Tears flow as Swans superfan gets ultimate birthday surprise at sea

Garyth didn't see the tears coming. It was such a simple gesture, but often they're the best. It was his 69th birthday and he was enjoying a lovely dinner on the trip of a lifetime. But as one Sydney Swans star started to sing, and another emerged with the cake, he couldn't stop himself. The emotion of 28 years as a Swans member - the past 22 with the cheer squad - all came to the surface.

As he revealed to Sydney premiership player Ted Richards over the breakfast buffet the next morning, it was among the best days of his life. He was one of 300 club members on the inaugural Sydney Swans Member Cruise aboard Crown Princess - a four-and-a-half-day sojourn from Sydney to Hobart and back again.

For Garyth the members dinner became something extra special with a simple birthday cake. And a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday.

"I certainly was [overwhelmed]," he said. "Absolutely lovely. [Swans greats] Josh Kennedy and Teddy [Richards] came and sat by me. Everyone took photos and I started to cry."

It was that raw connection with the fans that resonated the most with Swans AFLW star Cynthia Hamilton - aka the cake bearer. Her teammate Chloe Molloy led the singing as they delivered the bundle of joy to Garyth.

"He was crying last night when we brought that cake out to him," Hamilton said. "It just shows what such a simple thing can do. You wouldn't think something like that would be so damn special.

"He just couldn't believe that this was happening to him. It's just so special to see that and the raw emotion. Little things."

Garyth was travelling with his good mate Darrell - fellow cheer-squad member and former Myer work colleagues for 30 years. The pair, from Sydney's western suburbs, were already looking forward to the next Swans cruise - while the Crown Princess was still sailing up the east coast on the first one.

Themed cruises are becoming quite a thing in the world of cruising. Over the next year there'll also be a Scottish links and islands golf cruise, a Halloween-themed voyage, even a knitting one, and many more besides (see breakout).

Every Swans member on board seemed to be raving about the time they were having. And if it were up to them there'd be a Swans member cruise 2.0 in 2026. Without promising too much, Swans chief executive Tom Harley was quietly optimistic it would happen. He was part of the AFL club's brigade who came along for the ride - his first time on a cruise.

Harley's favourite part was a Q&A session about the 2024 season, held in the ship's Club Fusion, and followed by a busy selfie and autograph session. It was here you would've heard Harley open up about last year's grand final loss to Brisbane, as the members got the chance to ask questions of their heroes.

You would've found out who hated playing on Lance "Buddy" Franklin when he was still a Hawthorn player. And who the club consulted with before they recruited the star forward to make sure they were OK with it.

You would've found out who said if they had to play for another club, it would be Collingwood.

But alas, the Chatham House Rule protects the identity of the guilty.

There was also the welcome cocktail function; the 2024 highlights played on the big screen on the open deck; Swans trivia; yoga and pilates sessions where you could struggle alongside AFL and AFLW players at 7am; another panel discussion, in the ship's theatre, about the season to come; and of course the members dinner.

The whole cruise was like being at the club's best-and-fairest dinner, spread over four days, with intermissions so you could go off and sit in one the seven whirlpool spas or have a massage.

And if there were another Swans cruise, Richards, who turns out to be a funny bugger, came up with the perfect addition to the itinerary - Swans karaoke.

"Good luck telling the folks on the ship that there's not [going to be a second Swans cruise]," Harley said. "I'd like to think so. It's impossible to unequivocally put a line in the sand to say yes, but it's been an overwhelming and rousing success."

Along with Harley, Kennedy, Richards, Hamilton and Molloy, the Sydney AFLW coach Scott Gowans and executive general football manager Leon Cameron were also on board. Oh, and the Swans mascot Cyggy.

You couldn't go anywhere on the Crown Princess without seeing the red and the white - whether it was a cap, a T-shirt, a jacket or a jersey - and it was also hard not to bump into a player, coach or official.

Not only could you get to know your football heroes over a martini or while taking a dip in one of the four pools, you could meet their families as well. Richards had his along for the ride and he could be seen trying to convince his kids to take part in the supervised children's activities.

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It added an almost intimate element to being on board a ship that holds 3080 passengers and soars 19 decks high. You see, the Swans cruise was a cruise within a cruise - people brought together by a common interest to become a mini floating community.

I had lunch with a couple from Perth - one a Fremantle supporter, the other a West Coast fan. The latter was having severe AFL envy. He wanted nothing more than to tag along to the Swans events - decked out in his Eagles shirt, of course - just to be a part of it as well.

The rest of the passengers were your regular cruisers - families, groups of friends, retirees.

And as a Swans member, you could do everything else on board, too: go to restaurants whose galleys use 500 kilograms of flour and 12,000 eggs a day; anything from your standard buffet to pub food to an Italian restaurant.

There were wine tastings, art auctions and seminars. Bars, nightclubs and deck parties. Game shows, live music, karaoke and movies under the stars. There were performances on stage at the aforementioned theatre, where the acts all train in Los Angeles in between cruises. (Try to avoid the front row unless you want to become part of the entertainment - like yours truly did.)

If that sounds exhausting, there were plenty of deck chairs to relax in afterwards.

Plus there was a port call, in Hobart, where you could get your land legs back and realise the world doesn't constantly rock.

The Crown Princess began the cruise proudly bearing a banner stating, "Cheer, cheer, the red and the white" - leaving no illusions as to what the captain's colours were for this journey.

And if you were lucky, you had views of the Sydney Opera House from your cabin's balcony - both on departure and when you returned as dawn broke.

A sight beautiful enough to make you cry.

THE SHIP: Princess Cruises' Crown Princess

THE SIZE: 290 metres, 1547 guest cabins, 3080 guests

GOOD TO KNOW: If you're going to bring a powerboard (most of the outlets are for US plugs) then make sure it doesn't have surge protection as you'll have to hand it over when you get onboard and collect it when you leave.

GET ON BOARD: The Crown Princess is sailing out of Australia for most of the year. Her next voyage with spots still available is a 17-day cruise from Perth to Sydney from May 3. From $2333 per person.

EXPLORE MORE: princess.com

The writer was a guest of Princess Cruises.