For a cruise newbie it's really quite confusing, you have just boarded this huge ship and have no idea what the terms aft, port or starboard refer to and now with the other couple of thousand people onboard you have to find your muster station. Our wonderful cabin steward pointed us in the right direction and a sweet girl, who kindly pointed out that we don't put our life vests on (with the straps blithely tripping up everyone behind) until we are told to do so, guided us up a stairwell to our station. So we learnt how to safely tie these big orange blocks of foam around our bodies, little did I know that it was actually a quick peek at what we were going to look like after grazing the buffet for ten days! We learnt what to do and where to meet in case of an emergency. Now with all the official bits and pieces done and dusted we were off to explore this floating paradise.
Photo credit: Cruisecritic
Sail away! What can I say? This is my type of party. But to make it even more special we were fortunate enough to experience our very first sail away on the deck of a cruise ship in Sydney Harbour! Is there a more beautiful harbour in the world? As well as its natural beauty there are National icons such as the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and the laughing face of Luna Park, an unforgettable backdrop to the start of our nautical adventure. As we sailed under the Harbour Bridge ferries and small sailing boats were dancing in our wake, up ahead tugboats fired their water cannons in a watery salute across our bow. We stood at the rails taking it all in, cocktails in hand, waving to the passengers in the small boats following us to the heads at the entrance to the harbour. The band was playing on the lido deck, people were in the pool or dancing beside it, there were jugglers and acrobats, waiters with trays of colourful drinks and happy laughing faces everywhere! Yes this was sailaway!
That night we met Carrie, our head waiter, he had the voice of an angel and the skill of a magician. We were at a table of 10 in the Burgandy Dining Room, back in the days of traditional dining. After a mouthwatering feast and an unforgettable rendition of the BeeGees classic Words (with no backing) by Carrie, we hit the theatre for the welcome aboard live show. A stroll around the deck completed a perfect evening.
Our first day at sea started off with a graze through the buffet. So much to choose from and so little time! Our Pacific Daily, your bible at sea, gave us all the information we needed to choose what pastimes we would indulge in. There was one intriguing item listed - Horse Racing at sea, with betting. Hmmmmm sounded interesting, though not a big gambler I enjoyed the odd flutter on the ponies, plus I was curious about how they were going to hold a horse race at sea, I mean it's a big ship but...
We dragged the other halves off to the show lounge to check out just what this horse racing gig was all about. With cocktails in hand, I think mine was green this time, we learnt along with about 800 other hopefuls, that we could form a syndicate and try our luck at auction to purchase one of six racehorses that would run in the Pacific Cup on our last sea day of the cruise. The owners of the winning horse would take home the total of all monies paid for the six horses at auction!
The horses were led out one by one onto the stage, fine looking beasts each and every one. Our Cruise Director Dan Stines, or Dan the Man as he came to be known, described each animal in detail. The excitement was building, we all wanted a piece of horseflesh to take home, we all wanted to stake a claim to one of the owners boxes on race day, together with the perks that came with it. Trackside seating for twenty along with free flowing champagne and nibbles for our guests. The hammer went down and the bidding frenzy started! The first two went at crazy prices, over $500 each! But then the bidding settled down and the next two sold for $350 and $380 respectively. We had our eye on the next horse, #5, a cute little grey mare with a black slash on her forehead, the first bids were slow to come, but the pace picked up and soon the price was over $400, a little rich for our blood so we had to let her go. Our final chance came with a little chestnut filly, long of leg but a bit skittish. If we could sign her up with the right trainer we thought she could go the distance. It must have been our day, or maybe the punters had run out of money, either way we picked her up for a steal at $240! AbFab, short for Absolutely Fabulous, was ours! Patsy and Eddy owned a racehorse!
Photo credit: J Davey
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