Lin and I had started to warm to the idea of a cruising holiday. That may be a slight exaggeration… we’d decided to at least suspend a lifetime of being prejudiced against them, until we’d actually tried one! So I found myself registered with a couple of ‘last minute’ cruise agencies.
In November 2022, an email arrived from Imagine Cruising offering a 49 night half-world cruise starting in January, from Southampton to Sydney, and flights back for around half the normal price, and included an upgrade to a cabin with balcony. The cruise took-in the the Florida Everglades, the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji and eventually New Zealand and Australia. That ticked an awful lot of boxes without breaking the bank, so we went for it.
An early stumbling block was that the cruise was full-board, but didn’t include drinks. When I was trying to book the holiday, I asked about the drinks package, I was told it was £40 per person per day… that was going to add the best part of £4,000 to the cost of the holiday. That was outrageous, so I thanked him and put the phone down. I just couldn’t imagine spending £40 on booze every day. Eventually, I tried again and found that the drinks on board were similar to UK pub prices, and figured we’d probably not exceed £40 for the two of us, so we decided to go ahead, but without the drinks package.
Date
Activity
Sea Miles
Sun Jan 1st
Fly to London Gatwick
Drove in bright sunshine, and 21 degrees to Malaga Airport (via Sue Berenson’s to drop Bowie off), and had an indifferent meal at Malaga airport. Our strategy was to save money on drinks on the ship, so we’d buy two litre bottles of duty-free vodka, but guess what? The duty-free was closed by the time we’d eaten – probably because it was New Year’s Day! We took off around 19:30, and landed at Gatwick around 21:15, and then took a surprisingly long taxi ride and checked into the Holiday In – Gatwick Worth. Had some drinks (£16.55 for V & T and a beer!), and then bed.
Mon Jan 2nd
Take train to Southampton.
It was a nice hotel and we’d had a good night, and decent breakfast (did I mention the square toilet seats?). Got a taxi to Gatwick Station and caught the 12:09 train to Southampton. Saw extensive flooding on the journey.
Got a taxi to the rather swish Leonardo Royal Hotel. We dropped our stuff off, had some beers in the bar, and then chilled in our room.
We ended up in Leo’s Bar and had drinks and bar food and the tab was £88! Had a good night’s sleep.
Tue Jan 3rd
Join our cruise ship, the P & O ‘Arcadia’
We had a 3 o’clock boarding slot, so we had time to kill. Sadly, we woke up to torrential rain, so having a wander round Southampton was no longer an option. Then more bad news… I got an email to say that our boarding time had been put back by three hours, because they wanted to ‘deep clean’ the ship due to an outbreak of Norovirus! Anyway, we had a nice breakfast, showered and then sat around with our luggage. We had lunch in the bar, and then decided to arrive at the terminal at our original check-in time, and if necessary plead ignorance.
So we booked an Uber to take us to the Mayflower Terminal at 15:00, and found enormous queues on the pavement outside the terminal; it seemed that everyone else had also ignored the email. So it took us more than two hours of queuing to get checked-in, and through security before we got on board.
We found our cabin… B151 on the seventh floor (deck), and we were very happy with it. We dumped our stuff and went to the Spinnaker Bar for beers (a Corona and a Doombar), and then returned to the cabin and finished our unpacking.
The captain introduced himself over the ship’s p.a system, and mentioned the need to use the hand sanitiser’s as often as possible, and told us of the mask-wearing mandate.
Had a nice dinner on a table with three other couples, as the Arcadia slipped out of it’s berth. A nice touch was a firework display on the Southampton quayside as we left… it turned out that our cruise was the first world-cruise by P&O since before the pandemic. We saw the lights of the Isle of Wight as we ate our dinners.
223
Wed Jan 4th
At sea (Blurgghhhh)
Woke up to grey skies. The sea had been quite ‘lumpy’ overnight, so not the best night’s sleep. And the cabin was too warm. We had a large and enjoyable breakfast in the Belvedere self-service restaurant. Then headed back to our cabin, and read and dozed.
We went to the Meridian Restaurant for lunch and beers. We shared an Indian plate, and then desserts.
More reading and dozing after lunch.
Went to the Rising Sun pub for beers, and found it a bit noisy. We decided to switch from ‘Freedom’ dining in the upper Meridian where it was pot-luck who you shared a table with, to the 8:30 pm slot of ‘Club’ dining in the lower Meridian, where we could have table for two. In the event our table was about six inches away from the table of Mick and Sandra… not really our sort of people, but realistically, we could have done worse!
Had a decent meal, with large glasses of wine.
491
Thu Jan 5th
At sea
Weather a little brighter, but still quite cool. There’d been a lot of shaking and weird motion during the night, so again not a great night’s sleep. Up early and ready for Breakfast in the Meridian at eight o’clock. “Are you willing to share?” we were always asked… “No thanks” we always replied.
As long as we got to breakfast at the opening time, this wasn’t a problem, but arriving 30 minutes later, and we’d sometimes have to wait 15-20 minutes before they found us a table. Anyway, we had a nice and civilised breakfast with waiter service.
Sat in the Crow’s Nest Bar alternating between reading our Kindles and watching the sea. Very changeable weather and we saw the occasional seabirds. We along with several others, were driven out by the noise of French lessons, for some reason taking place in the bar rather than one of the many function rooms nearby.
Had a nice lunch in the Meridian and accepted sharing a table. There was a fair mix of people, but we ended up having a nice chat with a retired GP. Sadly not everyone on the ship was as interesting! Back to the cabin for a siesta. Then sat and read in the Crow’s Nest for an hour or so,
The first ‘Black Tie dinner’. Lin had a nice dress, and I had a tweed jacket, dark trousers, with shirt and tie, but we were surprised to find how many seasoned ‘cruisers’ there were; most people were dressed to the nines, and we eventually learned that a lot of the men had even brought more than one DJ! On the other hand, they probably hadn’t flown in from Spain so were not limited in their luggage allowance.
