and so it begins....Dec/Jan Circumnavigation of Australia on Regatta

[cbb]

We have arrived on board Regatta for our circumnavigation cruise of Australia and were delighted to find that the bed, etc. is exactly the same way it was ATW16--now we don't have to get used to something new or hurt ourselves in the middle of the night!!

 

We took the Capt Cook ferry from Circular Quay to Barangaroo and then the ferry from there to White Bay. Easy trip to do!

 

When we got off, we saw a very, very large parking lot with a chain link fence around it and at the opposite end was a gate with a zebra crossing and a sidewalk on the other side of the street.

 

So we walked, walked, and walked some more and Mr. Wonderful, my tech guru, said it was +500M (more than 1/4mile US) when we reached our building for embarkation.

 

Now I walk about 3 miles every day but not in 35C (95F) temperatures at noon pulling a suitcase and carrying a small bag over a blacktopped parking lot.

 

We tried telling both O and passenger terminal people that there were others behind us that had to be in their 80s who were attempting to do that same walk and that perhaps a shuttle or some vans could be brought to help people getting off the ferry.

 

It was not done. I hope no one got sick....or worse. Perhaps port authorities or O can remedy this.

 

Standing in the line next to us were ATW friends from Toronto, Gary & Aleks so that was great to see them. Check-in went very smoothly and we were done and headed for the gangway 5 minutes later.

 

We were immediately directed to Terrace for lunch and met our friends, Cathi and Bruce, that had saved "our" table. Shortly afterward Jennie and Peter from Melbourne joined us and we 6 will be touring together. A huge number of emails between the 3 women have flown back and forth for months!

 

We weren't sure when our rooms were ready because we were having lunch but we walked in before 1:30. Mr. Wonderful immediately spotted our luggage being brought up so he grabbed the bags and walked them down to the cabin. We were unpacked before 2:30!

 

Our Master is Captain Gunnar Romtveit whom we have not sailed with before. The General Manager is Yves Segers who was on board ATW16 for some of our voyage and the cruise director is Julie James.

 

The most exciting thing for us so far was hearing the knock on the door announcing our cabin attendant. I opened the door and he and I both squealed....it was our beloved Edmon from ATW16!

 

So we know he will take good care of us and we're so grateful to have him. I may never meet the captain nor the general manager, but the room attendant is crucial to a great experience on board, I think! YAY, Edmon!!!

 

Life boat drill is at 5:15 and then we 6 head to Horizons for sail away at 6...and I'll probably bring the bottle of Champagne chilling in the bucket in the room. Cheers, everybody!!!

[palakika]

So glad everything is just the way you want it to start out on your new adventure. Bon voyage and have a wonderful Cruise!!

[cbb]

thanks Palakika--the life boat drill whistle is just about ready to sound!

[cbb]

Our Cruise Director alluded to "weather-related problems" with the Public Address System so not only did our life boat drill last more than an hour, we were late leaving Sydney.

 

Because the boat MUST have the ability to warn all passengers due to safety concerns, officials would not release Regatta until they were convinced the problems had been resolved....so there were many announcements from the Captain keeping us updated.

 

The passengers did not get the thrill of passing under the bridge or a water view of the Opera House but that was a small matter compared to what the Captain and crew were doing.....thanks Regatta staff!

 

We have seen Renaldo in Terrace and we recognized each other which was very sweet; he is now "Bruno" or "Mihei" of Terrace for the Worldies who might be reading this.

 

Mr Wonderful says we are quickly making up time and may arrive in Brisbane close to our scheduled time of 7am. Currently steaming at about 20mph which, in my vernacular, is "booking it"

 

Guest speaker today is Da Ostler. His interests are "the science behind the phenomena of nature and the cascading effect of these interactions o the course of history" and he will have a series of talks.

 

Today's is "Marvelous For More Than Marsupials." Going out on a limb here with my suppositions but I'm thinking he's going to tell us that all of Australia is greater than just its wildlife! No argument here!

 

Afternoon lecture is "What Makes Oceanography Exciting" with Russell Moll, Ph.D.= cool!

 

Meet and Greet today at 10. Cathi has organized it with the help of the Cruise Director so that we can meet at Horizons at 10 am. Lecture at 11, trivia at 4:15, and Captain's Welcome Party @5:45!

 

Slept well, great breakfast in Terrace, and now off to take pictures of Christmas decorations. Edmon just knocked--I'm out of here!!!

[palakika]

Lectures sound good. Is Julie James your CD? We had her last spring Auckland to Papeete and she did a good job. Since she is an Aussie, should have good insight about everything. Don't do trivia so don't know how she does there.

