Gold Coast Afternoon Cruise by Wyndham Cruises

During our 2016 visit to Gold Coast we decided to take a look at the city from the water. It happened so that at the time of the decision we found ourselves in the direct line of sight of Wyndham Cruises office and 20 min away from their afternoon savoury cruise. It was called savoury because it included a mandatory plate of snacks – Gold Coasters (Coastians? Coastals?) did not believe in sightseeing on an empty stomach. Having just had a lunch we were not looking forward to a snack yet, but we were not the people to turn free food down – we just had to make an effort. To improve digestion I turned my attention to the drinks menu and was glad to discover that it included a range of jam jar cocktails – the first two words being a description of a vessel in which they were served.

The first one I ordered was Mai Tai. Out of the list of IBA specified ingredients it had only rum and curacao, the other two were juice and grenadine. There was a choice of rum and juice and, what with winter time, I opted for dark rum and pineapple juice. The latter, for all its tropical cooler appeal, leaves a warm feeling in the mouth even if it’s chilled. Nevertheless, despite my best intentions the resulting cocktail was still too refreshing for winter time. I blame it on Captain Morgan rum — I guess it was gold, not dark.

I didn’t give up and ordered Captain’s Special cocktail. If you look at the pictures, both cocktails are beautifully presented but there is not much visual difference except for the garnish — it is what was inside that really mattered. The ingredients in Captain’s Special included vodka, peach schnapps, Malibu, orange and pineapple juices and grenadine. I would prefer to leave pineapple juice out as it’s not my preferred fruit when the main spirit is vodka, but it added a decorative layer of froth on top and blended nicely with other ingredients. The overall impression was a good balance of sweetness, spice and fruit and it perfectly complemented the savoury snacks plate which was so unexpectedly bestowed upon us.

After sorting out my gastronomic concerns I fully devoted my attention to the main reason for the cruise – sightseeing. Here is a small selection of the views that surrounded us during the 1.5-hour journey.

Having said a lot about ingredients and sights, I must also point out that cocktails do not mix themselves and a boat does not steer on its own – it’s people who make it happen. We had a wonderful crew who made the cruise not only possible but very enjoyable: the drinks were expertly mixed by Sonia (on the right), while Jessica (on the left) tutored me on the finer aspects of tide level measurement. Our captain (whose photo I, unfortunately, did not take) not only skillfully navigated our ship through meandering canals, but also provided a running commentary on the luxurious mansions which lined up along the water front. Given all his knowledge of architecture, house plans and prices I would have thought he could make a great career in real estate business. But don’t tell him – we might lose a damn good captain.