Day 4 - The CUP

Early breakfast and back to the cabins to make ourselves beautiful for the Cup. Lovely hats for the ladies and smart suits for the gents was the order of the day. We all made our way to the gangway and boarded a bus to Flemington, tickets in hand....



We had magnificent seats, undercover and air conditioned behind glass, right on the winning post and 30 metres from the fence. Could not have been better....






The buildup to the Cup was exciting. Star punter Lorraine was backing winners left, right and centre, Diane was also finding a winner. In fact most of the ladies seemed to be able to back a winner, the men however, mmmm.

Finally the Cup came around and the atmosphere was at fever pitch as the horses paraded and made their way out onto the track via the corridor from the winning post and mounting yard....








The Cup was run and won and when the dust had settled, Bart Cummings had claimed his 12th Cup with Viewed. Of course, both Lorraine and Diane had managed to back the winner at 50/1!!

The crowd quickly started to disperse as soon as the Cup was over, even though there were still 3 races to be run. The last bus back to the ship left just before the last race, so the last of our group left the course after race 9 and made our way back to the bus and ultimately back to the ship.

A change of clothes into something more comfortable saw most of us head to 'The Steakhouse' for dinner followed by an early night for most.

Day 5 - Farewell to Melbourne

Day 5 was our last in Melbourne and we were set to depart at 5pm.

It was a day to 'do your own thing' and a group decided to go to South Melbourne Markets when we discovered that Vic Markets was closed on Wednesdays. Clive, Phil and Bob sampled some of the finest oysters they have ever had the pleasure of tasting, freshly shucked in front of us. A dollar in the jug gave you a choice between a SA oyster and a Tassie oyster. They were both sensational.

We were also advised by friends in Melbourne that a must try at the markets are the famous 'Dim Sims'. We found the place and they were very nice....



The ship was a little late leaving and pushed off around 6pm, closely followed by the 'Volendam' a Holland American ship which had made it's way over from Auckland after originally leaving Vancouver many weeks ago. It has a 4 month stint travelling around the various destinations in the Pacific before heading back to Vancouver at the end of the bitter northern winter.

The sunset afforded some great shots out over the bay....









The 'Volendam' started to catch and past us as we moved down the channel leading out from Port Phillip Bay and into Bass Straight....






Dinner for the group in the buffet was followed by a very funny Hypnotist show in the Showroom.

Day 6 - At Sea, bound for home

Another beautiful sunny day saw many taking advantage by heading to the pool and open areas....






....or just a quiet drink in the sun and fresh air....





After a lazy day, the majority headed to the showroom for an afternoon of 'Marriage Game' capers, 'Sea-Horse Racing' and of course the big Jackpot Bingo game. The bingo final prize was worth in excess of $4,500 to the winner, but alas, nobody in our group was successful.

After bingo it was a quick change and back in the Showroom for the 'Motown Show'....






Our final evening meal we did as a complete group in the main Dining Room.

This photo represents the same group that went on the Fairstar, some 30 years ago. Only Ian Scott was missing....



Back to our cabins for our final nights sleep we were greeted by a 'Monkey'. Earlier on the cruise we had an elephant and a rabbit. We had a wonderful Swan which finished crushed on the floor on that 'eventful' Monday morning....

Day 7 - Welcome home

A well organised disembarkation process saw our group leave the ship staggered between 08:00 and 09:00 and boarding our shuttle bus back to Cabarita.

A final look at the ship as we leave....





and patiently waiting for our bus....



All in all, it was a very pleasant week.

Some of the bad....
The general consensus was that the food could have been much better, especially those who have cruised overseas in places such as Alaska, the choice and servings were very underwhelming.

The ship was totally full and it showed. It was difficult to get a drink in a quick and timely manner, not through any real lack of ability on the part of staff, they were just undermanned in light of the sold out cruise.

The bar areas were inadequate to accommodate the large crowds and it was almost impossible to consistently find any areas where more than a handful of people could sit and chat as a group without pulling tables and chairs from all areas of the bar.

Some of the good....
The organisation showed in getting the whole ship to the Cup in a timely manner was outstanding. It could easily have turned into a total bunfight, but was very well done, as was the disembarkation process.

The company was great and many new friends were made amongst some couples who had never met previous to the pre-trip BBQ in September.

Full marks should go to Lorraine for her enthusiasm in getting this trip over the line and the excellent job she did in getting it organised.

Cheers.