Down Under - Day Six, Tuesday, February 11, 2014

On board the Seabourn Odyssey.

Stevie and I arrived at the ship today around noon.  We hopped on board, had lunch and waited until our rooms were ready.  The ship is beautiful.  Only 450 passengers and 350 crew members.  I like those odds.  Chances are, we'll find someone to take care of anything we may need.

Our suite is perfect.  We have a huge main salon with a living room and dining room as well as a full bar.  The deck off of the stateroom and bedrooms is on the bow of he ship and wraps around the front half of the port side of the ship.  Just a fabulous view from any angle.  We had a few glitches at first, but things seem to be working well now and we are under way.  First stop is Tauranga, NZ, the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island.  We should arrive tomorrow morning around 8:00 a.m.

The "cast off" party began at 4:15 and we didn't actually leave port until around 6:00.  It was a nice send off with guests at the neighboring hotel waving and wishing us bon voyage.  They were probably glad to see the ship leave so their view of the harbor improved.  Auckland, a lovely city that  reminds me of San Francisco soon faded away and we set off to our next destination.

The passengers on the ship that we've met so far are delightful.  We were invited to have dinner tonight with two of the ship"s entertainers, Meridith and Christopher.  They will be singing Thursday evening.  They were lovely host and hostess and kept us entertained all evening as best they could.  Pat actually kept us all entertained.  "Patty" climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro when he was 72 years old.  His tales were captivating.  Donna and Jim from Santa Fe were great company. David (84) was telling us the tale of how he met his friend, Pamela over a dog walk.  Carol, Canadian who now lives in the Bahamas and Pete, whom I didn't get to debrief, are singles on the cruise.  Stevie and I may be the youngest people on the ship, except for the crew members.   I'm not sure how I feel about that.  I'll let you know tomorrow.