Boarding Sirena

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We had a good night's sleep at Rydges. It was over $200 AUD prepaid but worth it for the convenience and the quiet. It is solidly built as we looked out over the international terminal and the jets coming and going without hearing a sound.

We had a leisurely morning and walked over to the McDonald's at this end of the terminal to get sausage egg mcmuffins for takeout. I used the complimentary coffee set up in the room. We did not hear back from Sydney City Shuttle after Clay's Sunday cell phone attempt to make a booking and assumed they did not book us. We walked over to the International Terminal about 10:30am after checking out of Rydges and bought single use tickets for $17.90 pp for the train to Wynyard Station. The first train we boarded did not stop there so we got off at the Domestic Terminal and boarded the next train 7 minutes later that did. Clay had bought 2 $9 ferry tickets from Captain Cook ferries online from the room. When we got to Wynyard Station we went out on the adjoining streets first. I had to go to Starbucks to use Stuart Jones annual $10 gift card for a souvenir mug. It was $21.90 and my $10USD gift card was worth about $13AUD here. On the other side of the station was Vintage Cellars and I went in and picked a bottle of wine and Clay got a mixed 6-pack of beer. We went back inside the station and had to ask at information to find Wynyard Walk, a new tunnel/bridge over to Barangaroo to the wharf for the Captain Cook ferry to White's Bay. We found no signage whatsoever and we were glad we had read about it and were sure it was possible. We exchanged our printed ticket for their printed tickets at check in ashore and walked out on the floating dock to wait for the noon ferry.

Our cruise documents said our Concierge Cabin entitled us to embark at noon. This was not true. The ferry arrived at 12:15pm and we turned over our luggage about 12:20pm. We filled out Australian customs/immigration documents and though this room of the big tent was full, we walked to the exit and they took our forms and had us sit in the next room in the tent. It was sunny and really windy so we were glad to be sitting in the big tent. We had seen hundreds of people lined up alongside the ship when we got off the ferry right in front of Sirena. About 40 minutes after we arrived we were lined up out in the sun. About 20 minutes later we were aboard. The holdup seemed to be the locals aboard running the x-ray and metal detectors as if it was a US TSA inspection. Once we boarded we were not allowed to disembark again in Sydney. That had to be a surprise and a hardship to several people. Our welcome letter said Concierge cabins would be ready after 1:30pm. They were not. We had lunch at Waves. Clay had a burger and I can a Q-ban sandwich. We each had a chocolate malt. It was like weak chocolate milk. We won't do that again. The fries were the big fat kind. The sandwiches were good but we still probably don't need to do that again. While we were eating they announced deck 7 cabins were ready, so we went to ours. No luggage. We don't know when the luggage actually arrived because it was just left out in the hall with no notification. So maybe it arrived shortly after we did or maybe it was hours later. We got unpacked. We are in 7047. It is a small cabin with a miniscule bathroom and a tiny closet. I thought again that we dodged a bullet when Insignia burned and 2015's 180-day world cruise was cancelled. We went out for a tour of the ship before the boat drill and missed meeting our stewardess, but she left the missing bathrobe on our bed.

The live boat drill was at 5:15pm. Everybody showed up and it went by fairly quickly. We opened our warm bottle of welcome champagne to have a toast on the balcony for sailaway when Julie James our CD announced that sailing had been delayed at least at hour. She said the pilot that had taken out the P&O ship before ours had encountered rough seas and couldn't get back so we'd have to wait. We went to dinner at Terrace at 6:30pm and put out our service request sign. I found nothing to my taste and didn't eat much. I wanted to go back to our cabin for the sailaway but it had not been serviced. At 8pm after we sailed past the Sydney Opera House, it still hadn't been serviced. Clay insisted we complain. I called housekeeping and they said they would page. Later the phone rang and our stewardess whose name I can neither spell nor say told me that we were skipped because they were busy with a big front cabin and all the other cabins had put in special requests and we had been unavailable when she came to see us. Obviously this was not our fault. She said they would come in a few minutes when they finished the big cabin. Five minutes later they came and she again blamed us. I went off on her that our sign had been up from 6:30pm to 8pm. Nothing else pertained.. There was no excuse only an apology and a promise that this would not happen again. Her assistant agreed and poked her. We got out of the cabin and 5 minutes later they were out of there. Honestly. I was hoping to get this typed up and posted before we left the protected harbor but because of all this foolishness that did not happen. I was about to come apart when everything in the cabin went flying. Clay had left his camera on the table with the champagne bucket that was now half full of ice and water and a very cold half bottle of champagne. It was the first thing I found since it hit me. I didn't find Clay's soaked camera until I got under the balcony drapes. Then I had to get my jewelry out from under the couch. The bathroom shelf contents were in the sink etc. Clay found his tablet under the bed this morning. He was in the gym when we hit open water and said a whole rack of balls went flying. I don't think it could have been anymore dramatic than what happened in our room. He came in to find me on my hands and knees. I had just found and taken Dramamine. I had to take 2 more to stay knocked out and on the bed.

It is still very rough this morning as I type this. We went to Terrace for breakfast at 7:30am because Clay said that was when it opened but he must have been wrong. The stewardesses were just arriving on our hall as we returned 45 minutes later. So we got the tablet and my laptop and came up to deck 10 Horizons so I could finish this. I would say it was a mistake, but the rolling is so profound that no where on the ship could be immune. I am hoping for a needlepoint kit here at 9:30am. So it is easier just to stay put.

It promises to be a long 34 days. Sirena is a small ship and there are some big waters around Australia. Fingers crossed this will be the worst of it or that I will get used to it. I really think our big traveling days might be behind us. In many ways, I won't miss it.

Today is a sea day. Tomorrow is Brisbane.. We're glad we've already enjoyed a day there since the ship's port sheet declines to name our dock but says it is a $50AUD cab ride to the city. It is not clear if we'll make back into town or do laundry aboard. You couldn't get in the laundry room yesterday!

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