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Two long-time friends and solo travellers board the 21-deck Sun Princess for a seven-day cruise from Barcelona to Rome, testing whether travelling with a mate offers flexibility or endless compromise.
Two long-time friends and committed solo travel lers boarded the Sun Princess for an action-packed seven-day cruise from Barcelona to Rome to test what cruising with a mate is really like.
Does it offer the ultimate flexibility, letting you both do your own thing, or is it a frustrating endeavour of endless negotiation and compromise? The writer, Rob McFarland, boarded the Sun Princess in Barcelona with a mixture of intrigue and concern. Intrigue, because this was by far the largest cruise ship he had been on: a 21-deck giant with 16 restaurants, 15 bars and 4566 other passengers.
Sun Princess App and Ship Features
Concern, because he knew he would not possibly be able to sample every eatery, cocktail and activity on offer. He was already suffering major FOMO before the ship set sail. Thankfully, his travel buddy did not share his affliction. While he had already been through the itinerary on the Princess mobile app and favourited dozens of classes, talks and shows, she was happy to just turn up and go with the flow.
Exploring the ship, it was clear that cruising had come a long way since he last boarded a Princess vessel in 2008. That earlier trip was a partial circumnavigation of Australia on the old Sun Princess, a 2000-passenger liner that briefly held the title of world's largest cruise ship when it launched in 1995. Things have certainly gotten bigger, but they have also gotten easier. The Princess app is a lifesaver.
It lets you book shore excursions, reserve specialty restaurants and order food and drinks from almost anywhere on the ship. There is also a handy route-finder that shows you the best way to get from A to B. Equally ingenious is the personalised Medallion, which charges purchases to your onboard account and even unlocks your cabin door as you approach.
If there is a downside to travelling with a friend of the opposite sex, it is that room sharing can be a bit awkward, which is why the pair opted for separate cabins. They know it is not how most friends would travel and, in hindsight, they could have made it work, as the cabins are certainly spacious enough.
Solo Cruising With a Friend
But separate cabins saved Julie from having to endure his habit of taking long showers and saved him from her thunderous snoring. One of the great advantages of travelling with a mate is that there is less pressure to do everything together. So while Julie often started her day at the gym, Rob opted for some gentle stretches in the fitness studio or headed out early to watch the ship glide into port.
When it came to shore excursions, neither Julie nor Rob had been to Portofino, so they booked the same tour out of Genoa. It was a fabulous trip that also visited the pretty coastal towns of Rapallo and Santa Margherita. Portofino was the rock star, though: an impossibly photogenic huddle of pastel-coloured mansions surrounding a superyacht-studded harbour. In Marseille, while Julie headed to the wetlands of the Camargue, Rob joined an unexpectedly intrepid e-bike tour of France's oldest city.
Port cities are not always renowned for their beauty, but Marseille was much prettier than he expected, particularly when viewed from Notre-Dame de la Garde, the striking Byzantine basilica on top of the city's highest hill, thanks to the e-bike. High on both their wish lists was Cinque Terre, the string of five UNESCO World Heritage-listed fishing villages that tumble down the Ligurian coastline near La Spezia.
Portofino, Marseille and Cinque Terre
Rob spent hours researching the perfect strategy, devising an itinerary that allowed them to see all five using a mixture of trains and hiking paths, finishing with a sunset ride along the coast. Then, the day before they arrived, Italy's rail workers went on strike. Plan B was a more strenuous hike from Monterosso to Vernazza in 30-degree heat, which Julie wisely decided to abandon halfway through.
Rob pushed on, safe in the knowledge that she would be much happier enjoying an Aperol Spritz overlooking Monterosso's picturesque harbour. Another potential pitfall of travelling with a mate is that you can be less inclined to socialise with other passengers. They combated this by attending an informal singles and solo travellers meet-up on the first night. At that meet-up they met Sharon from Brisbane, who had already spent two weeks onboard and was a mine of valuable information.
They learned about the best place to have breakfast, the promenade outside the Eatery buffet, and the secret lift to the Wake View Terrace, a less-visited spot at the aft of the ship with a stunning infinity pool. Over the course of the week, they met every combination you can imagine, from solos and couples to multi-generational families and large groups of friends.
It is hard to think of another travel style that so effectively caters to such a disparate range of ages and interests. Despite his best efforts, they did not have time to sample everything. But there were numerous highlights, including a fun-filled night in the specialty Umai Teppanyaki restaurant, where Rob needed four attempts to catch a piece of omelette in his mouth. Julie, of course, nailed it first time.
Dining and Entertainment on Sun Princess
Spellbound was another standout: a theatrical magic show accessed via an anonymous black door. Staged in an atmospheric Victorian-style parlour, it included some genuinely astonishing close-up card tricks by members of Hollywood's Magic Castle.
Finally, the candlelit concerts in The Dome, a striking glass venue near the bow, were intimate and evocative, even if the acoustics were not perfect. A cruise may just be the ideal holiday to take with a friend, but choosing the right companion still matters. There are not many people who would put up with Rob's over-ambitious scheduling, penchant for multiple desserts or insistence on moving tables for the best view, three times in one restaurant.
If you are lucky enough to have a Julie in your life, consider a cruise. You will have a ball. As the Sun Princess pulled into the French port of Marseille, Rob watched in fascination from his balcony as the ship was masterfully manoeuvred alongside the wharf. Suddenly his phone pinged.
It was his travel hubby Rob, texting him from an unknown location.
brisbanetimes
smh:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
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