Live from Sapphire 3-12 AUK-SYD

[mringenoldus]

Day 11

We have just had our final sailaway from Melbourne. DH and I watched for about an hour from the teak loungers on Promenade Deck. About 5-6 speedboats had fun running along side us on the way out of the harbor, waving as they went by.

 

The day started out foggy but turned very warm (about 90 degrees) This was a bit of a shock as we had been wearing sweatshirts and jackets until now.

 

We left on the 8AM tour for the Healesville Sanctuary. This is a 90-120 minute bus ride (depending on the morning rush hour) However, my husband very much wanted to get up close and personal with dingos, wombats and kangaroos. So off we went. The Sanctuary is a very nice setting to see the animals and the tour guides are informative.

 

We were supposed to meet our Melbourne Greeter at 1:30 but the Princess tour was an hour late returning so she had understandably left. I left her the gifts I had brought from Phoenix hoping it will make up for standing her up.

 

We walked about downtown Melbourne and then caught the tram back to the port. ($3.20AUS).

 

As we were walking back up to the ship, we spotted a cafe intended for dog owners to stop at. I was planning to purchase a doggy tshirt (it has the name of the cafe and "Does this shirt make my bum look fat?" printed on it. My daughter is always dressing up her dog and I knew she would love it. I handed over my charge card - but they didn't take plastic (word of warning - in this port they don't like to run anything under $10 on credit cards) The young lady looked at me and said, "Here- please take it anyway". Although I don't favor big city ports - this generous young woman will make me always feel fondly towards Melbourne!

 

In countries like NZ and AUS where we are only paying 70-80 cents on the dollar, I highly recommend private tours over Princess.

1. You are paying their prices rather than US dollars on Princess

2. The smaller size makes for a much more enjoyable and custom tailored day

3. The ship tours don't actually leave until almost an hour after the time they tell you.

 

As an example of an excellent tour guide, let me tell you about Arthur in Dunedin. He was standing with an easy to see sign right on time. We had a very comfortable small coach. When we went to an area that was difficult for a passenger in our group that uses a mobility scooter - he made arrange ments for her to visit the penguin hospital. She keeps bragging that she saw more penguins than we did! Today I received an email from him just checking that we enjoyed our day - I think it was the highlight of our trip.

 

I would also say the Ian Holroyd in Tauranga did a very nice job of setting up our tour and Michelle, our guide, was a lovely girl.

 

I'm a private tour convertee!

[margord]

Thanks again for all the great information.

[kaseyoz]

thanks for the update.

glad to hear you had a great day in melbourne.

yes you will find most places wont take credit cards under $10. Was the shirt actually under $10 that was a steal, hope your daughters dog looks very "slim" in his new shirt.

Hope your last day on the sapphire princess is just as magical.

 

karon

[cowprintrabbit]

As we were walking back up to the ship, we spotted a cafe intended for dog owners to stop at. I was planning to purchase a doggy tshirt (it has the name of the cafe and "Does this shirt make my bum look fat?" printed on it. My daughter is always dressing up her dog and I knew she would love it.

 

Me too! Do you remember the name of the shop? I will have to stop there and make sure I have cash.

 

My husband wanted me to ask you also how the beds are in the cabins. I keep telling him it is what it is at this point and we'll enjoy it no matter what - but he wants to know every little detail :rolleyes:

[mringenoldus]

Last Day

I received a call from the spa telling me I won 2nd place in the drawing and would receive $40 off a massage. I suspect this is a cleverly disquised marketing tool - but I went for it - and enjoyed it. ($79 for 60 minutes)

 

We then watched a cooking demo by the chef but skipped the galley tour which is interesting but I have seen a few times before.

 

We will attend a show this afternoon and then final horseracing and trivia.

 

The weather today is very nice and it will be great on deck or on the balcony.

 

The beds are fine. The bed is king sized and has now midle gap when the singles are pushed together. We have a foam mattress at home so nothing ever seems as good as that but I can't complain about these either. There is a spread on during the day which the steward removes at evening service and then it is covered with the duvet. Princess bedding is not quite as luxurious as the new RCCL - but still very nice.

