Solo at Sea

07/03/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗱

A tropical low resulted in the captain heading straight back to Moreton Island after Cairns, instead of cruising past Willis Island as originally scheduled.

This meant two sea days before arriving at Moreton Island, during which there was another medical emergency requiring helicopter evacuation - this time a shoutout to the great work of CQ Rescue, and best wishes to the patient and their loved ones.

🚁 Yesterday afternoon our crew responded to a complex mission in the beautiful waters of the Whitsundays when a man on board a cruise ship became critically unwell.

With the vessel unable to access a port, our helicopter crew launched and conducted multiple winch operations to enable the paramedic, doctor and aircrewman to reach the patient and begin urgent medical treatment on the deck of the ship. To help maximise the time our crew could remain airborne before needing to refuel, the cruise ship was manoeuvred closer toward Mackay while our medical team worked to stabilise the man.
The patient was winched onto the helicopter and flown to the Mackay Base Hospital for further critical care.

Missions like this highlight the incredible teamwork between our pilots, aircrew, and medical team - all working together to bring lifesaving care to those who need it most, no matter where they are.

✴️ BHP Queensland
🏥 Tasked by Queensland Health

07/03/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: 𝗔𝗶𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗻𝘀

Only a short amount of time ashore at Airlie Beach, as the medical evacuation the day prior and poor weather conditions for the tenders to shore caused delays. Enough to look at the markets and town centre though!

Cairns the next day did not disappoint - a delightful massage at Empathy Thai Massage (trust the great reviews!) was followed by a gin tasting and re-stock at Wolf Lane Distillery.

It may have been overcast with scattered showers for both port stops, but the humid ‘wet blanket’ embrace of the Whitsundays and Far North Queensland was still enough to make me glad for the milder conditions!

07/03/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀

Two enjoyable days at sea en route to Airlie Beach and Cairns, however a medical emergency required a helicopter evacuation on the second sea day - shoutout to the great work by Life Flight and the Queensland Ambulance Service, and best wishes to the patient and their loved ones.

04/03/2026

04/03/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘆!

White Bay Cruise Terminal is a bit of a pain to get to, with no real public transport options (all involve a significant walk to reach the terminal), but it does make for a lovely departure location: seeing all the activity on Sydney Harbour, fantasising over the envy-inducing waterfront properties in Balmain, sailing past North Sydney and Luna Park, all before even sailing under the Sydney Harbour Bridge to see the usual glorious sights of the Sydney Opera House and the wider harbour on the way to Sydney Heads.

Again, the check in process was seamless, with the army of staff ensuring I was again onboard before my official boarding slot had even started.

Again, in mere minutes I had added cash to my account, completed my muster drill and exploring the ship.

Carnival Adventure, as I had read in advance, has a more open layout and restrained decor compared to Carnival Splendor. Adventure has a standard capacity of 2,636 passengers and 1,100 crew (and, most recently, up until 2025 was the Pacific Adventure).

Check back in to see my comparision review of Carnival Splendor versus Carnival Adveture, my balcony cabin review and more 🥳

16/01/2026

Time for my second cruise - this time, on Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas. I’m looking forward to comparing with Carnival!

17/12/2025

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿: 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗻 𝟲𝟮𝟮𝟬 - 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄

I booked a category 8A balcony cabin on Carnival Splendor, cabin 6220 on Deck Six in a forward port location - some photos included for reference.

I could feel a fair bit of movement in this cabin. If you get seasick, I would recommend you choose a more midship location.

I found it a handy central location, close to stairs and lifts, and easy to access key decks like Deck 9 Lido (pools and buffet), Deck 5 Promenade (coffee, bars, Spectacular Spectacular Theatre) and Decks 3 & 4 (Lobby, Black Pearl Dining Room, Spectacular Spectacular Theatre etc).

Although it was located above the Spectacular Spectacular Theatre, I didn’t hear any noise and this didn’t cause me any issues.

The balcony had an unobstructed view and included a chair (with fixed armrests), sun lounger (chair with fixed armrests, but an adjustable reclining back) and small coffee table.

There was plenty of storage, with three cupboards - one with shelving and a door mirror, one with short hanging and a shelf, and one with long hanging. The shelves could be flipped up and locked out of the way. The desk had several sliding drawers, built in mini fridge, a small double door built cupboard with a safe and two open shelves at the end.

