Regatta Circumnavigation of Australia 2018-19

[Perash]

A relaxing, rainy sea day today. Lazy breakfast, cross stitch, lazy lunch, in-room movie, yoga session, reading, nap, and dinner in Polo - the steak house.

At lunch we shared the Scandinavian Sampler: meatballs, gravalax, cabbage salad, potato salad, shrimp salad and chicken skewers, along with ‘polar bread’ (which I had to read twice because first time I read it as ‘polar bear’ and that seemed uncivilised and wrong!)

The yoga session was excellent. A good 45 minute session to stretch and relax me all over. It was very well attended, with yoga enthusiasts standing shoulder to shoulder (almost). I am most impressed by the folks who spend some time in the gym everyday. I hope to go again tomorrow for a Pilates class.

Dinner at Polo was most enjoyable. I tried oysters and scampi, and my dining companions enjoyed sliders (mini burgers), filet Mignon, and lobster Mac and cheese (lobster....of course!) Polo has a very different atmosphere to the other specialty restaurant, Toscana. Polo is all solid leather dining chairs and sepia photographs of famous old Hollywood actors, while Toscana is more soft and Renaissance Italian. The service is excellent at both restaurants, while being quite different in style. 

Tomorrow morning we will anchor off Hamilton Island, weather permitting....Cyclone Owen, while no longer a cyclone is still having an impact across North Queensland weather. All being well, the tenders will depart the ship starting 7 am. I have only visited Hamilton Island once previously, en route to another Whitsundays island. Really looking forward to it.

PS. I really am writing about food and eating a lot, aren’t I? It’s such a big feature of cruising on Regatta!

Edited December 16, 2018 by Perash
Content & grammar

[Perash]

17 hours ago, Paulchili said:

...I think you will enjoy the uniqueness of PNG. If you can, attend a cultural performance. Their dances, music and especially the costumes are truly unique and very colorful.

Enjoy!

Thank you Paulchili...I am looking forward to new (although brief) experiences in PNG. It sounds a fascinating country.

[Perash]

Hamilton Island today. 

After another leisurely breakfast, we travelled from the Regatta to Hamilton Island via tender. The tender ride took approx 20-25 minutes. The sea was calm, the wind still, so it was a very smooth tender ride. It was very overcast and rained lightly. I enjoyed the cooling effect of the clouds and gentle rain - very refreshing.

Our tender docked in the island marina. We were fascinated to see a large police boat berthed in the marina. This must be one of the more enjoyable places to police!

Last time I was on Hamilton Island was around 22 years ago...long time! First impressions of Hamilton Island this time: major holiday destination with all businesses and services geared towards providing tourism services. There were lots and lots of golf buggies everywhere - some even fitted with baby capsules - and these appear to be the preferred mode of transport for many holiday makers. They can be rented by the hour. There is also an island loop bus with tour commentary which operates every 30 minutes or so; and a Green Shuttle which travels between the resort precinct and marina every 15 minutes or so. There appear to be many hotels, resorts and private residences on the island. It’s quite a built up environment, and as I said, golf buggies are EVERYWHERE! There were also lots of building/maintenance contractors travelling around in very small minivans.

As it was such a pleasantly cool day (around 27 degrees C) we decided to walk. It was a very easy walk from the marina to the resort side of the island and Catseye Beach. We spent a very pleasant couple of hours leisurely walking along the beach. It was low tide so we were able to walk out quite far while only getting wet up to our ankles. Interestingly, there were many people paddling and snorkelling about 50-75 metres further out than us, and when they stood up, they appeared to only be in about hip-deep water. So it’s a very gentle and sheltered beach environment.

We walked back to the marina when the rain became heavier and caught the tender back to the ship. We were back on board by 1pm. 

I relaxed with a book for most of the afternoon before going to Terrace Cafe for a buffet style dinner. I like that the cafe staff serve all the food from behind the Buffett as it seems more hygienic all round.

