Sydney Highlights & Boarding the Discovery Princess

Sydney Highlights & Boarding the Discovery Princess

The land tour portion of our trip had come to an end, which meant it was time to say goodbye to our wonderful tour guide, Mel.

But first, we had one more day to enjoy some of the highlights of Sydney.

We started the morning with another wonderful breakfast buffet provided by the Paradox Hotel. Then we climbed aboard the coach one last time—this time with all of our luggage loaded with us.

Our First Look at the Ship

After being dropped off near the harbor and walking toward the Sydney Opera House, we caught our first glimpse of the ship we would be calling home for the next two weeks: the beautiful Discovery Princess.

She is a beauty.

Touring the Sydney Opera House

Our first official stop was touring the Sydney Opera House itself. What an incredible place.

Learning about the number of people involved in bringing this vision to life was fascinating. I also realized on this trip how much I love tours that use headphones for the guides—no shouting required, and you control your own volume. It makes such a difference.

At one point I was standing in front of a wall covered with wood slats thinking, this looks very Danish.
Sure enough, one of the creators of the Opera House was Jørn Utzon, a Danish architect.

We were able to step inside the Concert Hall, which was absolutely magnificent. It’s the largest performance space in the Opera House and houses a 10,000-pipe grand organ.

Those magenta “petals” hanging from the ceiling? They’re actually acoustic petals, designed to improve sound distribution throughout the hall.

Sydney Opera House - Concert Hall

We were also allowed into another performance space where staff were working on stage, though photos weren’t permitted there.

Another surprising detail: the entire Opera House is covered in self-cleaning tiles, carefully designed and placed so the building essentially cleans itself.

One Last Photo with Mel

As we were leaving, we made sure to take a photo with Mel.
She had been such a wonderful guide and truly helped make the land tour portion of this trip special.

Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair

Next we visited Mrs Macquarie's Chair, which offers one of the best views of the Sydney skyline and harbor.

Legend says the chair was carved for Lady Macquarie, who would sit there watching the harbor, hoping to spot ships arriving from Britain.

The view from there really is spectacular.

Bondi Beach

From there we headed to Bondi Beach.

This stop felt bittersweet. Just a month earlier there had been a tragic terrorist attack during a Hanukkah celebration that claimed fifteen lives. It was humbling to stand there knowing what had happened so recently.

At the same time, it’s impossible not to notice how beautiful the beach is. A wide stretch of white sand right in a major city—it’s easy to imagine people finishing work and heading straight to the water.

We wandered through some of the nearby shops before sitting on a bench for a while, just watching the waves and the people enjoying the beach.

Boarding the Ship

Our final coach ride took us back to the pier where it was time to board the Discovery Princess.

After our thank-yous and goodbyes to Mel, it was time to step aboard.

The first stop was our muster station to get the safety check-in done right away. After that we headed to our room.

We had the Princess Medallion, which turned out to be a pretty cool concept. As you approach your cabin, the door unlocks automatically, and the screen outside even greets you with your photo.

After unpacking, we headed out to grab something to eat before the sail-away party. And yes… my drink was enormous.

Since we ate so late, we ended up missing dinner with our Travel with Mandy Loo group because we were busy trying to learn our way around the ship.

It had been a long day, so we decided to turn in early.

Tomorrow… the cruise adventure truly begins.