504
Fri Jan 6th
At sea
Grey, rainy with big seas. Breakfast in the Meridian. Chilled in the Crow’s Nest for an hour or two, then went for our usual beers in the Piano Bar.
Crap lunch in the Meridian with some very tedious and opinionated people. Walked around the Promenade Deck for some exercise, then a siesta.
Drinks in the Piano Bar, before an indifferent dinner in the Meridian. Our neighbour Mick was missing with (we found out later) our first experience of Norovirus.
488
Sat Jan 7th
At sea
Grey, rainy and windy with heavy seas, but sun started breaking through during breakfast. At this point, we were close to the Azores and felt that we should be getting some of the Mediterranean style weather that we’d left behind in Malaga a week earlier.
Read our Kindles in the Crow’s Nest. Walked around the Promenade Deck (the wrong way!) Beers in the Spinnaker Bar, lunch in Meridian, siestas, more promenading. I sat in the Crow’s Nest listening to MP3s.
At dinner, Sandra confirmed that Mick was one of five passengers with Norovirus.
490
Sun Jan 8th
At sea
Started sunny, but quickly turned grey and squally
Breakfast, promenade, then read in a very stuffy East Bar until we’d had enough. Adjourned to the Spinnaker Bar for beers, then lunch, Siesta then promenade.
Had our first experience of onboard entertainment… a classical guitar recital. By the end of it, Lin was starting to feel bad and barely made it back to the cabin before needing to vomit. She had Norovirus!
I didn’t feel like the Black Tie dinner on my own, so I went to the Belvedere self-service restaurant.
501
Mon Jan 9th
At sea
Lin had a very bad night… D & V! We had room service breakfast, and Lin managed to drink some orange juice.
Milder weather… sunny and around 19 C. I had spaghetti and meatballs for lunch in the Belvedere, and then walked around decks 10 and 11 in the sunshine. Lin still poorly.
Another walk around the sun decks. Sat in the cabin and read. Just me for dinner, and Mick was back but Sandra was now missing.
515
Tue Jan 10th
At sea
Forgot to put clocks back, so got up at 6:20! Lin had a good night and feeling much improved. I had full breakfast in the Belvedere, and Lin had a banana.
Me – promenade. We hoped that Lin would get the all-clear, but heard nothing. I had lunch in the Belvedere, then walked around the sun decks. Lin eventually got the all-clear and had a room service chicken sandwich.
I joined Sandra and Mick in the Meridian, and brought back some wine for Lin.
512
Wed Jan 11
At sea
Lin still improving, and well enough for a light breakfast in the Meridian. Then a captain’s announcement that the mask mandate is being lifted.
Both walked around the sun deck, and then sat on some sun loungers for a while. Beers in the Neptune Bar. I joined the archery ‘knockout competition’… arrows with suckers on them. It was fun, but badly organised, and a woman I had beaten suddenly appeared in the final!
Lunch in the Belvedere, on my own still. We both walked around the sun deck, then beers in the Aquarius Bar, followed by a siesta.
We then went to the Palladium and watched a talented (married) pair of pianists playing duets. Unfortunately, they felt the need to sprinkle their act with jokes and appalling puns, which undermined the experience. They had a cabin a few doors away from ours, and they seemed really nice people, but someone should tell them to drop the juvenile humour!
We later found that while we were in the theatre, we’d missed a sunset accompanied by a ‘green flash’… something I’d been hoping to see on this trip (along with waterspouts, volcanic eruptions, and the odd Kraken).
Drinks in the Rising Sun until the Pop quiz started. Then had an early dinner in the Belvedere, followed by the tribute act ‘Eric and Ern‘ in the Palladium… it was cringe-worthy! Afterwards, we sat on our balcony with Vodkas and tonics.
522
Thu Jan 12th
Our first landfall… Freeport, Bahamas
Where to start?! We arrived in Freeport in the Bahamas at first light to clear skies and already warm. Had breakfast in the Meridian, and then sat around waiting for instructions about disembarkation.
Ten o’clock, still on-board waiting to get off.
Eleven o’clock still waiting.
Twelve o’clock still waiting.
Two o’clock we get an announcement “the Bahaman authorities won’t allow us to disembark”… no reason given. Similar for the ‘Margaritaville‘ berthed just down the road.
Three o’clock, we left Freeport, and turned east which is odd because our next port of call, Fort Lauderdale is west! I spotted the captain and asked him what are our chances of the same thing happening in Florida, and he just fobbed me off. People were already muttering this is the worst cruise they’ve ever been on!
Dinner in the Meridian, then V & T’s on the balcony.
188
Fri Jan 13th
Fort Lauderdale/Port Everglades
Arrive in Fort Lauderdale, Florida facing a building site! The captain announced that the ship is being ‘deep cleaned’ (again), so everyone must be ashore between 11:00 and 17:00.
We found belatedly that we needed to get a ticket to determine when we could disembark. Had breakfast, and waited for our turn. In the meantime, I tried various ways of booking an Everglades Airboat tour, but with no luck.
So around eleven o’clock, when our number was called, we walked towards the town centre when I spotted the Renaissance Hotel, and remembered that this was one of the pickup points for one of the Airboat tours, so we walked into the reception and managed to book ourselves on it.
We had an hour or so to wait, so we had a couple of beers for $17. I gave the guy a $20 and realised even though I was standing at the bar, he had no intention of giving us any change!
The minibus turned up and we drove inland for an hour or so, and arrived in torrential rain! The Airboat trip itself was OK; we didn’t see as much wildlife as I’d hoped… some vultures, herons, and other birds, one alligator, oh and an Iguana.
