Live from the 2015 QE World Voyage

[Janix]

Sydney 3rd & 4th March

 

As we were due to enter the heads circa 4am and moor at the OPT Central Quay by 6am in darkness, we left it to others to describe that part of the journey. All I can say is it was a very pleasant surprise to wake up at a later hour and see we were suitably accommodated at the Overseas Passenger terminal, with the normal hectic rush hour ferries passing us on the port side, on a beautiful sunny day, opposite the Opera house.

 

As we have visited Sydney before, we were in not too much of a hurry to leave the ship, but after my iPhone had once again would not log in to Apple services (I also had this problem in Honolulu, which was fixed by one of their guru’s there ?), it was necessary to take a hike up to the Apple Store in Sydney – which for anyone that needs to do a similar thing, is located on George Street, which is one of the streets running due south from the Rocks Area.

 

Unfortunately there was no express queue at the Apple Store for QE travellers in Sydney, so after being told I would have to wait 1 hour 40 mins for an emergency appointment I decided to spend an hour or so updating software and apps whilst I waited. I had tried resetting the phone as we did in Hawaii and logging into to the Apple Store internet. Nothing. However after around an hour I suddenly found I could log in to my account again – and everything was working – so until I know differently I guess the Apple login does not like the various free wifi routers we had used on our travels and it may be a security type problem. It is inconvenient when travelling through a lot of different places in different countries.

 

I was free of the Apple store so the next quest was to find a 7/11 store to purchase a travel pass. We found one at the bottom of George Street and with our brand new shiny passes headed to the Manly ferry. It was near 12 noon and after a 30 minute trip on the slow boat we arrived at Manly Wharf. It was quite warm now, perhaps 27/28C so on arrival we immediately popped in to the Tourist information office, grabbed a map and enquired about the return ferry times. Apparently the last ferry departure was close to midnight, so that would not trouble us. The kind lady also suggested a couple of restaurants that we may like to try, one fish and one Italian the latter of which we tried later. We also spotted an Aldi supermarket which we recorded for a later visit.

 

From Manly Wharf we crossed the main road to the Corso, which lead in a straight line across the peninsular to Manly Beach, past local touristy type shops and the odd pub or three. On arrival at South Steyne we turned right towards Shelly Beach, and found a shaded seat on the promenade in order to take in the wonderful view of the seaside and the many surfers in the water, even though the surf was supposedly not up. After a few minutes a siren sounded and we could hear some chatter over the loudspeakers that lined the promenade, ‘A dark object has been sighted in the water of North Head, and as it is possibly a shark, everyone is requested to leave the water’ !

 

So no toe dipping for us then ! The swimmers off North Steyne Beach seemed to ignore the first warning, but then after around 5 minutes we heard another set of sirens and another announcement advising swimmers to leave the water on the other section of the beach. We took in the view for a little while, but it was very hot, and we decided refreshment was needed. Although there were several places to eat economically we decided that the sound of the Italian restaurant Hugo’s at Manly Wharf seemed like a good option, so after a little shopping on the way back we arrived at Hugo’s. We were met by a young welsh girl who proceeded to take our order and we shared a wonderful plate of salt & pepper calamari followed by a wonderful chorizo pizza washed down with a bottle of NZ sauvignon blanc with a wonderful view overlooking Manly Cove. All very civilised indeed. We lingered for sometime enjoying the views and the sunshine, before heading back to the ferry and the ship for 6pm.

 

We had informed our tablemates that we would be eating out that evening, and they had similar plans. On our return to Circular Quay we bumped into a couple and arranged to visit the Rocks area a little later. We met on the Quayside at 1930 and headed into the historic area looking for the oldest pub in Sydney. On the way we asked a couple of local policemen where we could find the establishment, and found we were only 150 yards from it ! It was a very warm evening and the ‘Fortune of War’ Public house was very busy with even some ship’s officers in there. The lager was very tasty but by the time we decided to try some of their Kangaroo Burgers, they had finished service  So back to the ship for a snack in the Lido and off to bed, as there was little entertainment that evening.

 

The following morning the sky was grey and it looked like it would rain at some stage. Plan B was instigated and we proceeded once again to the ferries, and caught the local ferry to Darling Harbour and the Australian National Maritime Museum at Pyrmont Bay. We had viewed this last from the Sydney Monorail in 2013 and marked it down for a visit then. The Monorail has sadly been dismantled now, but the museum has improved. Unfortunately the replica of the HMB Endeavour was not in attendance but we had a fun day visiting the many ships on display.

