Jump to content

Photo Review: Solstice 12 Night Great Barrier Reef Jan 2 2018


mahdnc
 Share

Recommended Posts

3609c97321cb9f33f57043bfadbceba7.jpg

Agincourt Reef from the air located 40 miles northeast of Port Douglas. Jan 9 2018

 

I have been very busy with a new job and so it took me some time to get this review started. For the same reason, going forward there could be a couple of days between posts. However I wanted to get this out before the next Great Barrier Reef (GBR) cruise starts on Mar 30.

 

My family of 4 (2 parents + 2 adult kids) took this round trip cruise out of Sydney last month. We spent 3 nights in Sydney before the cruise (ringing in 2018) and then did the 12 night GBR itinerary. After the cruise was over we flew back to our home in Chicago.

 

In doing research for this cruise, it was very difficult to find much information on it because Celebrity only does this itinerary 1-3 times a year (in 10, 11, and 12 night varieties). Therefore I wanted to provide as much information to those people who are booking this wonderful cruise.

 

So I started by sharing information while on board by posting a "Live GBR" thread. It was mainly geared towards answering questions from this board and providing cruise highlights. This thread will be picture heavy since each one is worth a thousand words as they say. I will be emphasizing our time in Sydney, our shore excursions (in particular our scuba/snorkeling time), our FV cabin, and information that I just couldn't figure out like the tendering process, how much time things took, what day certain events occurred, etc. You will find little information about the entertainment, the bars, the pool, and the specialty restaurants.

 

Here is my family's cruising profile:

 

  1. This was our 12th Celebrity cruise as a family starting back in 1996 (when our youngest was only 7 months old). My wife and I promised our kids a college education and Elite status on Celebrity by the time they became adults.
  2. For the last few years we have been taking extended cruises around January and we have gone scuba diving on every one of them. Our last cruise was a 15 night South American trip aboard Infinity over the holidays in Dec 2016.
  3. This was our 1st time on Solstice, but not on S-class.
  4. We have been in an S-class FV cabins 3 times prior (all on Eclipse)
  5. This our first time to Australia except for my wife who has been to Melbourne many years ago on business.

 

David, Marcia, Katie, and Chris

Edited by mahdnc
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

ca1b603d4c7891ab904fa35766a15bee.jpg

The Grand Epernay is the main dining room aboard Solstice. The two story glass wine tower is visible in the back. Jan 14 2018

 

First Things First: MDR Menus and Celebrity Today

But before I go on my rambling discourse, here is every issue of Celebrity Today and the breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert menus in the Main Dining Room (MDR). As far as the menus go, it is not a complete set but most of the dinner menus are there. There is a special information bulletin in the Celebrity Today link that is worth looking at.

Edited by mahdnc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh yay David this is great so far. Look forward to seeing more.

 

Hope you’re all well and happy.

 

See you on the high seas again soon.

 

Debbi ️[emoji925]️[emoji568]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

d0eae6191f9c5c86abc3eae397815a6b.jpg

 

 

"THEY SAY THAT GETTING THERE IS HALF THE FUN"

 

Our flights from Chicago to Sydney were on United with a connection through LAX. We flew in 3 nights in advance of the cruise to give us ample time to adjust from the jet lag and time change. Sydney was (and still is!) 17 hours ahead of Chicago.

 

To allow for unforeseen delays during the winter, I selected flights where we had a 4 hour layover built into our schedule at LAX:

 

Flight 592 (757) Departs ORD 4:05pm and Arrives LAX 6:31pm (4.5 hr flight time)

Flight 839 (787) Departs LAX 10:45pm and Arrives SYD 8:50am (15.1 hr flight time)

 

So this meant that it would take about 24 hours of flight + layover time to get to Sydney. The entire round trip was done in Economy Class although they were award tickets that we got from our frequent flyer miles (thanks to the 100,000 point promotion for opening a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card x2).

 

On the day we flew out of Chicago O'Hare, the weather was very cold with snow on the ground from a couple of days prior. When we showed up to the airport, our flight was already showing that it would be 1.5 hrs late.

