Cruisin'

Casey writes:

Farewell to my family... 

After a sad farewell we boarded The Arcadia, our home for the next two weeks. As the ship set sail out of Port Phillip Bay, we could see the neon orange flag being waved by nan and aunty Janet who were standing near the timeball in Williamstown.

We've now been on the ship for four days. How do I describe the experience? There are 2000 passengers on board, 1500 walking sticks, 800 zimmerframes and 300 mobile bikes (or whatever you call those things that run over your feet while you're fighting off hungry old people at the buffet). The most notable statistic is the five deaths that have occurred on the ship since it left Southampton (don't worry, there is an excellent morgue on board). Incidentally, if even one more octogenarian snarls and purses their lips like a cat's bum the next time I accidentally get between them and the pudding, they may end up overboard and the statistic will increase to six.

In reality, the cruise is, well, a means to an end. The food is good, the odd person is friendly, and, when I'm not bedridden with seasickness I've been passing the time with Spanish classes, trivia quizzes, poetry readings by Pam Ayres herself and a performance by virtuoso violinist Ian Cooper. Richard learnt how to turn on his tablet in the Ipad for Beginners course, but neither of us have yet managed to get over the trauma of stumbling onto the topless bathing deck by accident. But the excitement is still to come: bridge, bingo, whist and the knitting club still await our patronage.

Adelaide...

Paranoid at the prospect of missing a bus and the ship departing without us, we played it safe on our Adelaide day trip. We caught a bus to Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills, ate a kransky with sauerkraut, took a few photos and then hightailed it out of there, enroute directly back to the ship.

We are now somewhere in the Great Australian Bight, gearing up for a black tie event tonight. I may well prefer to stick knitting needles in my eyes, but, then, how would I be able to see which oldies to trip over in the waltz, foxtrot or tango?