I found it interesting that today I experienced both outstanding service and terrible service at the Terrace Cafe. The outstanding service was provided by the dinner maître d’, a young man named Koushick Ravindran, who went above and beyond to make our dinner experience enjoyable. He struck an excellent balance between providing attentive service while giving us our space. He also appeared to have superb rapport with most of the cafe staff. I believe this young man has an exciting and brilliant career ahead of him because of his positive attitude, professionalism and strong people skills.

On the other hand, we encountered a young woman named Tatiana at the front desk of the Terrace Cafe earlier in the day - just before lunch - and she had a very unfortunate manner and a style that implied she was doing us a favour by talking to us. Not sure if she was having a bad day, but quite frankly, I also don’t care if she was. She had the manner of a petty bureaucrat with a chip on her shoulder. I would probably put her back behind the scenes until her day(s) improve and she can remember her job description has something to do with client service. The thing is, every other crew member we have encountered on the Regatta so far has been exceptional in his/her own way. They seem to take their work very seriously and show a great deal of care and consideration. This made the encounter with Tatiana even more off putting because she was in such stark contrast to the rest. Anyhow, it was our encounter with Tatiana that drove us out of the Terrace Cafe and to Waves Grill for lunch. I am generally a very mild person, but I was angry afterwards for some time. Such a shame that one person can damage the hard work everyone else puts into making a good impression on the Regatta.

Tomorrow we will dock in Cairns at around 10 am. I hope the weather remains temperate like today but I suspect it will get warmer, the further up the coast we travel. 

 

[pinotlover]

I’m missing something. What front desk in the Terrace? They have the bar area which one typically has zero interaction with. What front desk? Additional Specialties reservation?

[ORV]

Yes, they are referring to the person that is stationed on the port side by the bar that takes care of Specialty reservations. If not trying to use that service I have no need to interact with them. I could be wrong but I don't think they have anything to do with seating or service in the Terrace. 

[pinotlover]

ORV;

 

I had gathered as much. So the OP’s interaction with the Specialties Reservation rep , which has absolutely nothing to do with service in the Terrace, was so poor she opted to eat in Waves!

 

OoohKayy.

 

would love to hear the rep’s version of that encounter! 

[LHT28]

maybe the OP  thought the person there was for  some other service 😉

interesting to know  what was the problem ?

 

Maybe no opening for the specialties  that night

[Starlaker]

Very interesting and well done thread by the OP.  We got off the Regatta in Sydney before the OP got on.  We did the Tahiti to Sydney segment and loved everything about the ship.  I too had been a bit apprehensive after reading a number of negative comments about the Regatta.  We found the staff to be extremely friendly and helpful and the food and service exceptional.  We had been on the Regatta before and love the old world atmosphere.  The renovation plans look very sterile.  I am glad that we got to sail on the "old" Regatta one more time before they take all that old world charm away. Thank you for this thread Perash.  Makes me wish we had stayed on!

[Perash]

Thank you for reading this thread, Starlaker. I agree 100% - the old world charm of the Regatta is very special and I feel lucky to be able to experience it before the ship is refurbished. 

[Perash]

Today we docked in Cairns at 10am - right on schedule. It was a bright, warm morning (32 degrees C) with 45% humidity. Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal is a very neat, warehouse type of building. Inside, some volunteers were handing out maps, discussing general points of interest, and advising about possible tours for those who had not already booked with Regatta. Very helpful.

We visited Port Douglas last year (around an hour’s drive from Cairns) and had experienced some of the local attractions already, so chose to take a slow wander through the city of Cairns instead of a tour. Cairns is built on an easily navigable grid so the only barrier to an easy walk is the wall of heat that hits you as you depart the ship. We visited the new Cairns Aquarium - partly because we enjoy aquariums and partly because it provided blessed air conditioning. It is a lovely aquarium with many great exhibits, including an ‘underwater’ tunnel and a two storey high aquarium viewing wall to observe the sea life. I could have sat there for many, many hours, just mesmerised by the beauty and grace of the fish. After observing lobsters socialising in their tanks, I may never eat another lobster....or any other crustacean for that matter. They were just so beautiful.

