Welcome from David and Lyn.

The format of our site is in three parts:

1. Blog server - our day-to-day travel blogs (this website)
2. Photo server - some of our key photos
3. YouTube channel - our videos (many linked directly from our blogs)

The site includes hundreds of searchable travel blogs. Some of our longer trips are listed below. 

General travel

• Bridge cams - Princess
• Bridge cams - P&O
• Unofficial Travel Awards
• Equator Crossings
• International Date Line

About

• David
• The thalassophile (lover of the sea)
• The presenter
• The photographer
• The vexillophile (flags)
• The musician - Uke resources
• Lyn
• Countries visited: #1 to #25 | #26 to #50 | #51 to #75 | #76 to #100 | #101+
• Summary of cruises - Pre COVID-19 / Post COVID-19 

Thank you for visiting our website.

Best regards

David and Lyn
e-mail: brizzy@outlook.com.au

Cruise countdown

2025 World Cruise Blog Starting Page

2024 World Cruise Blog Starting Page

Links to major adventures
2020 – Indian Ocean & South Africa Odyssey + Southern Australia Explorer Blog - Jan 2020 to Mar 2020 Photos
2019 - Hawaii, Tahiti and South Pacific cruise on the Sea Princess
Blog - Aug 2019 to Oct 2019 Photos
2018 - World Cruise on the Sea Princess
Blog - Jun 2018 to Sept 2018
Photos Segment #1: Brisbane to Dubai - 19 Days Segment #2: Dubai to London - 30 Days Segment #3: London to New York - 20 Days Segment #4: New York to Brisbane - 37 Days
2017 - Cherry Blossom cruise (a.k.a. China - Japan cruise)
Blog - March 2017 to April 2017 Photos
2016 - World Cruise on the Sea Princess
Blog - May 2016 to Aug 2016
Photos Segment #1: Sydney to Dubai – 20 Days Segment #2: Dubai to London – 35 Days Segment #3: London to New York – 11 Days Segment #4: New York to Sydney – 38 Days Home Leg: Sydney to Brisbane – 2 Days
2015 - Hawaii, Tahiti and South Pacific cruise on the Sun Princess
Blog - Jul. 2015 to Aug. 2015 Photos
2014 - South East Asia on the MV Voyager
Blog - Feb. 2014 to Mar. 2014
Photos Leg #1 Treasures of Asia Leg #2 Colours of the Indian Ocean
2012 - Caribbean cruise on the MV Voyager
Blog (by Lyn) - Nov 2012 to Jan 2013
Photos (by David and Lyn) Leg #1 Voyage to the Caribbean Leg #2 Caribbean Gems Leg #3 A Tapestry of Central America
2011 – Far East cruise on the MV Discovery
Blog (by David) - Dec 2011 to Feb 2012
Photos (by David) Leg #1 Treasures of the Orient and Vietnam Leg #2 Empires of the Sun Leg #3 South East Asia and Australia
2010 - Caribbean cruise on the MV Discovery
Blog (by David) - Nov 2010 to Jan 2011
Photos (by David)  Leg #1 Discovery of the New World Leg #2 Colonial Trails of the Caribbean Leg #3 Tales of the Old Spanish Main
2009 - Grand Voyage of Discovery from Mumbai (India) to London on the MV Discovery
Blog (by David) - Mar 2009 to May 2009
Photos (by David) Leg #1 India and The Persian Gulf Leg #2 Red Sea and Eastern Mediterranean Leg #3 Black Sea, Turkey and Greek Isles Leg #4 European - mainly the Mediterranean

Saturday, 02 December 2023 - Brisbane

TBA

Saturday, 11 November 2023 - Redlands

A catch-up for the 2024 World Cruise held at the Fiction Bar in Cleveland.

Tuesday, 10 October 2023 – Springwood, Logan

A recent 2018 World Cruise catch-up is becoming a pseudo WC24 and WC25 planning get together. An excellent way to share experience and plan for upcoming private excursions.

Reference:

• Past blogs: Pre & Post Cruise Meet Ups

Previous | 2024 - World Cruise | Next
Previous | 2025 - World Cruise | Next

28 Oct 2023 - Airlie Beach
We decided not to tender to Airlie Beach today as the tenders were taking 45 minutes each way and the seas were a little rough. We’ve both been there before so we were more than happy to stay onboard and enjoy a nice relaxing day.

29 Oct 2023 - At Sea
Seas were pretty rough overnight with winds up to 80km per hour, which continued throughout the day.

Our final dinner was at our favourite restaurant … the Dragon Lady … an alternative menu tonight.

30 Oct 2023 - Brisbane (disembark)
Even though we didn’t sail to the South Pacific, we really enjoyed our time in Cairns … the highlight being the Atherton Tablelands and the beautiful waterfalls.

