Day 10 - Fantastic Fremantle

I must have missed the deck pounder or they were (hopefully) packing to get off today.

A leisurely breakfast before ambling straight off and we joined the queue for the free shuttle to the town hall.  Not a long walk anyway, but we thought we’d take it anyway.  They had just two trolleys doing the run and each had a capacity of just 21 people, but the wait wasn’t long.

We piled off at the town hall and strolled down to ‘Bodkin’s Bootery’ on High St.  The owner has an impressive classic car collection including one like mine – and also one like Dad had in the early 1950’s.  He wasn’t there but would be in at 2pm, so we went back to the town hall and opted for the paid tram tour of Fremantle on another trolley.

This cost us $24 each – about the same as the usual HoHo bus, but in this instance, a much shorter run, but compensated by an excellent driver/guide, Philip, who is one of those people who are just perfect for the job of dealing with tourists and with a great sense of humour.

His commentary was always informative and very, very entertaining.  Unlike the usual HoHo, he didn’t just stop, let passengers off then leave them until the next trolley came along.  He let us off and gave us a few minutes to take photographs of the Fremantle Prison (which seemed to be a very popular tourist spot as they run tours through it), plus the war memorial that looks out over towards the harbour.  At several stops, he waited for a few minutes including one down by the ferry terminal , to catch people coming in from Perth.  (www.fremantletrams.com)

Everything was very leisurely and the bright sunshine and warmth was very welcome, after a week of cool days. Once off the trolley we were ready for a coffee and a bite to eat and found the Coffee Club.  We joined another ship’s couple we’d never met before, Colin and Shirley and therefore another hour or so chatting!  The food was very nice and then we headed back to Bodkins Bootery where I had a chat with Rob.

Now I know my brothers will probably be reading this and they will remember that dad’s old car, a 1934 Singer coupe, languished, untouched, in our garage from about 1953 to 1964, as dad couldn’t keep up with its appetite for half shafts.  According to Rob, the last time we met, he reckoned there were only about 12 left in the world.  This time, he seemed to think that they only built 13 – which I find hard to believe, as it would mean that Dad’s was the only one scrapped.  Anyway, Rob is thinking of selling his.  Dad’s went for a fiver in 1964 - say $10.  Rob is looking for $40,000 for his…

We wandered around Fremantle for a little longer, then headed back to the ship, where 300 passengers were joining, most probably from Australia, though we did bump into a group of rather lost looking Japanese wandering around on deck 11.

We were on early enough for afternoon trivia, and joined two of our morning regulars, Bert and Lorraine, and we came second. One of the three questions we got wrong was ‘what is the final event of the decathalon?’ We just put running – which the other team marked as correct, but the correct answer was 1500m, so we deducted the point. Honest aren’t we?  Like me, Bert is ex prison service, but he is Australian.

We had a great day in Fremantle and we made the right decision to stay locally instead of going into Perth.  

At sailaway, I got the shoulder tap from Lou and Doreen who are cruise regulars but no sign yet of Alex and Teri, who we have  cruised with before.

After dinner, our entertainment was Aussie comedian Steve Allison.  Another observational comedian with a good act.  Paula is still laughing at his mozzie joke, but I won’t spoil things by repeating it here. For his first show, probably 8.5 out of 10.  It is tougher for comedians especially if they are just joke tellers, as the internet means that good jokes get circulated worldwide very quickly.

We now have  a run of 7 days at sea, so goodness knows what this blog will consist of, but it is getting warmer so no doubt all the extra outdoor seating and extra loungers will remove some of the pressure on indoor seating.  We gather that the weather back in NZ hasn’t been too good, just as it begins to warm up in the UK.      

                 

Day 9 - Busselton - Bus, bustle and beauty

Woohoo!  A land day. The captain obviously found the place and this was a tender port.  As we were on a ship’s tour and had to be up 6:15am anyway, I was less than pleased that the leadfooted deck 12 walker was up even earlier and woke me at 5:55.  I do hope they get off in Freemantle, because if they don’t, some form of action will have to be taken!  There are of course options to deal with these annoyances, ranging from a quiet word with security; to a plea on the Wake Show – which they may not watch; to the proactive ‘get out of bed and have a (hopefully) quiet word’; to the sneaky - which could still involve getting up early, but stalking them - finding their cabin,  ringing them up at midnight or our bedtime and putting the phone down before they answer.  With luck, they’ll then  sleep later but they won’t get the message.   Wait and see.   

So, an early trip to the Horizon Court and a light breakfast – if you can call a fresh waffle with maple syrup and apricots light. For past cruisers, this is one of the minor changes we have noticed.  The waffles are now in the hot food section and obviously do not require 100% manning - but the Nutella and other syrups were nowhere to be seen, but it could have been because we were early.

Only two coaches on our tour so a fairly quick run to deck 4 and onto a tender.  For the first  time, we noted that they were carrying passengers on the tender roof, but as it was still a bit chilly, we crammed inside.