After a few hours exploring the city we ambled back to the ship along the harbour front board walk. It was a very easy walk and we passed under some very old, shady trees with many aerial roots and hundreds of screeching fruit bats in residence.

I was left with the overall impression that Cairns has been developed with the tourism and retirement industries in mind - like many of the newer coastal North Queensland cities. It’s still forming its character.

Back on the ship we cooled off with an ice cream before retiring for a siesta. Then we enjoyed a very tasty ‘Flavors of Spain’ dinner in the main dining room. 

Now, sitting on our balcony with a cool drink, awaiting the sail away from Cairns in  the next hour or so. It’s a very balmy evening and somehow the night lights make it feel more exotic and tropical than during the day.

As I write this we’ve just heard there is a medical emergency on board. Not sure if the unwell passenger(s) have to disembark but our departure from Cairns will be a little delayed. If there is a silver lining to this, it’s that we are still in port so the unwell person(s) will receive medical care forthwith. I can hear an ambulance siren approaching now. 

[Perash]

Day 7 and it was another beautifully relaxing sea day. Enjoyed most of the day reading on my balcony. This is my idea of a holiday!

The passenger suffering a medical emergency in Cairns yesterday did disembark along with their co-traveller and all their luggage. I imagine it was a very challenging situation for them and wish them a fast recovery. The Regatta team seemed to handle the circumstances very efficiently, with minimum fuss.

Will be arriving in Alotau, PNG first thing tomorrow. Looking forward to a completely new experience. 

[cbb]

When we circumnavigated Australia last year, we had medical emergencies handled with the patient departing by land, by sea, and by air.   O crew did a great job with all 3 events

[Perash]

We docked in Alotau Main Wharf early this morning.

First impression was this was an area of great natural beauty with undulating green hills capped with clouds in the background, and harsh metal sheds, shipping containers and concrete structures littering the shore front. There were a few canoes and metal dinghies in the water around us.

There were two cultural dance groups on the wharf to welcome us. The first group appeared to be dressed in ceremonial costumes and head dresses, doing a gentle singing, dancing and drumming performance. They had two beautiful young children, also in costume, standing in front of the performers, to collect donations from visitors and also for photo opportunities. The second group of performers appeared younger and more war like in their performance. Lots of spear shaking and loud warlike cries.

We were advised it was an easy 30 minute walk to the markets. We chose instead to take a mini van which was circling between the ship and markets regularly, because it was quite warm and humid. It was interesting that the mini van windows were protected with metal mesh all the way around. Riding through the town we noticed many, many young people - especially young men - wandering aimlessly through town, or just sitting or standing idly by the sides of the road. It was 10 am on a week day so we wondered about the level of youth unemployment in the area. What do the people do all day? We drove past the main supermarket and a large hardware store - both of which appeared to have security bars on the windows and service available through the bars - shoppers were not allowed to enter the stores it seemed.

Our mini van stopped at a small open air market set up just for the cruise ship passengers. There were around 30 little stalls of sellers sitting with their wares on the ground. Most were selling carved wooden trinkets, shell jewellery, fridge magnets, and various items of clothing. They were all very nice and welcoming. Most items seemed to be priced around AUD5/Kina10....until we showed some interest and suddenly the prices started to rise to AUD10/15/20. As our interest waned, the prices descended again. Gotta love capitalism! I purchased a small wooden sculpture, polished beautifully black for just AUD5. Once I pulled out the money to pay, I noticed a local woman started to walk behind me very closely - right at my elbow. I had read that pick pockets are not uncommon, so I clutched my bag closely and alerted my husband, and after a few minutes, she stopped following me. It was a strange feeling, but I can’t say that I was particularly worried because she was a fairly small woman and I had plenty of other people around me. If anything, I’d say she was an opportunist who would have slipped my wallet/cash out if it was easy but was not going to be aggressive about it.

