Please note that we received a letter and they've made multiple announcements about the process, which will take 2 hours or so. Each passenger has been assigned a group number. When our number is called, we head to the port terminal for a face-to-face immigration interview. The interview is the same as when you fly into a different country.
In addition to the announcements in my cabin, my FitBit just saw fit to "shock" me and point out that I should be walking. This is the same FitBit that pointed out to me this morning that because I slept less than three hours last night it can't give me "quality of sleep" details. Perhaps I'm not walking because I'm exhausted because I got to sleep about midnight but woke up at 2:30 to heavy seas. I enjoy lying in bed, feeling the motion, but this is two nights in a row that I didn't sleep much so am pooped.
Since I was awake so early, I went outside to watch as we cruised in to Sydney. Cruising past the iconic opera house and under the Harbour Bridge as the sun came up was as beautiful this morning as it was the last time I was here 19 years ago. I'm disappointed, though, that a RCI ship is docked where we docked 19 years ago, in an area called The Rocks, in the heart of the Central Business District and within walking distance to cool stuff. Instead, we're docked in White Bay Wharf and will need a 25 minute bus ride (one way) to get to an area where we can then Uber or taxi to The Rocks. Luckily for me, my plan is to go to a weekend flea/antique market that happens to be an eight minute ride from the ship. After I take a nap!
As I write this, I'm listening to the many announcements from Hamish, our cruise director. In addition to the announcements telling people which groups should go on shore and telling people to cool their jets and quit blocking the stairway by the gangway, they are testing the communication system. So, in the last 20 minutes, Hamish has made no less than 8 announcements. He starts each announcement with "This is Hamish, your cruise director." Hamish, dude, this is day 63. We recognize your voice. You can skip that part of the announcement. Or a simple, "Yo, me again!" would suffice.
I think Hamish is reading over my shoulder. The last three announcements he just made the announcement and didn't announce his name and title.
I just disembarked. It took about 2 1/2 hours for everyone to get off and go through immigration. Lots of Holland employees on hand to expedite the process and the Australian immigration and security crew was very polite, professional and speedy. The octogenarian in line in front of me didn't realize she'd need her passport. She was polite but confused. The young immigration officer was so kind to her. There was a small group of people who didn't bring their passports and had to go back to get them.
There were two courtesy buses to take passengers to Darling Harbour (a 25 minute ride) because there is nothing nearby where the ship is docked. There were about 100 people waiting for a bus. I opted to just get back on and take a nap. A lot of people just got off to clear immigration (mandatory) and then got back on. Some passengers never get off the ship and weren't happy about it. One was yelling at the Hotel Manager about how inconvenient it was for her. I'm not sure she understand that HAL doesn't control Australian immigration.
Typically, the ship gets a blanket visa for a country and individual passengers don't have to do anything. Immigration officers come on board, clear the ship and we're free to go on shore. I've also been on HAL ships where the immigration officers came on board and we had to have an individual interview but didn't have to physically get off the ship and go through security. I'm just glad we won't have to do this for every port in Australia.
Here's the latest gossip.
- There was free wine at the Captain's Gala Dinner the other night. I heard that three passengers had to be taken back to their cabins in wheelchairs because they were too drunk to walk. No, I was not one!
- The same ladies who told me about the wine drinkers also told me about when the dessert was served at the Gala. Even though I didn't attend the dinner, I got one from the Lido. It was a Manuka honey custard, covered with a meringue "cloche". I was happy I was eating it in my cabin because the only way I could figure out to eat the meringue without it going everywhere was to pick it up and bite it. It was too thick to easily crack it with a fork/knife. Well, it seems they had that problem in the dining room. Each guest was given their dessert then the waiter whacked it with a spoon then poured honey over the custard. But the gentle whack of a spoon didn't shatter the meringue as planned. Instead, the ladies said it was a hilarious scene of waiters and guests playing a sort of pinata game, trying to break open the meringues.
- Met a guy last night who's disembarking this morning. He was scheduled to disembark in Singapore but since we're not going there, passengers who were just doing part of the world cruise are getting off here.
- Last night Cruise Specialists (the travel agency I booked through) had a cocktail party for all their customers (over 100, I believe). Talked with a number of people, including the reps for the travel agency. It's pretty clear that our itinerary is likely to change again, perhaps repeatedly. Some folks have my attitude - it's out of my hands and I trust HAL to do everything possible to keep us safe and out of quarantine. Others are over the cruise and hoping that we just head home now. Some want to go home because of the virus (not sure of the logic) and others are just over the cruise and want to be home.
Here are some photos. UPDATE - sorry, folks. For whatever reason I"m unable to post photos. Will keep trying.
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