Tricia’s Travelogue

Last night we had a really wonderful dinner at Pony Dining, which features a wood-fired grill.  I ordered a Cherrywood Old Fashioned, with Woodford Reserve and cherry bitters -- so good! Charlie had some red Australian wine that he enjoyed. For appetizers we tried wood-fired flatbread with baba ganoush and a macadamia-crusted Gruyere soufflé with romesco sauce.  Both were very good, especially the soufflé, even though it wasn’t very photogenic. For our wood-roasted entrees, I had the spatchcock chicken with mashed potatoes and veggies while Charlie had rack of lamb (not pictured). Delish!   For dessert, we each had the wood-roasted macadamia and salted caramel tart with creme fraîche, which must be on the menu in Heaven. Plate-lickin' good!  Sorry about being too excited to stop and take a photo. . . . Early this morning we got to see the Celebrity Edge ship docking. This morning we enjoyed another delicious breakfast in the hotel. My plate included eggs over ea...

We were both awake extra early (thanks to yet another time zone change), so we were able to see the lights of Sydney as we entered the port before dawn.  We enjoyed our coffee on the balcony as we sailed slowly toward the cruise terminal. Sydney Opera House (taken by a fellow passenger) View from our balcony when docked We headed down to Deck 5 just before 7:00, and we were ushered quickly off the ship and through Passport Control and Customs, which went like clockwork, with no standing or waiting.  We found all of our bags and left the terminal, heading for our hotel, the Park Hyatt Sydney, which was within sight of the ship.  Definitely do-able, even for septuagenarians schlepping a total of five bags, plus a backpack.  I took these photos as we walked towards our hotel (seen in the first pic). Bellmen met us as we rolled into the entranceway and took charge of the bags, delivering them to our room shortly after we got to our room. Our room is lovely and big, with ...

We enjoyed a very good dinner last night in Coastal Kitchen.  For our entrees, we had broiled shrimp, served over mashed potatoes with spinach and asparagus (me) and duck bolognese orecchiette with ricotta (Charlie). We skipped dessert, but I got a soft-serve ice cream cone on our post-prandial promenade. Yum! This morning we followed our routine, walking on Deck 14. I went for one last crafting gathering, and we’ve set up a group chat to stay in touch.  Charlie did well in the casino, on a penny machine! He also had some balcony time and caught this photo of the North Star observation capsule. I know that some of the Kimbros participated on a previous cruise, but we aren’t brave enough ! We are now mostly packed and will finish after dinner, so we can leave our bags in the hall tonight.  We’re getting an assisted departure from the suites concierge, and our hotel room will be available, so we should be off the ship early tomorrow. The hotel is about 300 meters from the d...

Thankfully, the ocean is much calmer today.  We still feel disoriented when walking at the very front and back of the ship, but otherwise it’s not too noticeable.   We’ve had our usual morning routine, and we’ve been to Chops Grille for lunch.  It’s been a while since I’ve posted food pics, so here you go: Shrimp cocktail  Caesar salad topped with a filet Asparagus, fries, and mac & cheese  We also had dessert — key lime pie for Charlie and chocolate lava cake for me—but I’ve posted those before. Here’s our location as of about 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday. I’d love to meet a Whangarei resident! Tomorrow is Charlie’s birthday, and we’ll be packing up to disembark early Friday morning. That’s it for today!

Last night, we were awakened by loud booming thunder and flashes of lightning as the ship sailed through a storm.  All day today the seas have been very rough, with 18-foot waves and 40 mph winds.  We are definitely staggering around, especially at the front and back of the ship. We’re thankful to be situated midship on Deck 7. At noon, the captain said we’re at Force 8 on the Beaufort Wind Scale . We did manage our morning walk, but we had to grab the wall a few times and pay attention to keeping our balance.  Some of the crafters said they couldn’t even manage coffee this morning. On Facebook, a cruiser posted a video of two-foot waves breaking over the edges of the outdoor pool!  We’ve rounded the northern tip of New Zealand now. Here’s another look at our location Tuesday morning. After today, there are two more sea days before we arrive in Sydney. At dinner last night, Charlie pointed out that by the end of the cruise , we’ll have had dinner in Coastal Kitchen f...

About 7:00 a.m. (Monday), the captain announced that due to increasingly strong winds (gusting to 40 knots), it would not be safe to dock in Tauranga. He went on to say that the New Zealand Coast Guard would come for two medical evacuations, and then we would travel toward Sydney. Needless to say, everyone was disappointed!  Now we can’t claim to have visited! This is as close as we got: Here’s one zoomed in a bit: I went to the crafting group and about half of the regulars turned up.  Meanwhile, Charlie grabbed a video of the Coast Guard ship below our balcony. We decided that lunch from Johnny Rockets would cheer us up, so we got burgers and fries AND chocolate shakes to take back to our room. (The restaurant is on the pool deck, and it was very windy and cool.). While Charlie napped and watched the Sunday night pro game I finished watching Janet King on Netflix, which I highly recommend. If you like legal dramas and the curious customs in Australian courts, you’ll love it....

Last night, Charlie chose some new menu options at Coastal Kitchen and enjoyed them. His appetizer was the hamachi crudo, followed by saffron seafood linguine, with a Black Forest tart for dessert.  I had dishes you’ve seen before on the blog. Hamachi crudo Saffron seafood linguine  Black Forest tart We are definitely heading south, as the temperature has dropped to 63 degrees outside the ship.  This morning we moved our walk down to Deck 5 (above the Promenade), in order to stay indoors and avoid the strong winds. As you know, the ship crossed the International Date Line last night, so Friday was followed by Sunday. To avoid losing my streaks in Wordle and Duolingo, I didn’t change the date on my iPad until after working Saturday’s NYT puzzles and Duolingo lessons.  Then I changed the date and did Sunday’s, all but the Spelling Bee, which still hasn’t dropped for Sunday. Yes, I’m really that determined (or crazy) to keep my streaks going. I went to the crafting grou...