We had thoughts of going to the Gardens by the Bay today but we're both still a little tired from the travel. So, we started the day by having breakfast and then walking around to an absolutely enormous shopping and office area (Suntec City). I don't think we saw any more than a small proportion of the whole place and there was definitely more shopping there than anywhere in Canberra.
By this stage, we had found out that our boarding time for the cruise had been delayed. We were scheduled to board at 11:30am Friday, but that was based on the ship arriving at about 6am. However, they had a medical emergency overnight and so had to return to their previous port, and won't be arriving in Singapore until 11am. Our new boarding time is 4:30pm. I asked the hotel if they'd extend our checkout time until 2pm and they agreed - and without extra charge!
We went out again and checked out using the MRT to get to the port, and it looks like it will be okay provided we avoid peak hour - the locals wouldn't take kindly to tourists with suitcases during peak hour!
Dinner was at another large shopping area nearby that we had not even realised was there, even though our hotel overlooks it! I think we could spend a year here and still not find all the interesting stores and restaurants in the area :-)
Came home expecting to crash but someone got into the lift on the 10th floor talking about a smell of smoke; he was quite concerned and was going downstairs to report it. We were one floor higher and we could also definitely smell something smoky, so we got our important things (aka phone, iPad etc!) and went downstairs. By the time we got there though, there wasn't much going on, and the lady at the desk told Paul that it had all been dealt with. Possibly someone just cooking illicitly in their room.
Given the dramas we had in Sydney before our last cruise (woken up twice in one night by fire alarm and fire trucks) I'm hoping that the lady at the front desk really is right!!!
Added note: since we didn't burn to death in the night, it was obviously all OK :-)
Saturday, 20 October 2018
Ovation of the Seas Cruise: Wednesday 17 October - Singapore
Woke up around 8am local time and both of us felt that we weren't going to get any more sleep, despite the long day and interrupted night.
So, we started getting our bearings - found the local markets and shopping centre, had some breakfast, checked out the train station. We also spent some time getting SIM cards for our phones - even though it's only three days it's still good to be able to access the internet when you're out and about.
In the afternoon we bought a three day tourist pass for travel on the MRT and started off by using it to get to Pasir Ris MRT station for the start of a tour we had booked.
The tour was about Changi and World War 2. It became quite clear that in the rush for development a lot of historical sites in Singapore have been demolished, but just the same it was quite interesting and I'm glad we went along.
Had dinner at a street market nearby and went home to crash after a very long day.
So, we started getting our bearings - found the local markets and shopping centre, had some breakfast, checked out the train station. We also spent some time getting SIM cards for our phones - even though it's only three days it's still good to be able to access the internet when you're out and about.
In the afternoon we bought a three day tourist pass for travel on the MRT and started off by using it to get to Pasir Ris MRT station for the start of a tour we had booked.
The tour was about Changi and World War 2. It became quite clear that in the rush for development a lot of historical sites in Singapore have been demolished, but just the same it was quite interesting and I'm glad we went along.
Had dinner at a street market nearby and went home to crash after a very long day.
Ovation of the Seas Cruise: Sydney and flight to Singapore - 15 & 16 October
The trip to Sydney on the train on Monday 15th was the usual - slow and tedious but the least uncomfortable of the available options.
Once we arrived at Central we got the train to Martin Place station and then to our hotel. The only issue with all of that was actually getting into and out of the train stations - as in Brisbane, they're quite keen for people with suitcases to use the lifts rather than the escalators, but it was like a magical mystery tour actually finding the lifts in both Central and Martin Place.
Because we booked the room direct with the hotel, we automatically got a noon checkout rather than the standard 11am. I was hoping to be able to extend it further but they only allow for one more hour of extension. They charge $30 for it but that wasn't my problem, we'd need to go out to lunch anyway so a late checkout wouldn't help unless it could be until 3pm or so.
Anyway, the room was ok, we had a fairly good night's sleep although the airconditioning was less than great; the room really was too warm.