 

Our first call was to the Cape Bowling Green lighthouse which was apparently transported in kit form from the Uk and assembled at the Cape, before being dismantled and replaced and then reassembled in Sydney. The construction was quite interesting, and the light was originally candle powered, then gas powered and finally electric powered with the lens being rotated by a clockwork mechanism.

 

Next we visited a restored 19th Century 3-masted Barque James Craig, which was launched in Sunderland, England in 1874 by Bartram Haswell & Co. She rounded Cape Horn 23 times and has been fully restored, after a working life of 50 years. She ended her working life in the 1930’s and was abandoned in Tasmania where she lay for about 40 years. She was then towed to Hobart in 1973 and subsequently Sydney in 1981 and recomissioned in 2001. She still sails regularly and was involved in the Sydney Olympics.

 

We then took guided tours of some more modern military craft, HMAS Advance, HMAS Vampire and HMAS Onslow – an Attack Class Gun Boat (decommissioned 1988), the last of the big destroyers (decommissioned 1986) and an Oberon Class submarine which served up until 1999. All, very interesting and the volunteer guides, some of whom had served on the ships were very good at describing life on board.

 

It was now fairly late in the afternoon and the morning’s greyness had dissipated and we were back to wall to wall sunshine with a fair amount of humidity. After walking around darling harbour we caught the ferry back to Circular Quay. On arrival it felt very much like Kangaroo burger time, apologies to all Kangaroo and Skippy lovers. All I can say that the food and lager at the ‘Fortune of war’ was were nice 

 

All on Board time was 2030, for a 2100 sailaway, so the sun set and we once again elected to miss dinner and take part in the sailaway on the back deck. It seemed like many others had the same idea and as the Jazz band formed from the onboard orchestras continued to play we departed the quayside and headed past the iconic Sydney Bridge and Opera House towards the ocean. We had a great couple of days here again, it really is an excellent place to visit.

 

The 100 poppy sculpture we are carrying for the 100th Anniversary of Gallipoli has been securely stowed in the Queens Room and is on its way to the Northern Hemisphere. Next stop Brisbane on Friday where we are due to arrive at 9am and leave at 7pm.

 

Another hot sunny day at sea today, 5th March as we sail up the eastern Australian coast at 16 knots, currently 12 miles off the coast which is plainly visible off the port side, with around 230 miles to run to Fisherman’s Wharf.

 

It was good to welcome DreamFlightPat safely on board once again, and Barbara’s last meet and greet was held in the Yacht Club at 12 noon today. Many thanks for all the hard work you have done arranging everything Barbara, but it’s a little too early to say cheerio ! Keep up the excellent work with the blog 

 

John

 

Kathi, as always you are welcome :cool:

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the update John, can you tell us if there are actually 2 poppy walls please.:D

[Janix]

Only one as far as I know, they seemed to use the same one in both capitals, and it definitely wasn't fully covered when it left NZ.

 

John

Edited March 5, 2015 by Janix
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[MicCanberra]

Only one as far as I know, they seemed to use the same one in both capitals, and it definitely wasn't fully covered when it left NZ.

 

John

 

Cheers.:D

[OzKiwiJJ]

Only one as far as I know, they seemed to use the same one in both capitals, and it definitely wasn't fully covered when it left NZ.

 

John

 

Then they must have removed some or all of the poppies that were put on in NZ. Roscoe39's picture on the Aussie/Kiwi thread, with a timestamp of 12:24pm on the day it was in Auckland shows it quite well, but loosely, covered with poppies. One of the Cruise Critic Facebook pictures, posted on its first day in Sydney, shows a chap putting a poppy onto one of the 0s and it is very sparse, although the 1 looked thickly coated - maybe they moved all the NZ poppies onto the 1 athough I doubt there would have been space.

 

Interesting!

[Oahucruiser]

Thank you, Barbara and John, for being so consistent with the wonderful and detailed reports and photos. We eagerly look forward to them!

[alibabacruisers]

Thursday, 5 Mar

 

I had trouble sleeping last night and when I woke up this morning I felt like

I had been hit by a truck so I closed my eyes and slept for awhile longer.

Then I got up and took a lot of meds to try to be human again. I slowly felt

a bit better and watched some TV.

