Radiance of the Seas Down Under (2/14/14-3/3/14) Sydney to Perth - Review with Photos

[socreader]

Great review and very helpful. We will be on the Radiance Top and Bottom Aussie cruies in Feb 2015.

[kccrzr]

Great review and very helpful. We will be on the Radiance Top and Bottom Aussie cruies in Feb 2015.

 

How fantastic to be able to do both cruises. We were surprised to learn there were something like 300 B2B cruisers on ours - so you will definitely be in good company.

[kccrzr]

Great stuff. Keep'um coming. As I mentioned in the other thread, I have booked #1100 for the 29 days from Sydney to Vancouver in April 2016.

 

Can't wait, so please any more pix of the room or views from the room would be greatly appreciated.

 

I did not load all my photos on Flickr, so will take a look at our various sets and see if I can find any more photos of the room. We were so enamored of the balcony, most were taken outside the room. :)

[kccrzr]

I have now returned from another trip, so can resume the long drawn out review.

 

Melbourne, Australia (Day 11)

 

I was so happy to arrive in port and wake to a nice day, no less. By the third iffy-weather sea day in a row, I was getting very antsy and could not believe there was another week to go. It was midway through Day 10 when I really felt I had had enough and was ready to go back to work. Never thought I would say that on vacation! But to be honest, I was missing the intellectual stimulation of the office. Reading is one of my great pleasures and I am often frustrated at home that I only seem to eke out a few minutes at the end of the day to pleasure read. But by the time I had flown through 6 or 7 books on this trip, I was ready for different entertainment. In hindsight I should have been going to the trivia sessions - lesson learned.

 

We arrived in Melbourne at 9:00am but ate breakfast in the MDR and didn't get off the ship until around 9:20. By then, there was a very long line at the port office in the terminal to buy MYKI tickets (http://ptv.vic.gov.au/) for the tram we intended to take to town. Luckily, I had read on Cruise Critic that you could also walk out the pier to the end of the dock straight ahead to a tram stop. Just to the left of the stop is a little convenience store which sells transportation tickets. (There was also a very informative gentleman at the tram stop directing folks that weren't sure where to go or which stop would be best for them to get off at.) I think we saved at least 30-45 minutes by walking to the convenience store.

 

MYKI tickets:

 

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The trams were very convenient, coming every 8-10 minutes. It took only 18 minutes or so to get from the port to Stop 6 at Collins & Swanston streets. Tram Maps can be found at http://ptv.vic.gov.au/getting-around/maps/. We walked a quick 6 blocks north to the State Library of Victoria where we were to meet for a free walking tour. It was an excellent tour - even better than the one in Sydney. We got a great overview of major sights and heard some good stores. It was well worth the time.

 

Some of the sights we saw on our tour:

 

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Royal Exhibition Building:

 

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Princess Theatre:

 

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Chinatown:

 

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[kccrzr]

Sheesh - forgot to re-size photos. Here they are in an actually visible size:

 

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[kccrzr]

Block Arcade (http://www.theblockarcade.com.au/), a beautiful shopping arcade on Collins Street:

 

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Gog and Magog statues:

 

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AND an even better looking pastry shop. Aren't the desserts fantastically beautiful? Unfortunately, we didn't try one because the line was out the door:

 

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Bridge over the river Yarra:

 

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The fantastically unusual architecture of the Ian Potter Centre at Federation Square (http://www.fedsquare.com/culture/the-ian-potter-centre-ngv-australia/):

 

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[MMDown Under]

Thank you for taking the time to post such an enjoyable review of such an interesting trip, starting from Disneyland!

[kccrzr]

Thank you for taking the time to post such an enjoyable review of such an interesting trip, starting from Disneyland!

 

I'm glad you are enjoying the review, we had a great trip and are hoping to return to Australia and New Zealand in a few years.

[kccrzr]

Melbourne continued:

 

Our walking tour ended at Arts Centre Melbourne just south of the Yarra River. Because it was lunch time, we decided to make our way back to Tattersall Lane in Chinatown to have lunch at the Camy Shanghai Dumpling House recommended by the tour guide. After a few wrong turns (none of the maps I had showed all of the lanes and alleys), we finally made it back. The place was hopping despite the unusual faded glory décor and stone-faced but efficient service.

 

The food was good, portions were HUGE and it was very inexpensive.

 

DH really liked his spicy chicken & noodles entrée at the Dumpling House:

 

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My sweet and sour soup and, because you can't go to a restaurant called the Dumpling House without ordering dumplings, our shared plate:

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Our two entrees, one order of dumplings and two beers was $28. The restaurant accepts only cash.

