This was our last turnaround day in Sydney for awhile, which should have motivated us to spring out of bed and off the ship as soon as it was cleared...but we didn’t. I had another coastal walk lined up for today from Rose Bay to Watsons Bay (or the reverse, does anyone from Sydney think one direction is better than the other?), but it’s a 4-hour walk and we just weren’t feeling it today. The weather was a little shower-y this morning, but at least the smoke that has plagued so many of our turnaround days was nowhere to be seen. We had a leisurely breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room and then checked out a couple of different cabin types around the ship while the doors were open. We didn’t actually walk off the ship until nearly 9:30am.
One of the ibises around the Circular Quay area
The locals just ignore them while the visitors are all taking photos
This was our last opportunity to visit The Rocks Christmas Market, so we first headed in that direction. It was set up just behind the Holiday Inn Old Sydney, in the same area that the weekend market is held.
We have walked up these steps at least a hundred times over the years.
They go from the Overseas Passenger Terminal to George Street, where the
Holiday Inn Old Sydney is located. We often wonder how old they are.
The Christmas Market food stalls
The Rocks area is the oldest part of Sydney, dating back over 200 years
There are lots of tiny alleys and passageways between historic buildings
This stall immediately caught my attention
I didn’t go to the market expecting to buy anything, but that’s exactly what happened. I made my first purchase of the season (and it will have to be my only purchase). I am notoriously fussy when it comes to purses. I am still using the same three Coach station bags I’ve had for more than 25 years. I love the style (station bags are very handy when on crutches, which is why I bought them in the first place), and they’re still good as new, but I’ve been wanting a lighter looking bag for spring and summer for years. I just haven’t found anything I like..until today.
A recycled cork station bag
It’s colorful and quirky and unique and handmade.
I instantly loved it.
The purse was nicely wrapped in tissue and put in a fancy shopping bag, but then I had to carry that bag around until we returned to the ship. And, because this cruise was leaving Australia, we could only re-board the ship one time. That complicated things a little, but we still spent a couple of hours exploring all the nooks and crannies of The Rocks area. We walked up Argyle Street toward the Harbour Bridge, then climbed the Argyle Stairs. These stairs were constructed in 1911-12 to connect the waterfront area of The Rocks to buildings constructed higher on the rocky outcropping that runs through the area.
Climbing the Arygle Stairs put us on Cumberland Street, home to BridgeClimb Sydney. We had done this in 2006 when we were in Sydney, so this area looked very familiar to us. We stopped in at the office to inquire about the price to do the bridge climb now. Gulp...it runs up to AU $400 (just under US $300). I know we didn’t pay anything close to that when we did it. And still people are lined up to do the bridge climb from dawn until after dark. This concept was a gold mine. There is a display in the gift shop on the first floor of all the famous people who have done the climb.
Climbers take a breathalyzer test and gear up on the upper level
I don’t remember climbing 1390 stairs, but I was much younger then and it probably didn’t phase me.
Outside under the bridge, a group of climbers emerge from getting geared up to start their climb.
Climbers are tethered to a wire connected to their harness the entire time.
They could try to fling themselves off the bridge and still wouldn’t go anywhere
We walked under the Harbour Bridge out to the Dawes Point Battery, a former artillery fortification located under the bridge’s south pylon.
A massive picnic table sculpture was a climbing attraction for kids
An outdoor display showed a photo of the Sydney Harbour Bridge’s construction from 1929
Climbing down a hill below the Dawes Point Battery to the waterfront put us at the Park Hyatt Sydney, a high end hotel located right on Circular Quay across from the Sydney Opera House. We stopped in for a coffee (and to use the bathrooms).
Landscaping at the Park Hyatt
Christmas decorations at the Park Hyatt
We had been walking for nearly three hours by then, and were still just a 5 minute walk from the ship. Some of the restaurants were advertising their New Year’s Eve prices. Due to their location, nearly under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the location of the huge fireworks display at midnight, these places were not inexpensive.
Looking back at the Park Hyatt Sydney and the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Another historic building in The Rocks
I loved this scooter
Our intention was to take the ferry over to Manly for fish and chips for lunch, but we were walking right past the Overseas Passenger Terminal and the Ruby Princess at 1pm, and decided instead to just re-board the ship and have lunch in the DaVinci Dining Room. We had only had embarkation day lunch once this season, when we first boarded in Los Angeles, and G is happier with the beef tenderloins offered than fish and chips in Manly. We had already walked a respectable 14000 steps, and I was happy to call it a day...and get my purse on the ship. I had imagined leaving it on a ferry or in a restaurant somewhere before I did.
Day 1 lunch menu, page 1
Day 1 lunch menu, page 2
After lunch, we took some time to walk around the ship, then sat on the Terrace Deck enjoying the ‘new cruise’ vibe. We love the excitement that new cruisers bring, and this Christmas cruise was already feeling different. Carolers in the Piazza, Christmas carols all around the ship (these will get old fast we’ve learned in past years), lots of families, and, interestingly, 1100 Americans, only 70 fewer than the number of Australians onboard. After almost no American accents last cruise, that seemed to be all we were hearing today.
Ready for the sail away party on the pool deck
It couldn’t be a turnaround day without a photo of the Opera House taken from the ship
We went to dinner exactly at 5:15pm (muster drill was still going on), in order to be done eating in time for the sail away party at 6:45pm.
Day 1 dinner menu, page 1
Day 1 dinner menu, page 2
Day 1 dessert menu
This was our first sail away party of the season, and it was unlike any we’d seen in the past, with the production show cast performing a few numbers and getting the guests involved in games and dancing.
We still had time to get to the Elite Lounge in Skywalkers to watch as the Ruby Princess backed out of her berth almost to the Harbour Bridge, and then turned to sail past the Opera House and through Sydney Harbour to the sea.
Elite Lounge menu for this cruise
I don’t know what happened, but we went to the Princess Theater for the 9:30pm performance by Martin Ralph and instead heard comedian Darren Sanders. That was fine by us; he was quite funny, and, even better, we’d never seen him before. It was a late night for us (it’s 12:30am as I finish this post), but thankfully tomorrow is a sea day, and, at least until I look at tomorrow’s Patter, there is nothing I have to do.
Day 1 Princess Patter, page 1
Day 1 Princess Patter, page 2
Day 1 Princess Patter, page 3
Day 1 Princess Patter, page 4