Category: Lessons Learnt

A different kind of holiday

I can’t believe it’s been five years since I started sharing my stories on here! Time flies, so much water under the bridge, and all that jazz.

Today is the eve of my long service leave, a six week holiday planned to celebrate my mid-Century milestone which is now cancelled.

Thanks to Covid-19, instead of heading off on a big jet plane, spending time in the city that never sleeps, and cruising from New York to Rome, I will now be having a very different kind of holiday, at home.

Along with tackling a number of jobs around the house that are way overdue, keeping my husband company while he works from home, and taking advantage of online workouts thanks to my gym membership, I’m hoping to revive some hobbies, especially music, gardening, baking, knitting and of course writing which is why I am back here.

According to the astrologer I follow, April is my month for home, so who knows, maybe this was the plan for my leave all along?

Blink and you’ll miss it

Blink, blink. HOSPITAL. SILENCE.

So begins a poem by Bruce Dawe written in the 1950s and studied by me in the 80s, a story of one man’s life, from birth until being buried.  The poem itself is a satirical look at modern society and its materialism, but for me it’s the idea of documenting what happens between the blink blink statements that really resonates.

Back at the start of this month I had the best of intentions to be here more. Here as in documenting my life journey and lessons for myself and anyone else who may be interested. Here as in being mindful and stopping to appreciate what I have instead of dwelling on what I don’t.

And now it is almost the end of January and I’ve been too busy doing to stop and document. Doing something different like flying to another country on the first day of the New Year to celebrate my birthday (Georgetown Penang, highly recommended). Doing more with my body including returning to the gym and making exercise part of my day instead of an afterthought, and finding a healthy balance between being more mindful about what I eat and drink to get myself back on track along with socialising and celebrating with friends and family.

In just over two months it will be the final countdown to our 10th cruise, which we will be flying to the other side of the world to join, and I can see the time between then and now just flying by in the same way that the past month has done.

In just under two years is another milestone birthday, a date already on the horizon with preliminary planning and discussions of if/how/where/when to celebrate/commisserate.

Not that I am complaining of course, life is a gift and all that. Just sometimes I need to remind myself of how much I have done with my life between the blinks and be more mindful of how much time I have left.

Blink, blink. CEMETERY. Silence.

 

Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

As well as having a heavenly scent, the flowers on this plant in my garden also have a story to tell.

I chose and planted it when we returned from our first ever cruise on Dawn Princess from Fremantle to Sydney in March 2010. The cruise we boarded on the day of an infamous hail storm, when my now-husband proposed and we met our wonderful cruise buddies.

What is amazing about this plant is that every year around this time it puts on the most wonderful tricolour floral display; the flowers range in colour from purple to mauve to white, depending how old they are. Hence its nickname of Yesterday Today Tomorrow.

Yesterday I was a young mother with long hair and lean limbs, living and loving every moment of every day of my life with my ‘babies’. Today my hair is still long but my limbs are no longer lean, and my children are young adults living and loving every day in their own way. Tomorrow they will hopefully be blessed with children of their own and they will recall their yesterday with me and remember to make the most of their today.

Yesterday I never imagined the today I would be living, full of love and life and tomorrow plans, with so many wonderful friendships and journeys and memories.

Today I am OK and Tomorrow I will be too.

Sometimes all I need is to stop and admire these flowers to remind myself of that.

Seven Year Itch

dav

I celebrated a milestone on Wednesday, seven years ago my now husband proposed, on our first night on board our first ever cruise.

Fast forward seven years, nine cruises, a handful of new friendships and a lifetime of memories and I can honestly say I’m done.

No it’s not my marriage that’s giving me itchy feet, hand over heart my love for the wonderful man I am privileged to have as my life partner is exponentially stronger than I ever thought possible.

It’s cruising from Australia with Australians I’m done with.

There’s still so much of the world, including Australia, I want to explore but for now there’s no ship on the horizon I plan to board from or return to Australia.

Maybe it’s because we’ve done so much in such a short period of time, or that the serenity of traveling by sea has been tarnished because of and by our laidback larrikan reputation that was unfortunately evident and reinforced on our recent Australia based cruises.

Don’t get me wrong, cruising on the Ovation of the Seas is a truly amazing experience and highly recommended. The ship itself is absolutely awesome, and apart from some teething problems, the crew did their best to ensure our experience on board was entertaining and positive.

For me it’s just a shame that Australia based cruises now include the bonus of bearing witness to the Aussie attitude of ‘I’ve paid my money, I can do what I like.’

“So what if it’s formal night? You can’t stop me walking around the ship or sitting in the front row of the theatre in my boardies and thongs!”