[pinotlover]

We took a taxi from the Marriott Circular Quay to the Ship terminal for about 30 AU dollars. Seemed a lot easier than your drill!

 

Oceanla, being a young line, rarely gets to use the more convenient main cruise terminal.

[cbb]

pinotlover,

 

In retrospect we should have taken the cab, but for us the ferry is such fun and such a great way to see Sydney!

 

I'll find out how Julie James does with trivia this afternoon--so far I believe that I'm the only American in our trivia group and being an old history teacher I was warmly welcomed by my group....although, I think we need Canadians, too.

 

I'm very surprised by the number of Aussies on board for this cruise and I'm hearing stories such as "I'm a native of Adelaide and have never been north of Sydney" and most of the east coast Aussies are looking forward to Fraser Island, Perth and southwestern Au.

 

I guess I could liken it to people from LA never having been to Savannah or New Yorkers never having been to Tucson!

 

Unfortunately for us, we have gotten to dock in Circular Quay on ATW16 and watched the setting sun set the Opera House & skies orange and red--so we're spoiled. White Bay is indistinguishable from most of the other ports we've seen.

 

From what we've heard the size of the ships, rather than age of cruise line, determines who gets to dock in Overseas Passenger Terminal--the age old adage holds true again--$ talks and big ships pay more than little ships!

 

Meet and Greet was very well attended and Julie James came as well. I'll have to check numbers but I believe just about everyone on roll-call attended --perhaps 40-50.

 

Dan Ostler's lecture was well done and most of the seats were filled. We've heard that he is doing about 12 lectures.

 

Captain is keeping us well informed as to the speed of the ship and is awaiting info from Miami office as to arrival and departure time in Brisbane. As the Captain says "we have all 4 engines going!"

[palakika]

Who is your Captain?

[cbb]

Captain Gunnar Romtveit.

 

We're gunning it for Brisbane right now. Announcements state that we will arrive approximately 3pm and leave approximately 9pm tomorrow.

 

We have also heard that it is to be 30+ there tomorrow. Right now (9:30pm) it is raining so we're not sure of tomorrow's weather.

 

Original itinerary was arrive at 7am and leave at 4pm. All shorex have been cancelled with full refund added to account.

 

Shuttles will take us into town but we're not sure now where that drop off point will be....so we ride the waves and roll with whatever comes.

 

Have a great day!!!

[palakika]

It's good that you've been to Brisbane before. Sounds like it will be disappointing for those who've never visited there. Can't really control things, but you folks are off to a bit of a rocky start! On a positive note, aren't the Christmas decorations cool? We've been on 2 holiday cruises and really enjoyed them...also the gingerbread village and various cookies each day.

[cbb]

yes, the decorations are wonderful! Makes it seem like it IS holiday time which is difficult for some passengers as they are not used to 30C in December!!

 

Trivia is going well. Our team is composed of Aussies, Canadians and lone me, the American, and we came in 3rd. Some movie questions tripped us up--we need a movie expert on our team!!! Have a great day!

[cbb]

After the local pilot boarded and brought us to port up river, we arrived today in Brisbane around 1:30 We disembarked around 2-2:30 and turned left out of the terminal and walked to the CAT ferry that took us up river to South Bank.

 

If you get confused feel free to stop anyone in Brisbane and ask them questions--they are unfailing polite and helpful.

 

One of the shore excursions was put back into operation..."Highlights of Brisbane" so people who had never been here before were introduced to this thriving and very large city.

 

We walked along the Clem Jones Promenade, saw the Arbour, and the Bridges crossing the river, but having been here before we did not choose to walk across the river to go to the CBD.

 

There was also a community pool where all ages were enjoying Friday, December 23! It was in the 80sF and everybody seemed to be having a wonderful time.

 

We walked the street of the Christmas Markets and only bought one small thing but there was a wide variety of artisans selling their crafts.

 

We saw the Christmas Village which was a variety of musical groups playing in green areas where families had brought blankets and chairs to listen, fairy lights hanging from arches of bougainvillea, and a little red train that hauled children around the area. There was a wide variety of restaurants and cafes in the area.

 

We were originally scheduled to be in Brisbane from 7am-4pm, but because of our late departure from Sydney and our late arrival into Brisbane the Miami office decided that we would spend the night here and leave at 7am tomorrow having completed bunkering.

 

Kingfisher Bay at Fraser Island has been deleted from our itinerary, much to the disappointment of some of the cruisers who had looked forward to the experience of a beach resort.

 

Instead we will have an extra sea day before arriving in Cairns on Christmas Day where we overnight. Both the Captain and CD Julie James have kept us informed and the PA system continues to work!

