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Welcome
Welcome to Fremantle Cruisers
In recent years there has been an upsurge in the amount of cruise lines basing cruises from Fremantle into South East Asia. West Australians and other eastern sea-borders and now flocking to Fremantle as the jumping off point to Asian cruise destinations such as Bali, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Phuket, Langkawi, Koh Samui and others further a field such as Bangkok, Cambodia and Vietnam, as well as cruises that circumnavigate Australia and the Indian Ocean.
The convenience of being able to depart from Fremantle for many West Australians has ensured these cruises are very popular, however like us we found it very hard to get information about:
- The ships
- What it is like doing a cruise
- Embarkation/Disembarkation Procedures
- What will our cabin be like
This website is for 15,000 people each year who commence cruises from Fremantle, many doing a cruise for the first time. Like us they will have hundred of questions about their cruise which so many people look forward to for such a long time. The excitement as the sailing day approaches only increases the anticipation and desire for more information and this website is for those to want to share and participate in the forums.
We hope you will find many answers here and if not please leave a question on the forums. There are many who has made this journey before you and as cruisers are a happy bunch of fun loving people we are sure you will have an answer within a very short period.
Cruise Completed on the Queen Mary 2
9th February 2012
After an busy period following our house fire last year, Freocruisers are back. We have just completed a 14 day cruise on the Cunard Queen Mary 2 from Capetown to Fremantle via Durban and a brief stop at Mauritius.
We are pleased to report that the QM2 is just magnificent and in very good condition following the refit in December 2011
The cruise did not go without its hitches though. The ship was delayed 13 hours leaving Capetown due to wind of 45kts+ in the harbour preventing our departure, and then we had to dodge the tropical cyclone "Funzo" in the Straits of Madagascar, which meant we couldn't stop in Mauritius, and then hit with two complete power failures mid Indian Ocean which brought the ship to a standstill. Very exciting!
The QM 2 is very different and quite similar to the Sun Princess in the way she is operated, but being the World's largest ocean liner means she handles sea conditions much better and has truly grand internal fittings and public spaces and makes no pretence that she is a ship, and then a hotel later.
We hope to update this site with lots of information about the QM2 as we have done for the Sun Princess soon. In the meantime enjoy some images taken on board by following the link below.
http://flic.kr/pp/trpatjr for a photo session
or follow the link below to review and comment on individual images
Live from Onboard the Sun Princess
Thursday 23rd June 2011 - Treasures of Asia
Another lazy day onboard with the highlight being the "Crossing the Equator Ceremony" before lunch and a delicous BBQ on deck by the pool. We crossed the Equator at 3.12pm about 100 miles to the west of Sumatra.
The weather is now almost calm and certainly tropical with occasional warm passing rain showers.
Tonight is a formal night and also the Captain's Cocktail Party for returning cruisers at 5.15pm.
Wednesday 22nd June 2011 - Treasures of Asia
After a great Indian themed menu in the Marquis Dining Room last night yesterday evening we were treated to a side splitting vocal comedy act in the Princess Theatre by the multi-talented Toni Stevens, described in the Princess Patter as "Your one woman party.. a big bundle of fun!
Toni sure had us rocking with some great audience participation and and gags, including the traditional Irish jokes through to great take-offs of the Royal Family, especially Prince Charles.
Today dawned fine and clear, and the winds have abated somewhat leaving just a slight movement of the vessel, enough to remind cruisers that they are on a sea passage.
Everyone is out on deck enjoying the warmth and sunshine now 200 miles of the South coast of Sumatra having left the Winter of Perth far behind. This afternoon promises to be a lazy session by the pool and spa enjoying a few drinks, or perhaps a sleep on a deck chair.
Some great movies are showing onboard including:
- The Kings Speech
- Tron: Legacy
- Inception
so if you are on the next cruise and are planning to see these movies you are in for a treat.
Internet speeds and reliability have improved dramatically today now that we are in the coverage of the satellites over Indonesia.
Tomorrow will see us cruising around the northern tip of Sumatra amongst the islands to the north of Aceh province, and it is great cruising through this area while sitting in the spa enjoying a beer or cocktail.
The port lectures have been updated and are a compulsory appointment each day at 10AM, followed by the Scholarships at Sea lectures by Douglas Sturkey which are the same as our cruise two years ago, but are fascinating and give a real insight into some lesser known Australian and South East Asian history relevant to areas and destinations of the ship.
We have organised a competition with our friends onboard to try to take a single photograph of what we believe will best capture the "essence" of cruising We will publish the result here.
Tuesday 21st June 2011 - Treasures of Asia
Fremantle Cruisers are currently on-board the Sun Princess to the west of Christmas Island heading Phuket. After an on-time departure from Fremantle on Saturday we are on day 3 of the 6 day passage and settling into the cruise.
