South Pacific - Australia Cruise Reviews

You have to stop unneeded noise from very high set amplifiers penetrating up to 7 levels. Also how came Oceania on same ship doesn't have this problem?

Quite enjoyable overall as I was traveling with family members. Good food, very good services, but there were not many activities on board which I like. Felt bored when on sea for long time. The soft bed is the worst part of the whole trip.

We enjoyed the trip. The Maasdam is a lovely ship. The service and accommodations were wonderful. The food at the Rotterdam is phenomenal. My husband preferred eating at the Lido. I would recommend this ship and cruise to anyone.

the cruise was excellent but the survey needs work.

Outstanding, unforgettable. lovely with family. it was a very relaxed cruise for me witha room I could be happy in watching from my balcony because I had surgery recently, and couldn't do anything too athletic, and I wanted something restful, but my adult children were very active with activities on board and excursions. It is perfect for a family with action and rest as you choose. On this ship I was able to know I was on the ocean and enjoy the natural beauty without the constant intrusion of noise and overly bright lights, but there was plenty of action and activity for those who wanted.

Outstanding, unforgettable. lovely with family. it was a very relaxed cruise for me witha room I could be happy in watching from my balcony because I had surgery recently, and couldn't do anything too athletic, and I wanted something restful, but my adult children were very active with activities on board and excursions. It is perfect for a family with action and rest as you choose. On this ship I was able to know I was on the ocean and enjoy the natural beauty without the constant intrusion of noise and overly bright lights, but there was plenty of action and activity for those who wanted.

We celebrated our wedding anniversary on board. The restaurant staff made a special cake for us, and sang an Indonesian song for us. We had dinner with the Captain and wife, which was one of the highlights of all our cruises. Thank you, Captain Draper! The cruise was excellent, just what we wanted. In retrospect, we liked the sea days just as much as shore days,We may be more. A few of the ports of call were far from the main attractions, which meant paying for excursions and spending lots of time on buses. I would have preferred fewer stops, more sea days, and possibly an overnight at one of the main cities, like Wellington, Melbourne or Hobart.

This was a long cruise for us (31days) but it covered the South Pacific really well. The staff of the Maasdam really made the trip for us.

After this cruise, we are looking forward to the next cruise experience, perhaps Alaska or something in the European arena. Personnel on the trip were professional and every surface was cleaned and cleaned again.

Overall I will not be going on the Norwegian Jewel again. While the standard for food may be lower in Australia, I don’t think cold food and food that was cooked hours ago is acceptable to be served anywhere, whether it’s the buffet or main dining rooms.

Absolutely wonderful! Loved the ports, so much to see and do! Wish for more time in a couple ports. Would have enjoyed more ports in Australia. We had great weather which made a huge difference.

This was our first Celebrity cruise and was supposed to be our family vacation of a lifetime, celebrating many stepping stones in our lives...retirement for my husband, 31st anniversary, daughter's master's degree celebration, birthdays...all in one trip. We always make the most of what life throws us, so we still loved the cruise and its itinerary. Nothing can beat the beautiful nature and scenery and wonders we saw on this side of the world. The Solstice would have been a happier memory if it were not sick.

New Zealand is a beautiful country to visit. I would recommend visiting later in their summer season. Our trip in the fall had cooler weather than I expected.

we love HAL. have been on 15 + cruises -never a complaint. our only disappointment is rudeness of guests toward staff. that and stupidity of some people. example-- 1 of many--28 day islands and Amazon overheard a lady returning excursion tickets after she went on a tour in Manus to among other stops the "OPEN AIR MARKET" REPEAT "OPEN AIR MARKET" AND COMPLAINED BECAUSE IT WAS NOT "AIR CONDITIONED"-- to be fair men are equally stupid- overheard man on phone telling relatives back home- not to bother going to Amazon because "IT'S BORING"-

This cruise was "fine".

Not exceptional, certainly not the best I've been on; but fine.

HAL ships always seem to be clean and orderly, well laid out and fairly easy to navigate. I appreciate their concern with health and the omnipresence of hand sanitizer. The food is solid, and the staff is generally very friendly and helpful.

The ports of call on this itinerary aren't the most exciting in the world, but certainly interesting if approached with the right attitude. Much more about culture, history, and lifestyle than anything overly thrilling or magnificent. Overall, I'd say this cruise is one of the most low-key I've been on.

Was incredibly disappointed that we were only able to cruise one of the three featured Sounds (Dusky) in the Fjordland National Park due to severe weather conditions. I understand no one can control the weather; but it was nonetheless a big disappointment, as that was perhaps the part of the trip I was most looking forward to.

Areas for improvement:

- The notably limited hours for general food availability on the Lido was a constant frustration. Holland America easily has the most restrictive food availability of any company I've cruised with.

- Internet connectivity continues to be a severely limiting factor in cruising. I understand satellite-assisted wifi is an ever-evolving field, but cruise lines need to increase investment in this area. Personally, I would probably cruise at least 3-4 time more frequently than I do now were I able to have access to consistently reliable Internet connections at a reasonable price.

- Bathroom electrical outlets -- need to be more accessible.

- Entertainment -- easily the most mediocre of the five cruises I've been on (the piano singer was especially bad!)

Highlights:

- The dining room staff was exceptional, as usual!

- The hydropool and thermal spa were great, and the spa staff were terrific. I especially appreciated that only once following my three spa treatments was I push with a not-so-hard sell to buy product -- big improvement over past cruises. (If I'm going to spend more money at the spa, I'd rather just book another treatment -- upsell me to that!)

- The variety of trivia events each day was a hit with my family, as was the considerable movie library available for check-out on sea days and evenings.

We did this cruise in March 2017. It was absolutely amazing. We had the opportunity to visit so many places within New Zealand. It really gave us a highlight of the country. The Dusky, Doubtful, Milford Sounds day was a highlight of the cruise. The ship itself is great. The food was wonderful. The only disappointment on the cruise was the entertainment - it was mediocre at best (although the Cruise Director, Joff, was one of the best that we've ever had.) We would highly recommend this cruise.

New Zealand was amazing, enjoyed each port of call however, Radiance of the Sea in our opinion is a tired looking ship, and l noticed things like plastic dishes in Windjammer, food not upto par, waite staff not attentive and not overally friendly,

Specialty resturants ok but nothing special, cost off a drink package very exspensive.

We could not get a seat to any of the entertainment, early or late shows.

We are diamond members of Royal Caribbean but haven't cruised with them for about three years until just completing two back-to-backs on Radiance of the Seas for New Zealand and Australia. They have really changed, and not in a positive way. There were no port enrichment lectures on the second cruise. The room attendant and dining and bar services were great. But the services of Shore Excursions and Guest Relations was horrible. They were abrupt and incompetent. When we got home we discovered they had charged our credit card daily for everything and then again charged us with the total at the end of the cruise. How will we ever trust them again with our credit card? I am not sure we will. Our recommendation is to stay away from Radiance of the Seas.

Our cruise was amazing and we met many people from other parts of the world and made friends with them. The tours we took were aursome and we learned many new facts about Australia and New Zealand. The cruise staff was awesome and he show were great to see. The few problem we encountered were in the fitness center where the steam and sauna room were hot enough  even after complaining. The other issue was that they were running out of certain food which were posted on the menus. Other then these issue we had a great time and would cruise again on Royal.

We really enjoy staying in one of the Neptune Suites and the great service provided by the room stewards.  We liked having dinner in the Vista main dinning room and especially enjoyed dinning at the Evening at Le Cirque (in the Pinnacle Grill).  This was one of the best meals we have ever had and the service was superb!