 

61ebbacd93b458d9a729f23be313a658.jpg

Waiting at the gate for our plane's wings to be de-iced.....

 

After boarding the 757 aircraft, we sat at the gate for another 2 hours because we had to wait for our wings to be de-iced. The captain apologetically said that he had no control over when the de-icing truck would take care of our plane. And it's not like any of us passengers were going to vote for skipping it.

 

Once we were in the air, I quickly determined that we had less than an hour to catch our flight to Sydney. I was a little nervous because I knew that if we missed our connecting flight, we would be forced to fly out the following day. Once we landed, our plane sat on the tarmac for another 45 minutes waiting for our gate. By then, we had been on the plane for over 7 hours.

 

At this point, I was texting with travelling8 (Kim) who--along with her family and son's girl friend--was on the same flight to Sydney with us. Their group of 4 had flown in from Montreal. Kim was already seated on the plane and texted me as to my whereabouts. Here is the exchange:

 

8a99e1a81e2e94bf18316364f197f9bb.jpg

 

Thank you, Kim!!!! It is very very nice feeling to know that other CC-ers have your back. By the time our 757 got to the gate, the flight attendants asked that the aisle way be cleared to allow the Sydney bound passengers off first. They also mentioned that those passengers heading to Melbourne were to board our flight to Sydney. As we were waiting for the doors of our plane to open, I was talking to the passengers seated one row ahead of us. Their flight to Singapore had left LAX an hour ago...

 

The good news for us was that the gate for our plane to Sydney was adjacent to the gate used to get off our plane from Chicago. The door to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner had to be re-opened to let us on board. Once inside we took our seats--a bit frazzled and hungry (we had planned on eating dinner during our 4 hour layover). The 787 has a lot of overhead storage space and we were able to easily find room there to place our carry-on luggage despite being among the last to board. The flight was nearly full but I was lucky to have the seat next to me unoccupied.

 

This was my very first time on a 787. Despite being in Economy Class, it was a very comfortable, if long, flight. We had plenty of legroom, power receptacles at our seat, personal TVs on the head rest of the seat in front of us, and we received excellent service from the flight crew.

 

I found it difficult to sleep and only slept for maybe 3 hours during the 15 hour flight. So I ended up watching a ton of movies.

 

When our plane descended toward Sydney, I had my first view of the city. It was very overcast and not nearly as sunny as I had it in my dreams. But more importantly (and amazingly) all of our checked luggage made it to Sydney despite the fact that we almost missed the plane altogether!

 

dcfd2488ab12e592960f647fca3bef5c.jpg

Our 787 Dreamliner at Sydney (SYD)

 

I did not know it then, but like my air travel plans, some of the other plans I had for our cruise would also be stress tested in the days ahead.

 

But, we were in Sydney and our vacation had finally begun!

 

c589dde6e950a818c92938527dc6993b.jpg

My Apple Watch tells me we're in Australia!

Edited by mahdnc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, quite a story! We're flying from MSP to LAX and we've allowed SIX hours before our LAX-SYD flight departs. You never know with our wintry & cold, de-icing-weather in the midwest! Our daughter was just on UA 839 on Tuesday night, as she flew to Sydney to begin her study abroad semester in Australia. She's now moved into her dorm at the University of Newcastle, and we'll meet up with her in Sydney on March 29 to go on the March 30th Solstice cruise together while she's on her 2-week holiday from university. I look forward to the rest of your photos and travel stories, thanks for taking the time to do this!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh yay David this is great so far. Look forward to seeing more.

 

Hope you’re all well and happy.

 

See you on the high seas again soon.

 

Debbi ️[emoji925]️[emoji568]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

Hi Debbi,

 

we hope you guys are doing well also. I meant to ask you whether you did the airplane or helicopter ride at Airlie Beach. If so, how was it?

