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| Sunset from our balcony |
We thought we’d spend most of our time in our room, on our balcony. That was the plan. But seventeen days of that can get a bit boring, and the Quantum of the Seas had quite a few interesting things to do.
Ted got back into the gym—something he’s missed in our travels, and, after two days of trying to brave the winds on the walking track of the top deck, I took to walking the halls of the ship for exercise. (My sandals weren’t allowed in the gym.) Gradually, though, we discovered people and events that interested us.
As you may know, or guess, a ship is like a microcosm of the world—all kinds of people and attitudes. I loved how diverse this whole trip was.
We met Gina and Eric in Brisbane—they’re the ones who live not far from Athens, GA—and often met Gina for breakfast in the Solarium. One night we met for wine before dinner and made arrangements to meet once we all return to Georgia.
We met Aussies Serena and Chris on the tour in Tahiti and hit it off, so sometimes met for lunch or just an afternoon conversation. We even spent the afternoon in Hawaii with them!
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| With Serena and Chris in Kailua-Kona |
When we decided not to go on a tour of Mo’orea, we took advantage of some of the fun activities on the cruise. First, we went up in the North Star, a glass pod that raised some 300 feet in the air for a view of the sea and the island. Somehow my fear of heights disappeared, and we enjoyed it so much that we booked it again for a night ride later in the cruise.
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| North Star hangs over the side |
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| Night view of the ship from North Star |
That same afternoon we tried the iFly—one of those rides where the air from below pushes you up so that you have a sense of flying, even with the coach there to grab you if need be. These were short rides—two “flights” of one minute each—and we LOVED it! Unfortunately, it’s really popular, so we weren’t allowed to book a second try.
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| Ted in the iFly |
The entertainment on the ship was mostly not our cup of tea, although we tried it. I think our favorite night was when the ship’s band played Big Band music. Several movies were shown during the crossing, which made afternoons pass pretty quickly.
As before, we became attached to several crew members. Ari, a sweet young man from Indonesia, cleaned our room and filled us in on what we needed to know.
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| Ari |
In the restaurant, though, we really fell for Ian, our waiter from the Philippines, and Anna, our assistant waiter from China.
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| Anna |
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| Ian |
Speaking of which, 70% of the cruise passengers were Australians. And that, my friends, made all the difference.
Many Australians have a laid-back but live-out-loud way of life, and, while it can take getting used to if you’ve not experienced it, it can make a trip grand. Never mind that the daily Ship’s
Compass asks for no shorts in the dining rooms—by golly, if someone wants to wear shorts, it’s a done deal! I have to say I admire that. I sometimes worry it will go on my “permanent record” or I’ll get kicked out if I waver from the norm. On formal evenings the women were often dressed to the nines, while many of the men wore shorts with tucked-in shirts. No one batted an eye. (Bear in mind that we have no formal clothes, so we fit in.)
There was a lot of alcohol being consumed. Several people told me that, “I’m on vacation, and won’t get to go again for awhile!” There’s a marvelous joie de vivre about all of it that I can’t fault at all.
Now, that’s not everyone. There was a large group of older, more staid Aussies, very polite and kind, but my eye was always drawn to the fun-loving and -living folks who knew how to celebrate as only they know how. Whole families came along!
And there was a plethora of different-abled people in wheel chairs and sight-impaired. Good for them for having their vacation, too!
After a month in Adelaide, I thought I could understand what people were saying in their Australian accents, but Ted and I had to ask for a repeat more than once. I’ve said before that it’s good for me to be in the minority, and this was a great example.
An upside we hadn’t expected was the tip policy. Australia pays well, and tipping is not a custom. Normally on cruises an 18% gratuity is added to anything you buy. No tax, but the gratuity is automatically added. After a few days, Ted went to the Guest Services to ask when the gratuity would be added to the drinks we bought. Nope. Since the ship left from Brisbane, there was no tipping! We were shocked! Of course the normal tipping of the crew was included, but not in the day-to-day. It did make our on-board credit go further.
April 25 is ANZAC Day—Veteran’s Day for New Zealand and Australia. Unlike the US, that doesn’t mean picnics and sales. At dawn, the precise time in the morning the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) landed on Gallipoli, Turkey in 1915 during WWI, services in honor of ANZAC troops are held all over the two countries. “Lest We Forget” is the phrase used, and you can see it on park benches, cemetery gates, etc. At 5:45 AM on April 25, we might have been at sea but an outdoor ceremony was held by the pool with poems, wreaths, speeches, a trumpet playing “The Last Post” and two minutes of silence. The place was packed. It was deeply moving, and made me sad that we generally don’t honor our vets—living and dead—in the same way.
A much lighter ceremony was held the day we crossed the equator. I understand this is an old ceremony, dating back a couple of hundred years, as ships move from one hemisphere to the next. It’s full of silliness and forcing crew officers to have beer or spaghetti poured on them, and then kiss a fish for funny infractions. Afterwards we newbies received a certificate stating that we had changed from “polywogs” to “shell backs”. Another milestone for us!
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| "Neptune" prepares for the ceremony |
Seventeen days (really 18, since we got two April 15ths when we crossed the International Date Line) is a long time to be on a ship, but I’m so glad we did it. It’s a lovely gradual transition back to the US. I’m not sure how many more Transpacific cruises we’ll take, but I’m glad we did this one.
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