April 12,2018 time to leave Sydney and fly home

April 12, 2018

Today we checked out of the Radisson and get ready to go to the airport.
We had a delicious breakfast buffet as we did every day we were at the hotel and then gathered our luggage up and met our driver who put the luggage in the car and away we went to the airport.

Checking in the luggage was quick and easy with Qantas. We had time to walk around the airport which was very modern and had lots of well known shops.

Since we were early enough we had lunch and then waited to be boarded on the plane.

We had chosen premium economy seats on the 747 and so we were in a small section of the plane which was nice as it was quiet and had roomier seats.
We had flown on British before which had the same seat configuration and location in the plane and made the flight enjoyable.

Food and service was very good.

Watching movies and sleeping made the 14 hours go by quickly.

getting ready to land at SFO

We arrived on time in San Francisco.  We went to the self service Global Entry Kiosk (we have Global Entry) and checked in by scanning our passports, got a form and then went by the customs officers to the baggage claim where we got our bags. Since we had the Global Entry form we did not have to submit the customs form and went straight to the exit.

I called our car service driver and he said to meet him at the departures gate.

We met the our driver who loaded our bags in the car and he took us home.

April 11, 2018 we arrive in Sydney

Our ship docked at Circular Quay at 6:10 AM.

Weather was beautiful.

We had our breakfast in the dining room and then headed up to the Tuscan Restaurant  to wait for our call to disembark.
We left the ship at 8:30am and got the luggage.

Collecting our luggage and going through customs was fast and easy.

We went out to the curbside to wait for our car service.

The driver arrived a little late due to all the traffic  (9:40 am), we got the luggage in the car and he drove us to the Radisson where we arrived at 10am.

Our room was ready which was really great. -#614

This meant we could put our bags in the room and do our last sight seeing of Sydney.

Since we heard so much about Darling Harbour we decided to go there and walk around and have lunch there.
We walked up to the Westfield pedestrian mall and then made a turn and walked down to the harbour and there we were- Darling Harbour.

It is a beautiful promenade with ferry boats and yachts and water on one side and hotels, offices, restaurants and cafes on the other side. We walked down a ways and spotted Bel & Brio cafe and stopped there for coffee and pastries.- both were great.


We then walked around some more until 12:15 and went to George's Mediterranean Bar and Grill for lunch. We had an appetizer and side dishes and Sophia had Barramundi (fish) and I had the lamb souvlaki.

We then went out to search to buy Uggs and t shirts for our family and us. We ended up at the Harborside Shopping Centre.  We found a lot of shops that sold Uggs and ended up at one where we bought slippers for everyone. We could not find any t shirt shops that sold shirts with Sydney, the zoo, Koalas or other touristy shirts that would be a reminder of our trip when we wore them.

On the whole trip the best place to buy these shirts was in Melbourne at the flea market. Maybe the big flea market in Sydney may have these shirts and other souvenirs but it was located far from where we were and would have involved taking a taxi or Uber.


Afterwards we took an Uber back to the hotel and chilled for awhile.

We decided to go to a Fratelli's that the concierge said was closer to the hotel.

It was located in the basement of an office building and the hostess led us into the back of the restaurant. It was packed with young people drinking and eating and it was very loud.
Food was good- we ate and left and back to the hotel. The backs are packed and we are ready to go home tomorrow.

April 10, 2018 a day at sea before we arrive in Sydney tomorrow

April 10, 2018

Today is a sea day and the sea is calm and the weather sunny.

We wrapped up a few loose ends-check bill, packing etc.

At Noon  we went to the main dining room for lunch. We met the couple from Florida ( we had several meals with them over the course of the trip) to catch up and compare notes on our trip experiences and travelling home.

We sat next to Marek and his lady friend and I started talking to him about the cruise. I met Marek on my first day aboard ship and ran into him several times during the cruise and every time he had a different cap on.

Today he had one on with name tags from all the ships he has sailed on including a Celebrity captain name tag.

He started telling some interesting stories and  we traded emails so I could send him photos.

I did send the email with photos but it took him a while to reply. He was on several cruises and he then proceeded to tell me about his cruises in 2019. Unfortunately his were based in the Australia area and our paths would not cross again.

At dinner we said our goodbyes to the waiter, asst. waiter and wine steward- all who were super people.
We bid goodbye the New Zealand couple and the Australian couple who were our constant dinner companions. The other couple rarely came to dinner so I at this time cannot remember much about them.

Tomorrow we land in Sydney. Since we are staying in Sydney for one more day we elected to have a late disembarkation.

April 9, 2018 our last port Brisbane and a visit to Steve Irwin's zoo

Monday April 9, 2018

Today is a beautiful sunny day and a nice change from the windy weather we had for the last two days.

We are excited to go on the tour today and see the Irwin zoo and get photos with a koala.

Our tour leaves at 9 am so we went to the meeting point at 8:45am. Our guide told us to make sure to see the show at the Crocoseum at noon.

We headed into the zoo and made tracks to the koala photo booth and bought our tickets for the 12:30 appearance.
There was a large enclosed park like area with kangaroos and wallabies which were tame enough to get close and pose for photos with them[ very cool.

We then went to sit in the Crocoseum to see the show which only lasted about 25 mins and featured some birds, a croc, and some other wildlife- not very impressive compared to shows we have seen in the US.

We got in line for the koala photo next and we found out it was ok for people in line to take photos which was a nice surprise. I handed my iphone to the man behind me in line and asked him to take photos of us with the koala and he did and the photos turned out really nice.
This was another highlight of our trip!!

Since we only had 30 mins. left to meet  the bus we just walked around and went to the gift shop planning to have lunch on the ship.

At 1:30 we boarded the bus for the trip back and got back on board at 2:45. We were famished so we headed up to the buffet for lunch.

Tonight was the last formal night so we dressed in elegant casual for dinner which featured lobster as the main and baked alaska for dessert. Dinner was great.

Tomorrow is a sea day.