Last Day on Sun Princess

It’s a sad day when it’s the last day of a cruise, but I’m grateful for the experience onboard Sun Princess. We’ve had a week together where others cooked, made the bed, cleaned the bathroom, and entertained us. Cruising is such a wonderful experience. 

We spend the morning at the AFT pool on Deck 8. We’ve found an easy way to get there which is to walk down all the staterooms' corridors of Deck 10 and then take the elevator down two decks. It has to be the elevator because the stairs are more complicated and it has to be the elevator at the very back otherwise it’s complicated. 

We have two loungers facing the ocean and it’s the perfect base camp for enjoying the pool and hot tub. We’ve used the hot tubs a lot on the trip. I forgot how good they feel and how much better my blood circulates in the heat. 

I’m curious about Alfredo’s and try it for lunch. This is a casual eatery and has a cover charge. I arrive at 11:30am and there is already a line. There are still several tables open so the line should move quickly. It does. I start chatting with the lady behind me and then end up joining her and her friend for lunch. I was ready to eat alone, but it was nice to meet new people and share a meal together.

Alfredo's Pizzeria

They told me all about their cruise and what they loved and didn’t love. They had a specialty dining package and ate most dinners at specialty restaurants. They loved the teppanyaki restaurant, but weren’t impressed by the other options. Their biggest complaint was the portion sizes. I mentioned ordering two items instead of one and they hadn’t thought of that. That’s often what my husband does on a cruise! They also told me about a certain type of cabin. There are cabins which essentially have their own private deck or a shared semi-private deck. They sound interesting and later I realize that is the deck below us. We can see it from our balcony. The cover charge for Alfredo’s is roughly $15 and includes an appetizer, pizza/calzone, and dessert. The lady tells me I can also just order a pizza and that cover charge is $8 instead. I opt for this option because it’s one fairly large pizza. I can’t finish the one pizza because it’s too much. I also order a tiramisu cocktail which was heaven in a glass. The drinks have all been so good! 

Duck hunting is a cruise sport we usually do at least once on a cruise. Today’s the day for duck hunting. This ship is not well suited for ducks. The decor is modern chic with a minimalist style which leaves very little hiding spots. One of the ladies at lunch gave me a duck for my son which is what prompted the duck hunt. Our greatest score for the duck hunt is at Princess Live. One of the crew members sees us looking and comes to us with a Princess duck. My son loves it, but he also wants to find a duck in the wild. There are a couple ladies who notice our duck hunt and one hides one within our path. My son finds it and is over the moon. I’ve finally found one! The kid has made out with ducks on the trip. Most come from other passengers who see my son and offer him one. It’s such a fun cruise tradition. 

Duck Hunting

There is family fun on deck 4. My son initially doesn’t want to go, but when I explain it’s for the whole family he’s in. The little festival has face painting, arts and crafts, and cup stacking. Each activity gives you an opportunity to earn raffle tickets. Raffle tickets are apparently the trick to get my child to do anything. He does all the activities and collects tons of tickets. The cup stacking station in particular yields a lot of tickets. Two kids compete and the winner gets a ticket. My son isn’t usually competitive, but apparently cup stacking is his sport. He loves it. He also cheats a few times when facing adults and knocks over his opponents' cups. We’re still learning about how to be a good sport. 

Family Fun

They draw five tickets for prizes and my son wins twice. The first time he wins luggage tags and the second time he wins a Princess duck. The kid has my luck! (The reason we are even on this particular trip is thanks to my luck.)

We rest in the room for a little bit then it’s back to Deck 8 for the pool and hot tub. My initial thought is to watch the sunset, but due to ship time changes and the location of the ship, the sunset is way later than I realize. 

Eventually it’s time to hike back to our cabin which is on the opposite side of the ship. The journey is long with several stops. The elevator brings us up to Deck 9 which is the buffet. It’s late so the American Diner is no longer open and they are setting up for dinner. I wish I knew what this place was about sooner on our trip! It’s not a buffet for dinner, but is included. No reservations are needed and robots deliver the food! My son sees the robots and has several questions. The crew is so gentle and accommodating and they answer about 15-minutes of rapid fire questions. They were some really good questions and we both learned a lot. A waiter takes your order at the table and then goes to the kitchen to tell the chefs. When the food is ready, the server places the food on a robot and sends it to your table. The robot greets you and offers the food. 

Americana Diner

Our next mission on our journey is to collect a donut. We move through the diner and through the Eatery. Eventually we’re at the piazza which is where you can find donuts. The piazza is three stories high and we’re not on the right deck. We descend two sets of stairs until we’re at the coffee shop. My son orders a donut. We then realize the tree lighting is happening soon, so we climb the steps and grab seats overlooking the piazza. 

Tree Lighting

The tree lighting is a whole show with singers, dancers, and of course lighting the tree. When it’s nearly time to light the tree, an eight-year old girl goes center stage. She’s asked a few questions and then the lighting happens. My son loses control and rage engulfs him. What’s wrong? I ask him. He’s angry that another kid was part of the show and it wasn’t him. Luckily, we are at the edge of the piazza so it’s an easy escape. My son literally runs to the cabin and I’m there chasing him down the halls. Luckily, we are stopped by a very nice lady. Her door is near ours and her cabin is decorated with magnets and signs. We’ve talked to them a couple times and my son has told them how much he likes their door. Her timing couldn’t have been better. She sees my son and offers some of her decorations! He is so happy but inside also angry about the tree thing. He maintains composure and thanks the lady. It was just what we needed to reset. We go back to the cabin to completely reset and he’s much calmer. I talk about how this ship has over 4,000 guests and only one person was part of the tree ceremony. I also talk about how it can be hard to talk in front of a crowd and how the girl answered three questions in front of a crowd. I remind him about the times officers had asked him questions during the cruise and how he couldn’t answer. He’s still not happy, but more understanding of the situation. 

Now it’s a mad rush to pack and get ready for dinner. The bags must be out by 8pm and dinner is at 7:30pm. My husband packs his luggage while I pack mine and my son’s bag. We place three bags and the booster seat outside our room and then we’re off to dinner. 

We have our appetizers and main course at the main dining room and move upstairs to the diner for dessert. My son is excited to see the robots in action. We order strawberry shortcake that we share. My son takes a couple bites and says he doesn’t like strawberry shortcake. He’s happy though because he saw the robots and I’m happy he tried something new. 

We finish the night with drinks at Good Spirits. We attempt to drop our son at the kid’s club, but it’s movie night. He doesn’t like watching movies so it’s a hard sell. We bring him to the bar instead. Mom of the year. Haha. I’m not entirely sure if kids can go to the bar, but no one kicks us out. He did want to try my blue drink, but I said no. He got an apple juice instead. We stay for the show and then it’s time to sleep.

Good Spirits