Sunday, March 2, 2025

Our first night on the Norwegian Sun cruise ship was a good one. Overnight, the ship traveled from Auckland to somewhere north of the tip of New Zealand. There’s a lot of buzz on the ship about three different cyclones circling off the eastern coast of Australia. We heard some cruisers make predictions that the Norwegian Sun will change course to avoid the storms, but nothing official has been announced from the crew.

On this cruise, we have two staterooms next door to one another. Since we booked last-minute, these were the rooms Andi could get a guarantee that would be next to one another. Andi and I are staying in one room, and Tory and Aden are staying together next door. Both staterooms have windows, but the windows do not open to the outside of the ship.

Aden bounced into Andi and I’s room at 7:30am this morning ready to go to the Splash Academy kids area. We had a one-hour time change overnight, so 7:30am felt more like 8:30am to him. Andi reminded him that it was too early for kids club, and told him to go back to his stateroom. Both kids returned an hour later ready for breakfast.

This morning, we dined in The Great Outdoors restaurant on the 11th floor. This is an outdoor buffet with sweeping views of the back of the ship. It was a gorgeously sunny morning today. Andi remarked that this is the first cruise we’ve taken that it’s been warm enough to sit outside for a meal.

Tory hasn’t eaten much since we arrived on the ship. She said she can’t find anything she likes here. Her breakfast plate consisted of one strawberry, a scoop of whipped cream, and a small spoonful of cottage cheese. Fortunately, there’s somewhere to find food at all hours on the ship, so she won’t go hungry.

To be honest, we all felt a little “off” today. I think it’s sea sickness. The sky is clear and the air is warm, but the ship is rocking back and forth quite a bit and it feels like we’re traveling at a quick pace. I’m assuming the captain is doing his best to get ahead of the tropical cyclone spinning off Australia’s eastern coastline.

Aden went to kids club after breakfast, and Tory came with Andi and I for a walk around the ship’s walking/jogging track. Three times around the ship’s 6th floor exterior corridor equals one mile. The path is a nice place to walk purposefully, out of the way of sunbathers or other cruisers.

For lunch, we dined at the Seven Seas main dining restaurant. Tory and Aden ordered macaroni and cheese and chicken stir fry from the kids menu, and they each finished their plates. I was glad to see them finally eating! I ordered a Monte Cristo sandwich for my lunch, but I didn’t realize it was a deep-fried sandwich. Ugh, it was not good. Not the kitchen’s fault by any means; just a mis-order on my part. Overall, Andi and I have been impressed with the food quality and variety on the ship. Except for this sandwich, everything we’ve eaten has been very good.

Sea sickness affected us all after lunch. I had a headache and a stomach ache after lunch, and tried to push through it with a workout in the ship’s fitness center. It didn’t help. Andi said he also had a headache and an upset stomach. We ended up taking motion sickness pills which helped, but made us feel drowsy.

In addition to the motion sickness medicine, walking on the 6th floor walking/jogging track seemed to help our stomachaches the most. The fresh air felt nice and got our bodies moving. Andi and I did another few laps around the track after our workouts in the fitness center.

For dinner, the four of us ate at the Four Seas main dining room. There wasn’t a wait to be seated which was nice. In fact, none of the restaurants have felt overly crowded. For dinner, Andi, Tory, and I all ordered the French onion soup and rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes. Our meals were very tasty. Aden had a sirloin steak with peppercorn sauce which he also enjoyed.

Aden wanted to go back to Splash Academy for night games. He made friends with an 11-year-old boy named CJ from Florida, so he’s been having a lot of fun there. Andi, Tory, and I returned to our state room to watch a few episodes of Schitt’s Creek. There were several singers and live music performances around the ship tonight, but none of us were particularly interested in going to those.

Tomorrow is another sea day as we continue our trek toward Brisbane, Australia.