Above: Me posing inside the SOT office while waiting for the announcement to board the boat.
Above: While waiting on the announcement to board, snapping time!!
The security system is quite strict because they did check the bags one by one to make sure you don't carry any weapons that could possibly harm other passengers. Also, you have to go through the x-ray bars as well. However, it did slow down the boarding process and we waited forever in the queue.
Above: The reception area on deck 7.
The cruise reserves a few decks for cars (garage) and from deck 7 up to deck 10, they are for passengers to walk around to find food, entertainment and enjoy the ocean view.
Above: Lavender Cafe on deck 7 where we got our quick breakfast. I bought myself a curried egg and lettuce sandwich with a soy latte. They are rather expensive.
Above: After finished eating our breakfast, we walked up to deck 8 to check out the cabins although we didn't hire one, we would just want to have a nosy look. Titanic moments relived ;p
Above: The sea view on deck 10. This photo was taken standing at the tail side of the cruise preparing to leave the port.
Above: Leaving the dock.
Above: Deck 10.
Above: Deck 10, excited to see the cruise leaving the port. Take me away from here, quick!!!
Above: Can you guess which one is me?? LOL Answer: The bulkiest shadow is me.
Above: Spirit of Tasmania I, deck 10.
Above: A deck at deck 10 where people chill out, watch movies on their laptops, kids running around or some people even lie down vertically on the bench and make themselves comfortable.
The restaurants serve lunch and dinner at certain hours, especially the buffet (The Captain Table) where you select any dish you like, i.e. choices of meats, salads, a drink and a dessert for $30 a plate. However, you can't come back for a refill. Hence, gather anything you like and pile one on top of the other because it is a $30 worth of a meal. I reckon it is rather expensive, however I got to pick some chicken wings, a slice of grilled beef and a piece of fish fillet. So, it is pretty alright though I failed to get a dessert twice!
Above: My hearty lunch at deck 7.
Although it is a HUGE ship, however with strong waves and wind against the direction of where the cruise is heading, you could still feel the motion of the cruise swinging side to side. Hence, I don't think it will suit anyone who is prone to motion sickness. That said aside, it was so funny to see people who were struggling to walk along the hallway and you could see people strayed to the side of the wall, including my friend and I. I just kept laughing at her because she kept walking to the side when she was supposed to walk straight and she got pissed because I laughed at her so much that she asked me to walk in front of her so she could laugh at me in return.
Above: The Spirit Bar at deck 7 where some passengers enjoy live music from a very synchronized couple. They sang mostly old songs because there were many old people boarding the ship. They also sang some popular love songs. You couldn't resist their voice, some very enjoyable tunes. My friend and I sat there and fell asleep for a good hour before marching to the cinema located on the same floor and it was showing Midnight in Paris starred by Owen Wilson.
After the movie, we went out to inhale some fresh ocean air and to our dismay, it actually rained for a bit. It was cloudy, cold and very gloomy. An idea popped up in my head where we decided to do the famous Titanic "Rose and Jack 'I am flying' pose". We could access the bow of the ship, hence we would have to do it elsewhere. Such a shame we couldn't use the similar location, the bow, but whatever.
Above: Where is my Jack??
After what seemed to be forever moment, we finally arrived after 9 hours of journey.
Above: Approaching Devonport at 8.30 pm.
It was pouring rain with heavy thunderstorm and we had to walk 15 minutes to the hotel. It was a complete nightmare though adventurous. We were drenched in rain while our head was protected by our umbrellas struggling against the strong wind and rain. We got lost for a moment while trying to locate the hotel and walked a huge round about before reaching our destination. We spent the night drying out wet clothes using the as-slow-as-a-turtle hair dryer. In the end, we gave up and let the clothes and shoes dry out overnight which didn't completely dry out, however still bearable. Naturally, the wind dried it off completely while walking.
Above: One last look at the cruise before saying goodbye because we were coming back by plane :(
Above: King size Terrace room at Edgewater Hotel, Devonport. It is a really not bad hotel with all the basic necessities. Bathroom's sink is really humongous too! We booked the hotel from Discover Australia website and this particular room type costed us $130 a night. They also have a continental and/or hot buffet breakfast for $11.50 + $5.50 pp for additional hot breakfast. However, we were given a voucher when we booked the tickets for SOT, hence it costed us $9.90 for continental breakfast buffet only.
Above: The breakfast room at Edgewater Hotel.
Above: In front of Edgewater Hotel. It was sooooo cold at 12 degree celsius with a strong wind too.
Above: At the bank waiting for a ferry to take us across the other side of Devonport where we could take a bus to Launceston city. It was about an hour journey from Devonport to Launceston via the bus, probably 45 minutes drive with a normal car.
Above: The kids were so excited to see the ferry approaching the bank.
Above: Ferry crossing sign.
It took less than 3 minutes to cross the river and it costed us $2.50 each. Cheap as chips. On the other hand, the bus trip to Launceston costed us $24.50 pp while it costs $29 to Hobart. We could've gone to Hobart, however it is a 3-hour journey. We were halfway through and suddenly I remembered I left my phone charger at Devonport hotel and I freaked out, hence I decided to call the reception and they kindly agreed to post out my phone charger back to Melbourne and as a return favor, I asked them to charge the posting fee onto my credit card. It was nice of them to do that and I was lucky enough to realize that quickly so that I could ask them to keep my stuffs ASAP! Not quite like me to forget stuffs in a hotel :(
Above: Cameron St where our hotel is located (Batman Fawkner Inn). Booked from the same website, Discover Australia (link shown above).
The inn is actually quite suitable for backpackers because it is cheap and very clean. I have nothing much to complain about the Inn with only $90 a night for twin room with ensuite bathroom and some teas and coffees to enjoy after a tiresome journey. I got none of these in any other backpackers Inn I have stayed before in Sydney. The stank, dirty and quite horrible mixed of crowd there. As oppose to that, this Inn is really quite, civilized people and very warm receptionists. The Inn is only opened from 2-9 pm, 2 being the check in time and 9 being the closing time. Hence if you wish to walk about later than 9 pm, you could let yourself in with a key provided by the Inn. However, no one will be available if you need to see a receptionist. They also have a dining area where you can help yourself with the cutleries, cups and plates, a microwave and a fridge. However, if you are educated, it is self-taught that you should wash the dishes on your own too. There is also a TV area next to the kitchen where a selected movie is played every night and any guests could join in to watch. We were invited, however we were too tired. Hence, we chose to entertain ourselves with available channels from the room TV. Apparently there are not many channels in Launceston ranging from 4 when the signal is bad to 10 when it is good. The receptionist told me there is not enough funding from the mainland. Hmmmm.....
Ahem, I will have to end the blog post up to here and I shall continue it tomorrow as this is a long-ass post. Day 2 of my trip will start tomorrow or the day after.. Depends.. (: Stay tuned!!!!
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