Sailing Over the Great Barrier Reef

We can't believe this is our 5th day on board the QV...where has the time gone? Well a lot of the time is spent getting lost and getting to know what is where on what deck and which direction you are walking..we don't exaggerate. We have not been off the ship since Sydney because we know Brisbane so well we wanted to take advantage of on board life. In fact our last stop in Australia tomorrow, Friday is Port Douglas and we have been there done that..snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef...(that's where Barry pinched the lady's butt under water and was he and she surprised when it turned out that butt did not belong to Phyllis!!! True story.)
Okay here are answers to questions we think you would ask:
1) Food is very good...we have breakfast in our room.
2) Our 4 dining partners are nice folks. A retired Indian couple both obstetricians (delivered 10,000 babies) from Columbia, SC and Marti & Daryl on for the entire cruise from Camelback , AZ; Telluride, CO and a lake in Traverse City, Michigan.
3) Each had a 90 minute massage and hung out at the spa
4) Been to the gym and we are both working on a planned regime!
5) 3 late evening Shows in the phenomenol theater have been really good.
6) Lots of old people! More wheel chairs or motorized carts than expected
7) Stateroom is quite sufficient, Phyllis has used the laundry and we enjoyed two formal nights.
8) Very surprised that Internet on my laptop is working very well in our room and MARSAT Marine Satelite Telephone works so good Barry stayed on a First Advantage Board Meeting call 3.5 hours from 2:30 a.m. to 6 a.m.

After saying those nice things about the Internet I can't get it to take a picture we wanted to add with this message..I'll keep trying. So long till next time.

Our First Formal Evening

This is our first posting on the Blog since we came aboard on Sunday in Sydney. It was a seamless process that took less than an hour and Phyllis took to unpacking our 4 bags, each of which fit under our king sized bed. We are settled in cabin 8-138 and our stewards name is Ramonette a Phillipine gentleman.

But the most exciting moments came when the Sydney Harbor Police began clearing the water of personal pleasure craft away from the QV. At 6 p.m. The Captain began the process of backing our ship away from our dock and turned in the direction of the Harbor entrance while the Queen Elizabeth 2 came away from her berth on the other side of the Opera House. You can see the QE2 in the top picture AND look at the crowds around the Opera House. The crowds were enormous (well over 100,0000)and came out to see the 2 sister ships pass in the harbor giving whistle and horn salutes that could be heard for miles. And all the personal boats honked their horns while we waved the Australian flag from our balcony.

After we passed QE2, The police boats gave the signal that it was okay for the sailboats and motorcraft to chase the Queen Vic all the way to the harbor opening into the Pacific Ocean. You can see the beginning of this spectacle in the second picture above. It was a sight to behold.