The ‘Alligator Wrestling‘ on the other hand was great. Neither of us had any high expectations because of the title, but it wasn’t cruel or exploitative… it was actually a centre for rescued ‘gators with a guy called Trey who obviously loved his work, and had the greatest respect for the animals; and he was very entertaining.
The return trip included an unscheduled stop at the airport, and we walked back from the hotel via a stop at Walgreens. We decided we didn’t need anything badly enough to justify the high prices of everything.
Back at the terminal by around five, but we were then kept waiting in large public holding areas until six o’clock, as the deep cleaning had not yet finished. OTOH, how do you ‘deep clean’ a 1,000 ft ship with 1,050 passenger cabins, 500 crew cabins, 5 restaurants, 10 bars, two theatres, clinics, gymnasiums, many function rooms and miles of corridor. And that’s just the ‘public’ parts of the ship!
We had a couple of well overdue beers in the Spinnaker Bar, then dinner in the Meridian. Sandra and Mick were missing but as P & O regulars, we knew that they had fairly frequent ‘special’ dinners with free drinks.
We left Port Everglades at 20:45 and sat on our balcony with V & T’s, and enjoyed watching as we passed the distant Miami skyline.
146
Sat Jan 14th
At sea
Woke up to cloudy and windy weather, but very mild. We were latish getting up, and breakfast was unusually slow.
Read for a while in the Crow’s Nest while the cabin was being made up. Then drinks in the Spinnaker Bar, and a late lunch in the Meridian with the coast of Cuba visible as the ship headed east. Chatted with a nice couple from Southampton.
Siesta, then some promenading. Dinner in the Meridian.
438
Sun Jan 15th
At sea
Up at 06:55. Coffee then breakfast in the Meridian. Went to a 10:00 am lecture on acupuncture, where because of the guy’s strong Indian accent, we caught maybe one word in three!
Promenaded for a while, then sat with our beers in the smoking section of the Aquarius Bar, because the non-smoking section was always occupied. It seemed crazy that there were only three tables in the non-smoking area, compared to ten tables in the smoking area – most of them empty!
Lunch in the Belvedere, and a nice curry for me. The ship passed through the gap between Haiti and Cuba, and then turned south-west.
Margaritas in the Spinnaker Bar in the evening, dinner in the Meridian and then went to the Palladium to see the P & O dance troupe The Headliners do ‘Killer Queen‘, which was excellent.
434
Sun Jan 16th
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Warm and sunny as we arrived at Montego Bay. We ended up berthed well out of main part of town. We had breakfast, then walked ashore. We shared a mini-bus to the ‘Hip Strip‘ along the sea front. We decided not to pay the exorbitant prices just to go on the Doctors Cave Beach; instead we were approached by a taxi driver called Newman who offered to run us around for an hour for $40, which we agreed to. I told him what we’d like to see, but he clearly had an itinerary in mind… mostly he took us to see hotels, apartments and housing for rich tourists, but it was OK. I was warned off bringing my camera ashore, so I didn’t feel I’d missed too many prime shots!
After that, we went looking for a beer, and bumped into Sandra and Mick who’d just left a bar with a strong aroma of Ganga! We didn’t want to sit indoors, so we went to the strange looking Hunger’s Point bar/restaurant where we were ripped off at $5.00 each for cans of Red Stripe beer.
We found we just had enough money left to get a taxi back to the ship for lunch, then beers, then siesta. We were both unimpressed with Montego Bay; we’d been told about the high crime rate, and in addition we found the touristy bits fairly trashy, the shop assistants disinterested and unfriendly, and the general feeling that everyone was trying to rip you off.
Back on the ship, we bought 24 hours of internet, and sat in the East bar reading and internetting.
The ship left at 18:00, and did a 270° manoeuvre to get away from our berth. Margaritas in the Piano Bar, then dinner in the Meridian.
212
Tue Jan 17th
At sea
Grey and rainy – not at all what we expected of the Caribbean! Breakfast in Meridian, then went to the lecture on the Panama Canal. Read in the Crow’s Nest for a while, then beers in the Spinnaker Bar and lunch in the Belvedere. Following Lin’s example, I had some nice beef from the carvery.
Siesta, some internetting, then more beers. The weather had improved, so went for a promenade. Then I did a ‘sprint’ of just under 7 minutes. (Three circuits of the Promenade deck is one mile).
Spinnaker Bar; Margarita for Lin, Pina Colada for me. Then dinner in the Meridian.
372
Wed Jan 18
Panama Canal transit
Woke early, as we approached the Panama Canal entrance in the twilight. I left Lin to her early morning cup of tea, and went to the newly opened Deck 6 front balcony. I stood there with an increasing crowd of excited passengers, in the dawn light taking long exposure photos of the canal approach, the docks and the Puente Atlantico bridge.
I went and got Lin as we approached the bridge, and we could see the Gatun Locks in the distance. We returned to our cabin and I took some pics of what’s left of the 1881 French attempt. We had breakfast in the Meridian as we progressed slowly towards, and then entered the Gatun Locks; and then watched the remaining progress from our balcony.
Negotiating the locks was a fascinating process, where the ship would provide the motive power, but as there was only a foot or so of clearance on either side of the ship, the fine control was done by ‘Mules’ fore and aft – electric railway engines which kept the ship centred in the locks.
We were out of the locks and into the Gatun Lake by 11:30, when we decided to have an early lunch in the Belvedere. We spent an hour slowly passing the local rainforest… by 13:00 we had reached the town of Gamboa; the Centennial Bridge by 14:00, and San Pedro Locks by 14:30.
We were delayed at San Pedro while an ambulance took a sick passenger off the ship, so we didn’t reach the Miraflores Locks until 16:30. At 18:00 we passed under the Bridge of the Americas, and could see the distant Panama City over the rainforest.
