4th March 2012 – Departing Sydney
Our ship departs from Barangaroo Wharf 5, as the main passenger terminal already has a ship berthed there and, as we discovered when sailing out of the harbor, another was at anchor NE of Fort Denison, waiting for a berth.
The temporary departure lounge at Barangaroo is pretty ordinary ( an air conditioned tent), and they haven’t quite yet got their act together in running a smooth check in process. We arrived at around 1.30pm, and didn’t get on board until 2.45pm.
We settled in to our cabin on the starboard side of the 11th Floor and the views of Sydney, looking towards Darling Harbour and up the river from our balcony are excellent.
Departure is delayed by 30 mins due to the late arrival of some baggage, so eventually we cast off at 4.30pm. The process of getting out into the harbor involved a couple of tugs assisting in swinging the stern of the ship through 180 degrees whilst the bow pointed towards the dock until we had rotated right around to head out towards the bridge. The weather had turned on us a bit, and it was now raining lightly. However, most people were on deck taking in the spectacular views as we steamed out of the harbor.
As we passed under the harbor bridge, the clearance of the radar mast only seemed to be 3 or so metres. As we passed Fort Denison, we could see the boat at anchor waiting for a berth, was The World. Another Princess liner was at the Quay, also looking like they were about to get under way.
We dropped the pilot off just as we passed North Head , temporarily heading a little the South and coming to a halt as he could escape in the lee of the ship. It was the full steam ahead on our route north. It is blowing around 30 knots , with about a 1.5m swell.
The Sea Princess is smaller than the Star Princess we cruised on in South America, and seems to respond a lot more to the ocean conditions. We are running along at 16-17 knots on our way to Airlie Beach as our first stop.
After a predinner drink in the Wheelhouse Bar, and great entertainment by a 2 piece band who could sing just about anything from any era well, we headed off to dinner. On this boat the dinner is fixed time with the same group each night. We are with a couple from Melbourne and one from Perth. The first nights food wasn’t great. We may end up frequenting some of the other venues, if the quality doesn’t pick up.
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