 

93b0f8e3e9621837f95ea89917c438f3.jpg

I wish we were back at the Martini Bar! What was that martini again?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, quite a story! We're flying from MSP to LAX and we've allowed SIX hours before our LAX-SYD flight departs. You never know with our wintry & cold, de-icing-weather in the midwest! Our daughter was just on UA 839 on Tuesday night, as she flew to Sydney to begin her study abroad semester in Australia. She's now moved into her dorm at the University of Newcastle, and we'll meet up with her in Sydney on March 29 to go on the March 30th Solstice cruise together while she's on her 2-week holiday from university. I look forward to the rest of your photos and travel stories, thanks for taking the time to do this!

 

 

 

Your family will have such a nice cruise. I wonder what you're gonna do when Solstice calls on Newcastle ("let's checkout your dorm room!")?

 

A six hour layover seemed like overkill at the time of booking our flights. It sure looked like a smart move on the day we actually traveled! Here were my choices at the time of booking (we took the itinerary that started at 4:05pm):

 

74eabf8fd867cfbc4364e3e7a5cc72c0.jpg

 

The people in the seats in front of us on our flight to LAX thought that a 3 hr layover was sufficient, but they missed their connections. I felt bad for them despite being distracted with our own problems. I was also amazed at how calm they were (I could learn from them!).

 

I wonder how many people on our plane were using LAX to catch a trans-Pacific flight. If there were many of them, it was difficult to tell. There was only one person on our flight that obviously had a flight connection issue because he was constantly talking to the flight attendants. And that could have easily been a domestic flight.

Edited by mahdnc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

aa44f86012ed277f1604c637a9558b86.jpg

A view of George Street with its holiday decorations

 

"RETAIL THERAPY, THE AUSTRALIAN WAY"

 

We spent 3 nights in Sydney before the cruise. Our time there was very unstructured by design to allow my family and I to adjust to the new time zone. My idea of adjustment is to force things with a packed schedule planned way ahead of time. The rest of the family does not feel that way! So the only event in Sydney that was pre-planned before the cruise was watching the New Year's Eve fireworks from the harbor. The rest of it would depend on how my family was feeling.

 

32a12349a91dbdcb9a26426309181e6b.jpg

The Sydney Apple Store on George Street. The store had 3 floors.

 

After eating a breakfast/lunch at our hotel, the Westin Sydney, we went to visit the shopping areas. First we walked over to the Sydney Apple Store which is just like the ones in the USA. However our son was going to fly to Cupertino, CA immediately after our cruise to work for Apple as an engineer. And although he is assigned to the iPad team, he took a renewed interest in all their products because of the special employee discounts on laptops, etc. And so, we made our pilgrimage to the Apple Store.

 

We then used uber to get to a flea market, Paddy's Market. For me, it was just ok. I was starting to get really tired from the flight, lack of sleep, jet lag, time zone change, and all the walking around. The lack of air conditioning in the flea market also drained my energy rather quickly.

 

52bf3cdddcdf8d6969533d6be3f048c3.jpg

My daughter is checking out the array of water bottles in the Camelback store at the Westfield Sydney.

 

We also visited the Westfield Sydney mall which is a very short walk from our hotel There is a tremendous food court at the bottom level that included a wide range of food choices (the kids loved the paninis) and free wi-fi. We ended up eating there a total of 3 times for our late breakfast/early lunches as it was much more economical than the restaurants at our hotel.

 

901867fffbe117f30858afbe84ca6e52.jpg

View of Sydney from The Ternary restaurant.

 

We ate dinner at The Ternary Restaurant which is in the Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour. I selected it after doing an internet search from my hotel room for good restaurants with a view of the city. Predictably, most of the ones I found were already booked for the evening, but The Ternary was available. So I made a reservation for our dinner there. The restaurant has outdoor seating but it was closed off because it was pretty cold and windy that evening. The view was fine, food was good, but service was very slow. We ended up having to chase down our waiter several times to get our drink glasses re-filled, etc.

