Ms Amsterdam World Cruise 2013 - Adelaide to Freemantle

Wed 20 February 2013

We arrived at the Outer Harbour of the Port of Adelaide at 9.45 am and were greeted by the brilliant music of The Old Gum Tree-O Bush Band playing on the dock. They went through all the old trad Aussie songs which were a great welcome.

At 11am I met up with Larry and 3 of the other barmen and took them over to lunch at the Largs Bay Hotel a few miles away from the Port.

 We had a great time and as they had to be back and on duty by 2 pm the time went very quickly. The old pub served us excellent meals and it gave the guys a chance to relax away from the ship.

After I got back to ship I freshened up and took the shuttle bus on the 40 minute ride into the city. As the place had changed so much since I lived here over 40 years ago I decided to stay on the bus and return to the ship. I will have come and visit Adelaide another time for a few days.

There was an Aussie BBQ on board the ship on the outside Lido deck during the evening with the bush band from the morning providing the toe tapping music.

 It was a fun night and at the end of the entertainment I had my photo taken with the band.

I finished up a great day and evening with a few night caps in the Crows Nest.

Thursday 21 Feb 2013

I had a great nights sleep and woke up at 8.45 am so I had a late brekkie by myself as the ladies had already eaten. I met up with Judi and gang at 10 am to catch the tender over to Kangaroo Island where we spent a few hours.

Judi was happy as she saw a wallaby which she thought was a Kangaroo. We went up to the pub which has fantastic views over the rugged coastline. Of course we had a local West End draught beer while we took in the views.

I had an easy arvo catching up on emails and downloading photos for the blog.

The Crows Nest happy hour was heaps of fun as folk I have met on the 2011 World Cruise are still coming up to me and saying g’day. We had a beaut dinner and some of the others had us in stitches of laughter recount some of their stories.

We had to go to the Ocean Bar for our night cap as the Crows Nest was closed for a private party for the crew hosted by the lovely Anna-Maria a passenger that hosts a party every year on the World Cruise for the officers and crew. I know the crew look so forward to it as they can dress up and be waited on by the senior officers.

I called it a night at mid night and had a great nights sleep. As we are heading west we had to put the clocks back by 90 minutes to be in line with AWST.

Friday 22 February 2013

I met up with Judi for brekkie in the Lido. Today is a sea day so I sent off all my dirty washing to be done. I am so pleased the Great Australian Bight is so calm today and it is not too cold outside on my veranda.

I got a list with the breakdown of the nationalities on board as I know some of you are interested in this info of the main nations. Well only 23 Aussies, I Kiwi, 112 Canadians, 87 Poms, 816 Yanks, 2 Irish and the rest are from other parts of the world. So even the Commonwealth countries combined don’t out do the Yanks.  The total number of passengers for this segment of the cruise is 1140.

The evening was formal and the dinner had a medieval theme. All the waiters were in period costume and played the part. We certainly had a great night with heaps of laughs.

As most of you know it is against my tropical Cairns religion to wear formal gear (well for too long) , I went up and changed before going up to the Crows Nest for a night cap. OMG I think every smoker on the ship was up there so we only had the one drink and went down to the sports bar and had Larry make us a Wang Wang. This was the first time Judi and Fran had ever tried one and they liked it so much they had a second.

Saturday 23 February 2013

Today is another sea day.

I had brekkie with Judi and did some cut price shopping in the morning and then caught up with other friends for coffee.

I had Bloody Marys at the Seaview bar as it was a very sunny day before lunch. The 3 hour nanna nap went down well before early Happy Hour. I am still having folk come up to me from other cruises to say hello. Willy and Raymond and bar staff are really looking after me.

I did the Happy hour before dinner which I may say are becoming more popular so it is hard to get a seat at the bar unless you are early. Dinner was the usual good time with heaps of laughs.

I had a night cap at Larry’s bar and called it a night at about 11.30pm.

Sunday 24 February 2013

We woke up in the Port of Albany and went ashore on the free shuttle bus provided by the Port. Our first stop was Coles supermarket to buy up before we leave Australia. The locals had gone out of their way to provide with information officers, craft markets and a very friendly photosphere. It was a pity that a few showers of rain put a damper on the day. 

We went to the hotel Albany to shelter from the rain and of course we had a beer and some lunch. 

 We had a leisurely walk back to the ship after the rain had stopped. 

We had a great day as Albany is a fantastic place to visit.

Monday 25 February 2013

After an early night last night and a good sleep in this morning I was a little late for brekkie. I spent the morning chatting in the Lido poolside area.

 I had lunch there also and then it was time to pack the overnight bag for my arrival in Fremantle where I will be staying overnight with Warren and Lorraine who I met on a cruise last year.

It is a perfect warm sunny day with clear skies as we head up the WA coast towards the port of Fremantle. Our arrival was slightly ahead of schedule so I had to quickly pack an overnight bag and be outside to meet Warren.

