Rhythm on the Seas

 

Today's craft was making a Mothers' Day card...for ourselves

Having now been on the ship for a while, the sea days have picked up a comforting rhythm or routine of sorts. We'd start our day with a gym session, followed by a breakfast as healthy as we can muster, followed by a swim on a still empty pool deck. We'd watch the big screen show a montage of beautiful world destinations, peek at the tai chi people do their thing before heading back to our cabins for a shower ready for the morning activities which can range from zumba to crafts. We'd sneak lunch in, attend the all important progressive trivia. Have a nap, a read or work on our crochet craft before heading for dinner and a the evening show. Rinse and repeat!

Ah, the gentle sway of the ship and the endless horizon – by this point in our voyage, the sea days have settled into a wonderfully comforting rhythm, a predictable yet pleasant routine.

Our mornings typically commence with a sunrise pilgrimage to the gym, a valiant effort to counteract the inevitable caloric indulgences. This virtuous start is then followed by a breakfast as wholesome as we can realistically manage, fueling us for the day ahead. From there it was a short stroll to the still-empty pool deck where we had our choice of loungers. A tranquil time for an early morning swim.

This quiet time by the pool also offers a fascinating glimpse into the daily life of the ship: the dedicated staff going about their duties with purposeful efficiency, the early-rising passengers just beginning their day, and the serene movements of the Tai Chi practitioners nearby. Once the pool deck fills, it was cue to retreat our cabin for a revitalizing shower, ready to embrace the morning's activities.

These mid-morning pursuits are a delightful grab bag of cruise ship life, ranging from Zumba sessions (the pace of which unfortunately had to match the cruise demographic), to craft activities where our attempts at creativity are… well, enthusiastic! Lunch is often a strategically timed affair, a brief interlude before the intellectual battleground of the all-important progressive trivia. Update: we have clawed our way from 7th to 4th...

The afternoon unfolds at a more leisurely pace, often involving a restorative nap, the turning of pages for our book club, or the continued progress (or occasional unraveling) of our beloved crochet Aussie animal project. Sunset on our balcony signals the start of our evening rituals: a satisfying dinner followed by the nightly entertainment in the theater.

Rinse and repeat!

Ta-da!

Variation in today's routine...formal night! Dressed to Impress

Yup we even have a regular table in the dining room

Kimberley Coast

 

Kimberley Coast

Alright, let's cut to the chase and talk about today's happenings!

The good:

• Crown Grill: We had a most excellent dinner at Crown Grill, one of the specialty dining restaurants onboard the ship. Our waiter was an absolute gem, the food was delicious, and to top it all off, we had a front-row seat to a breathtaking sunset. An unexpected culinary experience! 

The bad:

• Kimberley Déjà Vu: Now, this isn't to say the Kimberley Coast isn't stunning, because it truly is. However, today's "scenic cruise" felt a tad repetitive. The landscapes bore a striking resemblance to yesterday's Yampi Sound. Adding to this, an unfortunate nearby bushfire cast a hazy veil over the views, somewhat diminishing their grandeur.
• Less sleep: As we continue our journey eastward, the inevitable has occurred – we will need to adjust to the correct time zone. Farewell, stolen hour! You will be missed.

The unexpected:

• Scavenger Hunt ShShipmates! Our quest for signatures for the scavenger hunt has unexpectedly blossomed into a fantastic opportunity to get to know the crew! Many went to great lengths in helping us locate staff of the specific nationalities that we needed as well as those elusive high-ranking officers. Today's impressive haul included the cast manager, business & brand manager, assistant hotel general manager, and guest services manager, just to name a few! The genuine enthusiasm and support from the crew have been a delightful surprise. 

Looking forward to another sea day tomorrow with a lot more friendly faces on board!

My crochet progress

Today's craft was quilling!

Beef tartare

Filet mignon

Apple and rhubarb cobbler

Yampi Sound

 

Yampi Sound as view from our stateroom balcony

Today we continued north along the Kimberly Coast. The itinerary promised a "scenic cruise" through the captivating Yampi Sound, nestled between King Sound and Collier Bay. Expectations were high for a day filled with breathtaking vistas and insightful commentary. Let's dive into the day's tides and tribulations:

The good:

• Fearless Fiona strikes again! She found Helmut, the Hotel General manager, who awarded us 100 bonus points for the scavenger hunt! She also successfully hunted down the cruise director and the activities manager!
• Dawn Dip Delight: We seized the opportunity for an early morning swim, relishing the rare luxury of having the pool entirely to ourselves. It was a refreshing start to the day, and a bonus of being an early riser.
• Creature Crafts: Our crochet hooks were ready for action! We embarked on an overly ambitious project beyond our skill set: a collection of mini Aussie animals! Stay tuned for the unveiling of our likely very ugly woolly wildlife!
• TikTok Triumph: The Yampi Sound provided a beautiful backdrop for a TikTok dance video, as well as a distraction from the bad dancing.

