February 12, 2018 - Going to Hobart

Monday, February 12, 2018.

We are on our way to Hobart. The Tasman Sea is forecast to be calm, so our passage is predicted to be uneventful. All was calm as we went to the theater for the first astronomy lecture by Alan Wright. He is very enthusiastic about astronomy and an excellent presenter. We thoroughly enjoyed him.

We attended the Meet and Greet for Cruise Critic participants at 11:00. We were saddened to learn that our friend Terri from the 2016 World Cruise had died in her sleep in French Polynesia. We had shared her table for the entire 2016 cruise, and had a great fondness for her. We had been looking forward to seeing her again.

During his midday briefing the captain told us that a very strong storm was developing west of Tasmania. In order to minimize our discomfort he was shortening our stay in Hobart. We would depart at 9:00 PM rather than the scheduled 4:00 AM the following morning. Our call at Port Arthur, Tasmania would be cancelled.

We attended the 2:00 lecture on Australian Icons. The presenter was an Australian woman who has lived in Hong Kong for the past 40 years. This seemed like an odd choice. The talk was rather Ho Hum.

Our dinner table assignment was disappointing. We were placed with a family group of three and another lady. They have been seated together since Ft. Lauderdale. This made it difficult to engage them in conversation. Since they have the same table all of the time, we will be able to dine elsewhere in the future.

We retired after a mediocre piano presentation in the theater. He had been touted as a multi-instrumentalist showing him with a clarinet, flute and saxophone. The accordion was the only other instrument he actually played. And that, not well.