Day 18/74: Wednesday, March 18, 2020: Sydney Harbor

As expected, not much happening today. Waiting for tomorrow. I got up and went to the gym, there was no one else there, so I felt safe. It is a nice sunny day.

This afternoon, Sarah has a massage appointment. Tonight we have a last dinner reservation at the La Dame.

Right after lunch, a different Royal Caribbean ship left the dock and sailed out of the harbor.

During the afternoon, they had a sail boat race near us.

At 4:00 pm, Maria and I did three miles around Deck 9 and during that time, a Princess Cruise liner left the dock and harbor. The Captain came on the Pa at 5:00 pm to say that we would begin heading to the dock at 6:00 pm and should be there at 7:00 pm.

Day 17/73: Tuesday, March 17, 2020: Sydney

We should be arriving in Sydney harbor today. We will not dock until perhaps Thursday due to congestion in the port.

We were told that we would probably arrive in the harbor around 1:00 pm.

We saw land for the first time in a week before noon.

The Pilot came out to guide us to our anchorage.

My first view of Sydney. So close, yet...

There was a Royal Caribbean ship already at anchorage. It is the Spectrum of the Seas. It accommodates up to 5,000 guests.

Around 3:00 pm, after we had anchored, our tenders brought a contingent of Australian Immigration officers on board. They screened each of us and collected a questionnaire attesting to our health and compared our appearance to our passports. My agent told me I was making her job difficult due to my beard, new hair style and glasses. I took off my glasses and smiled, that convinced her I was the same old, gray guy shown on the passport photo.

In the evening, a MSC ship passed out of the harbor. It appeared to have guests on board. Don't know where they were docked or where they are headed.

This afternoon, Maria went to the gym. I decided to maintain separation between me and my fellow guests and walked Deck 9 for about 4.5 miles. Maria joined me for the last mile after finishing in the gym.

Our expectation is that we will remain at anchor until Thursday when we will actually dock. We will not be allow to leave the ship until Friday when we are taken to the airport.

Day 16/72: Monday, March 16, 2020: At Sea

Last night was a rough night with 55 know (63 mph) winds and high seas. That is not what we were told to expect, but that's what we got. The ship altered course to head into the winds for stability. By morning, things had settled down and we were able to resume course to Sydney. The Captain announced in the morning that we had been granted permission to enter the Sydney port, but he was not yet certain when that would be due to the congestion in the port. Today the seas were high, at bit higher than yesterday, which made navigating around the ship hazardous.

Views from Deck 4 breakfast window.