Two points to note: the cabin appeared to be located near a housekeeping station, resulting in housekeeping carts regularly positioned near my door daily - this meant I could hear the steward greeting guests in the corridor outside my door, and the sound of staff bagging rubbish from neighbouring cabins. I’m not sure if this was particular to my cabin though, or something every cabin experienced at different times of the day.

During particularly windy sections of the trip, the balcony door also permitted much more noise than I expected - even fully shut and bolted, the seal was not completely tight, resulting in a howling, whistling noise. This only happened once or twice though.

The bathroom was standard, shower with a shower curtain.

17/12/2025

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿: 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘆

Disembarkation day, and I woke in time to see Carnival Splendor cruise past Sydney Heads and into the harbour just as sunrise was occurring - very beautiful and peaceful!

My balcony was positioned to watch the Sydney Opera House, CBD and Circular Quay come slowly into view, as two tugs again helped gently manoeuvre the ship into dock at the Overseas Passenger Terminal.

I had breakfast, got ready, managed to (just barely) zip my suitcase closed and disembarked the ship by 7.30am - I’d opted for the express self disembarkation option. Before I knew it, I was out of the terminal and on my way home!

17/12/2025

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿: 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀

Before we left Bay of Islands, the Captain made an announcement advising we could experience strong wind causing swells of up to 2.5 metres and some rain overnight.

After cocktails at Alchemy Bar, a long dinner at the Black Pearl dining room, the daily puzzle and admiring the sunset from my balcony, I went to the 9pm show in the Spectacular Spectacular theatre - and was glad I did! It was a one night only acrobatic show by two very talented performers.

As the Captain had indicated, it rained overnight and was a cold windy day at sea, but wasn’t too rough. Once I realised the was going to be too windy and cold for any lounging by the pool, I dropped into a maritime Q&A session with the captain and senior officers, had lunch and then retired to my room to watch some movies (Knives Out, Glass Onion and the Thursday Murder Club).

However, the Captain had been right - as the afternoon progressed, so did the swells! Here was the Tasman crossing I had expected!

By the time I was getting ready for dinner (and let me tell you, showering in an enclosed bathroom while swaying wasn’t the most fun I’ve had), it was quite rough!

Some of the other guests looked pretty miserable on the way to dinner - a few had moved to mid ship in the lobby area to avoid the worst of the movement. I had a light dinner and went back to my cabin early, where I sat on my balcony and watched the sea for a bit before going to bed early.

The rough sea continued all night and into the next morning.

The last day at sea was meant to be hot and sunny, perfect for lounging by the pool, but it ended up being mostly cloudy the whole day. Again, I had a low key day mostly hanging out in my cabin and packing ready for disembarkation the next morning.

15/12/2025

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿: 𝗕𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝗡𝗭

Our last port stop was Bay of Islands, which started off rainy and cold and then cleared into a lovely day.

Bay of Islands is a tender port, with the ship mooring offshore and transporting passengers to shore using smaller boats - in this case, some of Carnival Splendor’s lifeboats. These took us to Waitangi Pier, where free shuttles drove us the short distance to Paihia (map included below for reference).

After exploring the small village of Paihia - including craft and art markets put on for the cruise ship, checking out the snack options in the local supermarket, and watching little helicopters take off on sightseeing tours - I caught the ferry to Russell. The ferry is $9 each way, takes about 15 minutes, and has regular departures about every 20 minutes with three ferries running (not including a fast ferry option).

Russell was another very picturesque little seaside village, with a pretty pebble beach and plenty of restaurants and cafes. There was another art and craft market put in for the cruise ship, and there I was convinced to part with my money in exchange for some handmade felted items, local essential oils and beautiful glazed pottery bowls.

Returning to Paihia, I walked the scenic 2.3km back to Waitangi Pier (it took about 25 minutes), rather than catch the free shuttle bus, and took a tender back to the ship in time for lunch and more lounging by the pool.

Like Tauranga, Paihia, Russell and the wider Bay of Islands area struck me as lovely places to return for a longer visit. Future holiday mental notes made!

Only two more seas days, and then I’ll have to disembark in Sydney - so sad 😞 🤣 but the cruise isn’t over yet!