CURRENTS

Today is Day 40… which feels slightly ridiculous to say out loud. We genuinely can’t believe we’ve been onboard this long. Our previous “long haul” effort was 15 nights, so committing to months on one ship did feel like a bit of a gamble at the time. Turns out—so far, so good.

Aside from the same playlist being looped on the sundeck (we now play beat the next song title before it plays) and internet speeds that appear to be powered by carrier pigeon, we’re having a great time. With another 80 days ahead, we’re calling it a win.

Anyway, today is the first of two sea days as we make our way to Darwin—our final stop in Australia.

This morning’s grand plan was simple: get up on deck early and secure our usual sunbeds like seasoned pros. Unfortunately, by the time we made it to Deck 12, the skies had dramatically opened—as if someone upstairs had flipped the “monsoon” switch—so that plan was abandoned fairly quickly.

Plan B kicked in: Lorna headed off to the gym (clearly the sensible one), while I heroically returned to the cabin for a bit of… recovery.

After Lorna’s workout, we regrouped and ventured back up on deck. The rain had cleared, spirits were restored, and priorities were reassessed—starting with breakfast at Waves (naturally). Refuelled and ready, we reclaimed our sunbeds as the sun began making a cautious appearance.

By this point, everything was back on track. Sunbeds secured, skies improving, and optimism restored and soon first drinks order going in once we hot midday.

So midday rolled around and Lorna heroically resisted the lure of pre-spa beverages ahead of her 1pm treatment… a level of discipline I can only admire from a distance. Meanwhile, Dimitrije wandered past, being his usual awesome self, and—well—it would’ve been rude not to say hello… to a Guinness Export (a modest 7.5%, for hydration purposes obviously).

By the time Lorna disappeared off to be pampered, Dimitrije had somehow “accidentally” delivered two of these masterpieces. Now, with Lorna gone for what could only be described as a danger window, Dimitrije continued his generous campaign. At one point I had two beers on the table at once, which felt less like a drink and more like a challenge. I told him to cease and desist until further notice… for the sake of my marraige.

Because let’s be honest—she’s going to come back with fancy new feet, and the very first thing those beautifully polished, extremely expensive toes are going to do… is boot me clean up the backside if I can’t come out with a coherent positive response to how good they look.

So I sensibly stopped at five, and sat waiting for her return—trying to look normal and hoping she’d be far more interested in compliments than conducting a full sobriety inspection.

At around 4pm we suddenly realised we had land on both sides of the ship. Then it clicked… the Captain had mentioned at midday that we’d be crossing the Torres Strait, the narrow stretch of water between Australia and Papua New Guinea.

That was enough to motivate us to peel ourselves off the sunbeds and grab a few photos. We even snapped a couple of shots of the ship’s big screen showing our position — although the quality isn’t exactly great, so apologies in advance for the poor quality.

Still, definitely one of those “worth posting anyway” moments.

So the day drifted by very easily—no doubt helped by the supply of Guinness. Eventually we decided enough was enough and headed back to the room to get ready for tonight’s speciality restaurant, Polo—the ship’s steakhouse.

Probably for the best, our in-room liquor supply had officially run dry, so pre-dinner cocktails were off the menu. Undeterred, we popped up to Horizons for a couple instead before our 8:30pm reservation.

Dinner was excellent. Lorna had the Caesar salad prepared at the table, and we both went for the small fillet, which was anything but small on flavour. Absolutely spot on.

Not quite ready to call it a night, we wandered down to Martinis where most of the gang were already in full swing. A few “just one more” drinks later, plenty of chatting, and suddenly it was closing time and we were being politely encouraged towards bed.

So yes, a slightly boozy day all round. Tomorrow will definitely need to be a calmer one… purely in the interest of balance. Another sea day ahead—let’s see how long that good intention lasts.