World Cruise 2020

Well, its been a lovely cruise, but all things must come to an end.  We never dreamed it would end  after only 52 days out of the planned 131 days though.  Guess we can say we've been on a Half World Cruise. The captain annonced this morning that we would be arriving at Fremantle (Perth) this afternoon and would anchor until tomorrow morning at which time we would dock.  Then we should begin clearing Customs around 10:00 am and have everyone off the ship by noon.  This is a day earlier than originally discussed, so Regent will provide hotel rooms and transfers to the airport for those who need them. There are at least 3 other ships offloading their passengers in Perth over the next few days, so I'm grateful Regent was able to make these arrangements.  We will be provided with a day room at the Ritz Carlton in Perth and transfers to the airport for our flight. And this morning, we had an email from American that our flight from Auckland to Los Angeles on...

This morning we were scheduled to anchor at Esperance.  We stopped there, but after about 30 minutes the captain announced that it was too rough to deploy the tenders.  And after consultation with the home office in Miami, we were instructed to head directly to Fremantle (Perth) and skip the other 2 ports we were supposed to have.  There was concern that Australia was thinking about closing their ports to cruise ships. Checking the news later in the day, I see that they have indeed closed the ports.  However, one report said it wsa closed to ships from foreign ports.  Since we've been in Australia since February 29, and in New Zealand for a week or so before that, I'm hoping we will be exempt.  No word yet from the captain, but I'm sure they are still trying to work this out.  Unfortunately, even when we get to Perth tomorrow, we will have to be at anchor until our scheduled berthing in 3 days on Wednesday, March 18 as the berth is currently occupied...

Well, this is turning into a hot mess in record time.  This morning it was announced that Regent is cancelling all cruises effective today.  And those of us on current cruises will have the cruises ended and passengers disembarked as soon as possible.  The captain said we would all have to get off in Freemantle (Perth) on either Wednesday the 18th or Thursday the 19th as we are scheduled to stay overnight. While we are glad that we have our air tickets home, we aren't in the clear yet.  New Zealand announced today that all visitors will be required to self-isolate for 14 days.  We are spending the night there before our flight to Los Angeles on Friday, so will we be allowed to even arrive?  Will we have to stay at the airport overnight or can we go to our airport hotel and self-isolate there until the next day's flight?  So many unknowns. New Zealand is also asking cruise ships not to stop until after June 30.  Not sure what that means - eithe...

We have decided to end our cruise and go home.  It wasn't an easy decision.  The new itinerary is not appealing for a few reasons.  We've been to many of the ports already and there are only a few that really appeal to us.  But at today's town hall meeting, it was mentioned several times that the new itinerary has not been completely finalized.  And even once it is, there is always the possibility that the ports can change their minds before we get there.  There will be no new passengers allowed on in Perth and they are looking at making no crew changes also, although that is not certain yet.  There will be no new outside entertainers getting on.  And they will no longer have any cocktail parties in the theatre, although there will still be lectures and some evening shows, so I don't understand the rationale for no parties.  The officers will no longer have meals with passengers. We'll probably take the refund rather than the future cruise ...

Some of that crocodile or kangaroo last night must not have agreed with me, so I decided to stay on board and not go on our scheduled tour on the maritime history of the area.  Michael went and said it was very interesting and they provided an excellent fish and chips lunch. We finally got a letter about changes to our upcoming itinerary.  Instead of heading north to India, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal before crossing to Miami, the new plan is to cross over to the Seychelles, Mauritius, South Africa, Namibia, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, then to some ports in the Caribbean and to Miami where the World Cruisers who started there will get off as scheduled.  That includes a lot of sea days - 34 to be exact as opposed to 19 on the original cruise. Then, supposedly, we carry on as previously scheduled to San Francisco.  If we elect to get off in Freemantle (Perth), we could take a refund for the remaining portion OR take a 125% future ...

Before our tour today, we tendered in to the town of Penneshaw for a look around. We were told at the Post Office that the population is about 300 and I can believe it.  Some local crafts people set up some tents to seel their wares.  We wandered around a bit including the IGA market, always interesting.  I loved these crackers, well, the varieties anyway.  We didn't buy any to try. Some interesting sights around. Look for penguins AND snakes. A nice thing being done for local firefighters and first responders.  The island was badly affected by the brush fires. And some nice scenery. Norfolk Pines are everywhere Our tour was a ride around town (took about 20 minutes going very slowly).  We DID see a kangaroo, but he was so far away and in the shade of a tree, that a photo wasn't possible.  The local roos have been separated from the mainland for about 16,000 years so they have developed into a species of thei...

