Sunny side up

Finally the day is here and the 6 am alarm clock sounds like music in our ears, which means our long awaited cruise holiday starts now. A quick shower wakes us up, we are feeding our furry friends and hop in the car on our way to the airport. Traditionally we leave and arrive way too early, but we wanna make sure we are on time for our plane. We drop the car the off, a few streets up from the airport, a trick which used to work in Hoofddorp - Holland as well some 20 years ago. Within 5 minutes we catch up in the waiting cue for flight JS 409 which takes us to Sydney. To our surprise there is a little delay, but no reason to stress, we had booked our flights with enough spare time even if the plane was late for a few hours. A comfortable 2 hr flight drops us of two states to the east and we are arriving at a busy Sydney airport.

Not to forget to change our watches because they are 30 minutes ahead of us. The convenient underground train is only an 18 minute ride before we are dropped of right in the heart of Downtown Sydney at Circular Quai. While walking of the platform we can already see the huge monster of a boat moored near “The Rocks” in Sydney harbor and opposite the Opera house. Wow, we both are excited, our holiday is not far away, or has it all ready begun ? I can't wait to shoot some pictures and we take time for a few shots once we are down in the harbour. Enough Japanese tourists to help us out.

It’s a half sunny day and the walk to the baggage drop off point is nice and comfortable. We hear traditional aboriginal music from the local black fellas with their white painted faces who are performing and trying to sell us their cds. They give the place a special feel. Within two minutes we have handed over our luggage and head of to the city centre for some last minute shopping (yes I love this part not). Angela convinces me that this is really important and we have to do this, all right........ After she has completed all the necessary visits to several shops, we head back to the harbor and hop onboard the ship. Without too much trouble we complete the formalities, go through the customs and look for our cabin on deck five at the starboard side of the ship. The ships name is the Carnival Spirit which was completely refurbished back in 2009. This is pretty obvious and we look around in the amazing interior thinking its a theme park rather than a cruise ship. Months ago, just after we booked the trip they upgraded us from a Seaview room to an extended balcony state room and they are not wrong, it’s truly amazing when we walk into the cabin, how luxurious this is. The cabin looks beautifully new and spacious; this will do for the next ten days while we are slowly sailing towards the South Pacific waters. Once we have dropped of our hand luggage, we start to explore the ship. Gee you can easily get lost here. There are a total of 11 decks with both cabins and most of all endless entertainment, restaurants, bars and sitting areas to soak up the atmosphere. Everyone is in a happy mood and you hear laughter from every corner of the ship. As expected, there is a mixed public on board with both families, couples and oldies. Because there are special areas where its adults only, we are sure to find a quiet spot to snooze around. What amazes us most is the height and length of the ship and because we are in the middle, it’s a fair walk to everything which is probably good to get some exercise every now and then. An hour or so after we got on board we are called out to practice the safety drill and everyone goes outside to the assembly area and hears what we need to-do in the case of an emergency. With a total of 7 restaurants, we are spoilt for choice, but food is the last thing on our mind when the captain blows the horn and reverses the boat closer away from the pier. From there it’s a slow ride towards Manly while the CBD and the Operah house on our right fading in the dark......we are on our way to French Polynesia. 

To our surprise, the ship hardly moves sideways, there is only a little swell which we don't even feel inside. My wrist bands should easily cope with that I would think and make it a comfortable ride. Angela traditionally has no trouble with seasickness, but I'm not so good, or is this all psychological? Anyway I am prepared with all sorts of pills, fresh ginger, whathaveyou. The lights of mainland Australia have all disappeared on the horizon, but to our surprise does Angela's phone still works. We sent a last couple of emails to our overseas friends and find a nice restaurant to have dinner. Our set dinner time in the Empire restaurant has already gone past the due time, but there are plenty alternatives. We cue up in the Centerpars like family restaurant and feast on the local specialties. The deserts are really yummy too, mouth-watering !

After dinner we have a read of the night program and decide to visit the welcome show in the pharaoh’s theatre. It’s a two level theatre with a live band, show and dance performances which keep us busy for a couple of hours.