 

One of the things that I really liked about our visit to Australia was that Apple Pay and other forms of mobile payment was accepted everywhere--restaurants, stores, taxis, food stands, and even vending machines. Being able to pay by tapping my iPhone on a payment terminal was very convenient as I did not have to worry about having enough Australian cash or risk losing my credit card by leaving it at the cash register right before a cruise. So if you haven't already, be sure to put load a credit card in your Apple Pay Wallet and practice using it at the few retailers that use it here in the USA (e.g. Best Buy, McDonalds, etc) because it will come in handy in Australia. And its kind of fun to use.

Edited by mahdnc
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

96e0d5bd04827f5da132024dd082ae19.jpg

 

 

"ALTHOUGH WE HAD 4 DAYS OF SCUBA DIVING PLANNED, WE STILL HAD TO SEE THE AQUARIUM"

 

For our family, an aquarium is an irresistible draw. Plus on this New Years Eve day, we were looking for something easy to do since we were going to be up late that evening. The aquarium is called Sea Life Sydney Aquarium. It is located right on Darling Harbour. It is located next to the Wildlife Sydney Zoo and Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. It's almost like a 3 ring circus and their admission tickets tend to be bundled together for sale. We bought tickets for only the aquarium which cost around $42 AUD. We bought them on-line which eliminated the long line we saw at the aquarium to buy tickets.

 

eea2f8cce6831128f4a8619190c7164e.jpg

Our kids taking a photo of the dugong swimming by them in the aquarium tunnel.

 

 

The aquarium was ok, it is not very large. If you have kids, they will enjoy it. However I think a few adults will be underwhelmed. The actual building used to house the aquarium is not impressive from a construction standpoint. The air conditioning is very weak and so it was very humid and warm inside. It appeared to be provided by small satellite air conditioners spread out throughout the facility (if so, they needed more).

 

20142528e6695ed465d4e032af777960.jpg

A tour and short boat ride through the penguin exhibit is included in the general admission price. A year earlier, we were sailing around South America aboard Infinity and got to see some penguins in the wild.

 

 

But they had a good collection of fish, sharks, rays, as well as penguins. And they had some animals that I never saw before like sawfish and dugong. There were impressive sections of the aquarium where you were walking through a glass tunnel with fish and sharks swimming around you. And so of course our family enjoyed looking at many of the creatures that we hoped to see during the 4 days we would dive the Great Barrier Reef.

 

e47439ab0291e9735b05533c1bcbd940.jpg

The aquarium had sharks and sawfish on display.

Edited by mahdnc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice pictures of Sydney so far! We planned a week in New Zealand before our cruise, so hopefully we'll be close to acclimated to the time zone when we arrive in Sydney for the cruise.

Ha ha....about our plans for the Newcastle port- that is actually what we were thinking (going to view her dorm and the campus @ University of Newcastle) or maybe we can go to some of her favorite places in Newcastle. It may be our only opportunity to see where she is staying for 4 1/2 months.

By the way, I thought it was interesting about the lack of A/C that you mentioned. Our daughter in Newcastle has NO A/C in her dorm, and it's been mid-80's so far, so she just bought a fan for herself at a store. Since we're from a cold climate (especially right now), she is probably more sensitive to the heat than an Aussie student would be.

Congrats to your son on his awesome-sounding job at Apple! I look forward to more photos and touring stories, Thank you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

605b46fbb8148763ad3fb169cfc14399.jpg

 

 

"WE OPENED 2017 AT CAPE HORN AND WE'RE CLOSING IT IN SYDNEY!"

 

We have been lucky, We started 2017 aboard Infinity as she was near Cape Horn--near the bottom of the world. It was part of her 15 Night South American holiday itinerary. And now we were in Sydney to close out the year and ring in 2018.

 

When I booked this Jan 2 2018 cruise, a huge bonus was that we were going to be in Sydney to celebrate the new year. Sydney was always in the Chicago morning news on New Year's Eve as having celebrated the new year already. We would see news video of the fireworks bursting above the famous Opera House. And now we were going to be there.

 

The biggest decision was where to watch the Sydney Harbor fireworks show. Approximately 1.6 million people descended around the harbor to see the spectacle which traditionally has two fireworks shows--one at 9pm (Family Fireworks) and then one at the start of the new year (Midnight Fireworks).