We had beers in the Aquarius Bar while we passed Panama City, and left the canal, threading our way through the dozens of ships at the Balboa Anchorage, waiting their turn to enter. With reductions in the number of ships transitting the canal, ships without a reservation can wait up to 11 days!
Then Margaritas in the Spinnaker Bar, and dinner in the Meridian.
211
Thu Jan 19th
At sea
Warm and sunny with a very calm sea. We were having breakfast in the Meridian at the stern of the ship, when someone pointed out a pod of dolphins behind us. Afterwards, we dozed in our cabin for a while, and then went to the Aquarius Bar for beers.
Lunch in the Belvedere, and then a siesta where we were both sound asleep! I woke and went onto the balcony where I saw and videoed a large pod of dolphins in the ship’s wake. 10 Minutes later I saw another pod ahead to starboard. That was three pods in one day… very nice, but sadly not typical!
We could follow our progress along the coast of Panama, and later Costa Rica, until they became too far away.
We read for a while, then I went to video the sunset, but sadly, no green flash. Margaritas in the Spinnaker Bar, then dinner in the Meridian followed by ‘Dance and Illusion‘ by the Headliners. Not as good as other shows.
372
Fri Jan 20th
At sea
Warm and sunny. Breakfast in Meridian. Went to a lecture on Central American Volcanology. Beers in the Aquarius Bar, but once again we were getting tired of having to sit in the smoking area.
An early lunch in the Belvedere, then siesta. Some promenading, then beers in the Spinnaker Bar. Again I filmed a perfectly clear sunset, but still no green flash. Margaritas in the Spinnaker Bar, then dinner in the Meridian.
423
Sat Jan 21st
Arrive Huatulco
Nice clear day, and a little fresher. We had breakfast in the Meridian, then went ashore. Huatulco is a pretty resort with nice beaches; touristy, but much nicer than Montego Bay. I bought an orange tee-shirt, then stopped at a beach bar for beers and internet.
Lunch back on the ship, then walked ashore again, and saw a Manta Ray next to the jetty. We got a taxi to a local mirador, and lighthouse, and then to the local town, Crucecita… and realised that the driver had ripped us off on the exchange rate USD to Pesos. Had two sub-standard Coronas in Crucecita, then got a taxi back. And despite assurance from the P & O shore excursion team that everyone accepts USD, our driver didn’t!
The Arcadia left Huatulco at 18:00, and I went up to the sun deck to watch the ‘sailaway party‘, and the manoeuvring very close to a rocky islet as the crew were testing the bow and stern thrusters.
We read a little, did Sudoku, then Margaritas in the Spinnaker Bar before dinner.
217
Sun Jan 22nd
At sea
Another nice day. Breakfast in the Meridian, then watched a lecture on Central American Deserts… in the Globe theatre, not the Palladium as expected!
Lunch in the Belvedere, siesta, then crosswords, Kindles, and saw some turtles. Lin went to the laundry room and did some ironing, then we did a circuit or two of the Promenade deck. Beers at a surprisingly empty Aquarius Bar.
Videoed the sunset again, and still no green flash!
Dinner in the Belvedere, and sat drinking wine in the Aquarius Bar afterwards, and not realising at the time that we were getting covered in smuts from the funnel!
441
Mon Jan 23
Arrive in Manzanillo
Warm, blue skies. Breakfast in the Meridian, then walked into Manzanillo and did a bit of shopping – two pairs of shorts for me. Had Coronas in a fairly sleazy bar, then back to the ship for lunch.
Ashore again, and stopped at a tent promoting two-hour tours by mini-bus, and agreed at $25 each. We waited until 13:00, and found we were the only ones going… plus our German guide.
First stop was a private menagerie and iguana sanctuary. Some racoons, wild pigs, and dozens of iguanas. It was very good and we made a suitable donation.
Off again, and ended up at the peninsula of Las Hadas, where we looked down on some nice beaches and some expensive hotel/apartments.
From here, we drove to the Playa los Arcos and the craft market, Mercado de Artesanias Emiliano Zapata. We had beers on the beach, and then Lin bought some nice earrings in the craft market, before getting the minibus back to the ship.
It was an enjoyable couple of hours, and we gave $10 to the guide and the driver. I watched the ship leaving the harbour, and after several days of coast hopping north-west from Panama, we headed due west heading for Hawaii. I watched the sunset, but still no green flash! We’d booked dinner in the up-market Ocean Grill and had very disappointing lobsters, but with a nice Pinot Grigio. Sat in the Spinnaker Bar with a bottle of Holy Snail white wine.
217
Tue Jan 24th
At sea
Treated ourselves to an indulgent bit of a lay-in, and then a late breakfast. Then took our once-off vouchers and queued for an hour or more for cheap booze… Cointreau and Smirnoff vodka. Then beers in the Spinnaker.
Lunch in the Belvedere, siesta, some promenading, then more beers. Margaritas in the Spinnaker Bar before dinner, then watched the Headliners ‘Burt Bacharach musical‘. I thought it was good, but Lin was bored!
464
Wed Jan 25
At sea
Quite a choppy sea, but warm with blue skies. Breakfast in the Meridian, then we received our Rotorua/Thermal Valley tickets, but they were too expensive, too long on the coach, and ultimately, not what we’d asked for! We got our money back.
Laundry day! Then a talk on Marine Mammals in the Palladium – pretty dull. Read Kindles in the Intermezzo, then beers in the Spinnaker.
Read in cabin, then siesta, then exercise. Read some more in cabin.
At 19:05 the phone rang, and a recorded voice said effectively “a fire has been detected in you part of the ship. Please evacuate immediately“. It was a ‘Black Tie’ evening and we’d just finished getting ready, so we left and headed for the muster station… and found no-one else was there! We went down to reception to try and find out what was going on, and the guy was clueless. His explanation quickly went from “it might have been a test”, via “it was probably a test” to “Yes it was a test”.