“I’ve paid for the drinks package so I’m going to drink my body weight in alcohol every day, that’s what I call value for money!”

“And my kids love cruising too! They can run amok throughout the hallways, stairs, lifts and especially in the pool, and heaven help the idiot who tries to pull them into line!”

Sorry, that’s just not my idea of a good time, so for now it’s somewhere over the horizon I plan to explore, starting and ending on a far distant shore.

Sea Princess Positives

It’s been three weeks since we disembarked and now that post-cruise
depression is kicking in it feels timely to reflect on the positives of our
recent cruise experience.

A friendship started on board our Diamond Princess Christmas New Year cruise with the wonderful Joao Paulo, now Head Waiter in the Rigoletto Dining Room on Sea Princess, resulted in a truly special and memorable 50th Birthday Celebration for my man while we were on board.

Thanks Joao for the special service, cake and seafood pasta personally
prepared by Chef Carlos, along with the celebration serenade from
Edward, Marina and what felt like the full contingent of waiters on duty.

Adjoining balconies with our cruise buddies made for many memorable sailaways and also allowed for air-dried laundry on the odd occasion. Nothing beats the feeling of waking up each morning with a different view, as well as the opportunity to witness so many stunning seascapes, sunrises and sunsets.

The AU$59 per day drinks package is ridiculously good value considering it included bottled water and ‘specialty’ coffees as well as any other drinks less than $14. Likewise the twice daily Happy Hour – buy one drink less than AU$14 and get the other for AU$1.
Thanks to our extended journey we were able to take advantage of both during our 12 + 14 night itinerary.

Really enjoyed the entertaining and informative Art Auctions and look forward to receiving my winning prize in the mail sometime soon.
Likewise the opportunity to watch new release movies under the stars as well as be entertained by some very talented entertainers.

The Princess@Sea Intranet is a wonderful innovation; here’s hoping
Princess invest in face recognition technology for the on-board
photographers then I could truly have everything I need to know available to view on my Smartphone.

Zumba, line dancing and using the stairs every day in theory helped keep my cruise-belly-bulge under control; it’s just a pity that every single meal I enjoyed on board was so delicious and hard to refuse. Highlights for me included the delicious birthday cake, a bottomless Bircher muesli bowl and the wonderful Natalya remembering the coffee orders of our party of four.

Next on the horizon is another short Princess Cruise, two nights
celebrating a friends 50th birthday in early December.
Not exactly an opportunity to ‘Escape Completely’ and ‘Come Back New’ but I am still looking forward to the another cruise on a Princess vessel.

We Are Australian

Sea Princess has just arrived at Marina Bay Cruise Terminal and for some this marks the end of their cruise from Fremantle. Personally I will be only too happy to wave goodbye to the Aussie bogons on board who have unfortunately only reinforced the stereo typical view of us overseas.

The second half of our cruise includes day trips to Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia and will also include three formal nights, and it will be interesting to see how our fellow passengers interpret the ‘smart casual’ dress code for the other nights on our journey home.

Described as ‘Dressing as for a nice restaurant at home’ was interpreted as wearing cut off jeans, singlets and thongs in the main dining room by a few of our fellow passengers on the first half of our cruise.

Attempts by the Head Waiters to discretely recommend dining in the other venues more suited to casual attire were met with contempt and even hostility and unfortunately only proved to reinforce the Aussie Bogan stereotype we also encountered on board Queen Mary 2.

As was the case on the Queen I am sorry to say I have felt ashamed of the reputation being reinforced at sea by some of our compatriots.

One of the best thing about going on a cruise is the ability to choose your own experience thanks to the wide variety of dining and entertainment venues on board.

For those who prefer a casual cruise I respect your right to choose but please show some respect for your fellow passengers and especially the wonderful wait staff and stay away from the main dining room.

Cruise packing – Tips for formal nights

Now that I have packed I thought it’d be timely to share some lessons I have learnt about packing for a cruise. Guys sorry this is only for the girls because let’s face it you get it easy all you need is a good fitting suit, shirt and shiny shoes and you’re done.

In my experience formal nights always start with a Black and White Ball and can mean anything from a little black dress to a glamorous gown.

You can never go wrong with a little black dress that can be worn on its own or ‘pimped’ with accessories. I have a fantastic dress I purchased online from Sacha Drake that can be worn at least four different ways thanks to its ingenious design. Just by adding a white flower to the waist I’ll match the dress code for the first formal, and with a sequin silver or gold belt can have a repeat performance later. Look for the Catelyn Convertible online.