This morning we awoke to a gorgeous full moon setting just outside our cabin.  I got a couple of pictures, but they really don't capture it fully.  I do like the Regent logo in the middle though. Then came the Cunard ship, Queen Mary 2.  She berthed right in front of us. Today was my dermatologist appointment at noon.  We decided to take an Uber and since we weren't sure how long that might take, we allowed plenty of time.  It turned out to take about 10 minutes for the ride to arrive and about 25 minutes to the doctor's office.  So to kill some time, we went to a nearby Woolworth's which is a supermarket.  We needed a few things, like face cleanser, and had a good look around.  Here is one notice we saw.  I didn't notice that the last bit is blocked out, but you get the idea. Good news from Doctor Lee - my little spot is just a seborrheic kerotosis lesion - what our doc at home also calls a "barnacle" - and completely ben...

We didn't arrive here until 3:00 pm.  Today's lecture was about the moving continents and it was very interesting.  He clearly explained the different types of earthquakes. Rumors are rampant about more ports closing to cruise ships, but we don't have anything official from Regent yet.  I'm sure they are scrambling to see what they can do.  In the meantime, we'll Keep Calm and Wash Our Hands. Our tour this afternoon was the highlights of Adelaide from a bus.  Parts of the city are pretty, but it certainly isn't my favorite.  It was established in 1836 and some of the nicer homes and buildings go way back.  I forgot to mention when we were in Geelong, that the schoolchildren here are required to wear hats for sun protection when they are playing outside.  They are part of their regular uniform. The port here had lots of cars from Japan waiting for delivery.  I got a kick out of some of the trucks, what they cal "utes" for u...

We arrived around 11:00 this morning and our tour wasn't until 3:00 this afternoon so we had a lazy morning.  This isn't a highly utilized cruise ship port.  Our guide said we were the 4th ship this year, they had none last year and six the year before.  The pier is really basic.  It's just a long jetty that we tied up to and the only thing touching was right near the gangway door.  Then there was a long walk to the buses or a shuttle that made a couple of stops in town also.  Today was Sunday in the middle of their Labor Day holiday, and instead of it being busy as would be the case at home, it was very quiet with many shops closed.  We took a drive to a pretty lighthouse with nice countryside along the way and many windmills which we've seen in many towns on our Australian adventure. Michael used the toilet and told me about the sign on the inside door so I had to take a photo. After the lighthouse we rode on the Portland Tram for ...

Today was another tender port, and a pretty long tender ride at nearly 25 minutes.  Our tour left the ship about 9:00 am and went to the Koala Conservation Centre first.   After a 30 minute walk through the grounds admiring the trees, birds and occasional wallaby, we entered the koala sanctuary where there are 6 breeding koalas.  I think we saw them all, but they are shy creatures so getting a good picture is a challenge.  They are also caring for some of the koalas injured in the recent bush fires.  They are kept in a very quiet section with almost no human interaction so that when they are better, they can be returned to the wild.  Interestingly, koalas normally don't drink water, but rather get all their needs from the tips of the eucalypt tree leaves that they eat.  The guide said the pictures of people pouring water for the koalas during the fires, looked good, but actually could have been doing them harm.  If they drink straight water, ...

Geelong (pronounced ji-LONG) is a pretty city, but it is a bit bigger than I was expecting.  It's about an hour west of Melbourne, so there are a fair number of commuters.  However, Australia has designated it as a Regional Area which means that people who move here get incentives like low cost loans or help with home purchases and business establishment.  Our guide said since that designation, the population is growing fast.  There are lots of Victorian homes around and there used to be several wool warehouses and a mill.  Ford used to be based here, but shut down that factory a few years ago and GM pulled out as well.   This was a tender port, but the ride was only about 10 minues. Some of the beautiful houses: First stop was the Geelong Gaol Museum.  The Gaol was built in 1853 and closed in 1991.  Over the years it had some improvements made, like electricity, but never had heat or air conditioning or real beds or toilets in th...