What it’s like to cruise around the world
Harry Phillips has checked off all the locations he dreamed to visit as a little boy growing up in Sydney – and he’s done it all by cruising.
Harry has enjoyed a 75-night cruise around the Pacific and a 104-day cruise around the world and recommends cruising as a fun and convenient way to travel the globe.
“I was just amazed the sights I saw on my cruise around the world. I saw places I had only read about, United States, Europe, Arabian Gulf, Asia, just so many great ports,” he tells Over60.
Harry first got a taste for travelling on the sea when he embarked on a cruise around the Pacific on the Sun Princess.
“The most memorable day was when we organised a mock wedding with the crew help. It had a cake and we held the wedding on the back deck. We had a friend dress as a minister, I was the MC and there were groomsmen and bridesmaids. It was a beautiful day, about 80 people turned up and thought it was for real,” he recalls.
Two years later, his passion for exploring the world had not abated so Harry embarked on his second cruise on the Dawn Princess where he travelled around the globe.
“I'm a widower and so is my lady friend and we both like warm weather. Those two years we were away from the cold weather,” he says.
Some of his friends joined the two as they sailed from England to Sydney but “missed some great ports in America.”
Breaking expectations
Not everyone thought Harry’s adventure was a good idea. But Harry prove them wrong. He believes cruising reduces the majority of stresses that comes with travelling.
“Friends said I was mad to be on a ship that long but most of the time you’re ashore all day sightseeing and only come back aboard to eat and sleep. Then you wake up in a different port. I tell them it's like traveling the world with a great hotel following you,” he says.
“It’s the best way to see the world. You get on in Sydney unpack and have a drink while you sail away to see the world. You don't have to worry where to eat or stay, no worries about the weight of your bags. You see some of the best places in the world and I can tell you sailing into Sydney after 104 nights away is the most beautiful sight in the world.”
For Harry, cruising the world is the prefect holiday. He can’t think of any negative aspects to his experience. The sheer excitement of looking forward to what he would see in the next port they stopped at made his day, every day.
Many highlights
Harry has taken away many highlights from his cruises – from visiting Normandy, to being stunned by the French country side and watching the changing of the guards in a palace in Monte Carlo.
“One of our most memorable nights on board was on the formal night when we were invited to a private party by the Head Maitre D, his name was Rui. it was a birthday dinner for the first officer and there were two officers, another couple and us. It was a feast with jumbo prawns, lobster tails and we had flaming Bombe Alaska dessert,” he recalls.
“It was a fabulous night, the wine flowed and we would only take a sip out of our glasses and the waiters would top it up. For the life of me I never realised why we were invited but we seemed to get along with Rui. He was very suave Italian, always immaculately dressed, not a hair out of place and to me he looked like he just stepped out of The Sopranos.”
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