This is our inaugural World Cruise post for our grand adventure which will be aboard the Sea Princess, departing Sydney on 22nd May 2015. Yes, that is still a year away, but detailed planning has already started.

World Map showing our world cruise itinerary

Sea Princess – Our Floating Chariot Around The World

The Sea Princess will be our home for 104 days, here is are some facts and figures about this grand lady of the seas:

Sea Princess Our home for a 3 month world cruise

• Registry – Bermuda
• Built – Dec 1998
• Length – 857′
• Height – 188′
• Tonnage – 77,499 GT
• # Decks – 15
• # Pools – 3
• # Pax – 1,998
• # Crew – 910
• # Cabins – 1,006

The Sea Princess, while one of the older ships in the Princess fleet it has been routinely upgraded, including as recently as Sept 2012, and it has that smaller ship feel that we prefer. Just spent a month on Emerald Princess and it was too big, too crowded and too many people.

Here is one of the Princess promotional films on Sea Princess

World Cruise Highlights

• We board the vessel at Sydney cruise terminal adjacent to the Opera House and depart through one of the most picturesque harbours in the world
• Predominantly westbound so we gain extra sleep every time clox change
• Around the South of Australia, up the West Coast and across the Indian Ocean to Sri Lanka ( gotta visit a tea plantation) and India
• Persian Gulf with overnight in Dubai – Andy is going to try the A380 simulator and we can spend the night with our son Iain and daughter-in-law Heidi.
• Red Sea and Suez Canal, which is a highlight for Judi as she hasn’t been through Suez before. Andy has, but is was a few years ago (1976). Our real disappointment is no stop in Egypt to visit Cairo and the Pyramids.
• We then have some great ports in the Meddy, so a fair portion of the shore-ex budget will be expended
• Then it is off to Northern Europe, which includes a stop in Greenock, so we will meet up with Andy’s dad, some of the nieces and friends for a trip to Ibrox, the home of Andy’s football team.
• Once we leave Scotland it is across the North Atlantic to Iceland, Halifax (almost back home) and then down the US East Coast.
• Did I mention Panama Canal – yet again, probably about number 25 for Andy and 4 for Judi, but we will return again after this cruise.
• On clearing Panama, it is down the West Coast of South America, before heading across the South Pacific and back to Sydney.

Princess Cruise World Cruise Film