| From the Australian mainland, you can fly To | | | | heads at 11.15am and passing the Spirit of |
| Tasmania in less than 2 hours. Why take 9-11 | | | | Tasmania II around 2pm. The Spirit of Tasmania |
| hours to get there by sea? | | | | II would be traveling in the opposite direction. |
| Well Greg (my husband) and I decided that we | | | | As I watched the Spirit of Tasmania II pass at |
| wanted to experience a Spirit of Tasmania trip at | | | | 2pm I realised that this was just how our vessel |
| least once, so we went online and made a | | | | looked. I wondered if there were passengers on |
| booking. We booked about a couple of months in | | | | the other ship taking photos of us? I watched it |
| advance. We went with "Ocean View Recliners" | | | | until it disappeared in the direction of Port |
| since they sounded pretty comfy. | | | | Melbourne. |
| You can take a vehicle along with you on the ship. | | | | Seasons restaurant |
| However we had arranged to pick up a | | | | We had a lovely lunch in the Seasons restaurant. I |
| pre-booked rental car on arrival in Tasmania. | | | | had ravioli with porcini mushrooms in arrabiata |
| We were dropped off at the Port Melbourne | | | | sauce. Greg tucked into mediterranean risotto |
| terminal around 7.30am. The departure was | | | | with pumpkin. We shared dessert - ice cream |
| scheduled for 9am. It was so thrilling to see the | | | | with Tasmanian berries. Everything was just |
| Spirit of Tasmania I waiting there for us. | | | | yummy. That sea air builds up a good appetite |
| First impressions | | | | they say. Perfect for enjoying delicious food. |
| On first boarding we found ourselves at the foot | | | | Rocked to sleep |
| of an escalator. It sure seemed like we were in a | | | | After lunch, we retired to our Ocean View |
| building rather than on a ship! We explored the | | | | Recliners, for a nap. Getting comfortable with the |
| surrounds - found the eateries, bars, shops, | | | | supplied pillow and blanket felt so good. We were |
| cinema, games room and just made sure we | | | | able to recline the seat quite a bit, more than I |
| knew how to get around. There was even a | | | | expected. So it was pretty easy to catch 40 |
| children's playroom where some little ones were | | | | winks as the movement of the vessel rocked us |
| already having a good old time! | | | | to sleep. We felt very refreshed when we |
| The journey begins | | | | awoke. |
| Going by the numbers that came out on deck, | | | | Almost there |
| leaving Port Melbourne was considered a special | | | | Land ahoy - we could see Tasmania! This was |
| occasion. As the ship moved away, we watched | | | | getting even more exciting. I watched the |
| Port Melbourne get smaller and smaller. We | | | | beautiful island draw nearer and nearer. |
| passed lots of sailboats happily enjoying the good | | | | Devonport looked oh-so-lovely as we slowly |
| sailing weather. | | | | headed for the dock. When we had berthed we |
| For breakfast we got a couple of croissants and | | | | stayed on deck for a while watching the ship |
| coffee from the cafe/bar on Deck 9. We ate out | | | | workers do their jobs. Soon the first cars started |
| on deck so we could enjoy the magnificent views. | | | | to drive off the vessel. |
| In fact throughout the trip we found it hard to | | | | It was over, but we had thoroughly enjoyed our |
| stay away from the deck areas. | | | | Spirit of Tasmania trip. What a great way to start |
| Passing the Spirit of Tasmania II | | | | what we knew would be yet another fun-filled |
| It was announced over the intercom that we | | | | holiday on this treasure of an island. |
| would be passing through the Port Phillip Bay | | | | |