A very warm welcome ashore by local volunteers handing out maps and dispensing advice, but we were straight onto a coach.  Forty-one of us.  Our coach driver/guide was Dave, a former woodwork teacher and driving instructor who was obviously very proud of this place we’d never heard of before.  And rightly so.  This half day tour crammed in several stops, the first was at 8:45am – Dunsbrough.  Although a welcome comfort stop for some, 15 minutes or so was only just long enough, as most  shops weren’t opening until 9am!  I did manage a quick purchase and the lady who served me was from Derbyshire!  Paula grabbed a bottle of wine – the shop owner must have been surprised when he opened the doors at 9:02am and was nearly trampled by a load of cruisers grabbing bottles.

On then to the old lighthouse  - which is now automated – and again, a very short stop, not helped by the fact that it was a 150m walk and they could only take 10 at a time, up the 59 narrow steps and they’d just painted the railings around the top platform.  Dave as an ex driving instructor was very proud of his driving, but we had to stop and get the left side driving mirror adjusted – but Dave couldn’t reach.  Cue Wolfgang to the rescue.  Past cruisers would have recognised him as he is about 6ft 8” tall and we have seen him on at least one if not two previous cruisers.

To canal rocks to see the sea crashing in and an even shorter stop, with the ship’s videographer struggling to set up her tripod and film, move a few yards and then get back to the coach.

We were running a little later than scheduled but there was enough time for the planned Palmer Winery stop for a quick tasting.   The 2 sparkling wines were very nice ($20 a bottle) and on a couple of the still wines, they had a pretty good deal.  One case for $199 – with an extra case for free.  At $8.30 a bottle, I am amazed that 5 or 6 passengers didn’t get together and take advantage and split the 24 bottles between them.

Back at the beachfront about 12:15 and time to wander. The overall impression was of an immaculate, friendly place with a little bit of history, some amazing caves (we didn’t have time for that, but some pretty up there prices.  We grabbed a coffee, an orange juice, a meat pie and a panini for $27 at a small side street café – and that was much cheaper than the main street. 

The Vintage or car club guys had a few classic cars on display and my first sight of an Australian built Austin Lancer and also an Austin 20, one of the largest old Austins I had seen.

We had to queue for a while for a tender back, but we did sit up top and surprisingly enough, it was quite warm up there.  The downside was the smoky exhaust from the diesel which just about choked all those on the rear seat.

A good time for a coffee in the Atrium with Wolfgand and Dannielle before heading to the cabin and then to the early show, juggler magician Justin McKinley.  Apart from one very flat segment, a fair act.

Dinner was as usual, pretty good, though the lamb chops were a little thin and therefore overcooked.  Just 6 of us at the table.

The late show was another Mark Antony (mainly) Elvis show and in the theatre and was probably slightly better than the first, as the ship wasn’t moving around and he seemed much more relaxed.

No late drink before bedtime – we are missing Mal and Megan as well as Alan and Alana. 

A couple of responses to emailed comments from cruisers.

The first was about the laundry.  We are quite happy with the service and also the quality, though somehow or other, most of the clothes we wore last year seem to have shrunk a wee bit – whether the ships laundry dealt to them or not.  We have no problems sending our stuff, but as with any commercial laundry, it pays to be sensible about what you send.

The solid wooden tables and chairs seem to be left in place, whereas the old plastic stuff was always stacked and roped down.  The loungers are all now the metal type not the flimsy white plastic ones, but they still get stacked as before, at night.

The reason for the non-appearance of the officers has now been explained.  Past cruisers will remember Cynthia who was always so helpful.  Apparently, she didn’t join the ship until Melbourne and had a pile of emails to wade through that hadn’t been dealt with, including one from the Seafarers.  She was most apologetic and promised the staff would be in attendance at our next meet and greet on Monday.  So, all is well on that front.

Another port day tomorrow – Fremantle. The last time (only time) we were there was for the Australian Masters Games in 1993 so at the moment, we have no idea whether or not we’ll go into Perth, by train or ferry or stay in Fremantle.  The weather forecast is OK and we are now expecting it to get warmer, day by day as we head north.

 

 

Days 6, 7 & 8 - More Sea days - and formal night #1

Sea days tend to blur into each other, particularly so when the weather is such that it is far too windy and cold to sit outside.  This run across the south of Australia as opposed to straightaway heading north, effectively has us trapped in the early winter temperatures.  The choppy seas have also been a surprise so the combination has kept us indoors. There is of course plenty we could have done but we have taken the easy route and relaxed, committing ourselves to morning and afternoon trivia; an occasional dance class (just 1 so far…); plus shows and of course, eating.

Relaxation time has been pretty good though, relaxing with books, crosswords, codewords, computer games and the TV – plus for me, the blog.  Overall though, we have spent a phenomenal amount of time chatting to people we have never met before and occasionally, to those we have met before.

