2 Weeks Until We Sail!

Wow ..... these last few weeks have been rushing past & now the reality is sinking in. Yes this time in 2 weeks Mike & I will be onboard Diamond Princess, looking forward to spending the next 14 days of rest & relaxation! No cooking or cleaning & minimal washing.

After a few phone calls, I finally had confirmation from our Travel Agent this morning that our documents have arrived (he discovered them in the drawer during our conversation)! Must confess I am not entirely happy with our booking process through this company. The first person we dealt with left a few weeks ago & told us we would be contacted by another staff member. That didn't happen as I had to chase him up on 2 occasions. I think I upset the apple cart when I informed them we could make substantial savings on our 17 day land tour of NZ by booking directly with a NZ T/A. They made no attempt to source a better price so we went ahead & booked ourselves saving almost $1200 per double. Exactly the same tour and company, so not sure why so expensive here. I realise the Aussie $ is performing much better than the NZ $ ($1Au = $1.27NZ) but not to the extent of our savings.

As much as I am looking forward to browsing our documents (nothing like the feel of real paper :) it is currently around 37C here in Bathurst (Central West NSW), so we have completed our chores, closed up the house and turned on the AirCon ready to watch the cricket. Too hot to be out collecting the cruise paperwork! For the uninitiated the 3rd test between Australia & South Africa begins in Perth, WA today.

The packing process is underway. Spare beds have become collection points for all those little extras we might forget at the last minute. Lists have been compiled and clothes sorted. Basically we could leave tomorrow if we had to. We have our little travel scale ready to check our completed suitcase weight. Because we are being driven from home to the ship (thanks Sarah & Ruby) we are not concerned with excess weight. However, because we will be spending 18 days touring NZ following this cruise & flying home from Christchurch, we really need to be careful about what we pick up along the way. We are flying back to Sydney with Emirates & have a generous 30kg each luggage allowance, however our coach for our tour only allows 1 x 20kg suitcase each plus a small carry on. So ....... therein lies a problem. I wonder if those coach drivers would notice a few extra kgs :)

27 Days to Liftoff ..... Whoops .... That should be 27 Days to Embarkation!

Just attempting a test post using the new upgraded "Blogger" App. It seems more user friendly & can be used in landscape mode, so that's a bonus. You can select the size of uploaded photos, however I am yet to discover how to format text with this App. It is frustrating when all the preferences are set on the web version, then when I post a blog from the App the text size, font, colour etc are all different. Any hints shall be gratefully received.

Well I shall select a random photo and post. Not sure what will happen though :)

These are a selection of my crocheted Christmas ornaments.

28 Days or 4 Weeks or 1 Month ....... Until Departure!

The countdown is really beginning now that we have reached the 4 week until departure mark. Very, very exciting!

Lists are being compiled, items added and then removed, suitcase sizes discussed and wardrobes checked for suitable attire. I keep thinking of our tour around NZ following the cruise and subsequent flight home, so we really need to pack wisely or be prepared to pay some major excess baggage fees. Another option would be to pack up a carton of clothes (especially formal items) and post them back to Oz from Auckland before we commence our land tour. Whatever we decide, the little travel scale is one item we will be packing!

Cruise Itinerary:

NZ Land Tour Itinerary:

Finished Project!

Whilst this post has little to do with my upcoming holiday, I thought I would share a few pics of my just completed crochet project.

Since I retired almost 12 months ago, I have reignited my passion for crochet & started a little online business making custom ordered items such as baby hats, shoes, headbands & children's and adult ladies hats and slippers. This has kept me very busy over the past few months, however I wanted a "project" to do between orders.

After searching every available pattern on the Internet, I found one for a gorgeous afghan square. Then I decided on a colour scheme of 3 main colours and ordered the yarn. Once it arrived I couldn't wait to get started and surprised myself by finishing it in less than 3 months. Then came the difficult part of deciding on a joining method and colour. After more searching I came across a pattern for the flat braid join and loved the effect. By the time I joined the last few squares it was very difficult to manipulate as well as very warm bundled on my lap.

I then decided it needed a border ...... so then began another search. Thank goodness for the Internet and all those free patterns available.

Lastly came the dreaded task of weaving in 100's of loose ends and pressing all the flowers open. This was completed last night!

So this is the finished result .... am pretty proud of my first afghan attempt!

35 Days until Departure!!

This time in 5 weeks we should be on board Diamond Princess in preparation for our 8pm departure from Sydney. If all goes to plan the unpacking shall be finished (if delivered to our cabin by this time) & we will be on a self conducted, orientation tour of the ship.

The night sailing through the harbour should be beautiful, although at 8pm a little daylight will remain so we should still be able to see the landmarks.

I have worked out how to post photos via the Blogger App, thanks to some help from another cruiser :) so now just need to do a test post when next away from home to see if I can manage that aspect.

My blogs will be very random until a few days before embarkation, then I hope to post daily, or write daily & up load when Wi-Fi is available.

37 Days and Counting .......

Well the Melbourne Cup is over for another year! I was lucky enough to get the winning horse in the $5 sweep, although I had never heard of him previously. We had a beautiful lunch and a glass or two of bubbly, so a nice day overall.

I am going to attempt to upload a couple of photos just to see if I can sort out how to post some holiday snaps on this blog during our holiday.

These gorgeous flowers were on our table at lunch yesterday & we were allowed to take them home!

Add caption

Melbourne Cup & 38 days until Cruise

Yes it's Melbourne Cup Day (the race which stops the nation) here in Australia. My first Cup as a retiree, so am off to a Cup Luncheon resplendent in the traditional "fascinator"! Luckily for some there will be no photos, namely because I am still to work out how to upload them from my IPad. That is my next project.

Just 38 days until the first portion of our holiday begins and we are beginning to compile lists, sort budgets etc. I have now been retired for 12 months & Mike almost 3 months, so we are really enjoying life without the "confinement" which work brings. We are certainly finding plenty to keep us occupied & holiday planning is a very enjoyable way of filling time :)

And so it begins ........

Before I get started, I should warn any potential readers that this is my first ever blog. Please be tolerant & feel free to post some constructive criticism & tips :)

The decision to write a blog came from my research into our upcoming holiday. I found several holiday blogs and was very impressed by one especially which reviewed a world cruise. The chance that Mike (my partner) & I will ever afford such a cruise is slim, however, on shorter holidays it will be great to keep a record of our trip for family & friends to read, not to mention the memory jogging effect for the ageing writer! 

My plan, thanks to hints from other bloggers, is to write a daily review on my IPad, then save it until we have Internet access (can be non existent or very slow on ship & some areas of NZ) then publish on my blog. Hopefully I will also be able to post some photos as well.

Our trip begins on December 14th 2012 (just under 6 weeks) with a cruise on the Diamond Princess from Sydney to Auckland, NZ via Hobart & Melbourne. We then have a short break (2 days) in Auckland before beginning our 17 day NZ Contrasts tour from Auckland, ending in Christchurch on January 14th 2013.

Really starting to get excited now!!!