Gigs In Wigs
My wake up call this morning was a sincere apology from Wayan, our friendly state room attendant and bath towel sculptor. Jude was already awake and out on the balcony enjoying the view, so neither of us heard his gentle rat-a-tat-tat on our door. We were both a bit shocked to see each other face-to-face.
The coffee shop was doing a roaring trade as we grabbed our ‘fat’ coffees and headed to breakfast. Today we’d ditched the food court and opted to break our fast at the fancier al a carte restaurant instead. Now cruise ship decor is in a league of its own and is a lot to take in. Not feeling in any way obligated to subscribe to the old interior design adage:less is more, oh no, where onboard decorating is concerned, more is definitely more. The dining room looks like it was decorated by Liberace, taking busy to a new level with its chandeliers, stained glass lights, fanned ceilings, mirror tiles, sparkling blue bulbs and animal print chairs. Spending too long in there could well induce seasickness.
While we’d slept soundly, our mammoth vessel had forged its way further into warmer waters so by the time we woke up we were in the tropical north, off the coast of Mackay. It was noticeably balmier on deck. Prior to this voyage, our boat had been dodging icebergs in Alaska and it seemed the pool was yet to acclimatise, still taking your breath away upon taking a plunge into its icy depths* (*all 3 feet of them). The refreshing water was most welcome though, now it was getting so hot.
Jude was feeling energetic this morning and decided to do a few laps around the 97m track, while I took a book to the pool and soaked up some rays. I ran into some old friends, John and Julie, who generously passed me the baton on their coveted poolside pod when they left, informing me they’d procured it at 8am that morning, risking life and limb as they took part in the daily Pod Stampede of the inaptly named ‘Serenity’ deck.
After an excited text to Jude informing her: “I got a POD!” She joined me for a few lovely, lounging hours, complete with freshly cooked pizza, some cool libations and plenty of shade.
This afternoon we visited the lower deck venue - Ocean Plaza- for some great live music from the Toombs Bros. Duncan had been on this year’s season of the Voice and his was in fine form today. The Ocean Plaza was giving off country RSL club vibes as old couples took to the dance floor. One couple in particular was like a well-oiled machine with slick twirls and dips and leg kicks to make your eyes water. Their finale had him suspending her upside down with both sparkly-shoed tootsies waving in the air (and she was no spring chicken!) earning them a shout out from the band and raucous crowd applause for their fancy footwork.
The ominously titled Eve Of Destruction - today’s cocktail of the day - served in a souvenir Rock the Boat glass, was a must-try. The bar tender had already poured it and was doing his best Brian Brown impression shaking it flamboyantly over his shoulder when he informed me of the $25 price tag. Yikes. Too many cocktails of the day and our bank account will be on the eve of destruction.
As I was sipping the aforementioned overpriced refreshment, I did notice the straw was getting a bit slimy and seemed to taste sweet. I tentatively took a little nibble of it and it actually tasted like a biscuit so I ate the whole thing. Jude watched on in bemusement, worried it may have been toxic. I hear they have a good hospital onboard. Stay tuned.
It was Rock Star theme night tonight and with so many real rock stars onboard, it was hard to pick the genuine rockers from the imposters. Passengers embraced the theme, the deck awash with Axels, Tinas, Stevies and Genes. ABBA and Madonna were along for the ride as well as Slash and David Bowie, all doing their bit to keep Australia’s wig industry up and running.
Bachelor girl were first to hit the evening stage and they were surprisingly good - Tanya, the little pocket rocket lead singer has an incredible voice - then we were front and centre for one of our favourites, Mark Seymour, who was fantastic and got the crowd going when he urged the crowd to Throw (Our) Arms Around (Him). It would have been one sweaty cuddle if we’d all taken his advice. Dancing in wigs can be hazardous. Grabbing some ice cold water on our way back to our cabin, I said to Jude ‘would you like a straw with that?’ just in case she was a bit peckish and so I’d have some company in the hospital wing.
