Travel – Page 7 – Steps to Anywhere

Return to Port Douglas

Posted on April 19, 2014 by Ted Thorpe

The Dawn Princess arrived and anchored in Port Douglas’ outer harbour early on Friday morning. As with all of the east coast ports, we find that our coverage in 2007 was more extensive than any tours offered so we spent a little time ashore just walking and identifying features of the town we recalled.

Port Douglas is a small town. It is one of the more popular vacation spots for Australians and a jumping off point for fishing, visiting the Great Barrier Reef and rain forest visits. It also boasts a Four Mile beach. The crocks, sharks and box jellyfish are less advertised. The tendering chores were shared between the Dawn’s launches and a couple of larger, more comfortable catamarans from the marina. Silverseas Tours seems to have the greatest share of the marine tour market here.

We had a leisurely breakfast then boarded one of the more comfortable vessels for our short trip ashore. The marina is full of pleasure craft most of which are available for charter and a bit earlier was the boarding point for tours to the reef. Between the docks and the parking lot are an array of shops targeting tourists. There were a number of motor coaches offering tours of the area or shuttle services to the business district of Port Douglas. A few hours earlier it was the boarding point for land tours.

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Based partially on memory and a small map, we walked out of the marina heading for the town. We saw nothing really familiar during the first few minutes of our walk. As we walked toward the city centre there was a sense of familiarity. There is essentially one main street and it is possible to walk a loop from the marina through town back to the marina in less than 45 minutes which includes window shopping. Being Good Friday, some shops were not open and signs in restaurants apologized because they could not sell alcoholic beverages unless they accompanied a meal. So, unless one had some compelling desire to sample Port Douglas fare, why bother when the ship and its restaurants were available.

The weather in Port Douglas was mostly overcast with rain early in the day. We experienced no rain while ashore but the boats making the run to the reef apparently passed through a squall line that included torrential rain and a bit of hail. I can only imagine that was the big black cloud we could see to our east.

Sydney…Brisbane…and…

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Ted Thorpe

After a night of Tasman Sea hospitality the calm of Sydney Harbour was quite welcome. Conditions did not abate as our Captain had predicted. I imagine it was more wishful thinking than scientific prediction. We did have following seas rather than the earlier swells on the forward quarter. At least the stabilizers had a fighting chance.

As expected, all 1900 of us left the ship and by 0900 the crew were busy doing what ever they mean by “sanitization.” I suspect Australian health authorities encouraged the procedure and Princess were not inclined to test them since they do have the authority to quarantine the whole ship in the event of a serious outbreak. I fully support the concept of a healthy shipboard environment but I feel a letter to Princess executive coming on. There are always a number of passengers with chronic health conditions or mobility limitations who should probably have been given better treatment. Dumping these folk off to spend 7 hours at a shopping centre is, to say the least, insensitive. The cruise line gave each of us a $20 credit suggesting it was to offset meal costs while displaced. If they really believe that the shoreside value of 7 hours of on board food service is $20 they really need to go ashore more often.

There was a bright side for us. While visiting the Information kiosk at Darling Harbour we met another couple from the ship, Eva and Arthur. We travelled with them by ferry to Circular Quay and enjoyed their company for a walk through the Rocks and the markets then for a lunch stop. I must confess I was envious. As Australian seniors they were able to purchase a transit day pass for $2.50 whereas we had the privilege of paying $6.00 per trip or about $25.00 for a similar day pass. After lunch Eva and Arthur headed for the Maritime Museum and we for the Queen Victoria Building. While at Circular Quay we saw this bird sitting on a chair back eating the sugar from a package. He was being photographed from every possible angle. I really doubt that he could have been frightened away.

The rain was intermittent as we walked along George Street but we were prepared with umbrella and outer wear. The Queen Victoria Building was very busy so we soon retreated to the streets. We found a shop with an adequate supply of souvenirs. So with that done we walked to the Opera House to take another look. There was much construction at the base of the Opera House stairs and once again no lack of people. I wonder how many photos are actually taken of the Opera House or of tourists with the Opera House as a background.

After departing Sydney we once again felt the Tasman Sea; not as rough as pre Sydney but still 3.5 metre seas. The further north we sailed the better the seas became and we gradually felt temperatures rise. Some blue sky was evident during the day at sea and by the time we sailed into the Brisbane River skies were bright and sunny. By the time the Dawn Princess made fast at Hamilton DSCF3182 ruise terminal in the Brisbane River we could really feel the temperatures rise. The morning weather report warned of the possibility of showers and there was some cloud to the west.

