Bloody hot; bloody humid; Cairns is beautiful. We have decided to skip our two tours in Cairns; went to mall today; packed with Christmas shoppers. Deck bbq tonight; I have a feeling given the passenger mix Compass Rose will be pretty crowded. Bars are empty at night. For a show last night in Horizon with Orchestra and lead male singer from cast; only 16 passengers. They were ready with two bartenders and five bar waiters; most of which were let go very quickly. After only a half hour set; the singing ended and there was another half hour of dance music with the orchestra; only problem was that they took a half hour break before finishing their set; by then, there were only three passengers in the lounge. Checked out Observation and there were zero guests. Stars had duo so they had about a dozen guests. This ship is dead. "By popular demand," they have started having the shows pre-dinner (okay, not all of them). So, I imagine half of pax will come to take pictures of bbq and then head to Compass Rose for dinner.

Marc

PS For those that remember Robin from this year's South America cruise; we have a "competitor" on this cruise.