South Pacific - Australia Cruise Reviews

Just back from 12 wonderful days on the Sun Princess. We found the staff on board this ship to be exceptionally warm and friendly. Our rooms were serviced twice a day and nothing was ever a problem. Entertainment aboard the cruise was good except for the Princess Show Crew which was so unprofessional it wasn't funny. All voices were mismatched and their dancing was all over the place. A bit of a disappointment.

The Regency Dining Room was exceptional and Horizons Court Buffet had a huge selection range. The International Cafe at the Atrium was a life saver being open 24 hours for coffee and snacks.

our toilet stopped working 4 times. The good part was their very prompt attention and it was fixable.

The ships getting old. I think the food quality in the dining rooms has gone down hill since a previous cruise 5 years ago.

overall most would be happy enough but Princess were better than this.

we all developed head colds.

the average age of passengers is over 70.

had to pay for a yoga class.

Shore excursions are ridiculously expensive.

Would do this cruise again , although I would not expect any similar cruise to be as good . ....................................................................................

Great trip, sometimes it seemed there were too many sea days, then sometimes not. I would recommend this to anyone planning on going to Alaska and not wanting to fly.

I was a first time cruiser but I loved it. The food was amazing,  the ship clean and plenty to occupy me during the day.  I even preferred the sea days. It was unfortunate that we had to miss two ports due to Cyclone Donna but understand that safety is paramount.  Occasionally there was a funny smell around parts of the ship.

Had the best time ever I wouldn't look back got looked after so well felt like a princess.. no bad word about the Sun princess am going again one day the food was great, but had heaps of cocktails hahahaha 

 I will go again 

i don't think there was anything to complain about, Well organised and friendly staff. Would recommend to anyone, great food, great room service. Am thinking of booking another one as this was our first and we were very happy.

This was our first cruise with princess cruises, we usually like to go with P&O but heard that princess was a step up. Heard that the food was better than P&O, that was not so, the buffet on golden princess was disgusting it was like reheated up left overs. This was the first cruise I didn't put weight on so for that I am very grateful but I would rather have enjoyed the food. Having said that it was my only complaint, my almost 9 year old grand daughter who we took with us had a blast in the childrens areas. The staff looking after them were brilliant and kept them busy and happy with all their planned activities . our grand daughter spent most of the cruise doing crafts playing games and made lots of friends. The 3 swim pools were great so none of them were ever overcrowded.   The movies were reasonably current and plentiful both under the stars, in the theatre and in the staterooms. The staterooms are a bit tight, way smaller than any of the ships we have travelled on before and the shower was a nightmare, especially when trying to wash my grand daughters hair . There were a lot of people on the ship that would have a hard time fitting in the showers

Beautiful Ship but would prefer Carnival Spirit over it for future cruises, Spirits main areas were a lot cleaner than Radiance.

Food

Radiance Dining - Windjammer 5*s - Dining Room 3*s didn't like the Menus

Spirit Dining - Lido 4*s - Dining Room 5*s great Menu every night, 24hr Ice cream & Pizza

Entertainment

Radiance - 3*s - Like the Orchestra but not a fan of the shows

Spirit - 5*s - Playlist Productions are fantastic

Cabin

Radiance - Interior 3*s - Great size, uncomfortable beds & pillows, Small bathroom, nicer colour scheme than Spirit and loved the curtain to close off sleeping area

Spirit - Interior 3.5* - Great size, bigger bathroom than Radiance possibly due to the large lounge in Radiance where Spirit only had a chair. Beds and pillows more comfortable

Cruise Director & Entertainment Staff

Radiance - 3*s - Think his name was Steve (forgettable), Entertainment Staff, only liked a couple and where was Bingo? Never heard an announcement!

Spirit - 5*s - Eli - Best Cruise Director ever and entertainment staff from Jess, Baby Jane and Mason are all fantastic, BINGO was the best with Jess!

Adult Area

Radiance - A hot solarium that smelt of chlorine, never saw the bar open and kids freely walked through

Spirit - SERENITY Deck - PERFECT!! Pool, spa, pods, hammocks, bar always staffed, live music at times and no kids. I have no problem with kids on cruises, i take my own but sometimes you need to just chill and relax.

Access

Radiance - Well my calves got a workout using stairs as the lifts were hopeless. There's 6 i think near Centrum and some forward but that's it

Spirit - Glass elevators in Atrium and elevators at either end

Salon

Radiance - Great staff and service

Spirit - Not used it as yet.

