Cruise Day 6

We are now approaching the mainland of Australia and our first port of Darwin, having left Benoa, Bali on Tuesday. We are now 9.5 hrs ahead of GMT, and life on board has now started to settle down into a routine.

We tend to wake up at about 8:00, and head off for breakfast for 8:30ish. This is generally driven by Rigby who is keen to get into kids club for 9:00. Imogen is less keen as she would rather stay in bed, so we sometimes split the party.

There are 3 or 4 options for breakfast, firstly the formal main dining room where we can dine to the music of the string quartet, or the Steinway Piano. The French Bistro is on mid deck where Crepes and typically french pastry options are availabe, or the option we generally choose which is the top deck Buffet that has everything the others have and in a relaxed and informal ambience.

After Breakfast the kids dissappear for 3hrs to get up to all sorts from waterballoon fights, to Dodgeball, to Scavenger hunts and more. Steph and I stroll on deck and stop at the Speciality Cafe where Steph gets here tea fix, and I try the next weird option, as yet untried, from the endless menu. This is usually accompanied by the brazilian acoustic guitar player and his repetoire of chilled out tunes. After this we may take up our position on one of the deck areas, near the pool usually so we can laugh at the events that go on here, or for a quieter more relaxed position wee can wander around the ships decks to find a scattering or smaller secluded areas. Steph reads for a few hours while I just people watch. At 11:00 we head to the gym.

As you walk into the Gym there is a big sign proclaiming that the avergage cruiser will gain 1lb per day whilst on board!! a great motivation to get in there, and the size of the gym suggests that people do try to be on the lower end of this average.

Before you know it the Kids are back from Kids Club. Imogen always wants a swim, whilst I get pulled from one part of the boat to the other by Rigby who wants to either play basketball, Tabletennis, Boule or Golf (on the grass deck!) but we always stop at the card room on the way back to the pool for a daily game of Chess.

The options for lunch are too many to list, about 10 retaurants in total, all serving their own unique menu. For us it is nearly always the Grill near the pool which has the simple choice of Burger or Hot dogs and Chips. The burgers are awesome, and we just cant get the motivation to try anything else. The Kids get another swim in before returning to Kids Club, well Rigby does, sometimes Imogen will stay at the pool with friends rather than go back. Steph returns to her book, and I take my position at the pool bar.

The pool bar is the place to be if you are still relatively young, or young of heart! The staff here have had to work their way up to this highly regarded prime location, the barmen here are the best on the boat. They do not earn this postion through mixing cocktails, but more for being extremely good with the less elderley on the boat. By mid afternoon I expect to see snowballs thrown (from the Frappe machine), soda pump fights and general childish pranks (well away from the children of course!)

Live music continues to play from the pool stage, and it gets livelier as the afternoon rolls by, interludes of pool games break the music, but whilst the mood is always upbeat and fun, it never over steps the mark, and the formality and high class nature of the boat is kept.

The kids return from Kids club at 5:00 and we make our way back to our stateroom to get ready for the evening. We have 3 formal nights that require a suit or dinner jacket, but even informal evenings are kept smartish, and everyone on the boat keeps to a relatively formal attire. By 6:00 we have made our way to the 'Molecular Bar' where we try the next cocktail on the list. These are not normal cocktails, but Bloomenthalesque concoctions that challenge the tastebuds and the senses on many different levels. The use of liquid nitrogen is commonplace, as are air diffusers that create a smell that needs to be enjoyed alongside the drink. The chap who devised these cocktails is apparently very famous in America, and has made drinks for Obama among others. His most famous drink is one he made for Oprah Winfrey which includes Rose petals within the drink and a rose petal foam on the top. Anyway some of them are complete genius, others boarder on revolting, it's always an entertaining way to start the evening though.

Our dinner sitting is early, for the kids, and we are sat by 6:30 at the latest, where we enjoy the sunset from our window seat and tuck into an awesome 5 course meal (we generally just opt for 3 though). The service is impeccable from the extroadinarily diverse staff on the boat. I believe there are over 150 nationalities represented on board by the staff, and all the customer facing ones rely on their tips. They all enjoy telling you the story of why they are on board, and generally befriending you for your time afloat.

The kids club reopens at 7:00 so we sometimes lose the kids again at this point, and see them again at 10:00 for bed, but we have also stayed together for a number of evening to take in one of the many shows, all of which are of a pretty good standard. The casino has beckoned me a few times, and it has been kind so far, so I am trying hard to just stay away now! - well we will see!

We end the evening with a few drinks at one of the many bars, that can be chosen for the diversity of the drinks offered, their formality and ambience, and for the live music being played. We avoid the jazz, karaoke and party lounges, and tend to go for the Capella group or Disco areas.

Bed by midnight at the latest, and onto the next day