Q: What do tennis players drink at breakfast?
A: Deuce!
On a lovely Sydney afternoon, our gang of tennis nuts came together to board the P&O Adventure for a very special sailing. We were headed to Melbourne to witness the action of the Australian Open, including all the household names, live and in the flesh.
It was so much more than a couple of days at the tennis. It was everything you expect from an awesome cruise experience with P&O. There were parties, shows, entertainers, bingo, sing-a-longs and more. But of course it was a TENNIS CRUISE, so on top of all the usual fun and games there was some extra special tennis themed content for us to sink our teeth into.
On the way down to Melbourne we were privileged enough to listen to a live chat with John Marks, former world #44 and Australian Open runner-up. Aided by real video footage from the 1979 tournament, John talked us through his dream run to the tournament final.
We woke on the third morning to a sparkling Melbourne morning. The forecast was to be still, sunny and 26 degrees. It just doesn’t get any better for a day at the tennis! After a good look around the grounds and a quick bite to eat, we settled in for a 3rd round women’s singles match in which Zhu Lin of China overcame Swiss 32nd seed Jill Teichmann.
In the afternoon our group split up as some opted to catch Aussie star Alex De Minaur tear through France’s Benjamin Bonzi at a packed centre court, Rod Laver Arena. The rest went to see American fairy tale story JJ Wolf play his countryman Michael Mohm in an awesome 3rd round match up.
We returned to the boat in the evening to settle in and watch MORE tennis! This time it was Novak Djokovic on the big screen blowing by yet another opponent.
The Sunday was a more relaxed pace at the open grounds. The number one priority on this trip was to have some fun so we decided to head over to John Cain Arena and catch a legends doubles matched between retired stars. It was half serious game, half comedy show and we have to say that Australian Renee Stubbs was tournament champion for being hilarious!
We spent the rest of the afternoon pottering around the grounds, souvenier shopping and swinging by the minor courts to watch the one and only Karolína Plíšková warming up. When we say we were up close and personal, we mean CLOSE! We might have even felt a drop or two of Karolina’s sweat. We bid farewell to Melbourne that night and settled into cruise life for another day and a half. This time round the very tennis themed on board entertainment included an interview with Nicole and Mark Bradtke. Nicole was a former professional tennis player and Mark represented Australia and played in the NBA through his illustrious basketball career. We were fascinated to learn the story of how they met underneath the stands at the iconic Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona as they got ready to stride out with the rest of the Australian team for the opening ceremony.
We know the Australian Open is an absolute bucket list item for any sports fan and we are so lucky to have had the opportunity to go. Trusted Travel can’t wait to get back down there! Check out the itinerary for next year’s trip by hitting the link below!









