Sunday, 21 October, 2018

P & O Cruise - 14 October - 21 October 2018

Monday was our first full day on the cruise.  When we woke up that morning, we found out that we had left Brisbane nine hours late due to high winds.  The captain made up the time between 11pm on Sunday night and 8am Tuesday when we arrived at our first port, Airlie Beach.  Our other two ports of call on this cruise were Yorkey’s Knob (near Cairns) and Port Douglas.  We didn’t get off at any of the ports as we have been to all of them before and the weather was so humid that it would not have been enjoyable walking around those towns.

So, our days on the ship were basically the same.  We started each day having breakfast in the dining room - we really enjoyed being taken care of by the lovely crew on board.  Although the breakfast menu was the same each day, there was enough of a variety to enjoy something different most days.  We had a choice of various egg dishes (omelettes, poached eggs, etc.), big breakfasts (eggs, sausages, bacon, hash brown), pancakes, French toast, cereal, yogurt and fruit.  After breakfast, we took our books down to one of the atriums and read or did puzzles.  We ate lunch in the dining room on sea days and in the cafeteria-style restaurant on port days (they close the dining room when the ship is in port).  After lunch, we played trivia and then just relaxed the rest of the time until dinner time, which was again in the dining room.  

On the first day of the cruise, we asked a couple of ladies if they were playing trivia (they had two spare seats at their table).  They said they would give it a go and we had such a nice time with them, Margaret and Glennis, that we continued playing with them throughout the cruise.  We didn’t do very well in answering the questions correctly, but we had a lot of fun talking and laughing with them which is what it’s all about for us.

When we booked the cruise, the travel agency had a special going on which included each of us receiving $85 of onboard credit along with a P & O beach bag filled with P & O items (towel, lanyard, hat, socks).  Early in the cruise, we tried a virgin pina colada which was pretty ordinary, so we didn’t try any other drinks on the cruise.  Next, we tried a ‘thick’ shake made with premium ice-cream which tasted nice, but was not what we think of as ‘thick’, so we didn’t have any more of those, either.  Next, we tried some fancy cakes (carrot cake, mudcake, blueberry cheesecake) which were really nice.  We also tried some of the premium ice-cream in a waffle cone and they were delicious.  The premium hot chocolate was tasty and we enjoyed a few of those in the evenings.  Between purchasing these various treats, we were able to use up a lot of our onboard credit.

One morning, our room stewards left us some vouchers for the beauty salon, so Dad and I took advantage of the discounts - Dad got a haircut and I got a pedicure.  It was nice to be pampered on the ship without having to pay a premium price for the services (paying the difference in cost for these two treats used up the rest of our onboard credit).

Our room stewards, Arjun (from India) and Jodelito (from the Phillipines), were wonderful - they took such great care of our room, making it up twice a day.  Three times they left towel animals on our bed (elephant, monkey, penguin) which were cute and other days they left a nice chocolate on our bed.

We only went to a few of the nightly entertainment shows.  The first night, they had a variety of performers to give us a taste of what was to come on the cruise.  The P & O Singers and Dancers were pretty good as were the magician and comedian.  We didn’t go on Monday and Tuesday evenings as the shows were too late.  Wednesday night’s entertainment was a game show featuring some of the cruiselings (that’s what P & O called us cruisers).  They had eight people up on stage who had basically a karaoke competition where the contestants had to fill in the missing words of the popular karaoke songs.  It was quite fun to watch.  The prize was a short cruise on P & O.  Thursday was a return of the magician we had seen on the first night - his name is 'Johnny Balance' and he mainly did card tricks, but he added a lot of humour to his show and was a lot of fun to watch.  Friday's show was featuring the P & O Singers and Dancers and was called 'Let's Misbehave' and was a show of jazz music which I am not that fond of. 

We celebrated our 39th anniversary on the ship and our cabin stewards placed a sign on the door and then left us a surprise (see photos below) on our bed - such a sweet thing to do for us.

