Queen Mary 2 in Sydney Harbour

In spite of the world’s economic woes, the cruise industry seems to be resilient. It’s the fastest-growing segment of the tourism industry. A berth on the Queen Mary 2 for a world cruise costs between $25,029 and $385,369.

Queen Mary 2 is in Sydney on its maiden 101-day world voyage.

The ship is way too big to berth at the usual ports of Darling Harbour or Circular Quay and has to dock at the naval yard at Garden Island.

To give you an idea of the size of the vessel, the 80 foot Sydney Harbour charter boat “Commissioner II” is seen alongside QM2 here.

Sydney Harbour Dinner Cruise

Commissioner II is driven by two Mercedes-Benz diesels and is whisper quiet. She features a versatile combination of entertaining areas – an opulent saloon, spacious dining area, expansive bridge deck and ample exterior deck space – all with unimpeded views of the Harbour.

A new state-of-the-art audio visual system includes a retractable 40″ LCD screen, integrated with digital TV, onboard PC, Ipod-compatible surround sound system and cordless microphones.

Formal Dinner Menu

$101.50 per person

Canapés (Choice of 6)

Peking duck pancakes with cucumber and hoi sin – tied with a chive
Blue swimmer crab tarts with green mango, coriander and salmon roe
Skewered king prawns with chilli, ginger and coriander
Parmesan shortbread with creamed goat’s cheese and red onion marmalade
Soft Vietnamese rice paper rolls with Asian vegetables, avocado and mint
Shitake & field mushroom, pine nut and spinach wrapped in Lebanese pastry with aioli
Natural Sydney rock oysters served in a Chinese soup spoon with a squeeze of lime and cracked pepper
Assorted platters of sushi and nori with wasabi, pickled ginger and fermented soy
Quail egg Florentine – a quail egg with English spinach and hollandaise in a tartlet
Char-grilled asparagus wrapped in thinly sliced prosciuto with hollandaise
Crisp potato roestis with rare roast rump of lamb, caramelised eschalots and eggplant relish

Mains

(Two Choices Served Alternatively)

Veal cutlet with olive and lemon crushed potatoes, deep fried sage leaves and broad beans
Roast spatchcock with a shitake mushroom and sesame tartlet and celeriac mash
Baked snapper fillet with salmon mousse, asparagus and vermouth beurre blanc
Crisp skin duck breast with potato gallette, caramelized mandarins and cinnamon
Crisp skinned salmon with tempura prawn and parsnip mash and a wasabi, soy, sesame dressing
Roast eye fillet of beef with sugar snap peas, sweet potato and ginger puree & beetroot chips
Steamed snapper fillet in a mussel, prawns and saffron broth with wilted greens
Bowls of steamed young vegetables on the table

Dessert

Warm chocolate pudding with clotted cream and poached strawberries
Liquorice parfait with candied lime and ginger tuille
Seasonal berry English custard tart with strawberry coulis
Individual Pavlovas with vanilla cream, strawberries, kiwis and passionfruit and raspberry coulis
Belgian chocolate tart with raspberries and vanilla bean icecream
Buttermilk and vanilla pudding with red fruit compote and mint
Individual cheese and fruit platters

Tea & Coffee

Informal buffets are also catered for. Like this one –

The Deluxe Buffet
$75.00 per person

Canapés

Bocconcini, Tomato and fresh Basil Tarts

Steamed Scallops and Chive Wontons

Zucchini and haloumi fritters

Spicy Chicken skewers with Peanut Coconut Sauce

The Buffet

Whole side of crispy skinned Ocean Trout with accompanied by Snow Peas in a light Japanese dressing

Salad of char-grilled Eggplant, Zucchini, red Capsicum, Kumara and Rocket splashed with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar and topped with soft Goats Cheese and toasted Pinenuts

Rosemary and garlic marinated French trimmed Lamb Cutlets with caramelized carrot and roast beetroot

Large Ocean King Prawns peeled to the tail with Lime Aioli

Platters of Sydney Rock Oysters with Lime and Lemon wedges

Persian rice salad with lentils, chickpeas, dates, almonds, cardamom and roast chilli with a mildly smoked eggplant, lemon and yoghurt dressing

Green Salad with Avocado, Cucumber, Grape Tomatoes and a Coriander & Mint dressing

Bread Rolls and Butter

Dessert

Variety of sweet Tartlets – Chocolate Tiramisu cups; Lime and coconut tartlets; Belgian chocolate and caramel shortbread tarts

Australian Cheese Platter including Cheddar, Brie and Blue with Water Crackers

Tea and Coffee

Does that get your taste-buds going? Cruising Sydney Harbour on Commissioner II dining on freshly-caught Australian seafood and the finest Australian meat and poultry.

The 90,000-tonne liner, halfway through a world voyage, arrived at Circular Quay on a rare overnight visit to Sydney.

The National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) officially launched their 2010 fundraising target of $17-million at an exclusive cocktail event onboard Queen Victoria.

Queen Victoria in the Pink.

Queen Victoria to Turn Pink

One of the world’s largest cruise ships, the Queen Victoria, will turn pink while in Sydney Harbour, to draw attention to breast cancer research.

The liner will visit Sydney Harbour on Friday February 19, playing host to the National Breast Cancer Foundation’s (NBCF) launch of its 2010 fundraising campaign that night.

Shipowners, Cunard, says the Queen Victoria will be covered in pink lights from dusk on Friday, making for a spectacular sight on Circular Quay.

In other news, two superliners “Radiance of the Seas” and “Rhapsody of the Seas” – have announced they will be permanently based in Sydney from October 2011. Not pink.

