Sydney – Scribbles and Snapshots

Australia / New Zealand Cruise 12 / 13

March 4, 2024March 3, 2024Posted in Australia/New Zealand, UncategorizedTagged Australia, celebritycruises, New Zealand, Sydney, Sydney Harbor Bridge, Sydney Opera HouseLeave a comment

It had been a late night New Year’s Eve – so we took the next day at a more leisurely pace. We also knew that we were coming to the end of our cruise so just wanted to relax and soak in our vacation.

On New Year’s Day – there was a hypnotist show. Andy volunteered to be a part of it. It was fun to watch – but I won’t embarrass him here with the videos. Let’s just say his impression of a T-Rex left a mark on the hypnotist.

You can see Andy in the first row on the left!

That evening also had a special encore show with Mr. Stephen Barry. The winner of Ireland’s Got Talent. He was super talented and always engaged with the crowd, which made things fun and interesting!

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The next day – our last full day on the ship we went to a special session they were hosting with Giuseppe and Captain Matt. It was meant to be more an informal ask me anything session. We learned a lot about both of them – and a lot of silly facts as well.

It was another nice day at sea – so that afternoon we spent some time on the pool deck in the sun. It was a great way to end our cruise!

The outdoor pool was packed – so we made our way inside. As you can see we almost had the pool to ourselves!

Our last dinner on the ship, we went to the Mediterranean restaurant and had one of our favorite waitresses and sommelier again. We had hoped we would get them – and without asking, we did! They went above and beyond to make our experience special.

The production team had one last show for us – it was a play on Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night Dream. It was called a Hot Summer’s Night Dream. The show started a little earlier – and the squad was interacting with the crowd.

If we could always sail with Captain Matt, we would!

Our friend new friend Viktar (who we had met wine tasting) did an incredible job in this performance. The sheer upper body strength and talent was incredible to watch!

We would pull into Sydney around 5 AM and dock by 6 AM the next morning. We knew we needed to go to bed early, because we had to catch our flight by 11:30 AM. We finished packing that night and headed off to sleep.

The view out of our room as we pulled into Sydney

I woke up and could tell something was really wrong. I felt awful – like I had been hit by a truck. Sore throat, full body aches (actually felt like someone was twisting my spine in their hands), and a fever. Not something you want to happen when you’re about to embark on a 14 hour flight home!

Up Next:

Jordan – March 2024

Australia / New Zealand Cruise – Days 4/5/6

December 28, 2023December 29, 2023Posted in Australia/New ZealandTagged Australia, celebritycruises, Christmas, New Zealand, SydneyLeave a comment

We started our journey to the South Island of New Zealand, which meant about 3 days at sea. The cruise ships do a great job of offering different activities for everybody.

This will come as no surprise, but our legs were super sore from the bridge climb. I also had a touch of a cold, thankfully the symptoms were really mild. Just sinus congestion, not enough to ruin a trip – but did make me want to rest a bit more.

We love playing Deal or No Deal – you purchase the cards and you can be the main contestant or just play along for a chance to win small prizes all the way up to $5,000 or a free cruise!

I can’t believe I’m even writing this – but the last round WE WON THE FREE CRUISE! We are still waiting to find out more, as being at sea and Christmas makes it challenging to get in touch with the folks who can give us the specifics. It sounds like it’s typically a 7-night cruise, just not sure on destination, etc.

There were a few shows in the evening that were fun – one called Kaleidoscope that showcased different musicians, dancers, and acrobats. There was a Christmas special with the Cruise Director, Giuseppe and the ship’s entertainers. It was really cute – and of course Christmas themed.

There were special meals planned for us on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner. The crew made it extra special and dressed up really festive.

The last day that we were at sea – we were going through the Doubtful, Dusky, and Milford Sounds. (Although the Milford Sound was inaccurately named – it’s actually a fjord!) They were absolutely stunning and we could watch them cruise by from our room, which we really enjoyed!

The view from our room (infinite veranda)

Because the Sounds were a few hours apart, one of them we actually were able to view from the rooftop hot tub, which was a really fun and unique experience!