Lights from the first show - quite a spectacle

The P & O Singers and Dancers

Our cabin (we had an oceanview - Cabin #9214) was really nice - fairly roomy with a comfortable mattress on the bed and comfy pillows - on the bed here is an elephant towel animal

Our first port, Airlie Beach

A tender taking passengers in to Airlie Beach

Me standing on the deck of the ship with Airlie Beach in the distance

Dad with our desserts we purchased in Charlie's on deck 5 (my mudcake and Dad's carrot cake)

Dad standing on the deck with Yorkey's Knob (our second port) in the distance

Monkey towel animal left on our bed when Arjun and Judelito made up our cabin

My lovely purple nail polish from my pedicure on the ship

The Marquee Theatre where the evening entertainment shows were held

Dad standing on the deck with Port Douglas (our third port) in the distance

Sign our cabin stewards left on our cabin door to celebrate our anniversary - it reads: 'Better Together - Happy Anniversary'

Two swans (made out of towels) kissing each other and making a heart shape with their necks (this was the cute surprise waiting for us on our bed (from our cabin stewards)

Penguin towel animal left on our bed from our cabin stewards

Dad and I sitting beside the swan towel animals

Our penguin, monkey and swan towel animals we put on our dresser/desk in our cabin

On our last day at sea, there was a 'Towel Animal Parade' where some of the cabin stewards showed off their towel animal making skills - above is an octopus

A shark

A camel

A seahorse

A kangaroo with a joey in its pouch

A koala

A giraffe

A crocodile

Joey (on the right), one of the entertainment crew, asking our room steward, Arjun, where he was from, how long he had worked for P & O and what towel animal he had created

Arjun had made a monkey towel animal and had attached it to a zipline from the top balcony to the main stage - unfortunately, the monkey did not want to come down (he got stuck along the rope)

Jodelito (our other cabin steward) showing his spider towel animal

 One cabin steward used a lot of towels to create our ship, the P & O Jewel - it was pretty amazing

Our trivia team: Dad and me in the back and Glennis and Margaret in the front

We had a very long day today: we woke up at 6:30am as we had to get out of our cabin by 7am.  After having a nice breakfast in the dining room, we disembarked from the ship and took an Uber to the airport.  We arrived at the airport around 9am and flight was not scheduled to leave until 4:30pm.  We spent our time playing on our computers, looking for running shoes for Dad at the DFO (Duty Free Outlet) mall next to the airport and eating lunch.  At 3pm, the airport stopped operations for about 40 minutes because a thunderstorm came across the airport.  So, all arrivals and departures were delayed until the storm passed.  Some flights actually had to be rerouted to other airports.  When operations resumed, there were a number of flight delays and cancellations.  Thankfully, our flight was only delayed and we eventually got onboard at 4:30pm.  After a bit of a bumpy climb-out through the clouds and another bumpy descent, we landed in Hervey Bay and were soon on our way home in our airport shuttle.  We are very happy to be home and in our own bed.

Dad and I discussed how we felt the cruise went and although the service was impeccable, we were less than impressed with some of the food quality and all of the added extra costs which are included in the fare on other cruise lines.  We have decided that unless the deal was super cheap, we would likely not sail on P & O again.

Sunday, 14 October, 2018

Dad finally finished up his second set of weeks in Cairns on Friday.  Dad and the guys had really good access to airplanes this week for their hands-on practical portion of the course.  The guys were really pleased with the training they received from Dad - they acknowledged how good it was to have someone with so much experience instructing them.  

Mark (regional manager) who was one of the students on the course, and Dad under an Airbus A330 engine

 

Danny (a crew chief in Cairns) who was the other student on the course

Dad (on the left) looking up at the A330 engine

I continued on with my exercise classes at the gym.  We had a new girl instruct our Aquafit class on Thursday and she was fabulous.  Pam (one of the ladies I have been hanging out with who left on Friday) and I were both disappointed that this instructor had not been there all along as she gave us a really good workout and was fun as well.

Pam, Meredith and Eve (the ladies who I made friends with at the gym) and I went out for lunch on Thursday after Aquafit class.  We met up with another friend of Pam’s (who she knew from when she lived in Cairns) and we had a lovely meal down by the water at a little cafe which Meredith recommended.  It was a nice way to say ‘bye’ to everyone since we left Cairns yesterday.

Our view from the restaurant where we ate lunch

Me with another iced chocolate and it was really yummy :-)

(from left front going clockwise): Pam, Meredith, Eve, me and Pam's friend

Yesterday was a busy day for us.  We had to get up at 3:30am to catch our 5:30am flight to Brisbane.  From there, we flew to Hervey Bay, arriving at around noon.  When we got home, we unpacked from our Cairns trip and repacked for our cruise.  Robyn came up to hang out for a bit while we were packing and then drove us back to the airport for our 4:30pm flight back to Brisbane.

