Before getting on the ship, we toured around Sydney a bit more and saw some neat sites. To the left is one of many cathedrals we were able to walk in. We were at sea for the first two days of the cruise. First stop- Milford Sound, New Zealand. While at sea, we ate some amazing food and met several wonderful people who work on the ship. Since the ship had a predominately older clientele, I got to know several of the staff around my age. Kristy, the Lifestylist on board, is vivacious and entertaining. The cruise director, David, was your standard Aussie, with the accent, humor and looks. He says “hooroo” as a closing statement. Apparently it’s a exclamatory farewell regional saying from his hometown in Australia. I’ve already caught myself saying it. Duke, Justin, and David were some of the singers on the ship. They were extremely talented. We enjoyed talking to them, especially since Duke was from Dallas and David went to A&M. I let that slide- Go Horns! It was fun wearing my UT shirts and having people all around the ship say Hook ‘Em. We seem to be world-renowned. I was known as the Texan and that was fun. Apparently, I look exactly the way a Texan girl should. Robin, aka “Flex”, worked in the gym. Madonna, Lukeman and Nuredin were our wait staff. They always made us laugh. We had fun carrying on conversations with them and learning more about their culture and families. Granny made a special connection with Madonna. She has a wonderful way with people. It was such a joy to watch her brighten up everyone’s day. She has a lovely spirit, full of life, spunk and passion. All those she interacted with noticed it right away. I know she made a lasting impression on many cruise ship passengers and staff.
At dinner, we ate in our usual spot with view at the window. During dinner, it was fun to get to know Mom, Wayne and Granny better. It is so funny how you can know someone for so long and still have so much to learn about them. We talked about favorite memories and places to visit. I loved dinner because it was fun to dress up and talk and enjoy each other. When we left each night, the host always made me an origami paper creation.
The musicians on the ship were superb. After watching them perform, it made me want to be a harpist on a ship. I may want to play background music during dinner or in the piano bar… Something to consider for the future. Sarah was the sax player. We ended up knowing some of the same musicians in Austin. It’s crazy how bonding music is. The piano player, Glen, was extremely talented. But his story was the truly amazing part. He was in a horrible train wreck when he was in his twenties. Since the accident, he has had 20 some-odd surgeries on his hands. However, that didn’t stop him from playing the piano. He’s now playing strong and incredible at his craft. 
On the ship, I was on a battle of the sexes game. I also got suckered into playing a pool game and had to dive for forks and swim with a balloon in my mouth. I still think Wayne should have played the pool game instead of me....
We were a little worried about the weather, but it ended up being ok. However, we did have to miss two of our ports due to the high intensity waves. The captain was very informative, though, and always kept us in the loop. It was nice to know that we were safe with him in charge, especially after hearing about the shipwreck in Italy on a cruise ship a few weeks ago. My heart goes out to all those involved.
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