February 18, 2018 – Change Ships in Sydney, Australia

Our heads are still spinning. The last two days have been a whirlwind for us, as we and our belongings physically moved from Crystal Serenity to Crystal Symphony, thus beginning Segment 2 of the 2018 World Cruise. We knew this was coming, as part of WC-4, but it didn’t make it any easier. After joining Symphony, we will be traveling from Sydney to Auckland, New Zealand over the next two weeks, while Serenity heads northbound up the east coast of Australia.

On February 16th, Crystal Serenity was docked near Circular Quay in the Overseas Passenger Terminal. That evening, we left our packed luggage outside our stateroom door at 5:30, ready for pickup. While we were at dinner, the crew took the luggage (for all of us transferring to the Symphony) down to a waiting truck. Four things happened overnight: Crystal Symphony arrived and docked at White Bay Cruise Terminal; Crystal Serenity left port and anchored at a buoy in the harbor; a Carnival ship moved in and docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal; the luggage truck drove to White Bay Cruise Terminal and unloaded the luggage.

The morning of February 17th, all of us on Serenity who were transferring to Symphony met in the Hollywood Theater with our carry-on baggage (containing passports, valuables, medicine, etc.). We disembarked Crystal Serenity, as a group, from the ship’s tender platform on deck 4 onto a “fast ferry boat,” which took us across Sydney Harbor to the White Bay Cruise Terminal. We went through Australian Customs, identified and claimed our luggage which we took to a waiting truck, then waited in the terminal to be called to board Crystal Symphony (after going through Customs again).

Once onboard Symphony, we were treated like royalty, escorted to the Palm Court for refreshments (food and wine), where a quartet was playing soothing music, and the Cruise Director (Shane Morley) and World Cruise Hostess (Sarah Hayes) greeted us personally. After a short time, we were told we could go to our staterooms where, amazingly, our luggage was there waiting for us. Given the circumstances of this very complicated process (apparently mandated by Australian Border Protection people), Crystal orchestrated our move very well. Bravo to Crystal and the team that organized and communicated all this to us!

We skipped lunch, as we’d already had enough snacks at the Palm Court, and immediately started the unpacking process in our room. We had had just enough space for all our “stuff” on the Serenity, and it was a little challenging to squeeze everything into the same category room on Symphony. It’s an ever so slightly smaller room; but, we were able to do it.

It was soon time for the World Cruise Gala Celebration at the Sydney Town Hall – exclusively for full-world-cruise passengers on both Symphony and Serenity to join together for a very special evening. This was billed as a “White Extravaganza,” where we were invited to wear white to the event. We understood that this had never been done before, and, to say the least, it was an extraordinary success -- a once-in-a-lifetime experience, which we greatly enjoyed.

The Sydney Town Hall is a very large, ornate structure built in the 1880s right in downtown. We were told that the exterior of the building, with its clock tower and steps, is a city landmark and symbol of the city. We found that the “high Victorian” interior of the building is equally elaborate. These days, the building houses the Sydney City Council chamber, reception rooms, and offices for the Lord Mayor and other elected officials.

Before opening of the Sydney Opera House in 1973, the Town Hall was Sydney's premier concert hall, and many notable performances took place in Centennial Hall, where our celebration event was held. 

When walking into Centennial Hall, one must immediately be in awe of the Grand Organ at the head of the hall – at least we were. This is said to be “the world's largest pipe organ with tubular pneumatic action.” We believe that means there are no electrical action components. The organ was installed in 1890 and is enormous, with 8,800 pipes, including one that is 64 feet tall. Ceiling of the hall is equally massive, and it must contribute to the strong (almost overwhelming) sound of the organ.

Entertainment at the event included a “Welcome to Country” greeting by indigenous Australian people in traditional dress and dancing to the sounds of the didgeridoo, and performances by the Sydney Youth Orchestra, and by the Australian Girls’ Choir, as well as the feature performance by Philip Mark Quest (famous Australian musical stage actor and singer). The choir was definitely a hit for all of us – their sound was absolutely beautiful. But the big performance of the evening was by organ maestro Hector Olivera, who is a favorite of Crystal Cruise passengers. He played several amazing numbers to use the strengths of the Grand Organ to its fullest. In concert, he plays some of the finest organs in the world and has said that he loves this organ best of all.

Today (Sunday, Feb 18), we finished unpacking and started to find our way around the newly remodeled Crystal Symphony. Its layout is similar to that of the Serenity (its younger sister ship), but more modern-looking after the refurbishment (less dark wood and more light-color décor). In the afternoon, we took a 2-hour tour boat ride around the harbor, which was a good break from the stress of moving and unpacking.

We attended our first stage show -- “Crystal in Motion” -- in the Galaxy Lounge. This is the same name as the first show we saw on Crystal Serenity, back on January 24th. Only the name was the same, as we wouldn’t have recognized it, except for the Irish dance number at the end of the show which was performed very well by this different troupe of dancers. The Galaxy’s stage on Symphony is semi-circular (like theater-in-the-round) and much lower (almost the same level as the audience) – different, but still very entertaining.

We also attended enrichment lectures from two different New Zealanders – first was Brian Lawrenson, the destination lecturer on this segment who talked about what to see and do at our port stops on the South Island of New Zealand. Next was Peter Donovan, an academician, whose first presentation was on early history of New Zealand, including the first meeting of native tribes with European explorers.

Over the next two weeks we’ll be visiting the ports shown in the sketch below. 

Leaving Sydney tomorrow, we’ll be cruising in a southeasterly direction, crossing the Tasman Sea and the “Roaring 40’s” so called because of normally strong winds and rough seas experienced at these latitudes. By Wednesday, Feb 21st, we are scheduled to be cruising through “Fiordland,” a dramatic and beautiful part of New Zealand carved by glaciers centuries ago. We’ve been looking forward to this as a highlight of the cruise, but it’s also known as a very rainy area, so we’ll see what happens.

Jim & Ginny