Aussie mini cruise!

So I told you all about my friend Karen last time, well the story continues as we embarked on a little adventure together…………….

I was lucky enough to get a cabin on a 4 night sailing from Brisbane to Airlie Beach in The Whitsundays the week before I was due to fly home so I asked Karen if she would like to come along as she had never cruised before so a great opportunity for her to try it.  Her friends cruise all the time but she has never gone with them.

We had both watched the Pacific Dawn arrive & depart from our apartments and now it was our turn to go on board, I was so excited as I always am when going on any ship, Karen was a bit nervous as was her first but I knew she’d be fine.  We met with my other friend Angie for a coffee before we boarded and saw a couple of people with cases and 50th Birthday t-shirts on – we both laughed and said we’ll gatecrash that party – Ha Ha!

We didn’t have far to go to board the ship, just a quick walk round the corner and we were there so we checked in our bags and got our key cards, all very smooth and hassle free and boarded the ship.  The cabin (an inside) was ready immediately so we went to have a look, I was impressed, quite spacious & plenty of wardrobe space.  Bathroom a bit on the small side but usually are but it did the job.

Our friend Cherry had made us some Lanyards to wear our key cards on (all the Aussie’s do this) and they were lovely & a lot of people were very envious of them – Thanks Cherry!!

Pacific Dawn is one of the P&O Australia Fleet, they are 3-4 star ships.  The Dawn is due to be refurbished in February and they are having a water slide on & more features for families which will be great as she is a bit tired.

She carries 1,546 guests
11 decks
70,285 tonnes

So not a huge ship but she has character and everyone I spoke to loved her and had a great time including us.

After we had checked out the cabin we headed off for our first cocktail & trust me the first of many!!

We had a wander round the ship and found our bearings and had some lunch then headed back to the cabin to unpack and get ready for dinner.  There is open dining in the buffet or you can book into the main restaurant (no charge) so we tried both & loved the food. We ate in the buffet the 1st night then headed to the Karaoke Bar, as we walked in we saw the 50th Birthday people so asked if we could join them, as I said we would gatecrash and so glad we did as they were a great bunch and we had so much fun with them over the 4 nights…..

There are no real formal nights on these mini cruises but they have themed nights so 1 night was Gadsby night (20’s dress) but you don’t have to take part, some people went all out and looked amazing like Liz here (one of the 50th birthday party)….

There was also a White night which was after our visit to Airlie Beach so we bought something white there to wear. This was a great night with a disco up on the pool deck with live music and the staff getting everyone involved.

The day we sailed into Airlie Beach, we were advised to get up on deck by 5am to watch the sail in and we are so glad we did, it was beautiful sailing in through the Islands, hard to explain if you have never done it but breathtaking and stunning scenery.W even saw whales breaching which was amazing to see.

Looking out best at 5am…….

We had breakfast and then headed off to get our tender ashore for the day. We were lucky enough to get the Catamaran not a tender boat which was much nicer and took about 20 minutes to get the the shore.  You could then either pay for a shuttle from the dock into town at $5 return or walk for say 30 minutes, we decided to walk as was such a beautiful day and was along the water’s edge so very pretty.

We had a lovely day mooching round the shops and had a bite to eat then met up with a couple of ladies we made friends with for an afternoon by the lagoon.  The lagoon is man made as it is not advisable to go in the sea due to Jelly Fish – people did but I didn’t fancy getting stung.

We decided to get the shuttle back to the dock as were a bit tired and it was very hot, we sat upstairs this time and got some great shots of the ship as we approached. We met some great people and these two ladies were amazing and great fun to be with – Jodie & Dana…

We had a great time with these two and became ‘Charlies Angels’ – it was so much fun – thank you ladies!!

Overall I was very impressed with Pacific Dawn, a great little ship for a mini cruise, the staff were fantastic , the food was awesome and the cabin was perfect!

There are plenty of activities to do for both adults & kids like a zip line and walk the plank and deck games, even segways on board.  I did the zip line which was great & I walked the plank – this was really scary as was so windy but I did it.

A few more pictures of our time on board & the wonderful people we met and will stay friends with on Facebook..

If you are spending time in Australia I recommend a mini cruise especially to Whitsundays as so beautiful.