Great Lauri - glad all worked out and Hyatt sounds sweet-

Well we are now in LAX only FOUR hours to our next flight we will drag out our movies on our computers to fill in the time.

Had an issue with our seats and when they disappeared we requested 16A and 16B upstairs on the 747. These are supposed to be the best seats on the plane according to seat guru with more room in the front as it is an exit row and a TV monitor in the seat rather than in the headrest of the seat in front of you. Could not be confirmed until we got here but we got them! Now the only challenge is carrying Ken's computer/camera bag up that narrow spiral staircase.

We have the opportunity to meet some clients that we have never met before they are "reboarding the ship" in Sydney after disembarking and hope to enjoy lunch with them on board Tuesday 16th as long as we are not delayed in any way. Looking forward to that.

So happy to see the pictures of the Navigator arriving in Sydney cant wait to board the ship.

The rain continues to fall but it hasn't melted me yet! I went to the Aquarium and Wildlife World, both of which were very enjoyable and not very crowded. I got to pet a koala and get my photo taken with him. He did try to pee on me, just about the only bit of unfriendliness vie encountered. I took the ferry back which was really wonderful. The harbor is beautiful even in the rain. Just relaxing for a bit now, then I'm off to find something for dinner. Here's hoping there will be some sun tomorrow.

Even with the rain, we had a wonderful time in Sydney. Went to the Taronga Zoo this AM and only had the rain near the end. (of course, it continued the rest of the day!)
Andi managed to make new friends there.

Doug

Almost ready for bed. I ran into Mark and Cheron before dinner, then Doug after dinner. I just stayed here for dinner, as it's hard to top the view. At dusk the bats fly out of the botanical garden and these are BIG bats. Like if my cats could fly.
Looking forward to seeing everyone else tomorrow!

So many reports and pics, thank you Dingbat posters!!!

Thanks everyone, looks like things are starting to come together for you early arrivals.

I can't quite figure out how to post photos here so I've started a site to put them.
Www.lbctravelpics.shutterfly.com

I'm going to try to go back to sleep now!

So happy to be hearing from all the dingbats and loving the photos. Will have real peace of mind knowing Ngaire and Ken don't have any delays.

I LOVE seamail !!

The sun is up and so am I. It's still overcast but the rain has stopped. I'm going to head out for a walk and see if I can find those bats!

Thanks for all the great posts and photos everyone! This is very exciting!!

Just back from my walk around the Circular Quay, Opera House and Botanical gardens. I found the bats, and they are huge and noisy! Also saw cockatoos and lorakeets flying around, commuters arriving for the workday on the ferries and now am listening to the announcements from the Navigator which I can hear pretty clearly from my balcony! I'll try to add some more pics soon.

Thanks for all the reports. It will be so great for you all.

Reading all of these posts has been great. I love the pictures, too!

We just boarded the lovely Navigator after 3 days in Sydney. Would have written something before now but it was 55 cents/minute on the internet at the Hilton! We did the Bondi Beach and City Hop On Hop Off bus tours - great way to see everything, the Taronga Zoo, took the train to the Blue Mountains and have walked the Opera House/Botanical Gardens. We wanted to do the Grand Pacific Drive but was extremely expensive to get a driver and just couldn't figure out how to do it. As everyone has said, we were very surprised how expensive everything is ($48 for buffet breakfast at the Hilton). We had 2 great dinners at Darling Harbor - I'm Angus for steak and a wonderful Italian restaurant. I had the best lasagna I have ever had...also had a yummy eggs benedict at The Victorian shopping complex across from the Hilton ... and I almost forgot - pancakes at McDonalds.
Sure hoping Ngaire and Ken make it!

OH I love pancakes at McD!!!!!! Name of Italian with lasagna????

