As you all know, my big Australian adventure has begun. I have failed to keep this blog updated since I have been posting on Facebook. I will try to summarize what has happened so far and update daily when possible. To keep down the weight on my carry on luggage I didn’t bring my computer on this trip and will be doing the update through my iPad which will be a little more time consuming.
I am traveling with Mary P on this trip. It has been a while since we have cruised but we are picking up where we left off.
We used air miles for this whole trip so we will be traveling in either business or first class the whole trip. We boarded Japan Airlines flight 11 from DFW to Tokyo Narita on Monday, March 19 around noon. We each had a little self contained pod with aisle access for our seats. I sat in the window seat which was really private. There were lots of on demand movies to choose from which I took advantage of. We also had a USB port for charging our devices as well as an outlet. The remote control had a place where you could place food and drink orders on demand. This was a 13 hour flight and out of that time I only slept about an hour. It was a long flight but I was comfortable.
We arrived to Tokyo around 3:30 or so on Tuesday, March 20. We had to go through in transit security which was very quick. Our layover in Tokyo was only about 2 hours or so and we were able to spend that time in the Sakura Lounge.
Our flight from Tokyo to Sydney was on Japan Airlines flight 771. This flight was about a 9 hour flight. By the time I got on that flight I was exhausted. I didn’t even make it all the way through the meal service until I told them I was done and to take everything away. I was off to sleep in my lay flat bed. Unfortunately I was only able to sleep about 3 hours but that helped refresh me.
Our flight landed on Wednesday, March 21 about 15 minutes early in Sydney. Immigration and luggage retrieval was fast. We had arranged for a car to pick us up through the Shangri-la Hotel. It was only a little after 7 in the morning and traffic was terrible. Once to the Hotel we checked in. We had reserved a Horizon Club Grand Harbor Opera House View. This room was not yet available but we were able to go up to the Horizon Club and have breakfast and relax. Around 11:00 they gave us a day room so we could go get some rest and at around 2 or 3 they called and said our room was available so we moved to our new room on the 33rd floor which nice with an amazing view but very small. Our day room was much larger but on the 6th floor so had no view. We were able to shower and change into fresh clothes. We wanted to go out but it was raining so we decided to rest up and see if it would stop raining. When we woke it was dark so we decided to stay in for the night so went to a hotel restaurant for dinner.
We woke up bright and early Thursday morning March 22. After getting dressed for the day we went up to the Horizon. Club for breakfast. We were meeting my friend Kris today for a Captain Cooks Harbor Lunch Cruise. I first met Kris on an Alaskan cruise in 2011. She is from Sydney and Krista and I met up with her in 2012 when we visited Sydney. Kris then visited Dallas a few years ago and I picked her up at her hotel and drove her around Dallas and to Southfork Ranch for a tour. We then finished up with a trip to visit Krista at her house and Kris got to meet Benjamin.
We met Kris at the Four Seasons hotel which was only about a block from our hotel. She walked us through an area with quaint little shops and we stopped at a coffee shop where we had a latte and some nice catching up. We soon walked to the harbor and boarded our boat for our lunch cruise. It was good that Kris was with us because there was no commentary and she gave us the history of places and explained what we were seeing. The food was delicious and so was the New Zealand wine that Kris purchased for us. After getting off the boat we walked over to the Opera House where we walked inside the lobby. We decided not to do a tour but did look around where we could. We said our goodbyes and parted ways. Kris wants us to come back and stay with her so she can show us other places that we wouldn’t be able to see otherwise. I sure wish I could take her up on that.
Friday March 23 we had breakfast at the Horizon Club again. It was supposed to rain again so we were slow leaving the hotel as we had planned to do a Big Bus Hop On Hop Off Tour. Luckily the rain stayed away so we had a good day of it. I had a hard time understanding what they were saying on the commentary but enjoyed seeing what I saw. It was around 5:00 when we got finished with our tour so we were hungry. We went back to the same coffee shop that Kris took us to and had a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel. Once back to the hotel we were in for the evening.
Our hotel is in an area called The Rocks. It is at the top of a hill so we have to plan our way back and forth to keep from climbing too much. Going down the hill we go in the back of the Four Seasons which is on level 3 and ride the elevator down to the 1st floor. That puts us on level ground for the harbor. There are stairs to either go up or down between our hotel and the Four Seasons. The stairs are an easier climb than a steep street.
Saturday March 24 was the day that we boarded the ship. After eating breakfas we went ahead and settled up our bill and asked them to have someone to come collect our luggage at 10:45. We had arranged to have an 11 passenger van to pick us up at 11:00 and then on to pick up David and Beth at the Four Seasons so we could ride together to the port.
David was my boss at the City many years ago. When I told him we were going on this cruise he said that he and Beth wanted to go also. This is their first cruise so we showed them all the steps to take gettting on the ship.
We arrived to the port a little before Noon and they were already boarding. Checking in and getting on board was fast. We went straight to our cabins and dropped our stuff off and then off to the dining room for lunch. After lunch we walked around a bit on the ship and then back to our cabin for a rest before dinner. We ate at the steakhouse the first night. This is usually the highlight of the cruise. We were the only ones in there and in my opinion the food was subpar.
This ship is a smaller Princess ship than I have been on and seems to be chopped up on how to get around. Certain elevators only go to certain decks. We are on deck 9 and the dining room is on deck 6. The elevator near our cabin only goes to deck 7. If we ride that elevator, we get off on deck 7 and then walk down to mid ship and go down 1 more level. Another way wotid to be to stay on deck 9 and walk to the middle of the ship and go down to deck 6 that way.
This will take a bit to get used to but I am sure we can handle it.
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