Sun Princess - S814 - Sydney to Auckland - July 14th-17th

I have been home a week or so now and finally have some time to post a review of our small sampler cruise on the Sun Princess. The cruise may have been small but I have written quite an essay about our experience to post on the forum but also as a way to preserve our memories. Apologies to those that don’t like long reviews but I wanted to share especially to those that haven’t cruised yet to try and convey some of the magic and excitement we felt with the whole experience!

As a present for my Mum’s upcoming 70th birthday I booked the first 3 nights of S814 from Sydney to Auckland. There were about 200 of us that were only filling the cabins before the Kiwi’s boarded in Auckland. Most people we encountered were on for the full 75 days – lucky people!!!

This was my first cruise since I was a toddler (no memory of that) and I absolutely loved it. I am cruising again at Christmas on the Pacific Sun with my DH & 2 of our sons and I sure hope DH enjoys it as much as I did, as I can understand how you can become addicted!:p

I spent much of our 3 days just wandering around and soaking up the atmosphere of the whole experience. I would happily have had a whole week at sea with no ports as I loved the ship so much. Of course that is easy to say when you are lucky enough to experience lovely calm seas.

Mum & I arrived in Sydney the day before departure and as an extra surprise I had booked us into the Shangrila Hotel which I had researched and decided was the best bet for great views of the harbour and Overseas Passenger Terminal. I booked a Deluxe Opera House View room which was advertised as having views of Circular Quay and the Opera House. The next category had full harbour views but was really stretching my budget so I double checked with the hotel that we would be able to see O.P.T. from the Opera House View room and was pleased to have that confirmed. When we checked in I was very disappointed that our view actually stopped exactly at the Opera House with O.P.T. totally obscured – thank goodness they were able to upgrade us at no charge and our Harbour View Room had just fantastic views with O.P.T right in the middle! We were very lucky as Sydney in general was so busy with W.Y.D. but the Shangrila itself was not full.

We were hoping to see her sail in on Monday morning but despite getting up twice we missed that and when we woke at 6.40am she was berthed at O.P.T. I had seen her leaving Adelaide earlier in the year so knew what to expect but it was so exciting to see her all lit up and just waiting for us!! The weather was overcast with an odd sprinkle so I was disappointed that there were no fabulous photo’s to be taken from our room but hey “we were going cruising”!:D

After reading advice on the forum I had decided we may as well head down to the terminal mid morning to check everything out and see if we could board early rather than the scheduled “between 1 and 3”. I had intended to walk but it was easier with my Mum and our cases to just get a cab which was able to drop us directly outside. It appeared to be chaotic with lots of people and no real idea of what to do. In actual fact the process was amazing and very well streamlined. There were small trucks all over the place that were loading luggage so you just had to find someone with an orange jacket and off went your cases. Ours were all tagged beforehand but I did notice a lot of people were writing their tags out on the pavement. I did joke that our cases could be going anywhere, I had expected a conveyer belt or similar leading to the boat – I really had no idea and that was probably one thing I hadn’t read on CC!

There was then a big table set up with the medical questionnaire forms and departure cards for us to complete and then we were told to go inside. There were Princess people everywhere to point you in the right direction but no-one really knew what happened once we went into the terminal. We were expecting some formalities and then having to wait around for a couple of hours. In fact we just kept walking, up the escalators, through customs, then Princess check in where we got our cruise cards and then we realised we were actually going to be boarding immediately – how exciting.! From arriving to what we thought was chaos about 10.45, we were actually on board by 11.30am – Wow!!! I know we were lucky and it certainly helped that the ship had come in on time that morning.

It was so exciting to walk on deck for the first time and be greeted by all the staff that were strategically placed at every turn to guide you correctly. We boarded on deck 7 and then made our way to our cabin on Deck 10 – Baja. I had booked a guaranteed inside and initially we were allocated an aft cabin on deck 8. Closer to sailing we were changed to B216 which is very forward and only metres from the viewing deck at the front of the ship. I was concerned that if we experienced rough seas we were not in the best position but luckily that was not an issue. It was really great to be so close to fresh air and be able to easily check the weather etc. Not much scenery to check out though when you are just crossing the Tasman! From what had been a cloudy morning the day had cleared beautifully and the sun was shining brightly so the view of Sydney from the ship was lovely.

We were pleased with our cabin, I knew they were small but there was still enough room as well as lots of drawers and hanging space. The beds were comfortable enough and by leaving the TV on the web cam channel we knew whether it was daylight or not! We didn’t see a lot of our room steward and he didn’t replenish our ice bucket at all but the cabin was always spotless and towels etc changed. Perhaps he was saving all his attention to those 75 dayers!!

