36 hours in port - 9 hours working – 1 hour of sleep = 23 hours of Jen & Luke’s windwhirl tour of Hong Kong

It seems like forever ago when I found out I would be heading to Hong Kong on my contract. In December, March seemed like it would never appear but at last! I was finally going to see my long lost cousin (well… I saw her in the summer BUT never where she lives!) After working the night shift and getting off at 8am, I was WAY too excited to even think of sleeping or resting before seeing Jen. Originally we had planned to meet around 11am but I immediately called her when I finished work for her to meet me as soon as possible.

Jen came and met me at the pier where my home was docked and we started are windwhirl tour of Hong Kong. Our first stop was Mong Kok which was a busy marketplace with the streets lined with all kinds of clothing, bags, and other random items. We enjoyed a bubble tea, shopped in a few shops (I absolutely love that I found H&M and Cotton On and that things were super cheap!) and then headed for lunch.

Our lunch was rather interesting as we went to toilet themed restaurant called Modern Toilet where everything was bathroom related, you sat on toilets, you ate out of sinks and you sat at tables made of bathtubs. I must say Asians think of the weirdest ideas for things…

After having a quick bite, we went across town and took the famed Star Ferry across the harbor to the bottom of the Peak. We headed up to the Peak via cable car (which at some points you were almost completely vertical) where you get a view of the entire city and also, this is a special spot for Jen since Luke proposed to her there. While in the building, heading up to the top of the peak, the escalator ended up getting the best of me and cutting my toe open. (I now understand why you shouldn’t wear flip flops on these things.) A very friendly information booth worker came to my rescue and bandaged my toe all up… clearly it was her first time doing this since my cut was only small but she wrapped my toe all up to make it out like I broke the thing… Regardless, she was quite sweet and I was just glad me and Jen could get back on schedule.

After doing a bit more shopping and looking around, we headed to dinner at the top of the Peak at Bumba Gump’s which is a themed restaurant all based on the Forest Gump movie. (Again, another weird Asian theme?) This overlooked the city and it was neat to see the sun set and Hong Kong come to life (Night life that is) with all the lights turning on as the sun went down. We made our way to the rooftop which was packed with people to try to catch a glimpse of the beautiful city at night.

By this time, it was getting to the time to meet up with Luke who had been working all day so we headed to well known bar street. The street was lined with different bars and people standing all in the street. We met up with Luke at a Canadian bar called Stormie’s and finally after 3 months I had a Coors Light (which for those who know me well, is my beer of choice and these Aussie’s have no idea about it) Soon, it was getting close to my time to return back to my home so I could start my shift for the night.

The next morning after 9 hours of work, Jen and Luke picked me up and took me on a tour of the Hong Kong country side. This was really nice to see since the first day was all about the city (which I LOVED and can’t wait to go back!!) but it was neat to see that there was a lot of natural beauty to Hong Kong as well. We headed out to Jen and Luke’s house which is an awesome three story house with lots of windows with sunlight and a nice roof top balcony to view the mountains surrounding their house. At this point, I was in need of two things, a short nap of an hour and a cup of coffee when I woke up which Jen readily supplied.

We headed into a waterfront fish market town which the streets were lined with aquariums filled with different sea creatures that you could pick and they would cook it for you in the restaurants right there. Anyone knowing me knows I would have no part in this so we made our way to a cowboy ranch style saloon and had a bite to eat. (Tempura battered pickles… way better than beer battered ones in Canada!)

Our time was coming to an end as it was all board for staff at 5:00PM so we raced back to the ship and said our goodbyes before they sent me on my way. It was sad to leave Hong Kong but I now understand why Jen loves it so much over there and I can’t wait to come back (but for a much longer time) to visit her again.

These 36 hours definitely made up for my first impressions of Asia.

Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Because the Cherry Blossom cruise is a first for many onboard right now, each of us at the desk were put in charge of two ports that we had to gather information about for us to present to the team in order to be knowledgeable to assist with any passenger queries (now I’m sounding like a Aussie.. the signature line I hear… “I have a quick query for you” and believe me when I say, it is never quick.) Kota Kinabalu was one of the ports I had to present to my colleagues and my perspective from the information I found compared to the actual place was almost completely opposite.

I envisioned a city filled with fabulous shopping, beautiful sites, rich temples and interesting markets, what I found was that the capital city of Sabah did have beautiful temples and Mosques like Muara but that was about it. Many people claimed that Malaysia was one of their favorite places but so far, this was one of my least but I have been told that this wasn’t the best city to visit for first impressions on Malaysia.

I was more in shock then I was Muara when I saw the rivers in the city lined with ‘plastic fish’ as they called it (millions of plastic bottles since they do not have proper recycling and waste disposal) and the distinct smell of the markets that was enough for me to turn right around and get back on the bus as soon as I stepped off. Maybe it didn’t help that the temperature was a blazing 40C out?

