Dear Diary,

I’m in Brisbane with my brother Aaron. We arrived late last night on a Jetstar flight which was quite good and stayed in Spring Hill. The hotel was a little dreary but close to a pub where we went for a quick drink. After checking out of the hotel and having a fast food breakfast, we caught a cab to the Cruise Terminal to board the ship. The Sea Princess will be our home for the next two nights as we cruise back home to Sydney on this short repositioning cruise. Aaron is nervous. He has heard I get sea sick. He keeps suggesting I take some travel calm tablets. I know I am going to be fine, I took that cruise on the Interislander across the Cook Strait in New Zealand remember? I’ll be Fine! I tell him (and myself).

The ship feels bigger than I thought. At 77,499 tonnes its large but not a mega ship like the new builds of today. Built in 1998 by Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani in Italy, she was christened by TV star Joanna Lumley of Ab Fab fame. In 2003 the ship left the Princess fleet, joining the P&O UK line and was named the Adonia when christened by HRH The Princess Royal and her daughter Zara Phillips. Sea Princess Rejoined Princess cruises in 2005 and was refurbished.

Our cabin, D723 is located on Dolphin Deck, just past Cafe Corniche and the casino in the ships aft. The twin beds seem comfortable enough, the bathroom functional as is the small flatscreen TV and mini refrigerator which, thank goodness fits the two bottles of Sauvignon Blanc we brought onboard. I opened the window blinds and notice we’ve moved away from the dock, I look at Aaron with my hand over my mouth. “Oh no you’re going to be sick” he roars. “I’m fine! Now lets go get something to eat and explore this ship!” I laugh back.

Having skipped breakfast at the hotel for a cheap fast food, we were hungry, so we headed to the Horizon Court Buffet. I had heard the restaurant was open for a-la-carte dining but upon asking a crew member they directed us to the buffet.

I tried a few bits of everything, as one does at an all you can gorge yourself when its a buffet, but the real hit for me was the seafood salad. It was so fresh, not fishy like but tasted like the ocean.

We then headed to the compulsory drill at our muster station in the Vista Lounge located one deck below our cabin. It took around 30 minutes and ran through such information as what to do, where to go and who to listen to in the event of an emergency. A few different horns and alarms were sounded and along with their meaning and instructions.

We headed upstairs and out on deck after that, to the Seaview Bar located aft on the Lido Deck. As we cruised down the Brisbane River we passed the Radiance Of The Seas and both ships sounded their horn.

A few cocktails (and a couple bottles of wine) later and the Sea Princess headed out into the ocean slightly north to make our way around Moreton Island. We needed food and didn’t feel like sitting making small talk in the al-a-carte restaurnt so we eaded back t the Horizon Court for dinner

The buffet was pretty empty and we scored a window up near the bow with great views.

Again, It was a little bit of everything, one of the best things about eating here. Sure it might seem weird to some to have roast chicken, chicken schnitzel, baked ham and nachos on the same plate, but I had to try several items, right? (OK those cocktails were making me tipsy)

We dodged the casino with only $20 being spent, as there were much better things to do. There was the nightclub, Razzamattazz, holding a Karaoke competition (drunk holidaymakers screeching out old tunes wasn’t for us).

We headed back to the Vista Lounge for ‘Comedy Showtime’ with New Zealand comedian Simon McKenny. Starting by poking fun at his Kiwi accent his routine went through a gamut of accents that had us and the audience in fits of laughter!

After the comedy show it was time for dance classes, but there was more to do such a check out a few of the other bars and nightlife aboard the ship.

After bar hopping for a bit we found ourselves out on deck at the Movies Under The Stars enjoying a bag of popcorn and a latest release flick. Its now time for bed diary, can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

FreakyFlier paid for the cruise independantly