The cruise director Stu tells us all about the boat and what to expect over the next couple of days. After this show we head down to our cabin to go for a long sleep. We are pretty tired after the long day. Even though the boat is very stable when you are on deck, other then a slow gentle move, while in the cabin, you can feel the vibration of the ship is pretty obvious. While it keeps Angela awake for a couple of hours, my head hits the pillow and I'm gone.

Earlier then we hope, we wake up and open the curtains to see a blue calm Ocean under a half cloudy sky. Time for a warm shower and slowly wake up before we head to the restaurant for an awesome breakfast with as much food you can eat. We didn't win, there was still plenty left when we finished. It seems that on the boat everything is around fun, food and entertainment and almost 24~7. We spend the day exploring the ship and trying the different things on board as well as hopping from restaurant to restaurant for more flavours of the day.












We end up on deck 9 in the serenity adult’s only zone and snuggle up in a wicker egg with a few cocktails for the rest of the day.




























When the sun sets we go inside for another food feast, this time with Indian and Thai flavours complemented by more yummy deserts. We had read in the daily flyer that there were some shows on with some comedians so we headed for the pharaoh theatre again and settled in one of the comfortable lounges ready for a night of fun and laughter. In all honesty, between us two, we probably got half the jokes with me laughing the least, but Aussie humour is something I haven't picked up on. One thing which seems to dominate is the word FUCK which makes the Aussies laugh out loud. After 45 minutes of “fun” everyone is kicked out and on to the next show which is a bit of a funny clown and stand up comedian. Great to spend the night and around 11isch we head back to cabin 5115 for another good night sleep.


Today is our second full day at sea and we have moved into another time zone, one hour ahead. This is South Pacific Time and South Pacific weather. Blue skies await us when we open our curtains and look over the vast blue water mass. I decide to take of my two anti seasickness wristbands, because the boat hardly moves up and down. Hours later I don't even think of it anymore. Another lazy day on the ocean with a start at the breakfast buffet continued with not much other than hanging out in the serenity zone on the beach chairs and our favourite wicker egg.








































The beauty is that the Playa Beach grill restaurant is right next door so in turns we get some yummy food out to our sunny spot and enjoy a day full of fun, food and sipping on a few cocktails nicely served in these tropical glasses. Even though there is no phone reception on board, you still see a lot of people playing around with their phones, I pod and pads. Think about it how well the mobile phone is integrated in or society. Everyone takes lots of photos and so do we. There is a lot to see on the ship and there are people everywhere. Not that it’s annoying, because there are always quiet spots to find onboard. Angela went for a morning walk and did a few laps around the top deck, while I climb up to the Green Thunder water slide and tower for an awesome view of the ship and blue space around it.












We even manage to get a bit of sunburn on our face due to the strong sun which shines most of the day. The ship travels with a speed of 20 miles which gives us a cool breeze so it’s not too hot at the back. All around us are people having fun in Spa's, pools, bars and the different water slides. It makes the boat a lively place to be. Around 5.30isch the sun sets behind the horizon and we head back to our cabin before dinner is due. Even our own balcony is quite nice to sit on and listen to the waves breaking against the hull some 10 mtrs below us.
















Tonight there are a couple of good shows on in the main theatre with the carnival show band so we are in for some more fun and entertainment.


The 6.45 alarm clock sounds. Did someone say this is our holiday? Yes it is, because today we have arrived at the beautiful Isle of Pine, our fist stop in New Caledonia. Still a bit sleepy after our late night show which was spectacular btw, we open the curtains and look out on another blue sky. This time it's dotted with green islands, one of them our main destination for today. After a quick breakfast, we head down to deck 9 where we are given a sticker to book us in one of the tender boats. Around 8.10 we embark on the second boat to transport us to the jetty. It’s only a short 10 minute choppy ride before we set foot on the shore. Here we await a little dance from the locals with some of their music. Sure this must be set up by Carnival Cruizes, but its still nice to see.
