 

There were many public gathering areas that were free, but you had to get there early to stake out your spot. Other choices included going to a restaurant/bar with a view (and admission charge). Then of course there's the famous Sydney Opera House itself which hosts multiple dining/drinking venues and shows. Finally, there is the option of booking a harbor cruise to watch the pyrotechnics display on a boat from the harbor. The amount of research you could do on this is incredible and even then it is difficult to judge from the internet advertisements how good your view will really be and how crowded the venue will be.

 

My initial thought was to observe the event for free from one of the public areas that would be within walking distance of our hotel. After all, it's hard to be disappointed when you spend nothing money-wise. But it would mean getting there early to find a good spot which meant that one of our two precious full days in Sydney would be entirely spent on preparing/watching the fireworks. It also meant that we would have to endure the weather during the day (getting wet from the rain or melting under the sun). Then there's dealing with the crowds, restrooms, etc. It wore me out just thinking about it.

 

Cruise Critic member, travelling8 (Kim), who was on our roll call, looked into various options and settled on doing a harbor cruise on the 60 foot Galene. The Galene also participates in a parade of boats (decked out with white rope lights) circling the harbor in between the fireworks. Kim was able to secure a group rate of $ 500 AUD per person including food and drinks and invited people on our roll call. Wow, $2000 AUD for my family of 4 and with no Captains Club privileges to go with it! Aww, what the heck I thought to myself--you can't take it (money) with you. So I took a look at the USD to AUD exchange rate ("hey, I'm gettin' a 22% discount"), and I booked our NYE tickets on the Galene. NYE planning was done! NYE tickets for the boat rose to $600 AUD per person before selling out which made me feel better....

 

ab5eb5b980a138e2602098d645751837.jpg

A view from Sydney Harbour. The harbour bridge was rigged with special lights and pyrotechnics. Don't worry the bridge deck is not really crooked, it's an imaging artifact from the iPhone's panorama mode. Or as my kids call it, "Dad's shaky hands".

 

 

We boarded the Galene at the Kings Street Wharf at about 7:00 pm. Of course we anxiously waited for night fall. Before the first set of fireworks began, we started meeting the other people on the boat (well, my wife did. I am a bit introverted). It was a mixture of young and older people. They were all very interesting to talk to. The dress code was smart casual. Surprisingly, there was little in the way of NYE jewelry, hats, noise makers, etc.

 

One thing that I miscalculated after spending time earlier in the day under the hot sun (or hot clouds, I don't remember now) was that it got cold in the evening at the harbor when you were out on deck. Because of that my daughter had to seek refuge on the 1st deck where it was enclosed. We should have brought jackets with us. Next time.

 

61892560f0d68a33ecf9331999cda3d0.jpg

Our boat cruised by the Sydney Opera House many times during the evening. From our vantage point, you could see that a lot was going on. The Opera Bar was filled and people were at all levels of the Opera House itself. Outside there was a rock concert going on. Inside there were performances in the concert halls.

 

 

But before going down to the 1st deck, my daughter was the first in our family to notice that the occasional bird that was spotted flying over our heads against the darkened sky were actually bats--the flying mammal variety. And they were large bats--not the kind that could grab small children and fly off with them--but they were bigger than what I was used to seeing once in a while back in the USA. It was pretty cool to see. Sorry, I have no pictures of those guys.

 

 

1f2c59e44fdffbd732b189f44955a39b.jpg

 

 

Our boat settled at a position in the harbor east of the Sydney Harbor Bridge next to Fort Denison. At 9pm the first of the two fireworks displays began to the cheer of the crowd. This fireworks is called the Family Fireworks to allow the kids who don't stay up for the whole thing (it is televised) so they can see something before they go to bed. Here is a video of the final 13 seconds of the Family Fireworks.

 

fc837e39dcfbcb839c7742976c7021db.jpg

Although it was beautiful, the 9PM Family Fireworks lasted for less than 10 minutes.

 

 

4eb19797630882bd56533a7b4f88c74f.jpg

A view of Luna Park as the Galene sailed by her during the Harbour of Light Parade portion of the evening.

