We booked something online from Sydney
But when you’re there you just get what you’re given.
Somehow we jagged The White Dolphin
& it was the biz.
Only two immaculate rooms on the boat.
Book two nights not one.
Don’t get the cabins at the back nearest the motor…
Constant diesel fumes & generator noise.
Food just keeps on coming.
Fish cakes, soup, noodles
Chicken [...]
Everyone wants a balcony cabin, and that’s got cruise lines going to some extraordinary lengths to add more of them to older ships, while many new ships are ‘all balcony’ cabins.
Holland America have taken one of their older ships and added balconies, calling them ‘Lanai Cabins’. They have added an entire new deck to the [...]
Pacific Dawn – Dawn Princess, two similar ships with, unfortunately a similar problem – swine flu. They are both in Australian waters most of the year and everyone I know gets them mixed up (including me). On the nightly news they invariably run news file footage of the wrong ship. Maybe a name change of [...]
After an intense introduction into the crazy, dirty, fabulous world of Vietnam, a 2 day cruise on a luxury junk on Halong Bay in the South China Sea was much anticipated. My husband and I had read the guidebooks and were enticed by the ‘must-see’ description of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre of Halong [...]
Do I travel on all the ships I write about? Well I certainly try, but of course it’s physically impossible. I just had to cancel two cruises due to sickness; St Vincent’s Hospital got my money instead of the cruise lines. Hope to make up for it later in the year. Fortunately [...]
Let family and friends know your travel plans, and provide someone at home with a copy of your itinerary.
Do your homework regarding destinations; learn a bit about the cultures you’ll be visiting.
Before embarking, ensure you have proper insurance and health coverage.
Keep hotel addresses and phone numbers handy.
If you get sick or injured, call the nearest [...]
I recently attended a lunch at Quay restaurant at Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal, to celebrate Hurtigruten cruises expansion into the Australian market. While the meal was incredible, it was a realisation I had about cruising that really struck me.
While cruising is usually just one way to travel, an option to consider among many others, in [...]
I’m not going to name the ship because this is not a first hand report. One of my friends returned home early, half way through a 4 week cruise around the Pacific. He and his wife jumped ship in Honolulu and flew home (at considerable extra expense) to Sydney after 2 weeks of their 4-week [...]
Cruises Australia