What’s it like cruising with a mate?
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it → cruise → mate
Does it offer the ultimate flexibility, letting you both do your own thing, or is it a frustrating endeavour of endless negotiation and compromise?
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it → offer → negotiation
As long-time friends and committed solo travellers, we decide to put it to the test, boarding the Sun Princess for an action-packed seven-day cruise from Barcelona to Rome.
We’ve travelled together before, but on land.
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We → decide → land
How will we fare at sea?
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we → fare → sea
Will we stay the course or are we fairweather friends?
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we → stay → course
He says ...
Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter
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He → say → newsletter
I board Sun Princess in Barcelona with a mixture of intrigue and concern.
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I → board → intrigue
Concern, because I know I won’t possibly be able to sample every eatery, cocktail and activity on offer.
uncertain
I → know → offer
I’m already suffering major FOMO before we set sail.
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we → suffer → sail
Thankfully, my travel buddy doesn’t share my affliction.
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buddy → share → affliction
While I’ve already been through our itinerary on the Princess mobile app and favourited dozens of classes, talks and shows, she’s happy to just turn up and go with the flow.
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she → favourite → flow
Exploring the ship, it’s clear that cruising has come a long way since I last boarded a Princess vessel in 2008.
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I → explore → 2008
That 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.
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it → hold → 1995
Things have certainly gotten bigger, but they’ve also gotten easier.
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they → get → ?
It lets you book shore excursions, reserve specialty restaurants and order food and drinks from almost anywhere on the ship.
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you → let → ship
There’s also a handy route-finder that shows you the best way to get from A to B.
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that → ’ → A
Equally ingenious is the personalised Medallion, which charges purchases to your onboard account and even unlocks your cabin door as you approach.
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you → charge → door
If there’s a downside to travelling with a friend of the opposite sex, it’s that room sharing can be a bit, well, awkward – which is why we opt for separate cabins.
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we → ’ → cabins
We know it’s not how most friends would travel and, in hindsight, we could have made it work (the cabins are certainly spacious enough), but it saves Julie from having to endure my habit of taking long showers and me from her thunderous snoring.
uncertain
it → know → snoring
One of the great advantages of travelling with a mate is that there’s less pressure to do everything together.
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One → travel → everything
So while Julie often starts her day at the gym, I opt for some gentle stretches in the fitness studio or head out early to watch us glide into port.
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us → start → port
When it comes to shore excursions, neither Julie or I have been to Portofino, so we book the same tour out of Genoa – a fabulous trip that also visits the pretty coastal towns of Rapallo and Santa Margherita.
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that → come → Rapallo
Portofino is the rock star, though: an impossibly photogenic huddle of pastel-coloured mansions surrounding a superyacht-studded harbour.
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Portofino → surround → harbour
In Marseille, while Julie heads to the wetlands of the Camargue, I join an unexpectedly intrepid e-bike tour of France’s oldest city.
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I → head → city
Port cities aren’t always renowned for their beauty, but Marseille is much prettier than I expected, particularly when viewed from Notre-Dame de la Garde, the striking Byzantine basilica on top of the city’s highest hill (thank you e-bike).
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I → renowne → -
High on both our wish lists is Cinque Terre, the string of five UNESCO World Heritage-listed fishing villages that tumble down the Ligurian coastline near La Spezia.
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that → list → Spezia
I spend hours researching the perfect strategy, devising an itinerary that allows us to see all five using a mixture of trains and hiking paths, finishing with a sunset ride along the coast.
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us → spend → coast
And then, the day before we arrive, Italy’s rail workers go on strike.
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workers → arrive → strike
Plan B is a more strenuous hike from Monterosso to Vernazza in 30-degree heat, which Julie wisely decides to abandon halfway through.
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Julie → decide → which
I push on, safe in the knowledge that she’ll be much happier enjoying an Aperol Spritz overlooking Monterosso’s picturesque harbour.
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she → push → harbour
Another potential pitfall of travelling with a mate is that you can be less inclined to socialise with other passengers.
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you → travel → passengers
We combat this by attending an informal singles and solo travellers meet-up on the first night, where we meet Sharon from Brisbane, who has already spent two weeks onboard and is a mine of valuable information.
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who → combat → information
We learn 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.
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We → learn → pool
Over the course of the week, we meet every combination you can imagine, from solos and couples to multi-generational families and large groups of friends.
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you → meet → friends
It’s hard to think of another travel style that so effectively caters to such a disparate range of ages and interests.
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that → ’ → ages
Despite my best efforts, we don’t have time to sample everything.
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we → have → everything
But there are numerous highlights, including a fun-filled night in the specialty Umai Teppanyaki restaurant, where I need four attempts to catch a piece of omelette in my mouth.
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I → be → mouth
Julie, of course, nails it first time.
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Julie → nail → it
Spellbound is another standout – a theatrical magic show accessed via an anonymous black door.
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Spellbound → access → door
Staged in an atmospheric Victorian-style parlour, it includes some genuinely astonishing close-up card tricks by members of Hollywood’s Magic Castle.
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it → stag → Castle
…and 51 more, not listed.
The Aporia
