LFL AT SEA

Tuesday, 20 December

Tucson, Arizona

Yes, it's been over a week since my last blog, but getting things back together after 37 days of travel isn't quick or easy.

My welcome home at Mountain View Retirement Village was very special. Never have I been greeted by so many people happy to see me again--usually, it's just Will and Luke (our cat) at home when I return from my travels. Just one perk of living in a larger community.

I shall finish up this trip with details of my return travel, some final facts about New Zealand and Australia; comments about HAL's Covid protocols; and for those who have been waiting, some food pictures at last.

Wednesday, 7 December

Sydney to Tucson

It's a long day of travel from Australia to the US. My United Airlines flight leaves Sydney just before noon on Wednesday, although I arrive at the airport quite early, at around 8am.

There is a paid shuttle from the hotel to the airport that drops passengers at the very far end of the International Terminal. Somehow, none of the luggage cart vending machines are working and I have to drag my bags almost to the other end of the building to find a cart at last. United Airlines check-in is relatively easy, and I eventually make my way through immigration and security.

A passport digression: Although my passport in hand prior to this trip is still valid until 2026, it has only two empty visa pages. In the past, cruise lines have been very rigid--if you don't have enough empty visa pages, they won't let you board the ship. Although it was very quick, easy, and inexpensive to obtain electronic visas for both Australia and New Zealand, I couldn't be sure that those two pages wouldn't be stamped when I arrived in Sydney and there wouldn't be enough space for the rest of the trip.

As a result, I went through the very expensive process of obtaining a new passport for this trip, with expedited service (given all the delays I read about). I fully expected to have at least two foreign visas and the return US immigration stamp put into the new passport. However, I returned home with the new passport as untouched as it had been before I left. Indeed, I could have travelled with the old passport after all.

United Airlines does not have its own Polaris Lounge in Sydney, but Business Class passengers are invited to use the Air New Zealand Lounge while awaiting their flight departure. Like the United lounges, New Zealand offers unlimited free food and alcohol, as well as a pleasant and quiet place to pass the time.

The return flight from Sydney to Los Angeles takes only 13 hours, as opposed to the 15-and a-half from LAX to Sydney. Additionally, we have strong tailwinds pushing us eastward at an especially fast speed. I arrive at LAX just after 6am and get through immigration and customs very quickly. Although I have flown from Asia and Australia to the US many times, I still find it hard to wrap my head around the fact that I arrive at LAX six hours before I left Sydney (thanks to the International Dateline).

My American Airlines flight to Tucson leaves in three hours; fortunately, the AA terminal is right next to International Arrivals. The flight leaves on time and I am back in Tucson shortly before noon. Will is at the airport to greet me and in quick time I am home again at Mountain View Retirement Village.

Interesting Fact from My Travels (in no particular order):

There is no tipping for anything in either Australia or New Zealand--what a pleasant difference from home;
I was pleasantly surprised that my expensive electric toothbrush kept its charge for the entire trip--that's 37 days. I had all the charger equipment with me, but never had to use it;
Melbourne and Sydney, although quite far apart, are in the same time zone, Adelaide, west of Melbourne, sets its clocks 30 minutes ahead (I wonder who thought of that idea?);
Public transportation in the central parts of all major cities in both countries is always free--and, thus, always crowded;
Both countries are fast developing into cashless societies--much faster than the US. Most businesses will not accept cash, even for the smallest purchases, like a $1.00 bottle of water. And public transportation will accept only system-issued pay cards (like the Oyster card in London), or any chip-augmented credit card. You just tap the card when getting on and when getting off--everything is automatically charged to the card.
I sent out nine loads of free laundry while on board the Westerdam; the service was fast and every item was returned carefully, treated just as I requested;
HAL has seriously reduced the benefits of their Mariners' program. As a 4* Mariner I used to receive 50% discounts on haircuts and HAL merchandise in the shops. Now it's 15% in the shops and only 10% on a haircut. And you have to read the very, very small print to find these changes. The only benefits still of much use are the free laundry service and priority boarding of tenders (if not on a shore excursion).
Food on the Westerdam is still tasty and well-prepared, but the menus in the Dining Room, where I ate almost every night at 7:45, have been severely curtailed. There is much less choice and a great deal of repetition.
My servers in the Dining Room were as friendly and helpful as ever--they are the best reason to sail on HAL these days. One reason I enjoy eating in the Dining Room is that I have the same servers every night and they can anticipate my desires.

Covid Precautions and Conditions:

Covid precautions were not as good as they should have been. Although I had to do a self-test prior to boarding, no one seemed interested at looking at the result. For the first two days on board, there was very little information about Covid. On the second day we were told that masks were required in all indoor settings (other than staterooms), because "there was an outbreak of new variants in the Sydney area." It wasn't until several days later that we were told that there were significant numbers of passengers and crew in isolation. I learned from passengers who had been on the Westerdam since it had left Seattle three weeks earlier that there were 40 cases when the ship reached Hawaii. On the final day of the cruise, 28 days later, the captain announced there were 60 cases. Although masks were supposedly required on tenders, tour buses and excursions, this rule was not very well enforced. I avoided Covid by having dinner at a solo table in the Dining Room and Pinnacle Grill (my usual preference anyway), avoiding large gatherings completely, and keeping to myself whenever possible.

Summary of Fitbit Steps:

In an earlier message I reported the daily steps and floors for the first half of the trip (from my Fitbit smart watch). Here is a summary of those numbers for the entire trip:

During the 22 days I spent on land (in ports and in Sydney prior to and after sailing), I averaged 8.1 miles per day (and I walked quite bit onboard on sea days, too);
On my highest land day, I walked 22,536 steps, which equals 10.27 miles
During my 34 days in Australia and New Zealand, I covered a total of 507 floors, for an average of 14.91 floors per day
Highest day = 96 floors (on the ship on a sea day)