We chose this cruise around the top end because it visited the places, particularly in WA, which we had always wanted to see. Others had told us how great the cruise was.
The ship itself is tired - it is being sold next May, so it requires refurbishment. We were surprised though at the amount of external maintenance which was occurring. There were some plumbing issues and we also heard that there were some leaks in cabins.
The shows were quite well executed on the whole, but we had seen them all before on other ships. The individual guest entertainers were generally average, some better than others. The activities on board were the usual so we did not bother going. The noise in the pool area sent us right away.
The cabin was very small and tired in comparison to other ships we have been on. The bathrooms are very small. The position of the cabin was very good, being midships, and whilst the balcony was tiny, I do like the high railings and covered verandah. We had an issue with the air-conditioning not working, but it was quickly fixed. For those who care, the head of the bed was facing forward.
The visitor information at the wharf was great. We hired a car to see the wildflowers.
We have been to Cairns many times. For those who have never been, take the snorkelling trip or the skytrain to Kuranda. Unless you are mad about trains, I would avoid the sugar train as it is quite slow. We took the local Sun bus up to Trinity Beach and had a delicious seafood lunch at a lovely restaurant called L'unico's. Use Google to locate the timetables and book the restaurant to get a front view of the beach.
We spent several days in Perth before the cruise. We enjoyed King's Park as well as Fremantle.