This Island was named by James Cook when he discovered it around 1854 and easily enough thought, well there are plenty of pines here, why not name it Isle of Pines, or Isle de Pin as the French call it. Up till today the locals speak both their native language Kounie as well as French. Needless to say you can buy baguettes, French wine, see cars with French number plates (mainly Peugeot and Citroen). We were given a little map and the island seems small enough to do by bike so we head towards the main village and manage to find a bike rental shop at a resort. Paid the bill and off we go onyabike ! The main village is only 30 minutes drive, but other than a church, a lookout point and a general store, there is absolutely nothing. We must be on the tourist trail, because several times we are overtaken by busses and meet other cruisers at the same spot. The Baie d'Anthony has some spectacular views over turquoise blue water with a dark green back drop of the typical local pines.
































They are tall, not straight and look very different to the normal ones. Back on to the main rd, it’s another hour on the saddle which is starting to hurt our bums. The weather is nice and warm even though the wind sometimes chilly when the sun hides behind a cloud or two. The road starts to get hilly and towards our turning point we realise its not as easy as we thought and our legs are starting to play up a bit too. Lucky for us it’s not an uninhabited island so a lift in a local pickup is easily arranged. The driver brings us back to where we arrived this morning via the other side of the island so we get to see both sides. At the last turn we see the boat in the distance which can't be missed, what a huge monster. Back at the wharf we drop the bikes off at the resort and head for the beach. I had promised myself a dip in the moderate temperatured blue lagoon. I must admit, once you are in, its OK, just a bit chilly to start. Our land photographer takes a few shots as proof and quickly I grab my towel en warm up in the sun on the beach.




































































The sand is one of the whitest and finest we have ever seen and feels, amazing, like powder snow. The sun stays with us most of the day and towards the end we settle in some chairs of a local beachside restaurant with too expensive beer. But what do you do when they serve a Belgium Leffe Brune, can we have deux s'ilvousplais? Mnnn that tastes a million times better than the local piss on board. Cheers to the French. From the restaurant we can keep an eye out on the length of the cue of people waiting on the jetty to board the tender boats. Even though we have till 4.15, we decide to take the 3 pm boat to get us back to the ship so we can hang out a bit in the serenity zone on the back of the boat. Because I am still wearing my swimming shorts I decide to try out the green thunder which is the biggest waterslide at sea apparently. Almost the highest point of the ship, I climb up the ladder and step on the launching platform. The assistant locks the compartment and all I hear is 3 - 2 - 1 and down I go with such a massive speed, enough to make me see absolutely nothing until I get out of the tube with water splashed into every hole of my body.












I grab my towel and dry myself before I head back to the deck chairs where Angela is lying in the sun. Time for a beer and a quick bite before we go back to our cabin. It’s still light when the captain sounds his horn and we watch the sun slowly getting behind the horizon when the boat starts its trip to Lifou, our second stop on the trip. At night we decide to have dinner in the main Empire restaurant with set tables and ala carte menus. We arrive an hour later then our set time is, but no problem, the head waiter shows us our table where our fellow cruisers have just finished their deserts.
























Anyway, there are no real shows of interest tonight so we hit the pillow a bit earlier than normal. Still tyred because of the cycling, it only takes a few minutes before we're gone to dreamland.



The ship makes a rumbling noise, we must have arrived at our destination and the captain lowers the anchors into the water. We open the curtains and our eyes immediately start to hurt because of the sun shining straight into the cabin.












