March 6, 2017

This is Sea Day #6 and no more time changes for five days. The departure forms were distributed to the staterooms for people to return to the Guest Relations for coordinating the disembarking process in Sydney.  On the last Sea Day before we arrive back in Sydney, the ship will issue baggage tags to passengers based on their plans for transferring to the airport, city center hotels or independent travel, as we will do.

   Today’s sky contained low gray clouds, a drizzle that changed to a fine rain for part of the morning, a strong wind and temperature was 62 F (16 C) on my thermometer. The ship was sailing in the Tasman Sea with a depth of over 5 km to the sea bottom.  New Zealand’s Milford Sound, tomorrow’s first fjord, was about 560 km to the southeast. The waves had a slight roll of about one meter. We were amongst the few people braving the elements to walk outside, on sheltered Deck 5.  Deck 12 was too windy for more than a few circuits.  There were no seabirds frolicking along the side of the ship today.  We donned our rain pants and windproof rain jackets for our 45 minute stroll on Deck 5.

     The captain’s noon message advised that tomorrow’s cruise along the fjords of New Zealand’s South Island, the skies will be cloudy with a chilly morning temperature of just 12 C then warming to about 17 C in the afternoon.  The next five days will be cooler than the temperatures experienced in the Australian ports.

    After a tasty salad for lunch, Bob and Maureen joined us in the Aurora Theater to listen to Dr. Peter Dingle’s afternoon talk about the importance of probiotics in the digestive tract.  Mid-afternoon was part 2 of the beginner Rumba ballroom dance lesson.  We read our books.

   Dinner choices were Greek Salad and Manhattan Clam Chowder for appetizers and Tempura Fried Salmon with Asian Style vegetables or Beef Stroganoff with rice as the main courses.  We both chose Boston Cream Pie presented more like a layer cake with a custard cream filling.

   After dinner, we sat in for the last 20 minutes of comedian and juggler, Mr. Ricochet’s 6:45 show and decided to skip the 8:30 show.

    Larry played at the Casino while Claire read her 7th ship’s book.

   We were swayed to sleep by the rocking of the ship.

Steps 14,368      Flights of stairs 99