South Pacific - Australia Cruise Reviews

Very, very saddened by our experiences on Holland America and the Noordam ship. Heartbroken in Colorado, USA

We are always happy with our experience with our travel advisors, Ed and Anne Koehring. They were able to get us the same cabin on our most recent voyages where we wanted to sail 4 back to back cruises.

We were disappointed with the limited menu and inconsistent quality of food in the Main Dining Room on our recent cruise. Some dishes were overcooked, and the choices often felt repetitive. While we enjoyed the specialty restaurants, we wished for a broader selection and higher quality meals in the main dining venue. Being an Elite member the biggest disappointment, however, was the lack of adult-only areas on the entire ship. While we understand families are a large part of the cruise market, especially over Christmas, a dedicated space for adults to relax and unwind would have significantly improved our experience. The constant presence of children in most public areas made it difficult to find quiet time and enjoy a more peaceful atmosphere. Despite these drawbacks, we did appreciate the friendly crew and the variety of onboard activities. However, we would hesitate to recommend this specific cruise line to couples or adults seeking a more relaxing and adult-oriented vacation, especially over Christmas.

Nice short sailing to a domestic location to experience a cruise for the first time!

Really enjoyed this cruise and the locations visited. The ship is great, but the branding did not provide a marked change over the 2 previous cruises on other lines to this location. I will do it again, but not at this premium.

PRINCESS MEDALLION CLASS: THE SO-CALLED PRINCESS MEDALLION CLASS (SYSTEM) IS MANDATORY AND APPEARS TO BE A SCAM AND A LICENCE FOR PRINCESS TO PRINT MONEY AT YOUR EXPENSE. ANY STAFF MEMBER CAN CHARGE ANY AMOUNT TO YOUR ACCOUNT AT ANY TIME – YOU CANNOT SIGN FOR ANY CHARGES AND YOU DO NOT GET A COPY OF, OR ANY DETAILS OF ANY ITEMS CHARGED TO YOUR ACCOUNT ! We queried 8 or 9 items on our bill and most were acknowledged AS BOGUS AND WERE WITHDRAWN ! The MEDALLION appears to also used to spy on you – THEY USE IT TO KNOW EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU’RE DOING AT ALL TIMES ! THE FOOD: THE FOOD AT THE CAFETERIA (HORIZONS) IS THE BEST OF A VERY AVERAGE LOT ON THE SHIP. HERE YOU WILL FIND THE MOST CHOICES PLUS THE FOOD QUALITY, WHILST VERY AVERAGE, IS BY FAR SUPERIOR TO THAT IN THE DINING ROOMS. The food we were served in the dining rooms was RATHER PATHETIC BOTH IN CHOICE AND QUALITY. THE SHIP: The old, drab and poorly-designed ship Coral Princess is way past its “Use by” date and in our opinion, should have been scrapped or sunk years ago. THE CABINS: We had a “mini-suite” on deck 11 and found it VERY SMALL, POKEY AND DRAB IN APPEARANCE. I need to use a walker for balance and mobility reasons and our cabin doorway was so narrow, I WAS FORCED TO FOLD MY WALKER UP EACH TIME JUST TO GET IT INTO OUR CABIN. The bed was comfortable but THE PILLOWS WERE PITIFUL. THERE WAS ONLY ONE TINY GRAB RAIL IN THE SHOWER. IT IS QUITE A CHALLENGE TO HAVE A SHOWER WITHOUT ALSO HAVING A SERIOUS FALL, IF YOU ARE ELDERLY OR UNSTEADY ON YOUR FEET. EXCURSIONS (Princess organised) We went on the “Devonport Village & Auckland’s North Shore” Princess excursion. After driving around for a little over 3 hours, I asked the driver if we could stop for food or at least a drink. I advised him that, as a diabetic, I needed to have food or at least a drink every 3 hours. His reply was “I AM CONTRACTED BY PRINCESS TO DRIVE YOU AROUND FOR 3 ½ HOURS AND THAT’S WHAT I’M GOING TO DO” When other passengers also asked about a food/drink stop, the driver’s response was “I’VE NEVER HAD SUCH A GRUMPY LOT OF OLD BASTARDS AS YOU LOT” However, he drove us to a wharf with shops and stated “Everyone who wants food or drink, get off here. About half the passengers got off the bus there. When I asked him how we would get back to the ship, his reply was “THAT’S YOUR PROBLEM” After having a snack and a drink, we managed to catch a ferry across the harbour and return to the ship As a result of this experience, my wife then immediately cancelled all other booked excursions except the “TE PAPA MUSEUM AND CABLE CAR” in Wellington, as soon as she returned to the ship. THE STAFF: Our cabin steward seemed to try hard but was very forgetful and WE HAD TO OFTEN ASK EVEN FOR BASICS. On the positive side, we did ENCOUNTER SOME AMAZING STAFF (ESPECIALLY THOSE FROM BRAZIL AND INDIA). THEY HAD AN EXCELLENT “NOTHING WAS A PROBLEM ATTITUDE” ACCOMPANIED BY A MARVELLOUS SMILE AND WERE ALWAYS COMPETENT, POLITE, COURTEOUS AND RESPECTFUL. SMOKING AREAS: If you are a smoker, don’t even consider a cruise on this ship ! There are ONLY TWO SMOKING AREAS – tiny wind and rain-swept areas out on deck, at either end of the ship. The one at the front of the ship is on deck 15 that is ACCESSIBLE ONLY BY A STEEP FLIGHT OF STAIRS ! SMOKING IN THE PURPOSE-BUILT FOR SMOKING, CHURCHILL CIGAR LOUNGE IS NOW BANNED – I wonder whose stupid idea that was ! ROOM SERVICE: We used room service on 3 occasions. Each time or order was ridiculously incomplete – ABSOLUTELY INCOMPETENT AND HOPELESS ! First day: They sent one cup only and no sugar even though two teas with sugar were ordered ! Second day: They sent one cup only again and no butter or marmalade which was again specifically ordered ! Third day: No toast or butter was received even though again these were specifically ordered ! I MEAN HOW HARD IS IT TO ASSEMBLE TEA AND TOAST FOR TWO ? DISEMBARKATION AND LUGGAGE HANDLING: They managed to COMPLETELY TRASH AND RIP OUR SUIT BAG (see pic below) containing tuxedo and reefer jacket on the journey between our cabin and the luggage collection are onshore.