 

I am going to have to go check on the name of the dog cafe - but you can't miss it. As you walk back towards the peir, it is the last building on the right hand side. There are about 6 dog bowls out front that make a "canine fountain". The shirt was listed as $30 AUS - so the girl was amazingly generous. They only take cash.

 

I'll send info on disembarkation and Sydney after we arrive home! Ciao for now!!

[mistresskate]

 

Besides the regular laundry, which also has irons, they have both laundry and dry cleaning service. My husband's shirts were $3 each to launder and press. The self-serve laundry is a little busy but I have gotten a machine each time I went. Maybe just lucky?

 

Congratulations on the wedding!! The staff mentioned that there were no weddings this trip but a couple on the next. This will be a wonderful honeymoon to remember.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for the info and the good wishes! :D

 

Kate

[cowprintrabbit]

The beds are fine. The bed is king sized and has now midle gap when the singles are pushed together. We have a foam mattress at home so nothing ever seems as good as that but I can't complain about these either. There is a spread on during the day which the steward removes at evening service and then it is covered with the duvet. Princess bedding is not quite as luxurious as the new RCCL - but still very nice.

 

I am going to have to go check on the name of the dog cafe - but you can't miss it. As you walk back towards the peir, it is the last building on the right hand side. There are about 6 dog bowls out front that make a "canine fountain". The shirt was listed as $30 AUS - so the girl was amazingly generous. They only take cash.

 

I'll send info on disembarkation and Sydney after we arrive home! Ciao for now!!

 

Thank you! Have a wonderful rest of your trip!!!! If you ever get to Seattle look me up at cowprintrabbit@hotmail.com

[jasl]

Thanks for letting us "sail along", your reports have clarified a few items. We will be boarding the Sapphire April 17th for a 29 day voyage. SAFE TRAVELS HOME.

[margord]

Have a nice trip home.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Welcome to Sydney.

Thank you for your great reports on the cruise.

 

24 March 2007 9.30am

[mringenoldus]

We arrived home this evening after many hours of flight. It was very sad to see the Sapphire in the Sydney harbor knowing we wouldn't be getting back on.

 

Disembarkation was fairly smooth and began by 7AM. We waited with friends we met onboard in the Platinum Lounge. Then it was time to get in the fairly long taxi line. Had I realized how close our hotel was - we would have probably considered just walking.

 

I can't say enough good things about the Sir Stamford, It is in a perfect location and the rooms are very large and comfortable. This hotel is a great value for the luxury and proximity. The hotel is located across from the Botanical Gardens and less than a 5 minute walk from the fery booking area. We could actually see the front of the sapphire from our balcony window.

 

We purchased the day tripper (15.40 AUS) and headed to Darling Harbor and to Manly beach. the day was beautiful - but a bit warm. Late in the day it began to rain and it was much cooler after that. My husband really enjoyed the Martime Museum. Admission is free but they charge to tour some of the ships. (Figure 8o cents AUS to our dollar) There are tons of places to eat to chose from.

 

We took Air Pacific home. The airline is just fine and once again we had at least 4 feet in front of our emergency row. Fiji is a very warm humid area - and beware - they will not let you carry on anything chocolate even though they sell it 3 feet away after you go through the security area. The security person said that it was a new rule in the US beginning in March - I'm not buying it - but maybe I'm wrong.

 

We did like the on demand movie system on Air New Zealand a bit better than the Air Pacific system of running at certain times.

 

This is an awesome cruise - go for it!

 

Next up for us - the Celebrity Journey to Bermuda in October and then the Island Princess to Panama in December. Can't wait!

[qld cruiser]

Hi Maureen, I am sorry we never met up at the wheelhouse lounge , passport collection etc stopped us. when we arrived there were people everywhere.....

We must have beaten you sometimes at trivia.....we had 26 tickets each at the end ..all in good fun..

We had a great cruise, so much we are going again next year.

You gave a great review. thank you.

kindest regards, Lorraine:) :)

[mringenoldus]

Hi Lorraine!

I'm sorry we didn't meet you! I would have recruited you to our trivia team!!

Hope you have a good day back in the real world. I'm off to work.

Maureen

[pmcrusta]

Enjoyed your posts on your cruise well done...We'll be taking a cruise there next year and coming across to San Francisco. We can't wait.