On board the World

Stepping aboard The World (see slideshow) today was a rare experience for Biba and I... rare because this is a ship that has so many places to go, and to stay for a while, that she passes through just once every 3 years. And doubly rare because stepping aboard was more like entering the grand home of a friend than boarding a cruise ship.
Accommodation on The World is not in cabins, nor in staterooms but in apartments - a studio at least; a 1, 2 or 3-bedroom home with kitchen if you choose. Every apartment has a private, full-width balcony, marble bathroom with tub, gorgeous accessories like Frette linen; all fares are fully-inclusive, and the cost compares favourably with a luxury holiday at the best land locations. And space... with a maximum of 200 guests (served by 265 crew) and weighing in at 43,500 tons there is simply no comparison with mainstream cruise ships.

The lobby( Pictured in slide show) - decked today in Christmas finery, including tree - is home to one of 5 grand pianos, the preferred form of entertainment aboard. Guests will be treated to fine music and enrichment lectures, rather than Broadway-style shows. Golf and Bridge are well catered for, the gym is popular and professional coaching is available to take your game, or personal training, further. You can dine and drink in any of 4 restaurants - on local produce whenever that is of exceptional quality - and you may shop in a well-stocked deli for ingredients and entertain "at home". A chef is available and the cleaning up will be done by service staff. Throughout the ship there is a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, the only formality being a requirement in two of the four restaurants for gentlemen to wear a jacket at the evening meal.
The impression throughout our visit was that denizens of The World set very high standards and prefer the quiet enjoyment of the environment they have created.

Travel by Design is a concept that makes use of The World's long stays in port. Guests can check in anywhere in the world, enjoy the cruising life for a minimum of 6 nights aboard - during which the ship becomes their floating luxury hotel wherever she is moored. This brings cruising back to being real travel, offering a fuller experience than can be gained in a day visit.
And because she is designed as a home-away-from-home for her owners, returning to The World each night can be a little like coming home.
This World is somewhere special.
On board: choice of 6 dining venues, or dine in-suite; 2 pools; full size tennis court; golf simulator and open air driving range; Banyan Tree spa
How much? Mosman Cruise Centre Stay & Cruise packages start from US$655 per person per day (13th Feb 2010, 11 nights, Bali to Singapore)."

What's The World (fmly the World of ResidenSea) like - watch this blog

Tomorrow I'm doing a tour of the 'World of Residensea' which is in Sydney's Overseas Passenger Terminal over Christmas - so I'll be back before then to post some photos. This will be my first time on board this ship and I am really looking forward to it.
Though we have a website and a blog! one of the things I enjoy most about being a cruise consultant is meeting clients - and talking about ships. I personally enjoy discussing my holiday plans with others in the industry, asking questions and getting answers directly rather than trawling around a website trying to find the answers I want. I am always pleased when I am able to find a cruise to suit a client when it appears from searches they have done that there is nothing to fit their needs. We are a rare breed amongst travel agents - we research everywhere to find the right fit, not only with those known in travel jargon as 'preferreds'!
So watch this space for my trip around 'The World'!!

(Which is one ship that will not fit under the Sydney Harbour Bridge - along with the 42 others mentioned in a report in today's Sydney Morning Herald that are being built, without consideration of the height of our iconic Bridge - over-used word iconic but it seems to fit here!).
Hmph! Well Hmph! at those who plan International Cruise Terminals anyway... What are they thinking of, building a terminal at White Bay just because the land is currently a wasteland, when many existing and new cruise ships simply won't be able to dock there? It seems 'they' are looking around the harbour east of the bridge as well - but since most of the obvious spots seem to belong to the Navy it is likely to be a difficult task. That's my rant for the day!)

P.S. If you are interested in ship-watching over summer in Sydney visit the Sydney Ports Schedule website.

Not flying today

Having personally been caught in a British Airways strike in the UK a couple of years ago, I understand the frustration both as a passenger and a travel agent when these things happen - and at Christmas. Currently British Airways is suffering from industrial action which is likely to go on well into the New Year, inconveniencing passengers and creating uncertainty at a time of year when we are all telling each other to be happy!!
In addition Melbourne's Virgin passengers were warned to expect extensive delays yesterday when a damaged cable affected their check-in system. When we've planned a trip and anticipated it for some time we just want to get there - and if we are at the end of our trip we just want to get home... so these delays, which are out of our control, can make us very unhappy.
As a travel agent I advise my clients to research the situation on the day of travel before heading to the airport. Check with the airline, with the airport flight departures information service - check everything you can to avoid spending excess time or making a fruitless trip when flights are delayed or cancelled. My guess is that other OneWorld airlines will do their best to help British Airways through this, and that BA will do their utmost to fly their scheduled services to avoid disrupting so many people's Christmas plans. (And of course being a member of an airline lounge club really counts when there are delays!) I wish everyone travelling by air smooth connections throughout this period.

3 cruise ships and a dull day

Just come back from a photo trip to catch the Sun Princess, Diamond Princess and the Pacific Jewel in Sydney Harbour - or Sun Princess as it was leaving. But today Sydney turned on a grey, humid type drizzle and it really wasn't worth it. So I've dropped in a picture of the deck of Sun Princess taken last time I was onboard.
28 ships in 28 days was the headline in the Sydney Morning Herald today - yes folks this is the beginning of a really busy time on Sydney Harbour as cruise ships come and go bringing thousands of tourists to our beautiful harbour. Most ships will dock at the International Cruise Terminal or Darling Harbour, but a few will be forced to use White Bay. This is a bit of hole - it has no facilities for cruise passengers and they are crowded onto buses and taken to Central Station - not much of a way to discover Sydney. When the ships don't fit under the bridge they must moor in the harbour which is a better experience as passengers are taken by boat into Sydney.
Given that our Government doesn't seem to understand the importance of providing decent, central facilities for cruise passengers I am not holding my breath on a solution to this problem.

How likely is a port upgrade?

An SMH news item on an Access Economics report on the cruise industry reveals that the cruise sector was the standout performer in the tourism market - good news for those of us who love to cruise, and who sell cruises. However it also included comments from Carnival Australia, Australia's largest cruise shipping company, about the need for governments to commit to port upgrades. With the constant changes in the NSW government it is likely that this is very low on their list of priorities despite the fact that Sydney is an important destination. We recently posted a story on our website about the 'Oasis of the Seas', the largest cruise liner afloat which needed a special port in the Caribbean to be built to accommodate her. There is no way she could fit into the current port facilities - and it seems that by 2020 only 15 per cent of cruise liners will be able to dock west of the harbour!
It will be sad if the many Sydneysiders who would like to cruise out of our harbour - and the many more visitors who would want to cruise into these waters are prevented by a lack of government planning and foresight. It will be even sadder if NSW misses out of the tourism dollars that go with cruise passengers.