Not all of it was a bust… I’ve got to love my connections with the tour office as yet again they sent me on an afternoon tour to see the city sights. There were two things I did really enjoy about the city including the interesting architecture and the museum featuring an original heritage village filled with bamboo huts. It was neat to see the bamboo huts which look like they could be knocked over with a gust of wind but the bamboo actually holds its structure in place. The huts were built on silts about a meter above ground to protect against the tide and wildlife and I could hardly believe that the flooring made of bamboo and leaves held up for the millions of tourists walking through.

After my first two Asia ports, although I didn’t fall in love with either, I know the best is yet to come; I have the Parkers in the next two ports so I know my adventures in Asia will only get better!

Muara, Brunei

Not know much about Brunei, (to be quite honest, never even heard of the place before docking there) I decided to take a tour of the city to see the highlights of Muara. Brunei is known as one of the richest countries due to its discovery of vast deposits of oil off shore in the early 20th century. On one hand the city features many beautiful Mosques and Temples but on the other, it was quite weird to see such riches right next to poverty.

Our first stop along the way was to the museum which featured the royal family’s private collection of gifts from other countries which had all kinds of things ranging from pottery, jewelery, paintings and other unique antique items.

After that we headed to the Jame Asr Hassanel Bolkiah Mosque which was beautiful. The details of the Mosque was all finished in 24 carat gold and Swarovski crystals hung from all the chandeliers. This Mosque holds over 5000 people and is the most magnificent in Brunei.

Following our visit to the Mosque, we boarded a water taxi to view the rainforest and water city which is one of the last remaining active water cities still around. I’m still not certain if the water taxi was completely safe but at least they gave us makeshift lifejackets just in case anything happened.

Our guide took us into a small opening in the trees alongside of the river to look for something I had been wanting and waiting to see all day… real live monkeys in their natural habitat. We waited for a short time and three Proboscis Monkeys appeared and played above us in the canopy trees. This was definitely my highlight of the tour even though I didn’t manage to snap of picture of them as I was too intrigued watching them swing around above me.

Saying Good-Bye to two members of the Dream Team

Working on ships, you learn quickly that people come and go through out your contracts. In March, I had to say good-bye to two of my close friends on the team, Jules and Warren. They both definitely MADE my first contract and I hope to see them again on another contract.

JAP's at Crew Bar
Warren, Jules, Raffaella, me, Alvin, Dave, Emma, Matt and Niki

Jumpin' Salt Water Crocs, Darwin, AU

Being in Australia, I was dying to see some Aussie Crocs and in Darwin,

I was able to go on a boat tour to see the ‘Jumping Crocodiles.’

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into to this tour and never really seeing a crocodile in its natural environment but my goodness, those things are scary! We drove out about an hour outside of Darwin to a lagoon in the middle of nowhere and boarded a two story boat for our afternoon cruise. The river was quite muddy and mucky which seemed like the perfect spot for the crocs to hide out.

Our guide then showed us what the meaning of jumping crocodiles meant by fishing with t-bone steaks off the side of the boat. The crocodiles could feel the vibrations of the boat and could smell the meat and they came hunting. We were lucky to see about 8 different crocodiles all jump out of the water for the meat.

The Salt Water Crocs can actually jump their entire body length out of the water to catch prey. I was just glad I was in a semi-secure boat to see these dangerous creatures and not walking down the street as they have a history of showing up in all kinds of places including backyards and downtown shopping districts.

At home, we have dog catchers… well here they croc catchers…

Airlie Beach, Australia

The first stop on the Cherry Blossom cruise was the beautiful Airlie Beach in Whitsundays, Australia. This was my second Australian port to explore. The weather was extremely hot but it made out to be the perfect day to lay by the man-made lagoon in the middle of this beach town.

The blue sea waters were filled with hazardous creatures including jellyfish of all different sources and sea crocs so no one dares to go into the beach waters.


Airlie Beach is a small quaint surf town filled with beach front restaurants, surf shops, a beach front market and weirdly enough… camel rides on the beach. The lagoon which was like a warm pool with sand surrounding it was the place that the locals and tourists hung out to tan and swim.

After my first few nights doing to the night shift, this was the perfect relaxing day: hanging out with Raffaella, drinking beers in the park and working perfecting my golden tan.

As New Zealand cruising comes to an end, the Cherry Blossom is just beginning!

It’s really hard to believe that I spent over a month cruising through New Zealand and it all comes to an end. I have some wonderful memories of New Zealand from the scenic views to the great shopping to the wonderful wines… it’s definitely a country I would recommend to travel to. I must say a lot of my time ashore involved browsing and shopping in surf shops, drinking Starbucks, eating sushi with friends and taking in a bit of history from each place.

In Auckland, this was by far the best for shopping as it reminded me a lot of Toronto. It had a big city feel to it but WAY cleaner than Toronto. They actually have people cleaning the streets all day (very similar to Holland) so there is no garbage laying around. Here is where my friends and I experienced the ‘Big Burger’ that my friend Raffaella had been speaking about for weeks. Literally, these burgers were about 8 inches wide and 4 tall and this is what the entire restaurant served, just big burgers but it was the best I had ever had. They even came with a holder for your burger to hold them together for you as you ate them.

