A Big cruise.

Another big adventure – starting in UK, cruising across to Panama Canal and ending with a cruise around Australia. I couldn’t decide in which blog site to put this trip…. Aroundaus or aroundeurope thenI thought that it was almost staying home… as we settled into our cabin on the cruise ship, the Astor, because it was like being in the motorhome, a home away from home. But I finally decided on bigtripalmostaroundaus.blogspot.com because we spent 9 days sailing ‘around aus’. The internet on board the ship was expensive, very slow and hard to access so we didn’t use it. These blog posts were done once we arrived home so I apologise for any weird grammatical tense changes.

We flew Business Class with Cathay Pacific and from the moment that we arrived at Perth Airport it was wonderful. We didn’t have to queue to check in and then we went along to the lounge to wait. We were told that there was a 20 minute delay with the departure but we didn’t mind, it was no hardship to sit in the lounge enjoying a couple of glasses of Shiraz and some cheese and biscuits. We were scheduled to fly out at 23:55 but weren’t called to the departure gate until 00:30. At the gate we walked past the long queue and straight through the Business Class lane, definitely starting to like this. We settled into our beautiful seats, I enjoyed a glass of champagne and then we were in the air.

We pushed the button, our seats became our beds and we fell asleep. There was some turbulence and I remember the hostess lifting the duvet to check that I did have my seat belt on but then it was almost 6.00am, just 2 hours before landing. Michael napped on for another hour, whilst most of the cabin had breakfast. When he woke an hour later he was served his breakfast. Not a plastic wrapped, take it or leave it affair. The table was covered with a linen cloth, we were shown and offered a choice of meals and the coffee was very hot and fresh.

(I have been joking that now that we have Aldi supermarkets in WA we can afford to fly business class!)

At Hong Kong we had a short walk, passed through security and then a longer walk along to the next departure gate. We asked at the information desk where the ‘lounge’ was – two out of the three people behind the desk didn’t speak English. Things have changed in Hong Kong!

We found the departure gate but as we only had 10 minutes before we could board we didn’t walk the extra 5 minutes along to the lounge.

Once again, separate, smooth boarding and by 9.30 we were in the air.

We lay down and were soon asleep again.

We enjoyed another fabulous meal, and I enjoyed a couple of glasses of NZ Sauvignon Blanc

We landed at Heathrow slightly ahead of schedule, at 15:10, used our “invitations to Fast Track” to pass through immigration, now called Border Control ( a very long walk from the arrivals gate), and went to the baggage claim.

The last time we flew we lost a bag on our arrival so I was a bit nervous, one bag was just passing us on the conveyor as we walked up, as Michael was putting that on the trolley I grabbed a second bag, then we waited….. I was trying not to worry when I looked over to the side where a number of ‘Priority’ bags were standing – there was our third bag.

By 15:25 we were walking out of the arrivals gate and there was a little man standing there with our name on a sign – perfect organisation and timing. I was almost sad not to be flying home with Cathy but I think that the cruise will soften the blow.

I have told Michael that it’s Business Class for all long haul flights from now on, and I haven’t had any argument.

We were in St Albans by 16:30 and the start of our brief UK stay.

The next morning Jim, Michael’s brother, took us to the town of Hitchin. It was market day in town.

What a lovely little town, we were pleasantly surprised at how old the town was, the town square was very European (is that a bad thing to say in Brexit UK?). We had lunch at a very, very nice tapas bar and then discovered the many, many Op Shops (Charity Shops) in the town. We only bought 4 books with the thought in mind of leaving 2 of them behind in the ship’s library.

The next day my brother drove over from Reading to spend the day with us. After a coffee we all walked into St Albans and strolled through the market before stopping for a quick lunch and onto the Abbey. My brother is a very keen photographer and enjoyed the Abbey grounds and interior. We had timed our visit to coincide with an organ recital – what an emotional high as the giant instrument thundered into it’s wonderful melodic notes.

We walked back to Jim’s and sat talking for the rest of the afternoon before John headed home.

That evening we had a very nice Indian take away.

The next day we met an old friend for lunch and had a great time remembering people and places. The following day we went out with Jim to a couple of Garden Centres, (when did nurseries become Garden Centres with huge gift shops and coffee shops?)  We were stunned not just by these amazing 'topiaries' / fake grass but by the price.

Saturday is also market day in St Albans so I popped down the street to make sure that I hadn’t missed any bargains on Wednesday – I hadn’t. I was home just before Michael’s nephew arrived for a quick visit before heading on to support his football team. (Reading, against QPR).

