Day 1 - to Sydney and getting onboard the Voyager of the Seas

Onboard around 2pm, they were set up for really long queues but there was just a slow steady flow of people boarding when we got on   We didn't have to wait for our cabin to be ready; they were all opened up by the time we got onboard.
Spent the afternoon doing the usual things - exploring the ship and going to the muster drill (which was pretty low tech compared to some.)
While we were heading off to Sydney we saw a Facebook post from a former workmate of Paul's (Sheree) - who has moved away from Canberra but has stayed in touch.  Based on some of her posts it seemed pretty likely that she and her partner and children were coming on the same cruise - and they are.  We ran into them in the shopping promenade onboard - had a happy reunion and then promised to meet up again during the coming two weeks.
Finishing this on Sunday:
We decided just to go to the Windjammer buffet for dinner; the food was perfectly acceptable for 'cruise ship buffet' style of eating.
We didn't bother with staying out for the sail-away - it was a long day, we both got a touch of the sun and of course I was a bit under the influence of Travacalm.  However, just as we were about to nod off to sleep the phone rang and it was my cousin Donna who it turns out is also onboard - we're going to try to catch up in person today.

Leaving tomorrow!

Unbelievable - it's almost 4 weeks since I posted anything here, and all of a sudden we're leaving on a cruise tomorrow  :-)
I've got the day off today, and a long to-do list - boring stuff like doing the last of the washing, finishing my packing, stocking up on groceries for Adam while we're away (particularly heavy / frozen stuff that he'll have a hard time getting with only the trike as transport).  But, this holiday is pretty much all organised - we just have to get ourselves to Civic tomorrow in time for the 9am bus to Sydney, and from then on in, it's all under control!
As far as next year's holiday goes, there's not a lot of movement on that front.  I haven't booked the travel insurance yet; I really must do that soon.  Qantas definitely got the money and issued our tickets, and I've already paid to request specific seats.  And, on both flights we managed to snag the seat that's regularly called the best economy seat on the Qantas A380 - seat 71D (and the one beside it of course).  They let you request this seat for 'only' their standard fee for seat pre-booking, not the outrageous prices they charge for exit row seats, and it's actually better than an exit row seat in my opinion.  Let's just hope that they don't steal them from me - they don't actually guarantee that you'll get the seat you pay for, although they do generously (!!) promise that if they have to take it from you they'll refund the money you paid to book it.
Apart from that though, next year's holiday is still waiting to be planned  :-)
Anyway, the next few posts should be shots of the beautiful Voyager of the Seas, and some lovely sights in the South Pacific and New Zealand!