We got up fairly early on the Tuesday and went out for coffee and some last minute shopping, then went back to the hotel until around 11:30. Checked out and asked them to mind our suitcases. Then came the great trek - we thought we'd just go for a walk. So we trotted down Phillip Street to the Quay and admired the Radiance of the Seas which was in port, making sure to avoid the hordes at the Opera House who were hoping for a glimpse of Harry and Meghan. Then we wandered up George Street and eventually ended up at Darling Harbour, where we had lunch. Then we decided to try to go to Paddy's Market but it was closed. So, we hopped on the light rail up to Central where we made a great discovery - we decided to buy Opal cards since we'll be using Sydney trains a few times over the next few months. Turns out that not only were we paying too much because of paying standard fares rather than Opal (which we knew) but they actually honour the ACT MyWay concession cards, which means that Paul can get the even lower concession fares. A really helpful young man at Central sorted this out for us and now we're proud holders of Opal cards.
Then, despite our lovely new Opal cards, we *walked* all the way back to the hotel instead of getting a train! According to my phone, almost 18,000 steps for the day.
By now it was about 3pm and we decided to go to the airport - knowing that it would be too early really. So, we got out there and of course were really hot and sweaty because of all that walking. As it turns out, there are showers in the public toilets there, so with a bit of careful purchasing (for example, a towel) we were both able to have a shower and change into other clothes. Much nicer way start a long-ish flight
While this was all happening though, someone posted on the Facebook group about the cruise that our flight was delayed. And, sure enough, the Sydney Airport website said that our 9:45pm flight had been delayed by 45 minutes to 10:30. At this stage we weren't sure if that was correct, because the boards in the airport still had it leaving at 9:45, and Scoot doesn't have their own online "arrival and departure" checker to confirm. I was a bit concerned about this, because the airport has a fairly strict 11pm curfew and we weren't going to have much leeway if it really was correct.
Anyway, they finally started check us in, so we went through immigration and security, where I yet again got pulled over for the bomb test. I absolutely believe that I meet their criteria for "little old white lady to be pulled over so that people can't complain about profiling". Not complaining, but it really does happen to me all the time! Paul also got pulled up for a pat-down check and the bomb test.
We checked out where our gate was and then went and spent an outrageous amount on dinner ($58 for two burgers, two orange juices, and one large chips) before settling down to wait for the flight.
Eventually the airport signs started showing that the flight was delayed, but some people still hadn't noticed. Later though, a lady sitting behind us asked if we knew when the curfew was, and we started discussing the risks, when two people sitting across from us both heard what we were talking about, went pale and started panicking. One of them - obviously a really optimistic young lady - had a further flight from Singapore; she had allowed only two hours to arrive there, get off the plane, get through Immigration / luggage / Customs, and check back in for another flight. I wouldn't risk this if my first flight was with a really reliable airline, let alone with Scoot, who are notorious for delays.
Interesting flight left from our gate while we were waiting - the airline code was ASY (flight ASY42) and it turns out this is an Australian Air Force flight. The destination on the board meant nothing to me, but Google told me it's an air base in Dubai. The passengers appeared (not surprisingly) to be Aussie and maybe NZ defence force people.
People started lining up to board our flight long before it was ready to board. The Scoot people at the counter told them all to sit down and wait (which they all ignored), and in the end a lot of them were made to line up somewhere else for boarding. People (like us) paid a lot of money for the good seats, or simply to get early boarding, and Scoot was very good about making sure those financial promises were met.
We finally took off at one minute to 11 - so a bit over an hour late and one minute before curfew. They did make up some time en route but we definitely arrived late. Both of us managed to get a bit of sleep along the way. We never expected Scoot business class to be equivalent to Qantas or Singapore Airlines - we were hoping for something like their premium economy and that's what we got - nice wide seats that you could recline a decent distance without smacking the person behind in the face. However, we also got a meal included (in economy you have to pay for it) and ditto access to their entertainment service which you watch on your own device. Almost the best thing - sharing the toilet only with those in business class - no queues and it was still clean at the end of the flight.
Arrival into Singapore was fine - VERY long walk to immigration but not much of a queue (a lot of the people on our flight must have been transitting), a short wait for our luggage and no wait for a taxi. Our taxi driver was a bit of a lunatic - road lanes were optional in his mind - but at that time of the day there was almost no traffic and he told us a lot about Singapore.
The hotel had our room all ready and waiting, and once we got to it - around 5am local time - we showered and crashed.
Once we arrived at Central we got the train to Martin Place station and then to our hotel. The only issue with all of that was actually getting into and out of the train stations - as in Brisbane, they're quite keen for people with suitcases to use the lifts rather than the escalators, but it was like a magical mystery tour actually finding the lifts in both Central and Martin Place.