On Monday, we did have our first “Seafarer’s” meeting in the nightclub.  Although Sandie said she’d sent details to the ship’s staff, rather strangely, no staff members appeared at all.  Whether this was a Captain’s instruction or not, we really don’t know, but we do believe that this Captain is one who was not impressed with a previous CC group, who were brazenly touting private tours and collecting money at the initial meeting – in front of the senior staff.  Rather dumb.

However, the microphone was passed around and people were able to put faces to names and this achieved the main purpose of an ice-breaker.

Over the three days, with different morning and afternoon trivia teams, out of five contests, we didn’t win any.  No surprises there then.  We even managed a decent score one afternoon with just two of us, just two marks short of our morning team +2 afternooners!

We went to our first dance class with John Graham – “Pride of Erin”, a New Vogue dance – which I seem to have forgotten already…  Unlike Alana, who spent the whole hour – or most of it, learning the new dance or steps, John insists on a progressive dance “The Madison” to open each session, which does nothing more than waste time which would be better spent repeating the steps.  Moving on to the next section of a dance too quickly before it is in muscle memory, just makes it more difficult to learn, (fir some of us!) something which Alana really understood.

The early show on Monday was Steve McKinney, but it was no surprise that it wasn’t as good as show number 1.

The Captain’s welcome was underway by the time we got to the atrium and getting a free drink wasn’t so easy – and we totally missed out on the chocolate on a stick concoction.  Captain William Kent has a dry sense of humour and mentioned that he’d never been to our next stop  (Busselton), so if anyone knew the way, maybe they could make themselves known to the officers?  Apparently there are about 1850 people on board and 1500 are Australian and only about 150 Kiwis this time, almost outnumbered by Mexicans, who all seem to be on an insurance company jolly and are getting off in Perth.

This year, Princess is celebrating its 50^th year so on this formal night, the menu was a mix of dishes from different decades.  Very nice too, with a melt in the mouth steak and for once, I even indulged in a dessert, which looked as good as it tasted.

We nearly always go to the production shows and at lunch, we’d sat next to one of the four singers.  A delightful young lady from the UK.  From her we gained a bit of very useful information.  We have in the past seen a fair number of Princess shows – some of them several times – but on this cruise the dancers do not work for Princess at all. They are from an agency (Linda King?) and that means that they are doing 12 shows on the whole voyage, meaning we will probably see six, that we haven’t seen before.

That augurs well for those doing the whole cruise or even those following this blog who join after we depart.

The show was “Latino Mundo”.  The dancing (as expected from the title!)  was all Latin, but this show was a substitute from the planned one, due to an injury to one of the female dancers.  With just 2 girls and 3 boys, with two male and two female singers, this was a small cast.  With all recorded music the scenery/backdrop  was non-existent.  Just the curtains with coloured lights.  The show was enjoyable enough but was a bit cheapskate and it would have lifted it had there been even a painted backdrop.

Tuesday’s addition to the routine was a short chocolate demonstration in the atrium, other than that, it was down to the Vista lounge after dinner (only 6 of us…)  for an Elvis impersonator, Mark Antony, with the orchestra (led by Paulo on bass).  He was reasonably good and was fighting the ship’s movement and a 8/10 from us.

Tuesday night was another rock’n’ roll night. So not the best of sleeps.

Day 8 – a week into our trip already, Wednesday’s routine was nothing special and it was blowing a fair breeze, so the afternoon movie on deck wasn’t well supported – though we did succumb to the aroma of hot chips and scoffed a portion each.  The avid moviegoers down below on deck 12 were well wrapped up (see pic) as they watched Indiana Jones suffering the searing heat.

At dinner, our lovely head waiter Oana from Romania was most upset to hear that we didn’t get the chocolate on formal night.  Two minutes later she was back with a plate of white and dark chocolate buttons! (see pic).

The evening show was Nathan Foley again and another very professional show and he certainly has a great voice.

No late coffee as an early start in the morning – LAND!

We had an email querying whether or not you still got free hot chocolate on the coffee card.  So far, the answer is yes, we do. One of the changes from our last cruise on the sister ship, the Dawn, is that on deck 12, there are now a load of wooden tables and chairs plus a deck chess set. (see pic)

We have a ships’ morning tour of Busselton and the meet time is 7:15.  I wonder if the pre-dawn deck 12 heavy footed walker will wake us up early again?  The clock is set for 6:15am.

Day 05 - Melbourne - cool city!

The sea has calmed down so things are back to what we consider to be normal – other than a nip in the air of course, as we have yet to head north.  In previous years, once out of Sydney, we have headed north to Darwin, so heading almost due west means no change in the warmth until we hit Perth.

The ship docked on time for an 8am start for some.  We had a more leisurely start to the day and walked off about 9:40.  No queues, no formalities, no problems.

We had intended catching the tram into the city centre, but once In the port building, there was a HoHo stand.  Catching the tram and buying a travel card for the day apparently worked out at about $19 (I stand corrected if that is wrong) but the HoHo bus – both routes, worked out at $25  ahead.

