Sept. 4 ‐ Sydney

Another great day. The seas remain calm, the skies sunny amd warm.

I have been to Sydney a number of times. We take our picture in front of the giant fiddle on the dock. A must for every passenger.

The last 2 times I was here a student from a local college was doing a survey of visiting passengers. I was disappointed, not this time.  After 2 years of survey they probably realize that tourists don't spend as much as the cruise lines may claim.

On our ship, the Majestic Princess, there are several quick service food places in additon to the buffet. One is The Salty Dog where they serve hamburgers, hotdogs, and french fries. An excellent choice for lunch. After nearly a week I will say the food is not disappointing. Hot food is served hot. For example the burgers are individually cooked just before being served, not cooked en mass and served out of a steam table pan like some ships may do.

We have a surprise visit by Canadian health inspectors today. I witnessed one officer taking pictures of something he didn't like, but we have heard nothing from the staff.

The Piaza, or centrum area of the ship is well laid out and quite functional with lots of seating and several bars. Musical or other entertainment is usually continuous starting at about 3 pm.

Another flat beverage in the dining room. I recognized the problem instantly now that I have seen it several times. Obviously the problem wasn't fixed yesterday, just circumvented. Quickly replaced so they have CO2 somewhere, just not at the standard service bar for the dining room.

Lynn gets a real surprise tonight. Just after dinner she gets a call from a gal that was one of her best friends in high school. A big surprise since she lost contact with her about 8 or 9 years ago and has been unable to locate her. Life is good.

A production show tonight. The singers are very good, the content... well that is a maturity thing. My daughter and her husband knew every song, I had no idea what they were singing.

The seas are calm as we head to Charlottstown for arrival early tomorrow morning.

Sept 3. - Halifax

Another fantastic day. Low 70's, sunny, a few scattered clouds.

I have been to Halifax a number of times. The first was almost 70 years ago. Took the Blue Nose ferry from Bar Harbor. I remember a little of the ferry ride, nothing of Halifax. For my last visit it was cold and rainy but we did lots of touring..

We take a short walk off the ship and down the dock a bit. Lynn's daughter will be here in two days, arriving on a different ship. We took a picture so she can take one in the same place. The stupid little things tourists do.

Another sideline on Princess technology. I went to the front desk with several questions about disembarkation at the end of the cruise. She was almost clueless except to say I should get a flyer in my cabin tonight.

Separately I asked a staff member which direction to the gangway. She sent me the wrong way. Common sense and basic knowledge is lost when you become too reliant on technology.

A strange Canadian law restricts the number of bars that can be open while the ship is in port. The thought being that people will go ashore to get a beverage. What it really does is put a lot of extra work on the servers as they have to go further to serve guests.

A new experience for me. Midafternoon suddenly the ship lost all power. The captain immediately told everyone not to panic and just stay where you are and avoid walking in the darkened hallways and not to attempt to use the elevators.

I just happened to be in our cabin, only aware of the problem as the automatic lights blinked on an off several times as the power went down.

Within 5 minutes the captain informs everyone that we were connected to shore power, and it was the shore power that failed. Our engines have been started and they are in the process of restoring all services starting with the stalled elevators.

The automatic lights in the cabins is another well intentioned failure. The intent was if you get out if bed, a light comes on under your night stand. As you approach the bathroom another light comes on.  The only problem is that the lights are triggered by the slighest movement. Roll over in bed and the lights cime on and wake you. A pillow strategically placed on the floor helps in most cases.

And of course the slot by the door that turns everything off when you leave the room has been bypassed with the insertion of a pemanent card.

So I've digressed. Dinner is good again tonight. The only hitch, the carbonation has failed at the dining room beverage station used by the servers. Every drink they served was flat until I pointed out what the problem was. The staff didn't catch it and all the guests knew was that the drinks didn't taste right.  Replace many drinks and all fixed.

The seas remin calm. I risk saying this but the weather is much nicer than I expected. Tomorrow we will be in Sydney.