South Pacific - Australia Cruise Reviews

I have been on this Ship before. Even it is getting old, it still look almost perfect.

It's been about 15 years since I took a cruise as I took my small children then and have been hesitant since then. I had heard that the cruise services declined, but the ship crew and dining room experiences were excellent to outstanding. The crew was attentive and friendly and made you feel special by remembering your names. The ports and excursions were all excellent with good guides. My only negative is that I have to do work e-mail daily and at the rate of 0.5 to 1-2 speed on satellite the rates were very expensive and I could not download large attachments. I wish there had been some warning about this as made it very difficult to continue working.

Would recommend this cruise, we did Christmas New Year, what a fantastic way to see in a new year! Was our first cruise and we are now cruise addicts thanks to the wonderful experience on Royal Carribean.

We recently sailed on the Diamond Princess out of Sydney, Australia. The ship was beauitful and had many dining facilities. The best was the Sante Fe Room which we ended up there frequently. The servers anticipated our needs before we asked and as they got to know us at the one table, they were more relaxed also. Loved the Movie under the stars by the pool at night. Weather was fantastic and the ports in New Zealand fantastic!

I had an issue with the Holland America line itself. After my now 10th cruise i would have to say Holland America would be my last choice for cruising. I would take a bus trip before i would cruise with them again. Compared to other cruising lines they are by no way considered in my books 4 star.If there are any problems, you have to run on American time to get anything resolved. I was as well as a few others i spoke to throughout the cruise were very disappointed. Ship was in no way kept as clean and as well maintained as some that i have been on. A staff member died on our cruise due to what could only be a lack of maintenance to the safety of the ship. Cruise was actually January 2011 on the Volendam

p write your reviews here!

doodley boos

The ship is older, but well maintained. Our stateroom was extremely small for three adults. Most of the staff were courteous. I am disabled so shore excursiosn, embarking and disembarking were extremely challenging, especially the enormously long lines and jostling from impatient passengers. Be prepared to stand a while.

We sailed to Australia/New Zealand in February 2010. The cruise was wonderful! The food and service throughout the ship were great. We had dinner in the dining room 4 or 5 nights which was wonderful. We ate lunch and some dinners in the Lido which was relaxing and the food was good. Breakfast in our room was served on time and hot. The room was large and kept clean. The entertainment was fun. The ship was beautiful and spotless. Laundry facilities on the ship were very handy but sometimes crowded

The Diamond Princess is huge -- think 15 stories above water!!!

This ship has it all and were it not overbooked by some 485 passengres is a dream. Apparently this happens every year at the end of the year because lots more families book for the Christmas/New Year cruise.

We enjoyed the cruise and were very pleased with the Captain keeping us informed of ocean conditions and schedules. Service was excellent and when we did have a request for anything our request was filled almost immediately.

My cruise sailed Sydney to Airlie Beach and back to Sydney, with stopovers in Airlie Beach, Cairns, Port Douglas and Brisbane, where we had the option of land tours (one of which was a disaster), and included travel from Boston, Massachusetts, to Sydney, Australia, with change of planes in Los Angeles. There was not enough time for customs and TSA calculated for my return flights, with only 2 hours between them; there should be at least 3 hours between flights when re-entering the country. The airline rep had to bump me to the front of the security line in order to make the flight connection; even then, I arrived at the gate as it was boarding - and my luggage had not been searched at customs.The ship itself is lovely and impressive. Public areas were magnificantly decorated to reflect the holiday season. Every area I visited was immaculate; the stateroom was spaceous, with lots of storage and closet room. There were sufficient clothes hangers, and the room was maintained promptly each day. There is a paucity of shops on this ship, which precluded participation in some of the themed nights (inability to purchase or rent appropriate clothing). Forehand knowledge of the themes planned would have assisted in packing appropriate clothing. If you plan to see the Great Barrier Reef, plan to go in early October; the locals say that's the only time of year it's possible to see anything. People on my cruise were disappointed that they paid for a tour at a time when they were unable to see anything because of choppy water.

Its obviously an older ship but has been cared for and cleaned non-stop. We prefer Holland America over the other lines we have traveled due to their attention to details and their wonderful Indonesian and Philipino crew members.

Dirty ship , My wifes request for a gluten free diet was ignored resulting in her being poisoned by non gluten free food .

The ship was old and needs updating. Our itinerary was changed because of mechanical issues. The staff was the best of the 20 cruises we have taken.

good value for money friendly peopleship seems home away from home

It is hard to put into words why you liked the cruise that you had never thought would be the best time of your life. It was my first cruise so I did not know what to expect and did not know if I would like it or not. Well once I stepped foot onboard the ship the friendliness from all of the staff was my first indication that it was going to be great. I was not wrong for the whole 31 days. It is impossible to compare this cruise to any other cruise line since I have not been on any others but I do know that in the future since my husband and I are now both retired Princess will be the only ship that I will cruise on. From the person who took care of our room to the desk staff that set up our tours, who were so very helpful, to the waiters in the dining room or the staff in the buffet area it is impossible to say what area of the ship was the best. I do know that the combination of all of these and so many more areas of the ship made it the most pleasant 31 days that I have ever spent on vacation. Also being a first time cruise I wanted to get as many pictures as I could with a brand new camera. Well I did have hundreds and hundreds of pictures which I somehow deleted by pushing the wrong button. I was devastated. I took it to the photography people on the ship and by some miracle they were able to retrieve all of my lost pictures. They were so kind and saw how upset I was over this. I could never thank them enough for this. Also if you like to play bingo onboard one of your cruises I did the same and on the next to last day won the jackpot. It was a nice amount and of course made the trip even more enjoyable.I could go on forever and still not say all the praises I have to say for the Princess Dawn. I hope to cruise in the near future. Hope to see you onboard.

We sailed on this ship in its inaugural year and it hasn't changed much. Celebrity is my favorite in the "big" ship category. The food was wonderful, the service great from our room steward to our waiter and his assistant, to our room service lady. They were all so eager to please and smiled all the time - nothing was too much trouble. Australia is always awesome and New Zealand a country everyone should visit. I always check out Celebrity first and have just booked a 24 day cruise on Azamara.

This was my 3rd time on Rhapsody of the Seas - one of my favorite ships. Most likely the most enertaining Captian on any ship anywhere. I was worried I would the condition of the ship not as good as when I first cruised on her, but she is being maintained very well. Everyone should take a cruise to New Zealand