But no, ‘cos it happened again at 6:00am the following morning! Anyway, it was Burn’s Night in the Meridian, so we had dinner there, then went to the Palladium and watched a stand-up comedian telling some very old jokes.
459
Thu Jan 26th
At sea
6:00am fire alarm again! Phoned reception and told them to investigate and let us know so we could go back to sleep… but they didn’t!
So we assumed it was a false alarm, tried to go back to sleep but failed, so got up, had coffees, then breakfast. The weather was grey, force 5 winds, choppy sea… and this was the tropics! Exercised, read in the cabin, read in Intermezzo, then beers in the Spinnaker Bar.
Lunch, siesta, exercise, reading, crosswords. Cocktails in Spinnaker Bar, then dinner in Meridian.
442
Fri Jan 27th
At sea
Clear skies at last! Breakfast in the Meridian, then attended a lecture on the History of Hawaii. Beers in the Spinnaker Bar.
Lunch, reading, siesta, exercise, reading, crosswords.
Margaritas in Spinnaker Bar, dinner in Belvedere, then ‘Skywatch‘ where they turned out the lights on various parts of the sun deck, so we can look at the stars. Coincidentally I had a note in my diary that Comet C/2022 E3 was ‘nearing Polaris’. Sadly it had rained earlier in the evening so there was still a lot of cloud around; we didn’t see the Comet or much of note, but it was nice to see a really dark sky and Orion was clearer (and higher) than I’d ever seen it.
Then we went to the Palladium to see ‘Ukebox‘… four very entertaining guys from Liverpool playing instruments loosely based on Ukuleles.
451
Sat Jan 28th
At sea
Clear skies, F4 winds. Breakfast, reading, exercise, reading, beers, lunch… yawn.
Bought 24 hours of internet to alleviate the boredom. Cocktails in the Spinnaker, dinner in the Meridian, then went to the Palladium and watched the Headliners do ‘Destination Dance‘ – very good!
462
Sun Jan 29th
At sea
Cloudy but some blue, F5 winds so still a bit of chop. Breakfast in the Meridian.
Finished our internet in the East Bar. Then laundry, then beers and lunch in the Belvedere. Siesta, reading, exercise, reading.
Mai Tai’s in the Spinnaker, dinner in the Meridian.
457
Mon Jan 30
At sea
Grey and drizzly. We were in the tropics in the middle of the Pacific, but it could have been the North Sea (but warmer)! Breakfast in Meridian and had a long chat with a nice couple from Exeter.
Exercise, reading, lunch, beers, siesta. Weather warm, but still grey, misty and rainy. More exercise, reading, etc. Cocktails in the Spinnaker, dinner in the Meridian. Lin had an upset tummy, so didn’t eat much, and then went to bed early. I saw Ukebox again, but with a different set.
483
Tue Jan 31st
Arrive at Honolulu.
Land-ho! Arrived at 6:00am in Honolulu on the island of O’ahu, Hawaii – clear skies and warm. Just me for breakfast, then I picked-up tickets for disembarkation, and found that they’d started half an hour earlier than advertised, so they’d already handed out a few hundred!
As a result, we had to sit around for 90 minutes waiting for our turn. We eventually disembarked and found that for some reason, we weren’t at the main terminal… so there was no tourist office, and the transport maps had run out!
We decided to walk to the Aloha Tower, which was near the main terminal, so we could get maps there. But when we got there, firstly, the tower was closed, and secondly no-one knew of a tourist office. Found that we were on the University campus and there was public internet, so we booked an Uber to take us to Waikiki Beach.
Lin was still suffering with IBS. We got to Waikiki Beach and had a little wander, and took some pics, then found the Le’Ahi Bar and Grill down a side street. We sat next to the pavement, but were driven inside by bloody pigeons! I had a very good Quesadilla and Lin had a vegiburger, then more beers.
Afterwards we found the ‘Trolley’ stop and stood there waiting for the ‘Blue Trolley’ that would take us to the island’s main hotspots. Eventually, someone pointed out that Blue Trolley service finished at 1:30pm!
So instead, we walked along the seafront as far as the zoo entrance. Lin found a shop and bought a green tee-shirt; I took many photos of the beach, and the trees, especially the immense Banyan trees. On the way back we stopped at bar for some happy-hour Mai Tai’s. Then got an Uber back to the ship. Actually the Uber was a Tesla operated by a guy called Leonard, who’s day job was a DEA agent, and he was quite happy ‘cos earlier in the day, he’d “put some bad men in jail“!
Back to the ship for siestas. Lin not hungry, so it was just Sandra, Mick and I for dinner. But I took a bottle of Holy Snail back to the cabin for Lin. For the first time on this cruise, the ship stayed in the harbour overnight.
133
Wed Feb 1st
All day in Honolulu
Warm but overcast. Breakfast in the Meridian, then walked to the Aloha Tower so we could book an Uber. The Uber took us to the Magnum Helicopters Office at the airport, where we’d previously booked a ‘Doors off’ round the island flight. We were about 45 minutes early for check-in, but pretty promptly we were seen, and briefed. We put on our cagoules, emptied our pockets, and were off!
Our pilot was Doug, and the trip was an anti-clockwise flight around the island of O’ahu. Roughly in order, we saw: Honolulu harbour, Kahanamoku Beach and the Hilton Lagoon, Waikiki Beach, Diamond Head Crater, Hanauma Bay, Koko Crater, Bellows Field Beach, the town of Kaneohe and Moku-o-loe (Coconut) Island, the Kaneohe Sandbar and the coral islands of Kaneohe Bay, Kaneohe Bay, the Kualoa Ridge, Ahupuaʻa ʻO Kahana State Park, Sacred Falls, the town of Laie and the North Shore, Wainmea Bay Beach Park, the Dole Pineapple Plantation and finally Pearl Harbour and the Arizona Memorial.
