Solar Eclipse - post-cruise report

Obviously, I didn't keep the blog up to date while we were away - here are the highlights.

Flight to Perth on Saturday 15 April - I put in a bid for an upgrade to business class which was accepted.  Much cheaper than an actual business class fare, so we were quite pleased as it's a long flight - more than four hours in that direction (return flight is faster because of the prevailing winds).

We pre-booked a transfer from the airport to our hotel in Perth, as we were arriving quite late anyway.  All went well, as did checking into the hotel.  As I think I mentioned earlier, I would have preferred to stay in Fremantle, but by the time we knew we were definitely going on this trip, there weren't any hotel rooms available within decent range of the port - not for less than an arm and a leg anyway!.  So, we stayed in the Perth CBD, at Citadines in St Georges Terrace.

On the Sunday we went for a walk around the CBD.  During the walk we became aware that the Perth Mint had issued a commemorative coin to celebrate the eclipse.  Of course we then went to the Mint, but they had sold out long before.  (Later, I bought one online - normally wouldn't have done so as the person selling it made themselves a significant profit, but it's the sort of thing Adam would have loved.)  We also walked down to Elizabeth Quay, found a couple of stores of interest to Paul (Tactics and White Dwarf books)  and saw a few other sights around the town.

Monday was a long day - we had to check out of the hotel before 11am, but couldn't check in to the cruise until 5:30pm (a very late departure).  We decided to go on the train which worked really well - quite cheap and comfortable.  It's about a 750 metre walk from the train station to the cruise ship which isn't that much fun in the heat and dragging suitcases, so we decided to get the free shuttle that they put on every time a cruise ship is in port.  And, they let us drop off our suitcases so we could then just wander around Fremantle until later.  We decided to go back to the ship at around 3pm and this was a good plan as the cruise terminal is quite a comfortable place to wait compared to some - looking at you, Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal!! - and boarding started earlier than planned, so we were onboard by about 5pm.

This was definitely not your normal P&O cruise - obviously there were lots of people who were there only for the eclipse and so lots of new cruisers.  Also lots of kids because it was school holiday time - but overall they were pretty well-behaved (or if not, they played up where we didn't see them!!).

They parked the ship quite close to Exmouth for the eclipse - close enough that we could get mobile coverage, which is always a bonus (the ship's internet is slow and not secure so a bit risky for checking bank accounts etc).  The weather was just perfect - almost no wind, and no clouds at all.

The eclipse was really interesting although not completely what I expected.  I had gotten the impression that it would get quite "night-time" dark, but it didn't - however it was quite obvious that the eclipse was happening.  P&O had organised for everyone to have filters we could use to watch the eclipse, and it was easy to see how people in the past could have thought that a dragon was eating the sun.  And, during totality when it's safe to look at the sun without protection, it was just amazing to see!

Once the eclipse was completely over, they had to hot-foot it back to Fremantle - as a result the trip back was a little bumpier but no problems for us (Paul almost never gets seasick, and I learned years ago to take sea-sickness tablets the first night and the next day, and then I'm usually okay too).

We were due to leave the ship with the 8:55am departure group (Saturday 22 April) but again P&O was running ahead of schedule so we were booted off about an hour early :-) 

Again, we decided to get the shuttle to the train station and a train back into the city.  Staying at the same hotel as before the cruise, and they held our baggage until we were able to check in.  While waiting we went to the Museum of Western Australia which had quite a lot of really interesting exhibits. Dinner tonight was one of the best take-way Chinese meals we've had in a long time - from a simple looking place near the hotel called Fine Asian Kitchen.

Sunday 23rd we had a full day in Perth, but both of us had caught some sort of minor respiratory thing on the ship - not Covid, but enough to slow us down.  So, our visit to Kings Park has been delayed until our next visit (currently planned for September 2024 at the end of another cruise).  Instead, Paul went for another walk around the shops, and I did a random train trip to Armadale and back on the train just to see what I could see.  Overall impression - there aren't many hills around Perth!  Dinner tonight was Italian - at the Simple Italian restaurant - really good food. 

Monday 24th was our trip home, and this time my attempt at an upgrade to business class wasn't successful.  However, the wait at the airport was comfortable enough (as I'm a Qantas Club member) and the flight wasn't too bad - as I said above, the flight back is much faster due to prevailing winds.  And for a change, we got an economy class meal that was quite edible (meatballs and pasta).  Arrived back in CBR early, and got home with no real dramas.  

In summary - lots of things to bring back memories of Adam both on and off the ship - so, enjoyment tinged with sadness.

 

Perth and the "Ningaloo King of Eclipses" cruise

Well, nine very sad months have elapsed since I last updated the blog in July 2022.  Before I updated it today, the “upcoming holidays” list at the top of the page was:

17 April 2023 - Adam is cruising from Fremantle to see the solar eclipse.
4 October 2023 - Paul and Sandy are flying to England for a "Search for the Northern Lights" cruise.
5 February 2024 - Paul and Sandy are doing another New Zealand cruise.

Long before I wrote that blog post on 10 July 2022, Adam had booked his cabin on the eclipse cruise and was really looking forward to it, and was also already planning to go to the USA again in April 2024 to see another total solar eclipse.

We had known about the lump in Adam’s leg since late May 2022, and following some initial investigations (which had been done before the Carirns cruise) he had an appointment to see a surgeon at the Calvary hospital on 12 July.  After that appointment and some more tests, he got the devastating news that it was cancer (specifically, leiomyosarcoma), that it had already metastasised to four different places in his body and that it was beyond surgical help.  

A few months later and despite chemotherapy and other treatment, Adam needed a wheelchair to get around, and P&O kindly agreed to let me join him on the cruise so I could help him (no extra cost because a single person on most cruises is already paying two fares anyway). 

But of course, even that didn’t happen, as Adam lost his life to cancer on 8 January 2023. 

P&O then agreed to change the booking so that Paul and I could go on the Eclipse cruise in memory of Adam – again, generous of them because their rules say that booking changes can only happen if at least one person from the original booking stays on it, but they waived the rule for us.  (We could still have booked the cruise separately for ourselves, but the price by that time was much higher – and there wouldn’t have been a refund of Adam’s and my earlier fare either).

And of course, while Adam was ill, we cancelled the Search for the Northern Lights cruise as we were assuming that he would still be with us but that he might still need us to be here to help him get around.  Sadly, it turned out not to be.

So, anyway, I’m writing this as we’re just finishing our packing for the trip – later this evening we’re flying to Perth for the Eclipse cruise.  It’s something new for us, as neither of us have ever actually experienced a total solar eclipse – although sometimes it felt like I had because of all of Adam’s previous experiences of them 😊 .   

Paul has also never been to Perth before, and I’ve only been there once for work (in the early 1990s) and didn’t see anything apart from the state headquarters of the Dept of Social Security – not so exciting.  And for both of us, our experiences of Fremantle consist of a few hours there one afternoon – should have been a whole day but the cruise ship's arrival was delayed.   

Hopefully we’ll get a chance to look around tomorrow and Monday (the ship doesn’t sail until 9pm) and after we return (we get back on Saturday 22^nd and aren’t flying home until the Monday).