Background Information: This was my fourth cruise with a grandchild age 12 or 13. And my first cruise with Princess. When was 12 I crossed the Atlantic twice on a cruise with my parents, and I have also been on several cruises with my husband. For the last four cruises I have employed a scooter to get around the ship because I have trouble walking. I had to rent the scooter in the US and carry it with me because the Australian branch of Special Needs at Sea absolutely refused to let me take a scooter from Sydney to Perth by airplane.

Travel To Port of Embarkation: All travel arrangements were made independently - none of them were through Princess. The Scooter and I flew from BWI to MIA, picked up my granddaughter and flew to LAX and then on QANTAS to Sydney. The LAX to Sydney flight was 14.5 hours and crossed the International Date Line. We arrived early in the morning.

Hotel Info: We stayed in the Intercontinental Hotel in Sydney, The taxi to the hotel in Sydney was was $54+ and included several tunnel and freeway tolls. Even though we arrived early in the morning, our room was ready - we were on the 23rd floor with a view of the city. We had Australian plugs to recharge our electronic items (and the scooter). There was also an extra converter plug in the minibar. The internet was $50 for three days, and was a LAN cable. The room had a long window seat bench. There were bathrobes in the closet and a big minibar. The concierge was very helpful in getting tickets and giving us advice. Read more