He took me for a drive along the coastline from Fremantle to City Beach and then over to his home in Floreat. I was made most welcome by Lorraine and Warren at there home. We caught up with a few drinks before their other guests arrived. 

The six of us sat down to a fantastic steak BBQ and chatted for many hours. The company was excellent as everyone shared their stories. I think I was in bed by 10.30 pm and had a good night’s sleep.

Tuesday 26 February 2013

I awoke about 6 am and went down stairs to work on my computer until my hosts woke up. We had brekkie and then Warren drove me down to the nearby barbers shop to get a haircut. Then Lorraine and Warren took me on a tour including Kings Park where we stopped for coffee.

 The views from the Park over the city ware fantastic. We continued the tour down to Fremantle. There is no doubt that this area is booming thanks to the mining. I don’t think I saw a car over 5 years old.

I invited Warren and Lorraine on board for lunch and my friend Judi took them for a tour of the ship while I got my cabin ready to have them for drinks before departure.

It was great to catch up with this lovely couple and my sincere thanks to them for making me so welcome at their home and showing me the sights of both cities. 

 I hope they enjoyed their visit to the ship and the small memento I arranged for them.

We set sail at 4 pm and had postcard perfect views as we sailed down the Swan River and into the Indian Ocean and headed up the coast towards the Indonesian island of Bali.

Ms Amsterdam 2013 World Cruise _ Cairns to Hobart

World Cruise 2013

Friday 15 February 2013

The alarm woke me at 3.30am in order to get ready to be at the airport by 4.45am. My mate Dan had stayed over in order to drive me to the airport. The check in process went very smoothly and Dan and I were sitting down having coffee at 5 am however after 2 sips of the coffee they called the flight early so I had to up and leave my caffeine fix.

The 2 hour flight to Brisbane seemed to go very quickly and I watched most of the new movie Anna Karenina on my Galaxy Tap 2.

The change over at Brisbane was a breeze and then we were held from leaving because a passenger had failed to board the flight. This of course meant that person’s luggage had to be located and taken off the aircraft. The whole exercise delayed the flight by 40 minutes. 

In the next 70 minute flight I watched the remainder of the movie then chatted to the lady beside me.

I got my bags and then went down to the airport railway station and caught the train into Circular  Quay to where I have normally caught previous HAL ships. When the train pulled up at the station I could see down over the Quay.

Shock and Horror there was no Ms Amsterdam there. I quickly got out my boarding pass and discovered the ship was leaving from Wharf 5 Barangaroo. Where the hell is Barangaroo I thought? I went to the information desk and the bloke gave me a map and suggested I get a cab there as it was too far to walk with my bags. Anyway after a $15 cab ride I arrived at this out of the way place with its huge white marque. I checked in the luggage then went in to check myself in. WOW what a dream as I was the only one in this huge tent checking in at that time. So I got VIP service actually it was 6 star as I was given another upgrade to a balcony suite. So thanks Mr HAL.

This of course led to another slight problem as my bags were going to the previous cabin I was advised. After checking out my flash cabin I advised my cabin guys that my bags were going to go to the other cabin so they advised me they would take care of it. And when I returned to my cabin after having a late lunch in the Lido a Bloody Mary in the Lido poolside Bar, my bags were in the cabin.

After unpacking I went down to the front office to check out if my gear I had left on the Veendam in South America had arrived. No it hadn’t so that will be a project I will have to work on.

I made it up to the Crows Nest for the  4.30 happy hour and met Judi my friend from the World Cruise 2011. Many folk came up to say hello and welcome me back on board.

I met up with Judi again at 7pm at the Lido Bar before going into the lido for dinner. Willie the bar manager came along and bought us a couple of ‘welcome back Sir Pat’ drinks. Fran a friend of Judi’s joined us and then we went to the Lido for dinner.

After dinner we went up to the Crows Nest for a night cap. It was so good to catch up with so many folk from the 2011 World Cruise again.

As I had had a long day I made it an early night and was in bed by 10.30 pm.

Saturday 16 February 2013

After a good nights sleep I went up to the Lido to meet Judi for Brekkie and to plan our day. At 9 am I met up with Judi and Fran to catch the shuttle to Circular Quay where we caught the ferry to Manly. My good friends Denis and Colleen (from the Volendam) met up with us on the ferry as they were going over to spend the weekend with their family.

After ten minutes the Yank Sheilas and the Aussie couple blended in so well it was like they had known each other for years. The ladies enjoyed the ferry ride and the sights of Sydney from this beautiful harbour.

On arrival at Manly Denis showed the ladies the street markets and we went off to have coffee and a catch up chat. At mid day we met up with Judi and Fran at the pub for a local beer and seafood lunch. 

We shared the meals of salt and pepper calamari and the fish and chips. What a great feed and Fran claimed it was the best calamari she had ever tasted. After a long and enjoyable lunch we said good bye to Colleen and Denis and caught the ferry back to Circular Quay and the shuttle returned us to the ship.

