On February 2, 2025, we got up early, as recommended, to be on deck as we sailed into Sydney Harbor.

The Opera house was dark, but its shape was still evident.

The views were definitely worth getting up for!

The Westerdam is just barely small enough to fit under the bridge.

Disembarking the Westerdam went easily and quickly a couple hours later.  We were glad to know that this “mainline” cruise company still suits us. (Holland America is the smallest of eleven mainline cruise companies.)  We have been on a couple luxury line cruises since our last Holland and they are very nice.  We have found that we can go on two nice cruises on Holland for the price of one luxury cruise. However,  that level of luxury isn’t necessary for us to enjoy ourselves.  Of course, Holland doesn’t go everywhere the smaller luxury ships can, so we’ll be on those ships again when the itinerary necessitates.

We have no interest in being on any of the mega ships that Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise lines are building.  

We enjoyed the Westerdam, even though it is a smaller ship than the pinnacle class we usually sail on with Holland.  There are so many little seating areas and bars on Westerdam that it is almost always possible to find a window seat.  

The size of our signature suite fit us perfectly.  It will be our new cabin size of choice going forward.

The single biggest drawback for us on the Westerdam was the World Stage.  Because of the way it is designed, you had to get there early to avoid pillars in your line of sight and/or to be low enough to see the full screen.  Probably only sixty percent of the seats have a good and full view.  Randy had the suggestion that they should move the screen forward for video oriented presentations which would help a lot.  We will add that suggestion to our cruise evaluation but it is such an obvious fix, there must be a logistical reason why it hasn’t been done.

We had prepared for our departure and had our declared items for Australia available.  Remember the shell we wondered about with Australia’s strict bio-security rules? No problem.

When Randy told the agent, she didn’t even look at it.  They also didn’t care about our packaged snacks.   We didn’t think they’d care about those but we’d heard the announcement so many times, we weren’t taking any chances.  The consequences are a steep fine and possible revocation of your visa. The ship’s crew said anytime anyone gets caught, they get in trouble for not making the requirements clear enough!

We went to the airport on a Holland America shuttle and checked in for our Virgin Australia flight to Cairns. Cairns is where you got to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef!  

We had three hours to wait so we scouted the lunch options- there were a lot!  Sydney “Gastronomy” Airport included meat pies, something called a jaffle, lots of  sandwiches and so much more.  There was a KFC and a McDonalds but we haven’t been away from the US long enough yet to give them a second glance!  Lots of other people were lined up though!

When we did finally get lunch, we had a chicken dish at Taste of Thai.  It looked good and they had tables available- a valuable commodity in the busy airport!

So, I know this is weird but I was surprised by this twice during our time in the airport.  This is the view as you walk into the women’s restroom.  The glass is so clear, it looked like you could walk out onto the tarmac.  Randy said the men’s restroom was not this way.

Our flight was uneventful.  The plane seemed new and very clean.  No free drinks or snacks are served on Virgin Australia.  Lots of food and drink are available, but all for a price.  

On the flight, I finished The Exiles, about women convicts who came to Australia from England in the early 1800s. The main character is a governess in England who fell victim to the attentions of the son of her employer.  She became pregnant and was sent to prison, and then to Van Diemen’s Land – now called Tasmania. (I tried to get the book finished before Hobart but just didn’t make it!)

Hundreds of thousand of convicts, male and female, were transported from Britain from the late 1700s to the mid 1800s.  It is estimated that 20 percent of Australians can trace their lineage back to a convict.

We met our driver and was taken to our hotel.  We had a very good meeting with our local guide from Globus. We had a mixture of things planned, some that I organized through Viator and a day that Globus had for us. 

We just needed the weather to cooperate.

The Queensland area of Australia was experiencing dramatic rains and flooding.  So much so that even people in the US had heard about it. My friend, Jacque, texted to make sure we were okay. We were told there were four pre- cyclone storms impacting our weather.

For dinner, we went to Hemingway Brewery and had the best margherita pizza we’ve had in a long time.  I had very good beer and Randy had the alcohol ginger beer that we’d heard about.  It was very good!  I had a sip and liked it – and I don’t like ginger beer.

There was a sign as we entered the restaurant that said there was a 10 percent surcharge on Sunday.  It was Sunday, and we didn’t care, but was curious about the reason.  An employee said that they get paid 15% more for working on Sunday and the extra 10% helps management cover some of the extra cost.  (I remember when I worked at JC Penneys in the 1970s that we got time and a half for working on Sunday.)

The Crown Princess was docked right next to the Hemingway Brewery. It was interesting to watch the activity while we enjoyed our dinner.

Our day’s journey was accomplished and the next phase of our adventure was on.  The same was true for the Westerdam.  

This picture was posted on Facebook as Westerdam left Sydney.  It shows that the ship just barely fits under the Harbor Bridge!

Next Up:  The rain impacts our plans.