January 10, 2026 Cairns, Australia

This morning’s overcast sky confirmed that the low pressure system was still viable. It was named 12U and developed into Cyclone Koji by late evening predicted to make landfall south of Townsville near Ayr. Already the temperature was 28°C, wind WSW 29 kph, humidity 71%. The waves were barely forming as we ate breakfast in the dining room with Bill and Karen from Scotland and a Floridian couple.

It is the second unscheduled Sea Day, yesterday being the first unscheduled Sea Day, always a possibility on a cruise. The ship should have arrived at 8 a.m. this morning.

The captain announced during breakfast that the Port of Cairns is still closed. The pilot appointment scheduled for 1 p.m. now has been delayed to 4 p.m. Once the pilot is picked up and joins the navigation crew to guide the ship into the port and dock, it can be almost two hours before passengers can leave the ship after clearance from Customs and Immigration. He mentioned that Shore Excursion is open for tomorrow’s booking tours or the tours could be booked using the app which was a lot faster and we didn’t have to go to Deck 10 and stand in line. As we walked to the Library to get the daily Sudoku variation puzzle we chatted with Margaret and Ted enjoying the morning coffee at the café.

NEWS: The wild fires in the Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales have risen to 95 overnight. 18 regions of Victoria have been declared as states of disaster. There is a fire ban for all of New South Wales.

Port Douglas, north of us, and Tully, south of us, a distance of 206 km, received damaging winds overnight from a low pressure system that may

develop into a cyclone later today.

A brief history of Cairns: “ Initially, the region was inhabited by the

Yirrganydji and Yidinji Aboriginal peoples, who had lived there for thousands

of years. Their culture, traditions, and knowledge of the land played a crucial

role in shaping the area. However, European settlement led to displacement

and conflict.

After the gold rush declined, Cairns transitioned into a centre for

agriculture, particularly sugarcane farming, thanks to its tropical climate and

fertile land. The construction of the railway in the late 19th and early 20th

centuries boosted the sugar industry and linked Cairns to the interior.

During World War II, Cairns became a strategic military base for Allied

forces, with American and Australian troops stationed there. After the war,

the city’s economy diversified with tourism emerging as a major industry by

the late 20th century.

Today, Cairns is best known as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and

the Wet Tropics Rainforest. Its economy thrives on tourism, agriculture, and

marine industries, while its Indigenous heritage remains an important part of

its identity. ”

At 10 a.m., the captain provided an update - the storm centre was 255 km to our east and heading south south west with the possibility of becoming a cyclone at landfall this evening. The Port of Cairns is still closed.

There was some rain before we set out to walk 8 laps (about 4 km) on the Promenade Deck, squishing along the damp deck under the tender boats with dozens of other walkers. (Steps 6.486) We could barely see Cairns in the distance with cloud and rain not far away. There were a few other ships awaiting the reopening of the port waiting at sea. The waves had slightly increased to less than a meter high. The ship was navigating a large oval between Port Douglas and Cairns, a distance of about 60 km in one direction, at a speed of just 8 knots.

Back at the stateroom, tuned to the weather station, the prediction was that the likely landfall of the low/cyclone would be about 4 p.m. around Townsville, further south of our current position. The low could cause higher tides.

At the captain’s regular Sea Day noon announcement he advised that the Port of Cairns Harbour Master had just reopened the port. The 4 p.m. pilot appointment was confirmed. He explained that since the tugboats and pilot boats were in secure cyclone storage and to get them back in service, the procedure would take about three hours. The ship has travelled 870 nautical miles since Brisbane. At noon, the temperature is 27°C with a wind 22 knots gusting to 35 knots (39 km gusting to 65 km) Tonight’s wind was predicted to be 30 knots gusting to 35 knots (55 km gusting to 65 km) with the possibility of more rain. Tomorrow should be cloudy or partly clear with a high temperature of 31°C. Tomorrow is the extra day in Cairns, due to the cancellation of the Conflict Islands stop in Papua New Guinea.

As we enjoyed an early afternoon specialty coffee at the Library Café, Sandy stopped by to say that she and Sue had booked the Kuranda Experience tour for tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. We have tickets for the same tour at 8 a.m. tomorrow which we had booked through the app.

Robbie, the cruise director, made a surprise announcement. Instead of Happy Hour at 4 p.m., when two bars have drinks for half price, all of the ship’s bars will have a special menu of complimentary drinks from 4 p.m. until 5 p.m.

We spent the afternoon reading as none of the dozen afternoon activities appealed to us. We anticipated and found that the Rolling Stone Lounge was playing a playlist with danceable music where less than a dozen people were enjoying the music.

As we joined Ted, Margaret, Sue and Sandy for dinner the ship was maneuvering into its Cairns berth. Shortly, the captain announced that the ship was cleared by officials and passengers could leave the ship and return anytime before 5:30 p.m. tomorrow. There was a big cheer. During dinner Sandy air dropped three pictures of us dancing that she had taken last night in the Rolling Stone Lounge.

After dinner it was raining outside, so no one at our table was leaving this evening. Even walking on the Promenade Deck was damp due to a light drizzle.

The low pressure system officially became a category 2 Cyclone Koji shortly after 6 p.m.. It was over 400 km south east of Cairns and south of Townsville.

Tonight’s entertainment was changed to the production singer and dancers presentation of Feeling Groovy since the performer scheduled had not arrived due to the lateness of the ship’s mooring. Most of the seats in the World Stage were filled for another high energy performance.

Total steps 9,701