Angie puts on her robe and hurries to get outside and have a look on the balcony. The island looks very different to Isle of Pine and doesn't show any trees from a distance. We look out over a wide bay with cliffs rather than beaches. These must be the Jokin cliffs we have read about. Because we are on the leeward side of the ship, it’s dead calm and no wind at all. On top a very pleasant temperature with only a few clouds here and there. Angela grabs the binoculars to have a closer look at what we will be seeing in a couple of hours and even though the island is as flat as a pancake, there seems to be still some interesting landscape. It looks though that the boat has anchored quite a distance away from the shore so there'll be an interesting boat trip with the tender boats when we are going to visit the island. From what we've read, it’s not an island where there is heaps to do or to see. This pretty much confirms our choice to see it this way rather than spend a whole holiday on it for a few weeks. This is perfect, just a quick snapshot and onto the next one. Maybe for Noumea we could use a few more days when we are there, but that’s simply not on the program, we will have to fit it all in a day. Just imagine how Captain Cook would have experienced these islands back in the 1850's, no roads, no jetties, no communication, no maps, no common language, no knowledge other than the basic navigational skills of the sextant and the stars. Time to slowly get ready for our modern way of exploring the island and we are off to breakfast followed by a cue up for the tender boats. We are on boat no. 20, which other than ourselves has another 78 passengers onboard. Once ashore we follow the crowds on their way towards a little chapel up a hill. 
































































































The views are stunning on both sides of the island when you look down into the turquoise lagoons. From here, the cruise ship doesn't look like that far from the island and lends itself for some great photos from just underneath the palm trees. We spend a couple of hours on the local beach and head back for lunch around 1.30. There is no cue, so with an easy 10 minutes we are back on board. The lunch is traditionally too good and we decide to eat the desert part of it on deck in the afternoon sun. They have opened the roof over the swimming pool and there is concert of kid’s voices coming from all sides. Did anyone say unlimited French fries and ice cream ? We both take a book to read and enjoy the panoramic views over the island. Even though the clouds are starting build up, it’s still a pleasant 26 degrees and very comfortable when you are out of the wind. It’s surprising to realise that of the approx 2600 people onboard, there is hardly anyone on the top deck where we are. A lot are probably still on the island doing excursions further up. We sort of had a read of what's on offer and decide that once we have seen one, we have seen them all, except the main one Noumea which is on the program tomorrow. Angela is excited about all the little streets of the capital filled with shops and boutiques, French couture, voila madam, votre carte de credit s'ilvousplais. Earlier than normal, the captain sounds the ships horn around 4.30 and off we go on to our next destination Noumea or as the actual island is called Grand Terre. We go back to our cabin after a game of midget golf which was a tight game and lots of difficulties beating the winds.
















On our balcony we enjoy a beautiful sunset with lots of colourful reflections against the clouds. There is absolutely no wind on our side of the boat which allows us to sit in shirts and shorts till Lifou is a small dot on the horizon.




















Dinner and show time, a quick shower and re dress gets us ready for another feast of food. Every night there is something different and again no shortage of creativity to keep the guests entertained.















It was indeed a fantastic show, probably the best we have seen so far with a Louisiana theme. The theatre was fully occupied so we were lucky to have still two seats at the back. We went to bed early to make sure we could get up early the next day and get the most out of our day while in Noumea. So around 9 am the next morning we hopped of the ship after a hearty breakfast and got on the bus which dropped us just outside the container terminal close to the centre of town. Another welcome team of locals is playing some music and dances on the pier.















First we walk to the marina and take a look at the many sailing yachts which are moored at the jetties.



















Afterwards Angela takes me on a shopping tour which ends two hours later without any highlights. Noumea isn't the cheapest place to be or shop, just nice enough to have a stroll through the centre. There isn't a particular architectural style, it’s a bit of everything mainly modern concrete and glass boxes. Am I trying to talk you out of visiting the capital ? Even the local cuisine doesn't seem the best around.
















Just another big city ! We head back to the boat for lunch and settle on the serenity deck afterwards to get some tan. Afternoon tea with French fries and mayonnaise ? Sounds a bit French doesn't it, we love culture! Because the boat is moored at the container terminal, you can imagine our views, nice and quiet, waiving palms and turquoise bays........ in my dreams, instead cranes loading boats, trucks coming and going, a coal loading plant in full operation, this is no paradise.




