We noticed nearly all the locals chewing betel nuts - lots of red toothed smiles and spat out red splats everywhere. I wonder if they were all mildly euphoric and high.

Despite it being an overcast day, the humidity was oppressive so we returned to the ship fairly quickly to enjoy the air conditioning. We wandered around the ship, looking at the islands all around us. From a distance they all looked so beautiful and I wondered how many were actually littered with signs of modern industry, like the port we were in.

We enjoyed sailing out of the port at 4pm in Horizons Bar. It was a lovely place to observe all the little islands around. Some islands appeared to have small huts on sheltered beaches and some locals out in canoes on the water....watching us watching them....or perhaps fishing for some dinner. I wondered what they thought. I wished we could learn about them and their world without impacting on their well being. But perhaps it’s too late for that.

Port Moresby tomorrow. Warnings abound about potential crime and dangers. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

[Perash]

Alotau Main Wharf...

[Perash]

Alotau Main Wharf...the view from the other (not port) side of the ship...natural beauty.

[Perash]

We visited Port Moresby, PNG, yesterday.

I have some mixed impressions of Port Moresby.

First of all, the port we docked in. It is a busy cargo port with many cargo ships loading, unloading, coming and going. Many shipping containers around the place. Concrete and dust. Not much else. There was a strong smell of organic fertiliser - like Dynamic Lifter. I imagine that at some point this port may have been as naturally green and lush as the hills in Alotau, but now, the mining / industrial / human activity has left it looking tired, dusty and deforested. I was not unconscious of the fact that visitors like us are likely contributing to the damage, while simulataneously contributing to the economy.

There were several minibuses on the pier to collect the visitors who booked tours.

We did a short tour of the main city. And this is where my mixed impressions came from. The 20 minutes drive to the city was along a well built road. Perhaps this infrastructure was partly funded by the resources companies with commercial interests in the area. It may also have been cleaned/ungraded in the past few months as Port Moresby hosted APEC 2018 in November. Along the sides of the nice road however, were several broken looking shacks and huts - kind of the structures I imagine in a temporary shanty town - constructed from branches, scrap wood and scrap metal. Some had small groups of local people resting under them - perhaps seeking shelter from the sun and heat. We also saw some people sleeping under bushes and small trees. There was also a lot of rubbish, including broken glass, strewn by the sides of the road pretty much all the way into town, where they appear to be trying to keep things a bit cleaner. The density of people, small shacks, stray dogs and traffic all grew as we approached the main city. However, the apparent wealth of some people living/working in the city centre also grew eg there was a well fenced, gated and guarded  Royal Yachting Club, as well as new apartment developments right on the harbour front. Some large corporations like PWC and KPMG and ANZ bank have an obvious presence here as well. I imagine the consulting firms do very well from PNG government contacts.

Quite close to these developed areas, there were many small houses built on wooden poles out in the harbour water. Some of the poles supporting houses looked quite precariously bent and eroded. 

We saw a large waterfront shopping mall - gated and guarded. It looked like a relatively new development - but then there were a few local people resting/asleep under shrubs just outside the walls of the mall. It was quite a jarring image of wealth and poverty existing side by side. There were also large numbers of people - especially young men - just wandering through town without any apparent specific purpose. 

So overall, I felt quite conflicting feelings in Port Moresby. There is increasing urbanisation of the place which is probably positive for some parts of the population, but also destructive for other parts, as there do not appear to be broader municipal services (eg garbage collection) and infrastructure available for all. Perhaps this is part of the process of urbanisation and development that all developing communities go through. I did note that beer seemed to be on sale at regular intervals, including out of barred windows in metal shacks - these were advertised with ‘BEER sold hia’ and a big arrow pointing to the window. Home brew perhaps.

Over dinner, we considered the potential  generational cycles of poverty and disadvantage that many local people would experience, and how education and productive employment are the main ways out of such cycles. The quest is how to effectively support such education and employment, so our brief visit provides long lasting benefits for the local people.