Up Next:

Dunedin Panorama

Australia – Day 3

December 28, 2023December 28, 2023Posted in Australia/New ZealandTagged Australia, celebritycruises, Sydney, Sydney Harbor Bridge, Sydney Opera House3 Comments

We slept in a little bit since our bridge climb time wasn’t until 11:55 AM. We had breakfast on the ship – and then started to get ready for the day.

We had to tender into Sydney – sometimes cruise lines do this so you can still access a city, but they aren’t docked at the shoreline. We thought it might take a while to get a tender into the city, but we were able to hop on right away. Instead of using the lifeboats like they did on our Alaska Cruise, they had the city’s ferry boats bringing us in. It worked out, since we got great views of Sydney from the harbor.

We walked around and did a little shopping as we made our way slowly to the Bridge Climb office. The website and reminder email had reiterated the importance of being well-fed and hydrated before starting the climb. So we got a small bite before heading to check in at the office.

I want to start off by saying how incredible the Sydney Bridge Climb team is – we found the team incredibly friendly and informative. We had paid an arm and a leg to do this climb – and the service/experience exceeded our expectations. If you get the chance, I couldn’t recommend it more!

Just a reminder on *what* we’re climbing! It’s 440 feet tall – it’s about half the height of the Eiffel Tower.

They require you to wear a specific jumpsuit that they provide – it was around 72 degrees, meaning it was a “zero” layer day. Basically, you just wear your bra and underwear underneath the jumpsuit. My jumpsuit was too big – and Andy’s was too small. But if you think the jumpsuit was bad… then you get strapped into a harness!

All of this made us feel incredibly safe – and you could tell that they take safety seriously as well. We were also equipped with a hanky, a hat (that we got to keep!), our sunglasses got strapped to us, and a radio/headset so we could hear our guide.

You can see all of our equipment – harnesses, headphones, sunglasses straps, etc.

They even put us through a quick training exercise with the ladders and how to clip your harness in that we would experience out on the actual bridge. We all passed with flying colors – and now it was time to climb!

I envisioned the bridge having more stairs, but it was actually primarily ladders. I have very limited fear of heights, but I didn’t like the portion where we walked over planks. (Laughable – because that spot you might be able to survive a fall. The rest of the climb would likely have resulted in certain death!)

The climb was scheduled for 3 hours – and at no-point did we feel rushed. We had plenty of time to take in the sights of Sydney from above. We got some awesome pictures too (of course we had to pay for them!) – we weren’t able to bring our phones. (Safety reasons – and likely to prevent traffic jams).

Our guide took pictures for us – since we didn’t have our cameras

As soon as we wrapped up the climb – we made our way back to the ship. We got ready for dinner – and then made our way to Ireland’s Got Talent winner – Stephen Barry’s performance. Incredibly talented guy – and very funny.

We called it a night – the next few days are at sea days, which we are looking forward to relaxing a bit.

Up Next:

At sea days
Milford/Doubtful/Dusky Sounds (cruising)

Australia – Day 2

December 27, 2023December 27, 2023Posted in Australia/New Zealand, UncategorizedTagged Australia, celebritycruises, Sydney, Sydney Harbor Bridge, Sydney Opera House1 Comment

We both woke up well rested – I think we slept over 9.5 hours! One of things that I love most about my job, is working for a global company. I have not one, but two gals that have lived in Sydney in the past! It’s always fun to a hear a local’s recommendations of things to do – and places to eat at.

Caroline had recommended a fun brunch spot, The Grounds at Alexandria. They are known for going all out with their decorations – and having excellent food. I had snagged one of the last reservations for when we were in town. It was kind of off in the middle of nowhere, but it was well worth it.

They transform their property into a Christmas wonderland. We had a lot of fun walking around – even in the rain!

Impossible to get a picture without a crowd in the background

The one spot we could get without anyone being in the background!

After we had brunch, we made our way to the Sydney opera house. I’m sure you’ve heard of it, right?

We had booked an hour long tour and lunch. Our tour guide was incredible, and he said we might get lucky and someone might be rehearsing while we were on our tour.