The buffeting from the 150mph slipstream made photography a little tricky, but the whole thing was fantastic. Back in the office we bought the $85 pics and video package.
Afterwards, we took an Uber to the Park opposite the Ala Moana shopping centre. We walked the full perimeter of the park, to the Ala Moana Beach, and eventually crossed the road back to the shopping centre.
It was by no means clear whether we could get alcoholic drinks in the shopping centre, but eventually we were directed to a Mexican bar/restaurant. Lin had a Corona and I had an excellent IPA; we also shared a surprisingly nice snack called Popcorn Shrimps.
We then made the strategic error of choosing to walk back to the ship… we arrived knackered, collapsed on our beds and almost immediately fell asleep. I woke up as Arcadia was leaving O’ahu, and went up to the sun deck to take photos of Honolulu’s receding skyline in the sunset, as the ship headed due south.
Later, showered and refreshed, we had dinner in the Meridian, and ended up drinking wine on our balcony.
118
Thu Feb 2nd
At sea
Mostly overcast, slept late. Breakfast in the Meridian, then at 11 o’clock, there was a compulsory evacuation drill in which, to the captain’s annoyance, several people refused to take part.
Read our Kindles, beers in the Spinnaker, lunch, siesta then exercise (two laps for me). In the evening, we had Mai Tai’s in the East Bar, dinner in the Meridian, then watched Taffy Spencer in the Palladium. Much better than the previous stand-up comedian.
443
Fri Feb 3rd
At sea
Cloudy but warm. Breakfast, reading, exercise, beers, lunch, siesta… etc.
Bought 24 hours internet to alleviate the boredom again. Cocktails in the Spinnaker, dinner in the Meridian, then to the Palladium to see the Headliners ‘Audience‘ – excellent!
461
Sat Feb 4th
At sea
Very late breakfast! Bought internet then dozed. Late lunch, then tried watching the ‘Crossing the Line‘ ceremony as we’d crossed the equator in the early hours of morning. It was too crowded so we adjourned to the Spinnaker Bar for beers.
Dinner in the Meridian.
481
Sun Feb 5th
Didn’t exist (really!)
For the entire trip, we’d been putting the clocks back by an hour every couple of days. This day was pay-back time… we’d crossed the International Date Line east to west, so we lost the whole day.
0
Mon Feb 6th
At sea
Clear with blue skies, but F5 breeze. Breakfast in the Meridian, then watched a presentation on Auckland.
Read, exercised, had lunch in the Belvedere. Then siesta, read some more, beers in Spinnaker Bar, then just me for exercise. Got a bucket of ice from Room Service and had pre-dinner V & T’s, dinner, then more V & T’s on the balcony.
481
Tue Feb 7th
At sea
Cloudy, F4. Breakfast, then watched presentation on ‘Bay of Islands‘. Found that the shop had run out of detergent, and no prospect of getting any until Sydney in 13 days!
Read – both tired. Lunch, siesta, read some more, exercise, beers, crosswords.
Dinner in Meridian, then watched a Polynesian tenor + orchestra in the Palladium. Not really our sort of thing, but I did enjoy his version of Andrea Bocelli’s Con te partirò.
467
Wed Feb 8th
Arrive in Apia
Warm but overcast, and it had rained recently. We were greeted in Samoa by a troupe of Samoan dancers in traditional dress on the quayside. Very nice!
Had breakfast in Meridian, then went ashore where there were lots of taxi drivers giving the hard-sell, but we found a nice guy who would take us around the Apia area for an hour for $40. First impressions of Samoa… there are more churches than bars!
We did quite a few miles, some nice views, several big churches, and the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum. He eventually dropped us off at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Cathedral in heavy rain, so we took refuge inside until it stopped. We walked around looking for somewhere for a drink, failed to find a bar, and ended up with fruit ‘smoothies’.
We then found a taxi who offered to take us back to the ship – whilst singing to us(!). We suggested he take us to the nearest restaurant to the port, and so he dropped us at the almost comically misnamed ‘Gourmet Seafood Restaurant’.
We didn’t have much Samoan currency, but we worked out that we could afford two beers, and share a plate of Squid Rings. We had to order at the counter where it took two people to serve each customer, neither of whom could do basic arithmetic! Anyway I eventually got served and found that they’d run out of Squid Rings, so we shared a plate of chips.
Back to the port and browsed the stalls erected for Arcadia’s arrival. It was raining, so back on the ship for a siesta. We read our Kindles for a while, and watched the departure in torrential rain.
Then there was a captain’s announcement… he told us about Cyclone Gabrielle and that it had forced him to change our itinerary; we would now miss Fiji, but spend an extra night in Auckland.
Surely nothing else can go wrong?
V & T’s in the Spinnaker Bar before dinner, then drinks on the balcony.
228
Thu Feb 9th
At sea
Warm but overcast, and had rained in the early hours. Breakfast in Meridian, then laundry (got some detergent from reception) and reading in the Intermezzo Bar.
Beers and internet, then lunch in the Belvedere and a siesta. We could see conical islands in the distance, which turned out to be the volcanic islands of Late, and then the pair Koa and Tofua. All part of the Tongan archipelago.
Read some more, plus crosswords. Then in the evening, Mai Tai’s in the East Bar.
Dinner in the Meridian, followed by the Headliners ‘Clockwork Circus‘ which was excellent.
481
Fri Feb 10th
At sea (Should have been arriving at Suva in Fiji)
Lin has a sore throat and sounds a bit croaky. Breakfast in the Meridian, then to the Palladium for a presentation on Sydney. We finished remainder of internet in the Intermezzo. Exercise (just me), then I went to ‘An audience with the Headliners’ in the Palladium.
Lin still not good. Early dinner in Belvedere so we can watch a film in our cabin… except the TV was showing films advertised in the TV guide for yesterday, so nothing to watch and we had an early night.
