Easter Sunday 2013 is an appropriate time for a new start, in this case a cruise on the Dawn Princess. The ship leaves Sydney today, heading north. I have decided to board in Brisbane at Portside in Hamilton on Tuesday.
This will be my third cruise on a Princess liner and my third with my friend Jan. She has done several trips and was the one who encouraged me to take my first cruise. I had reservations about going as I had assumed that a vessel with about 3000 passengers and more than a thousand crew would be noisy and crowded. I was wrong. I had a relaxing trip with as much quiet time as I needed and as much activity as I wanted.
My first cruise was through the Pacific Islands. The islands have very different lifestyles. Fiji, for example, has been catering for tourists for many years. The shops in the main town areas are largely westernised and vendors make the most of the few hours a ship is in port. As a contrast, Dravuni is relatively unspoilt. I believe that only one ship a month visits. This gives a little extra income without greatly changing the every-day life of the islanders. We were invited to sit in on classroom lessons. The conditions took me back to my school days and my early days of teaching with blackboards and chalk and hand-written wall charts.
About two years ago, Jan and I went on a cruise round New Zealand. I have lived and worked in Auckland and have done quite a bit of travel while I was there and on subsequent trips. Sailing around the country gave me a different perspective. A lot of information is provided while we are travelling so I approached some familiar places with different viewpoints and expectations. The two weeks of sailing gave plenty of time to relax.
