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.
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