However. no complaints because the weather is still tropical and I decide to hop in the Spa for a chat and some bubbles. I try to convince the new ones who come after me that they have to shout a round if cocktails, but unsuccessful. We have got our eye on a wicker egg, but no luck so far so Angela moves our towels towards a shady place. Talking about towels, do you know how many figures you can make out of a towel ?
















































The temperatures today are close to the 30's I reckon. What a life and the cruise holiday is just halfway. All the staff members have tags on with their name and the country where they are from. Most come from Indonesia, Philippines and India, a few eastern Europeans and the occasional Canadian. Surprisingly enough we haven't heard a single Dutch person on board, its almost all Aussies and a few French people. We spend the rest of the afternoon with sun and shade bathing till the ship sails away from the pier towards our next and last island destination ''Mare''. The sunset lends itself for some beautiful photos and lots of people take pictures of it from the top deck.




















The temperature is very pleasant still when we sit on our balcony after the dinner and show. A good way to finish the day and chat about where our next cruise would go to. We both agree that the destination isn't going to be very important, it’s more the experience rather than the destination. Even though we wouldn't swap it for an adventurous holiday, we definitely would do it again to escape the SA winter season.


Traditionally we wake up while we are nearing the island, but today we arrive a lot earlier than normal. Probably because the ship leaves earlier today as well. Over the loudspeakers we hear that we gotta be back at 3 pm this afternoon which gives us enough time to get to the other side of the island and enjoy a day on the beach. After breakfast we head down to the gangway and line up for the tender boat. Within 4 minutes we arrive at the jetty in the little harbour of Tadine on the Isle of Mare. 












There are plenty if buses waiting for the sheep who booked themselves an overpriced tour to the same beach we are heading for. We ask the locals which way the roads lead to towards that beach and simply raise our thumps to any passing vehicle. After less than 3 no's, we are lucky to be offered a yes and a ride to what we hope is Lelebeh beach. In fact it doesn't matter too much where we go, its fun to have a look around and see some of the island. We enjoy the ride which runs along white sand beaches with sweeping palm trees and turquoise bays. After 15 minutes we arrive and in fluent French we are given directions to where we need to walk to get to the water. This must be the place, because there are only another 2 to 3 hundred other tourist who have arrived before us, we walk to the southern end of the beach for a quiet spot and spread our beach towels on the white sand close to the water.


















































Too good to not swim and have a refreshing dip so we stroll along the cliffs and pick a good spot to get wet. That's what we should have brought with us, snorkeling gear. Anyway there is a good alternative as in sun bathing so we keep ourselves busy for a few hours. Around 1 pm we decide that its time to make our way back to the ship and stroll back to the spot where we were dropped of this morning. It seemed pretty deserted and it was hard to find a person or a car. Our second option was to see if there were any taxis or private people at the bus pick up point where all the other tourists were picked up. More luck here and within 10 words of half broken French and the word dollar, we easily convince someone to drive us back to the ship. Once there, we use the opportunity to take few more distant shots of the ship in between some palm trees and explore the local market.















Once back on the ship we enjoy a beautiful lunch with chicken tandoori, mie goreng, vegies tempura, crumbled fish and yummy deserts. Did someone say ice cream is only for kids ? Time for more sunbathing even though our faces feel pretty sun burnt already. 
















While we are here in the Pacific with the excellent weather, we might as well enjoy it. I'm sure we will deal with the questions back home where we got that suspicious tan from. Hopefully during the trip back to Sydney we'll have the same kind of weather as what we have had so far. It would definitely add to the fun factor. In the mean time we'll swing our hammock to the rhythm of the waves and listen to the live artist on deck playing some Caribbean music. At night we watch a fantastic fun show with an Italian looking guy on a single wheel bike who mixes the show with Queen music and looks a bit like Dutch friend Cuno.