Because we booked the room direct with the hotel, we automatically got a noon checkout rather than the standard 11am. I was hoping to be able to extend it further but they only allow for one more hour of extension. They charge $30 for it but that wasn't my problem, we'd need to go out to lunch anyway so a late checkout wouldn't help unless it could be until 3pm or so.
Anyway, the room was ok, we had a fairly good night's sleep although the airconditioning was less than great; the room really was too warm.
We got up fairly early on the Tuesday and went out for coffee and some last minute shopping, then went back to the hotel until around 11:30. Checked out and asked them to mind our suitcases. Then came the great trek - we thought we'd just go for a walk. So we trotted down Phillip Street to the Quay and admired the Radiance of the Seas which was in port, making sure to avoid the hordes at the Opera House who were hoping for a glimpse of Harry and Meghan. Then we wandered up George Street and eventually ended up at Darling Harbour, where we had lunch. Then we decided to try to go to Paddy's Market but it was closed. So, we hopped on the light rail up to Central where we made a great discovery - we decided to buy Opal cards since we'll be using Sydney trains a few times over the next few months. Turns out that not only were we paying too much because of paying standard fares rather than Opal (which we knew) but they actually honour the ACT MyWay concession cards, which means that Paul can get the even lower concession fares. A really helpful young man at Central sorted this out for us and now we're proud holders of Opal cards.
Then, despite our lovely new Opal cards, we *walked* all the way back to the hotel instead of getting a train! According to my phone, almost 18,000 steps for the day.
By now it was about 3pm and we decided to go to the airport - knowing that it would be too early really. So, we got out there and of course were really hot and sweaty because of all that walking. As it turns out, there are showers in the public toilets there, so with a bit of careful purchasing (for example, a towel) we were both able to have a shower and change into other clothes. Much nicer way start a long-ish flight
While this was all happening though, someone posted on the Facebook group about the cruise that our flight was delayed. And, sure enough, the Sydney Airport website said that our 9:45pm flight had been delayed by 45 minutes to 10:30. At this stage we weren't sure if that was correct, because the boards in the airport still had it leaving at 9:45, and Scoot doesn't have their own online "arrival and departure" checker to confirm. I was a bit concerned about this, because the airport has a fairly strict 11pm curfew and we weren't going to have much leeway if it really was correct.
Anyway, they finally started check us in, so we went through immigration and security, where I yet again got pulled over for the bomb test. I absolutely believe that I meet their criteria for "little old white lady to be pulled over so that people can't complain about profiling". Not complaining, but it really does happen to me all the time! Paul also got pulled up for a pat-down check and the bomb test.
We checked out where our gate was and then went and spent an outrageous amount on dinner ($58 for two burgers, two orange juices, and one large chips) before settling down to wait for the flight.
Eventually the airport signs started showing that the flight was delayed, but some people still hadn't noticed. Later though, a lady sitting behind us asked if we knew when the curfew was, and we started discussing the risks, when two people sitting across from us both heard what we were talking about, went pale and started panicking. One of them - obviously a really optimistic young lady - had a further flight from Singapore; she had allowed only two hours to arrive there, get off the plane, get through Immigration / luggage / Customs, and check back in for another flight. I wouldn't risk this if my first flight was with a really reliable airline, let alone with Scoot, who are notorious for delays.
Interesting flight left from our gate while we were waiting - the airline code was ASY (flight ASY42) and it turns out this is an Australian Air Force flight. The destination on the board meant nothing to me, but Google told me it's an air base in Dubai. The passengers appeared (not surprisingly) to be Aussie and maybe NZ defence force people.
People started lining up to board our flight long before it was ready to board. The Scoot people at the counter told them all to sit down and wait (which they all ignored), and in the end a lot of them were made to line up somewhere else for boarding. People (like us) paid a lot of money for the good seats, or simply to get early boarding, and Scoot was very good about making sure those financial promises were met.
We finally took off at one minute to 11 - so a bit over an hour late and one minute before curfew. They did make up some time en route but we definitely arrived late. Both of us managed to get a bit of sleep along the way. We never expected Scoot business class to be equivalent to Qantas or Singapore Airlines - we were hoping for something like their premium economy and that's what we got - nice wide seats that you could recline a decent distance without smacking the person behind in the face. However, we also got a meal included (in economy you have to pay for it) and ditto access to their entertainment service which you watch on your own device. Almost the best thing - sharing the toilet only with those in business class - no queues and it was still clean at the end of the flight.