The bad:

• Commentary Catastrophe: We had the distinct privilege of having both the regional pilot and a local expert providing commentary as we navigated the Yampi Sound. Unfortunately, and with all due respect, they were as boring as batshit. Consequently, much of the rich history and fascinating geography of this remarkable area sadly sailed right over our heads. 
• Zumba Zero: The zumba instructor was a no-show! In a heartwarming display of camaraderie, a fellow passenger bravely stepped up to lead the class, and the rest of the eager participants followed in enthusiastic support. However, the resulting display was rather painful to watch. Bless their hearts for trying!

The unexpected:

• We were not fartled today

The Kimberly Coast adventures continues tomorrow!

Warm weather, calm waters, early morning swim. Bliss

Fiona the Fearless in action!

We are attempting the kangaroo and the turtle

Start of the Yampi Sound

Fortunately view just as good from our balcony. Cheers!

Tonight's show was celebrating soul music. Songs were great, but what was with the costuming? Looked like a mish mash of disco and Bollywood

Broome

Our camel cavalcade

G'day, fellow explorers! Finally, after our many days at sea, we made a glorious entrance into Broome, with the winds and tides thankfully playing in our favour. Fondly known as the "Pearl of the North", this sleepy little country town, perched on the edge of a peninsula on Western Australia's stunning tropical Kimberley coast, holds a fascinating history. Once famed for the mother of pearl that adorned buttons worldwide, its focus has gracefully shifted to the intricate art of pearl farming. And we, my friends, were primed and ready for an early morning immersion into the pearly world with a half-day tour to Willie Creek Pearl Farm.

We disembarked right on time and all 34 passengers were shuttled onto 2 minibuses. Our short off-road journey to the farm was an adventure in itself, with glimpses of wild brumbies and dingoes adding a touch of outback magic. Upon arrival, we were greeted by our chirpy and enthusiastic guide, Kirsten. She took us through the ins and outs of pearl farming, from the life cycle of the oyster, to seeding, growing and harvesting. Our tour also included a yummy morning tea, a short boat ride into the creek system, and the obligatory (and tempting) shopping opportunity. While we thoroughly enjoyed the experience, the leisurely pace, often dictated by the needs of less mobile passengers, did test our patience at times. 

Nevertheless, I gleaned some truly fascinating insights, and here are my top three pearly takeaways:

• The Curious Case of the Changing Gender: The pinctada maxima, the oyster species responsible for those lustrous white pearls, is a protrandous hermaphrodite. What is that I hear you ask? These little oysters start their lives as males and then, in a remarkable feat of nature, undergo a sex change to become female. Cool.
• Nacre - Not Just for Necklaces!: Biomedical research is currently exploring the potential of nacre (mother of pearl) as a matrix component in bone grafts. Fascinating.
• Pearl Prices - Not For Me: Alas, a big fat oversized pearl adorning my neck remains just that – a dream. My bank balance and the price tags were simply not aligned. Shame.

A working port

First off

Our minibuses

The ride included a free buttock massage

Brumbies

The shop and main building of the pearl farm

The pinctada maximus, ready for our group to harvest later on the tour

The beautifully iridescent mother of pearl or nacre. Traditionally used for buttons!

Ground up, mixed with patient's own tissue and used for bone grafting

Pearls are made with the introduction of a nucleus which the oyster then coats with nacre 

Our morning tea

The water looked so inviting, but has crocs in it! Namely 3 - No friend Nigel (the male) and his two girlfriends May and June (named after the months they were most sighted)

The boat for a creek tour

Lots of birdlife too

Marley, one of the divers, giving us insight into the process that occurs on the ocean

Kristen, our bubbly guide, showing us the harvesting process

The pearl found inside our oyster! Along with the pea crab (a symbiotic creature) keeping the oyster pong-free. The pearl was later valued to be worth $1840

The "Don" pearl, the biggest harvested at Willie Creek, scoring top scores in the 5 virtues.

Our bus driver did do a short town tour on the way back to the ship. Sadly I was asleep through most of it. We were back on board in time for lunch, and a quick refresh before heading out again. I'll take the opportunity to note that the port is only open to vehicles with permits so normal taxis aren't allowed in. The cruise ship provided shuttle buses that ferried passengers to Chinatown. Fiona managed to find a taxi company that did have permits to enter the port. This meant that we were able to picked up directly at the gangway exit for our independent trip to the famed Cable Beach for our camel ride. We weren't able to do a sunset tour because of the ship's departure time but we did enjoy our ride on Horatio our friendly camel. 

Our evening ended with a juggling show. It took a while to warm up to the act but he ended up being entertaining. So another good day!  Stay tuned for more tales from our Kimberley adventure!

The very long Cable Beach

Drinks pre-ride

Horatio

Camel-ride selfie

Exmouth or Not

Lots of these went into the mouth...

Today Mother Nature was not our friend. Due to high winds, the Captain made the prudent, albeit disappointing, call to cancel our stop at Exmouth. It was not possible to run the tenders safely to shore. The disappointment was real as the opportunity to witness whale sharks in their natural habitat was a major highlight we were eagerly anticipating – let's be honest, the ship was not the drawcard for choosing this particular voyage!

