Short hop for a first-time cruiser

It doesn’t take long for landlubber Gemma Nisbet to find her sea legs on a short cruise to Albany.

Heading on my first cruise, aboard MSC Orchestra, I expected the ship to be massive, the food to be plentiful and the competition for a sun lounger by the pool to be intense.

I thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. But I didn’t expect this.

Standing in the open air at the rear of deck 12, I peer over the side to see small figures in high-vis unhitch the massive ship from the wharf. It’s 9.30pm, and time to set sail from Fremantle.

Getting ready to leave Fremantle aboard MSC Orchestra at sunset. Picture: Gemma Nisbet

I feel the engines rumble underfoot and the horn sounds twice, deep and resonant and slightly spooky. The satiny surface of the dark water turns to a tumult of foam as we power away from the wharf, manoeuvring until we’re nearly at the other side of the harbour, so close to the container port I can see the hard-hatted figures standing on the deck of one of the huge container ships and hear the hiss of the hydraulic brakes of a semi-trailer coming to a halt alongside.

And then we’re slipping past the people standing outside the E Shed, who are cheering and waving the lit-up screens of their mobile phones. Past the lights of Fremantle — the Town Hall, the Arts Centre, the illuminated walls of the old prison all receding into the distance. Past the people on South Mole honking their car horns and flashing their headlights, and then more of the same opposite on North Mole. Time to Say Goodbye is blaring over the loudspeakers but the sense of occasion would be no less palpable without it.

MSC Orchestra gives passengers a taste of its Italian heritage. Picture: Gemma Nisbet

Then there’s just the churning of the swell behind us, and the seagulls circling low alongside. The blinking of the buoys and the lights of the city stretching up and down the coast as far as I can see.

All is peaceful, still and quiet. And I certainly hadn’t expected that.

THE SHORT HAUL

I’m here on MSC Orchestra for only two nights and will be disembarking at the first port call in Albany. My fellow passengers are settling in for a rather longer haul — they’re on a 36-day Anzac-themed charter voyage to Rome — but short voyages like mine are a good way for first-timers to get a taste of life at sea. Many cruise lines offer these kinds of itineraries, ranging in length from two to five nights: perhaps a short hop from an Australian port such as Fremantle or Sydney, or as part of a longer holiday in Europe or North America.

By the time it arrived in Perth for this cruise, Orchestra was nearing the end of its maiden voyage to Australia — the first visit to our shores for MSC — and the ship is staffed and crewed by the Italian line for our charter. Australia is increasingly on MSC’s radar but the company is perhaps most familiar to Australian travellers for its itineraries in the Mediterranean, where it cruises year-round. It also offers voyages in the Caribbean, northern Europe, the Atlantic, South America, southern Africa and the Middle East, and lays claim to being the market-leading cruise company in the Med, South Africa and Brazil.

The central atrium aboard MSC Orchestra. Picture: Gemma Nisbet

Launched in 2007, Orchestra is part of a fleet of 12 MSC ships that carried some 1.67 million passengers last year. It can accommodate 2550 passengers in a double-share configuration. I’m in an inside cabin — there are also suites and outside cabins, with either a balcony or a porthole — and it’s spotlessly clean and well maintained.

MSC endeavours to give passengers a taste of its Italian heritage — as Lynne Clark, managing director of its Australian arm, tells me, it’s all about “the Mediterranean way of life, the dolce vita”. This comes into play with everything from the “elegant” shops on board to the design of the interiors, which Lynne describes as “Art Deco with a bit of a twist”, featuring sculptures and other artworks. It’s especially evident in the dining options, many of which have a distinctly Italian flavour — from the osso buco and pasta on the buffet at La Piazzetta cafeteria down to the pizza delivery menu in my cabin.

It’s day two of the cruise and, after heartily availing myself of the buffet breakfast at La Piazzetta, I’ve met Lynne for a tour of the ship. From the central reception area, we head downstairs to L’Ibiscus and Villa Borghese, the two main restaurants for dinner. Lynne says they’re designed to offer a more intimate style of dining than your typical oversized cruise-ship restaurant, while also being customised to fit their individual themes.