Arrival into Singapore was fine - VERY long walk to immigration but not much of a queue (a lot of the people on our flight must have been transitting), a short wait for our luggage and no wait for a taxi. Our taxi driver was a bit of a lunatic - road lanes were optional in his mind - but at that time of the day there was almost no traffic and he told us a lot about Singapore.
The hotel had our room all ready and waiting, and once we got to it - around 5am local time - we showered and crashed.
Sunday, 14 October 2018
Leaving tomorrow!
Tomorrow we leave Canberra and our next cruise is now only 5 days away. I'm looking forward to this; it's almost a year since I stepped foot on a cruise ship and I'm having withdrawal symptoms :-)
Packing is all done, although not without challenges. Singapore is going to be really hot and sticky, and I'd guess that it will be quite warm for the first few days of the cruise. However, the weather forecast for the three ports we visit in Australia hints at much cooler weather, and it will definitely be cool at sea once we get to the south of Australia. Not that we mind cool weather, but packing for both hot and cool weather is always a bit tricky when you're trying to stick to one suitcase each. Usually the problem with luggage weight is the airline(s) but this time we only have one flight which has a 30kg per person baggage allowance. However, getting to and from Sydney on the train is the issue this time - we can have up to three bags each but none of them can be over 20kg (and we've found that they're really strict about this). My bag is 19.9kg according to our scales, so we could be up for a quick re-organisation if the scales at the railway station disagree :-)
Sunday, 9 September 2018
Cairns and Brisbane - 31 August to 6 September 2018
Headed off to Cairns on 31 August so Paul could attend AusArmourfest on 1 September. There aren't any direct flights to Cairns from Canberra, so it was via Sydney. All went very smoothly; we arrived in Cairns on time and picked up our hire car without any problems. Our accommodation turned out to be quite nice - ground floor studio apartment with a balcony that opened out to the pool.
On Saturday I dropped Paul off at the Armour and Artillery Museum and then spent the rest of the morning looking around Cairns. As it happened, we were there for the last two days of the Cairns Festival, so there were markets and all sorts of interesting things. I then spent the afternoon lazing around until it was time to go and get Paul. He'd had a really good time, including a ride in a tank!
On Sunday morning we drove to Port Douglas. It's a beautiful place and it was a lovely day - this is from the roadside a little south of Port Douglas.
We then headed back to Cairns for a late lunch at a lovely burger place, then another wander followed by lazing around again!
Monday - off to Brisbane. We met up with Adam who had gone to Brisbane the same day we went to Cairns; he went to see his team (Manly) play the Broncos in the last game of the season. Then we all went off to the apartment we had booked to share. I haven't yet posted my Tripadvisor review but in short, it seems that we dodged a bullet. Somehow, I neglected to check the online reviews before we booked and if I had, we'd never have stayed there. As it turned out though, our apartment was nowhere near as bad as some of the (mostly really appalling) reviews indicated, and apart from some weird things - e.g. you could only get in to reception to check in by following someone with security access, something that's usually completely frowned upon in a building with security! - it was pretty reasonable.
On Tuesday we went to visit some of Paul's family - his mum, sister, and niece and her children. We had a really nice afternoon with them. Had dinner at PappaRich in the city. We've now eaten at PappaRich restaurants in Wellington, Canberra and Brisbane and they all follow the same pattern; really nice food an a total lack of intent to serve the meal in sensible timeframes. For example in Brisbane, I was eating my main course and Paul's and Adam's hadn't arrived yet when my dessert appeared on the table. Then we all had to wait for Paul's dessert which was served long after the rest of the food was demolished. It says something for their food that we're still all happy to eat there given the random way it's served :-)
Then on Wednesday it was out to Morayfield and Caboolture to see some of my family; particularly my dad as it was his 90th birthday. Here's Dad, Paul and Adam in Dad's room at the Regis:
Then finally we flew home from Brisbane on the Thursday.
Overall, a nice little trip away!
On Saturday I dropped Paul off at the Armour and Artillery Museum and then spent the rest of the morning looking around Cairns. As it happened, we were there for the last two days of the Cairns Festival, so there were markets and all sorts of interesting things. I then spent the afternoon lazing around until it was time to go and get Paul. He'd had a really good time, including a ride in a tank!
On Sunday morning we drove to Port Douglas. It's a beautiful place and it was a lovely day - this is from the roadside a little south of Port Douglas.
We then headed back to Cairns for a late lunch at a lovely burger place, then another wander followed by lazing around again!
