This morning we got off that "Rocky" ship but first we had to get up by 6:00 am so we could watch the ship sail into Sydney Harbor. We returned to a different dock than we left from which meant that this time we had to go under the Sydney Harbor Bridge. I had read on Cruise Critic that the ship wouldn't fit under the bridge so I wanted to see if they knew what they were talking about -- they didn't -- it fit perfectly.
Our disembarkation number was Black 1 which mean that we could get off the ship anytime between 7:30 and 9:30. We took our time getting ready and got tired of sitting around so we finally left the ship around 8:30 am. It was very easy getting off, getting our luggage and getting a taxi. We were at the Shangri-la by 9:00 or so. I didn't figure we would be able to check in that early but we asked anyway. We had reserved a Opera House view with twin beds. I had talked to them about the reservation when we stayed there 1 night pre-cruise. They said there were only 5 of these rooms in the hotel so that we probably would have to wait until checkout time to get a room. When trying to check in I was told that this type of room would not be available at all. They said they could give us a king room with a rollaway bed. I told them no. They then said we could have a room on the 4th floor. I said no. I was paying a pretty good penny for this room and I expected some kind of view and the 4th floor definitely wouldn't do that. I told them that I had booked the room directly with the hotel in May 2012 and that they shouldn't have sold me something if they couldn't deliver. They told me that they would talk to their supervisor to see if they saw a room available that they were not seeing. It didn't take them long to tell us that they had a suite available that they could put a rollaway bed in. I knew their suites weren't shabby so we agreed to it. The room has a spectacular view and is huge. It also has a window that looks down into the Horizon Club (Concierge Club).
Krista rested a bit when we got to the room. She is still pretty worn out from being sick. At 2:00 we met our friend, Kris, that we met on the Alaskan cruise in 2011. She lives outside of Sydney and came in to see us. We walked down near the Opera House and got a bite to eat and then walked over to the Opera House and walked around. There are so many people here now. They must have come in for the big New Years Celebration that they had.
Today is Krista's bridge climb. It is right down the street from the hotel. I walked down there with her and then walked on back. On the way back I went in a little grocery store and looked for Diet Dr Pepper. They only had regular Dr. Pepper so I got that. This one was only $2.80 for a can and tasted so good going down.
Krista's bridge climb is supposed to be at 5:05 pm and it lasts 3.5 hours. I can see the bridge perfectly from our room and I know that she is up there somewhere. I hope she is having a good time. I just wish that I felt confident enough to do it with her. While we were standing in line to get her paperwork, some goof ball came in there and asked if it was free to do the climb. They were quite surprised to find out there was a cost.
I am sure when Krista gets back we will go on to bed. We have had a busy day and a busier day tomorrow. Since we will only be here 2 nights we have to cram in everything that we can. There are so many things to do here and I still am not sure what we will do. We are thinking Hop on Hop Off Bus, Aquarium, and Sydney Wild Life Park.
Our ship the ms Oosterdam should be leaving soon and I want to see it. Also the Crystal Symphony ship is here and scheduled to leave soon. It didn't look like there were people getting on the ship today so I looked up their itinerary and it looks like it spent 2 nights here so they got to see all of the New Years celebrations. I am sure that was exciting for them.
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