We stayed last night in an Airbnb near the cruise terminal.  Ariana’s place was lovely and the bed was so comfy and we were so tired, that we had a really good sleep last night.  After a delicious breakfast at ‘Cafe 63’ (which Ariana recommended), we caught an Uber to the cruise ship.

Our iced chocolate at 'Cafe 63'

 Dad's lamb meal at 'Cafe 63'

 My yummy chicken curry at 'Cafe 63'

 The best 'Eggs Benedict' I have ever had (breakfast at Cafe 63)

 Dad's 'Big Breakfast' at 'Cafe 63'

We had read reviews for this ship (the P & O Jewel) online and they were so mixed that we aren’t sure what to expect.  We have decided to go with low expectations and see what happens.  We have had two meals so far in the dining room and they have been quite nice.  Our cabin is a good size as is the shower, so no complaints there, either.  We met our cabin stewards when we boarded the ship and they seem quite nice and friendly as well.

Although we were supposed to be sailing at 2pm today, the winds are so strong that the captain has come on the P.A. a few times this afternoon/evening to inform us that we will be delayed until the winds die down.  We are off to bed now and so far there has been no sign of movement.

Our ship, the P & O Jewel

Sunday, 7 October, 2018

This week, Dad started on the POC (Practical on Course) portion of the training.  Dad spent his time with the guys half in the classroom and half at the airplane on the ramp.  They discussed and practiced various jobs and troubleshooting that they will be required to do when working on the airplane.  They also spent time learning how to access and use the various manuals they will need to use to do this work. 

I continued on with my walking back and forth to the gym and going to my classes.  Monday was a holiday here (although Dad still had to work), so I didn't get to go to my 'Body Balance' class, which was disappointing.  I also spent the second half of the week doing some serious socializing! :-)

This week, we booked a second cruise - this one will be over Christmas and New Year's.  It is a 16 day cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines.  It starts in Sydney, makes a few stops in Australia (including one in Tasmania which we are really looking forward to) and then heads over to New Zealand making a number of stops there before heading back to Sydney.  We have never been on a Norwegian ship before so it will be interesting to see how it compares to other cruise lines we have been on.

We went out on Friday and yesterday to celebrate Dad's birthday.  We each had an iced chocolate on Friday when Dad got home from work (yummy!!!).  Then, yesterday, we had dinner at our favourite restaurant here (the 'Cock and Bull') so that Dad could have a really nice, big, delicious steak (I had the kid's sized spaghetti).  After dinner, we picked up a chocolate mudcake and ice-cream for dessert.  We each had a piece of the mudcake, put the rest in the fridge and then took it to church today and gave it to the sister missionaries (they were really grateful). :-) 

 Lunch out with the girls from my Aquafit class (Meredith, Pam and me)

My iced chocolate as an appetizer :-)

 Pam asked me on Friday if I would like to join her and her husband as they took a friend out for lunch in a town called Mareeba which is about an hour from Cairns - Pam thought I would enjoy the drive up and back and also seeing a new place I had not been to before - she was right - this sign above was at the restaurant we went to eat at

 Cute metal animals at the restaurant

The order number for our food at the restaurant

My second iced chocolate of the week

At the restaurant: me, Maria, Bill and Pam

 Views from Henry Ross Lookout on the way back to Cairns from Mareeba

Cable Waterskiing Park - cable skiing is a way to waterski, in which the waterskiers rope and handle are pulled by an electrically-driven cable

Dad with his birthday iced chocolate

Lunch out on Saturday with the girls from Aquafit again - Nancy, me, Pam and Meredith - Nancy couldn't come on Thursday, so she joined us on Saturday

My fourth iced chocolate of the week (eek!)

The view from the restaurant where we ate lunch

Sunday, 30 September, 2018

This was our third week in Cairns with two more to go.  This week,  Dad had two new students from Adelaide join the course (just for this week to learn about the engine of this plane).  On Wednesday, Garth, another QAC instructor, came up to teach the avionics theory portion of the course to the two guys who Dad has been teaching all along and Dad took the two guys from Adelaide and did the practical portion of the engine with them.  For the next two weeks, Dad will be working again with the original two students and they will be doing the practical part of the course.

