My DH and I live in Kissimmee, FL and have cruised HAL several times before along with a couple of the other lines. We are in an "almost retirement" state of mind! We flew to LAX and boarded VAustralia for the overnight flight to Sydney. It was an excellent flight. We were able to book Business Class, and this enabled us to have lay-flat seats which were made up into a bed by the flight attendents! It was great to get some sleep on the long flight over. Comfortable pj's were provided so you didn't have to sleep in your clothes. I especially liked the "ladies only" bathroom! We arrived in Sydney at 6:00 AM, quickly made our way through customs and took a taxi to the hotel.

We booked a room at the Intercontinental Sydney, right by Circular Quay. This was an excellent location, within walking distance of all the ferries, rail and "The Rocks" area. We were able to get right in our room and get settled.

We spent 4 nights there, and found a great cafe on the water that had free internet. While in Sydney we used the Hop On/Off Bus. It was a great way to see the sights. Also, we took a day trip to the Blue Mountains using Sydney Tour R Us. This was excellent and a nice change from the warm weather in Sydney. Read more