Dear Diary,

Good morning! We boarded yesterday and now been cruising for one night and this is going to be our only full day on board. I woke up at first light and after a quick shower headed out to explore more of the ship during the quiet time.

I headed out on deck where no one was around and with the sun shining and seas flat it was a peaceful moment before what I knew would be a fun filled day.

Joining me in the morning sunshine was a pod of dolphins alongside the ship. It was amazing watching them dart in and out of the ocean, propelling themselves high near the bow. I must have been there for a good 45 minutes enjoying their wild playfulness. By this time I was getting hungry and it was time for one of the highlights of this cruise, the food.

I headed to the Rigoletto Dining room, armed with my daily program, the Princess Patter to plan my days activities. I was seated with a couple from Brisbane and we made small talk while I enjoyed one of the dishes, scrambled eggs with shallot. The eggs were quite delicious, light and fluffy with just a hint of the oniony flavour from the shallots. Feeling that the couple wanted to be alone and I myself still wanting to enjoy some me time, excused myself after the eggs and headed off to continue my day.

Still feeling a little hungry and wanting to enjoy as much food as possible, I then headed to the ships bow and the Horizon Court Buffet for a second breakfast! Finding a spot at the bow I had a bit of a fry up this time with crispy bacon, bacon, ham, sausage and more eggs with mushrooms and an English muffin. I enjoyed my carnivorous feast, ticking of my activities for the day and then I waddled back to the cabin to find Aaron and head out to Trivia and Bingo.

Held in the Vista Lounge, we got chatting to a couple of ladies travelling together and decided to form a team for the trivia. While the Trivia was free and I quite enjoyed it, people all poured in for the Bingo. Full tickets were $30 for 6 sheets of 6 games. Now people take their Bingo seriously on a cruisehip and with the jackpot being over $1000, I can understand why! Alas neither of us won and it was time for food again, this time in the Traviata restaurant.

For my entree I ordered ‘Sicilian Rice Croquettes’ which to me where Arancini balls! ‘Filled with mozzarella and mushrooms in a tomato sauce’ they were nice, but could have been a little more cooked for my liking and the tomato sauce was simply that.

For the main, I was back to that seafood, just divine. ‘Marinated shellfish with egg, tomato wedges and parsley curl’ the menu said, I think they left off lettuce. It was fresh and tangly with the sauce reminding me of a typical Aussie prawn cocktail. Aarons dishes, not shown, included the Tri-colour Pasta Salad ‘white, green and red pasta with emmentaler, mushrooms, chicken, ham and artichoke in balsamic vinaigrette’ and for main Chicken Teriyaki “sautéed tender chicken pieces in ginger-soy suace, market vegetables, Chinese fried rice”

The jackpot was $2628 for the afternoon Bingo, so we headed back to the Vista Lounge to try and win something this round. Dang it! Nothing again! Oh well, it was still kinda fun and things are starting to get blurry…….

Showtime in the Princess Theatre – Sweet Soul Music – think River Deep Mountain High, was very professional and the Princess Singers were amazing.

It was back up on deck after the show for a few cool refreshments with our new friends from the Trivia. There was a bit of dancing, a fall in the pool and lots of fun, but for now dear diary, I must go to bed, sadly we dock in Sydney and its all too quickly come to an end 😦

Dear Diary,

We are here in Sydney, my bill for the two nights based on Bingo cards and drinks came to… no actually I’m not going to tell you, diary, I don’t want to remember! When I awoke, I looked out the cabin window expecting to see the Opera House and most annoyingly we have docked at White Bay. This terminal is on the other side of the Harbour Bridge and the lines outside the are miles long for the only form of transport, a cab. It took us about 10 minutes to get off the ship, 1.5 hours to wait for a taxi. I cant imagine what newcomers to Sydney must think of this great city with such a poor transport for thousands of disembarking people. While no way the Princess Cruises fault, its the shame of the NSW Government.

I had such a wonderful time on the Sea Princess, service was amazing, the entertainment fabulous, the food plentiful and the ship itself tidy yet with generous open spaces. I’ve enjoyed it so much, guess what? I have booked myself another short cruise with Princess Cruises. Nest time I’ll be sailing on the Golden Princess from Sydney to Melbourne when she comes Down Under for a season. Can’t wait!

FreakyFlier and Aaron paid for an Inside Guarantee Cabin and were upgraded by Princess Cruises.