MMDown Under

Yes. How could I Forget?

Bon Voyage! How exciting for passengers. Do they still sing that beautiful moving Kiwi song? My first cruise overseas was half a world cruise, with streamers and music farewell in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland.

I understand I decided I’d never go on another multi language cruise after seeing staff loose control of a “mutiny” re passengers having to queue to go through Customs.

Yes good idea. I ride the ferries daily when I’m in Sydney. For theatre lovers, Sydney Theatre Company theatres are just around the corner and Opera House is close.

I hope they limit the size of the ships.

Yes but he wore a blue tie this morning!

They already offer packages to GBR and Ayres Rock as an addition to overseas cruisers on cruises to Australia. So have ability to offer flights to Australians. Recently Qantas flights were offered to passengers from Cairns to NZ.

A 7 night stay for me would be all about the location, rather than the hotel. Public transport is excellent in Sydney, so then it is a matter of what appeals most to you - city (near Botanical Gardens, Hyde Park with the War Memorial), Beaches, harbour, views or harbour walks or on ferry routes, etc. I stay at Potts Point because I like the location - walk to harbour, walk to city via botanical gardens, lots of restaurants, live theatre, semi residential.

Such bad timing - Wow that is a lot of hail, with less than a week to your departure overseas. Your insurance assessor should be able to locate everything damaged by hail which needs to be replaced. Trouble is all this takes time, so you'll have to give your son authority. We had a severe hail storm which smashed all glass windows on one side of our house. Hail reached the opposite side of the house through the house. Water damaged all my travel paperwork (no internet then) and like you we were about to leave for overseas (for a year). I'll never forget the experience as people were ringing me at home to lodge insurance claims on their behalf. They couldn't get through to Suncorp Insurance. Fortunately, my girlfriend's cousin brought a team of glass workers to Brisbane and they slept on his mother's floor. Happy ending, my glass got fixed the day of my departure overseas (by my girlfriend pulling rank). Bon Voyage for your travels!

This morning on Today on 9 I came across a segment on pies. Did anyone see it? The two hosts and one guest tasted pies. I think the man was a pie tester.

Oh yes. That has been suggested as two one way cruises with Darwin hub. Ponant is having a ship in region plus another small adventure ship from NZ.

Thank you. That is just what I like to do, as I love islands.

That is good news that Canadian firefighters will be able to get some much needed rest.

Did the train company organise these stopovers or did you? Fraser Island and Magnetic Island are great stopovers. I’ve always thought the journey is as good as the destination.

That sounds like a great idea. Where did you stopover?

Yes that is how we always travelled with a sleeper and dining car. The reclining airline type seats don't appeal which is a shame.

I love long distance train travel in Australia and am looking forward to repeating the Indian Pacific from Sydney to Perth. Train travel would attract those who love train travel. I have travelled on the very fast trains in Japan and found the travel boring, as it is too fast to see anything! But they are good to get from A to B quickly.

We need that innovative company in SA which marketed train travel through the Centre to join cruise ships in Darwin. As a child, I travelled on the Sunliner from Brisbane to Mackay annually, a beautiful rail trip. It would be a great alternative holiday option connecting with cruises.

Cairns should be a success if they market it correctly, with enough notice. From Cairns cruises to PNG, Fiji and further away South Pacific islands, or Darwin. I would prefer to cruise to Darwin, but there are no cruises so I fly. I would have loved to cruise more from Brisbane but I had other travel plans by the time they released cruise dates.

Basing a ship in Cairns would be an excellent idea for cruises to Darwin and the South Pacific. With Darwin, they could do two one way 7 day cruises to and from Darwin, like they do in Alaska. So a choice between a 7 day cruise or a 14 day cruise.

Has anyone tried Hayden's Pies of Ulladulla? I borrowed "Home Cooking with Hayden" Hayden Bridger from Hyden's Pies. I can't resist a new library book, esp one like this one which tells a true story how he got to make pies.

I just saw the fire on Channel 9 News. Looked scary if you were near that cabin.

Thanks for the laugh. I have never checked. Costa Concordia has stayed with many of us. On my cruise from Italy to USA, our first port of call was in Puerto Rica. There was a near mutiny by a number of passengers who didn't realise they had to go through Customs there, as first port of call in the USA. It was very civilised originally with passengers sitting in a theatre and Customs Officers sitting behind tables on the stage. Passengers were called by row until some decided to push in. The Staff lost control and gave up and the Customs Officers left the Stage. Trust an Aussie passenger to take control and firmly tell everyone to sit down or no-one would be getting off the ship!! This was a five ? language ship to add to the confusion. My instinct was I'd never want to be on a multi language ship in a real emergency. I am a nervous passenger at the best of times, so always check details of the Captain and officers.

This is just my personal opinion. I research cruising overseas, as well as in Australia/NZ. Success for me is when a cruise excites me so much, I immediately research the itinerary, reviews, etc. The last one which excited me was a small coy in NZ, so I subscribed! I didn’t mean to offend anyone just share my disappointment at what is currently on offer in Australia. Obviously I’m not part of the majority, but am entitled to my opinion.

One advantage of being early on board is if you want to take photos of the ship without other people being in them. I can do that when I get up early! 😀