Travelin' Fullers Blog: Queen Mary 2 -- sailed from Sydney enroute to Brisbane, Australia

Our trip started out from Miami on Tuesday, the 11th and we landed in Sydney on Thursday, the 14th at 7 am. It was a bit of a dicey start, because the plane out of Miami was delayed 2 hours! When we landed in LA, we had 25 minutes to get to the next terminal an board our flight to Sydney. I didn't think we had a prayer of making it, but they held the plane for us. Kudos to American/Quantas personnel who met us as we stepped off the plane. They put Mary in a wheel chair and whisked us off to an awaiting shuttle which drove us across the Tarmac to the new terminal. Once inside, there was an awaiting cart that sped us down the hall to the next gate! We were the last three passengers to board but we made it and so did our luggage. The plane left about 30 minutes late, but we still arrived about 20 minutes early into Sydney. ( Must have had a great tail wind)!

Once in Sydney we cleared Customs and immigration quickly and easily. There was a driver waiting to take us to the hotel where our friend, Arlene, was waiting to meet us in the lobby. We decided to have a second breakfast while waiting for our room to be ready. At breakfast, Bill and Arlene decided they would go do the climb to the top of the Sydney Bridge. Mary and I decided to watch and photo this event from our suite which had magnificent views of the Sydney Harbor and the bridge!

Bill and Arlene climbed the 1400 steps to the top of the bridge. You can climb the bridge 24/7. The only time you are not allowed up is the 2 days before New Years when they are setting the fireworks and during lighting storms.. Congrats to our intrepid bridge climbers!

After catching up on our sleep, we boarded the Queen Mary 2 yesterday. We have a lovely suite and find ourselves hanging out here a lot. There have been a few internet hiccups which we hope to have resolved soon. I am working on my blog. Duffy is napping. Bill is reviewing the instructions on his camera and Arlene is back with the computer tech hoping to resolve email issues!

So far the food has been excellent. Tonight is our first formal night --- the Black and White Ball. Tomorrow we dock in Brisbane and have a full day tour scheduled. Internet can be a hit slow and it isn't very good while we are in port I'm told so I'm posting today! Back when I have more photos and information!