Platinum spa deck

Normally the private domain of the super rich, Platinum is a 38M state of the art luxury floating resort set over three spacious levels.

For NYE09, Platinum will be putting out the red carpet for a select few revellers. Enjoy expansive views of sensational Sydney Harbour on a New Years Eve celebration. Enjoy a gourmet cocktail-style menu all evening. Indulge in a glass of bubbly as you welcome in the New Year.

Inclusions:

* 5-hour Sydney Harbour cruise
* Gourmet cocktail-style meal
* Beer, wine, sparkling wine & soft drinks
* DJ and dancefloor
* “Front row seats” for the fireworks

Tickets: $750 per person

Call Flagship Cruises on (+61) 02 9555 5901

Or book online

Big Boat Challenge

Arguably the largest spectator fleet in the history of the race assembled on Sydney Harbour to watch most of the fancied maxis for the Sydney-to-Hobart clash for the only time before Boxing Day.

Wild Oats XI led for most of the two-lap event, but was passed by Alfa Romeo after the last mark when it lost valuable time grappling with a twisted sail.

“Better today than Boxing Day,” Wild Oats XI owner Bob Oatley said.

Crichton was in less philosophical mood, describing the situation on the water as “absolutely ridiculous”.

He urged the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) and NSW Maritime to address the issue and said he wouldn’t contest the Challenge again unless he had assurances about tighter control of the spectator fleet.

“I can tell you there’s no way I would go in another race like that. Someone is going to get killed,” he said.

“We’re doing 20 knots coming to these marks and you can’t just stop.

“There was just no crowd control whatsoever. It was absolutely disgraceful.”

Despite his concerns, there were no reports of any collisions or incidents involving the 15 contestants and the spectator fleet.

CYCA officials said there had been at least three boats patrolling the race area.

“We can’t be everywhere, we are under the auspices of the NSW government, we can’t take over the harbour,” CYCA commodore Matt Allen said.

SydneyHarbourFireworksCruises

Here is my checklist of the top 5 things you should consider before booking any Sydney Harbour Cruise – for New Years or any other time.

1. What does the package include? I.e food, drink, music, etc?

This is very important to know from the beginning. On some boats, only beer and wine will be included, spirits will be an extra charge. If you are on a cruise you believe to be fully inclusive, it should be just that.

2. Are there any extra charges?

In some cases, depending on the wharf there may be an additional charge for the use of the wharf. With the busy traffic on Sydney Harbour, time slots are at a premium, so at most, the vessel will have 15 minute to embark and 15 minutes to disembark passengers.

3. Is the vessel safe and clean with a professional crew?

The best way to ensure you are with a safe and reputable company is to ask for feedback from previous companies. Are they positive/favourable? Is the company in good standing in the industry and experienced? Do they have a functioning website and customer service team? Not all cruise companies are created equally.

4. Which wharf will the boat be picking you up from?

This is important to know for arranging transportation to the wharf. With strict wharf time slots, it is imperative everyone arrives on time and knowing the where and how of the pickup point will help with this. If taking taxis, they should be called well in advance or if driving checking to ensure there is sufficient parking is advised.

5. What time will you need to be there?

On NYE especially, this is very important due to the congestion on the roads. If you are on the City/Eastern Suburbs side and need to get to NorthSydney for example, it will take a long time to get there.

Same also for after your cruise. If possible, I’d recommend driving to the pickup point and parking nearby as it is very hard to find a taxi after midnight. Most companies willcharge for additional time spent at wharves and if someone misses the boat, their only option will be to use a water taxi to transfer.

Paying close attention to my top 5 tips will ensure a memorable and stress-free Sydney Harbour Cruise. See you on the Harbour.

Harbour Cruise from Djuro Sen on Vimeo.

If you’re looking to charter a boat for Sydney Harbour cruise, give Captain Michael Davies at Flagship Cruises a call.

Sydney Harbour cruises on Commissioner II

“We would not consider any other cruise company when we have experienced the best on every occasion we book with Flagship Charters”

SAFILO aboard Commissioner II

“Absolutely wonderful. It was a pleasure to be looked after by such a great team”.

SOUTHCORP WINES aboard State of the Art

“Very well organised, food excellent and all arrangements could not have been better”.

STRANG INTERNATIONAL aboard Ambiance

“From the initial quotation through to the events of the night, I found the Flagship staff and the boat crew to be very accommodating with any requests and an absolute pleasure to deal with”

WARNER MUSIC aboard Commissioner II

“Great food, wine and service. Everything was excellent – our guests loved every minute”.

RESERVE BANK aboard Commissioner II

“Thank you for a fabulous and successful evening. Everyone was impressed (especially the clients!) and are hoping for a repeat night in the near future.”

ORION ASSET MANAGEMENT aboard Oceanos II

“Perfect weather. Perfect night. Perfect party. Perfect food and service. Perfect vessel. What more can we say – perfect!”

Rosemary – private party aboard A.Q.A.

“The cruise was excellent. Our overseas guests were very impressed with Sydney Harbour. The staff were friendly but discreet, and did their job without being intrusive. A number of guests indicated that it was the social highlight of their trip”.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE aboard State of the Art

“Our very valued clients were most impressed. This was the sort of upmarket function we wanted to have and your company excelled in delivering the service. We will not hesitate to recommend your company & services. Please thank your team on our behalf.”

THAI AIRWAYS onboard Commissioner II

“Could not fault a thing”

USANA aboard Commissioner II

“We have chartered five different vessels over the last 10 years and the Commissioner II has been by far the best for comfort, layout – in fact everything. You know you have had a great time when 4 hours goes by so fast. Couldn’t recommend it higher.”

DTS Communicate onboard Commissioner II