On Our Way to Milford Sound

 Well, it's been an interesting few days since we left Melbourne.  The divers spent a full day finishing the hull cleaning.  They also took the opportunity to paint the ship.

When we finally did set sail again, the frustration level on the ship ramped up as we were given no information on what was happening.  And it was not only the guests who were frustrated but also the staff and crew who also knew nothing.  At one point I questioningly shrugged my shoulders at the GM who just returned my shrug.  On Saturday morning we stopped sailing again and the captain announced that the authorities in New Zealand required more photos of the hull so the divers went back in.

At this point, Linda submitted a mid-cruise comment card expressing our disappointment at the lack of info and the lack of a "sincere apology".  A short time later the GM stopped to thank us for submitting the card and told us that he had taken it right to the captain.  At this point, I should say that the captain is very young and was put into the job when the prior captain left for vacation.  A tough position to be thrown into.

Finally, yesterday, Sunday, morning the captain came on and told us that the NZ authorities had approved the cleaning and that we would be able to enter Milford Sound and the Bay of Islands.  What a relief!  And, he offered his "sincere apologies"!  We'll go ahead and take credit for that.  (The GM even bought us a bottle of wine to have with dinner last night).  We will be later than planned in getting to Milford Sound but the weather looks very good with sunny skies and warm temps forecast.

On the plus side of the past few days, we have had incredibly smooth seas as we have crossed the Tasman (which can be quite rough).  We've also had sightings of many dolphins, jelly fish, a seal, and a nice sunset.  And a fun dinner with Peter Tredgett, the terrific, relatively new to Oceania, Cruise Director, and Geoff Wills, the cocktail pianist whom we have sailed with before.

Now, it's onward to Mitre Peak!

As we dealt with the frustration, this was a good truism to remember: ENJOY YOURSELF BECAUSE YOU CAN'T CHANGE ANYTHING ANYWAY

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry