Live from Sun Princess Africa and India trip

Just a few short notes to commence with. We left home a day early in order to ensure we caught the Ship Just as wel as Virgin changed our flights and if we had gone on the day itself it would have been us waiving goodbye to the ship.

We arrived in Domestic Perth and got a taxi to Fremantle which caught every red light it could but we got to the backpackers hostel and booked in.

We only intended to sleep there and were not worried about luxury. Just as well. Clean but tired and needing redecoration but friendly people both staff and inmates.

We hoped to get some sleep but of course young backpackers they were chatting and enjoying them,selves until the early hours and then we slept. Until 5.30am when the council sent down the maintenance people to Karcher wash the road The noise was horrendous and after about 40 minutes they faded away and we hoped for more sleep BUT they they sent round the road sweeper. We gave up and got up.

We got the blue cat free bus around to the ships terminal and they were still disembarking - perhaps they had been late. We managed to leave our luggage and then went off to have a coffee and get some booze.

Eventually we returned and waited while filling in copious forms for the Singapore people and got on the ship around 12pm.

I went straight to the purses desk to give in the invitations to the M&G which we were having the next day at 9am.

More later

I look forward to reading about your trip. The Sun Princess has always been my favorite Princess ship. I hope you have a wonderful time.

Not the ideal way to start your cruise, but at least now you're on the ship and can relax and get some needed rest. Have a great cruise!

Have a great cruise Yvonne.

Heres a map and itinerary for this fantastic voyage

to all those exotic ports.

Love the overnight you are having in Capetown:)

Itinerary Date Port Arrive Depart

Tue 03/05/11 Fremantle / Australia 17:00

Wed 04/05/11 At Sea

Thu 05/05/11 At Sea

Fri 06/05/11 At Sea

Sat 07/05/11 At Sea

Sun 08/05/11 At Sea

Mon 09/05/11 Singapore / Singapore 08:00 18:00

Tue 10/05/11 Port Kelang / Malaysia 07:00 19:00

Wed 11/05/11 Penang / Malaysia 08:00 18:00

Thu 12/05/11 Phuket / Thailand 08:00 18:00

Fri 13/05/11 At Sea

Sat 14/05/11 At Sea

Sun 15/05/11 At Sea

Mon 16/05/11 Kochi / India 08:00 18:00

Tue 17/05/11 At Sea

Wed 18/05/11 Mumbai / India 07:00 18:00

Thu 19/05/11 Mormugao (Goa) / India 09:00 18:00

Fri 20/05/11 At Sea

Sat 21/05/11 Male / Maledives 07:00 16:00

Sun 22/05/11 At Sea

Mon 23/05/11 At Sea

Tue 24/05/11 Victoria (Mahé) / Seychelles 08:00 18:00

Wed 25/05/11 At Sea

Thu 26/05/11 At Sea

Fri 27/05/11 At Sea

Sat 28/05/11 At Sea

Sun 29/05/11 Richard's Bay / South Africa 08:00 17:00

Mon 30/05/11 At Sea

Tue 31/05/11 Cape Town / South Africa 16:00

Wed 01/06/11 Cape Town / South Africa 22:00

Thu 02/06/11 At Sea

Fri 03/06/11 Port Elizabeth / South Africa 08:00 18:00

Sat 04/06/11 At Sea

Sun 05/06/11 Durban / South Africa 07:00 20:00

Mon 06/06/11 At Sea

Tue 07/06/11 At Sea

Wed 08/06/11 At Sea

Thu 09/06/11 Pointe des Galets / La Reunion 08:00 18:00

Fri 10/06/11 Port Louis / Mauritius 07:00 17:00

Sat 11/06/11 At Sea

Sun 12/06/11 At Sea

Mon 13/06/11 At Sea

Tue 14/06/11 At Sea

Wed 15/06/11 At Sea

Thu 16/06/11 At Sea

Fri 17/06/11 At Sea

Sat 18/06/11 Fremantle / Australia 06:00

Traveled Distance: 28,869.38 km/15,588.22 nm

Yvonne we're all along for the ride. What a marvelous itinerary you have ahead of you.

David many thanks for the map and itinerary.

Barb

This sounds like such an awesome cruise! Thanks for inviting us along! I am looking forward to hearing more.

Have a great cruise, Yvonne! David's map makes it so much easier to take in the breadth of this trip. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on it all.

I'll be waiting for your reports!

I will have done my cruise to Bermuda and be home before you.

Sally

gosh I will subscribe to this to help get the excitment going for us...

joanne

Looking forward to your posts.Enjoy your trip :)

Hi Yvonne! You both have a wonderful, relaxing time!!! Thanks for taking us along!!!

Will be following you with great interest. We want to take this cruise in 2013.

Hi Yvonne- Most of us have followed you here.:D Have a wonderful trip & we'll be with you in spirit.:eek:

Have been searching for this itinerary for 2013 but it seems it's not offered after this cruise. :(

Sorry for the delay but the internet was sloooooooow so we really could not use it. We had an

excellent Meet and Greet and lots of the senior staff incklduding the Captain came and made us

welcome with information and chat. The Princess put on great refreshments and cakes etc.

whichw were so unexpected. The Senior Purser and the Tour Director came and asked if I was

doing any private tours and I worried they would be cross BTU they were most helpful The

explained which docks we would be berthed and when we would have to use the boats. The Tour

lady explained that if I gave her numbers for the boat days she would have a place for us all to

meet and would get us off as a group first. This was so good of her She then went on to ask if I

had a mobile as she would give me her contact and if on any of our touors there was a problem

with time if we could advise her on the ship that we would be say half an hour late she would see

if they could wait for us. What service!

The were almost 85% of the memberw on our roll call who came to the MYG plus several who

thought they would like to join and then we had the problem of them wanting to join the tours as

well. This is OK but no one wants to make up their minds there and then an they do not

understand the concept of let me know within 24 horus as I have to tell tour operators. Eventually

I had to close the book on the tours after about 15 more people had partaken of them. It appears

the ships tours are fully booked.

We have a table of 8 for dinner and strangely enough 6 of us were on the 2008 Pacific Circle cruise

on this ship which makes for lots of reminiscenses (sic) There must ebe some 50 or more from

that cruise on the ship and they all seem to recognise my DH.

We played Trivia the first morning and won with 20/20 and with the same team played on the

afternoon and only got 5/20 but the winner had 7. Again the next day morning trivia we had

24/24 and won and in the afternoon 12/20 coming second,. Today this morning we did not win but

got 15/21 the winner had 19 we did not have the usual team for this but 3 other ladies joined

us - the men were doing something else.

Our CD is the same one we had on the Amazon David and although he is not seen around a lot he

does a good job in the background and his staff are excellent.

There are 5 films a day on MUTS but have not yet watched one. The shows are the usual but they

have started to repeat the shows 2 days running (so each show is shewn 3 times) to enable all

people to see them as the theatre has not got any larger.

Posh frock night tonight to meet and captain but there is only one (not one for each sitting) so that

is also a new situation it spans the waiting for second sitting and leaving first sitting time if that

makes sense.

Must go for a 'cold' swim now more later

PS I posted this yesterday but cruise critic locked up and lost it They cruise critic - are very slow m the other sigts are OK so it must be them they lock up a lot

The captains welcome party as previously mentiioned was a joint one BUT in an effort (I am sure) to save money - the also made it the CVhampagne waterfall night. So the only drinks free offered were champagne and mimosas. No cask white and red wine as usual at all. We had a good evening meeting and chatting with new friends and those from the Pacific Circle cruise and an excellent meal - for the first time ever I ordered fish The Salmon - as I thought I would try to bring fish into my diet at long last. It was excellent.

It appears we have a good trivia and then a not so good trivia. Since last 'chat' we have won twice and lost once. We tied for the win but they do not seem to have tie breakers which is sooooo good. We gave our caps away to another tyeam as we had them previously. The evening show was the Piano man so left that alone having seen it many times. The singer aklso we had seen before but she was ok for a short time. I gave my donation to the casino and watched the lady who wanted them to have her money more quickly as she was playing two machines at once.

My DH went to the lecture on the stars and enjoyed this.

I have had lots of new people who heard from cruise critic members about tours we had organised and now I have had to close the door on some of them as we have 48 and this fills a large coach.

We played WII on the MUTS screen and enjoyed this for ten pin bowling and at the same time there was a ping pong tournament.

Then we took part in the men against women cocktail war. Both teams tied o the leader of each side had 3 minutes to invent their own cocktail The one I made won as my DH's was in the words of the cruise director 'undrinkable' Then we thoroughly enjoyed our own drinks. That is a good activity and they promise to do it again.

We had lunch my the pool but when tjhey wanted to play water polo it started to rain and anyway MUTS was showing football so lots of men were just enthralled with this instead of activities.

I have to go and find the future cruise director as I have trouble with my on board credits They have not given me the share owners credit although I had an e mail confirming I would be given it. What a hassle this is, the pursers desk ladies have confirmed that lots of people are complaining as the computers are not working properly (always the same excuse).

more tomorrow IF the cruise critic web site improves I have already used 140 minutes and it is only the 4th day.!!!:D:D

Wow Yvonne sure sounds as if you have your hands full with all the tour planning. It's such a great move on Princess's part, or at least your Tour Director, to offer such help.

Between the ship's internet and the problems here on CC I was afraid you'd never be able to post. CC does now seem to be running at breakneck speed so hopefully all you'll have to deal with is the onboard internet connection.

Keep winning at Trivia!

David's map is really helping us stay fixed with where you are.

Barb

Hi all Just finished watching the comedian show very good very funny and as the audience wanted to be entertained they reacted and that always makes the atmosphere better. An excellent meal again when of course we ate too much but I did go to the Gym and swim this morning so do not feel too guilty.

The casino stole my money yet again so I will take myself off to bed and hope I wake up early enough for the gym again.

Bye

Sounds like a great cruise so far. Looking forward to reading your future reports. How are the seas so far?

Bob

Yvonne sounds like you have the same problem we all do, since when Princess cooks the food we all overeat! :D

Happy Mother's Day!

Barb

No I did not get up early enough for the Gym but never mind there was always a walk around the decks later - sorry it was tooooo hot.!!

Met lots of new people at the breakfast meal and several more asked to join the tours but I have now got to the situation where most are full. I have asked the tour companies what size bus they are sending but of course as it is weekend we are not getting replies yet.

We had trivia this morning and won although we only had 4 in our team. This afternoon we had 17 but lost to a team with 19 They were good as some of the questions were ambiguous.

Then the crossing of the line with King Neptune This was well run and a little different. Good fun and the three cruisers who were dunked and covered in goo were good sports. (we did this in the Amazon and my feet were orange for a week) There were 4 members of staff who were also covered in everything horrible. Then they threw the Captain and the Cruiser Director David Bradshaw in the pool together with the genetleman who played Neptune's queen and one of the other entertainment staff.

It was so hot that they probably enjoyed the dunking.

Again the meals are excellent a BBQ on the top deck was well received and the display of sweets was amazing. It was Mothers Day (Happy Mothers Day everyone) and there was a huge cake on show with heart shaped chocolates all around the table which was a photo opportunity for lots.

The film tonight is Pavarotti and the 2 shows are repeats so I think I will assist the casino staff with their wages and then go to bed as we will be meeting at 9.30 off the ship tomorrow in Singapore where we are going to the Flyer (The London Eye only much bigger) for a trip and then perhaps go on to the Orchard Road shops. There are 8 of us on this trip unless more join us later We shall go by MTR as this is so easy and cheap.

Speak again later.:D

They have arrived in Singapore.

Enjoy your day Yvonne.:)

Current weather in Singapore (May 09, 2011)

30 °C

86 °F

We stook into Singapore quietly while I was asleep. We are parked frontwards next to the Legend of the Seas which has come in backwards.

Good to see the old girl we went on her many years ago for 3 weeks through to Mexico.

We had arranged a DIY tour for 8 of us to the Flyer and were to meet off the ship at 9,30 We waited until 10 o clock four of us but obviously had missed the other two couples. We then joined the long line to go through passport control which took about 25 minutes. The Legend now belong to Royal Caribbean - Asia dot com and there were many asians gettong of this ship and they seemed to cause problems for the passport authorities.

When we cleared passport we went on the MTR and purchased tickets from the machine to go to the Flyer. The journey was good and successful and we got onto the flyer. An excellent trip By the tim,e we were aboard the mist had burned away and the view was spectacular. The amount of building going on in Singapore is huge and very ibnteresting as we saw the starting grid for the Grand Prix which will be held in September,

We then took the MTR to Orchard Road but did not buy anything. Then back to the ship andn in the terminal shopping area we purchased another card for the camera. By then we were wilting and headed for the cabin to change into swim wear. A quick lunch of soup and roll and down to the pool. After the swim I was feeling very saintly after that small lunch when Satan came past with hot peanut butter cookies and cold creamy milk. What could I do I fell for it. They were sooooo delicious. Then I noted it was time for Trivia although DH was still in the pool we went down and played - we did not win only 16 out of 24 There was a tie for the 19 point winners.

