We are not usually cruising people. That said, a few years ago we had one once-in-a-lifetime experience from Tahiti to the Marquesas on the half-cruise, half-freighter Aranui which was made all the more pleasurable by being able to stand in the cocktail bar sipping G&Ts while burly stevedores sweated below, heaving bags of coconuts and crates of produce in the tropical heat.
I suppose the cruise from which we recently disembarked was a combination of work and leisure too. We were on the Cunard Queen Elizabeth which hosted the inaugural (and, ironically, possibly the last) Australian Literature at Sea cruise from Sydney to Hobart and back last week.
I was there as Sue’s technical support and general handbag as she delivered a couple of individual sessions on travel writing and historical fiction, and hosted a Q&A with Alexander McCall Smith (of No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency fame) in front of a standing room only crowd of 900 – plus all the people watching on TVs in various bars and cafes.
I have to confess, this has changed my opinion of cruising. Okay, hanging out with other authors is icing on the cake – but it is some cake!
The event also featured Nick McKenzie, who wrote one of the books about Ben Roberts-Smith and won the defamation case taken against him and Chris Masters for their 60 Minutes expose.
He received the only standing ovation in the cruise after he detailed the dangers and validations of digging out the truth about gangsters, corrupt business people and flawed war heroes.
Hugely popular author Fiona McIntosh was a riot in her one-woman show and First Nations writer Anita Heiss was a revelation. There were others of course, most of whom contributed to the atmosphere of convivial creativity.
Special mention to Kiwi author Paul Cleave whose darker than dark crime novels are hugely successful just about everywhere in the world, except, it seems, Australia.
So, has it changed my thoughts about cruising? Do I need to be surrounded by successful authors (more successful than I am, anyway) to enjoy the experience?
Yes and no. To get me on another cruise I would have to be sure of the following:
- Reliable internet at a reasonable cost (or preferably free).
- A decent desk at which to work in the cabin.
- Few or no kids.
- A variety of food including pescetarian and vegetarian.
- My ability to moderate my consumption of the above, and alcohol.
Now, to be absolutely fair, all of the above apart from the last one, were available on the Queen Elizabeth, although we did have privileges thanks to Sue’s participation.
I have been on one other cruise – from Sydney to New Zealand – and it was full of double-plus-sized Americans who seemed to leave one meal early so they could start queuing for the next. Maybe it’s the queuing that I don’t like.
So yes, I would go on another cruise and if it happened to be full of writers, so much the better. The passengers on the QE seemed to enjoy the literary part immensely, so it was a success in that regard.
Sadly the Queen Elizabeth will be sailing north in March, only to return briefly on round-the-world cruises. So it’s up to another cruise line to take up the concept if there’s to be another literary event next year.
If there is, I will be available for handbag duties, as required.
