Viking Description: Trace one of Australia’s most scenic regions along the southeastern shore of the continent on the Bass Strait. As you sail today, savor a range of international cuisine on board. Choose from a variety of international flavors at the World Café, enjoy al fresco dining on the Aquavit Terrace, or regional specialties in The Restaurant.
I tried breakfast on my own in The Restaurant for the sake of ordering a breakfast lamb chop. It was fine but I felt no need to do that again – the buffet is more my speed. Glad we got that sorted out.
I typed up notes in the morning and then went to the Explorers Lounge to get out of the room. I listened to the Rock and Roll Archeology episode The Wonder Years about Stevie Wonder (I’ve tried to link to it but their website – which they tout repeatedly on the show – is awful and I can’t track down a specific link). The episode is an enthusiastic summary of Stevie’s peak years of the early and mid-1970s with a string of monumental albums and spurred me to give them a renewed and happy listen. What a talent and what a string of albums. I hadn’t realized quite how much of it was solely Stevie (I finally discovered the “View Credits” button in Apple Music).
Barb found me and asked about the nearby ship. It turned out we were racing the Queen Mary 2 to Sydney. She was off our starboard side all day. For a time it looked for all the world like the eye test I get at my optometrist with a ship on the horizon.
Barb and I cleaned up once again at trivia, getting all the answers correct including the tricky questions about nautical miles (1,852 meters) and who sang “Rock The Boat” (The Hues Corporation). I won the playoff by being the quickest to know Jack from Titanic shouted “I’m the King of the World” though technically I left out the “the” and should have been disqualified. I was happy to share mimosas with the runner up team.
We had lunch in the cafe with Karen and Barb. A fine time was had, once we all got settled.
Barb and I laid low for the afternoon, enjoying our last day at sea. The weather was close to perfect, if a little breezy. Barb was on the back deck in the sun. I was in various shady spots rocking out to the sublime work of Stevie Wonder. I mean, really, “Living for the City” and “Higher Ground” were 100% Stevie other than a few voices? It was a moment.
Eventually it was dinner time and we met again at the World Cafe, this time for surf and turf – actual grilled lobster and steak. They looked luxurious and tasted OK at best, kind of par for the course for our meals on the ship. But we ate a lot and didn’t complain too much except to each other. I caught one last ocean moonrise and a glimpse of the Southern Cross after dinner.
Barb and I retired to the room where I filled out a survey of our cruise for posterity and Viking’s input. We caught up on a few of the day’s lectures before falling to sleep. I set my clock to wake up early for our arrival in Sydney Harbour.
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