bay

 

The weather has definitely changed with a pretty stiff cross wind. A little bit of shaking and shuddering, but nothing to write home about. Still hardly any swells or seas. It is cooler as well. A nice cool. Weird, heading south into cooler weather.

 

Last night was the first formal night and I only had one thing on my mind, testing out my ankle with some dancing. Getting older sucks as my peroneal tendon will tell you, and tells me on a regular basis now. New ankle braces, Ibuprofen and no dancing for a while. It did hold up much better than the last cruise. After experimenting with several different ankle braces, I have settled on two, discovered the proper way to wear them to relieve the pain, and it held up for a good 30 minutes of dance. Still not enough to venture out to Zumba yet, possibly some elliptical later, but definitely dancing over the next couple of cruises.

 

We have always enjoyed sailing with Aussies in the past, but never, ever this many! And they are a hoot! Mostly reserved until someone breaks the ice and then watch out! (Although I don’t think we will see a repeat of the issues on Carnival a couple of weeks ago on this ship.) This is going to be an interesting people watching trip. Love listening to people from different parts of the world – you may not agree with anything they say, but their perspectives are unique and fascinating.

 

Which brings to mind the greatest piece of advice we ever heard from a destination lecturer – Hutch on the Diamond Asia to Canada cruise in 2012. Don’t compare what you see and hear unfavorably to home – YOU PAID FOR DIFFERENT – this is different – enjoy it! Yep, we paid to see and experience different – otherwise we should have just stayed home!

 

Daytime activities are pretty much standard. Trivia, Zumba, Line Dance, Ballroom Dance, Seminars, the ever present art auction, future cruise, Tai Chi (only 30 minutes though), carpet bowling, destination lectures, 60 second frenzy. A couple of new things – a Progressive Drawing class with Chris of the cruise staff and an Otai Matariki Japanese dance class.

 

Today we arrive at Wineglass bay for scenic cruising around 1330. There will be live commentary and I am looking forward to it as I know nothing about this part of Australia.

 

I did peruse the video offering yesterday. They have many Australian travel videos available from different travelers. We watched a couple of them that concentrated on Hobart and Tasmania. One included a fleeting view of the Diamond Princess docking in Hobart! One more OCPD detail checked off the list!

 

Tonight is Rock and Roll night. On cruises with a majority US presence, 50’s and 60’s rock and roll night is well attended and Swing, Shag, Hand Jive and Twist dancing is very common. I don’t know if Australia went through the same ‘Grease’ craze in their 50’s and 60’s, but its going to be interesting to experience. Born to be Wild is the production show and I think it’s the show with the Pink Caddy as the star. If so, it has an awesome sound track.

 

So off to figure out what to do today…

 

Later!

[Host CJSKIDS]

Sounds like an amazing trip! Can't wait to follow along with you.

[GUT2407]

Sounds like an amazing trip! Can't wait to follow along with you.

It is a truly amazing trip.

[seamwoman]

So happy to be cruising with you again. Looking forward to your reports as AUS/NZ is on our bucket list. Karen

[ccrain]

March 05, 2018 – Hobart

 

Its not quite an overnight in Hobart. In at 0700 and all aboard is 2330. We leave at 0500 for Port Arthur, arriving 0900 at Port Arthur. Its just around the corner. Right now its dark, really dark as we await docking having coffee in the P.

 

This now completes two of the three southern most points of land for us. We’ve done the Horn and Antarctica from South America. Now we’ve checked off Tasmania. Next up in 2019 is Africa! Because of glaciation, from the south in this case rather than the north, there are actually striking similarities between Patagonian fjords, Norwegian fjords, Alaskan fjords and the rock formation we saw in Wine Glass bay. Can’t wait to see the south island fjords of New Zealand to see if the similarities continue.

 

Wineglass Bay and Oyster Bay were very interesting yesterday. Geology has always fascinated me and this was not disappointing at all. We had glacier bulldozed granite alongside uplifted sedimentary layers as we cruised along through blue, blue water. The granite contained a lot of minerals and those minerals colored the rocks red, pink and green. Not a lot of vegetation in the sense of a lush jungle. Some trees and bushes just back of the beaches. Perfect cruising weather as well. Very little wind, blue sky, not hot, just right.

 

Dolphins would come and play in the ships wake. Seabirds everywhere, but the dolphins were fun to watch as they deliberately rushed over to ship’s wake to ride the bow and the wakes.

 

I was surprised at Wineglass bay in that there were no structures, no signs of human habitation, just a few boats anchored offshore and a few people walking the perfectly white sand beach. Someone might jump in and explain why not. I would have expected a resort in this area it is so gorgeous.

 

A couple of notes for the next couple of cruises. There is a new stand alone 240V Australian electrical outlet at the desk centered on the wall just to the inside of the mirror. It has been added since the ship was new build as it was not there in 2012. Also, the newer larger TVs have been installed and the electrical outlet box and the cable plug now prevented us from plugging our extension cord into the spare outlet behind the TV – the space is just too tight. However our USB charger plugs in, just barely, and the extension cord is now plugged into the new 240V outlet with a US adapter plug in place. That will cut the voltage down and allow us to charge via the 3 110V outlets on the extension cord – although most of our electrical ‘stuff’ is rated 110 to 240 anyway.

 

We are DIY’ing it today via the hoho bus. Since we have such a late departure we plan to do a complete circuit on the hoho, stop on the next go around at the Botanical Gardens, come back and catch lunch, then hopefully a whiskey tour, find a hardware store for more ‘stuff’, grab a magnet, wander the docks and the town, see what avails for dinner, then catch the folkloric show this evening – two showings at 1930 and 2130.

 

It is getting a bit lighter now. The temperature appears to be comfortable. A zip off hiking pants day. We are slowly moving towards the dock. I imagine they must wait for full daylight to dock. Not a breeze to be seen in the harbor, the water is glass surfaced.

 

So off to gather the cameras, batteries, electronics and other ‘stuff’ essential for an OCPD inspired outing – what the heck did I do before we had all of this junk!

 

Off to Hobart!

 

Later…