Sun Princess - Princess Cruises
Fast Facts
Cruise line: Princess Cruises
Vessel: Sun Princess
Star rating: Not yet rated
Passenger capacity: 1950
Total crew: 900
Entered service: Built 1995 in Italy
Passenger decks: Passengers use decks 5-15
Facilities: Eight restaurants/cafs, seven bars/lounges, three kids' clubs, four pools/five spas, two theatres, Lotus Spa and gym, internet cafe, library, reading room, medical centre, ball and game courts.
Being smothered in seaweed, tickled, wrapped in foil like a cut lunch and then gently detoxified by Rachel in the Lotus Spa. Heaven!
Lows: Fruitlessly trying to find a decent onboard cappuccino. Barista, where art thou?
Sun Princess
On an eight-day cruise from Brisbane to Darwin on Sun Princess the conviviality passed down from the captain was palpable - could it last the distance?
Just 15 minutes after embarking on Princess Cruises' Sun Princess in Brisbane we decided everyone on board was high on medication. Happy pills. Or so it seemed.
For starters, our effusive and ever-smiling cabin steward, Felimon, almost hugged us when we checked into our starboard-side stateroom. Was he over the top? "Well, he is Filipino," mused my wife. "And they're very warm people."
Minutes later, walking towards the inter-deck lifts towards aft, every crewmember and passenger we passed beamed happily at us. Some had the whitest smiles I've ever seen (we later discovered they were courtesy of GoSmile teeth-whitening treatments in the Lotus Spa).
Anyway, when we joined other passengers in one of the lifts, a silver-haired wag with a twinkle in his eye quickly assumed control of the buttons. "Going down to ladies underwear, haberdashery and sporting goods," he quipped. The ensuing chuckles prompted another elder to enquire: "Which floor's Viagra?" Everyone howled with laughter.
We left them hooting in the lift and got out on Deck 7, the busy Promenade Deck. Then we ambled along a wide corridor showcasing photographs of passengers who'd embarked in Sydney, which was most of the passenger complement.
En route to the main atrium, a gleaming four-deck high bubble linked by swirling stairs, glass-walled lifts and faux palms adding a touch of tropical glam, we exchanged a few dozen smiles and engaged in five brief but bubbly conversations. We too, we realised, were being enticed into the web of onboard bonhomie.
Moreover, as our eight-day cruise from Brisbane to Darwin via Townsville, Cairns and Cooktown unfolded, the ship's notable conviviality never faltered. This was no accident. A happy ship demands a well-trained, service-oriented crew as well as quality facilities and activities. And all that was given.
After a day or so at sea we realised the ship's good-humoured tone was hugely influenced by Captain Peter Russell, a warm Englishman who spreads himself around the passengers like a favourite uncle at a wedding. The crew adore him. Forty-five years at sea, from tankers to cruise ships, Captain Russell exudes nautical wisdom and is also a bubbling fount of humorous stories. "I come from Yorkshire," he joked in one address to passengers. "From a race of people with short arms and long pockets. But that doesn't mean I won't help you to spend your money and have a great time so you'll all come back to us again."
Odds on lots of the 2000 predominantly 60-year-old-plus Aussie passengers will be back for seconds. Or more. Many I chatted to were enthusiastic about the ship and the wide range of onboard activities. Few had quibbles. But I did hear one woman complain of feeling "enclosed" in her cabin that had no window or balcony. Truth is, you get what you pay for.
Our cabin/stateroom, however, was one of 410 outside cabins with a private balcony. It was great. Okay, gangly passengers will find the toilet space tight and yes, only contortionists should try to shower with a partner. We had a queen bed with room for luggage underneath, TV, mini-fridge, wall mirrors, an easy-to-use safe and a small dressing table. Cupboard hanging room was fine but our floor plan only permitted one chair. At least it gave us something to fight over. Our balcony, albeit small, was a huge plus. It had a low table and two chairs and was ideal for sunning, room-service brekky and evening drinks. At night we slept with the balcony door open, drifting off to soothing sea symphonies.
Meanwhile, smiling Felimon came and went like a ghost, leaving everything immaculate and appearing only when we needed him. And each night, like a nocturnal hen, he laid a little cache of chocolates in a crisp fold in our sheets. We miss him dearly.
Elsewhere on board, from the elegant Wheelhouse Bar to the aft-located Lotus Spa and Gym on Deck 12, we were waited on by an always-attentive crew. Incidentally, the crew complement is 900 and includes 41 nationalities.
Although we were assigned to the handsomely furnished Regency dining room, which along with the Marquis underneath jointly seated around 1000 diners, we didn't dine there every evening. Not that there was anything amiss. On the contrary, the dishes were varied and satisfying, with five main courses and four 'always available' standard mains on the menu each day.
Personally, I preferred brekky in the 24-hour Horizon Court buffet/restaurant on Deck 14 rather than the formality of the Regency. The Horizon, so bright and casual, also has great sea views.
Come evening, the Horizon's portside buffet is closed and redressed, reappearing later as the upmarket Sterling Steakhouse with a $20 per person surcharge. Dedicated carnivores can opt for a hefty slab of thick-cut Porterhouse that's big enough to stop a burly front-row footballer. But there are smaller offerings. For instance, I had an excellent sirloin and my wife savoured a small, juicy medallion of filet mignon.
While there are other food outlets (eight restaurants/cafes all up) the only really stand alone restaurant is Verdi's Pizzeria, which occupies the upper atrium on Deck 8, next to the Casino. We found Verdi's thin-crust pizzas and assorted pasta dishes truly bellisima. Frankly, Verdi's seemed to do more business than the casino.
Being show buffs, we sped to Princess Theatre or Vista Lounge every night. Both are plush 500-seat venues offering great entertainment. Both were chockers every show. We loved the risqu stand-up comedian who had everyone in stitches and we enjoyed the guest artists performing country and western, evergreens, golden oldies and classics. And when the resident dancers and singers belted out their 1950s/60s revue, Shimmy, I glimpsed the 'Viagra' elder from the lift lustily singing Leader of The Pack with the chorus.
Before we docked at Darwin our three successive port days, albeit brief, enabled us to visit the superb ReefHQ aquarium in Townsville, ride the 7.5km Skyrail Rainforest Cableway over the forest canopy to Kuranda near Cairns, and stroll through tiny, historic Cooktown - our favourite port. Cook-conscious Cooktown was so thrilled by our arrival that they dispatched two august emissaries wearing colonial garb to greet us at the docks. Later, a canny local tried to sell me a musket reputedly left behind by Captain Cook in the 1700s. "Hey," I said, "I'm from Sydney, not Mars." He just grinned: "Sorry mate. I thought you were American."
Written by Don Townshend - Issue 32 winter 08