 

As we all know, you must be able to handle disappointment when cruising and we look forward to what tomorrow will bring. We'll be at sea in the warmth of Australia...what a tough life!!!

[ssawjo]

Kathi and I were in Brisbane for one day this past April, a Saturday. We found Brisbane to be one of the most livable cities anywhere. Clean, friendly, etc. Had a great day. We went to see the koalas and had a full day tour of the city. Enjoy your cruise and we'll see you in Mumbai with Cathi and Bruce.

 

Bill and Kathi

[excited cruise traveler]

Thank you for the the "and so it begins" blog of this cruise. We have looked at this cruise repeatedly but are leary of the long flight from Atlanta to Sydney, having done Auckland to Atlanta before, so your blog will make a big difference yea or nay to us. I will follow you faithfully during your trip. We happened to be on a long leg of your ATW of 2016 from Shanghai to Sydney, but never met during that cruise.

Julie, the CD is a really really nice person, we had a wonderful time with her and please tell her hello from Julio and Carol, maybe she remembers us, kind of hard with as many people as she comes in contact with. Anyhow, enjoy the cruise and I will follow with interest. Carol C. (excited cruise traveler)

[drkitkat123]

It's seriously short sighted to deny yourself a visit to Australia because of the flying times. We live in Sydney and think nothing of jetting off to the USA. Yes it's inconvenient and uncomfortable for a few hours, even 17 or 20 hours. But you soon forget it when enjoying yourself...

[22travel2]

We are Monica and John from British Columbia, Canada and have booked this cruise for Dec 2018/19.

Look forward to reading your comments.

[Sea42]

It's seriously short sighted to deny yourself a visit to Australia because of the flying times. We live in Sydney and think nothing of jetting off to the USA. Yes it's inconvenient and uncomfortable for a few hours, even 17 or 20 hours. But you soon forget it when enjoying yourself...

For some people there are health considerations that must be weighed. What may be short sighted for you may not be for someone else.

[palakika]

It's a long trip over open water. If you have health concerns really have to consider that there really isn't an emergency stop!

[drkitkat123]

For some people there are health considerations that must be weighed. What may be short sighted for you may not be for someone else.

 

Goes without saying obviously

[drkitkat123]

It's a long trip over open water. If you have health concerns really have to consider that there really isn't an emergency stop!

 

If you are that concerned. It suggests you should not be travelling at all...

[palakika]

Fortunately for us, we're in good shape and travel around the world. Have to do it while you can. Happy Holidays!

[cbb]

Lovely day at sea today. Christmas Eve is calm waters, little islands off port side as we sail up the east coast of Australia on our way to Cairns and lots of sunshine.

 

One of our travel mates and husband are renting a car at the airport tomorrow; we're all grabbing a taxi to the airport and from there they are driving us to Palm Cove for Christmas afternoon.

 

Lectures today were on "Papua New Guinea" and "Oceans" which were great. Trivia, then beverages at Happy Hour, followed by caroling on 5th deck by passengers and crew/staff. Dinner, then a Christmas show at 9:30.

 

We received a lovely boxed gift from Oceania on our bed when we came "home" tonight.

 

A large beautiful orb that was in shades of red, orange, and black with aboriginal designs of turtles and a stand for displaying it.

 

One side was printed with O's logo and the title of our cruise and date. What a great memory of Christmas at sea!

 

Tomorrow we dock in Cairns for an overnight. Merry Christmas, everyone!

[palakika]

Your gift sounds really lovely. Last year holiday cruise on Marina around So Am we got a similar globe with a stand in beautiful aqua and blue colors with pictures of penguins on it. A nice momento as we were at the Falklands the next day to see these penguins. It is a treasured art piece. Merry Christmas to you and Dr. Dave. (I have a Dr. Dave at my house too).

[cbb]

"dr dave" came about in a meeting where the leader said "so, dave...what do you think about that" and 4 daves looked at each other.

 

in frustration, the leader blurted "dr dave" and thus was born his nickname.

 

Believe it or not there was another david bradley at ibm at the same time and they had just begun using the internet (remember those old days!) so ibm asked my dave to use the "dr dave" as part of his address as the 2 guys kept getting each other's emails!

 

my dave said the other one was a marketing guy and if dave had answered that guy's mail the daves would probably have been out of a job....techies don't make the best salesmen!!! (the other dave said techie dave's emails were incomprehensible to him!!)

 

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

[palakika]

Not to turn this into a "Dr dave" thread, but we have a similar experience. My Dr. Dave is a retired statistics prof and at one time in his dept. If anyone yelled "hey Dave" four profs would say "What?" Must have been a common name!!

 

Hope they have a nice Christmas brunch on board. Merry Christmas to all.