However, safety first, and we fully understood the Captain's decision. So, with a shrug and a "what can you do?", we embraced the unexpected sea day with the resilience. We soldiered on, navigating the hardship of life at sea with extra visits to the buffets, room service, celebratory drinks, and a healthy dose of forced merriment!

Here's a peek at today's tides of fortune:

The good:

• Fiona, the Fearless again! She found the captain, spoke to him and got his signature for the scavenger hunt!
• Soaking up the sun and catching up on Vitamin D on the pool deck
• Turns out, we're not just good at relaxing – we're also rather adept at discussing literature! We held the inaugural session of our impromptu mini book club. 
• We're coming second in progressive trivia. Go team BeeFee!
• We saw both sunrise and sunset

The bad:

• The undeniable low point of the day was the disappointment of missing out on Exmouth and the incredible opportunity to see whale sharks. Fingers crossed for future opportunities!
• We were fartled again

The unexpected:

• Cash conversion! I enjoyed the Johnny Cash show a lot more than I thought I would 😂. Go the man in black!

Let's keep rolling with the waves...literally!

The day started off so beautifully. Sunset from our balcony

Time to use the pool

As well as our stateroom! This was afternoon tea

Winner winner chicken dinner. Fiona with Captain Lye

Northern Explorer Cruise

Today marked our hopeful return to the embrace of Princess Cruises, this time aboard the Crown Princess to take us back home to Sydney. Our mission? To see if this particular vessel could exorcise the lingering memories of our decidedly meh experience on the Royal Princess back in March. The stakes were set high, our expectations cautiously optimistic.

First up, we had a few hours to kill as embarkation officially started at 1pm. The plan was to spend the morning at the Fremantle Markets. However, half of it didn't open until 8am and the half that opened at 9am was small with average selection. Fortunately, we did find Eggspot, an egg sandwich store with fancy scrambled egg sandwiches to salvage our morning. Nothing like hash brown, kransky and gloriously cheesy scrambled eggs on Brioche to save the morning. 

Fremantle Markets

Eggspot

My breakfast. SO GOOD. Hash brown fixes everything

Embarkation turned out to be a schemozzle. Bag drop off was chaotic, any type of efficiency or semblance of competency at the port was non-existent. Watching mobility impaired passengers navigate stairs and ramps with their luggage only to have been directed in the wrong direction and having to make a return journey was stress-inducing. After we did manage to drop off our bags, we were all herded en masse into a cavernous shed which looked like geriatric purgatory...A vast expanse of grey and white hair, each face etched with the patient resignation of those awaiting to board their celestial cruise ship. Numbers were thrusted into our hands as we entered, and everybody waited patiently for their bingo numbers to be read out before they could proceed to be checked in. From arrival to port to actually stepping on the ship took us 1 hour and 50 minutes!!

Once onboard, Fi and I managed to get our stuff sorted out like a pro in no time. We had the advantage of relatively functional knees (a precious commodity on this ship!) and made a beeline for the excursions desk to try and get ourselves on the whale shark tour which was disappointingly sold out despite us checking when it was released. Disappointingly none of the other operators who did provide whale shark tours were smart enough to modify their current offerings to accommodate cruise ship passengers which to me made absolutely no business sense. Getting back on track...we did manage to get ourselves on an alternative and newly created whale shark tour with the ship. The premium price stung a little, but what choice did we have? From there, it was a swift detour to the gym to secure our coveted complimentary classes, followed by the urgent acquisition of sustenance in the form of chicken tacos. And then, my friends, the real vacation began: let the liquid merriment commence! We did have 15 drinks per day up our sleeves!

We soon discovered that the ship had to perform a full muster every 6 months. This meant that ALL passengers had to physically present themselves at their designated muster stations. What was supposed to happen at 4:15pm did not start until 4:45pm. It was a challenge to go 5 seconds without encountering someone without a walking aid...we witnessed a few falls and even helped an elderly lady change her phone wallpaper. 

Dinner, thankfully, offered a respite from the day's minor tribulations AFTER a 15 minute wait to get into the restaurant despite having a reservation! The food was… nice enough. Not earth-shatteringly amazing, but certainly palatable. Tonight's entertainment came courtesy of the ship's resident pianist-cum-singer, a jazz multi-instrumentalist who graced Crooner Bar daily. His performance was genuinely enjoyable, a soothing balm to our slightly frazzled nerves. And he was a trombone player to boot! By this time, however, the high winds had decided to join the party, causing the ship to sway with increasing enthusiasm. It seemed a polite suggestion from the cosmos that it was time to retreat to our cabin and call it a night.

Sorry Princess Cruises, you are not endearing yourself to me at the moment but tomorrow is a new day!

Um...why isn't bag drop a 30 second affair like any other port in the world?! And where are people actually supposed to go? There were randoms joining the line at random spots!

Our ride home

Geriatric purgatory

Our lunch. Looks ordinary but was nice

Our tiny cabin

Lots of space for your clothes though

Probably shouldn't use my wide angle lens...bathroom is also tiny!

But the balcony this time is generous! Yay!

When your upgrade bis to a mini-suite gets knocked back, you make your own sitting area

Goodbye Fremantle!

The evening show