The last stop of the first segment of the circumnavigation of Australia cruise was Fremantle, the major commercial port of Western Australia. Under Australian customs rules we all had to leave the ship by 9.30 am to go through customs even if we were continuing on the cruise.

Since we were not due back on the ship until 9.00 pm we booked a triple tour, a hop-on bus tour of Fremantle, a ferry ride to Perth and a hop-on bus tour of Perth. It was up to us to get back to the ship (we took a train).

Fremantle is an industrial port and from our balcony we could watch car carriers, container ships, sort of like the view from our roof deck when we lived in Baltimore.

Fremantle is interesting in that it has kept and restored its original buildings giving the city a 19th-century flavor. There doesn't seem to be many really tall or modern buildings. One exception is the maritime museum which is brand new and looks a little like an armadillo. It was a short walk from the ship but unfortunately it was closed so we couldn't go through it.

Part of the tour was a stop on monument hill where you could look out over the city and the harbor beyond - breath-taking views. Like most Australian and New Zealand cities Fremantle has very good public transport and is very walkable. Unfortunately we didn't really have time to explore. The bus took us past the oldest synagogue in Fremantle before dropping us off at the ferry terminal for our trip to Perth.

Before we got on the ferry we decided to get sandwiches to eat on the ferry. Unlike the pre-made food we'd get at home. The sandwiches were made fresh as we waited, meaning they tasted like food, not the plastic they were wrapped in