Sun Princess 30 day Seattle to Sydney
We started our adventure by flying to Seattle and picking up a rental car. Drove up to Everett and the Boeing Factory. DH wasn’t impressed with the Boeing tour, I remember it from years ago and it was better then. We then spent 3 days traveling around the inlets of the Seattle area. Very pretty areas, Port Townsend, Port Orchard, Bainbridge Island, did lot’s of ferry hops. Got to Seattle the day before our cruise, checked in to the Sheraton, very nice hotel, and went to meet our Cruise Critic group for dinner. Had a good time meeting them all, one couple we already knew had sailed with them previously. Next day we drove to the pier, checked our bags in and got our cruise cards then went and dropped off the car and got a ride back to the ship. Was very quick check in. In Seattle, Thrifty Rent a Car has a rental that you pick up at the airport and drop off at the pier, no extra charges for a different drop off, worked out great. Got on the ship, checked out our cabin and went exploring! Great ship, loved the layout. Cabin was fine, not as much closet or storage space as we could have used but it being a 30 day cruise we had tons of stuff! Bathroom was actually roomier than I expected, not too bad. Bed was comfy, we did get the egg crate foam which probably helped. Room steward was okay, mostly did all that was expected and did respond to any problems we had, which wasn’t much. The Sun is showing wear and tear, I understand that she got a facelift in drydock getting new carpets and some fix ups. Food was great, no complaints there. We enjoyed the Steak House, went twice. Good service and great steaks. Mostly ate in the dining room, late seating. We had a table for 10 which we had pre-arranged the people we sat with, old cruising friends. Waiter was okay, some days better than others. Head waiter was very friendly, came around every night which was nice. He’d always try to show us the menu for the next night. If we had a special request he’d get it for us. We always had breakfast delivered in our room, you can write in anything you want and they bring it. We had our own coffee maker, a little 4 cup Mr. Coffee type and it worked out great. Princess makes the worst coffee in the world so our pot was our salvation. Lunch we usually went to the buffet or did hamburgers outside. Tried Pizza one day, wasn’t that great. Someone said their dinner pizza is better. Our friends tried the “Balcony Dinner”, we and another couple gave it to them as a gift because they got us the great rate we got for the cruise. They thoroughly enjoyed the Balcony Dinner, said it was great. It costs $100 which I thought pricey but must be worth it! They had 4 waiters and a head waiter helping out. Entertainment was a little lacking, didn’t really care for the singers and dancers, they just weren’t very good. There were a couple of singers that came onboard that were good. Comedians and jugglers were so-so, same old routines. Cruise Director was Dan Styne, we enjoyed his chit chat before and after the shows. His morning TV show was ho-hum. I thought it strange that you would never see him around the ship in the daytime? One time we saw him at the back pool but that was it. But then, we didn’t do a whole lot of daytime inside activities, we’d rather be outside, so maybe he was inside. Laundry facilities were terrible. Only 2 washing machines and dryers on each deck, usually you had to wait in line an hour or more to do your darn laundry, people were not happy with it. Unless you were an Elite Captains Club member, then you got laundry done free!! For the most part we had no major complaints about the ship or service for the 30 days, we were very comfortable. Used the spa one time for massage/facial, it was okay for $79. Gym, I only used once because it was hot in there, I liked walking the deck better. Photos we usually don’t buy many because they are so expensive. We did buy the video of the cruise, we weren’t in it at all but some of our friends were and it’s a nice memory of the cruise. Internet fees were confusing. I didn’t catch on until too late that if you used wireless it wasn’t part of your Platinum internet package, so I ended up paying $79 for wireless I really didn’t need. We got 500 minutes, 250 each, free which was really more than enough that’s why I really didn’t need the wireless. We didn’t even use all our minutes. Live and learn! That was another hot and stuffy spot and they were always giving photo editing classes which were really irritating, loud instructor! We had our one “dead in the water” experience where I woke up at 5 am to find us dead in the water with no electricity!! That was exciting, laying there wondering how they were going to rescue 3000 people in the middle of the ocean!!! The ship and electricity came back on in about 2 hours, thank goodness. I’m still working on getting photos on Webshots, should be soon. Review of ports coming soon.

Glad you had a good time. Not sure I want a "dead in the water" experience :o

:D :D :D Of course, can't wait to see your pictures, too. I had already heard from Robyn that your Cruise Director was the "one and only" Dan :roll: :wink: who we had on PP. I remember seeing him do a lot of running on the running track with an attractive female crew member :D Also saw him in the bars in the evening :D There was some talk of his making a career change, but I guess not :?:

Glad you had a good trip Carol. I thought about you as we got to ports I knew you had visited. So many memories.

Looking forward to the pics too Carol.

Sun Princess pictures
Finally got the pictures uploaded on Webshots! Seemed to take forever. A fellow cruise mate said he used Google's Picasa and it was better but I read his post too late. Still need to check that one out. http://community.webshots.com/user/cswallow81?vhost=community I'm also working on posting the "ports" review. Carol

I tried Picassa; there was something about it that I didn't like, but can't remember what it was :? Now, to go look at your pictures :D :D :D

Great pictures Carol :)

Watched the first 3. GORGEOUS PICTURES :D :D Loved the bit with the rays :D , but what on EARTH was going on in Part 2 :shock:

Crossing the Equator into King Neptune's realm :wink:

Crazy ceremony. Poor Dan the cruise director got the brunt of it all. He's the one lying on the table with the sheet over him. Not sure what the greasy stuff was they were shmearing all over those people. If you look you can see at least 2 guys that actually shaved their heads! We got funny certificates for Crossing the Equator, nice enough to frame but if you read it it's pretty funny. Here's what it says: Crossing the Equator Be it now proclaimed by Call of Conch and Nautilus throughout the Latitudes and Longitudes of our Oceanic Domain that King Neptune, Ruler of the Seven Seas, King of the Secret Currents, Lord of the Boundless Waves, Master of the Tides, High Constable of the Coral Caverns and Uttermost Recesses of the Deep, do hereby Sanction and affirm that Our Most Noble Cross of the Equator be bestowed on . . . (name) who but a mere Mortal, hath this 4th Day of October, 2007 on board m/v Sun Princess accepted with Good Humor and Withstood with Fortitude the most Rigorous Initiation into the Ancient and Moistening Rites of our Aquatic Court. Signed by Dan, Cruise Director; Captain Carlton and the Passenger Services Director. Pretty cute! Then you also get a certificate for crossing the date line. Carol

Thanks for posting your photos Carol.....will have a look at them all over the weekend. Crossing the Equator ceremony is always a bit of silly fun :lol: :lol:

Great review and photos Carol! Thanks for sharing your experience.