It was explained very clearly that they would run a shuttle back to the ship at 3pm, from the city, or, if we boarded the #2 route  no later than 1:45pm, it would arrive at the port gates in time.

From the ship to the port gates and on to the HoHo bus was about 500m and the bus was due to leave at 10am anyway. It was extremely cold on the top deck, so e scuttle inside after about ten minutes.

You have to be a bit careful here in terms of timing, as Port Melbourne is on the #2, St Kilda route, which only runs every two hours, but somehow or other, they had put on extra buses to act as a shuttle into the city, to stop #1, outside the Atrium, near the Flinders St railway station.  Once there, we had a 20 minute wait before the City tour started, so we just hopped off to the Sunday craft market. Within the Atrium building there was a magnificent Holden, promoting an exhibition of Australia’s car history.  We didn’t really have the time to go into the exhibition.

We did most of the route.  There is much to do and see in Melbourne and one day isn’t anywhere near long enough for this fantastic city. We were feeling peckish and still a little chilled, and we skipped the busy and massive market and got off a couple of stops later in the City.

After a warming coffee and a slab of spinach and feta borek, at one of the many tiny eateries, we had just enough time to walk up to stop #1 to board the last St Kilda HoHo.  (Last for us to get back in time.)

A pleasant drive back, which included Albert Park and St Kilda of course, with another iconic Luna Park, but no time to get off and enjoy the art market - or the famous St Kilda cake shops.

Back at the port, we raided the local store and bought 6 bottle of cider (for me $16.99) and a  chocolate bar (for Paula…). Maybe in Perth, we’ll catch a properly priced food/drink outlet. There apparently is an outlet just a short walk away, but we didn’t know that.  The ship’s cider is the identical sized bottles (not large cans of Strongbow as last time) of Bulmers - but at $6.75 plus 15% service charge.

The next door fish and chip shop was doing a roaring trade, but we weren’t tempted – especially when we saw the prices.

An easy walk back onto the ship, and through the scanner, though Paula’s knee was giving her a bit of trouble for a while.  An atrium cuppa on board, just as it started to get really busy with returning passengers.  It was interesting watching who got caught at the scanner.  Only 2. One with what looked like a hair drier and the purser (Angus), who forgot he had his keys in his pocket!

The pre-dinner show was Nathan Foley, a singer musician who we had seen before and who puts on a decent act, so about an 8/10 from me.

Dinner, I opted for two mains – the prawns as a starter then a very nice pork chop.

After dinner, the Vista performer was billed as a top NZ comedian/mimic – but we’d never heard of him.  His act was what we’d call observational as opposed to joke telling and he did a great job of taking the mickey out of several countries (including NZ and Australia) with a particular emphasis on the accents.  It was decidedly cold in the lounge.  For his first show, that was worth a 9/10 on my rating scale, but we know from experience that most performers put on their best show first, but few comedians can carry an equally good second show.  We’ll have to see.  A chat to Simon, plus Sarah and DD (Deputy Cruise Director) Victoria afterwards then a late bed, but the clocks are back 1 hour overnight.

Three sea days ahead, so they will probably just morph into one blog post.

So far, internet access has been OK from the cabin, but as usual, I tend to look at emails on line, shove them into a directory for later – and dump the spam.  Few pictures to add to the blog at this stage, as I didn’t take many in Melbourne anyway and apart from formal night tomorrow, with the obligatory ‘smart’ photograph (and maybe some food), there won’t be too much to record just yet.

 

 

 

Day 04 - A sea day...

For those interested in new ports or port procedures, this isn’t going to add much value!

A fairly rough night for some but it did start to ease throughout the day.  Even with the stabilisers deployed, there was a bit of movement and some of the less mobile passengers were struggling to cope. One has to wonder what their expectations are when setting off on a cruise, and how they would cope in an emergency.  Too dodgy to even get out of the lift when there is a little bit of movement, goodness knows what would happen, but we are now used to a fair few mobile chicanes, but there must be a limit.

Paula didn’t go to Zumba with Sarah…

A couple of virgin cruisers joined us at breakfast and John was born in Sri Lanka, which made for an interesting conversation.  He taught maths so we invited them to join us for trivia!  We also joined up with Dave and Sandy from our Seafarers Cruise Critic group.  The session was run by Assistant Cruise Director Kelly from the USA. Far too many Australian questions we hadn’t a clue about, so perhaps as well we had some Australians with us, but even then, the winners only got about 14 or 15 points.  We got 12.  The one maths question was before John had arrived “What is the square of 144?”.  Needless to say, Kelly soon realised that this audience would be very pedantic, as what she really meant was the square root…

As is our habit, we headed for the Atrium, deck 5, for coffee.  So far, the Sea Princess hasn’t been updated to an “International Food Court”.  The seating area has been rejigged to accommodate the ship’s tour desk.  It was busy.  More chatting before heading up for lunch where we caught up with the dance instructor – John Graham – who was on last year, but is getting off at Dubai. 