Finally, on ship. Had lunch. And several drinks already, naturally. Off to cabin for short nap and to try to make sense of my luggage and clothing. Sea day tomorrow so will catch up then. 2 waiters greeted me with, "It's the Pina Colada lady. She's finally back." Kim & Alice, I know you will love that.
Ballet - remind me to tell you about it. Sorry no more time right now
Might miss the sail away but have taken 2 ferries that show the same view. How often can I photograph the Opera House and Bridge? It's time to move on.
Met Cheron and Mark on board and Lauri also. They are still out seeing the Sydney sights since they haven't been here many days. Ngaire and Ken here sans luggage, but they are here and the pins are wonderful. So hard to say goodbye to Lee.
Great news that Seth is back on the Navigator. He was so pleased to see us all. How nice to know he will be working the CR. Just a taste of great things to come. It is close to being able to start a new topic....DINGO Seamail. My luggage calls.

BON VOYAGE ..

Oh how cool is that! Sail away was amazing. The whole afternoon was amazing. I'm definitely coming back here!
The Internet is spotty...I've lost a few posts, hope this one makes it.

DINGOS, I'm lovin' your SeaMail! Glad you are on the ship. Let the PARTY begin!!!!

Keep having fun!

Kiwi Kruzer, what a great series of shots.

To all the Dingbats, enjoy your cruise! Ngaire, sorry to hear about your lugagge.

Have a great cruise. Hope Ngaire's luggage finds her soon!

The sailaway sounds wonderful. Keep that seamail coming!!!

Luggage arrived just before departure. Happy to hear that DING DONG at the door at 5.30 pm!

So great to see everyone last night we spent most of our time together on the deck outside. A little overcast but warm and not too windy. Sandra Bowern is on board and did the commentary and it always makes me happy to see her.

Dinner last night was good with an Australian fish that I really like called barramundi. I had that for an appetizer and it was yummy. For a main I had a nice slice of prime rib. A perfect start to a what I am sure will be many delightful dinners.

Lots of new faces for me aboard the ship with the General Manager, F&B and Dining Room Managers being people I have not sailed with before. Met them briefly last night and instantly liked them all so I think they will be great to work with. Sometimes new is good, we like to sail with people we know but at some point EVERYONE was new.

Captain John McNeil is on until Auckland, and of course he is wonderful and will draw the 2011 cruise winner at our cocktail party on the 20th. There are some others in the senior staff that are always a pleasure to see. I feel right at home and delighted to be on the Navigator again.

Seas calm today and the sun is shining we are looking forward to our first day at sea. Today they are featuring an "international" lunch on deck. Looks like some good lectures coming up.

Luggage is always good, have a great trip.

Thanks so much for those wonderful sail away photographs David. They made up for me not staying in the city to see Navigator sail.

Ngaire - Glad to hear your luggage arrived. You would soldier on no matter what! No 'rack of lamb' for tea? It was lovely to see you again - only wish they hadn't made me leave the ship. I only had one Brandy Alexander - one too many for me apparently!

To my 'Sydney Sisters' - thanks for a great time - have a wonderful cruise. Now you might at least get some correct information from a real tour guide!

Lee

Great reports so far and fantastic pictures!

Have a wonderful trip

Susan

Joanna - I wish I could remember the name of the Italian restaurant, but as you walk over the bridge from downtown Sydney and down the stairs to Darling Harbor it is the first restaurant at the bottom of the stairs. I believe it is right next to "I"m Angus" steakhouse. IMHO, the lasagna was THE best I have ever had - but like everywhere else in Sydney, pricey.

Thanks!!!!

Aahh, a nice sea day to relax after I spent yesterday running around like a headless chicken. unfortunately I still keep waking up at 4 am. So a nap will be in order for this afternoon. I'm having a fantastic time seeing old friends and meeting new ones. I met the captain this morning....he's quite the cutie!
The internet connection in my room seems flaky, I've lost a few seamails already...hope this one makes it.

You say he's a "cutie"? Ask him if he'll be our Captain on FUN2 ;) :D

He is a cutie and love those kilts!

Dingbats, if your internet connection is iffy, make sure you highlight your seamail and then right click on it and choose copy before you hit the post message button! That way, if your post is lost in cyberspace you can right click on the place where your type and choose paste and your words will be there again just like magic
This way sure beats opening up word to pretype your message!

Thanks for the advice Karen, how does that work on an iPad? I may have to switch to my netbook.

