Melbourne Cup Cruise

P&O Australia - Pacific Explorer

I stood exasperated in front of my empty suitcase; well not completely empty as there was a lonely feather boa I threw across the room in a sneezing fit. I watched it slowly float into the case.

It was the night before the Melbourne Cup cruise aboard P&O’s Pacific Explorer and I was standing in the middle of my room wishing for a packing genie. Alas, no such gin appeared in a puff of blue smoke, and so I posted on Facebook, then repeated my sanity saving mantra, “tomorrow is cruise day, tomorrow is cruise day,” over and over again until I had packed my six dresses, two coats, two swimsuits, various shirts, scarves, makeup, toiletries, jewellery, jeans and meds. What I didn’t pack was ONE long-sleeved top, a rookie mistake for anyone visiting the Australian city where Mother Nature is in a perpetual hormonal state.



Somehow, I made it to the Overseas Passenger Terminal on time the next day, dropped off by my ever-patient husband and my three curly-haired offspring. Number 1 diligently snapped my #honeyjump photo, told me to have fun and helped with my luggage. Number 2’s tear-streaked face hurt my heart as she kept asking if she could come too, and Number 3 stated very loudly that she gets “daddy all to myself” and promptly usurped my position in the front seat. Sigh. 



With a final wave, I walked towards the OPT doors, and with every step my feelings of nerves leaving my family were replaced with excitement. Finally I get to cruise on Explorer! Since she joined the fleet mid 2017, I have been a visitor aboard a few times, but this would be the first time I would cruise as a passenger. (P.S It took less than 10 mins to check-in). Walking across the gangway, I suddenly had a moment of deja vu! It was over 10 years ago that I had taken my first ever cruise on this very ship when it was the Dawn Princess! While this vessel underwent an incredible re-fit, there were still little moments, flickers - especially when in the Atrium - when my mind would wander back and ‘see’ the original decor (alas, the mermaid carpet is no longer).
Making my way up to Deck 11, the highest deck I’ve ever stayed on in any ship, I was delighted to swing my cabin door open, take a deep breath, and then dive onto my bed! All this was MINE for SIX whole nights! No sharing my bathroom,  I could take up the whole vanity with my makeup. Watch anything I want on TV and eat chocolate in bed. Play all the Prince I want without having to mute the words not suitable for juvenile ears. And, above all else, quiet time. God love them, my kids are my world, but as I lay there on my bed, I did a little jig: it’s Mama’s time.



After unpacking and checking out every nook and cranny, I decided that the cabin was great! (WATCH cabin tour here). There was plenty of storage and the balcony was a good size. As with every ship bathroom, it can take a day or so to get accustomed to the compact size, but I wasn’t sharing, so it was fine. I WAS CRUISING!

As I was invited aboard as the guest of P&O on this famil, I had a packed itinerary to stick to. (For those who don’t know what a famil is, it is a familiarisation cruise or a free cruise whereby cruise lines invite media, agents and other key people to experience a cruise for PR purposes. As well as the free cruise, all activities, meals and onboard experiences are covered. I am under no obligation whatsoever to review the ship in any particular way, and was always treated generously and graciously by my hosts, and by everyone else on board. In fact, throughout the cruise, I was given a lot of freedom to do as I pleased, and even interviewed a number of crew, a generosity not often extended).

Anyway, the first item on the agenda was to meet the rest of the journalists in my group on deck for sailaway. This is the part where I always get a little nervous; you can get stuck with atrociously ill-mannered people or the sweetest souls you would ever meet. Luckily, this group of TV, magazine and online journos were the later. 

After introductions, I quietly slipped away. As the festive beats of the Nutbush filled the air and the Explorer pulled away from Circular Quay, I needed to be alone. To be just me and the sea. The next few days were going to be jam-packed; filled with food, drink, conversation, laughter, dancing, horses, crowds, tours, people, shows, music, etc. So, for this moment in time, it needed to just be me. 

I climbed to the highest point I could to absorb this moment. My beloved Sydney and all of her noise grew smaller. It was as if someone was holding the 'down arrow' on the volume button on a TV remote control, and everything was getting softer. The noise in my mind was also getting quieter. I inhaled. The cityscape now resembled a lilliputian land. The sea lapping and curling, the ship effortlessly gliding, my eyes absorbing the majesty of creation, my lips tasting the salt, and my hair caressed by the breeze. I had missed this feeling.

I exhaled.