March 3 - 6: Travel to Perth

March 3 - 5: Travel & Perth 

Well, everyone said it would be a long trip and it was. Not so long that we'd recommend you not making the trip, but make no doubt about it .... that was a L-O-N-G haul. Our flight was delayed out of Ft. Lauderedale from 2:55 all the way back to 4 pm; and the non-stop flight I'd booked became a one-stop in Las Vegas. So instead of arriving in LA at 7:30 it was closer to 9 pm. Still had time to meet Jeff and Antoinette (and Coach Dave Brown from Nevada) for a quick bite to eat. It made the hauling of the luggage from Terminal 1 (Southwest) to the International Terminal much easier with the kids picking us up. 

Then we boarded the Quantas trans-Pacific flight. The plane was huge and was two-stores high of passengers. We had booked the exit rows, so we had plenty of room. The flight departed at 11:30 pm and for the first two and a half hours we were relatively occupied. And let me say at this point I have SO much respect for Quantas! All the airline attendants were either in coats and ties or dresses with heels. And they were so professional; AND we had a hot - not warm, but freshly cooked hot - dinner. Then they brought around a bag full of snacks and water to last the long night. And the lights went out. It was difficult to sleep, so each seat came with it's own TV which had about 100 movies and hundreds of tv series. Both the movies were just this year or some were back into the 80's. Also games if you wanted them and much more. After 13 hours of flying we were nearing Sydney and the lights came on and we were all served hot breakfast - scrambled eggs with muffin, sausage, mushrooms & spinach with juice, yogurt, and coffee or tea. Unfortunately we continued on to Melbourned, extending the flight another three hours. We landed when it was 10:40 am Melbourne time. We cleared customs and went to the domestic terminal and boarded a flight to Perth. 

Our paperwork showed this to be a flight of one hour.....little did we realize there is a 3 hour time difference, so the flight was FOUR hours......The flight mirrored the one from LA to Melbourne in the attire and attituded of the staff, and again there was a free hot lunch! Kim remarked that the flight was nearly identical in duration to that of the Fort Lauderdale to Las Vegas trip - and on that flight we were given complimentary peanuts! For lunch our entree was either spaghetti (with mushrooms and meatsauce-mine) or chicken (in a rice and vegetable dish-Kim). Crackers, cheese, and fruit to go with it. Then about two hours later they brought around a serving of strawberry ice cream! How cool was that! Finally we landed! We had been told there was no shuttle to the hotel, but there was a city shuttle. So instead of a $40 cab ride it was a mere $25. Checked in and took a walk along the river (see below). Had a nice light meal on the waterfront at the "Lucky Shag" Pub and then headed back exhausted. Excited to get on board the Radiance of the Seas tomorrow!   By 6 pm we were both "lights out" after agreeing that we'd try to stay up to at least 9 pm. But we must have been tired as we were not up and about until nearly 5:30 am. Those of you who know me well know that I never, NEVER sleep for any extended period of time like that. We got showered and dressed and then walked up the block to a bakery with a terrace overlooking the downtown area where we were and morning coffee (well, ok, I had Coke Zero and Kim had hot chocolate) and a muffin to start the day. The breeze was glorious and it was very enjoyable to watch the city of Perth waking up! 

March 6

The Cruise Begins

We spent the morning repacking and taggin our bags; then Kim went to work out and I read the paper and watched a little of an NHL hockey game - it was close to 10 pm at home while it was still mid-morning in Perth!   About 11:30 a.m. we went down to the lobby to check out and put our bags with all the rest of the bags which were being transported to the ship when the busses came for everyone. I specifically asked if all the bags would be loaded onto the busses for us and the answer was yes. When the busses came, Kim wanted to see our bags loaded - and after quite a while (one bus was already full) our bags (and many others as well) had not been brought out. So I re-asked the concierge if they were bringing the bags out. He said "if you have identified them, which ones are yours?" I pointed them out and he only brought ours out. Well, as it turns out several people had apparently asked the same thing I did originally and assumed since they all had a "Radiance of the Sea" tag that they would be brought out - when in effect you had to physically go to them and say, "those bags, there, please bring them to the bus!" And we were further delayed when there were still bags inside and everyone insisted they had identified they bags.....but one couple had not identified them with the "Radiance of the Sea" tags. So we were about a half hour late leaving......didn't matter. 

We got to the ship by around 2:00 and there - even though it was NOT clearly explained until after we got off the bus - we didn't have to do anything with our bags.....they were all taken inside by porters. 

We cleared customs quickly and sat down to have our number called. We had only been in the very large holding room for about 20 minutes when they announced if you were a "Gold Club member" you could move to the door and enter in front of all the "other people!" So, ok, they didn't actually call them that, but everyone knew WE were elite and they were not! So we cleared all the paperwork hurdles - so very smoothly because I had filled out all the info online.......I remarked to Kim how very slow this must have been (like when we did our first cruise) when each and every party had to step up and fill out the forms manually and get their credit card cleared, etc. 

Once on board we headed up to the Windjammer where the buffet was open and we had a light lunch. A very festive fruit welcome was in the doors to greet us (see at right). We got into our room immediately and one suitcase had arrived, so we unpacked. About 20 minutes later the next two arrived and we unpacked those. Then it was time for the mandatory "muster meeting" of how to react to an emergency. On all our other cruises we had to wear our life vest and actually stand where we were to board the boats. Not anymore! We were in a dining room, NO LIFE VEST, and heard about a three minute speech about how to put one on, while a crewmember demonstrated. Then they emphasized to come to this room if the emergency horn went off......and that was it! In and out in less than five minutes. Those of you who have cruised in the past can appreciate how very short and sweet that was!   Kim and I headed to the lounge/bar area and ordered a Bon Voyage drink. We couldn't find a seat on that deck so we went up one level and found the exact couch where we'd sat with Kim's twin Karrie and the rest of the family when we were on this same ship in Alaska four years ago :) Shortly thereafter we went to dinner.....we have "My Time" dining which allows us to eat at either the early or late seating, or in between. We sat at a table with four other couples and enjoyed a good conversation. They were all from Australia and one couple in particular had some interest in Australian horse racing! Who doesn't have an interest in racing? :) After dinner we went to the one and only variety/comedy show (7:45 pm). He was pretty good, but by then Kim was "OUT" for the night - about half way through she was sound asleep. I was nodding as well - not that he wasn't good, just we had hit the wall. But to be fair I have to say we both - up through dinner - felt perfectly normal and on Australian time. I found that odd when we were boarding the bus at the hotel it was 2 am at home and only 12:30 pm here, and yet I was in sync with the current time already! 

The only bad news we got today.........the INTERNET is slow to non-existent....sigh.....people at home will just have to be patient with seeing/following our adventures. And that obviously means no videos with the upload speed under high speed conditions being a lengthy one as it is. Tomorrow, Albany and our first excursion!