The cruise...Well it has been three days and we are now back on dry land, however still trying to find our land legs!! Currently sitting with my feet in the pool under some shade trying to think of words that would at least sum up the last three days we have had. I suppose it started in the morning when Pete and I started packing for our luxury three day boat trip. We were both very excited and each had our own bag and it seemed weird packing from the van removing clothes from the case into our overnight bags. The van was being left in storage during our trip so after locking everything up we headed off in a taxi to the harbour. The meeting point was at a café and after arriving early we started seeing it fill with people and were very eager to see who our companions were going to be for the next three days. After about half an hour a lady arrived with a big trolley and asked for everyone sailing on the Pacific Sunrise. It was very official, we were given a label tag with our suite name on it and then our luggage was taken to be put on the boat for us (nice start!!) After being escorted to the boat we were given wet suits, fins, snorkels etc in a bag with our name on them so we had the same ones for the whole trip. The boat was so well organised. Then it was off to the bar where we were given an introduction to the crew and the proceedings for the next 3 days. A complimentary glass of sparkly was handed out and time for us all to get to know each other. The boat was only holding 16 people plus a very small crew so due to the size of the boat we were going to have a lot of room during the trip. Everyone was getting along very well, again like Fraser Island very different nationalities all with stories of their adventures so far plus ones of where they were heading. Once the formalities were over, canapés and bubbly devoured it was time to be taken to the rooms. We were staying in the Linderman suite which was the fourth suite on the boat. This meant a double bed, fairly large room (huge compared to the van!) and an ensuite with separate shower. It was lovely, very clean and was going to be home for the next 3 nights. We unpacked immediately as it was great to have a wardrobe for clothes and a private bathroom to store our own smellies! For the first evening, we spoke with the dive team, Emily and Tess. They explained what would happen over the next few days and hopefully we were to get at least 4 dives in whilst on the trip. So that sorted we all sat down for dinner and I have to say the food on this boat is superb. All the meals were freshly prepared by Nick the chef every day (he was a very busy man!) and I would so recommend the boat on the food alone! After a few drinks and more getting to know each other we headed to bed. The next morning and after a gorgeous breakfast (Eggs Benedict) we were taken to the beach, Whitehaven Beach is on the biggest of the islands, the Whitsunday island. Well talk about postcard beauty, we have been lucky to see some gorgeous beaches during our travels however I have to say this was just perfect! Pure white sand, clear blue waters with swirls created by some of the sand. Paradise! We were taken to a look out for a photo session (however I don't think a camera could ever capture it!) So after some fun in the sea and a few games of throw the frisbee it was time to return to the boat and get on with some diving! As the weather had been so bad this was our first dive and due to us being certified we were going to be diving with Tess who was the dive master on the boat. Words cannot describe Tess, she is a Californian girl who has bundles of energy, which made all the diving we did a blast and we all got on very well. (even to the extent of getting up at 6 in the morning to do Yoga with her!) The diving is superb in the Whitsunday's and according to the dive school, people tend to miss this out due to the reef being more accessible in Cairns, which is a shame as the coral is apparently much nicer, however this made our diving very relaxed as we were the only divers in the water!! So this was the itinerary for the two days, great diving, followed by fine dining. The crew were brilliant and quoting Tess "It 's all about the service!!. The boat was very relaxed and not what I expected, everyone in shorts and t-shirts the whole time, which actually made it better as people were more relaxed (so no need for the dress!)So last night was our last and the skipper played guitar, so as a treat it was sing along with the captain! As some of the passengers knew both Pete and I sang in the band, it wasn't long until the Pink Floyd numbers starting coming out and Wish You Were Here was an obvious favourite! I also got the confidence to go up and sing (something to do with the water me thinks!) and I sung You Look Wonderful Tonight with the captain playing guitar. It was a brilliant evening and we had so many talented people on board, someone else starting playing the guitar so the captain could take a break and a couple of the other passengers sung a few songs. It was a magical evening to finish the three days and after more sparkly being drunk we nestled into our last night of comfort at about 1.00 in the morning! When morning arrived we took some group photos and said our goodbyes to everyone, we made our way off the boat and into our taxi back to the van! I have to say it was very sad leaving however we soon realised that like all our other adventures on this holiday we still have more to come!! We are now in Ayr in another BIG 4 caravan park (they are so good!!), sitting relaxing as tomorrow we are diving the Yongala. It is a passenger ship that is only a year older than the titanic and it sank with all it's passengers on board! This wreck is rated the best dive site in the world so you can imagine we are so looking forward to it! Thanks again for all the messages on the blog, we really look forward to logging in and seeing if any new ones are there!Will up date you again in another couple of days after our wreck diving!!Louise and PeterP.s - Sam thanks for letting us know about Ali, will try and e-mail her soon. x