Yes, I know there's an international forum here but it seems pretty dead.
We will be taking "The Overland" from Melbourne to Adelaide in early April and I was wondering if anyone here has ridden this route?
We did "The Ghan" in 2001 from Sydney to Alice Springs and enjoyed it very much. This is just a day trip but we are looking forward to it as well.
It's part of a nine day hiatus in Australia between 2 back to back cruises (Hong Kong to Singapore and Singapore to Sydney) and one from Sydney to New Zealand, French Polynesia and Hawai'i.
At this point this is the only rail portion we have planned.
Frank in dark and finally cool again SBA
Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
We're home! This was truly the "Trip of a Lifetime" and it went surprisingly well with on time, comfortable flights, no surprises on hotels, good to great food along the way, excellent cruises on beautiful ships and lots of new friendships made.
Our only disappointment was the cancellation of our overnight call in Bali. There was significant, reliable information suggesting a terrorist event while we would be there and, in an abundance of caution for the vessel, the passengers and the crew, Celebrity cancelled the port. We had an extra day in Singapore and an extra half day and overnight in Darwin, N.T.
We road public bus and rail transit in Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, and Melbourne. All were very good and, generally, free in the Central Business Districts.
Our trip on "The Overland" was very good. It reminded us a bit of taking the Daylight to San Francisco in the SP days. Meal and drink service was available at our seats in "Red Premium" class. The plan is to make that class all inclusive soon to match the service offered on "The Ghan" and "The Indian-Pacific".
We are home for awhile but I'm sure another adventure will come up soon.
Frank in sunny and warm SBA
Posted by palmland (Member # 4344) on :
Meals at your seats seems to be gaining some favor these days on daylight trips. It certainly makes economic sense to avoid a dining car and since meals are no longer cooked on board, why not? Still, something special about having meals served to you in the diner.
Glad you had a good trip, Frank. An overnight trip on an Australian train is still on our bucket list. What is your feeling about the mega ships? The ship in the news, I believe it was the Adonia, that went to Havana carried only 700, a much more enjoyable size.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
Simply because Love Tubs are in my past, and can jolly well stay there, it is not my place to dissuade anyone here from partaking of the experience.
Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
GBN--
We have sailed on both of the Azamara sisters to M/V Adonia and if she is anything like them I think even you would enjoy the cruise. Both of these former Renaissance ships (That's where the "R" comes in.) have recently been given complete makeovers and we are looking forward to sailing on them soon.
Palmland--
"The Overland, because it is a day train, has only a cafe car. The other two longer distance trains have full service diners. The food, served at our seats, was quite good -- far better than anything we've ever had on AMTRAK.
Two of our cruises this time were on Millennium Class ships with right about 2,000 people. The third was on a Solstice Class ship (THE Solstice, as a matter of fact.) with about 2,800. There was really no noticeable difference after the first day or two. People find their way around and realize that there is a lot of public space available and that the Buffet is NOT the only place to eat without a surcharge.
Celebrity, our usual line of choice, has chose to go smaller (perhaps 2300pax) on the new "Edge" Class ships due in 2018/2020.
The paneling from RMS Olympic which graced the restaurant of the same name on Celebrity Millennium until about a week ago is being retained (Celebrity paid more than $1million for it 20 years ago.) for, hopefully, installation in one of the new ships.
One last thing about "The Overland". She and her sister trains all have new crew uniforms from R.M. Williams, the iconic Australian outfitter. The hats are from Akubra.