Monday - off to Brisbane. We met up with Adam who had gone to Brisbane the same day we went to Cairns; he went to see his team (Manly) play the Broncos in the last game of the season. Then we all went off to the apartment we had booked to share. I haven't yet posted my Tripadvisor review but in short, it seems that we dodged a bullet. Somehow, I neglected to check the online reviews before we booked and if I had, we'd never have stayed there. As it turned out though, our apartment was nowhere near as bad as some of the (mostly really appalling) reviews indicated, and apart from some weird things - e.g. you could only get in to reception to check in by following someone with security access, something that's usually completely frowned upon in a building with security! - it was pretty reasonable.
On Tuesday we went to visit some of Paul's family - his mum, sister, and niece and her children. We had a really nice afternoon with them. Had dinner at PappaRich in the city. We've now eaten at PappaRich restaurants in Wellington, Canberra and Brisbane and they all follow the same pattern; really nice food an a total lack of intent to serve the meal in sensible timeframes. For example in Brisbane, I was eating my main course and Paul's and Adam's hadn't arrived yet when my dessert appeared on the table. Then we all had to wait for Paul's dessert which was served long after the rest of the food was demolished. It says something for their food that we're still all happy to eat there given the random way it's served :-)
Then on Wednesday it was out to Morayfield and Caboolture to see some of my family; particularly my dad as it was his 90th birthday. Here's Dad, Paul and Adam in Dad's room at the Regis:
Then finally we flew home from Brisbane on the Thursday.
Overall, a nice little trip away!
Wednesday, 25 July 2018
Retirement has finally happened!
20 July 2018 was my last day at work - hopefully the stress levels will gradually reduce :-)
Only five weeks now until our trip to Cairns and Brisbane, and then another five weeks until we're off to Singapore for our cruise back to Sydney. Originally then it was going to be three months until the next cruise - Sydney to New Zealand and return in early February. However, we have just added another cruise in between - just a short cruise to Tasmania in December to celebrate my 60th.
We're also booked on a cruise from Shanghai back to Sydney in August next year, but Paul isn't really keen (because of the impact of pollution on his asthma) so we might swap over to another one. We're getting to the point where the idea of a long overseas flight to get to a cruise, and another long one back, doesn't appeal much. But, that still leaves plenty of options, so we'll just see what happens. We don't need to make a final decision about this cruise until early next year.
And, I'd like to see some of China, so Adam and I are thinking about doing a land tour there some time next year or the year after.
There's no way we can afford to maintain this level of travel, but for now I'm just looking forward to all of these trips!
Oh, and one final note - in my previous post I talked about trying out Pappa Rich in Canberra. I can report that it's just as good as the one in Wellington :-)
Only five weeks now until our trip to Cairns and Brisbane, and then another five weeks until we're off to Singapore for our cruise back to Sydney. Originally then it was going to be three months until the next cruise - Sydney to New Zealand and return in early February. However, we have just added another cruise in between - just a short cruise to Tasmania in December to celebrate my 60th.
We're also booked on a cruise from Shanghai back to Sydney in August next year, but Paul isn't really keen (because of the impact of pollution on his asthma) so we might swap over to another one. We're getting to the point where the idea of a long overseas flight to get to a cruise, and another long one back, doesn't appeal much. But, that still leaves plenty of options, so we'll just see what happens. We don't need to make a final decision about this cruise until early next year.
And, I'd like to see some of China, so Adam and I are thinking about doing a land tour there some time next year or the year after.
There's no way we can afford to maintain this level of travel, but for now I'm just looking forward to all of these trips!
Oh, and one final note - in my previous post I talked about trying out Pappa Rich in Canberra. I can report that it's just as good as the one in Wellington :-)
Sunday, 25 March 2018
What on earth happened?
I've just realised that is's almost four months since I posted anything about holidays.
The trip to New Zealand was enjoyable, although I was totally caught out by the weather. The forecast temperature for our time there was a lovely cool maximum of 21 or 22 but it actually went into the high twenties most days - in combination with the 'down by the sea' humidity, I found this to be quite uncomfortable.
However, Wellington is a lovely place. We got to see the Great War Exhibition at the War Memorial which was of course the main reason for the visit, and also a smaller exhibit they've got in place at Te Papa. Both were just excellent and I'm so glad we got to see them. We also did a tour based around the local Lord of the Rings movie filming locations and it was really well done.
