Geo: 37.7792, -122.42Sunday 22/03/09 At Sea Temps Air 14°C Sea 13°C The C Word - COMPENSATION Since the breakdown of the ship after leaving Sydney there's been nothing but moaning, some of it valid and understandable, for us personally missing the South Sea Islands out of the itinerary was a bitter disappointment but some things you just can't change or influence. When we left Auckland a team of Customer Relations staff boarded the ship and upon entering our cabin information had been left outlining the compensation to be paid for the missed ports and inconvenience suffered. The information provided was ambiguous to say the least so I made an appointment to see the Customer Relations staff to clarify the position, whilst she was very professional the offer as explained by her was whole unsatisfactory and I ... read more

Geo: -36.8474, 174.766Thursday 12/03/09 Auckland - New Zealand (Still) Temps Air 24°C Woke up not a sound, no movement, no rocking, (come on keep it clean I know what you're thinking) yup we're still in port. Having showered we went for breakfast to await the announcement as to what was happening, (a quick look out on deck showed the gangways and all the customs paraphernalia removed) Finally we were informed that the final bout of testing indicated a fault in the oil line supplying the new thrust bearing (are you thinking what I'm thinking?) and it was anticipated that we'd now be sailing around 18:00 subject to satisfactory repairs to the oil line. As we had to be back on board by 16:00 we decided to catch a bus to Takapuna, a little town we noticed ... read more

Geo: -36.8474, 174.766Thursday 05/03/09 At Sea going slowly Temps Air 26°C Headset Harry I thought I'd give you another insight to some of the passengers on board; I've named this person headset Harry. As I've previously said in order to guarantee being able to use the gym's equipment when it opens in the morning you have to start queuing around 07:35 at the latest, and like myself headset Harry is one of the first people there. Without being to derogatory I need to paint the picture I'm faced with most morning, however I in no way wish to ridicule the guy as I think that given his age of 70+ the mere fact that he regularly attends gym is to be encouraged and it's a testament to his commitment. Each morning he attends dressed in an ... read more

Geo: -27.4676, 153.028Thursday 26/02/09 At Sea Temps Air 28°C Sea 28°C Whilst I written much about what where we've been and the ports visited, and touched on the profile of my fellow passengers but I've missed what may be of interest to some of you, that is what's life like aboard ship. Well a bit of back ground info firs, there's 2 main restaurants which are the ones used in the evening for fixed seating in addition to, one themed restaurant managed by restaurateur Marco Pierre White as well as another smaller more sophisticated open air restaurant at the stern of the ship, both of these restaurants apply extra charges for evening meals only, however the service and cuisine is superb. In addition there's a fulltime buffet restaurant on the 12th deck, a bar / café ... read more

Geo: -19.2581, 146.818Tuesday 24/02/09 Townsville - Australia Temps Air 31°C Sea 28°C Townsville is a bit of an anomaly as there's not much to do here and as it's positioned between both Port Douglas and the Whitsundays which is our next port of call most attractions mean you've got to travel towards one or the other. The one major attraction it does have is the Reef HQ aquarium, which is the only living reef aquarium in the world, and the ticket provides for as many return trips as you like during the day, a boon if you want to return at the many different feeding times. It's a great set up and well worth a visit, and it's obviously a much cheaper alternative to actually visiting the reef, but at the end of the day there's ... read more