MasterChef NZ on Board Dawn Princess

Dawn Princess in Auckland, New Zealand

Well, the MasterChef contestants faced a huge task - cooking for 1800 passengers on the cruise ship Dawn Princess while she was in Auckland. It was the biggest ever cooking challenge of all the series and the first time most of the contestants had worked in a professional kitchen. 
  They were divided into two teams, red and blue, each with six members. Each person had one dish to prepare in three hours, to be tasted and evaluated by Chef Alfredo Marzi, before continuing to cook for the passengers.
  The Blue Team cooked:

• braised lamb shanks
• seasonal vegetable soup
• Royal Dragon pot stickers (dumplings)
• mixed green salad
• pan-seared mahi-mahi fish
• grapefruit and kiwifruit platter

And the Red Team prepared:

• prawn cocktail 
• classic caesar salad
• pineapple pork with sweet chilli sauce
• pot au feu soup
• chicken and beef satay
• grilled wahoo fillet of fish

The judges and ship's chefs were looking for fine flavour and perfect

presentation in the dishes, and on the whole, the MasterChef contestants delivered.

  Well done! I'm sure it was a day they will always remember!

  

Cruise Ships in Australian Ports - Part Two

Cruise Ship in Port Melbourne

To continue the round-up of where cruise ships dock in Australian ports, starting with Melbourne.

Melbourne: Cruise ships dock at Station Pier, Port Melbourne. At the end of the pier is the terminus for the light rail tram that carries passengers into central Melbourne. This takes about 20 minutes.

Hobart:  The Hobart Docks are in the heart of the historic area of Salamanca. It is about a 10 minute walk into the shopping precinct. For those people not wishing to walk, shuttle buses run from the wharf into the information centre.

Fremantle: This is the town 25 kilometres south of Perth in Western Australia where the cruise ships dock at Victoria Quay. The passenger terminal is an historic building that has been sensitively restored.

Darwin: Ships dock at the Fort Hill Wharf in the Wharf Precinct. In the cruise terminal local artists and artisans display their wares for sale. A courtesy bus takes ship passengers up the hill from the dock to the information centre. This is opposite the pedestrian mall in the city centre. 

Enjoy your cruise around Australia!

Where Cruise Ships Dock in Australia - Part 1

View of Sydney Harbour from a Cruise Ship in Dock at Barangaroo Wharf

Here's a quick round-up of where cruise ships dock in Australian ports of call. You'll be able to plan your days ashore better if you know some practical information about where your ship will be.

Sydney: There are 2 wharves for cruise ships in Sydney Harbour: 

• The Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay, right across the bay from the Sydney Opera House, is the prime site, with wonderful views, at the foot of the CBD and shopping precincts. It's a short, flat walk to the end of the pier where there are ferries, sightseeing buses, local city buses and trains.
• The other wharf is on the Darling Harbour side of The Rocks peninsular. It is a temporary wharf, Barangaroo, that will be closing next month. After that, the brand new cruise terminal at White Bay, 2.4 km west of the CBD, will be in action from mid April, 2013.

Brisbane: in the capital of Queensland, the Sunshine State, cruise ships berth at Portside Wharf, about 5 km from the centre of Brisbane. There are buses, taxis and river ferry boats to get from the dock to the CBD.

A Cruise Ship Berthed Close to the Centre of Cairns

Cairns: is another city where ships dock conveniently close to the city centre.

The new Cairns Cruise Line Terminal was completed in 2010, in a restored historic wharf shed, right on the waterfront of Trinity Inlet. It is a flat, 5 minute, two block walk from there into the shops and cafes of Cairns.

   In my next blog post I'll give you information on the Australian cruise ports of Darwin, Melbourne, Hobart and Fremantle.