02 The Day

The plan was to wake up early and head down to the wharf at Dawes Point, just near the hotel and watch the ship sail in…Under the bridge and pass us on the way to White Bay. It was a good plan for a 7 am docking, but according to Sydney ports, she was now going to arrive at 5am.  Not this black duck… too cold,  and too early…. 

But you know, when you are excited and are awake at 4am… what else do you do, but get your phone out and check Ship Tracker.  It showed the Sea Princess just entering the heads. Will I, won't I… Oh Hang it, and up I get fumbling to dress in the dark and racing out to the wharf.

In she came in all her Glory. Arrangements had been made with our Auckland friends for a wave by, but it was too dark to see anyone on deck.  A little disappointed, I stood under a street lamp to at least give them a chance of seeing me….  

Just as I thought all was lost, a faint call echoed across the water:  “Morning Jo”…  well you never saw me jump wave so hard…. Yes, the holiday was beginning.

After a quick breaky with our Carly, it was time to get everything together and get on that ship!

Embark was to start at 1pm and then staggered for every deck on the half-hour. It was not long before noon that they started calling up the first group to check in.. There was a little longer wait until the ship was ready to start boarding, but by then nearly everyone in the terminal was checked in.

Dragging our wine through security worked a treat (no breakages yay!) and we paid our corkage for the extra bottles.

Settling nicely into our stateroom, we decided to grab a quick bite up in the Horizon Court.  There was the mandatory muster, which now, thank god, does not require you to take along your life jackets.

A nice little surprise that turned up in our stateroom were chocolates, champagne and flowers, commemorating our 500 days with Princess, a milestone we would pass during this cruise.

Sailaway was dampened (literally), by the constant rainfall that had plagued us all day. With good intentions, Princess were handing out coloured glow sticks to add to the festivities of Vivid, but there were no crowds to wave to as the streets were abandoned due to the torrential rain.

Step Count : 41,569…… a good start