​      Intrepid traveller Robyn Buckley braves the waves, gets           squeezed in her cabin and enjoys mostly good service on                                          Sun Princess
I am not sure how to start this little story, of our wonderful adventure on the Sun Princess, Sydney, Willis Island, Sydney, departing on the 23/02/2019.
We departed from White Bay Sydney, I have to say that everything went through so quick and easy, the staff there, fantastic, they saw I was walking with a stick, so bough over a wheel chair and they quickly to me straight through and up to the deck of the ship, while my poor partner was trying to keep up with two large pieces of heavy hand luggage.
We knew it may be a bit of a wild ride as Cyclone Oma was in our Path, it was necessary to bypass Brisbane; it was way too dangerous to even try. Everyone was credited for the port fees, which was a lovely surprise..
I was very disappointed with the ship, but then again it is an older ship, cabin was very small, nothing like the picture of that particular cabin on the internet, we had an obstructed view cabin, which is fine, you still get lots of natural light, the window was really dirty, other people we talked to also complained about the dirty windows, we had a chest of drawers next to the bed, if you tried to open the drawers sitting on the bed, you would break your knees, you had to sit on the side, pull out the draw, which would only half open because it would hit the bed, then on the other side, of the bed you had to shuffle sideways, as the bed was so close to the wall…..the food was mediocre, I have had better on Princess lines, I was surprised at how many people were complaining, one lady took a photo of her melted ice-cream as it was handed to her… Every Friday night on board all ships, they usually have a Friday Service (Shabbat) for the Jewish passengers, I checked the Princess Patter, nothing there, so I went to the desk, no one knew what I was talking about, so I explained that I had been on the ship and Princess line before, and it was always listed in the Patter, so after many phone calls, I was told to come back at 4pm, which I did, I was told it would be at 5.30pm in the library, thank you, I asked how are people going to know about it, “we will make an announcement” now that announcement was at 5pm, really, how many would hear it…  Off I went and at 5.30pm there was a grand total of 3 people, so what a waste of a bottle of Kosher Grape Juice and the 2 freshly baked Challah (Bread) that we did not touch, as usually there are up to 20+ people that go…  I did write a complaint, and got a nice letter explaining, that the Patter was not edited properly, at the service was not mentioned in the Patter….  I heard a lot of complaints from other passengers…..  But, can I tell you that it was the best cruise I have been on…. The staff were incredibly helpful, the shows wonderful, but it was the other passengers that made it so fantastic, we met so many wonderful people, and we talked and laughed and just had one hell of a good time… We all know how lovely the North of Australia is, first Port Airlie Beach, we had rain on and off, then Cairns, Port Douglas and Willis Island then back to Sydney.
These tropical paradise’s are much the same with spectacular rain forests,  wild rivers, wonderful  wildlife, the Great Barrier Reef, and so much more, for young and old to appreciate, we really live in a wonderful Country, we had people from all over the world, Americans, Canadian’s, UK, New Zealand and many more all saying how wonderful the Marine Parks and Rain Forests were… The Cruise from start to finish was a little rough for some people, but I loved it.  Now hear this NO FREE ICE-CREAM, how sad is that…
Funny story,  on the 28th February on our Cabin Door “Congratulations on your Birthday” sign and two balloons, then that night the usual staff singing Happy Birthday and the beautiful chocolate cake, that I shared with the table, BUT it was not my Birthday, my Birthday is in January, I asked my partner, did he have something to do with it, he said no, I contacted my daughter, it was not her either, I have no idea why this happened, and I am sorry if it was for someone else and they missed out, very, very strange and so, so funny
We are now back home, back to reality, again the staff wonderful , helping me to get off the ship so quickly…  It is a cruise that I will have in my heart for a long time, and every time I think of it and the friends that I made, I will smile, Thank You.
Everyone was saying how magic the beds were, plus the pillows, everyone I spoke to wanted to take the beds and pillows home with them”.
Words and images: Robyn Buckley