March 29, 2019 - Epilogue - Friday, It Is Over

March 29, 2019 - Epilogue - Friday, It s Over

This morning we were picked up by the airport shuttle at 8:25. Our flight on United was scheduled for 12:05 so this would get us to the airport the suggested 3 hours before flight time. We arrived at 9:10 because traffic at the airport was horrendous. We do not know why.

United checkin went very smoothly. The agent at the bag drop placed another plastic bag over our new bag because the first one now had several holes in it. We would love to see what mauls the bags on their way through the airport. He wound half of a large roll of tape around the bag, and chuckled as he said we should be sure to have a sharp knife or scissors available when we wanted to get into this one.

Boarding went smoothly. All were aboard and we were ready for departure when we got word that a fire alarm had gone off in the control tower and it had been evacuated. All flights were grounded while they sorted this out. An hour later operations resumed and we took off one hour late. Fortunately we had adequate time to make our connection in San Francisco. There was no fire.

The checkin for United turned out to be the highlight of this flight. Onboard service was poor and impersonal. Most of the attendants seemed to be just going through the motions. Fortunately I had purchased an upgrade to Economy Plus seating when I went online during the cruise. This really made a big difference in our comfort for the 13 hour flight to San Francisco. The difference was obvious when we took our cramped economy seats for the flight to Chicago.

We had to go through immigration when we arrived in San Francisco. The line to see an agent was extremely long. There was only 1 other person using the Global Entry kiosks when we walked up. Alice and I each had our own machine and we were finished in no time. We then took our receipts to the Global Entry agent where only 1 person was in line. This was so fast we do not understand why more people do not use it. They may not fly internationally enough to make it cost effective.

Now we had to claim our luggage and cart it through customs. We had filled out arrival cards on the plane. The officer did not even look at them. He asked a couple of questions about where we had visited and waved us through. Out the door marked transfers led us to the bag drop for our bags to get to the Chicago flight. We now had an hour and a half to use our one time passes for the United lounge before we boarded our flight. This lounge is looking pretty tired, but the selection of fruits, pastries and coffees was very good. This was breakfast.

The flight was good. We did not have rough air until just before our approach to O’Hare. Fatigue had set in by the time we arrived. We had left for Sydney Airport over 24 hours ago. As a result we went the wrong way in Terminal C and had to retrace our steps. By the time we got to the baggage claim our bags were locked up. An attendant released them to us after we showed our boarding passes. I loaded them onto the cart that cost $6 here. Our American Taxi met us at 6:30. We were home before 7:00.

We had left the heat at 65 so the house was not too cool. I had worried about frozen pipes when we learned how cold it was in Chicago in January. My first act now was to turn on the water main. Happily nothing leaked. We survived the fearsome record cold. I ignited the hot water heater, and we baked a frozen pizza. It was better than the fresh pizza on the ship. 

This has been a fantastic adventure. We saw and experienced so much. We have so many great memories. And we are home safe and sound without incident. We are truly blessed.

Thank you for following along. We hope that we have been able to convey some of our excitement and enthusiasm.

March 28, 2019 - Disembarkation - Thursday, Day 81

March 28, 2019 - Disembarkation - Thursday, Day 81

We were scheduled to leave the ship between 8:15 and 8:45. promptly at 8:15 we were called. We bid farewell to the cruise director and hotel manager as we walked off for the last time. 

In the terminal we had to be seen by immigration since we were reentering Australia from Papua New Guinea. Australia has strict laws about bringing food, wood, plants and shells into the country. We had been warned that the inspection might take some time. You may recall that we experienced a complete luggage inspection on arrival in Perth 3 months ago. We were prepared for the worst. What we got was 4 questions and a stamp of approval. The worst part was that the agent’s computer crashed and we had to wait while he rebooted it.

Now it was on to the luggage hall. Wow, was this organized. The bags were in neat rows by disembarkation group. ours were together. As I gathered the bags I discovered that the new bag had lost a wheel. It is a 4 wheeled spinner so it was still possible to roll it. My guess is that a port worker, not a crew member, was responsible. We did not have time to do anything about it. We had to get to the airport for our flight to Sydney. A very nice lady port attendant helped us get our bags to the taxi line. We had to wait for a van since our luggage would not fit into the small trunks of the regular taxis. 

Half an hour later we were at the Virgin Australia airport check in. A very gracious attendant helped us use the check in kiosk. We noticed some opening of the zipper on the new bag, so she put it into a heavy duty plastic bag in case it opened all the way. This would save all of the contents. Then she taped the daylights out of the bag. It was then placed in a tray for its ride through the luggage system.