Tonight there is a magician show which DH wants to see and there isd also a film I fancy seeing so we will have to toss a coin. I need to hunt the inch of gold people up as the last anklet I bought in the Amazon has gone nasty and they will replace it.

Now I need to make about 20 phone calls to ensure that everyone tomorrow knows where and what time we meet for the day trip to Kuala Lumpur. more later:p:p

Hi Yvonne

Love your posts. This cruise is on my bucket list so I am following with great interest. If you meet my friends Vic and Stella from Perth, please say hi.

I will be interested to hear how you go with your Inch of Gold. I was told I had to return it to Miama, FL so that was useless to me :mad:

Beryl

Hooray I got into this site. I took 18 minutes earlier and could not get this post reply to open.

Last evening we were delayed for the leaving Singapiore and the Pursers Desk were paging a gentleman to return his passport before the Singapurian authorities would allow us to leave. Eventually the security went to his cabin to make sure he was there asnd get his passport. Later we saw the authorites leave the ship and then the Captain announced that " after counting papers several times, getting the passport from a recalcitrant passeneger and finding two Singapurean residents we could not leave".... We sailed out of the harbour slowly in the gathering gloom and were enthralled with the lights of the buildings and fishing vessels as we passed. The cubes from the cable car above our heads which goes to Sentosa each had a different pattern of flashing lights and it was very entertaining to watch. I thought this was better than the passing of the Krakatoa a couple of days ago.

We then had a good meal and went to the MUTS to watch A persian Prince, sands of time - the first time I had used Muts and we were comfortable and warm and enjoyed the whole experience. Then to bed.

This morning we woke at a good time and I got ready to organise the passenegers of the tour to KL. We had a quick breakfast and then I left DH while I went ashore (walking a mile through the passageway from the ship to the shore) to find our bus and ther tou guide. He came dead on time and gradually the group assemled and I good tick them off my list. We had an excellent guide and driver and a very comnfortable - almost luxurious 44 seater bus. We drove teh scenic route to the Batu Caves outside KL and most of us managed to climb the 272 steps to the temple at the top and watch the antics of the monkeys on the way. Returning to ground level some partook of a fresh coconut drink and used the facilities before driving to the Batik factory.

A very interesting explanation of the manufacturing process and we watched some being made. Then we could purchase some fof the lovely materials and clothes if we wanted to do so.

Then on the Royal Selanor Pewter works. We were taken on a tour of the history of the family who still own this company and shown some old exhibits. Then into the factory - having a cool drink from a pewter vessel on the way. We were able to watch some handles being caste, some polishing and lining of this metal and some of the hammered detail for the mugs etc. Then we could have a go at hammering ourselves. It is a lol harder than it looks.

Afterwards very many purchases were made as the jewellery was lovely and quite inexpensive.

On the lunch - we were expecting a quick bite in a cafe type place but were taken to a complex with a sedate restaurant. The food had to be good as many of ther tables were crowded with the local police personnel.

A great meal, chinese tea, rice, hot malaysian soup, prawns, calamari, a whole fish cooked in salt, chicken pieces, toffu and mushrooms with vegetables, bok choi and other vegetables, and a beef dish. Followed by orange wedges. We were repleat.

After this meal we went back to the bus and commenced a tour around Kuala Lumpur town itself with many stops for photographs and a visit to the mosque and temple.

Our guide was most entertaining an full of information. A thoroughly enjoyable day and we were back at the ship spot on 4.30 as requested. After passing through the passport and customs place we found a duty free shop. We purchased a slab of Hienikan beer for $20 US and split this with another couple. Very reasonable. They also had wine and other gopodies in this shop.

The dinner tonight was open sitting as it had been a long day on shore. We managed to get everyone back on board in time and left exactly as planned but could not see much as we steamed out due to the mist around.

The show this evening was 'masks and magic' a strange but entertaining act. Probably best explained as a mute act as a modern pl;ay on the chinese man of many faces. Lots of different masks and a mime to go with them.

Today I had another couple ask to join us tomorrow and I just had enough spaces left. We are now a full 44 seater bus for Penang.

Tomorrow we will start again abnd hope that everyone gets off the ship on time so we can leave as planned as we only have a half day tour organised. As it is the same company as today I am sure it will be a success. more later :D