My bride and I are on the Oct '05 Singapore to Sydney jaunt, also escorted by Ngaire and Ken. Looks like an interesting itinerary, with a good mix of port and sea days. We've been to both ends of that segment, but only to Cannes in between, so it looks really good to us.

Next, we're signed up to leave the ship in Sydney for two weeks, touring Australia and New Zealand on our own before re-joining the Mariner in Auckland to cruise back to Los Angeles. That one has a lot of sea days, however, including six days in a row on the final stretch into LA, so we may forgo it. The lady worries I'll get too fat with all that time to eat and no interest in the workout facilities. And she's right!

By the way, we have it on very solid authority that 30% of the Mariner's cabins will be "upgraded" [IMHO] to walk-in showers during the ship’s lay-up next month, so those will be available if you book early enough. NO MORE CROCHING TO SHOWER! Hip! Hip! Hurray!