Day 2 - Sydney

Monday 5th January, 7.45am Good morning! At the moment, I am sitting in an armchair beside massive plate glass windows that look out on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Jordan is getting us our made to order omelettes! This is so much fun, but most of all, it is so beautiful here!

Yesterday we arrived to the most massive line EVER at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay. I think most of the 2000 passengers had turned up all at the same time. We spoke to some of the young Aussie guys who were taking our luggage and they told us to go away and come back in a few hours. We left our carry on baggage with Em and Tris who were going to see a Monet exhibit at the art gallery with Kate and Andrew. After chasing them down Elizabeth Street to get our cruise documents out of our bags, the Lanes and Quayles went for a walk around Circular Quay to admire the ship from many different angles. Then, because Dad was dying of hunger, we had chicken burgers at a place called G’day Cafe. Ironic really, considering only 1 of the 5 or so employees spoke decent English, and she went on a break for most of the time we were there!

Anyway, after that, we walked back to the Terminal to line up. We went through a checkpoint at the door, then upstairs through security, then to customs officer, then to the Celebrity folks who gave us our SeaPasses. These are linked to our on-board account, so whenever we purchase anything it just gets swiped. It is also our door key and our security passes to get off the ship.
When we finally got on board, we spent an hour or two with Mum and Dad exploring the ship. It is HUGE. Mum and Dad’s balcony is large and looked directly on to the Opera House. We then unpacked our bags into our wardrobe, as we will be on the ship for 2 weeks and we didn’t want our clothes to get any more wrinkled. Before dinner we headed down to the Rendezvous Lounge to listen to the big band play and watch the people dance. Mum and Dad were there showing everyone up – they were the main attraction! I had a dance with Dad and then we headed up to the top deck to see the city lights before our 8.30pm dinner seating.
Our waiters, Alexio and Wayan are great and we had a lovely time. I had goats cheese and roasted bell pepper tart, Caesar Salad, and Rib Fillet with chargrilled vegetables. Dessert was profiteroles with vanilla icecream and bittersweet chocolate sauce. I still felt full when I woke up this morning!! This morning we got up at 5.45am and went for a run around the top deck. The sun was rising and it was just magical. Now I’ve just finished my breakfast and we are going to head into the city to explore. We sail out of Sydney Harbour at 6pm tonight. Hope you are all safe and well. The Lanes and Pyes say hello too. xoxo