Post-Cruise Update

I am back home after the 10th Unlock the Past Genealogy Cruise to New Zealand and Southern Australia, and slowly settling back into my usual routine.  While the cruise was hugely enjoyable, I managed to come down with hay fever and a chest infection on Day 2, and have dragged slightly since.  Illness and lack of decent internet access mean I haven't kept up my blog during the cruise, so hopefull over the next few days I will pull my notes together and report a bit more in-depth.  Overall the cruise was great - excellent speakers with 79 sessions that you could attend, with no two sessions on at the same time, so there was no need to look at the agenda and sigh because you couldn't be in two places at once.  A good mix of Australian and international speakers covered a broad range of topics, and despite frequently being told a speaker's notes would be available I have almost filled my notebook with their words of wisdom. 

The Celebrity Solstice

 As I have said before, I love GeneaCruising - board the ship, unpack once, visit several places and do what you like on the in-port days and a great conference to attend on the at-sea days.  Someone else cooks, cleans and makes the bed, travel takes care of itself while you are off having fun, and there are plenty of people with similar interests to talk to.  Ports of call this trip were Auckland (our starting point), Bay of Islands, Tauranga, Wellington, Akaroa, Dunedin, touring through Dusky, Doubtful and Milford Sounds, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Fremantle (where we disembarked).  Some people found an 18 night cruise a bit long, and although I must admit I was ready for my own bed by the end it was still a great trip, and I would happily go again (without the illness).
So if you are thinking about Genea-Cruising, visit Unlock the Past's Cruises website and check out what is coming up.