With breakfast concluded we headed for the gangway to disembark. We had been advised that an expected shuttle bus service would not be operating. For those of us visiting without the benefit of “official” tours, taxis or the River Cat ferries would be the choices. We had always planned to use Brisbane’s River Cat service. A dozen or so of these 15 or 20 metre long catamarans traverse the Brisbane river all day and night. Our shipboard cruise director announced, just before we let the ship, that we could purchase a $7.50 day pass, however, my research indicated that day passes were no longer offered. I was correct and the cruise director’s information turned out to be more than three years out of date. Shame, shame!

We enjoyed a leisurely day in Brisbane. We rode the City Cat to it’s eastern terminus at the University of Queensland then back to the city. Since our last visit here in 2007 there have been two floods on the river and the boat docks all appear new having been replaced presumably by insurance money. A walk up about 50 steps brought us from the City Cat terminal to the foot of Brisbane’s Queen Street mall, a pedestrian space covering perhaps a dozen city blocks. Shops were busy as was the mall and as lunch time was upon us we stopped for a bite to eat.

We continued through the streets of Brisbane to the City Botanical Garden. Again we could see evidence that floods had done some damage to low lying areas near the water. The mangroves along the edge of the river seemed less dense than we remembered them and we could see where many of the trees had been cut and removed. From the garden we continued across the river using the Goodwill Pedestrian and cycle bridge to the South Bank Parklands. This is a park and recreation area that has been created along the river and appears to draw locals and visitors in large numbers. It is serviced by the City Cat which we again used to return us to Hamilton and the cruise terminal by mid afternoon.

Having had none of the predicted rain in Brisbane we now have a great, warm, sunny day sailing up the coast. Since we are now sailing inside the Great Barrier Reef we benefit from its protection and the sea is very quiet. Instead of waves and deep swells we see nothing but ripples to the horizon.

We have discovered one musical group on board that plays danceable music in the Wheelhouse Bar so that is where we hang out in the evening when we are not at a show or visiting some other entertainer. On this ship most of the entertainers seem to be drawn from Australia, not unexpectedly. This means we have not seen them before but it also means that at least part of their act targets Australians more than those of us from other parts of the world. The stage shows include some we have seen before but others we have not. There are also some speakers on board who appear to offer interesting subject material. We got some insights on the Great Barrier Reef from today’s speaker, a 38 year veteran of piloting ships through the reef.

There are more photos on line for Sydney and Brisbane. Internet conditions have been surprisingly good compared to those experience in some other regions. As a consequence photo uploads can be made quite quickly and reliably. I have not been doing any culling or editing yet but they should all have captions of some sort.

Our next stop will be Port Douglas on Good Friday. We expect this to be rather quiet since it is a small town and it is a holiday.

Sailing, sailing over the bounding mane

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Ted Thorpe

We made it to the Dawn Princess and through the first night. Our last day in Melbourne did provide a few surprises. Friday began with rain, as had the previous few, but we had some early sunshine and a bit of blue sky. It didn’t last long but we required no umbrella for our morning coffee walk. For the rest of the morning we dodged the raindrops again.

The rain stopped again just before noon. We checked out of the hotel and stored our luggage then quickly went to “Kenny’s”, a little sandwich shop we found. It appealed to Gail because they would build her a sandwich on nice, thin, square, white bread. Their meat pies were pretty good too. Since it had not begun raining again we grabbed the opportunity to wander through a few of the gardens bordering Spring St. Clearly, they were not as floral as they would have been earlier in the year. I managed a few photos of the greenery, fountains and buildings before we headed west along Flinders St. As we approached the Flinders Street Station there was an inordinately large police presence on every corner. It was only later we found out the reason.

It was about this time that the rain began again and we ran to catch a very fully loaded “City Circle Tram”. It was on the short tram ride we encountered a New York traveler who had been displaced from the Dawn Princess for the day of cleaning. We dodged a few more raindrops and returned to the hotel for a few minutes then caught another dry period to explore a bit more.

About 2:30 PM we collected our luggage anticipating arrival of our taxi at 3 PM. Another couple departing the hotel were having no success ordering a taxi through the hotel’s requesting system. It was at this point I became suspicious and asked when our cab might arrive and we discovered the cab company had not even acknowledged the request made early in the morning. The hotel staff were very surprised and began tandem attempts to get transportation for us and the other couple. I walked a block to the nearest taxi waiting area to see if I could engage a ride but was flatly refused three times. While the hotel staff tried to find a ride I was twice more refused by passing cabbies.