The interior of the ship was beautiful; I especially loved all the prints in the various stair lobbies. Most of the ship was impeccable, it was only the public toilets that were sometimes not too pleasant. I had intended to always go back and use our own in the cabin but the practicalities of that became too difficult! The sheer length of the corridors was amazing, great for those of us that like walking as well as using the stairs as much as possible to try and combat some of that food. My Mum did struggle a bit with the distance between our cabin and the closest lifts being a third of the way down. There was always a wait for the lift but that was to be expected when so many passengers were older. As it was a 75 day cruise the majority of people were past retirement age but it certainly didn’t feel like you were in a retirement village. I only saw a few children, again I’m sure due to the length of the cruise.

We went to the purser’s desk to get our cruise cards punched – a wise decision as every time we walked past later there were long queues. I checked about auto tipping which we were happy to leave on although we requested it only be for 3 days not the 4 they said they would charge. Not sure what happened there though because there was nothing on our final bill. My CC hasn’t been debited yet at all so perhaps that is a separate amount – would feel a total cheapskate if they removed it completely!

As we had boarded so early we were able to have lunch in the Horizon Court. They were selling the soda cards for our little leg so that was good value although I did discover the diet coke was always very flat so I changed to soda water (balancing out the alcohol!) The coffee cards were not being sold for our leg so I just bought a cappuccino when needed. I didn’t actually try the Horizon Court coffee until the last morning just to see if it really was that bad and yes it was, totally undrinkable- yuk :eek:

The food was fine, always hot and plentiful with lots of variety but really no better than a hotel smorgasbord. As the only cook at home I’m always very happy to have someone cook for me!! We also had breakfast there but tended to stick to cereal etc so as to leave room for later in the day! Breakfast was always very busy and difficult to find a table – it was nice to take our food out on the deck.

After lunch we explored and I was quite overwhelmed at the size of the ship. I was sure I would never work it all out either. Later that evening I left Mum in the casino and had a good walk around which really gave me my bearings. It is actually set out very logically and once I worked it all out it was easy so now I’m an expert. If anyone would like a guide on their next cruise, I’d be more than happy to come along if the cabin is supplied!! We were advised that sailaway would be delayed until about 4.30 due to some late arrivals and also the lifejacket drill was also now later than the scheduled 3.00pm. I was very worried we would be stuck in lifeboat drill and miss sailaway but of course that didn’t happen. We were on deck in plenty of time which of course was very busy with so many people. We didn’t even realise we had pulled away until I saw we were now adjacent to the Opera House. It was absolutely stunning to depart on such a beautiful afternoon, the views back over Sydney with the fading sun were just magical.

We were on the first sitting in the Marquis Dining Room for dinner. The activity in there was amazing and the organisation excellent. The food was lovely, not quite as fancy as expected but I really enjoyed that the portions were small so you could get through all the courses and still move! The tables were very squashed together and our table was adjacent to a serving station which meant that the chairs couldn’t go right around making conversation a little difficult. We were allocated to a fairly sedate table but that was probably a good thing really while I didn’t have my DH with me. Our Head waiter was very reserved but so very polite and attentive – they just have so much patience with everyone. His assistant “Yogi” was very animated and entertaining but we didn’t see a lot of him - I’m sure if we were on longer a good relationship would have built up. We had 2 celebrations on our table over the 3 days with one couple celebrating their wedding anniversary and also my Mum’s birthday. On both occasions they were presented with a cake and a number of the staff sang – very, very nice. We drank the Seahorse Colombard Chardonay which I had never heard of. It was the cheapest @ $24.20 including gratuity but it was actually very drinkable. I think it’s also on the P & O menu so I know what to order at Xmas!!:rolleyes:

After dinner each evening we made our way as quickly as possible to the Princess Theatre for the shows which for our 3 nights were really fantastic and were a real highlight. The first night, seats were easy to come by but by the 3rd night we had to be there 45 minutes early to ensure a seat. A number of people we spoke to missed out so they were disappointed especially when we raved about the artists we had seen. While you wait you can order drinks so it’s a great chance to try some of the cocktails. I can highly recommend the triple berry daiquiri – just divine!:p

The other theatre is the Vista Lounge which is beautifully laid out and very comfortable but doesn’t have the capacity of the Princess Theatre. We went to the Vista Lounge during the day for Bingo and Trivia. Bingo is not my thing but Mum really wanted to go and I actually ended up enjoying it even though we didn’t win.:( It would get very expensive though at $20.00 to play 3 cards for 5 games if you played every day on a 75 day cruise. Hats off to those of you that excel at Trivia, much too hard for us, it didn’t help that we only had 3 on our team but we really didn’t do too well!