Napier was quite the artsy town and had a real old 50’s feel to it. The streets were lined with antique cars and it was a very quaint town. I was only able to go once in Napier for a few hours so Starbucks and browsing through the main street was about as far as I got.

In Tauranga, we docked close to the Mt Maunganui which is an old volcanic mountain which has a nice walking trail up to the top for some great views. Looking over to the other side of the mountain, you will find a beach perfect for surfing. Each time I went to Tauranga, I enjoyed relaxing and taking in the sun there. It is actually where most New Zealanders go for vacationing.

For Milford Sounds, I can truly understand why they call it the 8th wonder of the world. The views are absolutely breathtaking. During my last cruise through the sounds, we actually couldn’t go into 2 out of the 3 we were supposed to due to the Tsunami warning after the Chile Earthquake. The waters were very rough the day after the earthquake and New Zealand and Australia had warnings out for anyone near the shores of both countries. We actually were lucky that we were near the sounds as many of the ports we had just left were closed due to the weather conditions. The roughest only last about a day for us onboard and then settled.

Although it’s bittersweet to leave behind the country where the New Zealanders take life as being very relaxed and easy going, I’m extremely excited for the next adventure, the Cherry Blossom cruise! This is the cruise I have been waiting for since I found out I was joining this ship! This is the cruise where I will see so many different countries in a month and half and not to mention visit the Parkers (Aunt, Uncle and cousin) in the country they have been living in for the past few years. We will be heading to a few Australian ports, Malaysia, China, Japan, Korean, Mariana Islands, and New Guinea. This will be a tough cruise for us because it is so long and there are a lot of requirements for the different ports including visas, customs and immigrations.

I’m actually really glad that I choose to go onto nights for the first month of it so I can go out and see each place we dock whereas a lot of my colleagues will not get much of a chance to. I’m getting to sleep during the sea days and go out and explore during the port days, I’m really finding it hard to believe I’m getting paid to do this…

Sydney, Australia

Although the ship docks in Sydney after each cruise so far, I really had not managed to see very much of it besides the harbor in which we currently dock. On turnaround day, it’s usually the busiest for us since 2000 passengers leave the ship by 10:30AM and 2000 new passengers embark an hour later. I recently have started working the night shift at the desk for the month of March as each of us has to take a turn in doing that shift. I volunteered myself for the month of March therefore I will get to see all the ports for our upcoming Asia cruise.

Since I worked all night on our last turnaround day, I actually had time to go out and explore Sydney before we sailed away. I headed into town on a mission to go to the Opera House and actually got a bit lost but it was a great way to explore the city. I found an information center that provided me with all kinds of information and maps of places to check out.

I ended up exploring through the Darling Harbor which is filled with old ships, tons of water front restaurants and shops. I finally made it across the city to find the Harbor Bridge, the Opera House, and then sit in the Rocks Park and enjoy gelato in the sun. It actually is quite weird that I haven’t seen much of Australia considering we dock there after each cruise.

Although it was tiring after a full nights work, it was definitely worth taking in the sites of Sydney.

Home Sweet Home

I have really had it lucky being my first contract as I have managed to have my room to myself twice already. For the first month onboard, I was without a roommate as the first one I had only stayed for a cruise before disembarking unexpectedly.

After about a month of being on my own, I moved in to a room with a woman I work with on the desk from Ukraine. We had some good wine parties and enjoyed each other’s company to chat but she has recently moved out to be with her boyfriend so I’m on my own again!

A lot of family and friends have asked about my room so I thought I would include a few pictures of my room. A lot of the rooms do not have windows but the one I currently am in does which is great to have natural sunlight in the room. I definitely enjoy being in my own room so I can have things set-up the way I want and not to mention the fact that I get TWO closets instead of just one. As most of you know, this is needed for me.

Here it is, home sweet home!

The most common view I see each day....

Taking time to stop and smell the roses…

Looking for something different to do than the regular shopping and dining, I decided to explore the beautiful botanical gardens of the Capital City of New Zealand, Wellington. The local tourism board offered a shuttle into the downtown core of the Wellington to which the city’s famed cable car ride was just about 5 minutes away from the stop.

I jumped on the cable car and rode it up to the top of the mountain (New Zealand is VERY hilly!) and then spent about an hour walking down the mountain along the flower lined trail.

At the bottom was the Lady Norway Rose Gardens which there was hundreds of different types of roses growing. It was quite beautiful to see and worth the time to stop and smell the roses…

For the Love of Chocolate – Dunedin, NZ

Who doesn’t love a tour of a chocolate factory especially when they give out treats along the way??

Home to the New Zealand Cadbury Chocolate factory is Dunedin, New Zealand. Cadbury Chocolate is the most popular for your common chocolate bars in New Zealand and Australia kind of like how Hersey’s is at home. A lot of the chocolate bars are similar to the Hersey’s ones. Me and my friend stopped in for a factory tour while shopping around Dunedin and ended up leaving with WAY too many bars of chocolate. We couldn’t resist when the big bars where only $2.50 CAD. (Mom, I’m bringing you home a huge Turkish Delight!)

Here I am in front of the mountain of Crunchie Bars! Delicious!