Today is our first day at sea on the way back to Australia and to make sure I haven't gained too many kilo's (which I 'm sure I have anyway) I decide to join the 8 am walking club with Australia's well known fitness trainer from ''The biggest looser'' Mr Shannon Ponton , (who ?). There are about 150 people already on deck, stretching their legs for a few laps around the 650 mtr parcours. I'm not really well prepared without any fitness shoes or other outfit, but it’s about the exercise not the looks. After one lap I decide to kick off the flip-flops and avoid the crowds by taking shortcuts to the other side of the deck. One hour is enough and I go back to the cabin for a shower. The weather has turned out fine and Angela is sitting on the balcony having a look over the ocean. We head up to deck 9 for breakfast and sit next to a friendly couple who tell us its there third cruise already. It seems that everyone on board feels spoiled by the outstanding level of service and friendliness of the staff members. The couple tells us that P&O have an even higher standard on board for food and attention to detail whit less people per ship. We already feel so much pampered here, it can only get better. After breakfast we move to the serenity deck and find a nice spot in one of the hammocks. It’s pretty hot in the sun so as soon as a wicker egg becomes available we move to get a bit of shade while still having a great view over the ocean. Today's cocktail specials are served in a different Carnival fun glass in the shape of a clowns fish. They look even nicer than the parrot fishes we already have. We suddenly get thirsty hahahahahahahah. Angela wants to turn our Bali hut at home into a bar, she's on her way ! Bloody hell, the sun is still extremely strong and we turn the egg to get some more shade. Suddenly the captain sounds the attention bell and calls out that there are whales jumping out if the water. Even though he has a strong Italian accent, everybody gets the message and the ship leans to the side because of all the people moving to the port side. We are lucky and manage to spot two whales blowing of some steam in the distance. Half an hour later we hear El Capitano again with an update on the weather ande positione of the shipa. We have just entered the Coral Sea which at our current position is 1300 mtr deep and with a minimal swell of 1 mtr very easy to sail. It looks like I won't need my anti seasick tablets at all, woohooooooo. This was a bit of a fear for me, but luck is on our side. In the distance we see the first other ship at open sea, we guess  it’s a container ship.






































We also get a visit of two seagulls, they look different to the ones we see back home and they must be good flyers being so far from any land. The Ocean turns completely flat a few hours later and is like mirror so we can see for miles and miles. 1 pm is lunch time, the deck clears out, there must be something special on the menu. We are not disappointed when we look at all the different choices. Angela goes for deserts only and I decide to go for Indonesian food like nasi, sate and fried fish in soya sauce. All right, we go for a second time and because the cue is so long it makes it extra special. The rest of the afternoon we spend snoozing away in our wicker egg, carefully protecting it from any other cruise competitors who are on the look out for any vacant one. Did anyone say drink special ? The clouds are slowly coming in, we are not gonna get sun burnt today which is probably a good thing. 












Angela rugs up with a blanket in her egg shell and slowly more deck chairs become available when people look for warmer places to hang out. Not the pool side where there is an ice sculpture competition for the kids to entertain them. Everything is done to entertain the guests. An hour later the sun shows up again when the ship cruises towards a clear horizon. A bit of afternoon snooze in the sun doesn't hurt to warm us up again. Because there are no set times anymore to get on and of the ship, I have left my watch in the room so that we live without any set times but with the freedom of buffets on now , this perfectly suits us. Around 5isch we head to the cabin and enjoy a beautiful sunset from the balcony. Today we decide to eat a little later and take the late night show rather than the early one. Angela isn't that hungry anyway and it also allows us to see the comedy show again. Even with a completely new fellow on stage, we struggle to get the vibe and leave early for the big magic show of tonight in the Pharaoh theatre. This is the one they have been raving about and they are not wrong. It’s an amazing show with people disappearing and re-appearing, cut through the middle and lots of dancing around it. Pretty impressive what all happens on stage.