There were so many activities and I’m sure on a longer cruise you could take advantage of them but on such a short one it was difficult to try and fit everything in. Lots of passengers were very surprised that we were only on till Auckland as this leg was not promoted at all. We were often asked why we were getting off so soon but unfortunately no one actually said we could share their cabin!

We were told that there were 2200 passengers but I was amazed that even though there were times it was very busy and crowded there was always somewhere there was no one else around if you wanted quiet time. If the dining rooms and buffet are too busy there are other alternatives. We only got to try the pizzeria for lunch which was very yummy and there were very few people there.

We were so lucky with the weather, I was very aware that crossing the Tasman in July can be pretty dicey but we were blessed especially in view of the horrendous conditions the PS has endured this week. I had no idea whether I would suffer seasickness but went well prepared with Seabands on my wrist as well as taking Dramamine. After a couple of days I stopped both things and still felt fine, so fingers crossed it’s not something I have to worry about – unless the sea is very bad of course. The first full sea day was fine and the second was dull and showery but it was mild and the seas were pretty smooth. We had packed winter clothes but in reality the ship is always warm inside so you really need layers to adapt to the conditions. The only time it was grotty was sailing into Auckland when it was very grey and wet. The cloud was so low that you couldn’t see the top of Rangitoto or Skytower. As we weren’t arriving until 10.00am we didn’t have to put our bags out until that morning so that made life easier. We were able to stay on board wherever we wished and just had to listen to the announcement that we could leave which came about 11.00ish. The only issue we had, was some confusion after disembarking as the luggage wasn’t there so there was some frustration amongst the passengers but within 15 minutes it was all sorted.

Mum & I had 4 days in Auckland staying with family before flying back to Adelaide, no ship was available for the return journey, unfortunately! From the info on the forum I know the Pacific Sun is not going to be quite as nice as the Sun Princess but I am so looking forward to cruising with my family at Christmas – 3 days has really given me a taste and it will be so good to have 9 days and warm weather in December.

I will post some of my photo’s on flickr and will upload the link for those that are interested.

Lesley

xxx

glad you had a great time! cant wait for our christmas cruise. yay!

Lesley,

Thankyou for your review, I enjoyed reading it!.

Trish

Lesley,

Thankyou for your review, I enjoyed reading it!.

Trish

Lesley,

Thankyou for your review, I enjoyed reading it!.

Trish

glad you had a great time! cant wait for our christmas cruise. yay!

Thanks Teegie - less than 20 weeks to go now!!

Lesley

xxxx

I have uploaded 'some' of my photos's onto flickr. Hope you enjoy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lesleyspiccies/sets/72157606511186716/detail/

Lesley

x:)

I have uploaded 'some' of my photos's onto flickr. Hope you enjoy.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lesleyspiccies/sets/72157606511186716/detail/

 

Lesley

x:)

Hi Lesley,

Lovely photos. You are whetting my appetite for our October cruise.:):) By the way, I see your Mum's name is Evelyn. That was also my Mum's name. My middle name is Lesley (hence the ELA I use on CC, my initials).

Evon Lesley.

I have uploaded 'some' of my photos's onto flickr. Hope you enjoy.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lesleyspiccies/sets/72157606511186716/detail/

 

Lesley

x:)

Hi Lesley, Enjoyed looking at your photos. It brought back great memories of our 28 day Sun Princess round Australia in March just gone. Kerrie

Really enjoyed your review. We did a 3 day cruise a few years ago and had an absolute ball:D We came home totally exhausted!!!!!!

We're on PD 19th August and really looking forward to it (hoping for calm seas). After reading recent posts I'm getting a little nervous:o and hope that my expectations are not too high, cause all I've thought about for the last few months is cruise, cruise, cruise...........

Ella

wow what a great review.....oh how exciting......thanks for posting it

Wow, what a great review. The Sun Princess sounds really good.

I also did a 3 night cruise 2 years ago on Pacific Sun. I had a great time but definetely enjoy longer cruises more. The longer the better!! :D

:) Thanks for the feedback - glad you enjoyed the review and the photo's. Lucky for you guys we were only on for 3 days as you may have ended up with a novel to read!!

Lesley

xxx:)

Thanks for your review, it was excellent. First chance I had to read it as I was on the PD when you posted it.

You will love the Pacific Sun, it has a great atmosphere.

Glenda