We packed in the morning for the short train ride to Circular Quay to board the Carnival Spirit by lunchtime.
Boarding was pretty straightforward, although a little queuing to get onto the ship.
We had lunch in the ubiquitous buffet area which was absolutely packed, but had some reasonable food.
Looking towards the balcony
Looking from the balcony
We settled into our cabin on level 7 (accommodation is on levels 4-8) which was quite well laid out – a little tight around the bed but a nice open area to relax in.
After settling in and approaching the cruise director to organise tai chi classes on board, we killed a little time and prepared for our allocated dining time of 7:45 pm - it was either then or 5:30 pm!
We found out later there was also an "anytime" dining, but it was not an option at the online book-in application.
Fortunately out dinner companions that night were John and Carol from Kiama who proved to be quite nice people.
The Buffet
The Restaurant
Ship plan
We had brought along a laptop with episodes of "Better Call Saul" to watch on the TV, but found the HDMI connection to the TV was disabled, so we had to watch it on the laptop - not ideal.
Stairwell with display cabinet
Looking down the atrium
from level 8
After seeing an Eagles show at the Canterbury Leagues club we thought we were prepared for the club-type décor, but realised that we can still be surprised.
This ship has a central atrium extending for 8 levels, with led decorated glass-sided lifts gliding up and down, and a full-length mural - stunning.
As an added detail, the stairwells have small display cabinets with some of the ugliest glassware I have ever seen.
It quite possibly is from Venice, but the beauty was not in the eye of this beholder.
Day 2 Tuesday 6 August
This was the first of the sea days, and so we took it a bit easy. We decided to have breakfast in the restaurant which was quite nice although the brewed coffee was undrinkable.
For a price you can purchase an espresso, but we heard that it wasn’t too good either. Luckily the coffee machines in the buffet produced a reasonable cappuccino, however the trick to making a decent coffee was to top it up with a short black.
Joy, Kerry, Ric & Frances
We shared a table with Kerry and Joy from Goulburn (and many other places) who were pleasant company. Also, they joined us later for some tai chi.
I received a call from the cruise director that there was nowhere to practice tai chi, and they would not include it in the program – pretty disappointing. We again had lunch in the buffet area which was a big mistake as it was hugely overcrowded and almost impossible to find a seat.
Dinner with Carol and John
That evening we ate again in the restaurant, shorter queues this time, and again sat with John and Carol. We bought a 5-bottle wine package for $185 which was a slight saving as most bottles cost $40-$50 in board.
Electric Waves
We listened to Diva Natalie in the Piano Bar, but it was pretty ordinary.
We went to see the "Getaway Island" show in the theatre, but left before the end – high energy but not our style.
We did enjoy the violin music by the Electric Waves trio who unfortunately use backing tracks for their violin playlist. Due to the time zone change we turned our clock forward 1 hour - no sleep-in tomorrow.
Day 3 Wednesday 7 August
It was the second sea day as New Caledonia is about 2,000 km from Sydney. We explored the ship a little more and walked the deck for exercise. We had brunch with Kerry and Joy in the restaurant and then had dinner again with John and Carol.
Madam Houdini
Before dinner Frances had a dacquiri at the Atrium Bar and we both enjoyed a little violin music before dinner. Overall, a pretty uneventful but relaxing day.
The show tonight was by Miss Houdini which included disappearing people and an escape routine which was pretty good. The show featured the same dancers from the night before in some pretty spectacular costumes and elaborate feather headdresses.
Electric Waves - Electric Waves playing Pink Floyd
The video below shows Electric Waves playing
Shine on You Crazy Diamond from Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here album.
