I am writing this on 26 Jan 2022. It is suppose to be a day of celebration for Australians here and abroad. The pandemic ruins it all!
On a positive note, I can dig into my digital photo albums to recall the most memorable Australia Day celebration in 2019 my wife and I sailed on a Princess cruise.
It must be the first, and never to be repeated Australia Day party I attended over the sea. On that day, Princess decorated in green and gold theme, with a big Australian flag hung from high up in the Atrium. In addition, there was a big Australian flag cake especially baked for the occasion.
Not only Australians on board, but also non-Australians passengers from different parts of the world, took part in pie eating competition, playing two-ups, face painting, etc and danced the night away.
The balloon drop was the highlight. When the sea of green and gold balloon dropped from the ceiling of the Atrium, the roar of crazy passengers was deafening. They all behaved like little kids, trying a grab a balloon or two, and some just could not resist popping / bursting them.
Yes it’s Australia Day and most of us are have a holiday to celebrate and from reading your interesting post and seeing the photos I can see that you really had a wow, wow Australia Day celebration in 2019. Where did you sale from/to? I know that because of the pandemic, cruise ships aren’t sailing in this part of the world (well not as as yet) and we miss seeing them especially this time of the year when there are often 2 a day sailing in and out of Melbourne. They are beautiful floating hotels to see coming in and leave the bay here.
Happy Australia Day
ps: Do you know who the guy in the yellow t-shirt is
We travelled on train from Melbourne to Sydney, and boarded the ship on 25/1/2019. The cruise sailed from Sydney to New Zealand, and returned.
I do not know the name of the guy in yellow T-shirt’'. He was the DJ; I requested permission to take his photo and use on social media.
There was a bonus for the Chinese too, because we celebrated Chinese New Year on board. It must be my charm that I got the Chefs prepared two special dishes for us, in addition to the large variety of sumptuous dishes available.
There is no news yet about when cruise ships are allowed to sail in Australian water. I am quite reluctant to go overseas just in case of further quarantine and lockdown. Insurance and medical expenses are prohibitive.
Oh I see you sailed from Sydney and not Melbourne @ArmchairTravel . As I mentioned, we used to see and love seeing cruise ships sail out of Port Phillip bay here from our lounge room. They are just so large and appear to sail so slowly that we often wondered will they ever get to where they are heading. They may be back one day!
