Day 2 We had complimentary breakfast and needed to be there before 9am, so had set an earlish alarm. The buffet consisted of rice, noodles, deep fried sweet hotdogs, fried eggs and a slightly spicy dish and mushroom soup... it was good. A swim in the rooftop pool for an hour felt like we were officially on vacation. The weather was a balmy 32 degrees, slightly humid but exactly what we wanted. Packing our suitcase back up (We travel lightly, 17kg suitcase between us plus carry on) and we got a Grab to the airport. Air Asia asked us to check in 2 hours before and over an hour of that was spent in line for the bag drop. A quick lunch of sweet doughy buns filled with pork and a donut kept us saited. Our ... read more

Day 5 One of the first things I liked to do when I wake up was to open the curtains and admire the view. Today's view was turquoise and deep blue waters, an island full of palms and some pines and a rusty orange ship that was our introduction to the island of Marè..quaint. We joined a couple we didn't know for breakfast and chatted as you do. It's always nice to make new friends. Packing my larger of the two mermaid tails we took a small boat to the shore and a shuttle bus to Yejele Beach. There wasn't much in the way of tours at Marè. The shuttle ride provided glimpses of crystal clear waters, a few peak caps of white waves brushing against the shore, some magnificent rock/coral formations and plenty of greenery. ... read more

Day 6 The view once again from our balcony this morning was stunning. The Isle of Pines showed a beach to the left of white sand and an ocean split into a dark sea blue that shimmered like diamonds before meeting the land in an almost irridescent aquamarine. Taking a smaller boat to land the view again becoming postcard picture perfect loomed into a life size view. Disembarking off the boat we walked towards the left, mesmerized by the view. The white powder sand looked inviting and looking back toward the ship offered a spectacular view. Mangrove type trees lined the beach providing shelter to the many families already enjoying the tropical island. Small huts once again adorned the area offering a selection of food, drink, hairbraiding and massages. Looking over to the right another beach ... read more

Day 3 Another day at Sea. We chose the Empire silver service for breakfast. It just meant that I wasn't tempted to overstuff myself... I wanted to attend the ladies pamper session so went early as we had realised that some of the activities filled up fast. There was a semminar before it that I ended up sitting in on about detox and arch support... I'm so rocking this cruise.. anyways the pamper session was a cleanse, tone and moisturize with a quick makeover from something like a Thin Lizzy all in one make up thingy. We did most of it ourselves and of course the whole thing was a plug for the beauty services on board which were higher than normal prices (Adelaide prices anyway) Back at the cabin and spent a bit of time ... read more

Day 1 An early morning start of 4am to catch the red eye to Sydney saw us tired, however landing in Sydney the excitement increased. Kym and I were appropriately dressed for a cruise. I donned a navy and white nautical inspired outfit right down to my shoes and nails and Kym wore his Captain Hellfire tshirt and 3 quorn pirate hat, which had comments all day about him being Captain Jack Sparrow and his got excited seeing a real pirate. An uber shared between the four of us and we were at Circular Quay. Dropping off our suitcases at the terminal we had a few hours to kill before boarding and walked to the Opera House and bought our first celebratory drinks overlooking our cruise ship and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. The warm sun felt ... read more