For boarding the plane passengers in rows 15 and higher had to go down the stairs to the ground level and then board the plane using the stairs up to the rear entrance. We were in row 17 so we got to “enjoy”this. The 90 minute flight was great. The service was pleasant and personal. This was a very nice experience.

In Sydney we gathered our luggage and I got a cart for $2 Australian. We went to the taxi lane where the controller saw our bags and directed us to the large vehicle queue. There was no one else in this line. We were in our van in just a few minutes. 10 minutes later we were at the Quality Hotel near the airport in Wolli Creek.

Check in was going smoothly until I was told that our upgraded room was on the first floor not the ground floor and there was no lift. I pointed to our luggage waiting outside. He immediately got us a room on the ground floor. I had asked for this in the comments on the reservation form. Katie from the front desk helped with our luggage, and we settled into a very nice room.

After cleaning up we went for a walk. It was 4:00 and the sun would set at 6:30. We had time. a block from the hotel was a very nice little park. We walked through it and across a busy thoroughfare. A few blocks more and we were at a local Chinatown. There were many restaurants and shops situated on the ground floor of several condo towers. We checked the menus, but we decided that we had had just about enough Asian cuisine.

The fellow who checked us in had mentioned that there was a Woolworth near the Chinatown. Woolworth in Australia is a food store chain. We made our way to it inhales that they would have a deli department. We were hoping for a hot roast chicken. Sure enough they had them. We bought the chicken and some chips for a decadent last supper in our room.

March 27, 2019 - Sea Day - Wednesday, Day 80

March 27, 2019 - Sea Day - Wednesday, Day 80

The last items were packed today. The suitcases were weighed and the necessary transfers to meet the 50 pound weight limitation were made. Even though we had purchased another suitcase in Makassar we were having some difficulties. We just have too much to take home. I am the culprit here. I really brought too many clothes. Having free laundry greatly reduces the number of garments required. Maybe next time I will get it right. 

We will  be checking 4 bags, so we could be checking 200 pounds. The problem now is not the weight, but the volume. One bag is a 29 inches, the largest allowed. 2 bags are 25 inches and the 4th bag is a carryon size. So, all of them are fully loaded. I am worried about the new bag we bought in Makassar. It seems a bit flimsy and I am not confident about the zipper. Fortunately we received luggage straps with TSA locks built in as a pillow gift on the World Cruise last year. I will definitely put one of these around the new bag just in case the zipper gives way.

This has been a day of farewells. We thanked the breakfast and lunch dining room waiters after those meals. Our dinner team was fabulous. This was a hard goodbye. We have bonded more closely with these fellows than any others. Several of the waiters thanked us for our comments. The captain had forwarded our letter to all department heads. They have posted it in the departments with the names highlighted. They were very proud of this.

As we left the dining room for the last time we met the hotel director. We chatted for quite a while. He explained the distribution of our letter. He talked about how hard he and the captain work to have a happy crew. He also thanked us for what he considered a special comment in our letter. In it we related that every  night when we went to bed we said to each other that it had been “another fine day.” 

After dinner and the show we placed our bags in the hall. They magically disappeared without a sound.

We went to bed tonight for the last time on this voyage. Another fine day. Indeed, a very fine voyage.

March 26, 2019 - Sea Day - Tuesday, Day 79

March 26, 2019 - Sea Day - Tuesday, Day 79

Today I wrote a farewell letter to the captain and hotel director. We wanted to let them know of the many crew who had interacted with us and served us so well. We understand how important it is to the crew to have positive passenger reviews. This has significant impact on their advancement. We are happy to contribute this.  

Of course no sea day would be complete without a lecture. Today we attended a port talk for Brisbane even though we will go directly from the ship to the airport. This will have us prepared for a return to Brisbane some day.

I also worked on drafting blog entries so they would be ready to post when photos were selected. During all of this I was banished from the cabin. Alice prefers to pack without my interference. I appreciate her efforts. I will weigh the results and we will make any necessary shuffling together. 

This all went well.

March 25, 2019 - Conflict Islands, PNG - Monday, Day 78

When we woke up this morning, we had arrived at Conflict Islands. 

This is an atoll consisting of a group of 21 coral islands around the caldera of an ancient volcano. There are reefs between these. Maasdam had carefully entered a large opening in the reef and was now anchored a few miles to the left of that opening near the island of Panasesa . 