The dining options included in the cruise were hit and miss … but at least we didn’t have to cook!

Thank you Christopher and Jan (our cabin stewards) for taking good care of us.

Perhaps the most disappointing part of the cruise was being served by an obviously sick waiter, but overall the crew were fabulous.

Reference:

• Past blogs: Past Brisbane blogs
• Wikipedia: Brisbane
• Wikitravel: Brisbane

Photos from the past three days / Slide show:

All photos from the entire cruise

Brisbane to Willis Island | Cairns (previous) | Airlie Beach to Brisbane

26 Oct 2023 - Cairns (day 1)
We decided that hiring a car would be the best option so we could explore the region.

On our first day David drove to the beautiful Atherton Tablelands … the scenery was stunning.

We stopped at Atherton for lunch then drove through Malanda and Milla Milla. The waterfalls along the way were spectacular (Malanda, Milla Milla, Zillie and Ellinja).

We arrived back in Cairns at around 5.00 pm and enjoyed a lager at the Hemingway Brewery situated next to the cruise terminal. A fitting end to a very enjoyable day.

We were too tired to get dressed up for dinner so we ordered room service and had an early night.

27 Oct 2023 - Cairns (day 2)
Today we headed north to Kuranda. The Barron Falls Lookout had a very well built and maintained rainforest walk, which took us to the best vantage point for the falls, and also to the Barron Falls railway station (for the Cairns to Kuranda scenic rail). Even though there wasn’t a lot of water flowing, the falls were definitely worth seeing. Next time we visit we’ll allow time to do the Skyrail and train.

The cute little village of Kuranda was our next stop. What a fabulous little place … they call it the Nimbin of the north and you can feel a similar vibe. Lyn has always wanted to buy an Aboriginal painting and we found the perfect one for our home.

We were back in Cairns around midday, dropped off the car, and headed to the RSL for lunch. It was a nice walk back to the cruise terminal along the Esplanade.

Another fantastic day touring this beautiful region.

Photos / Slide show:

Reference:

• Past blogs / visits: 04 Feb 2012
• Wikipedia: Cairns
  
• Wikitravel: Cairns; Kuranda

All photos from the cruise

Brisbane to Willis Island (previous) | Cairns | Airlie Beach to Brisbane (next)

Due to Tropical Cyclone Lola hovering around Vanuatu, our cruise schedule was changed from the Pacific Island Hopper to North Queensland (Willis Island scenic cruise, Cairns for two days and Airlie Beach). We have been to Vanuatu and New Caledonia in the past, so it really didn’t bother us.

During our last cruise to "the islands" (also the seven-night Pacific Island Hopper) we were impacted by Tropical Cyclone Hola (off New Caledonia) on our journey there, and Tropical Cyclone Linda (off Queensland) on our return.

23 Oct 2023 - Brisbane (embark)
We arrived at the cruise terminal a few minutes before our allocated time of 1.00 pm to a massive queue. We finally boarded the Pacific Encounter (the largest ship we’ve ever been on with over 3,000 passengers) at 2:45. Even our luggage arrived at our cabin before we did! What a marathon!

To avoid the crowded sail away party, we watched the ship sail out of Brisbane from the empty Altitude Nightclub at the back on deck 18. We enjoyed a pre-dinner drink in the Blue Room, dinner at the Dragon Lady (Asian), followed by a few more drinks at the Encounter Hotel! There’s certainly plenty of bars with good entertainment onboard.

    

Although the day started off a little stressful, it finished on a high note!

24 Oct 2023 - At Sea
It’s a beautiful fine day and it’s so nice having a balcony cabin to enjoy the view and fresh air.

We enjoyed breakfast and lunch at the Waterfront Restaurant and dinner at Angelo’s (Italian). Due to new technology we are able to book for dinner via an app, which is so much easier than lining up.

Another lovely day sailing the Coral Sea.

Loving the sunsets.

25 Oct 2023 - Willis Island
At 1.30 pm today we sailed past Willis Island, located beyond the Great Barrier Reef. It was established as a weather station in 1921, and apart from the weather observers and a technician who are based there for 6 months at a time, the 500 x 150 metre island is also home to a myriad of marine birds.

This places us in international waters, which means we can purchase duty free alcohol.

It’s quite mesmerising watching the boobies and other marine bird life swooping to catch the flying fish.

Before dinner we went to the Marque to see the show called Seven (deadly sins). The cast were very talented and the four singers harmonised beautifully.

Photos / Slide show:

All photos from the cruise

Reference:

• Past blogs: Past Brisbane blogs; Pacific Island Hopper (09-16 Mar 2018)
• Wikipedia: Brisbane; Willis Island
• Wikitravel: Brisbane

Brisbane to Willis Island | Cairns (next) | Airlie Beach to Brisbane