Today enough the clock was put back an hour last night so we got a bit longer to sleep in before my 7.45 alarm clock sounds. Time for another walk around the deck with some of the other early birds. There are about 200 walkers active this morning that cause the unavoidable traffic jams on deck, but it’s good to see so many people out there. There is a motivational seminar on at 4 pm today as well which we have signed up for to get some inspiration for when we get back to normal life. How about we set ourselves a first  goal to do another cruise next year, you gotta start somewhere hahahahah. Angela sleeps in till 9.30 and we catch up at the serenity deck in the last wicker egg available. Breakfast out on the deck is really the way to go and we truly enjoy it, especially because it’s our last one for this trip. Tomorrow morning it’s up at 6 for an early check out at 7 so I have decided to rise at 5 am to see the ship sailing into Sydney harbor in the early morning light. With still so much to do and a few nice shows on tonight, there might be the occasional yawn, but what the heck, you don't get to see this too often. Last night on the tellie we saw some bad weather hitting the mainland back home with winds up to 100 km/hr roaring over Tasmania, but nothing like that today on the ocean. Only a little choppy and blue sky so we get ready for another day of sunbathing. Before lunch, there is another seminar in the Shanghai bar about traditional Chinese herbs and medicine. Sounds interesting so we go and have a listen. Before it starts, we hear the announcement call from the Capitano with some newse aboute the tripe: we have now entered the Tasman Sea and have got 281 nautical miles togo before we arrive in Sydney and currently have 4000 mtr of water underneath us. The weather seems to stay the same for the rest of the trip so its gonna be smooth sailing all the way. The Chinese herbs and medicine seminar wasn't much in depth info, but more of a sales pitch to sign up for a consult. Anyway we got better things to do, we're of to lunch. It seems to get better everyday, Thai fishcakes, felafel, char grilled chicken, glasnoodles with prawns and mussels, chapattis with Indian Currie....... you name it. Anyone desert today ? We head back to the room, because we have given away our wicker egg in the serenity zone and it could take an hour before we find another free one. To find out what the sauna is like, I head up to the spa deck and try out the different cabins. Its pretty quiet, but halfway my sand timer, a guy joins me who happens to be a marine biologist. Obviously a good spokes partner to talk about diving, growing your own coral, the underwater world of French Polynesia etc, etc. Time flies and after an hour or so I finish off with the whirlpool and have a chat to some of the fellow cruisers on board. Unanimously everyone is excited about the trip, both first and multiple time cruisers. Carnival cruises, I learn, is an American company who is fairly new to Australia and rapidly building up popularity to beat the old time favorite P&O. The latter one seems even better according to some. Now that the sauna is ticked of my list, there is not much I haven't done on board. Good timing because today is our last day and I am still enjoying every minute of it. I hold off to some extra fitness exercise because my short is soaking wet and a few other excuses. I head back to the room where Angela is enjoying her afternoon on the balcony to get some more vitamins on her skin. Good idea before we fly back to Adelaide tomorrow where a ten degree weather forecast is given for the next few days. She has used the time to pack our suitcases as well and to our surprise everything fits in, including the souvenir cocktail glasses 












and duty free drinks we have bought. I take a shower and relax on the chair next to this dark bodied half aboriginal coloured looking lady. Dinner is late tonight and afterwards we visit the last show which is performed by the Spirit show band, the dancers and some of the best karaoke singers amongst the passengers on board. Its real fun to watch and everyone has a great night. After the show we spend some more time in the Shanghai bar which has more karaoke performers on stage. After we finish our last cocktail, we go to bed for a short sleep until the alarm clock tells us its 4.50 am. We must be in Sydney harbour by now and I take a quick shower en head to the top deck for the best views and photo opportunities. While we are entering the natural harbour of Sydney, I am reading an email from Rob who already knows where we are because of the “app” on his I-phone.












In fact the attachment shows the exact location of the ship on a map of the area, truly amazing. The CBD is beautifully lit and glows in the dark hours of the early morning. 



















The Opera house on the other side is completely dark and lends itself perfectly for a few shots against the rising sun behind it. By 6isch the captain manoeuvres the floating Carnival city sideways to the dock and I walk down to the food feast floor to have breakfast for the very last time to eat a plate full of all the bad stuff. After that I go back to our cabin to pick up Angie and we slowly make our way to deck two where we wait till our letter is called out to disembark the ship and on our way to the airport.















Happy greetings,







Angela & Fran
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