Travelling with the Kellys: Cruise on the Diamond Princess - Voyage Number M101, 12 nights from Sydney to Melbourne - Hobart - Milford/Thompson/Doubtful/Dusky Sounds (Fiordland) - Dunedin - Christchurch - Tauranga

Embarkation Day 22 December 2010 – Sydney

Weather - warm sunny 26°C

We left The Menzies to scope out our embarkation, the plan being to see where and what, and then walk around The Rocks first. About 3pm the boys would return to the hotel to retrieve all the baggage, and meet Julie and me at the wharf to embark.

Our First glimpse of The Diamond Princess, our home for the next 12 nights.

That didn’t happen! Walking down the wharf we met Ian and Geraldine - CCer’s from Perth WA and further on we found guys loading trucks with luggage and plenty of helpful staff eager to get us on board. So after some discussion, the arrival of Pete, Norma & family (KiwiPete) we decided, we would miss the walk and embark.

Closer!

The boys went back to the hotel, via the Menswear store to collect Pete’s 2 new suits, and got all our bags! So much for traveling light!

On the Wharf doing the supposed 'reckie'!

Embarkation was a breeze, and we were taken straight to our cabin. The whole process only took about 15 minutes. The first surge of passengers boarded about 11am, so by the time the guys returned after 12, there was only a handful of passengers’ were being processed, so there was no queuing at Customs, Security or Registration. Here we received our Sail Card, which was our Key to our Stateroom, access on/off the ship via security, billing card for charging any purchases, and as we later found out, you could also use it in the Casino as your float card. Of course there was the obligatory photo shot by the photographer before you boarded! We agreed this time, but not something we were at all keen on.

Once orientated, we grabbed Julie and Dave to have lunch in the Horizon Court Buffet. Within 15 minutes of boarding we were seated eating! One thing that did irk us was the constant barrage of people trying to sell Soda and Coffee cards, mineral water and other packages. As soon as you indicated you didn’t have what ever they were selling they came on with the hard sell. It was all a bit much when you have just boarded and in unfamiliar surroundings. Dave quickly instructed us to all say – "already bought one"! It worked.

Once fed and watered we headed back to our staterooms and found all our luggage had arrived – the small bags were there when we were first shown to the room. Pitchet, our steward introduced himself, and arranged for an ice bucket each night.

So we unpacked and got our selves sorted. Plenty of room for all our belongings, a very good supply of coat hangers, and the cases fitted under the bed.

Now all settled in we decided to do a bit of exploring, so we knew where to go for Sailaway and Muster stations. The lifts were a bit of a nightmare, mainly due to people embarking and exploring like us. My fears that the lifts would be madness every day was short lived, as by the next day getting a lift was easy, as most people were using the stairs.

The Diamond is a large ship with 18 decks. We were told there were 2752 passengers of 48 Nationalities on board, along with 1075 crew (I think) from 41countries. There was a real mixture of ages as there was a large number of family groups – Mum, Dad, Kids, Grandparents etc. You hardly saw the kids, as they were all well occupied in the Kids & Youth Centers.

We had our first evening meal in the Pacific Moon Dining Room (one of the four Anytime Dining Rooms) about 6.15pm, so we could enjoy the Cruise Critic Sailaway Party on the Outrigger Deck on the aft of the ship.

Our plan was a little flawed, as the compulsory Muster Drill was at 7.30pm, which meant we had to skip dessert and head for the Wheelhouse Bar (our Muster Station). Pete returned to the stateroom to get the lifejackets. I had left my wine on the table half drunk, but fortunately when we returned my glass had been saved by the waiter. The tables had all been reset so we decided to give Dessert a miss and left with the wine to head for the Outrigger deck for the Cruise Critic Sailaway Party.

We had a good turnout in Santa Hats and Masks, with the departure being 8pm; it was right in the middle of dining times for many people. Sailing out of Sydney Harbour was simply spectacular. A great chance for Pete to test the new camera.