 

If you are interested in more information on the Dumpling House, following are some links, including one site which has an interactive map so you won't wander aimlessly like we did for a bit: http://www.au.timeout.com/melbourne/restaurants/venues/470/camy-shanghai-dumpling-and-noodle-restaurant http://www.lastappetite.com/camy-shanghai-dumpling-house-melbourne/

 

Because we weren't quite ready to hit the bricks again after our very quick lunch, we decided to stop next door at the fully-stocked Section 8 bar (http://section8.com.au/index.php#/location), where we had seen some interesting wall art earlier that morning, to enjoy a leisurely after lunch drink on the very interesting patio:

 

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In addition to making a very good G&T, the Section 8 bar had great wall art:

 

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[kccrzr]

Melbourne continued:

 

If I didn't have a photo proving this wall art actually existed, I might have thought I was dreaming and should have skipped the G&T at Section 8:

 

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All good things must come to an end, including dawdling over drinks on a sunny day, so we pulled out some walking maps I had printed from this excellent website (http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/visitors/WalksItineraries/Walks/Pages/Walks.aspx)

and decided to set off again.

 

We did quite a bit more walking here and there for several hours. We enjoyed Melbourne central business district which is quite compact but has a surprising number of lanes and alleys to explore, including some with quaint restaurants:

 

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Our long walk included some backtracking so we could get a closer look at Federation Square. I wish I had taken a pedometer with me because we really clocked the miles on this trip. Since the day was warm and we had been at it for a while (that's my story and I'm sticking to it), we decided to enjoy another drink at the fanciful patio outside the back of Beer Deluxe (http://www.beerdeluxe.com.au/fed-square) next to the Ian Potter Centre:

 

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We paid $18 for one glass of wine and one beer, which must be the going rate because we also paid $18 at Section 8 for 1 G&T and 1 bourbon and diet Coke. Beer Deluxe also had a food menu with burgers, pizza and such, but we did not have anything to eat there.

 

Shopping in Melbourne: we actually did not do much shopping in Melbourne. We went into an interesting art gallery/shop in the Ian Potter Centre but I did not see anything I liked that was easily transportable.

 

Typo (http://shop.cottonon.com/typoshop/) was a really cute shop on Elizabeth street with housewares, office supplies and gifts. DH found some pens on sale 5 for $5.

 

Because he is crazy about pens, we went into several shops selling pens. At Riot Art & Craft (http://riotstores.com.au/location/index/view/id/28), I found a beautiful orange leather journal on sale for $10.99 (50% off) for my oldest daughter:

 

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Because all aboard was not until 9:30 pm, we planned on spending several more hours in Melbourne. Unfortunately, Melbourne rolls up the carpet early and most of the shops closed at 6:00 pm. We were surprised this was the case in a major city but were told there was only one evening a week the stores in town were open late, and one day a week the suburban stores were open late. So, we headed to the tram stop around 6:30 for the ride back to Port Melbourne. Once there, we were surprised to find that even a cute café/bar right at the dock with an outdoor seating area was closed.

 

Beach near port: Frustrated by our unsuccessful attempt to spend more time in Melbourne, we went to the Concierge Lounge to drink our troubles away. While there we were told by others that they had spent a very pleasant afternoon on the beach just southeast of the port (turn right at the street and walk along the water's edge). They did not swim but spent several happy hours people-watching and enjoying lunch at a restaurant with a great view of the bay. There is actually a whole series of beaches that stretch for miles along the coast.

 

We were to set our clocks back an hour this evening (the third one-hour set back in 4 days)! Tomorrow, another sea day.

[disyc]

It's a shame you didn't find your way

over to Southbank for the night life. Loads of restaurants.

 

That wall art is amazing and I also love Melbourne's alleyways. Each time I visit, I always wish I had more time.

 

Looking forward to more of your review.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[MMDown Under]

It's a shame you didn't find your way

over to Southbank for the night life. Loads of restaurants.

 

That wall art is amazing and I also love Melbourne's alleyways. Each time I visit, I always wish I had more time.

 

Looking forward to more of your review.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Southbank, Melbourne

 

https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutMelbourne/PrecinctsandSuburbs/suburbprofiles/Pages/Southbank.aspx

Edited May 10, 2014 by MMDown Under

[kccrzr]

Thank you both for the information on Southbank. We were right there at the Arts Centre and did not know it had a hopping nightlife. I am going to add this to my list of things to do when we make it back to Melbourne some day. I also want to check out St Kilda, partly because I have seen most of the Phryne Fisher series and have read some of the books.

 

It seems the best trips are always those that leave you wanting to go back for more.

[PerfectlyPerth]

You will be happy to know that since your visit the CBD trading hours regulations have been relaxed and traders can now stay open til 7 every night.

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-07/traders-welcome-extended-shopping-hours/5371604

 

But yes I concur with the above posts - a wander over to Southbank would have found you all the evening life you needed.

[kccrzr]

Thank you for the information on the new shopping hours. It just so happened we were in Melbourne on a Monday, so even the Queen Victoria Market was closed.

[Smiles17]

Thank you so much kccrzr - thoroughly enjoyed your report. Well done! :)