 

I needed to get my things together for what will be my last CC M&G since I

will be disembarking in HK. I headed to the Yacht Club around 11:15 so I could

be there when the Solo Traveller's group let out and I could set up the name

tags for when the CC gang arrive. There were about 20 people there which

included mostly previous members but also a couple of new ones. Pat is finally

on board and we were glad to see her again!

 

It has been great experience for me to organize the roll call, M&G , roll call

booklet as well as several excursions for this cruise! It was my first time and

I appreciate all the support and thanks that everyone has given me over the

past 17 months! It made it smooth, fun and a way to meet lots of interesting

people. Thank you one and all!!!! I would also like to thank everyone who has

been reading and following along on our cruise. You have been very kind to

offer your feedback and comments, which also shows your support too!

 

I met my DH back at the cabin and we went for a bit of lunch. The sun was

shining brightly and lots of people were out on the aft Lido Deck.

 

Boring, but true, but I needed to get a little nap in before dinner tonight.

It is an informal night so that is a bit easier to get ready for. It was a

quick dinner before heading to farewell friends who will be leaving tomorrow.

Now it is time for sleep before our day in Brisbane tomorrow.

 

Until next time...

Edited March 5, 2015 by alibabacruisers

[scotgal1]

When we got into Sydney they removed the poppies and put them into a container. The 100 was empty for Sydneysiders

[ckl001]

Thursday, 5 Mar

 

I had trouble sleeping last night and when I woke up this morning I felt like

I had been hit by a truck so I closed my eyes and slept for awhile longer.

Then I got up and took a lot of meds to try to be human again. I slowly felt

a bit better and watched some TV.

 

I needed to get my things together for what will be my last CC M&G since I

will be disembarking in HK. I headed to the Yacht Club around 11:15 so I could

be there when the Solo Traveller's group let out and I could set up the name

tags for when the CC gang arrive. There were about 20 people there which

included mostly previous members but also a couple of new ones. Pat is finally

on board and we were glad to see her again!

 

It has been great experience for me to organize the roll call, M&G , roll call

booklet as well as several excursions for this cruise! It was my first time and

I appreciate all the support and thanks that everyone has given me over the

past 17 months! It made it smooth, fun and a way to meet lots of interesting

people. Thank you one and all!!!! I would also like to thank everyone who has

been reading and following along on our cruise. You have been very kind to

offer your feedback and comments, which also shows your support too!

 

I met my DH back at the cabin and we went for a bit of lunch. The sun was

shining brightly and lots of people were out on the aft Lido Deck.

 

Boring, but true, but I needed to get a little nap in before dinner tonight.

It is an informal night so that is a bit easier to get ready for. It was a

quick dinner before heading to farewell friends who will be leaving tomorrow.

Now it is time for sleep before our day in Brisbane tomorrow.

 

Until next time...

 

 

 

I have really been enjoying all your reports and everyone elses as wells.

It really makes it feel like I am there.

Say Hello to Pat for me and when she gives her talk I highly recommend going. I went last year and it was great!

 

I can not wait until next year when I will be back onboard QE!

 

Chez

[MicCanberra]

Then they must have removed some or all of the poppies that were put on in NZ. Roscoe39's picture on the Aussie/Kiwi thread, with a timestamp of 12:24pm on the day it was in Auckland shows it quite well, but loosely, covered with poppies. One of the Cruise Critic Facebook pictures, posted on its first day in Sydney, shows a chap putting a poppy onto one of the 0s and it is very sparse, although the 1 looked thickly coated - maybe they moved all the NZ poppies onto the 1 athough I doubt there would have been space.

 

Interesting!

 

That is why I asked about a second 100, as it didn't seem to add up. Confirmed that they had emptied it then.

Edited March 5, 2015 by MicCanberra

[MicCanberra]

I have really been enjoying all your reports and everyone elses as wells.

It really makes it feel like I am there.

 

 

Chez

 

Agreed:D

[sydneylou]

Well we disembarked with ease on Tuesday after a wonderful cruise from Honolulu, QE lived up to our expectations, very elegant ship, wonderful food and especially enjoyed the little extra touches you don't get with other lines. Only gripe was that I couldn't get mixed berries in the lido, had to eat breakfast in the Britannia to get them, and overall wasn't over keen on the hot selection for lunch in the Lido, but the pizza was good. I would definitely sail on her again. I will be looking forward to the future blogs from those still on board.

