long time, no blog

 March 15, 2026

At the end of the last blog we informed you that we would have a day at sea and then dock in Mooloolada. We arrived in Mooloolada on time but faced two problems.. 1. As planned we were anchored in the bay where Mooloolada is located. 2. It was determined by the powers that be that the sea was too rough to safely transport the guests to shore by tender. Therefore, it was decided  we would have a day at sea. Having just had a day at sea and then knowing we had a day at sea to get to Airlie Beach, our next port of call we realized we were going to have 3 days at sea in a row. The only highlight of the 3 days at sea was our dinner at Chartreuse, the French speciality restaurant  on our ship.  We actually spent one day totally  in our suite. Lunch and dinner were ordered from room service Our rooms mini fridge was already stocked with gin, whiskey, vodka and mixes so we were good to go. As we type that last sentence it occurs to us that we could embark directly to our suite and not come out again until we disembark. For all you know, the blogs for the rest of the cruise will be total fabrications.

Sunday, March 15, we arrived at Airlie Beach.  Our ship was anchored among the Whitsunday Islands just off the coast. Once again we were tendered to shore.  Tim opined that the sea was just as rough if not rougher then what we  encountered at Mooloolada.  He figured the cruise line did not want to skip two ports in a row.  We survived a reasonably rough crossing to Airlie Beach where we discovered a lovely little village. It reminded us a bit of Mackinac Island, but smaller. There was one street with three blocks of shops. There were only one or two souvenier shops, lots of nice clothing stores, and a nice choice of bars and restaurants.  There were also several tatoo emporiums that we ignored. But the highlight was a night club called "Paddy's Shenanigans".  Unfortunately, it wasn't open. On a culinary note, Tim has rediscovered deep-fried calamari.  At each of the lunches we have had on shore, Tim ordered calamari. Coincidentally, each restaurant overlooked the ocean. It was another lovely day on shore.

Tomorrow we will be in Cairns and according to our itinerary we will be docked, so no skipping this port. We have an exciting excursion tomorrow but we will leave you with that tease.