On January 5th I boarded Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth for my fourth, and possibly last, time. This cruise, five nights, sailed from Sydney to Hobart, then returning via the magnificent scenery of Great Oyster Bay and the Freycinet National Park.
Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania, was first settled by the British in 1804. I’d been there twice before. My first trip was by air in 2018 when I got to see most of the sights – Mount Wellington, the Cascades Brewery, the Female Factory (women’s prison), Mawson’s Huts museum, MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) and more. My second visit was as part of my 2020 Queen Elizabeth cruise, the day being spent on an excursion to the one-time penal colony of Port Arthur.
This time, after a good breakfast (please don’t tell my GP about the sausage, egg, bacon and the rest!), I disembarked with no set plan for the day. Cruise ships visiting Hobart dock at Macquarie Wharf, just a short walk from the city centre. This season Hobart is due to see 93 cruise ship visits. On cruise ship days the terminal is home to a well-supported Makers Market.
As we left the terminal several operators were offering excursions to those who weren’t already booked on cruise company tours. As it was leaving shortly, I signed up for Gray Line’s 90-minute no-stop tour of all the key attractions as a way of refreshing my memory of my previous visits. Sitting on the open top deck it was cool and windy and I was glad I’d taken my rain jacket.
At the end of the bus tour I walked up to St David’s Cathedral which I’d not previously visited. Construction of the first church on this site began in 1817; the present cathedral, designed by English architect George Frederick Bodley, was consecrated in 1874. The tower is a later addition, only completed in 1936. Like many sandstone buildings in Hobart it still looks good, a reflection on Tasmania having some of the cleanest air in the world. The superb stained-glass windows were made by Burlison and Grylls, London, at the time one of the most highly regarded producers of stained glass in Britain.
Then on to the Maritime Museum which absorbed me so much I forgot to take any pics of the exhibits. After a late lunch I walked up to the Botanical Gardens, established in 1818. The uncertain morning weather had given way to bright sunshine and I thoroughly enjoyed the walk and time in the gardens. Then back to the ship.
Why perhaps was this my last cruise on Queen Elizabeth? For the last few years she has been homeported in Melbourne and Sydney during the Australian summer, offering a dozen or more short cruises.
From 2026 the only Cunard visits to Australia will be when one or more of our ports is on a world cruise itinerary – for example in March 2026, as part of 108-night world cruise, Queen Mary 2 will call at Sydney, Brisbane, Yorkey’s Knob and Darwin. The most expensive suite is $640,998 (US$402,219; £326,617) – still available as I write this! Alternatively, slum it in an inside cabin, just $47,510.