Because I had just joined the ship along with the other new passengers we had to attend the mandatory boat drill. May I say it was the best I had ever done as every one was there and was marked off the list. It was all over in 15 minutes.

I chatted to new and old friends in the Crows Nest as we sailed under the Bridge and past the Opera House as we headed out to sea. I found myself acting as a tour guide and pointing out points of interest as we sailed out towards the heads.

I met up with Judi for dinner as she had arranged for me to sit at the same table as her. It is a table for 8 and upstairs on level 5 of the dining room. There were only 6 of us and it seams like it will be a good table.

After dinner we went up for a night cap in the Crows Nest and I was still catching up with folk I had met 2 years ago. I called it an early night and was in bed by 11 pm.

Sunday 17 Feb 2013

I had another fantastic night’s sleep and woke at 6.50 am. I showered and got ready to meet Judi in the Lido for Brekkie. I took up my Galaxy Tab 2 and showed her some of my photos.

I had a meeting with Christel the Guest Relations Manager to seek her help in locating my gear I had left on the Veendam last month and was to be forwarded to the Amsterdam for when I joined in Sydney. So far the goods can not be located.

Late morning I went to the complementary wine tasting for four star mariners. They didn’t promote any Aussie Wines which seemed a bit strange as the ship is in this part of the world.

I had a Bloody Mary in the Lido bar and chatted to Willie the Bar Manager and Raymond his assistant before going to lunch with Irish Helen. Lunch was followed by a 2 hour nanna nap and then the Crows Nest for Happy Hour.

I have just had some great news from Christel that my lost gear is still on the Veendam and it will now be forwarded to Manila with one of the crew going home on leave, so it is expected to be there for my arrival next month. Well at least I know it has not been lost in the South American postal system. Many thanks to Kate and Cristal for following up on this matter for me.

We had a great dinner and the company was excellent, there were 7 of us at the table and I’m the only Aussie and the others are all Yanks

The Aussie Boys were the show last night and they put on an brilliant show, one of the best shows I have seen on a ship. I told them so up in the Crows Nest after the show. I called it a night just after mid night. Tomorrow we will be in Hobart for the day.

Monday 18 Feb 2013

I had another great nights sleep and awoke at 7 am and after a quick shower I was up to the Lido to meet Judi for Brekkie. Then it was arranged to all meet up at 9.30 am to go ashore.

We walked along the waterfront into the city and caught the Hop on Hop off bus for a 90 minute tour of the city. Well it was a postcard perfect day to see the historic City of Hobart. The tour was excellent and the commentary was great and packed with Aussie humour.

After the tour we went to visit Hadley’s Hotel (the oldest in Hobart) as I had taken the girls there 2 years ago they wanted to go back again. We arrived and found out the bar was closed on Mondays, so after I told the story of the disappointment these American ladies were going through the lovely kind young receptionist  let us go in there and she even served us a beer. We sat in a corner near the window that could not be seen from the front reception area of the hotel as she didn’t want others wanting to come in and join us.

After our beer we thanked her and wandered back to the ship for a very late lunch. We sailed out of Hobart about 4 pm.

I went up to the late Happy Hour before dinner and as Judi had a prior booking for the Pinnacle Grill. I had to go to join the other tablemates by myself. It was a good meal and they have seemed to have warmed up to me now. After dinner I went up to the Crows nest for a night cap and then down to the Sports Bar to have a chat to Larry. We had to put our watches back half an hour before going to bed as we would wake up in Central Time.

Tuesday 19 February 2013

What a great sleep in I had as I didn’t wake up until just after 8.30 am as today is a sea day. I made my way up to the Lido for a late light brekkie. I was chatting to a young lady for over an hour then it took me another 2 hours to get back to my cabin as I was running into folk and chatting to them so I want to blame Bill & Marianne, Penny, Barb and Larry for this delay. As I am a bloke of not many words I know it was not me doing all the talking. LOL.

I had a shower etc and then off to the front office to organise some visas and put a request for Warren and Lorraine to visit the ship while we are in Freemantle.

I was just about to sit down for lunch when a lady called out ‘G’Day Fr Pat’. I went over to her and it was Lynn the Aussie lady that also got hijacked in Samoa by a taxi driver and had to empty her purse to get a ride back to the ship.  This was the same day as the Fr Pat story started about 3 years ago.

Tomorrow we will be in Adelaide and I have arranged with Raymond the assistant bar manager to take Larry and Mannie out to lunch Ray has adjusted the rosters so they don’t have to start work until 2pm.  

I didn’t have time to get in a nanna nap before Happy Hour up at the Crows Nest.  Dinner was the usual fun and I went to see the Aussie Boys 2^nd show which was excellent before calling it an early night at 11 pm. Tomorrow we will be in Adelaide.