2011 Cruise, Days 27-28

Friday, October 14, 2011, At Sea in Fiordlands National Park, Day 27


Ship's position S45°56.60' E166°20.81'.

This morning we were almost as far north as when we left Dunedin. During the night we rounded the southern end of the South Island and turned northward along the west coast of New Zealand.

Our first Fiord was Dusky Sound. There was a Park Ranger was on board and provided narration during the passage through all the Fiords. It was cloudy during our trip through Dusty Sound, and cold. We were close to the land but due to the overcast the landscape was not very bright. It was too cold to stay out on the balcony for very long. Looks like Alaska, including snow on the upper elevations.

We sat with Tim and Beth in the Wheelhouse lounge and went out onto the deck periodically to see the sights as we went through the Fiords. The last one, Millford Sound, was spectacular. There were several waterfalls that came from the high cliffs directly into the water. In this fiord the ship stopped and let the park ranger off and picked up some passengers that had taken an overland tour from Dunedin. The ship turned to exit the fiord, unlike the others which were connected to other fiords.

We had pizza in the Cornish Restaurant and then had desert with Mike and Brenda in the dinning room.

After awhile listening to Sammy we retired to our cabin. I spent a few minutes on the daily sudoku puzzle but it had me stumped..

Ship's position S43°57.04' E166°44.78'.



Saturday, October 15, 2011, At Sea, Day 28

Ship's position S41°51.76' E163°21.39'.

We spent much of the morning waiting in line to have our passports checked by Australian Immigration.

After the passport ordeal we went to a presentation that introduced the stage performers. The introductions there was a question and answer session.

For the first time we had lunch in the dining room.

I got a copy of our ship account and checked the charges against the receipts. I also signed up for express checkout. Our time for disembarkation is 7:30 in the morning. We have a Sydney city tour before going to our hotel.

We picked out the photos we wanted to buy from the trip and also got a memories album. We have to go on line and upload our own pictures into the album. The album has stock pictures that we either leave or replace with our own. We can also change the stock text. It may be a lot of work but will be a personalized memento of our cruise.

Today was the final performance of the passenger pop choir featuring Beth from our table. After that performance Gerri had her last facial message.

Tonight was the last formal night. The main entree for dinner was lobster served with jumbo prawns. This was probably the best dinner we had. .Gerri had told the staff I was celebrating a birthday. That meant singing and a special piece of chocolate cake.

Our table and head waiter

Ship's position S39° 16.24' E159°21.36