A bit of blogging updates then trivia for the afternoon session – this time by Madison from Canada. Madison and Kelly are quite similar looking both being, how shall we put this, not very petite?

Madison also found out that this mob is not to be trifled with, when her answer to a question of “What Country…”  gave the answer as ‘Dubai’, (UAE).   We managed 14.5 out of 21.

Dinner at 7:45pm for the first time in the dining room, is always with some trepidation - unless you have a prearranged group.  The thought of having dining companions you are not happy with, for 50 days, is a bit daunting.  Fortunately,  we were OK. One lady from NZ who has a friend getting on tomorrow in Melbourne.  A couple about our age and one couple a little younger.  Phew!  A nice waiter – Robert and his assistant, Bong (not his real name…).

The food was similar to the Dawn though the boys didn’t offer us tea or coffee!  By the time we’d realised, it was time for the theatre’s late show, so we missed out.

The ‘Lion’s Den’ again and another excellent show.

To deck 7 for a coffee, where the atrium dance area is now tables and chairs.  At least the atrium entertainer seemed personable – Derek Floyd. He’d just about finished as we got there but he was chatty with the passengers and came around to see everyone.  The fact that there are tables and chairs gives a strong message to the dancers that this isn’t one of their spots.  Meanwhile, there are fewer chairs encroaching on the dancefloor in the Wheelhouse Bar.

A pretty good start to the cruise and we are settled in pretty well.

Although there are fewer past cruisers that we recognise than we expected, plus 200 getting off in Melbourne tomorrow, maybe after Melbourne and Perth, we’ll have a better idea of the real dynamics of this cruise.

Melbourne is looking to be a little chilly tomorrow but at least it should be dry.  We won’t be getting warmer weather for a few days, so it is still long trousers – and a sweater in the Vista lounge, as there is a hiccup with the air-conditioning system, which they can’t seem to fix.  So far, we are planning to catch the tram into the City tomorrow, but nothing fixed.

 

Day 03 - Sydney - wet, wild and also very Vivid

Cruise day!  The rain was hammering on the window when we woke, so we were doubly glad that we had arrived two days early.  Flying in on cruise departure day carries a degree of risk that merely adds to the stress levels, as a couple of Kiwis found out, when their aircraft had to keep circling the airport.

Breakfast once again with Mirella and Ray, but a slightly lighter one than yesterday.  Check out from the Ibis is 11am and we’d had a text to say cruise check in was 12:30, even though as black card, Elite passengers, we do get preferred check in anyway.

In the steady rain, we wheeled our cases outside, ready to lug them down the kerb and cross the hotel entrance to the taxi rank outside.  Note that there is no ramp from the pavement…  However, before we could move the cases, a hotel employee asked the driver of a Toyota people mover if he wanted to take us. He accepted and we accepted the trip to White Bay cruise terminal, so we piled in at 11:00.

As we had done the journey to White Bay terminal before, we expected about a 10 minute ride.  We were happily chatting away to the youngish Pakistani taxi driver and meanwhile I was aware that he was going a very roundabout route and we seemed to be perpetually bogged down in the heavy traffic.  When I saw the Sydney opera house ahead I asked if he knew that it was White Bay and shouldn’t we be heading over the Anzac Bridge?  His face dropped and the chat stopped as he fished out his mobile and obviously started searching for White Bay…  A telephone call followed and it was obvious that he had no idea where the cruise terminal was, so  quick U-turn in a side street and we started heading back.  He apologised and said he thought it was the International Terminal.

When crossing Anzac Bridge, he seemed oblivious of the 77,000 tonne Sea Princess moored to our right and asked if it was one of the craft moored to our left, which were mainly launches.

We arrived at the terminal an hour after leaving the hotel and as his wasn’t a marked taxi, we were directed to the public car park.  He was all apologetic and when I asked the fare, he kindly asked us to pay what we thought, which was very gracious.

Anyway, from then on, it was just a matter of dumping two cases for drop off; straight to check in after filling in the mandatory health declaration to say that we didn’t have leprosy or the bubonic plague; issued with our cruise card.

We were given a group “E” preferred boarding pass and at that time, they were already boarding group “C”.  Just as we went through, immigration, they started calling the non-preferred check in, so the queue for the scanners doubled.  No problem here and we didn’t have to take the electronics out of the hand luggage (the bottle of port went through OK) and then we were up and on to our new holiday home for the next few weeks.   Although we haven’t been on the Sea Princess before, as a sister ship to the Dawn and the Sun Princesses, it was like being at our regular winter holiday home.

After dumping our hand luggage, we headed up to the Horizon Court buffet (of course), the intent as always for a light snack.  The lamb curry and deep fried crumbed prawns proved irresistible.  The layout of the Horizon court has been modified slightly with all the hot stuff on one side, so that now includes the two soups.

The rest of the afternoon we just fluffed around other than a coffee and trading in our minibar for two coffee cards.  Every staff member seemed to want to sell us a coffee card and the 15% surcharge/tip now added is obviously a staff incentive.

