Monday, July 25, 2011

Sail Away

Waking up in Sydney, B and I then made our way to Wharf 5 to board the Pacific Jewel, for our 10 day cruise. Meeting Fiona and Dave as we dropped our luggage off, we walked through the tent to commence the boarding process.

Now this trip was an invite we had received from Fi at the beginning of the year, but with uni placement planned, I had thought it would not work for me. But as it happened, it fell into place nicely, with a winter escape found, and the chance to celebrate Fiona's 50th with her and her school mates, and a bunch of other mates from all over. The group numbered 25, with B, Dillo and I, Fi and Dave, 5 kids, the mayor of half of Queensland, a couple currently living in PNG, and of course, a pair from Ballarat!

Dillo found us as we were waiting to board, and we went through customs, being spotted by one of our group just from our chatter in the line! We then found our room down on Deck 8, before we found the soon to be favourite bar at the back of the ship, on the Oasis Deck. Beer in hand, sun shining, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge in our sights - perfect start!

The 3 of us then made our way to the top desk, ready for the sail away party, meeting the rest of the group, and watching our ship pull out from port, out under the Bridge, past the Opera House, and into the harbour. As the sun set, the city grew smaller on our horizon.

The three of us had our first dinner at the Waterfront Restaurant, for an amazing 5 courses, giving us a glimpse of the next 9 days of food! A bar crawl ensued, naturally, so we could check out all 8 bars on board, picking up Fi and Dave, Pete and Narda along the way.

The next 2 days at sea consisted of serious relaxation time in the sun, on the deck of Oasis, at the back of the ship. Lunch, or Linner really, after Brunch at the end of the breakfast buffet time, before starting with a late afternoon cocktail to begin the night. The second night we joined the large group for Sports Trivia at the Casbar, before dinner at Waterfront, where we met more of the larger group.

Nights ended up reaching The Attic, the nightspot on board, until stumps, then the best sleep, before starting again the next day. Awesome!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...