I booked the Sun Princess cruise to New Caledonia and Vanuatu back in August and only after that, discovered Cruise Critic and was to learn such a lot of valuable information about cruising in general and the Sun in particular so feel I owe it to those who shared their experiences, to share mine also. Flew to Sydney the morning of the cruise with some trepidation after reading that flying the day before was a safer option but on this occasion, no worries; arrived in Sydney from New Zealand by 7am, collected by the shuttle I had booked via Internet as the result of info from the forums and had my luggage dropped at the wharf by 9am, also as a result of info gleaned.

Disembarkation of the previous cruise was in full swing so went for a walk in the local area for an hour or so, back to wait in the shade watching this lovely big ship that was to be my home for the next 12 days then jumped in the check-in line as soon as I noticed it was open. Very effortless, got my boarding number, the magic number 1, and only waited another 45 mins or so before I noticed people queuing for the gates. Thought I couldn't be so lucky as to be boarding at 11.15 but was! Only minor quibble was that there didn't seem to be any announcements so glad I was being observant. Quick trip through customs and up the gangway for the start of a holiday of a lifetime.

All very painless so far, got straight to my cabin, had a quick trip round the very empty ship with the help of my downloaded map and in the buffet having lunch by 12 midday. Luggage was in my cabin by 2pm, very pleased with the location, space and storage facilities and met my steward. Also as a result of CC info, asked for an egg-crate mattress as the bed seemed a bit hard and that was delivered and bed remade by evening. Tried to book for Chef's table as advised but not available on the Sun but did book Ultimate Ships Tour, first one on the list(unfortunately cancelled later due to Norovirus outbreak but more on that to come) Watched sail-away (right on time at 4pm) from the empty Promenade deck as I was feeling a bit too overwhelmed by the experience thus far to brave the crowds on the upper decks, and what a magnificent sight as we silently slid out of the berth, round the corner and under the bridge, past the Opera House and the city, out of the harbour and into the teeth of the first wind and rolling seas!! Welcome to life aboard ship! Read more