Geelong and on to Sydney

After spending a day in Melbourne, at about 3:00 AM our ship left its dock and traveled for a mere 4 hours (at about 12 mph) to Geelong, 50 miles away. I am not sure why they didn't stay in Melbourne for two days, but suspect that it had to do with the high cost of docking in a big city or the need to have multiple ports in OZ or perhaps something silly like there would be no room in Melbourne at the docks. Regardless, we arrived at Geelong at 7:00 AM (a tender port unfortunately) and found out the arrival of a cruise ship is a major event in that city. They literally close the streets near the Yacht Club (where we arrived) to facilitate the tour buses. They have a van that tours the city and drops passengers off at a number of sites and they have dozens of volunteers in blue vests giving directions, free bags, free walking tours and so much more. They made us feel like a million bucks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geelong

Geelong is a city of under 200,000 that if memory serves me right once had a Ford automobile factory. It is a pretty city with a beautiful beach, but the problem of lots of jelly fish in the proximity of its waters. So they built a cage to keep the jelly fish out of certain beach waters so the beach can be enjoyed. Very cool. The cage runs the length of one of the beaches.

Here is the caged area that protects against jelly fish.

So Felice and I took the van to the art museum and then wandered the city. We walked to the National Wool Museum, which adjoins the Chamber of Commerce. We did not go into the Museum as we thought it would be a baaaaddd time, but rather made use of the strong WiFi provided to the public at the Chamber of Commerce. We caught up with Lauren on a Facetime call and got up to speed. Unfortunately Eric and family were at dinner and not available. We downloaded all of the podcasts and emails and were ready to roll.  

We went back to the pick up point for the tenders, the Yacht Club and got to the ship. After relaxation, we got ready for our last formal night. I chose a different bow tie/cummerbund combination, eschewing red for a dark color with polka dots. Here we are with a full length picture this time.

Sunday was a day at sea as we zoomed (at 15 mph) toward Sydney, the end of our cruise, but the beginning of our week there. The ship was rocking due to the waves and heavy winds. Note that in a cruise ship for 450 passengers, there isn't going to be the size to dissipate the seas like the ships built for 2,000 or more, so that is a disadvantage to a smaller cruise ship. We had our final dinner and put together a few envelopes with tips for certain servers, the assistant maitre 'd and our stewardess. Note that most ships merely put $12 per day per passenger on to your bill as a charge that you are expected to absorb. Seabourn pays its staff well (and at its prices it should) and says that it neither expects nor encourages tipping. Still, we wanted to tip certain individuals that made our stay memorable and special. Sunday night we went to a movie in The Club and watched it with 4 others, but got too tired so we went back to our room and watched the end on the tv on demand. Felice had already packed and had our luggage out for pickup by the required 10:00 PM so we had little to do but sleep and awake at 7:00 AM for our departure from the ship after 8:30 AM.