(Tom) Cruise – Day Two & Day Three

Ahoy landlubbers and welcome to a blog entry posted from the middle of the Tasman Sea, and quite a rough sea at that. Currently, the waves are 15ft high and lashing against the side of the ship as it carves its way to the Bay of Islands. The weather is a bit overcast and windy, but bearable and I have managed to pick up panda eyes because I stayed in the sun too long with my shades on. Bugger!
Okay, onto the grubby details. The ship is enormous and packed with everything you could want. There is a well equipped gym with fitness instuctors to aid the oldies and noobs with their health related issues. In the same part of the ship is a beauty treatment area that offers all the treatments you could wish for at fairly reasonable prices (although the therapists were a little put out when I enquirer about colonic irrigation). Elsewhere on the ship there are boutique shops, restaurants galore, swimming pools (currently closed due to the motion of the ship), cinemas, theatres, half-size basketball court, a netted area for hitting golf balls, cafes, a casino, a nightclub, bars a plenty and all manner of info sessions, special events and entertainers. It really is like a gloating holiday resort, and we haven’t even docked at one of our ports of call yet. Phew!
Now it’s time to talk about the motion of the boat and sea sickness. At the moment I haven’t found it to be too much of a problem but I have had to take a couple of tablets just to stave off that feeling you get from being on a boat. The weirdest sensation is when the boat rocks, not from side-to-side, but from front to back. When the front of the ship rises you suddenly feel lighter and taller but as it sinks down you get the sensation of being squashed and feeling heavier. It is quite unusual and a little off putting. There is a little swaying too but the ship does a fairly good job of minimising this by using stabilisers (a bit disappointed to find they’re not a big set of wheels like on a kid’s bike), but you can still feel it and sometimes it resembles turbulence on a plane. Every now and again you get quite a lot of sideways motion and the doors and draws in the cabin come open. Weird, but cool.
The cabins are pretty good and more spacious than we imagined they would be. There’s quite a lot of storage space, comfortable beds and an adequately sized shower room / toilet. Room service is also available and will bring you pretty much anything you like (though I’m still waiting for my topless cheerleaders with pizza).
One thing that has amazed me is the colour of the sea because it is royal blue and sometimes almost purple and in complete contrast to the aqua and white of the boat’s wake.
Well it is time to go since I need to play some Fifa on my 3DS before getting ready for our New Year’s Eve celebrations. HNY everyone.

Posted to WordPress from my Windows Phone.

(Tom) Cruise – Day One

Day 1: Thursday 29th December 2011
The day started at 6am since we, well Bec, had to pack our suitcases for the cruise even though boarding didn’t begin until midday (no harm in being prepared). After a quick visit to Sydney’s ever-busy airport to pick up the outlaws (Bec’s parents) and enjoying a tasty Turkish breakfast we decided to leave Darling Harbour for Circular Quay, and the International Cruise Liner Terminal.
There wasn’t much waiting around and within an hour of arriving at the terminal we were on board and heading to our cabin. The wow factor of a vessel like the Sea Princess is enormous and nothing prepares you for what is on board. To begin with it is all a bit overwhelming because there is an inbuilt urgency to see and do everything in the first 30 seconds. This, for me, brings out Mr. Annoyed who only gets packed off once I have had a bit of time to chill and take things in at a slightly slower pace, which is what’s happening now. I am typing this entry on my phone on the top deck of the boat in glorious sunshine with a coffee by my side. Glorious.
We have a little under two hours before departure and the holiday really begins. Our first stop is the Bay of Islands on New Year’s Day, which is also when our next post will be (the ship’s wifi is mega-bucks).
So until then good readers, bon voyage.

Posted from my Windows Phone (have you got yours yet?).

Posted to WordPress from my Windows Phone.

Cruise to New Zealand (but not with Tom)

Hello readers. If you don’t already know, we Cassons are embarking upon a 14 day cruise around New Zealand that starts from Sydney on the 29th December 2011. However, after getting Christmas out of the way, we had to get ourselves to Sydney. Fly or drive? Well driving was the preferred choice and began at 6am on the 27th December, and finished at 4pm the same day. The drive was easy and cruise control was employed for a lot of it. Point and steer: beautiful.
Now we are looking forward to the cruise which leaves Sydney, adjacent to the Opera House, at 4pm on the 29th December.
Excited doesn’t begin to describe how we are feeling at the moment.
So, keep coming back to see what the Cassons get up to in NZ.
Bon voyage lovely readers.

Posted to WordPress from my Windows Phone.

Three and Not Out

Hello good readers.
It’s hard to believe it has been over two months since our last post but that run is about to end as this post heads on in.
Christmas 2012, our third in Oz, has all but ended. It was a busy affair and held at our place for the first time. There was plenty of food and drink, and sunshine. The sun shone all day (well weird for an Englishman at this time of year) and hit a high of 28oC.
Everything went smoothly and everyone left suitably bloated and complaining they’d eaten too much. The day drew to an end at about 8:30pm as the sun began to set and its warmth lessened, however the feeling of over indulging continued on for quite some time.
So our third Australian Christmas has been and gone but the feeling that it is soooooo different to what we are used to hasn’t, but we are all happy to give it a go next year to see if our impressions have changed in any way; and if they haven’t we’ll have to just keep going until we know nothing else. Shame (tee-hee).
Merry Christmas one-and-all.
The Cassons.
P.S. We’re off to Sydney in a few days to catch a 13 night cruise around New Zealand so keep coming back for updates. BFN good readers.

Posted to WordPress from my Windows Phone.