I would personally not recommend Carnival to any of my family or friends. Entering a holiday spending over $2000 on accomodation and food to be underwhelming let down has left a distasteful stench in my mouth. The buffet is revolting so I attempted to eat at the restaurant hoping for better quality. To which I was again let down with a microwaved sirloin steak. Upon my disappointment I contacted guest services to make a complaint to which I was rudely advised to go back upstairs and speak to a manager. Upon locating a staff member in the buffet area asking for a manager I was directed to yet another waiter. The manager took my feedback but by the looks of these comments I don’t believe they’ve tried to improve anything. Upon departing Airlie beach, guests were forced to stand in direct Sun on 30 degree day at over 80% humidity. Over 150 guests (many elderly) left to suffer as they await the tender back to the ship. Carnival had one gazebo to cater for everyone as they wait. The pools are too small to cater for any more than 10 people and the reak of chlorine made them easily avoidable. Having a quiet night I decide to order myself a strawberry daiquiri from the bar, where I was asked if I’d like an extra shot. To which I replied “no thank you I have a big day of excursions booked tomorrow”. After receiving my drink I noticed the bar tender rudely ignored my request and added an extra shot anyway. This is disgusting and seriously questionable. The boat is overpacked obviously trying to get the most money they can. On multiple occasions I attempted to attend on ship events to which were always over packed to the point I was advised I cannot attend. The cabanas and chairs provided were no where near enough for the amount of people crammed on board. The smoking area was the size of a ensuite crammed with people 24/7. The person left to attend my room was creepy and perverted. Upon him attempting to start conversation he would stare at my breast and look me up and down which left me feeling uncomfortable. It got to the extent I was locking my suitcase everyday and left the “snooze” sign on my door to avoid him entering my cabin. The beds provided were horrendous and left my back strained every day. Staff should be monitoring events and ques more as other guest were cutting lines which would result in waiting over an hour to either embark or disembark. All and all I am appalled with the entirety of my stay. I will NEVER be attending this cruise again and I would NEVER recommend this to any family or friends and I pray you see this before it’s too late. WHAT A WASTE OF ALMOST $3000.

Everything was wonderful . We booked already an other cruise on Majestic. Princess doesn’t disappoint us

The ship came from America straight to Sydney and we guess it was hard to copy for the staff

Very busy decor of the ship Quality of the food at the Buffet was average

We tried this cruise to test interior cabins. We know we can do it going forward, but only for short cruises. It was a hard party cruise, but the experience was not bad.

This was the third cruise out of Sydney. We took 4 days off in Sydney from New Zealand Cruise. Loved touring Sydney Area and saw a lot of beautiful things. Sydney is truly a beautiful city. This cruise was good, but would have been even better if we were snorkelers or Scuba divers to see fish and reef. As it was we went to Aquarium in Sydney that showed us all the species found along the reef without getting wet.

First time on this ship. A beautiful ship, A big ship, too big for my liking .. I have never been sick on a ship before, but did pick up a bug , which dampened a couple of days . Not much to do . The movies were repeated a few times during our journey.Shops not that interesting. US$ used onboard abit disappointing, if sailing from Australia back to Australia should be Aussie$. 3 berth cabin I wouldn’t recommend, not really catered for 3 people, paying for a lounge instead of a decent bed was ridiculous. We missed 2 ports because of windy weather and the ship was too big to enter ports. Not sure if I would do this ship again . Bit of a shame ..

Found the days at sea long and boring. The entertainment doesn't suit everyone. Couldn't wait to go home after the days at sea.

We made this trip 50% to see New Zealand and it wasn't disappointing. We took excursions at all ports and found New Zealand to be beautiful and very friendly.

Traveled with my wife and sister on a bucket list item that we will cherish forever. We took a suite and the service we received was beyond anything ever expected. Rodney, concierge, anticipated our every need, he was wherever we needed him to be. Kat, butler, kept us stocked with snacks, beverages, and a level of attention we had never thought would feel good. The secret to NCL's free style is hidden in its staff. They are the best, and that is why we come back!

All I can say that if this is how Royal Caribbean are going to operate post the pandemic, we will be looking closely at going with another cruise line in future.

Enjoyable, very smooth seas, impressive ship. We felt it was too crowded and it was difficult to find a quiet place or, at times, a chair to relax in

Enjoyable, very smooth seas, impressive ship, too many people on board

Recommended it to anyone the ship was awesome, hospitality was so friendly and helpful love it will be back on this ship