This was destined to be a day of swimming, snorkeling or scuba diving for many. For us it would be a tour in a glass bottom boat and a walking tour around the island. 

The water color was incredible. The combination of white sand bottom, shallow water above the reefs and deep water beyond created an array of colors we have never seen anywhere else. The blue spectrum was ably represented with light turquoise over the sandy bottom, darker turquoise over the reef and a beautiful dark blue over the deep water.

Again we were greeted by a very strong rain squall during breakfast. By the time we had finished breakfast the rain was over. We proceeded to the tender line and were boarded on the next one because we were on a tour. This is a private island and the owner is very eco conscious. A channel has been marked to allow the tenders to pass over the reef and to the dock without damaging any coral. The ride and getting off the tender were not at all difficult. 

We proceeded to the tour meeting point. This was the Activity Hut just a few minutes from the dock on a palm shaded white sand path. We were directed to a waiting area under more palms after we signed a waiver of all rights. No problem as we did not expect to fall out of the boat. Our tour would be called as scheduled.

We had passed a few cabins on the way. They were very nice with apparent plumbing and electricity. The paths to them were marked staff only. We wondered what that meant. As it turns out the island is uninhabited, but there are 6 cabins for rent and a staff to care for them and cook and, of course, tend bar. Interesting.

At the appointed hour we were summoned for our tour. We walked down to the beach and boarded the glass bottom boat using a ramp in the bow that had been lowered onto the sand. Alice and I took our seats in the aft near the driver. The seating was along both sides of the glass panels in the bottom of the boat. A railing in front of us provided support so we could lean over to view the bottom.

Once we were all aboard 2 staff pushed us back from the beach and 1 jumped aboard and raised the ramp. This sealed the front of the boat, but some water managed to seep in and pool near the bow. It sloshed around the feet of those up front and got the backpacks left on the floor rather wet.

The driver remained silent throughout while he steered out over the reef. We were just 4 to 5 feet above the coral for most of our journey. The crewman in the bow was the narrator. In addition to explaining the reef and what we were viewing he told us the history of the islands. We learned that the name Conflict Islands came about not because of a battle, but because an HMS naval survey ship named Conflict went aground here in the 1880’s. 

He talked about the many types of coral we could see and pointed out the many fish the darted in and out of the coral. Sadly he only pointed out the fish he did not talk about them. Thankfully one of our lecturers had given a great presentation regarding the marine life here. That helped us a lot as we watched in awe at the activity below us. 

Alice and I had just shared comments about how dull the coral seemed, when the guide explained that the glorious colors of the coral on postcards results from filters and enhancements. It is not true color. While we found the color disappointing, the shapes and sizes of the corals were pretty awesome.

We enjoyed this 1 hour excursion. Our only real disappointment was that we did not encounter any of the se turtles that come to lay their eggs on the beaches here once a year.

Back on shore we returned to the activities hut to await our walking tour. Once our group was complete we set off on a 2 hour walk of the island. Our guide took us to the emergency airstrip near the middle of the island, past the turtle hatchery, the vegetable gardens and through some fruit groves. The paths were well maintained and the gardens were well cared for by a staff of gardeners. The produce is used in the kitchens for preparing meals for the guests. I have searched online to learn about how to stay here, but had no results other than one reference that states it is for the elusive use of guests from P&O cruise line. Manu, our guide, provided historical background on the islands, and the story of how an Australian businessman bought Panasesa without ever seeing it just because he could. He is now developing in a small and controlled manner to maintain it as eco friendly as possible.

Air Strip

Path to the Gardens

Turtle Hatchery

After our tour we spent an hour walking the beach to the end of the island before returning to the tender pier. There was an open air bar near the tip of the island. It was simple but inviting. A short path behind it led to the all important Necessary Rooms. a welcome relief.

South Bar Near Tip of the Island

Tip of the Island

Traditional and New

Wooden Bowls and Carvings

Hand Made Baskets for Sale

This water is so beautiful. The vegetation is glorious. The solitude is inviting. The idea that you could stay in a cabin here in comfort and enjoy snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing and the views from the deck of your secluded lodging is wonderful. We think this is a more attractive escape than French Polynesia with its overly commercial atmosphere. We wish we had discovered this earlier in our lives. It is so unspoiled!

Another Squall as We Wait for a Tender

Back on Maasdam the dinner time chatter was all about what a beautiful stop this was. We think it was unanimous that this was the nicest island getaway imaginable. Another great day. A beautiful way to close our journey before our final sea days on the way to Brisbane.