TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

The Polly Woodside Tall Ship, Melbourne. The Queen Elizabeth Cruise Ship arrived back in Melbourne sometime in the early hours of the morning on Sunday, February 2. One of the few benefits of being in 'riff-raff' class is that we'd be among the last to disembark at 9:30am, allowing us to relax for one final time with an unhurried breakfast in the Britannia Restaurant. If this is your first time (or first post) reading about the cruise my partner, Enigma, and I took on the Queen Elizabeth at the end of January, beginning of February 2020 you may like to go back and start from the beginning by clicking this link (posts will be listed in reverse order). It may be your last glimpse into the world of cruise ship holidays pre pandemic 2020. It was 10am by the time we were actually leaving the boat and collecting our bags from the terminal. We were asked to wait in the upper level of the Britannia restaurant while they double checked that all final guests still on the boat were p...

Out 'poshing' posh afternoon tea. Me, enjoying an after dinner tea - full pinky!. Photo: Enigma Cruises are very much different experiences for different people. If you want a quiet relaxing time, you can pick and choose what activities you get involved with that match your tastes. If this is your first post in my series, documenting my partner, Enigma, and I's week long cruise on the Queen Elizabeth that we took at the end of January, start of February 2020, just a month prior to the world going into lockdown thanks to Coronavirus, you may like to go back and read all the available posts in this series (in reverse order) click here . As you read about our experience keep in mind my Partner and I tend to keep to ourselves. We're polite and talk to people who we happen to cross paths with, but we really like the quiet relaxing side of cruises. If you're more adventurous, looking to meet new people and get involved in more physical activities like sports or dancing, m...

Queen Elizabeth Cruise Ship docked at Hobart. Photo from Mt. Nelson. Our second full sea day onboard the Queen Elizabeth Cruise ship was largely an exercise in passing the time before arriving in Hobart, Tasmania, the following day. If you're new to TET Life this post is the continuing story of my partner and I's cruise on the Queen Elizabeth that we took for a week at the end of January, start of February 2020, just a month prior to the world going into lockdown thanks to Coronavirus (at the exact time the first cases of the virus arrived in Australia). If you would like to read all the available posts in this series (in reverse order) click here . Day 4: Sea Day, Gallery, Shopping, Pub, and Hollywood Afternoon cocktails and scones while we lounged on the Pavillion Deck. After a late breakfast in the Lido restaurant (a real challenge at that time of day just to find a table) I went to the ships art gallery for a talk about a history of sculpture, specifically focussing on Bro...

Giant Chess Set, Sports Deck. Our first full day at sea on our Queen Elizabeth Cruise was anxiety inducing. For the first time since, I can't even remember we would have no internet access on our mobile phones for at least 24 hours. If you're new to TET Life, or this is your first post, I'm blogging about a cruise ship holiday my partner, Enigma, and I went on at the end of January 2020 for eight days. You may like to continue reading from this point or you might like to start from the beginning, Automobiles, Planes, Buses, Trams, and Boats and then click   Queen Elizabeth Cruise 2020 to get the all the posts, in descending order, of how we got here. Day 2: Sea Day Breakfast in bed. It was nice but ultimately we decided  eating out was a better experience all round. A 'sea day' is exactly what it sounds like, a day spent entirely on board the ship at sea. All cabins have full room service included so we began our day by ordering breakfast in bed as the sh...

Grand Lobby, Queen Elizabeth Cruise Ship.  Finally at the Pier in Melbourne we were able to begin the boarding the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship  right away. If you're new to TET Life, or this is your first post, I'm blogging about a cruise ship holiday my partner, Enigma, and I went on at the end of January for eight days. You may like to continue reading from this point or you might like to read the two prior posts, Automobiles, Planes, Buses, Trams, and Boats and The Middle Park Hotel, Albert Park, Port Melbourne Beach to get the full story of how we got here. Coronavirus (for context) In case you're wondering, COVID-19 was not yet a nationwide concern in Australia (personally I hadn't even heard the term Coronavirus until my Mother mentioned it on social media after we started our holiday). The Queen Elizabeth had stopped taking trips into Asia and instead was offering various routes touring Australia and New Zealand at very attractive rates (hence why we...

Middle Park Hotel, Melbourne. Getting from Melbourne Airport to our hotel in Middle Park was such a process that I never really was able to pause and reflect, that this was actually my very first trip to Melbourne, until Enigma and I were in our hotel room. We had arrived a day earlier to minimize any chance of missing boarding our cruise ship, the Queen Elizabeth, due to flight delays, cancellations, or the off chance neither of us had any aptitude for finding a boat you can see from space (probably) in a city very much bigger than Adelaide. If you haven't read the previous (and first) post,  Automobiles, Planes, Buses, Trams, and Boats , in our Queen Elizabeth Cruise, eight day holiday, you may like to start there before reading further. The Middle Park Hotel The Middle Park hotel, in Middle Park (who would've thought?), not too far from the more widely known St. Kilda, and a little down from Albert Park and Port Melbourne Beach. As it happens it was located direc...