Ahhh... We're sailing now! Pace yourself, Betty!

Lauri, sounds like you have all your toys with you!

Hope all the dingbats are enjoying their sea day!

Lauri - on your iPad compose your post in the reply area, then press on the beginning of it and select all, then select copy. Then proceed to add your reply as usual to LCT. If you lose the connection before your post is uploaded just start again, press in the message box and select paste and your message will be back without retyping.

I've given up on the iPad (yes, I have that, the iPhone and the netbook....I AM a NERD). The netbook works better, the iPad is more fun.

I've now moved to the new (and improved?) thread

A belated farewell to Sydney and to our wonderful guide and friend, Lee. Lee, your city is easy to love, but you made it doubly so.

Will now switch to the Dingo string for the rest of the trip.

Leaving NY's JFK on November 11, We arrived in Sydney on November 13 and boarded our ship, Regent's Navigator, yesterday afternoon, November 16. Reflecting on our 4 days in Sydney, we found the city both beautiful and terribly expensive, even for a New Yorker.

One of our traveling companions, who is even more extensively traveled than we are, stated that, next to Rio, it offers one of the most gorgeous harbors he has even seen. It is extensive, yet transportation is readily available in terms of ferries, monorails, trains, and buses. Nothing seems farther than an hour away. The wildlife and outdoor activities are abundant and we barely scratched the surface. We woke up early on the 15th and headed for our balcony overlooking the harbor and the Sydney Opera House. We took lots of photos along with other guests all decked out in Park Hyatt robes, cameras in hand. We smiled to one another and said "hello." While rain had been forecast, and the air was cooler but heavy with moisture, we decided to head out early. Doug wasn't keen on climbing the bridge, but still wanted a good view of the city. The price for a climb was a hefty $200 per person and the thought of climbing it in the heat of the two prior days or in rain today, made me back off from nagging him to do it with me. We stopped and picked up a wonderful almond croissant at a French cafe, La Renaissance, and then we headed to walk across the bridge at a lower level and go up the pylon vantage point. We took a couple of wrong turns before finding out that the pylon was not open until 10. Since it was only 8 something, we decided to go to the zoo.

The first boat out was at 9:45, with the zoo opening at 10. The cost of an entrance ticket to the zoo is a hefty $43 per person, and you still have to get there. You can take a Captain Cook's tour or a ferry for a 12 minute ride or a 30 minute bus ride. The cost of a ticket on Captain Cook was $49 pp, so we opted for that. There is another wildlife park, which is indoors near Sydney as well as a Koala Sanctuary, where you can pet the koalas. Some of our cruising friends went to the other spots, but those will have to wait for our return trip. We ran back to the room to pick up my Disney rain poncho and an umbrella. Doug hates carrying anything other than his camera, so took the umbrella grudgingly. We were among the first to arrive at the zoo ( Aside: I am writing this outside on the Navigator pool deck and this guy is snoring so loudly I can't think. I'd like to hit him and tell him to roll over...what do ya think?) and took the 5 minute sky car to the top. Underneath us we watched the new baby elephants playing and chimps napping. Once at the top, we made a beeline to the koala bears. There were about three of them sitting in nooks of tree branches, backs braced against one branch And their foreheads braced against another. One woke up, looked at us to let us know he wasn't a stuffed animal, scratched, looked at us again and fell as quickly back into his sleeping position as he came out of it. We noted the signs that stated that these bears were in an drunken stupor, spending most of their time sleeping, brought on by their diet of eucalyptus. However, we were told that they are really just all looks and no brains (they have incredibly little brains), with such a slow metabolism, that they sleep about 20 hours per day just to metabolize the eucalyptus leaves. We moved on from these furry airheads to the Wild Australia area to get our fill of local animals. The platypuses were boring, but the kangaroos, especially the wallabies, were inquisitive and friendly. The little Tasmanian devils were quite frenetic, a stark contrast to the koalas. The wombats, Australia's answer to the groundhog (whose slow movement and girth can ruin a front ar fender), are the size of pigs, but being nocturnal, were not terribly thrilling. We spent time wandering around enclosures which allowed for lots of up close encounters with red kangaroos, grey kangaroos and the little wallabies. Then the rain came down! We took a few rides on the sky car and then hopped the next boat back to Sydney and stopped for lunch at a local pub. We tried to take a tour of the opera house, but the tours were booked, everyone else having the same idea of a great way to avoid the rain. So, we booked a tour for 9am the next day and wandered back to relax and change into dry dinner clothes. That night we had a great meal at Sailor Thai.

