February 15 and 16.

 February 15 was quiet for us. I hid another duck and a few hours later I went to check and it had been found. 

It was a formal night and we dressed accordingly. I wore my new purple dress and Ken wore the red tie and cummerbund with his white dinner jacket. Unfortunately we did not get a picture taken. It is only day 28 so there will be many more chances to take formal pictures. Formal night meant another lobster feast.

There was a production show which we thoroughly enjoyed. The energy of the singers and dancers makes a person feel amazed and their ability to change clothes so quickly really does amaze.

At the end of the show we stepped outside on the promenade deck where we were treated to a breathtaking sunset.

After that we returned to our cabin and called it a night. 

February 16th

Today we are in Melbourne Australia. Because it is our first Australia stop we are required to go through immigration. We have been given cards to fill in and we must take our passports with us for a face to passport clearance. 

We got up early and watched the arrival of our ship.  As usual it was as smooth as glass , the captains of these vessels are amazing. 

We were treated to a beautiful sunrise.

Because of the immigration event we decided not to go to the dining room for breakfast we went to the buffet instead. After that I went to Customer service to buy some Australian currency. I have some NZ left and I am hoping to be able to exchange it for Aussie currency when we are in Melbourne. But I figured I should get some right away just in case we don't find a bank or a currency exchange kiosk.

It turned out to be a wise decision because we never did find an exchange. I will try again in Sydney on Saturday.

I also asked about changing dining rooms for this upcoming second segment. I was told we could change by calling the dine line. I did that and we will have a place in the fifth floor dining room beginning in Sydney. The dining room we are using now is always cold. I kept having to wear a jacket or sweater to dinner. Getting dressed in a formal and then having to put a sweater over it was not ideal to say the least. They seemed unable to adjust the air conditioning. I am hoping that it will be a lot more comfortable during the second segment. Now to hope we have pleasant table mates. 

With those chores done all we had to do was wait for our turn to clear customs. The process was slow but waiting for the shuttle into the city was even slower. 

We finally arrived in the city proper and began our hunt for my Xmas tree decoration. I struck out. We found not one souvenir shop. Neither did we find a currency exchange. We did find a place to buy an ice cream which was delicious by the way.

The area of the city where were docked was an area of new buildings and lots of offices and high end business.

The architecture is bright and new and stylistic. There were lots of places to eat and fortunately the menus were posted outside. Their prices are HIGH. A $25.00 hamburger is not top on my list of where to spend money. Neither was a $6.00 ice cream cone but we did do that.

The day began cool so we considered bringing jackets, BUT by the time we returned to the ship around 2:30 the temperature was 99F or 37C. We walked and walked and got slightly misplaced a couple of times so exhaustion set it by the time we got back here.

Unfortunately my smart watch decided not to work so I can't tell you how many steps I walked. But I am certain it was a lot more than 10,000.  

We had a quick snack and then a 30 minute nap, off to dinner.

The show tonight is a hypnotist and we decided to pass. Most of the time we cannot enjoy sail away because it usually takes place while we are at dinner. Tonight the sail

away was later so we came back to our cabin to enjoy it. The temperature had cooled so it was so very pleasant. We really enjoyed it.

Tomorrow is a sea day and we will be having lunch with Julia and Ken.

The first segment ends tomorrow, 4 more segments ( 81 days ) remain.