Just a short time after he went to catch his train his mother and sister arrived, then we all went into St Albans for a very lovely lunch at “Freddies” restaurant.

That evening I rearranged the packing into 4 lighter bags as the cruise company didn’t mind how many bags we had as long as each one weighed less than 20kgs, and then we were all set for the next morning and the taxi out to Essex and The London Cruise Terminal at Tilbury.

We had booked a taxi for 9.00am and sure enough, 9.00am on the dot it arrived. The weather was miserable, cold and wet but as we drove around the M25 we could see clear sky in the distance and as we crossed into the county of Essex the sun came out. Quite unusual for Essex!

The journey took just under 1 hour and we were pleased not to find long queues of people at the Terminal. We did have to join a short queue but once registered and through security we were on board and escorted to our cabin.

The cabin is lovely. The bed is HUGE, the furniture and décor are very nice, the bathroom isn’t too small and the window is a good size. There’s a tv and a mini fridge – we don’t need anything else.

Our bags took a while to make it to our cabin but we spent the time exploring the ship.

 At 12.00 noon we had the emergency life boat drill and here we met Ralph and Hanny (our dear friends who had decided to join us on this grand trip) and a spotted another acquaintance, a friend of a friend. Standing on the deck in our life vests we set sail. Wearing my fluoro green windcheater and orange life vest I must have been quite visible because everyone on shore that I waved to waved back.

We paused up on deck for a while watched a fire boat approach with it’s massive water spray. 

Then we went down to start the cruise – FOOD. Lunch was excellent, it all bodes very well.

We settled into our home for the next 54 days.

All bags unpacked and clothes hung in the wardrobe, nothing seemed to be too creased so a visit down to the ‘ironing room’ wasn’t needed.

That evening the dress code for dinner was ‘casual’ so everyone was very relaxed.

The food was good and the portions not too generous. With appetiser, soup, salad, main and dessert we are not going to go hungry. Unfortunately the coffee is putrid. Absolutely dreadful.

All cruise reviews and critiques mention the fact that coffee lovers have to pay extra to get a decent cup. We should have paid more attention and brought a jar of Nescafe instant with us.

We decided to eat lunch and breakfast in the more casual Buffet restaurant rather than the full service Waldorf restaurant. Here the waiter service is basic. The staff are doing a job and seem to have had instructions rather than training, but are pleasant and friendly.

We went up to the promenade deck. 4 ½ laps make 1 kilometre. Starting as I mean to go on, I do 9 laps morning and afternoon, thankfully at the ‘coffee station’ there is a selection of herbal teas to enjoy.

Michael is missing his caffeine though so we have to find a supermarket in Funchal, our first stop, and hope to buy some decent instant coffee.

The next evening’s dress code is Formal and before dinner we have the Meet the Captain Cocktail Party. Champagne amd orange juice all round , and we get to see the heads of the various departments on board. We have a mix of Eastern European countries and were surprised to find that the head chef and most kitchen staff are Indian. Hopefully the curries will be good. The Captain in Greek and is very pleasant and then surprised everyone by singing a couple of songs. This is something he will be doing later in the cruise too, luckily he has a pleasant voice.

We are on the second sitting for dinner and this starts at 8.15pm. It’s obviously proving a little late for a lot of people as a lot of tables are empty. (In fact on later formal dinner night we are the only people at our table for 6. )

The next 2 nights we follow the trend and along with Ralph and Hanny head along to the more relaxed style buffet restaurant, choosing to eat around 7.15pm. This gives us time to enjoy the 8.00pm show or sit with a drink listening to the relaxing music in the bar.

We didn’t opt to take out the $29 a head ‘drinks package’ ($34 once on board) as we don’t drink THAT much, and are happy to have one or two drinks each evening.

Hanny and I decided to try a frozen daiquiri, mine was with strawberry  – absolutely yum!

Some of the drinks seem a little expensive, a Becks Blue, non alcoholic beer is $6, but a soft drink is $4 and a small glass of house wine is $5. Cocktails are around $9. The bottles of wine start at $24 for Mateus Rose and a very nice Italian Pinot Grigio is $33. Everyone naturally, keeps comparing the wine prices to what they’d be paying if they bought it at Dan Murphy’s, really they should be comparing it to what they’d pay in a licensed restaurant in the city.

We easily spot the people who have taken out the drinks package, they’re the ones wobbling around with a drink constantly in their hands.