Another holiday comes to an end

We spent a few more days at sea going across the great Australian bight all the way to Perth and we had very good seas.
Arrival in Perth was smooth and disembarkation was efficient also.
We then spent the day in Perth at the zoo which we really liked and had dinner that night at Soprano's. Yesterday we flew back to Adelaide and are now home.
It was a good holiday overall and we are already thinking of our next one.
We made good friends on board which we will be keeping in touch with also.
28 nights on a cruise is a long time but I liked it. It gave me the chance to truly wind down from work and got into a shipboard routine. A few too many sea days for my liking as I get a little bored in those days after being on the ship for so long and I prefer more port days but it was a good trip.
We are still undecided as to whether bigger is better when it comes to ships. We liked Voyager and thought the royal promenade concept at sea is amazing but found that Radiance of the Seas was a bit better organised. It really does come down to the people running things doesn't it? We could go on Radiance now and find it disorganised as staff and crew on ships change.
Our dining room service was awesome as usual. Our waiter Halil, from Turkey, was fantastic. He looked after us for 28 nights and personalised the service. He took great care of Michael's needs too and we were very appreciative.
Now that I sit here reflecting on our trip, I am glad to be home and am already thinking about all the work waiting for me at my office but for one more day I will try to chill out......next trip....maybe Alaska

Adelaide

We arrived in Adelaide this morning to a warm welcome from the bush band. The terminal is nice and efficient. The volunteers and tourism staff do a great job helping passengers.
We live in Adelaide so we will take the opportunity to visit family while we are here and then we sail off to Perth tonight.
I took some photos of inside the terminal for those who are interested.
Voyager is also installing a new radar while in port so there is a photo of the crane carrying out the work.

Travelling through NZ Fjordland National park - Doubtful, Dusky and Milford Sounds

A few days ago before we left NZ, we had a whole day of scenic cruising through the Sounds is one of the great attractions of a NZ cruise. Photos speak for themselves

Excursion to Port Arthur, Tasmania

Today we docked at Hobart and we had booked a ship's tour called 'Port Arthur Express'. It is a morning tour.
We had to meet in the La Scala theatre on the ship to be escorted to our tour bus. We took a 1.5 hour scenic drive from the port to the Port Arthur site. During the drive we went through all the countryside that was burnt out during the recent bush fires. It was eery to see bush burnt and yet some homes around it left spared.

At the Port Arthur site we were joined by a guide who gave us a 40 minute talk about the site. To look at it today it is such a beautiful place yet it was called hell on earth in its day. Very interesting...
When we arrived they have us each a playing card which we would later match to a convict in the museum. We then found out about our convict and why the were sent to Port Arthur. My convict was sent there for stealing a handkerchief.
There were of course worse criminals there.
The tour was well worth it although you would need a lot more time to se this site properly. It was a good option for us with a child as it wasn't too long or him. He was quite interested to see the cells where they housed some of the prisoners

Check out some if the pics.