Fremantle for Perth - Western Australia

I will post some more pictures of Fremantle and Perth soon. Keep checking the blog!

G'Day Everyone,

Today was the day we have all be waiting for - for so long - to set foot on Australian soil! It was the most beautiful morning for arrival with clear blue skies and calm seas. The sun was high in the sky and we knew all was set for a good day, with the fire tug leading us into port with a fine water cannon display. The Passenger Terminal in Perth is superb, built in the 1960s it is so retro it is at the height of fashion! Beautifully maintained and an army of very welcoming people working in all areas. After five sea days everyone was ready for some land life!

The iconic P&O Cruises buff funnel - known the world over.


After clearance formalities, and an emergency drill to comply with Port State Control, the Commodore, Cruise Director and I had a press conference and plaque exchange in The Orchid Bar. We also had some past passengers there who had sailed out to Fremantle from England in the 1950s. Meantime 'down below' we are loading stores and off loading garbage and the like. Passengers have disembarked and new embarks are eager and excited to be boarding Arcadia.


Here is what appeared in the local press today.

http://www.fremantleports.com.au/

Arcadia, biggest cruise ship to visit WA, calling 12 February 2009
WA will welcome the largest cruise ship ever to visit its shores tomorrow when P&O Cruises UK’s superliner, Arcadia, calls at Fremantle during her maiden 101-night world voyage.
Carrying 1950 passengers and 880 crew, the 83,000-tonne ship will be an impressive sight when it berths in Fremantle about 7am (pilot on board at 6.30am). Arcadia’s call is also set to stir up memories among the many Western Australians who will remember the ship's namesake, P&O Cruises’ second Arcadia, which transported thousands of Britons to Perth as “10 pound pom” immigrants during the 1950s and 60s. The former Arcadia was also based in Australia as a cruise ship during the 1970s.
The latest Arcadia is the fourth P&O ship to bear the Arcadia name. Launched in 2005, the ship is steeped in history but is also one of the most contemporary liners sailing from the UK.
The largest P&O Cruises UK ship ever to visit Australia, the latest Arcadia stretches 285 metres long and if tipped on its stern would be 36 metres taller than the Central Park Office Tower, Perth’s tallest building.
Features include a range of innovations from external glass lifts overlooking the ocean to an indoor/outdoor swimming pool with retractable glass roof and a boutique cinema for 30.
There are 1010 cabins and 11 passenger decks, with facilities including more than six dining options, including the elegant Arcadian Rhodes created by UK celebrity chef Gary Rhodes, 14 bars, a 700-seat three-tier theatre, two swimming pools, five whirlpool spas and a three-level atrium.
P&O estimates the ship’s one-day visit to Perth will inject more than $500,000 into the local economy through passenger spending and supplies.
Arcadia began its maiden world cruise in England in January and has already called at Majorca and Greece in Europe, Egypt and Oman in the Middle East, India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
It will sail from Fremantle at 6pm tomorrow evening (12 February) to visit Albany on 13 February, then Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and the Whitsundays.
The ship will then sail to Japan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Oman, Dubai and Egypt, before transiting through the Suez Canal to Libya, Portugal and Spain and returning to the UK in April.

So there you have it!

After the business of the morning I was able to pop ashore and meet up with mu cousin Rex and his family. We enjoyed a delicious fish lunch at the nearby Fisherman's Wharf - so we did not have to worry about being stuck in traffic and being late back to the ship. Fremantle is looking better than ever - apparently it had a complete make over in preparation for the America's Cup!A day to remember for us all. Once back on board it was Passenger General Emergency Stations for the new embarks, a meeting with the new press group who joined and general ship's business. A great day all round and we are looking forward to calls at Albany, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Yorkie's Knob.

The Cusick family in Perth WA - From Left to Right - Alecia, Bryan, Jean, Martina, Rex and James!

Best wishes from down under...........I had forgotten just how good it feels to be in Australia!Thanks Rex for a great lunch!

It was also a very exciting day for Commodore Burgoine as his family joined Arcadia today after flying out from the UK. Paul Clasby our Chief Engineer left us today and he is replaced by Martyn Elliott - I am sure many of you will know Martyn - we need to get him featured on this blog!! Avril Anderson will now be with her family and friends in Perth - I am sure she will have many a story to tell about her Grand Voyage from Southampton to Australia. That cold and overcast embarkation day on the 5th January seems a million miles away now - but then again - it is!

Thank you to all the good people of WA who gave us a great send off this evening by lining the departure route from our berth at Fremantle all the way to the open sea - such well wishing, arm waving, horn blowing - all the outward signs of friendship and the bonds of love which are remembered long after the ship slips over the horizon. I hope we return soon. When you are sitting back home Australia feels so far away and then once you get here you wonder why we make such a big deal of the flight out - it is so worthwhile once you arrive!

Best wishes,
James.

'Friendship is a tree to take shelter from the storm, to find shade from the blazing sun,to climb its branches to get a better view, and to swing from when we're happy'.