I continued on at the gym and went to all six classes.  The Wednesday 'Body Pump' class was really difficult and if that had been my introduction to it, I might not have gone back.  However, Friday's class was better, so I will stay with it.  I am glad that there is a really good gym near where will be staying in Brisbane for seven weeks starting two weeks after this course ends so that I can continue on with my fitness goals.  Too bad my two friends I have made here can't come with me to Brisbane. 😀

Yesterday, Dad and I went for a walk along the foreshore of Cairns.  It was such a beautiful walk - it was a lovely warm day and there were many people out and about down by the water.  No-one was in the water - it was low tide, but also there are stingers and crocodiles around.  The city has built a great area down by the water which has a large wading pool, play area and cafes.  We enjoyed our time out in the sunshine.

We booked a cruise this week for our 60th birthdays.  It's on a cruise line we haven't been on before (P & O), so we'll see how it goes.  It's going up the east coast of Australia and we've already been to the places it will dock at, but we aren't going for the destination, we're going for the relaxation.

Me under a cool looking tree we saw on our walk along the foreshore 

Dad sitting on a guard rail dividing the boardwalk from the beach (at low tide)

The wading pool (they call it the Lagoon) so people can swim in it without worrying about stingers and crocodiles

Our 'end of the month treat' - another helping of 'Death By Chocolate' - so good - mmmmmm!!!

Sunday, 23 September, 2018

Another week down here in Cairns and three more to go.  Dad’s course continued to go well this week and both guys passed the second exam.

My week has been the same as the previous weeks here in Cairns. I have made two friends at the gym and they both go to all the classes I go to.  Pam is from the state of Victoria and Eve lives here in Cairns.  It’s really nice having some people to talk with and socialize with while I am here - it makes it so much nicer.  Pam is leaving Cairns the day before Dad and I do, so Eve will be sad when we leave, she says.  Pam, who is 72, encouraged me to try the ‘Body Pump’ class this week and so I did on Wednesday and then again on Friday.  It’s mostly working with a barbell and free weights.  It is really hard and you can tell how hard I have worked in the class by the amount of sweat on me. :-). Although it’s not my favourite class, for sure, I know from my readings how important it is to do strength training and so I will continue to do the classes and just be exhausted at the end of each one. :-)

I began on my ‘journey to good health’ on 6 August (when we got to Cairns the first time we were here) and it’s going really well.  When we got back to Hervey Bay after our first stint here in Cairns, I weighed myself and I had lost 11 pounds. We don’t have a scale here, so I don’t know how much I have lost since coming back to Cairns, but I know that I must be losing weight as my clothes are fitting much better.  It’s quite exciting!

I have been listening to podcasts on my iPod while I walk back and forth to the gym.  The one I am listening to now is a weight loss one where the host interviews people about their weight loss journey.  I am learning a lot of things as I listen.  One of the things that this host has mentioned a few times is that, in her experience, it’s much harder to maintain a weight loss than it is to lose the weight in the first place.  She also says that however we are going on our weight loss journey (in relation to what we eat and the exercise we do), we must be able to maintain once we have reached our desired weight. Dad and I have been doing really well on our eating plan and we do believe that we can eat this way for the rest of our lives.  We are eating normal food, just in smaller portions.  We also only have treats once in a blue moon.

Me with my half of our pork rib dinner

Me with my half of the 'bangers and mash' dinner - I took half of my sausage home for Dad to have for lunch tomorrow

We went for a walk along one of the main streets and came across this cute bench - we love the art work

Sunday, 16 September, 2018

At the risk of sounding repetitive, this week was pretty much the 'same old, same old' from when we were in Cairns for the four weeks before our week at home last week.

Dad's course is going well here in Cairns.  He only has two students on this part of the course, so he thought it would be a short day every day (less students equals less questions), but there is so much info to cover during the course that his days have been between 7 and 8 hours long.  The guys had an exam on Friday and both passed, so that was a relief!

I continued on with my gym routine (Body Balance and Aquafit) and started with some weight work this week.  There are a couple of ladies I have made friends with here who also go to the gym six days a week.  One of them has encouraged me to try a 'Body Pump' class this coming Wednesday which works with weights, so I'm going to give it a go.  I don't have a scale here and it's annoying as I don't know how much weight I'm losing.  But, I'm still determined to keep going and, hopefully when we get home from Cairns, I will see the fruits of my labours on the scale.

 View from our balcony where we are staying in Cairns

Dad's portion of our meal (he had already eaten some :-) which we had last night (Meat Lovers' Chicken with french fries and salad)