Edited by mahdnc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1710a7e60981322e1e290e1f7ba0a679.jpg

 

 

 

"IF THE 9 PM FIREWORKS IS CALLED THE FAMILY FIREWORKS, IS THE MIDNIGHT ONE CALLED THE ADULT FIREWORKS?"

 

 

Although brief, the Family Fireworks gave us an idea of things to come with the highly anticipated Midnight Fireworks. The time between the two shows was occupied by the Harbour of Light Parade. It is a large flotilla of boats illuminated with rope lighting that sail in a large circle in the harbour. Boats have to apply to join the parade. The Galene was one of them. Boats that participate in the parade are allowed to watch both fireworks shows from inside an exclusion zone meant to keep all other boats out (there were lots of police boats out in the harbor to enforce it). The exclusion zone is very large and I guess is intended to prevent an overcrowding of boats in the harbor on an alcohol laden evening. Also there are seven barges loaded with fireworks floating out in the harbor. We were given a nice viewing vantage point inside the exclusion zone right next to Fort Denison. And being one of the smallest boats in the parade, I think we were afforded a front row spot. It is possible that all parade boats were given a front row spot, I just know that our position gave us an unobstructed view.

 

 

b17cb433a8524ccadfd4d3513be8ae25.jpg

One of the more beautifully decorated boats participating in the parade. During the event, we got to see all of the other boats in a game of boat envy. There were some very impressive ships; I can only imagine the cost of a ticket to be on them. Cruise Critic member, prudence passenger, and her husband were aboard the Magistic which was also in the parade.

 

 

After sailing a few laps around the harbor as part of this parade, I was starting to get bored. You can only take so many night time photos of the beautiful Sydney Opera House. Hopefully the circling light parade looked great from the shoreline.

 

a40e431b5118438f1167d13104e788ef.jpg

A view of the front of the Sydney Opera House. You can see some of the boats participating in the Harbour of Light Parade. Most of it was spent sailing in a large circle. We got to change direction occasionally.

 

 

When midnight approached, the final 10 seconds were counted down with fireworks numerals on the arch of the harbour bridge. And then at the stroke of midnight, the name "S Y D N E Y" was displayed in large pyrotechnic letters across the bridge's entire span. How cool is that? And then the fireworks show began. And what a show it was. After a brief pause following the SYDNEY words, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which was the centerpiece of the entire show, immediately exploded with fireworks. Fireworks shooting up from the entire arch and coming off the sides of the bridge deck. You needed sunglasses.

 

bc82016325676b2792a6a10ff770a7d8.jpg

Not all of the special effects were fireworks. The Sydney Harbour Bridge was rigged with a fantastic array of lights. The concrete piers on either side of the bridge were adorned with images projected onto it.

 

 

The engineering and design of the fireworks display was very impressive and definitely world class. The bridge was rigged with fireworks which included a fireworks waterfall that at different times was continuously flowing out from both sides of the bridge deck. There were fireworks launched from seven barges spread out in a line across the harbor and the Opera House was rigged with fireworks, too. All of it was done in synchronization with each other and it was choreographed to music. The show lasted about 12 minutes long. I wonder if the fireworks director gets to enjoy the show as it unfolds or whether she or he has to settle for the

afterward!

 

64ee890c5bccda1fba97290a477659da.jpg

Sensory overload. There was just a lot to take in!

 

 

The fireworks is done on such a massive scale that I don't think there truly is a single best seat in the house. It was a sight to behold from our boat in the harbor. I imagine that a view of it from the Sydney Opera House was amazingly immersive. Even an aerial view from a helicopter would have been gorgeous. Here is a 30 second video clip that I took towards the end of the Midnight Fireworks.

 

5c9ae64e07dfe0c6d0bde85f5783bf07.jpg

Within 10 minutes of the new year, I had my new Lock Screen photo for my iPhone X (which by virtue of its name must make it the official smart phone for Celebrity Cruises?).

Edited by mahdnc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Debbi,

 

we hope you guys are doing well also. I meant to ask you whether you did the airplane or helicopter ride at Airlie Beach. If so, how was it?