449
Sat Feb 11th
At sea
Overcast and it had rained. Lin still bad, so we had a Room Service breakfast. Then a nurse came and gave us both Covid tests.
Lin has Covid! I was asked if I wanted to isolate, and realising that for me to catch it now could mean missing our flights home in 11 days, I chose to do so. I moved my stuff out and to the other end of the ship in cabin E037, and I had to self-test for the next 5 days and only eat in my cabin. I could leave the cabin if I wanted, but I had to wear a mask.
Exploring my new cabin, I nearly found myself locked-out on my own balcony… the outside door handle wasn’t connected to the locking mechanism. I was glad I didn’t shut the door.
Now in my new cabin, I read, then watched Romancing the Stone on the TV, and had Room Service fried chicken.
473
Sun Feb 12th
Arrived in Auckland
Arrived in Auckland about the same time as Cyclone Gabrielle, so accompanied by rain and high winds. Lin still feeling crappy, I had a room service breakfast of granola, banana and orange juice, then did my first anti-gen self-test… still negative. Because of sickness, we were given free internet (sadly, not in our cabins so not much help for Lin), and I found a quiet function room and had a long chat with Adam, with about 12 hour time difference.
We then heard that because of high winds and swell, and the need to be anchored rather than tied to a quayside, our visit to the Bay of Islands was also cancelled. I had a room service omelette for lunch. I took some moody pics of the Auckland skyline from the ship.
Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner, watched a Simpsons Film, listened to MP3s, in bed by 10:00 pm.
139
Mon Feb 13
All day in Auckland
Dull, windy rainy – all shore excursions cancelled. Chatted with Lin by phone, and she’d had a better night. My self-test still negative. The captain finally acknowledged rising levels of Covid, so reintroduced the mask-wearing mandate.
I spent most of my time in the Crow’s Nest watching the rain, listening to MP3s, reading, and also freezing! Room service omelette for lunch. Siesta, then went back to our cabin to pickup some warmer clothes!
Walked the promenade deck in the rain.
Had Southern Fried Chicken from room service. Then went on deck and photographed the weird ‘neon’ house at the entrance to the harbour, that turned out to be an art installation called ‘The Lighthouse‘. Listened to MP3s.
0
Tue Feb 14th
All day in Auckland
Dull and cool, but no rain. Phoned Lin and her cough was a little better. My self-test still negative.
Grey but still dry, I went for an hour’s walk around Auckland, but feeling strangely detached.
I had ham and cheese omelette for lunch. Got $50 NZ from reception, went ashore again and caught the ferry to the very English feeling resort of Devonport.
Windy and grey but at least I was out in the fresh air. I wandered around Devonport for a while, then had a pint of IPA in a pub called The Patriot, and caught the 15:15 ferry back.
Siesta, then phoned Lin and we completed the daily crossword together.
I took some pics of the Auckland skyline at sunset, with a spooky Cyclone Gabrielle affected red sky. I had a soggy Beef and Ale pie for dinner. Listened to MP3s.
0
Wed Feb 15
Bay of Islands Tauranga
We finally left Auckland at 1:00 am. Woke up to bright sunshine, Lin still improving… not coughing or blowing nose. My self test still negative. Room service breakfast.
Because we need high-tide to use the harbour at Touranga, we sailed slowly down New Zealand’s east coast. We could see some of the islands, and loads of flying fish!
Omelette for lunch. Dozed. Watched as we entered the natural harbour at Tauranga.
We were alongside at 4:00 pm.
I went ashore and walked to Maunganui Beach, and tried to walk up the volcanic Mount Maunganui, but it was all cordoned off because of fallen trees and other damage from Cyclone Gabrielle. Walked back along the harbour footpath before re-joining the high street, and popping into Brew Co for a pint of IPA, and a chat with some of the locals.
Back to Arcadia and had Southern Fried Chicken and Apple Streusel, whilst watching a yacht race on Tauranga Harbour.
Then some reading, MP3s, and left Tauranga at around 22:00.
163
Thu Feb 16th
At sea
Partially cloudy, but warm and dry. Lin still improving. My final Covid test, and still negative, phew!
Exercised and then bought an ‘inch of gold’ necklace for Lin. Did today’s crossword, then went to the Belvedere and had Beef Stroganoff.
Siesta, then heard a whales! alert, but couldn’t see anything. Read my Kindle, then went to see Lin. I told her I’d got her a gift, and then gave her the scallop shell I’d found on the beach at Tauranga. She seemed pleased… then I gave her the necklace!
I had a howling wind through the ill-fitting balcony door in my cabin. I told the reception to send a guy to move the striker-plate by about 2mm. They sent someone with a hammer and some WD-40, but no English; and no screwdriver! I tried to explain what needed doing and he eventually went and got a knackered screw-driver that couldn’t move the screws. His solution was to put new sealing strip all round the door!
For dinner, I joined Sandra and Mick in the meridian… except they weren’t there! I went on my own to see ‘Horizon‘ with the Headliners.
489
Fri Feb 17th
At sea
Bright with some clouds. Lin’s 8th day with Covid, so she was given a test, but sadly still positive. Read, exercised, internet.
Lunch at the Belvedere. Dozed, read, exercised, read. Room service dinner… Beef Wellington. Watched some football on TV
513
Sat Feb 18th
At sea
Bright and dry. Lin tested again – negative, yeah!!! I moved my stuff back in. We did a celebratory lap of the Promenade deck, then beers and internet.
Lunch in the Belvedere. Dozed, rested, then read in the Crow’s Nest.
Got organised for our Blue Mountain trip, and joined Sandra and Mick in the Meridian.
508
Sun Feb 19th
Arrive in Sydney
Arrived at the main cruise terminal in Sydney Harbour. We were up just after 5:00 am, and the ship was already alongside. Breakfast in the Belvedere overlooking the Sydney Opera House.
