Melbourne

Docking in Melbourne
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We woke at 4:30 am, in time to feel the ship slow down for the pilot to board. Then the pilot boat roared off leaving the pilot to navigate into Port Melbourne. We went back to sleep and got up at about 6:30 when it was light enough to see where we were going and we went up to the Crow's Nest bar to watch the ship thread through a channel that became very narrow. Luckily we didn't meet another ship but we did have to dodge around a dredger that was anchored in the middle of the channel, luckily at one of the wider points.

The MCG
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Once we got near the dock, the ship pivoted round and docked stern first, all ready for a quick getaway. We had breakfast and then got off the ship and walked about 100 metres to the port gates. There was a shuttle bus, but we decided we could manage that distance on our own. Outside, we got a tram into the city and wandered around. We bought a few things, strolled along Swanston Street and then took another tram to the Melbourne Cricket Ground. We wandered around the outside, looking at the bronze statues, then went inside so we could see the pitch, but decided not to bother with the museum.

We get a tram back into the city centre, then the tram back to the dock in time for a late lunch.

In the afternoon, we split up and various people watched a movie, read books, played ping pong, played Scrabble, drank beer, watched the yacht races on the harbour and had a generally relaxed time.

At about 5:30, the ship departed and we went up to a high deck just under the bridge and watched the departure. There was another ship coming in which we thought might cause a problem, but we stuck to the main channel and the other ship had to go outside. It looked to be riding quite high on the water, so I presume it was empty, while our ship draws 8 metres.

We had dinner in the Rotterdam dining room where we were sharing a table with a family of three, whose daughter was Jack's age and who had already been making friends with the boys in the teens area.

By the time we had finished dinner, we were well out of Port Phillip Bay and the swell was getting up. As we were heading south, the waves were hitting us side on, which made the ship roll quite a bit. Peter went up to the Loft which is high at the stern but had to come back because the motion was a bit too much for him. However he recovered quickly when lying down and slept happily through the night.