 

93b0f8e3e9621837f95ea89917c438f3.jpg

I wish we were back at the Martini Bar! What was that martini again?

Hey David, yes wish I was back at the Martini bar tooo!!

 

No unfortunately we didn't get to do anything exciting at Airlie Beach. Did shopping at the market but that's about all.

I'm really enjoying your post and I stole the above photo hehehe.

Hugs to all.

Debbi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

b604feb694e167e3ce3c7c36f0a5a1ec.jpg

 

 

"WE NEED TO COME BACK NEXT YEAR!"

 

After the fireworks were over at about 12:15am, the Galene headed back to the Kings Street Wharf in Darling Harbour where we were dropped off at around 1am. We then walked back to the hotel. Because of the close proximity of the hotel to the fireworks crowd, the walkway approaches were had security there to verify that the people heading into the hotel were guests--similar to what the cruise ship does (without the metal detectors and bag x-ray machines.

 

Here is an informative harbor fireworks map:

3cdb9978884fb7d3da0411446271d297.jpg

 

I have marked the Galene's position with a bright green circle next to Fort Denison. The map shows that two of the seven fireworks barges were "behind" us as we faced the bridge to watch the show. Note the large size of the exclusion zone where boats were not allowed except for those, like ours, were participating in the Harbour of Light Parade.

 

82772e77801b251bbeae930e4ec2fdfa.jpg

The Sydney Opera House made for a wonderful backdrop to the spectacular fireworks.

 

9edcfa4794903fd020f577f4073876dd.jpg

The fireworks display made a wide use of color. There were several times where the synchronized fireworks were monochromatic.

 

 

8f33c0e182c72af48f34705d2b1d8fff.jpg

A lot of different types of fireworks effects were used.

Edited by mahdnc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

409cc126cca0d7340a23e5a51194ba69.jpg

 

 

"THE ONLY KANGAROOS WE SAW IN AUSTRALIA WERE AT THE ZOO!"

 

Yes, that is quite true. I had hoped that we would see them in the wild during our trip. Even on the day we left Sydney there was a wallaby that was hopping across the Sydney Harbour Bridge! Many years ago my wife went to Melbourne on a business trip and she said that she saw them in the wild.

 

adb114a13030ef0171826147076a5725.jpg

 

And so on Jan 1--after ringing in the new year from the night before--we went to visit the Taronga Zoo. There are two zoos in Sydney. There is the small Wild Life Zoo near Darling Harbour. The larger Taronga Zoo is located on the opposite side of the harbor from Sydney.

 

cdf174ff98868062d20698612d1c930a.jpg

 

We bought tickets on line for $42 AUD per person. There are two ways to get to the zoo. The most preferable way is to take one of the ferries to get wonderful views of the harbor and Sydney. But we had just spent 6 hours doing that from the night before, so we decided to skip it and took an uber instead. We also wanted to get there (and back) quickly because we intended to go to our cruise roll call pre-cruise gathering at the Opera Bar at 5:30pm.

 

79908cf990dbea1bbb6a535144ea904a.jpg

 

The zoo is nice. It was our first opportunity to see the animals that Australia is known for: koalas, kangaroos, wallabys, wombats, Tasmanian Devils, emus, and platypus! It was not very crowded and although we got to bypass the lines for buying tickets, the lines weren't that long.

 

162810365e68deea74a880e20467984e.jpg

My first look at a Tasmanian Devil!

 

It was pretty hot that day as the sun was in full shine mode. The zoo was hilly which meant that we got a good work out and there were nice views of Sydney. Here is a zoo map.

 

6955d9613191235fad9221a1088199ce.jpg

This hippo had the right idea today! I was jealous.

 

We wanted to go back to the hotel quickly so that we could clean up before heading out to the roll call pre-cruise party at the Opera Bar. There were no taxis at the zoo. Getting an uber was a problem because there were almost no uber cars in the area. After getting an uber through the app, we had to wait 20 minutes before our car arrived.

Edited by mahdnc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...