I guess I should explain the cruise @ddict bit. :-))

Back in August 2002 a family member tragically passed away; we were all devastated. Rick and I felt we needed to get away, so we thought why not go on a cruise, as it was something we had always wanted to do, but time and money constraints hadn't allowed it. We thought why not, it will be the only one we ever take. (little did we know)
So, off I go to a local travel agent, who showed me the brochure for Pacific Sky. Yep, book us for New Year please. Travel agent phones back and says sorry, all booked out. A couple of days later she phoned again; a new ship to Australia, Pacific Princess, is arriving in November 02. Goody, please book us for the New Year sailing. So, our first cruise was approaching, and we were very much looking forward to it.

We had to get passports, as we had never travelled out of Australia before. However, as Rick was born in England and came here when he was only 2, he needed to get a British passport and a re-entry visa. (he has since become an Aussie citizen, and now has an Aussie passport)

The date for our cruise was fast approaching, 28th December 2002..............
While anxiously awaiting the day, I searched online for information on "our" ship. I came across cruise @ddicts, a community of people who love cruising. (obviously, LOL) A wonderful, supportive and caring group, of which I am a member.

Finally, departure day arrived, and we flew to Sydney to join the ship, which was waiting for us in her gleaming white glory at the dock by Circular Quay. We joined the throng of passengers in the check-in line; finally we got to the counter where my passport was scanned and approved. Rick was next, but for some unknown reason they had a problem with his passport. Scan, shake head, scan again, and again...............this went on for what seemed an hour, but was probably only a few minutes. I was getting very nervous, as I could see "our" ship just outside the window, and was worried we might not be able to board. Finally, Rick's passport was approved, whew! and we boarded our home away from home for the next 10 nights.

And what a wonderful time we had! The first 2 nights the ship rocked and rolled, and everyone was staggering trying to keep balance. Some people were seasick, unfortunately for them, but Rick and I were fine. We squeezed in every activity we could, and never had time to lay on a deck chair at all!
When we arrived home, we needed a holiday to recover from our holiday, we were worn out! LOL

Our ports of call were Noumea, New Caledonia; Isle of Pines, New Caledonia; Port Vila, Vanuatu; then back to Sydney.

Thinking this was a once in a lifetime trip, we were wrong. Cruising is addictive, and we became addicts. LOL Although we can't afford to cruise much, we have sailed twice more, and have a New Zealand/Aus cruise scheduled for November 08 aboard HAL Volendam. We booked this one 2 years out, so it has seemed the time would never arrive, but here we are, only 50 days to go.

Our second cruise was a 2 night quickie from our harbour to Melbourne, aboard Superstar Leo in January 2004 (or was it Feb? can't remember the exact date)
My daughter wanted to go on a cruise, so we booked Pacific Princess again for January 2007. My mum shared a cabin with my daughter Lisa, and Rick and I had the cabin next door. This was 9 nights, same itinerary as the first cruise. We all had a wonderful time, now mum is a cruise addict too! She is joining us on the next one, and is really looking forward to it. She has also booked a 4 night cruise from Adelaide next February.

A bit about Pacific Princess: Renaissance Cruises built 6 small ships to sail around Tahiti and South Pacific, but the company folded and the ships were sold off. Princess Cruises bought 2 of the ships and re-named them Pacific Princess and Tahitian Princess. In conjunction with P&O Australia, Pacific Princess sailed the summer season DownUnder for a few years. We were on her first season in 2002-03, and her last season in 2007.
She is a smaller ship than most of the mainstream ships regularly sailing UpOver, carrying about 680 passengers.

Photos from our first cruise are in my webshots link, and photos from our last cruise are in my third cruise link. Unfortunately I lost the Superstar Leo photos when my computer crashed. :(