Melbourne, Australia. Christmas day.

Children meeting Santa

Last night Paul and I met up with Christina (from the shops), Barry (from the piano bar), Karen (singer) and a few others for a nice meal in the Canaletto.  It was a nice relaxed atmosphere but we couldn't extend the dinner for too long - Barry had to get back to work and Paul needed some early shut-eye for this morning's early arrival.

Christmas day and an early arrival in Port.  Poor Paul had to be up early.  What a way to start the day instead of relaxing...  But that's the way the 'cookie crumbles'. 

A mother snogging Santa Claus (or trying to!)

After breakfast Santa's arrival was announced.  Initially Paul and I weren't going to go and watch but in the end I decided that it would be a good idea to go because I had not seen the "Santa on the ship" scenario before.  Grabbing the camera we were still in time to see a staff member dressed as Santa, sitting on a chair on the stage, surrounded by his helpers.  One by one children would come up on stage to say hello Santa, pictures were taken, and the child was given a gift.  A few children were very shy and tried to hide their faces or clung to mum/dad.  Later on adults were able to greet Santa and have their pictures taken.  One woman tried to snog him, and tried her best to get him to plant his hand on her bum, but he wouldn't have any of it!  It was very funny.  Just for a laugh, Christina and I decided to go and say hello to Santa.  Afterwards the rest of the staff joined in for their photos too.  The poor staff member wearing the Santa's suit was absolutely boiling - I am sure he must have sweated off a few kilograms!

Melbourne

Don't fool with lions - you might
get bitten ...  😉

A bit later on Paul and I joined Christina and Barry, getting of the ship for a bit.  There was a shuttle bus into Melbourne for crew and guests so we caught the bus into town, knowing full well that nothing would be open.  Or so we thought.  We learnt from the bus driver that restaurants and a few shops in Chinatown would be open.  We got dropped off at the Art Centre and walked along the main road into the CBD.  There were quite a few restaurants open as well as a few souvenir shops, much to our surprise.  And this was Christmas day.  True to what the bus driver had said, there were a few places open in Chinatown too - mainly restaurants though.  Barry was hungry and on a mission to have a Chinese meal for lunch, which was understandable.  Christina, Paul and I had had a good breakfast and weren't hungry.  In the end we parted company with Barry, leaving him to get some lunch and gave him strict instructions on how to get back to the ship; and by what time.

As we wandered back down the main road we witnessed a fight.  It looked like a group of oriental people were on tour and, as they started walking, a middle aged woman started screaming at a well-dressed younger man.  This drew in a crowd, others just stood open-mouthed 😲, watching.  The last we saw of the them was when people held the two back from attacking each other.  What a pity to have a very public fight and on Christmas day.  Life goes on!

Instead of taking the shuttle bus back to the ship we tried our luck with the trams.  Trams were running frequently and fortunately one was also making round trips to the port.  We caught a tram back to the port entrance and headed back to the ship.

Paul wasn't due back on the bridge until departure so we headed up to the spa and spent a relaxing hour or two on the hot stones, in the steam room and in the mineral pool.  Needless to say I felt very tired afterwards and am sure I will sleep well tonight.  I feel sorry for Paul - he's tired now but has to stay up until the pilot leaves the ship.

Our next destination:  Burnie, Tasmania

There will be no Christmas dinner for us tonight - Paul and other officers are busy with the ship's departure as we set sail for Burnie.  We will have a meal delivered to the cabin instead, and Paul can eat as and when he can.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Maasdam

Christina, Debbie, me and Barry meet Santa

Some of the staff meeting Santa

Melbourne

 

 

Melbourne, Australia. A day to relax.

Yesterday was a sea day and it was good to relax.

Today Paul and I were due to see friends, having invited them to lunch on board the Maasdam.  Sadly they were unable to come due to an emergency so in the end I joined up with Ananda and Christine from the ship's shops.

After a brief walk down the pier we took a tram into Melbourne for a bit of a wander around.  Christine was on a mission, hoping to get a few clothes if any of the shops had a sale on.  Ananda was quite good with regard to shopping but she couldn't say no to a bikini!  When the Maasdam was in Bali Ananda found a post office and posted home a box or two stuffed with gifts and purchases and then vowed not to buy anything else before going home.  She didn't want to go over her luggage allowance when flying home.   The bikini was really nice and I don't blame her for getting it - and it wouldn't take much space in her luggage.

Two coffees for Christine and a few purchases later, we climbed into a taxi to go to the Harley Davidson shop.  A guest on the ship was going on a tour and had asked Christine if she was going into Melbourne because, if so, she wanted Christine to pick up some t-shirts from the Harley Davidson shop!  Needless to say, Christine obliged and Ananda and I kept her company as she rummaged around through the clothing section of the shop.  In the end she got her dad a t-shirt as well as the guest's t-shirts.

Sales receipts and goods in hand, we took a walk towards central Melbourne to catch a tram back.  We had forgotten which number tram we had to catch so a supervisor cheerfully gave us instructions.  Depending at which point we got off the first tram to catch a second tram, we could either stop at the casino and try our luck or we could pop into the chap's favourite bakery.  We decided to take the tram to the casino and catch the next tram, on the same line, to the harbour.  As we got off at the first stop we noticed that we weren't the only people from the ship - there was the Hotel Manager as well as some crew; so we knew that we would be ok!

The next tram took us to the harbour and before going back to the ship we had a very late lunch.  Fish and/or calamari.  It was delicious.  Needless to say I had soup for dinner!

Now heading towards Burnie, Tasmania.