Likewise with a lace pencil skirt, wearing a top in a matching colour turns it into a dress which can also be worn on formal nights, or with a more casual top it works for smart casual. Mine is from Review.

Treat yourself to one full length gown that travels well, again mine is from Sasha Drake she just ‘gets it’ and anything from her range is worth the money. Look for a stretch fabric that will accommodate your expanding girth and doesn’t need ironing. Wear with the right heels you’ll turn heads and feel like a million dollars.

In both cases what helps you stand out is a killer pair of shoes, I have silver heels from Witter I picked up on sale that with my lbd and silver accessories pimp my style for another formal night.
Mizz Mooz black and beige heels also match my gown and again with my lbd and gold accessories create another look.

Another tip is to think outside the square and invest in a pair of satin pants which like the lace pencil skirt cam be dressed up or down. Mine are from Simona and they actually travel really well but there’s always an iron available in the laundry for any creases.

Finally I recommend wraps, boleros or jackets to top it all off. I recently purchased a wrap bolero from Ezibuy that can be worn open over a dress or top, or wrapped and worn as a top on its own with my lace pencil skirt or satin pants. I have another Sasha Drake favourite, a taupe ‘slinky with a slight shimmer finish that travels well and is the perfect finishing touch with matching gold jewelry.

As for jewelry it doesn’t have to be the real deal, costume can be just as good and in some cases even better. I’m lucky that hubby treated me to Swarovski sets for Christmas last year but if you’re like me and love a bargain try your local op shops for some retro bling that can pimp your style.

Formal nights are normally scheduled on Sea days and my final tip is to call into the duty free shop on board on your way to the dining room to spritz yourself with a sample scent. Cheeky I know but it’s a great way to sample something new and if you like it enough you can treat yourself to a bottle to take home.

One whiff and you’ll be back on board remembering the wonderful time you had.

Two More Sleeps!

So after what’s felt like a never ending countdown it’s now only two more sleeps until we get on board Sea Princess!

We’ve stocked up on prescription medication, sunscreen and insect repellant, and in my mind packing for this adventure is going to be infinitely less stressful compared to our most recent cruise on QM2.

I like to think that there’s a lesson to be learnt from every travel experience and in theory after six cruises in six years I’ve learnt a few lessons and have packing down to a fine art.

In reality I’m doing everything possible to avoid the reality of condensing what I want down to what I need, preferably in one case and a carry-on.

There’s a mountain of clothes piled up on the bed in a spare room and I’m thinking I need to make the most of my Netflix time at home before we leave.

International Dateline Day

It is 3.45pm on board Queen Mary 2, and until a couple of hours ago it was Tuesday March 1 until we crossed the International Dateline. Which means it’s now March 2, I think.

No big fuss was made about the crossing or time change apart from the ships time going back an hour over the past few nights. Breakfast was when we were ready, I made it to line dancing at 11 and even managed to nag Greg to join me for a jive lesson at 12.15. Pool time after lunch and now it’s time to start preparing for another formal night.

Life on board moves slowly but the days fly by, and although the dateline crossing is doing my head in right now I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.

No news is good news when it comes to a cruise

Is it just me, or is the online media suddenly full of bad cruise stories?

Last night a story about a ship being hammered by a hurricane showed up on my news feed, an outbreak of gastro on board a Christmas cruise was all over the news, and even a ‘brand new’ P&O Australia vessel wasn’t immune from an outbreak of norovirus.

Or is it that the old adage ‘no news is good news’ applies?

Think about it, in the age of Social Media everyone with a phone can get online and share their stories, but it’s mostly only the bad stuff that goes viral and gets picked up by the media.
Reports of hundreds of people being struck down on the “cruise from hell” certainly don’t present a favourable picture of the industry, but it won’t stop people like me from planning and looking forward to my next cruise holiday.

Norovirus is associated with cruising because the international health regulations require the reporting of any notifiable diseases on board a vessel, which is not the case for hotels, restaurants, and other places where people share living and eating areas.

Maybe I have been lucky, but to me it simply comes down to good hygeine and common courtesy that applies in any shared space; cover your mouth if you need to cough or sneeze, wash your hands, try to avoid touching anything that others might have like railings, lift buttons and bathroom doors, and only eat food at the temperature it is meant to be eaten.

The weather of course is not so easy to control, but I board with the knowledge that the Captain and crew have families they want to go home to as well so they are not going to deliberately steer the vessel into troublesome waters.

So for anyone contemplating a cruise holiday who may have been put off by the bad news stories I highly recommend trying one for yourself, and in the meantime will continue to share my personal good news cruise stories.