Tour of Ship

Radiance - All Access - Missed some due to timing, no photos at all with Captain who wasn't there at the time

Spirit - Behind The Fun - FANTASTIC tour and a must do. Price included photos with Captain on the Bridge with you/family and the whole group, also had photos with Head Chef in Galley, food samples and champagne in Steakhouse.

This is based on my personal experience, remember everyone's experience is different, happy cruising.

We loved everything about the Solstice.  The Stateroom was large and comfortable; the food was amzingly good and the entertainment was Vegas/New York Broadway caliber in nature.  I would cruise them again and recommend them highly to anyone, except those with children as there was little for kids to do onboard.

It was very good but the weather wasn't great.  We didn't get to 2 ports which was disappointing but you can't do much about the weather.  The staff where all very friendly and helpful.  The food was very good and plenty to choose from.

The ship cruised from Sydney around New Zealand from the south, north to Auckland then back to Sydney.

The ship was very clean and well maintained.

The onboard entertainment was surprisingly good. The comedian and the Freddie Mercury tribute was great. Even the cruise staff singers and dancers were good. I typically think the shows are cheesey or second class, but I was impressed with the performances. They clearly rehearse enough to do a good job and the performers were talented.

The food wad good considering how many people they feed. A good selection, prepared perfectly and presented nicely.

Lots of fresh salades and fruits as well.

The shore excursions were executed very well. Although there was fog one day and everything had to be rearranged, and another day we were late into port due to an engine issue, the staff managed the changes very well considering the magnitude of people impacted. I was pleased with their response.

Personnally, I enjoy smaller excursions on land instead of the huge, big bus tours. There are always inconsiderate people who come back late and make everyone else wait. Small tours with 10 people work out very well. 

The nightly movies on deck with popcorn was also a nice feature. 

Staff was courteous, well trained and attentive.

The crew were amazing. Had anytime dining, but after the first night arranged with the Maitre d' that we had the same table each night. We were looked after wonderfully.

Good big ship, but not easy to negotiate. It certainly handled the very rough seas from a cyclone well. The first time in our last four cruises we have not caught terrible colds. So, this time the hygiene levels were good.

This was my fourth Princess cruise and my second one on the Emerald Princess and it will probably be my last.  While the staff was very nice and friendly, they were not well informed.  You could ask three people the same question (like where to you go do disembark) and you would get three different answers.  The food was terrible and when you would say something like "my steak is tough and fatty" they would tell you to "eat off the other side".  The entertainment was not worth staying up for.  There were so many old people on the boat that the ship was dead by 10.00.  The tender ports were also a nightmare.  On our first tender port, we didn't get to shore until 12:45 and had to be back onboard by 4:00.

I have never been on a Holland America cruise because I have always been told that it is the cruise line for old people, but Princess must have taken over that distinction.  At least that is what I heard from other people who have sailed Princess out of Australia before.  I have never seen so many people in wheelchairs or with walkers or canes since my mother-in-law was in a nursing home!  I know this isn't Princess fault, but people who could barely walk would shuffle side by side down the hall and you could not get past them.  It took forever to get anywhere.  People were also talking about the amount of extremely obese people who were on the boat.  I don't know how they even got through their cabin doors, not much less took a shower in that tiny shower.  In all, it was a very unappealing crowd and there wasn't much fun onboard.

Amount of time at sea and on land.

Beds need to be softer.

Kettle in rooms.

Hold breath walking in part of corridor deck 9.

Had great weather so able to use pool, whirlpool, sightsee.

Enjoyed my trip.

Thoroughly enjoyed my first cruise. Food, service and care of rooms were fantastic. Everything was very well organised. Had a couple of average meals in horizon buffet on specialty nights but overall food fast excellent. Can't wait to go again

Visiting the Pacific Islands is the best part of the cruise, the islanders all friendly & lots to see. To bad we don't stay overnight in any port as the night life is also good in bigger areas like Noumea. Onboard food & shows were all good, the happy hour was a great meeting point for those hearty drinkers. The ship lacked bands/music around the pools and some bar areas but otherwise ok.

The cruise was great. The problem I have with Royal Carribean is that during the entire cruise someone is trying to sell you something, spa services, beverage and resturant packages.  It got very old after the first few days. 

favorite - scenery of New Zealand and Australia 

Improvement needed

- tender coordination - insufficient number to handle all of the passengers 

- wider variety of food (more Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian cuisine)

- lack of things to do on the ship, particularly on sea days

- need to run 3 shows each night instead of only 2.  Often we could not fine seats in the theatre 

The food was excellent, the stage shows/entertainment were excellent and all the staff were very helpful and pleasant.  We would be very happy to recommend cruise line to our friends