WE0325 - day 13 - NZ Sounds

WE0325 - day 13 - NZ Sounds
The past 2 days, sea days in the Tasmanian Sea, were expected to have the roughest seas. It
was bumpy at times, but not rough at all. The last TransAtlantic I took (Jewel OTS) last
September was rougher than this and that wasn't rough either.
Today we have a "Sea Day" in the NZ sounds. We got up early and rushed up to the Viking
Crown Lounge to get good seats - right above the swimming pool, facing forward, with a good
view of both sides. Even though sunrise was not until after 8am, I was able to get a decent
picture as early as 6:15.
People are funny. Some came into the lounge saying we were surrounded by cliffs and they
claimed they didn't understand why the Captain wasn't entering the sound, why he was wasting
time just sitting there. They didn't understand that the viewing would be spectacular, once
there was light to see by! What did they expect the sounds to be? Just a canyon?
There was a shore excursion leaving from the ship by tender about 7am, with an overnight on
land to be sure to capture the full impact of the sounds. I don't know how many people were
on it. They'll rejoin the ship tomorrow in Dunedin. The cost is $495 per person double,
$595 single.
Narration began around 7am and continued intermittently until we left Milford Sound after 9.
The landscape, on the port side, could have been anywhere there are volcanic islands,
except so far (it is now almost 10:30) there are no signs of any settlements.
The commentator mentioned that we would go to 4 sounds - the itinerary only said 3. It
turns out that the 4th, Thompson Sound, is only the entrance to Doubtful Sound. By the time
we got to Doubtful, the weather had worsened. Glad we were in Viking Crown.
The weather continued to deteriorate - light rain, limited visibility both before and at
Dusky Sound. Milford Sound is the best, and, fortunately, that's where the weather and
viewing were the best.
Despite the weather, I managed to take almost 150 pictures. Maybe I could do that because
we kept our excellent seats for over 9 hours.