We learned a lot about the history – like – it was funded from funds from a state lottery. It only cost $102 million, just about $95 million over budget! They didn’t have to raise taxes in order to build it and it took over 14 years to build.

The original architect didn’t get to see it completed – and there had been a lot of drama surrounding that. Unfortunately, politics got in the way and they weren’t willing to pay him. That meant someone else had to take over, and they weren’t sure on what the vision of the interior should be.

The lobby of one of the two near identical theaters

To go into the theater, you had to go around to the back side, which has a view of the harbor.

Everything was crafted intentionally – all made with wood to enhance the sound of the opera singers

All this to say, it. Is. STUNNING. Designed to mirror the sailboats in the Sydney harbor, and they actually call it a sculpture.

Nick was able to sneak us into a rehearsal for the Circus 1903 production. We even got to see the acrobat practice. So cool! We couldn’t take any pictures because he made us promise if we got to see a rehearsal that we wouldn’t.

After the tour, we made our way back to the hotel to finish packing up before getting on the cruise ship. Our hotel was so close to the cruise ship port, that we decided to walk. And a bonus for us – it had finally stopped raining!

Our initial itinerary had us cruising up to Newcastle, but a change in the plan had us dock in Sydney for one more night. We had hoped we could go back in to see the full production of Circus 1903, but we found out too late that we COULD get back on the ship that night.

We were sad that we couldn’t see a production, but we agreed that just means we will have to come back to see a show sometime in the future.

We opted out of formal dining the first night and just did more casual snack food so we could get unpacked in our stateroom. This was our first time with the infinite veranda option. On our other two cruises, we had a balcony. The veranda differs slightly – it’s basically an extension of your room. I would almost call it a sunroom.

Our window wouldn’t open when we first got in, our attendant had shared that the captain may have locked everyone’s. So we weren’t too concerned at that time.

When we cruised in Alaska, we had the funniest Cruise Director, Giuseppe. We had hoped he would be here for this cruise – and he is! That already set the tone for our trip.

Accommodations: Celebrity Edge – Infinite Veranda

Up Next:

Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb
Sail away

Hello from the Land Down Under!

December 25, 2023December 25, 2023Posted in UncategorizedTagged Australia, celebritycruises, Sydney, Sydney Harbor Bridge, Sydney Opera HouseLeave a comment

Merry Christmas to those of you joining us from the United States!

Monday evening (December 18th) we took off from LAX on a direct flight to Sydney with United Airlines. We knew it was going to be a long flight, scheduled at 15.5 hours. Our longest flight had been SFO to Delhi back in 2019 at 16 hours.

We had brought books, downloaded shows, and had a lot of options available through United’s in-flight entertainment. I don’t sleep well on planes, and these seats somehow felt smaller than our last few international flights. This flight was no exception – and it made time crawl by. Throw in a bit of turbulence – and we were even more grateful once we had landed!

We landed around 9:00 AM on Wednesday, December 20th. It had been super warm the days leading up to our arrival, but naturally, once we arrived there had been a cold front and it was raining. We were so excited to have made it to Australia – the rain didn’t bother us much anyway.

We made our way to our hotel and crossed our fingers that we would have the option for early check in. Our prayers were answered, and I laid down to take a quick nap. Unfortunately for Andy, he had some end of year payroll to run and he got to work on that while I slept.

View from our hotel room – this was a bustling harbor! Lots of ferries going back and forth

We had booked the Sydney bridge climb months ago – the company takes you to the top of the famous Sydney Harbor Bridge. They go rain or shine – but the last thing we wanted to do was climb in pouring rain. We called and paid a small fee to have it switched over to Friday.

We made our way over to a nearby pub, it was a ton of fun people watching. Lots of people were dressed up in Christmas costumes! We made our way back to the hotel and stopped to take a few pictures.

We were really tired – so we were trying to stay up as late as we could. I think we barely made it until 9:00 PM before we fell asleep.

Accommodations: Four Seasons Sydney – booked with our AMEX hotel credit

Up Next:

Breakfast at Grounds at Alexandria
Sydney Opera House tour
Board our cruise!