February 22nd:
As we leave Sydney, we start the second segment of the world cruise. From our berth at Darling Harbor, we passed under the Harbor Bridge and said farewell to the Opera House, Sydney and the MS Queen Elizabeth.
February 24th:
On sea days, lectures are held on subjects relating to the areas we are in or near. Occasionally, a well known personality comes aboard. This time, Mike Farrell and his wife Shelley Fabares joined us in Sydney. Mike was the costar of the TV program MASH. He played the character BJ opposite Alan Alda. Shelley starred in three movies with Elvis Presley, but we remember her most as Christine, the girl friend on the TV program COACH. Both hosted a number of talks covering their careers with numerous stories about the TV and movie industry.
February 25th:
We arrived this morning and went to an old German settlement southeast of Adelaide; expecting the town to be something similar to Colonial Williamsburg. It was not. Almost all of the old buildings were converted into a tourist shops or restaurants. The best part of the tour turned out to be the drive through Adelaide and the stop at the Town Market.
February 26th:
We had a tour of the ship’s bridge this morning while at sea. This was a far cry from the bridge of the US Navy ships Wayne served on many years ago. Now everything is electronic. The ship’s power plant was interesting. There are four 12 cylinder diesel electric sets that supply all power to the ship. The props are driven by electric motors. Depending on the ship’s speed there may be two, three, or four diesel electric sets operating. During this cruise we have been sailing at between 16 and 19 knots. The maximum speed is around 23 or 24 knots. It was amazing how life and technology has changed on the bridge and down in the engineering spaces.
February 28th:
We had a short stop in Bunbury Australia today. This is a small town in the southwest corner of Australia. We didn’t see much and were not sure why the ship docked here. Ship was in port from 2:00pm to 8:00pm, stores closed at 5:00pm; all were back on board early. None of the tour books indicated there was much here and they were right.
March 1st:
After a short overnight transit, we arrived in Freemantle. We were here several years ago on the MS Amsterdam. This time we visited the South Australia Maritime Museum, shopped for some necessities, and visited an Irish Pub.
March 2nd:
For the third time on a cruise we were on, a passenger required medically evacuation by helicopter. This time the passenger was suffering from some form of internal bleeding. He required three pints of blood donated by fellow passengers before being flown to Perth. We attempted to photograph the rescue operation, but the ship would not allow passengers anywhere near. All open decks were closed.
Next stops will be Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Thailand.
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