Went down to the Palladium to wait for our 8:15 am trip to the Blue Mountains.
We got to the Echo Point/Three Sister overlook and it was too misty to see anything, but we were pleased to see a Red and Blue Parakeet in the trees. The coach then took us to Katoomba for shopping. Lin and I ended up in an outlet store, and spent $60 AUD on clothing!
Then a three minute(!) trip to the Mountain Heritage Hotel for an 11:30 lunch! Drank our beers in the lounge afterwards and noted that the mist was clearing.
Finally, we were taken to the Scenic World where our guide said we’d be leaving at 3:00 pm, which gave us just 90 minutes… on a summer weekend!
There were huge queues for each of the three rides, and Lin and I just had enough time to do the very steep ‘Scenic Railway‘, and some of the rainforest walk. It was very nice, and the weather had cleared a little, but we felt that we’d only scraped the surface before it was time to leave.
Back on the coach, we were made to wait 40 minutes because some of our party got stuck in queues. Pretty shambolic. Back to Arcadia, we did some of our packing; dinner in the Meridian for the last time, and then finished our packing.
73
Mon Feb 20
Sydney and the Mercure Hotel
Warm and sunny. Up at 6:30 am, breakfast in the Belvedere (for the last time!) and out of our cabin by 8:00 am (as requested).
We queued for 30 minutes waiting for a taxi, and ended up at the Mercure Hotel soon after nine, and fortunately, they allowed us into our room to drop our stuff off.
We dumped our stuff, then got an Uber to the Botanical Gardens, walked for miles, and took 100’s of photos. It was a beautiful place. We then walked via the Music Conservatorium back into town looking for somewhere for a beer, and found Cooper’s Loftus Lane Cafe Cocktail Bar were offering happy hour beers for only $6AUD.
We then walked to The Rocks, where we both had Pizzas for lunch.
We took the tram (Light Railway) back to the hotel for a siesta. I found the hotel’s gym on the 14th floor had great views so I took a few pics up there.
Around 6 o’clock, we walked to the Central Station and went back to the Circular Quay, taking the double-decker train this time.
Having some time to kill before we were ready for dinner, we took a ferry under the bridge and around the harbour; past rocky coves, past old warehouses and boatyards, past ferry stops with familiar names like Woolwich and Greenwich, and eventually got off at Cockatoo Island.
We thought we’d just kill 30 minutes and get the next ferry back, but as it was getting late, we found the ferries were now every hour. So we had a wander round the old and abandoned engineering works… quite a surreal place; the island was empty apart from a party of school girls at a campsite!
We took the ferry back to Circular Quay and had pub grub at the ‘Fortune of War‘ in The Rocks. We just managed to get our order in before the kitchen closed at 9 o’clock!
We took an Uber back to the hotel, and we bought two tonic waters for $10AUD to go with our bottle of vodka.
Tue Feb 21st
All day in Sydney
A chaotic self-serve breakfast at the Mercure Hotel, with people milling around, poor lighting and the coffee kept running out.
We took the train to Circular Quay, and the ferry to Manly. I took quite a few pics of the classic views of the Bridge and the Opera House from the ferry. At Manly, we walked along the harbour side of the peninsula through a residential street to the Pacific side and the main beach. Eventually ending up at the Hotel Steyne where we went to the rooftop bar and were charged $36AUD for two beers!
We walked back along the Manly Corso, stopping for an ice cream for me, and a portion of chips for Lin… OK I might have helped her out with the chips.
We took the ferry back to the Circular Quay, and because we had a 3:00 am start tomorrow, we’d agreed ‘no siesta’. So we took a train that went across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We needed to get off at North Sydney, but we stayed on for a few extra stops, just to see some suburbs, then came back to North Sydney.
We walked through the streets to Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden where we wandered for a while, then walked back along the shore path, past Luna Park to Milsons Point Wharf where we caught the ferry back to Circular Quay. And we started to notice that the sky was getting dark.
We took the tram back to the hotel, hoping to get back before happy hour was finished, and before the rain started… and we did. And we’d only just started on our beers before a thunder storm hit us.
We did some packing, then back to the bar for some bar food. We finished packing and were in bed by 10:00 pm.
Wed Feb 22
Fly to London, via Dubai
Up at 2:45, cup of coffee, then a 3:30 am taxi in the rain! Boarded our 6:00 am Emirates flight, found the economy seats were reasonably comfortable, and settled in for a long, but OK flight.
Got to Dubai with just over an hour before the next flight. We followed the signs for ‘Connections’ but still had to show our passports three times and had two security checks, including one full body check.
The next flight wasn’t so good… we were behind a seat with two women, and a coughing and unruly toddler, who eventually turned into a screaming little monster. We got seated elsewhere for the last couple of hours.
Landed at Heathrow around 6:30 pm, where we got an uncooperative taxi agent who kept saying “there are three Holiday Inns“, ignoring me saying “the main one on the Bath Road”. I couldn’t find the email to prove it, so in the end we had to insist. The taxi cost £13.40 for 1.5 miles.
The hotel was quite good, and we had beers but no dinner, and were in bed by 9:30 pm.
Thu Feb 23
Fly home
A good breakfast at the Holiday Inn, then an Uber to Heathrow Terminal 5. A standard full flight to Malaga leaving at 10:40 am.
We landed at Malaga at 14:40 and had to wait nearly an hour for the car, so we were late meeting Sue, but Bowie was very pleased to see us!
Got home around 6ish and found that the fridge/freezer had died, and the contents had gone off! Also, the house painting that we’d scheduled to be done while we were away wasn’t finished… there was scaffolding everywhere!
We watched half of Matrix, until we couldn’t keep our eyes open; were in bed by ten o’clock.