Our luggage arrived OK before the mandatory life jacket/safety briefing, then the Captain made the announcement we were all hoping for, well, those on second sitting anyway, “the ship would depart at 6pm rather than 5pm” so that we could enjoy the Sydney ‘Vivid’ lights.  Traditionally, the first night has always been open dining, but this time, they stuck to the standard dining times so those on early, sitting totally missed the light show.  Coloured lights throughout the harbour buildings changing colours, the bridge also lit up with LED lighting - and even  projected images on the Sydney Harbour Bridge tower, various land based sculptures also lit, plus images projected onto the Sydney Opera House made this one on of the most stunning departures we have ever experienced.  The rain eased for a while too and not long after we’d passed the bridge, we started feeling the effects of a 7m swell and a stiff wind.

We opted for the buffet and a fairly light meal but considering the number of days/nights we have had at sea, this was soon amongst the worst – which made it doubly upsetting for those only doing the two days to Melbourne or the seven days to Perth, as cruise tasters!   Definitely not typical.

Sadly, a couple in the theatre for the opening theatre show, saw their last meal again, but the clean-up crew were extremely quick to come in and clean up whilst the show went on.  Normally, the opening show is an introduction to the production cast as well as a taster for the following night’s act “The Lion’s Den”.  Due to the ship’s movement, the dancers didn’t put in an appearance, but the three Australian based Philipino harmony singers (who we have seen before) put on a top quality, very professional act.

On to bed a bit early for us,  though Paula did get up again to take a seasickness pill, just in case.

At least we set off OK and with no problems, a great start.

There are minor differences between the Dawn Princess and the Sea Princess (mainly in décor and procedures), but I’ll touch on those later.

 

 

We're off! Days 01 & 02 - Sydney - and I race an E Type Jag!

Getting up at 2:45am wasn’t too bad with the only tasks still on the ‘to do list’ to finish, were turning off the water at the mains (an insurance requirement) and switching off the power.  Easy enough.  We were camped out on the kerbside a few minutes before the 3:30am pick up time and the Super Shuttle arrived just after.  For once, the other four pick-ups on the way to the airport were ready.  Cost - $61NZ.  Then Paula told me that the next door neighbours booked a limo for $70…

We’d grabbed an Air NZ on line deal for a ‘Works de Luxe’ package.  For round about the usual economy price, we had a premium check in; were allowed 2 x 23kg checked in pieces of luggage (though we only had 2 at 22kg and one at 10kg anyway); the speedy immigration process; lounge access – meaning free coffee/drink/food.  Well worth it.  For the first time, I noticed that Air NZ had cider in their fridge, but much as I like the occasional drop, I think a 5am swig was probably out of character.  We also had three seats  between us on the aircraft.

As is normal with Air NZ (well, normal for us) an easy three and a quarter hour’s flight on a 767, landing on time in sunny Sydney at 8:30am. As my passport is the old type (pre-chip), we had to queue behind a plane load of Chinese, rather than use the “Smart gate”.

Easy taxi pick up but rush hour of course. The taxi to the Ibis Hotel at Darling Harbour was $55 (compared to others we spoke to later who arrived nearer midday, when the taxi fare was $38).  We presume this was because of higher tolls during rush hour.

We’d stayed here last year and had paid for a Harbour view and also immediate access to the room. As we were checking in, Ray & Mirella from the 2011 cruise were in the lobby, so straight away, we were back amongst cruising friends.

The receptionist was brilliant and asked us if we wanted a high floor or a lower floor.  We opted for the high floor and found ourselves on the top floor.  Level ten.  Not exactly high these days, but the same view of Darling Harbour as last year.  As Ray remarked (that is Mirella’s Ray), the rooms are a good practice for the ship as they are about the same size as the cabins.  Only the bathroom is larger - and there is no balcony.

We were ready for some fresh air (hotel windows don’t open these days), so we headed out to the adjacent Harbourside shopping centre/food-court and as last year, enjoyed a really fresh slice of pizza.  Sorry, no pic…

A wander around in the fresh air before heading back to try and catch up on a bit of shut eye.

Later, another walk around the harbour, where they were doing a trial run of a dancing water’s display, which is (a small) part of the Sydney’s ‘Vivid’ celebration of music, light and ideas.

We’d planned to meet Jo & Garry about 6:30, but then Paula had a text.  Now how about this for a coincidence?  According to the message, it was from Julie A in Auckland, saying “Garry is running a bit late”.   Now Julie had made it very clear that she really, really, wanted to come with us, so you can imagine what was going through our minds.  It transpired that Julie A’s old mobile number was the same as Jo’s - but Paula hadn’t input the +64 for NZ!   So, if Julie A is reading this, ay you please send us an email with your correct number?