[Paulchili]

It is unfortunate that O chose Port Moresby as one of your stops - it’s the armpit of PNG. We were there for just one overnight on our land trip in 1998 and were told of a robbery of fellow travelers. I can’t imagine that things have improved in the last 20 years - probably quite the opposite.

We did a RT cruise out of Brisbane with 7 stops in PNG - not one of them was in Port Moresby. On a land tour we visited the highlands.

In other words, there are far more interesting places to visit in PNG than Pt. Moresby - sorry you had to go there.

Edited December 22, 2018 by Paulchili

[cbb]

We took a shorex here to the Kokoda Track, saw amazing waterfalls and tropical flowers out in the jungle, and paid our respects at the Bomana War Cemetery--over 3000 graves of Commonwealth soldiers from WWII, plus we got to see the homes and towns in that area.

 

our shorex was shortened because of a local labor dispute over driving buses and vans so our tour did not start when it was supposed to, nevertheless, we are so glad we went out of the port area.   Safety was also a concern so taking a shorex here made sense for us.

[PaulMCO]

Agree with CBB.  Much better choices.  The Cemetery was very special, well maintained.   Many do not realize how important the defense of PNG was in the outcome of WW II

[cbb]

Too many Americans think WE were the only ones fighting in the Pacific....

[pinotlover]

Seems to be the MO of the OP, take a very short port city tour and wax on the surrounding environment. Reading the Roll Call for their cruise, plenty of opportunities in these past PNG islands were given to take tours that got one outside the core port towns that the OP didn’t take advantage of. Much like some of the Carribean islands. Some go inland and see fabulous waterfalls, fauna, local villages, and wildlife and come away with one impression of an island, while another walks around the port City for an hour, returns the the ship and has a different view. Each to their own. 

[LHT28]

16 minutes ago, cbb said:

Too many Americans think WE were the only ones fighting in the Pacific....

 you mean they weren't ?? 😉

[Perash]

On 12/22/2018 at 2:01 PM, Paulchili said:

It is unfortunate that O chose Port Moresby as one of your stops - it’s the armpit of PNG....

In other words, there are far more interesting places to visit in PNG than Pt. Moresby - sorry you had to go there.

Thank you Paulchilli. I agree there are most likely many beautiful and historic places outside of Port Moresby which show the real culture, history and beauty of the land and it’s people, as cbb and PaulMCO have noted above. On this cruise, I am generally getting a surface view of the port and city nearby and making my observations about these. I have a personal interest in urban development and it’s impacts.

[Perash]

We are currently on our second sea day of two, before we visit Darwin. It’s all very pleasant and relaxing.

We’ve had Australian Border Force officers on board for the past two days. They conducted face-to-face inspections of all passengers this morning, before our arrival in Darwin tomorrow. Apparently we’ll have to go through another inspection like this after we return to Australia from the Indonesian leg of the cruise. It’s a minor inconvenience - feels like a bit of overkill - but I think the Regatta crew made it as smooth and easy as possible for all.

I attended a fascinating talk given by a Reef Pilot, about the many different types of ships he has helped guide through the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait areas. I could have listened to him for a very long time, but the talk had to come to an end because time ran out and bingo was starting in the lounge immediately after...and there are many bingo enthusiasts on board. I think I will do some follow up research and reading about harbour pilots and reef pilots. They have truly fascinating jobs.

There are some passengers on board who have developed terrible hacking coughs over the past few days. I wish they recover quickly because I can’t imagine it’s too pleasant for them and in a closed environment like a ship, infections can spread fast.

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, Perash said:

Thank you Paulchilli. I agree there are most likely many beautiful and historic places outside of Port Moresby which show the real culture, history and beauty of the land and it’s people, as cbb and PaulMCO have noted above. On this cruise, I am generally getting a surface view of the port and city nearby and making my observations about these. I have a personal interest in urban development and it’s impacts.

Fair enough.

Enjoy the cruise and keep us up to date - it is appreciated.