Rhonda Bracey: At Random

Before dawn, we spotted several other cruise ships nearby, all heading for Cozumel. Eventually, there were six in port for the day.

After seeing the dawn break over the ocean, breakfast was served in our room by Jemeesh at 6:30am. We were due to arrive in Cozumel at 8:00am, anchor for the day, departing at 5:00pm.

We were right on time, and those departing the ship met in the Riviera Lounge to get our tickets for the tenders. It all went very smoothly, and we grabbed a cab once we were onshore to take us to Nachi Cocom, a private beach resort some 20 km south of Cozumel.

Supposedly Nachi Cocom only takes 100 guests, but just after 9am, I did a quick head count of just those on the beach under the palapas (thatched shade structures) and in the water and there were already more than 60 people (they open at 9am and it’s not a hotel, so no-one can stay there overnight). More came over the next hour or so, so I think they lied about the ‘maximum 100 guests’. The US$55 rate is an all-inclusive rate, except it’s not. It includes all drinks (including alcoholic drinks) and food, use of the pool, beach palapas, and lounges, but not the water activities or the mats you can put on a sun lounge to protect your butt (US$7 per mat per day). We had no intention of drinking much or any alcohol, so that part was a bit wasted on us – not so on other guests, many of whom were well and truly getting into the booze in the hot sun at 9am…

When our lunch came (we ordered off a menu), it was a MASSIVE amount of food. And it all came at once, so we got everything we ordered served on one tray. The food was good, and the salsa was exceptional. However, the cheese enchiladas Sue ordered were actually chicken, so she couldn’t eat them.

Our waiter, Carlos, was serving too many people so we got missed for drinks (fruit juice and bottled water) several times, and our food remnants weren’t picked up as they were for others. If you were into drinking alcohol and eating LOTS of food, this place would be good value. While the location was perfect, I felt the lack of service and the possible exceedance of the 100-person limit detracted from the day.

The palapa we were under offered plenty of shade for this pale body.

As far as the beach goes, it was very clean, as was the crystal clear water—a picture-postcard perfect Caribbean beach.

On our return to the ship, we were served our afternoon canapes as we were leaving port (5pm), and then had dinner with two other ladies in Toscana, the specialty Italian restaurant. The food was excellent and the service was amazing. Similarly to the Polo Grill, Toscana offered a quintet selection of their desserts, which was a great way to have a taste of various delicious dessert offerings.

The ship was less smooth this evening – a small amount of rocking and rolling, but you get used to it. It’s very gentle for rocking you to sleep at night 😉

I was notified about 24 to 48 hours before my flight to Sydney that I’d received my points upgrade request to First Class on the long haul from Sydney to Dallas Fort Worth. Woohoo! I’ve travelled First Class between Australia and the US just once before (last March ), but that notification only came at the gate as I was boarding. This time I knew in advance, so was able to take advantage of the Qantas First Class Lounge–and all it had to offer–at Sydney International Airport.

What an experience that was!

As a First Class passenger, I could check in at any time on the day of departure. The flight left at 3:30pm, but I’d stayed overnight at the hotel at Rydges at the Sydney International Airport terminal (just 50 m from hotel reception to the departures check-in area), so I decided to check in early and take advantage of the First Class Lounge.

The day before, I’d booked a spa appointment (back massage) in the Lounge, so I knew that was going to happen. The rest of the day was mine to enjoy! And enjoy I did.

Check in for First is a whole new level of experience. In addition to extra luggage and very personalised service, you have a private area to fill in any immigration forms etc. as well as express passage through to immigration and security screening. Once airside you have access to the Qantas First Class Lounge.

That’s another level of experience altogether! There are the free spa treatments, restaurant-style meals served by wait staff at proper dining tables and chairs (none of this balancing food and drink on a tiny low table as you have to often do in the Business/Qantas Club lounges), fabulous food, sublimely quiet atmosphere, attentive service, and super comfy chairs. I’m sure there are other things too (like business meeting rooms) but I can only report on the things I tried/experienced.

My back massage was wonderful, the food was fabulous, and the entire experience was memorable.

Spa treatment room

Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon

Steak with chips

Mini pavlova in a glass, with pashmak!

Spicy salt and pepper squid

Heirloom tomatoes with buffalo mozzarella

Marble bathroom/shower in First Class lounge

Eventually it was time to board the flight to Dallas Fort Worth (that SYD to DFW flight is the longest commercial flight in the world, I believe, at an average of about 16 hours, though head or tail winds can add or subtract about 90 minutes either side of that estimated time).

As I had experienced First Class once before I knew pretty much what to expect—an area of only 14 individual and roomy ‘suites’, with fabulous food, lambswool mattresses, crisp cotton bed linen, plenty of space to store your stuff, etc.

Only 14 ‘suites’ in the First Class cabin

Despite all these accoutrements, I upheld my usual pattern of not sleeping on the flight. My best effort is very light cat napping. And so it was for this flight. There was NO turbulence at all (a first), which was a bonus, and we landed in Dallas after 14.5 hours flying time.

First Class gets no more or less privileges than anyone else on arrival into the US. However, we are first off the plane and thus to Customs and Border Protection. DFW has the automated kiosks for Visa Waiver countries and they were a breeze to operate. It took me 30 seconds to cross the border into the US!! First and Business Class bags come out on a different baggage carousel, and after collecting my bags, and getting through Customs (also super quick) I was in my hotel at the airport in less than 15 minutes after getting off the plane. That was a record for me!

Update: I got a First Class upgrade on the DFW to SYD flight home too! How lucky is that????

The ladies at Quilting Adventures who saw the pictures I’d taken at Sydney Airport of an A380 were amazed at its size. Here’s one of those photos (note the size of the truck in the foreground).

The second photo I took from the SkyLink at DFW Airport, showing an A380 (Qantas) parked next to a Jumbo (747; British Airways livery) to give you some idea of the size of these aircraft.