Thankfully, despite the horrendous traffic, Jo and Garry were still with us before 7pm.  We walked just 50m down the road and decided to give a new Greek restaurant, Agean Blu, a go, rather than pick one of the waterside eateries.   What a great choice that turned out to be.  We opted for a dinner for 4 and with Jo’s guidance (she is of Greek descent…) we were able to select 3 or 4 entrees and 3 or 4 starters (I can’t remember which) and a couple of mains and these came out steadily rather than in a rush. What an excellent meal that turned out to be.  We were so rapt with the food, (and the company!)  we forgot to take any pics of the food   Shame.  Great service too and it was fairly quiet with just three tables occupied.

We said a sad farewell to our cruise buddies, but we are really looking forward to cruising with them yet again, next year.

 

Thursday

 

The time shift of two hours and the lack of sleep yesterday was of course messing around our sleep patterns, but we managed to head for the restaurant at the same time as Mirella and Ray for a good buffet breakfast.  A first for me was finding a DiY pancake machine!  I can think of one or two male family members who would really enjoy that option.  A pleasant natter before heading out to catch the HoHo bus (Hop On, Hop Off) at the nearby Maritime Museum.  A short wait, an extremely pleasant driver and a 24 hour ticket for $30AUD each (which includes the second, Bondi Beach loop).

Travelling in autumn sunshine on an open topped double decker really is one of our favourite ways to travel and we are huge fans of the system in most cities.

We hopped off in the centre of town – on George St - and after a wander around, headed for the Westfield Tower.  Although the main food-court is about level 5, it was very busy as it was about 12:15, so as on previous visits, we headed for Cafelucca in the basement, for a coffee and a chicken Turkish sandwich.  Beware though, even a canned soft drink is $4, so the coffee is the better value.

Back on the bus, opposite the Town Hall. A small grizzle here.  Most places, the HoHo bus notices at bus stops were very prominent, but we couldn’t see this one at all until on the bus – which stopped about 30 metres past where we were standing – we noticed one small very faded sign on a lamp post.

We finally hopped off again, exactly 4 hours after hopping on and once again headed into Harbourside. I had an ulterior motive. There is a race car simulator set up which claims to have most tracks and a good variety of cars and it was $30 for 15 minutes. I opted for an E Type Jaguar and my selected track was - Hampton Downs! That won’t mean much to some, but it is now our new local track and is about to have about $25m spent on it by the new owner, Tony Quinn.

Apart from a sequential gearbox (the lever moves either forwards or backwards), it was surprisingly realistic though it took a lap or two to get used to it.  The computer’s automatic 1^st lap during set up was 1:40 seconds so I wasn’t too disappointed with most of my laps around 1:31 to 1:33. As my fastest lap for real in the Marcos, (which is a bit slower than an E Type), is about 1:25. It wasn’t too bad.    

At 5pm we headed for the Pyrmont Hotel for the traditional pre-cruise get together from our Cruise Critic roll call – the “Seafarers”.

As usual, it was ‘Happy Hour’ until 6pm, so a pint of cider which would normally be a hefty $10AUD, was $5.

Once again I had an excellent Thai green chicken curry and Paula had the chicken schnitzel with salad and chips and what was supposed to be  a mushroom sauce.

Good to be able to catch up with a few regulars as well as put faces to a few more names.

A good venue but it can be a bit noisy – and smoky.

Back at the Ibis, we had a hot drink in the foyer before heading back to the room all ready for the cruise tomorrow.  The Scheduled departure time is about 5pm, before the ‘Vivid’ harbour light display starts, so probably for the first time, we are hoping that the departure is delayed, though the weather forecast is less than promising.

 

 

 

Just ten days - so this is for cruisers!

This may not be of much interest to non-travellers, but may just be of assistance to those either new to cruising or the electronic/digital age.

 

Although just about everyone these days seems to have an electronic device, be that lap top, tablet, notebook, i-pad, android, camera, video camera, smart-phone and so on,  it never fails to surprise me how disorganised many are with either saving their images, or even the basics of email. (Packing all the associated cables and chargers is also critical.)

 

After our 2011 cruise, I decided to write up some notes and although they may have aged, some may find them useful.  Taking a digital photograph is so easy, with no film to load, but the quality of many images leaves a lot to be desired.  (I won’t comment about selfies, as hopefully, that fad hasn’t moved up the age scale.)

 

Although the website is dramatically in need of a total overhaul, the notes are probably still relevant.

 

The main index page is:   http://www.tops.co.nz/tops/tops_index.htm

 

	- organising your emails and also the etiquette. This may stop you making some basic errors
	- taking digital photographs is easy, but this may help you take better photographs
	- looking after those pics and maybe preparing them for publishing to a blog
	- not much use in creating thousands of photographs digitally or even scanning older stuff into your computer, without applying some logic to filing them!
	- creating an 'on line diary' of your travels without having to send everyone an individual email - or heaven forbid, a postcard every time you get off the aircraft or the ship....

As I said, the notes were written 2011, but I thought it might help some of you.

 

CRUISE CRITIC

 

Many of you may have come across this website already.  Ever since we hooked into it, well before our 2011 cruise started, we have found the site invaluable.