While in Wellington we also discovered a restaurant chain which I would never have considered - it's Malaysian cuisine and I'd normally think this would be too spicy for me. But, they have all sorts of options for the level of 'hotness' and the dish I chose was really nice. The restaurant is called PappaRich, and there's one here in Canberra, so I think I'll give them another try. Or maybe even more than one :-)
The kitchen renovation I talked about in my last post is now complete - it went quite well and I'm very happy with the result. Unfortunately while we were in New Zealand I started to get a back twinge which turned into a nasty pain. So, for most of the kitchen renovation I was either lying on the floor in the lounge room, or staggering off to work and struggling through the day with a combination of lying on the floor there (!!) and pain killers. After a fair bit of physiotherapy it's now sort of under control, although I still have to do my exercises every day (and it's not really going to get better any other way - two disc bulges, one disc hernia, and arthritic degeneration in a few places). And, I no longer sit at a desk - both at home and at work I now use a stand-up desk. It's all quite tiring but being tired is better than being in pain.... This all means though that there has been very little work done on the upcoming holidays; I've booked a couple of hotel rooms and the flight to Singapore, but that's about all.
The direct flights between Wellington and Canberra seem to have been quite popular - both flights we took were totally booked out, and we ran into two separate people that we know while in Wellington. However, Singapore Airlines have decided otherwise and have now cancelled these flights. They have also cancelled the direct Singapore to Canberra flights - you now again have to travel via Sydney. There is still a direct Canberra to Singapore flight a few times a week, and we were going to fly to Singapore with them for the cruise. However, flying direct from Canberra does restrict your options if you need to be there on a particular day - for example, in order to catch a cruise! And, it's a long flight in economy with a bad back. So, we're actually going to go to Sydney and get a "Scoot" airlines business class flight to Singapore; it's probably not much fancier that most airlines premium economy but it actually isn't going to cost any more than the Singapore Airlines economy fare would have been, and my back will be a lot happier.
The trip to New Zealand was enjoyable, although I was totally caught out by the weather. The forecast temperature for our time there was a lovely cool maximum of 21 or 22 but it actually went into the high twenties most days - in combination with the 'down by the sea' humidity, I found this to be quite uncomfortable.
However, Wellington is a lovely place. We got to see the Great War Exhibition at the War Memorial which was of course the main reason for the visit, and also a smaller exhibit they've got in place at Te Papa. Both were just excellent and I'm so glad we got to see them. We also did a tour based around the local Lord of the Rings movie filming locations and it was really well done.
While in Wellington we also discovered a restaurant chain which I would never have considered - it's Malaysian cuisine and I'd normally think this would be too spicy for me. But, they have all sorts of options for the level of 'hotness' and the dish I chose was really nice. The restaurant is called PappaRich, and there's one here in Canberra, so I think I'll give them another try. Or maybe even more than one :-)
The kitchen renovation I talked about in my last post is now complete - it went quite well and I'm very happy with the result. Unfortunately while we were in New Zealand I started to get a back twinge which turned into a nasty pain. So, for most of the kitchen renovation I was either lying on the floor in the lounge room, or staggering off to work and struggling through the day with a combination of lying on the floor there (!!) and pain killers. After a fair bit of physiotherapy it's now sort of under control, although I still have to do my exercises every day (and it's not really going to get better any other way - two disc bulges, one disc hernia, and arthritic degeneration in a few places). And, I no longer sit at a desk - both at home and at work I now use a stand-up desk. It's all quite tiring but being tired is better than being in pain.... This all means though that there has been very little work done on the upcoming holidays; I've booked a couple of hotel rooms and the flight to Singapore, but that's about all.
The direct flights between Wellington and Canberra seem to have been quite popular - both flights we took were totally booked out, and we ran into two separate people that we know while in Wellington. However, Singapore Airlines have decided otherwise and have now cancelled these flights. They have also cancelled the direct Singapore to Canberra flights - you now again have to travel via Sydney. There is still a direct Canberra to Singapore flight a few times a week, and we were going to fly to Singapore with them for the cruise. However, flying direct from Canberra does restrict your options if you need to be there on a particular day - for example, in order to catch a cruise! And, it's a long flight in economy with a bad back. So, we're actually going to go to Sydney and get a "Scoot" airlines business class flight to Singapore; it's probably not much fancier that most airlines premium economy but it actually isn't going to cost any more than the Singapore Airlines economy fare would have been, and my back will be a lot happier.
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