Harbour City Limited – March 2024

 

We have just returned from Harbour City Limited. The trip was standout, the accommodation was fabulous, the food was sensational as was the service at the Obar in Sydney with a view to die for being a revolving restaurant.

The XPT ( haven’t been on that before ) was terrific. The Grace Hotel is a lovely hotel with classic features. We loved Port Macquarie and Rydges was terrific both in accommodation, location and the dinner they did for us, the food was excellent.

The Dolphin lunch cruise we did was most enjoyable and we picked up some dolphins for a free ride as well ( they ride in the pressure wave of the boat) and there were plenty having a frolic around the boat as well, so it fulfilled our hopes of seeing dolphins.

The accommodation at  Pacific Bay Resort was very nice and the food was excellent for the dinner we had there.  The Solar Train ride at Byron Bay was on an old rail motor converted to Solar power and took us into the main centre of Byron Bay. Lunch at the North Bryon Bay Hotel was also very nice and generous.

Our return to Brisbane was expected to be around 5-30pm, but we made excellent time back from Byron Bay, so we arrived around 4-00-4-30pm or so. All in all,  it went off without any hitches, and the group of people we travelled with on the tour were great.

Richard and Ben are to be congratulated on the wonderful itinerary of places of interest and all the arrangements for accommodation and meals.

The rail trip on the 621/721 heritage rail motor was cancelled by the Paterson Rail Motor Society ( not their fault, just a technicality that couldn’t be fixed in time for the tour) so Richard and Ben did a fantastic job of making alternative arrangements to make the trip most enjoyable.

Richard was very gracious in advising us all that Ben had devised and put the trip together. Naturally, Richard played a big part in it too.

You are in very safe hands with these guys, they really look after their clients with care and professionalism and make sure at every stop and departure everyone is accounted for.

Once again Richard and Ben, thanks for a very enjoyable and memorable trip. Almost forgot, thanks for the great piccies you took and posted on line.

Cheers and best wishes,

Vicki & Bruce

Queensland

Sub-Antarctic Islands, Ponant – January 2024

 

The cruise to the sub-Antarctic Islands was unique and onboard Le Soleal met all our expectations.

The service and crew on board were outstanding and made the trip very special.

The itinerary was adjusted due to weather conditions enabling us to reach Macquarie Island before a storm. We were kept updated and this worked out well. We managed all but one island landings which is very unusual.

We were very lucky with the weather with only the last two days being rough.

Our flights worked out well with only one flight delay on the way home. We made all the connections and didn’t lose any luggage.

Thank you for all your efforts with our bookings, you did a brilliant job.

Thanks again. We look forward to planning our next holiday.

 Regards,

Mark and Pam

South Australia

Hunting The Northern Lights of Norway – February 2023

We recently returned from the Iceland/Norway trip in February and had a wonderful time. The organisation and attention to detail were fantastic and our every need was met. Our appreciation goes to Hardy and his staff for keeping us informed throughout the 3 years and the tireless effort that went into renegotiating and planning this trip was second to none.

We enjoyed every aspect of the trip and we will always remember and treasure the wonderful experience in Iceland and Norway. We would like to thank Hardy for his guidance and friendship throughout the entire trip and he was an exceptional resource ensuring that we had a fabulous time.

Hardy saved us a lot of money by being our guide on the Hurtigruten cruise and we had the benefit of his knowledge and sense of humour. He was always there when we needed him and we would highly recommend Cruise Express to our family and friends.

We will always remember this fantastic holiday and we hope to travel again with this Company in the future.

Our kindest regards and gratitude.


Garry and Kerrie 

New South Wales

The Northern Lights of Norway – January/February 2023

As usual the trip organised by Cruise Express went without a hitch. It was an extremely well planned itinerary and covered all the must see sights in Norway

There were many highlights along the way, whilst in Oslo we were able to walk through Roald Amunsden wooden ship Flam and experience the wonderful construction of that boat that took him and his crew on a record breaking trip to the Antarctic and reaching the South Pole in December 1911. The ship being over 100 years old is in amazing good condition.

We headed to Bergen by train,  switching to the Flam railway which is the steepest rail descent in the world. Stopping half way down to photograph the frozen waterfalls. The Chalet accommodation was again first class, with a lovely evening dinner. The next morning we boarded and electric powered ferry which took us down the Fjords 29km met by a waiting tour bus which took us back to the Bergen railway and into Bergen. A delightful old town with historic fish markets and colorful old timber buildings

In Bergen we boarded the Mail/Cruise ship MS Trollfjord and spent 6 glorious days cruising north to Kirknese at the top of Norway. Accommodation and meals aboard the ship was first class.The ship actually stops at 36 different locations delivering passengers and goods. We were able to leave the ship each day for varying amount of time, always something interesting to see.

The absolute highlight was Kirknese on arrival at the Snowhotel 1/2 the group experienced a 12km ride in a 8 dog sled  topped off by a stop & hot fruit drink during the ride, the other 1/2 including my wife and I done it a bit later in the dark and it was thoroughly enjoyable. We chose not to stay in the ice rooms but had a beautiful chalet overlooking the Snowhotel. Dinner was exquisite.

Picked up by our tour guide around 8.30pm we headed towards Finland away from city light pollution and had a really great Northern Lights display. It is a real advantage having a late model phone with night exposure. My Iphone 8 didn’t cut it.

I have only skimmed over the trip there was so much more we saw.

Not only was this a well planned adventure a lot of credit must go to our experienced guide Hardy Schnieder he really goes above and beyond making sure connections are on time and pleasing all his guests. He never stops counting heads to make sure we didn’t leave any one behind. This was our third trip with Hardy and trust there are more to come

Tony & Brenda

South Australia

Taste Riverina, October 2022

Hi Adriana, Richard, Tina & Ben.

Paul & I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Griffith.  We were impressed with all your involvement in all aspects of the trip.  It was obvious that you are all interested in your clients and we felt like friends.

We can’t fault the food & drink we indulged in (unfortunately we enjoy our food perhaps too much).  The places we visited were interesting and the speakers informative and passionate.

We have recommended you to all our friends. I look forward to seeing your updates and doing another trip. Best wishes for your future trips.

Thank you
Rose & Paul, NSW

pictured with traveling companions, Colin & Noelene (right)