Monday 9 March, Sydney Town

I was up early enough to get the still early dawn light on some pictures from Deck 10. Sydney Harbour is still the most spectacular port of any that I've sailed into.

Soon we were docked and I went up for an early table before the Lido got too busy; Alison joined me and then down to settle the room and go to the disembarkation point allocated for our deck. When we got there, an hour before our designated time, we were told there was no waiting, so we could go straight away.

Bye bye boat!

It was raining, so we got wet walking around to Circular Quay Station. We were straight onto a train for Central, where we parted to head in opposite directions. I just missed a train to Helensburgh, then when my later train arrived at Helensburgh the bus had just left, so I called an Uber (new experience!) and a lovely local lady drove me home. All was well and my Tia was very happy to see me.

So ends the Cunard experience, so I can tick it off my bucket list! Summary? The ship was beautiful, elegant and rather subdued in decor - very English Country Club. It doesn't have the air of friendliness and camaraderie amongs passengers and crew that Holland America has - I always look forward to meeting people on cruises but it doesn't happen in this atmosphere. Unfortunately, the children's program (Becky was one of only about 9 children on board) was totally uninteresting and the attendant didn't make any effort to engage Becky in play. She's a bright, out-there little girl and happily gets involved in doing this, so this was really disappointing and meant she spent the whole time with one or more of us on board, rather than being off and playing.

Good points? The ship is spacious with never any feeling of crowding anywhere. It was wonderful being out on the ocean, which I love; Tasmania is such a beautiful state; being able to catch up with family was very special; we shared lots of lovely moments on board as a family; best of all - I got lots of opportunities to dance! Next time - back to Holland America!

Thanks for joining me on the trip - it's nice to know people are reading what I write! See you all next blog in December!

God bless you.
xxxx