 

The basic structure is very simple – especially for specific cruises.  You simply go to   

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/   

 

There you will usually find a link to Roll Calls for most cruises – by cruise line and by ship and then by date. 

 

If you want to contribute, then it is fairly simple to register and the link to this particular cruise is:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1939298

 

We have found that this is THE place to find out what is going on; make or meet friends; find tips; find private tours; ask questions and so on.  Before our first cruise we managed to hit it off with one couple who invited us to join their table – and we haven’t looked back since!  A new group of fantastic friends, lots of laughs and so good, we have since done another long cruise with them,  and in 2016, we join up again. That is the addiction to cruising – the people.

 

The tip here is that if there are others you’d like to be seated with at dinner, then get your respective travel agents to link the bookings.

 

Sometimes your allocated table mates are fantastic, sometimes they are not!  We were very fortunate last year with our Baltic’s cruise, but we weren’t so lucky with the return cruise from Southampton.  We were able to get our good friends we had prearranged the table with, plus two from the Baltic’s cruise, who were also less than happy, a table reallocation - and from then on, all was excellent.

 

The tip here is that it is always easier to get a reallocation on second sitting than first, as it is less crowded.

 

PRE CRUISE CATCH UPS

 

Through Cruise Critic, we have met several local couples plus some Australians and in the UK, a couple before our Baltic’s cruise.  Not every meeting means an immediate chemistry of course, but you have a 50/50 chance of meeting people you click with.

 

With our cruises out of Sydney, again, through Cruise Critic, it has now become  a tradition to meet the night before, at the Pyrmont Hotel on the edge of Darling Harbour.  The first one gave Jo & Ros chance to exercise their organisational skills and also their very inventive brand of humour.  That meant that by the time we assembled at check in, before boarding the ship, we already knew several other cruisers and the humour was already very evident.  And so it will be this time!  A new group of friends with few regulars maybe, but still a critical part of the cruise.

 

With each subsequent cruise out of Sydney, the greatest joy is often meeting past cruisers. 

 

However, the day before that, a catch up with previous cruisers.  Well worth going to Sydney a couple of days early and much less stressful than flying out of NZ and heading straight to the ship.

 

So, ten days to the cruise, but only 8 before we have to get the 3:30am shuttle to the airport.  That means getting up at 2:45am – or in eastern Australian terms, 12:45am!  It will be a long day… No jet lag, just a long day.

May is here - three weeks to cruise day.

Time marches on and we know from past experience that the last three weeks are a whirlwind, so we headed up north to see the twins (and their parents – and the dog…) at the end of April.  The ANZAC weekend meant it was a public holiday on the Monday and the weather forecast was a bit grim, so we headed up with Paula’s daughter Julie on the Sunday.

Paihia in the Bay of Islands, is a popular cruise port – though they use tenders – and Paula’s son and his wife have run a very successful Jet Ski hire business from the main pier, but had closed down for the winter. 

We stayed at the Copthorne Hotel on the edge of the Treaty Grounds at Waitangi, where they have some excellent pools, including this large spa pool built into the rocks.  Very welcome when it gets a bit cooler.

However, we ate at the Returned Services Club in Paihia (twice) and had some great food.  Regular readers of my blogs will know that food is one of my passions so Paula’s ‘fish plate’ was well worth a picture.  Delicious – as were both my meals.

A stormy Monday morning had us scuttling up to nearby Kerikeri, but there wasn’t much open, though we did have an excellent breakfast at the Kerikeri bakery, before calling on friends.

On the way home, we stopped once again at a small café about 20kms north of Whangarei called Li Li’s where I had a great eggs Benedict and once again, well worth a picture.

Back at home, the assembling (not the packing!) for the trip has started in earnest and the first shop was several packs of Robert Timms coffee bags.   Although we do have plenty of Princess coffee cards, keeping a couple of coffee bags handy for the breakfast buffet, beats their free coffee any day of the week.  The next purchase was a small pile of Whittaker’s hazel nut chocolate bars for the UK.

For those fairly new to cruise packing, the modern day electronics now require various chargers, spare batteries, cables, spare data cards etc., (which now also adds weight and volume), let alone the devices themselves, so if flying these ‘new’ essentials now have to be assembled and organised well before the clothes!  How times have changed. It used to be a small 35mm camera and a couple of rolls of film.  With phones, tablets or lap tops,  MP3 players, Kindles, digital cameras – large and small, sometimes with zoom lenses, it pays to be organised and thorough, particularly now that even USB cables come in two sizes.

The calendar is filling fast now, with various appointments, meetings and dinners, to cram in, not to mention the usual household and domestic tasks. 

We are really looking forward to the first cruise on the Sea Princess.  The cruise around Great Britain on the modern and larger Royal Princess will be very interesting.  We have said before that the Sea Princess, although getting on a bit, is a bit like an old pair of slippers and we expect it to be similar to the Dawn Princess we know so well. The 2013 Royal Princess should be a contrast but it means our time in the UK this time is down to just two weeks.

Maybe one more blog before we cruise out of Sydney?