Boarding procedures were similar to previous trips, well organised and not too much waiting. We arrived at the Passenger Terminal at about 12.30, the bags promptly dispatched, and then up into the terminal for the paperwork filling out session, which in this occasion included having to fill out Thai immigration and departure cards. This is always a chore, and they must be filled out carefully and correctly to avoid later problems. This took 3/4's hour
Once called to board we spent no more than 5 minutes in any queue at customs, security screening, Princess Check-in and boarding and we were in our cabin (which we believe is the cheapest and best located on the ship) by 2.15pm, and found our luggage had already been delivered.
Not having had lunch we made our 1st port of call the Horizon Court and enjoyed a snack and a beer.
On this cruise we are accompanied by our daughter in a triple room cabin on Riviera Deck, and also friends from Melbourne with their daughter also in a triple on Riviera. They like many other passengers had a rather traumatic few days leading up the the cruise with disruptions to their flights to Perth caused by the volcanic ash cloud.
The was a very much sense of relief from the non Western Australian passengers when we sailed and the crew and staff seem friendlier than ever. It has been great to catch up with the staff on crew onboard from our previous cruises, and we are pleased to report the Sun Princess in very good condition. Food is once again excellent, but we have noted that alcohol prices have risen slightly since our last cruise.
We are just 3 doors from our cabin on the last cruise and have noted the internet not to be as fast or as reliable as previously. This may be as a result of the weather which has seen consistent 4.5 meter swells and 25kt plus winds since we left Fremantle, fortunately from astern. Although there is some movement of the ship, not too many people have been sea sick, with the biggest roll I have measured on my iphone to being just 2 degrees. By contrast the first trip we did ex Fremantle saw 8 meter swells and 5 degree roll on the first couple of days.
The majority of the passengers on this cruise seem to be a little younger, still a little older than us and we don't feel we are the "kids" on the ship anymore! Maybe we are getting older too!
The "Piano Man" stage show on day 2 has had new choreography and some new songs and dancers, although some familiar faces were it the cast including lead male singer and dancer Shea Rafferty. It was one of the most high energy physical show we have seen, accompanied by the likes of Billy Joel, Elton John and other famous piano/vocalist artist's music.
We are looking forward to the comedy act tonight and now heading off to the Marquis Dining Room for dinner now.
Check back to the site each day for updates from onboard. Much of this information on this page will eventually find its way into other pages on the site.
Cheers from Freocruisers - Live to Cruise, Cruise to Live!
What's New!
Cruise on the Queen Mary 2
16th May 2011
We are excited to announce we are doing another cruise to Fremantle. This time on the Queen Mary 2 departing in January 2012 from Capetown in South Africa, visiting Durban and Mauritius on the way back. We are not looking forward to the long flight, however will be breaking the journey for 5 days at Mauritius on the way over.
We staying with friends who have business interests in South Africa. They will also be returning to Fremantle with us and have booked a "Queen Suite." It will be exciting to get lots of photos of another ship visiting Fremantle on a regular basis and much more material for this site.
More Cruising News
14th May 2011
We are once again getting excited about another 25 days of rest, relaxation and pleasure. Just under a month before our next cruise on the Sun Princess departing on the 18th June. We hope it rains before then our farm is very dry, only 300mm of rain since October 2009, the driest year ever. It seems to be raining everywhere except on our place.
Sun Princess Fuel Lighter causes Rail Bridge Damage
3rd May 2011
When calling at Fremantle for the start of the 2011 cruise season from Fremantle, the 1500 tone bunker ship that normally re-fuels the Sun Princess while leaving its berth near the Fremantle Railway Bridge, strong currents caught the tender and cause it to hit a pylon on the Fremantle Rail Bridge. Some damage was also caused to the 25kv Electrical power supply to the trains.
As a consequence all trains to Fremantle were halted while repairs to the overhead power and survey of the bridge pylon took place causing commuter chaos for two days.
Freocruisers Crew are Sailing Again!
1st October 2010
We have booked another 25 day cruise around Asia on the Sun Princess in June next year. In addition to ourselves our daughter and her partner are also booked as well as another couple from Melbourne. As usual we are happily anticipating the sailing date and will also collect a great deal more information on the Ports of Call for posting here as we will be travelling independently in all ports.
Fremantle Cruisers is now on Facebook
1st August 2010
A new Facebook group for Fremantle Cruisers has been setup. If you are already a member of Facebook. There is no need to register on this group and your comments, photos, videos and stories are welcome.
To access the site click here
Disclaimer
Fremantle Cruisers provides this information from publically available sources, material provided onboard the Sun Princess and from personal experiences of the Webmasters. The material provided is for informational purpose only and you should verify this information from other sources before acting on it. We cannot accept responsibility for the accuracy or currency of the information and you accept this as a condition of using the site.
Fremantle Cruisers Forum although moderated may contain inaccurate or personal opinions. In the interests of free flow and exchange of ideas you should maintain an open mind when viewing posts by others in the forums.
