It is 3:00AM and I have not slept a wink. Luckily, my wife has had about 3 hours sleep and will be able to drive us to Avalon Airport for our 6:00AM flight to Sydney. We are leaving on the Pacific Pearl for our first cruise, a 9 night adventure to New Caledonia. We have booked the flight and our transfer to the dock ourselves, and have an hour and a half scheduled wait at the airport before KST transportation picks us up in Sydney. At 9:00AM the driver shows up and two KST drivers begin squabbling about who will take us. Not a very professional look. After what seems like an hours wait in the van there is a full load and we begin the tortuous route to every hotel in town and, finally, the dock. All complaining aside, we are at the dock at 10:00AM for a cost of $35 for both of us.

We had planned on walking to the market and buying a slab of soda before we checked in, but we found the market was at the top of a fairly large bluff, and the dock, of course, was at the bottom. Way too much work. We quickly drop our checked in bags off and proceed into the tent that serves as a cruise terminal. Within 20 minutes the check-in lines open and 10 minutes later we have our cruise cards in hand and are waiting for the boarding call. That happens in another 20 minutes and after 10 more minutes we are aboard.

At every turn smiling crewmembers point out the way to our cabin and by noon our carry on bags are dropped off and we are at the Plantation for our first meal. Read more