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World cruise 2010. Dawn Princess departing Sydney, 21st May, 2010.
DAY 1. Embarkation. Saturday, 21st May.
Well, after reading some nightmarish reports about the embarkation process we were pleasantly surprised to find that it was quite well ordered and efficient. We were booked in and through Customs in about 55 minutes and walking up the gangway onto our fabulous ship. We then walked about 30 feet onto the deck and experienced our first brush with ‘The money machine’ process of cruising, the ‘embarkation photographs’ where a bright and effervescent young lady with a Colgate smile corralled all boarding passengers, placed them in front of a painted beach scene and the ubiquitous Palm tree whilst a large gentleman with camera snapped away. Not wanting to be seen as an ‘easy target’ I blithely ignored all her treaties with a polite ‘No thank you’.
We were shepherded into the world of the cruise liner and what a sight it was to behold. A truly magnificent, eye opening introduction to how the other half live. Sheer opulence wrapped up in a blanket of maritime grandeur. To say that we were impressed would be a massive understatement. We were then shown to our inside ‘Staterooms’ which are more than adequate for the journey ahead. Laughingly referred to ‘Broom closets’ by those who were wealthy and haughty enough to have outside suits with balconies who shelled out around an extra $13,000 for the privilege, we found them to be well furnished, with adequate hanging and cupboard space and around the same size as many of the motel rooms we have stayed at over the years. We met our Filipino Cabin Steward, Lou, a lovely man who look after your every need.
After unpacking we decided to explore our new sea faring hotel and were mightily impressed. An absolute paradise with so much to see and do. One of the first things that strike you is the number of dining rooms and restaurants and the amount and quality of the food, on tap 24 hours a day’ that is on offer. I have never seen any land based hotel of this quality in my life. I couldn’t sleep last night and at 2am I went to the Horizons restaurant for a drink. I was the only customer and the five waiters fought over who was having the honour of serving me. They are all Filipino or Indian and they run around shouting ‘Fair dinkum’ and ‘How’s it hanging mate’ in funny accents, they are a scream. I taught them today to say “Sharks in the Billabong’ and ‘Hooroo mate’. The whole crew are amazingly friendly and helpful.
The onboard cabarets are fabulous and very professional and the entertainment singers are great. Plenty of entertainment going on all day and night. Last night they broadcast the State of Origin on the massive outdoor Movies under the stars screen, we had NSW supporters on one side the the deck, Qld on the other, waiter service and it was the most unusual Origin viewing I have ever experienced. All the Victorian, SA and WA AFL supporters stayed away. There must have been a couple of hundred fans sitting around the
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pool and bars and what a surprise, everyone stood for the Anthem and sang with gusto. All in all has been a fabulous 5 days at sea with excellent service. Linda had a nice surprise on board. One of the shows was a singer who had a show singing John Denver songs. He was a personal friend of Denver and had a look of him too. Lyn missed his shows and saw him one night on the deck having as glass of wine. She approached him and said she was sorry that she missed his show as she was a big fan of John Denver. He told her that he would be getting off in Darwin but because she was such a big fan he would sing just for her, so he picked up his guitar and serenaded her with 2 Denver songs, she loved
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Thursday,the 27th May, DARWIN.
The ship docked at 7.45am in Darwin Harbour. The Territory is now in the DRY season and guess what ? It was raining. In the Territory that can only mean one thing, when the sun comes out it will be hot and steamy. It most certainly was. Around 9.30am it was massively oppressive and steamily hot. We caught our shuttle bus (a 4 minute drive and $7 each way per person) and walked around the Town centre. It has certainly changed since I was last here 26 years ago. A very modern and cosmopolitan city just like Sydney and Melbourne except with a sauna complex. It’s difficult to believe that this City has been bombed in WW2 by the Japanese and completely flattened and destroyed by Cyclone Tracy in the 70s.
We paid a visit to the Crocosaurus Cove, an crocodile centre right in the middle of the city where we saw some of the largest crocs I have ever seen, including ‘Burt’ the large Croc that starred in ‘Crocodile Dundee’. We got the opportunity to hold a 12 months old baby croc and had photo’s with it. The agro little sod took exception to me trying to give it a kiss and went from a docile lizard into a berserk man eater on steroids, trying to hit me with it’s tail. I was amazed at the power and strength of such a small animal.
We then had a bus ride out to Fanny Bay where we went to the old Fanny Bay Gaol which opened Lindas eyes as to the conditions crims lived in during the old days and up until the 1970s. We caught the bus back to Darwin then went to Coles to stock up on items we would need over the next 6 weeks. It turns out that even though the ships regulations stated that no alcohol be taken back on board (except one bottle of wine per person) the majority of Aussies smuggled tons on board. They almost bought out the whole stock of beer and spirits at Coles and Woolies. God knows how they got it through the ships screening process I’m stuffed if I know.
After walking around in the sauna like conditions for 5 hours we decided that enough was enough and returned to the ship hot and bedraggled. If this is a precursor to what we are going to experience in Bali, Singapore and other stops we are in for a very steamy time Still, it was an hours exhausted sleep, a nice shower then off to the restaurants again and a show to follow. Gee it’s a hard life, eh ? Bali next stop in 2 Days time.
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One thing I must mention though, around 90% of the passengers aboard are in the mid to late 70s and 80s and the ship is like a floating aged care facility. Linda lost me in the Departure lounge amongst the throng but thought I would be easy to spot with my white hair. WRONG. About 2000 people there had white hair.
I have christened the ship the ‘Geriatrics Galleon’ . Unfortunately some of the younger passengers are fitness freaks and spend most of the day in the ships Gym or walking/running around the deck, all overtaking me with my bad knees. I actually overtook a passenger yesterday for the firsts time but only because his walking frame got stuck in the decking boards. Getting near the food smorgasboard is an art in itself. Most the the ‘older persons’ charge the cuisine as though they are getting their last feed on this mortal coil and it’s all arms, legs, pushing, shoving and I’m sure some would even bite if they had their dentures in. They are a good bunch in general though.
You would not believe it though, two of the passengers are old workmates of mine.
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Stuart
non-member comment
Sea Legs
Hi Linda and Barry,See you got your sea legs and hope your not sea sick lol.Sounds like your enjoying it all wish I was with you .Take Care Stuart and Maureen