My sister has always wanted to celebrate her 50th birthday with a bang. My sister and husband have being on two previously cruises but the rest of us have never cruised before. We arrived in Sydney airport early Friday morning, and had organised our own transfer directly to the port. We arrived around 10.00 and found the baggage drop area, we dropped off our suitcases and had no trouble checking in.

By 12.000 they were boarding the ship, our number was called and we were sitting down by 12.45pm to a buffet lunch at the Horizon Bar. I was very surprised how smoothly everything ran. After lunch we went to our cabins and found our suitcases waiting for us. I found our ocean view cabin exactly how I thought it would be. Yes the shower and toilet are small, and the room is small, but how much time do you actually spend in your cabin? To me it was perfect. There was sufficient room in the wardrobe for all our clothes and the suitcases fitted perfectly under our bed.

We sailed out of Sydney Harbour, and I don't think there could be a more beautiful port to leave on your first cruise. I was always concerned about sea sickness as the crossing of the Tasman from Australia to New Zealand can be very rough. And yes we did have very rough weather due to the cyclone that struck Fiji when we were on the cruise. Yes there was a lot of movement on the ship especially at night, but luckily I did not suffer from any sea sickness. Read more