December 2013, my wife and I took a coastal cruise on Diamond Princess, just an 8 day break, round trip from Sydney, sailing to Melbourne, Hobart and Port Arthur.
We had previously sailed on the Diamond Princess from Sydney to Beijing in 2012 which we loved and our expectations this time were very high, we knew the ship inside out, so after a swift embarkation and a bite to eat we were down to the adults only pool area near the spa and gym, the water could have been a bit warmer and the jet blaster (for lap swimming didn't work).
Anyway we sailed out of Sydney and started to relax, it’s such a pleasure sailing out of your home port, we watched the pilot boat power alongside the Diamond Princess (I mean this boat was moving, it just shows how fast these big cruise ships are going) and witnessed the pilot navigating his way onto the bow of the pilot boat, pretty exciting stuff.
Fantastic, away from the noise of passing guests centrally located a real gem.