Finally, a limo operator was engaged for the couple waiting with us and the driver agreed to return for us a bit later. While he was away the company, Premium Taxis and Limousines, responded with a second vehicle and by shortly after 4 PM we were on our way and relieved to say the least. Felix, a hotel employee, offered to drive us to the port and just as we were about to put luggage into his car the limo arrived. Our driver, Amit, was quite amazing. He seemed to know and anticipate all the traffic choke points and had the ability to circumvent all but the last half kilometre into the port.

By 5 PM we were weaving through the throng of would be passengers waiting to be checked in. This is when loyalty status becomes an advantage. We found ourselves in a queue of about 25 couples while most who arrived at the same time as we did found themselves with hundreds waiting in front of them. We were in our cabin with one of our two checked bags by shortly after 5 PM. We unpacked most of my suitcase then went to the buffet for a bite to eat. The second checked bag arrived while we were at dinner. There was, of course, the obligatory muster station drill.

A few minutes later we had almost everything stowed and it was time to explore the Dawn Princess. She is a very pleasant vessel, not so large as the Grand class ships we have frequently sailed and not as small as the little Ocean Princess. We stopped to dance for a few minutes in the Wheelhouse lounge. It felt great to work out some of the kinks. There is a disco where we will probably spend little if any time. We saw evidence of a string quartet and found a young chap entertaining with piano and vocals in the ship’s Atrium. There was the traditional “Welcome Aboard” show in the theatre which we missed twice. Funny how that is.

While the entertainment changed we grabbed a coffee and cookies in the buffet. We were planning to purchase a “coffee card.” This is essentially a flat rate for as much coffee as one could drink combined with a generous but limited number of specialty coffee purchases. However, upon discovering that filtered coffee was not available on this ship the coffee card was of less interest. Australia is very much an espresso zone and so is the Dawn Princess. Gail has found that a limited amount of diluted restaurant coffee will have to suffice.

The seas were very quiet until we left the Phillip Bay then they seemed to build gradually overnight. As our course became north-easterly we were sailing directly into both the 3.5 metre seas and 23 knot winds. This least desirable point of sail has been our lot for most of the day. As evening approaches we see a more northerly course, lighter winds and lessening seas. This, at least, was the Captain’s noon prediction.

We have been advised that everyone will be expected to leave the ship tomorrow in Sydney for continued sanitation precautions. This was our plan so we will not be inconvenienced except, perhaps, for the enforced duration. The good news is that Princess has instituted a continuous shuttle service between the White Bay Terminal and Darling Harbour. The bad news must be that not everyone can return simultaneously at day’s end. I hope there will be some where to relax at the terminal for early returnees.

An amusing aside. As I am writing this it seems that the technical crew is re-booting the computer system responsible for displaying our journey information on stateroom TV. Apparently, Microsoft’s discontinuation of Windows XP is of no concern. The whole boot process was displayed.

Last Rainy Day in Melbourne

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Ted Thorpe

Well now, at 6 AM the small patches of blue sky hinted at the possibility of a nice day but the clouds rolled in again and hope faded. By 9 AM the rain was moderately heavy and winds had increased. The wind took out our Canada umbrella. You just can’t get good quality for a dollar any more. The first of the two Dollar store umbrellas was lost on our Baltic tour last year and the second has made it this far. It has been replaced by a five dollar black version courtesy of a 7 11 store which are a common in Melbourne as Tim Hortons stores are in Hamilton.

Every time we think we may have a break in the weather and can get to the gardens it is raining again by the time we hit the streets. Perhaps we can get our taxi driver to detour through the RBG en route to the cruise terminal this afternoon.

Yes, it is embarkation day. Two days ago we received a note from Princess Cruises advising us that boarding, which normally begins around noon, will be delayed until 4 PM. Apparently there was some illness during the last cruise and the delay will facilitate a complete sanitation. I have checked a number of sources that report on cruise ship outbreaks but found nothing specific to our ship, the Dawn Princess. Hopefully, Princess is being proactive.

The photo on this post is of an office tower that offered and intriguing view. It also occurred to me that I would not want the job of replacing light bulbs.

Next post will be from the Dawn Princess. If the onboard internet is typical, photo uploads may be a bit difficult. On the positive side, my loyalty status gives me about 16 hours of online time. Should be sufficient. Postings will likely follow port days. Our port schedule may be found HERE, but remember we appear to be a day ahead of you in North America. Also, the Dawn does have a webcam that can be found HERE.