The Covent Garden Theatre aboard MSC Orchestra. Picture: Gemma Nisbet

She’s keen to point out the attention to detail evident throughout the interiors — the hibiscus motifs in L’Ibiscus, for example, and the martini glass design repeated throughout the Shaker Lounge bar. In addition to the main restaurants, guests have a choice of various dining options, including the extensive and tasty options at La Piazzetta, which is open 20 hours a day, and Asian cuisine at the speciality restaurant, Shanghai.

There are 16 bars on board, from the disco at the stern of the ship and the Mexican-themed El Sombrero on the pool deck to La Cantinella, which offers fine wines and tapas, and the Savannah Lounge. The latter rapidly becomes my favourite for its pleasingly exuberant decor featuring leopard-print upholstery, carpets patterned with the figures of leopards and elephants, and — the piece de resistance — gilded lamp bases shaped like leopards.

Entertainment options include shows in the impressive Covent Garden Theatre, live music in the bars, gambling at the Palm Beach casino, a library, card room and various organised activities. The Daily Program newsletter for today, for example, has details on a broad selection of activities including a historical lecture (part of the Gallipoli-themed charter cruise), sports tournaments, bingo with a €25,000 prize, a quiz, dancing lessons, karaoke and live music performances.

The Savannah Lounge, on board MSC Orchestra. Picture: Gemma Nisbet

Particularly popular is the Balinese-themed MSC Aurea Spa — “people spend so much time here,” Lynne tells me. It incorporates a thermal area (sauna, steam room and so on) alongside treatment rooms and a hairdresser, plus a yoga/pilates room and fitness centre with a spectacular forward view from the bow of the ship.

“People find their spot and what they like,” Lynne says, and to underline her point, up on the pool deck we find everything from kids playing Marco Polo in the pool and taking part in a ping-pong tournament organised by the Teens Club to adults lazing on a sun lounger, enjoying a snack or watching the Superchef cooking competition. “Being out to sea and getting that fresh air, it just pulls you,” she says. “There’s something about cruising.”

ROCKING INTO ALBANY

We spend the rest of the day slipping through the deep, blue waters of the Indian Ocean, the sun shining, the ghostly form of the South West coast increasingly visible along the port side as the day progresses. I’m surprised by how aware I am of being on the water — not uncomfortably so, but there’s a gentle and unmistakeable rocking that I adapt to quickly.

The rhythms and routines of life on board begin to settle in, and I learn to navigate the ship without getting lost. I find my favourite spots on board are those with the most maritime feel — the open-air promenades along either side of deck five, up top on a sun-lounger looking out to the ocean, even at La Piazzetta, with its floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall windows.

Late in the afternoon, we round Flinders Peninsula and enter King George Sound, the sun creeping ever closer to the western horizon.

“It’s so remote,” one passenger says, and indeed from here there’s no sign of human life on the hazy shores but for the lighthouse on Breaksea Island at the entrance to the sound. I’ve spent a lot of time in and around Albany but the majesty of approaching it in this way makes it all feel new and special.

MSC Orchestra sails into Princess Royal Harbour in Albany. Picture: Gemma Nisbet

After a little while, a pilot boat comes roaring up to meet us, followed by a couple of yachts and small boats. The crew sounds our horn in greeting — so loud that I feel giddy — and a couple of the little boats toot their own horns in reply. Up on deck, we all laugh and wave.

Then there are the cars and people just visible up on Mt Clarence, watching us coming in, and the crew on a cargo boat at the port, all standing on deck and waving as we come through the narrow Ataturk Entrance into Princess Royal Harbour.

The tug boats manoeuvre the massive ship alongside the wharf as the setting sun glows golden across the town. On shore, a piper dressed in a kilt and a medical boot plays us in, pausing every now and again for a little rest on the white plastic chair behind him — it’s a long process, after all.

MSC Orchestra in port in Albany. Picture: Gemma Nisbet

I disembark early the following morning, leaving the other passengers to enjoy their day in Albany before they depart that evening for the Cocos Islands and, ultimately, Europe.

They’ll have more than enough time to enjoy everything Orchestra has to offer, not to mention the pleasure — newly discovered on my part — of being out on the ocean on a fine day, the wake of the big ship faithfully tracing its progress across the deep blue as it cruises ever onwards, towards the horizon.

Gemma Nisbet was aboard MSC Orchestra as a guest of Travel Superstore (travelsuperstore.com.au).

FACT FILE

For itineraries and more information on cruising with MSC, go to msccruises.com.au or phone 1300 028 502.