Louise.

[kahtrav]

Cheers, I know what you mean about review interpretations but I can still get some use out of them. I will try not to inflate my expectations of Cunard too much by deeming them to be somewhere between a canoe and a private luxury yacht.:D

I like the idea of being somewhere between the canoe and luxury yacht :). As first time Cunard passengers, i do think the expectation is set very high (Cunard feeds that perception ). We have been cruising worldwide for almost 15 years now. We have found the QE to be a beautiful ship, even if not quite over-the-top that some expect.

[MicCanberra]

I like the idea of being somewhere between the canoe and luxury yacht :). As first time Cunard passengers, i do think the expectation is set very high (Cunard feeds that perception ). We have been cruising worldwide for almost 15 years now. We have found the QE to be a beautiful ship, even if not quite over-the-top that some expect.

 

I have just read a review on the QM2 and it is rather damning in both the ship's condition and service. Blaming most of it on Carnival Corp controlling the purse strings, so training and attitude of the staff and the ship maintenance have become slack.

 

I will take it as it comes and reserve judgement until then, I am sure some things will please me and others not so but I will enjoy my cruise in any case.:D

[Embarking]

Hi,

 

we are joining the QE in Dubai for the cruise through to Southampton.

 

We are waitlisted for the ship's Petra shore tour, but made enquiries with cruisingexcursions.com, as an alternative. They advise their shore tour to Petra is cancelled due to local unrest.

 

Has anyone who is booked on Cunard's shore tour heard if there is a possibility that Cunard's shore tour will similarly be cancelled.? :confused:

[Janix]

Not heard anything about unrest here, up to now. I think Karen may have mentioned she had a couple of spaces left for Petra yesterday at the CC meeting ?

 

John

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Salacia]

I have just read a review on the QM2 and it is rather damning in both the ship's condition and service. Blaming most of it on Carnival Corp controlling the purse strings, so training and attitude of the staff and the ship maintenance have become slack.

 

I will take it as it comes and reserve judgement until then, I am sure some things will please me and others not so but I will enjoy my cruise in any case.:D

 

That's the spirit mate! BTW, how fast can you row ? :D

[MicCanberra]

That's the spirit mate! BTW, how fast can you row ? :D

 

I am Australian, I can row very well but I can skull even better.;)

Edited March 6, 2015 by MicCanberra

[Salacia]

I am Australian, I can row very well but I can skull even better.;)

 

I knew you could :)

[roscoe39]

I am Australian, I can row very well but I can skull even better.;)

 

reviews are always dry subjective. She is of course not a brand new ship, Im sure she is still in better condition than the QE2 was on her last voyage but shhhhhh doth say that too loud around here.

 

I must admit to feeling a bit cheated about the 100, but it was the thought that counted and it certainly raised awareness which is never a bad thing....

 

lest we forget.

[Salacia]

Not heard anything about unrest here, up to now. I think Karen may have mentioned she had a couple of spaces left for Petra yesterday at the CC meeting ?

 

John

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

From what I have read of current news reports, I would not count on that port stop or tours to Petra. And I would not criticize any cruise line for avoiding that port.

[Embarking]

Not heard anything about unrest here, up to now. I think Karen may have mentioned she had a couple of spaces left for Petra yesterday at the CC meeting ?

 

John

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

How do I get in touch with Karen to get a hold on those spaces ?

[Janix]

How do I get in touch with Karen to get a hold on those spaces ?

 

Karen is posting under Kahtrav on this thread, perhaps she will see your request ?

 

John

Edited March 6, 2015 by Janix

[OzKiwiJJ]

When we got into Sydney they removed the poppies and put them into a container. The 100 was empty for Sydneysiders

 

That's a bit sad. I would imagine those Kiwis who put poppies on would be rather annoyed to hear theirs had been removed.:( Hope my poppy stays where I put it, it wouldn't be the same if it was relocated for some odd reason.

[MicCanberra]

reviews are always dry subjective. She is of course not a brand new ship, Im sure she is still in better condition than the QE2 was on her last voyage but shhhhhh doth say that too loud around here.

 

I must admit to feeling a bit cheated about the 100, but it was the thought that counted and it certainly raised awareness which is never a bad thing....

 

lest we forget.

 

Yeah, a shame there wasn't two, I think they have missed a trick with that.

Edited March 6, 2015 by MicCanberra