The next morning, we stopped by my new favorite patisserie and then wandered over to the opera house tour. We realized that the opera house was really a performing arts center, offering Shakespeare, comedy, ballet, theater and even Oprah Winfrey with Oprah's upcoming show being the hardest ticket to get at this venue. Surprisingly to us, the opera house is older than we thought being first realized as a concept back in 1959. Most of the original drawings were very 50s and, at the final moment, the judging panel decided on the vision we know today. It was originally projected to be complete in three years and 7 million dollars. Due to design issues that had not been well thought out, it wasn't completed until 1973 and $102 million dollars later. The Essential tour gives you the history as well as some front and backstage views of the opera house. The tour is $40 per person, but you can receive discounts through coupons in airport books or by saying you are retired. The ultimate cost for a one hour tour was $27 pp. After the tour, we walked through the lovely botanical garden next door-- a bargain being FREE! Here, we found wild birds in their natural habitats, eg, lorakeets and cockatoos, as well as the beautiful gardens abutting the harbor. We needed to get back to pack and move to the ship so, unfortunately, we had to cut our walk short.

So, in retrospect, what do I recommend in Sydney? If you like walking tours, the 1 hour The Rocks tour is interesting as is the 1 hour Opera House tour. We also enjoyed our 2 hour Captain Cook coffee tour was enjoyable as was the botanical gardens walk. I would have climbed the bridge if the weather was perfect and I felt that the $200 pp could not have been better spent. I heard someone say her 84 year old mother did it and folks even did it in the pouring rain. The zoo was also a fun way to pass the day. The ferry and walk around Manly was relaxing.

I would like to return. Knowing now what i know, I would visit the wildlife park, which is indoors, so it is good for hot or inclement weather. No one we knew visited the koala sanctuary, but that could be fun too. Other options also include the hoho bus or the hoho ferry. I would probably try to see something at the Opera House if anything grabbed my fancy. In good weather, the Blue Mountains would make a good day trip. As far as food, most folks liked fish and chips kiosks, Doyles in one of the harbors, Pony in The Rocks area, Aria pre-theater or post-theater prix fix, Sailor Thai and the delicious La Renaissance patisserie. I'm sure there are many other good places but these are the only ones I picked up during our short time there. As far as hotels, nothing seemed farther than 10 minutes, all were walkable and were close to public transportation. Everyone we met was very satisfied with accommodations. The Hyatt has a superb location and excellent service. We loved it.

There seem to be two key areas which are about 10 minutes from one another. One is near the Circular Quay (harbor) and the other is the downtown area, in the shopping district.

As far as museums, I only saw three. All were free. One was the Discovery Museum, which was very small and hadn't too much of note. Another was an historic home, also tiny. The third was the Contemporary Art Museum, which I didn't see and can't comment on. There is also a museum in one of the bridge pylons, which is included in the price of your pylon climb.

Be prepared for sticker shock. Lunches easily hit $40 if you sat down and dinners were always in excess of $100. Tours, while good, were also expensive. The Hyatt, without Stay coupons, started at $800 per night with no breakfast.

We were driven by the Hyatt free of charge to the port, which we could have walked in less than 5 minutes. Our sail away day had turned to sunshine. Standing in line, who popped us behind us but Ngaire and Ken? We continued to keep bumping into LCTers...we ran into Marc and Cheron at lunch an Lauri in the hotel. The muster was at 5:15 and we set sail about 6, accompanied by a Sandra Bowen commentary. All of the Dingbats stood together to enjoy our farewell to Sydney. Sadly saying goodbye to Sydney, we took in the picture perfect sail away, looking forward to the real start to our vacation but eager to return to Sydney again.