South Pacific Cruise Reviews

The Radiance is an older ship, but it's certainly not lacking in class. It was the first time my husband and I had cruised and we found it just the right size for us. The staff are amazing and we couldn't ask for better service. There was so much variety in food and the entertainment was of great quality.

Our first cruise on Celebrity and we where very pleasantly surprised. The ship was must larger than we normally book but everything was handled very well. We didn't experience long lines  or overcrowding and found the other passengers to pleasant and engaging. Everybody was willing to share tips or ideas on ports or seeing New Zealand.

May have been our first but we have booked others on Celebrity and are really looking forward to our next. 

Great first experience. We really loked what first looked to be a boring type of holidays. Awesome Australia, great ship, skillfull musicians. Special thanks to the crew members Alexander and Olena from Ukraine who helped us a lot on board. Great Art Gallery leaded by Valery. Will recommend the cruise to all friends 

I enjoyed this ship - it was large but not hard to get around. Better than some of the smaller ones which can feel a little too small - you run out of things to discover. We rarely eat at buffet - prefer a la carte dining. Shows were really good! Loved Tassie!!! Overall a very enjoyable cruise!

This was our fourth cruise so we did have something to compare to, having previously sailed the Nile, Asia and New Zealand, we had great expectations cruising the Pacific with Royal Caribbean. We were a group of 10 made up of friends and family, ranging from 21 years of age to 82 with all but one of our group who had sailed before. It was very difficult trying to get any information about theme nights & activities before we sailed, we also had difficulty booking our 'any time dining' and so had to call them, however, to no avail we still had to change it once we got on board. The embarkation process seemed drawn out and it did take some time to get on. The cabins were fine with housekeeping staff friendly and efficient. We ate at the 'Windjammers' free for all buffet a couple of times, however, felt the selection was bland & uninspiring. After that, we ate at the Romeo & Juliet restaurant for breakfast, lunch (on seas going days) & dinner, which was ok, however, the cuisine was average, Italian dishes were everything but Italian. To their credit, we complained after the first night about the service and from there on in it did pick up, however, the food was still average. The service at all of the bars was to say the least very poor with long waits for drinks. Bar staff did not work the bar effectively with the last person arriving often being served first & first person arriving being served last. At all times the bar staff were under pressure & seemed under manned most of the time. During dinner we ended up ordering two drinks at one time so we could have it with our meals. Floor service at bars was limited with usually one person trying to cover the whole seating area. Worse during the shows when sometimes two waiters were catering for up to 500 guests. The entertainment was ok, however, the self made productions were self indulgent & quite average. Activities on the ship were not very creative with obviously high attendance, however, insufficient staff to cater for refreshments. The indoor pool was a quiet and pleasant option, but again only one person manning the bar and coffee machine, meaning more queuing and waiting. The ship facilities overall were not as extensive as on previous ships (even smaller ones). We felt that the staff overall were indifferent, however, this could be due to the lack of staffing which placed rostered staff under constant pressure, making it difficult for them to provide cheerful service. The casino on the other hand seemed always over staffed with croupiers often standing at empty tables for long periods of time. I think they didn't do their research on customer demographics, they definitely got that part wrong. When researching the feedback, this ship has the 3rd worst satisfaction score of the whole Royal Caribbean fleet of 22 and on this occasion they were true to form. This was our first voyage on a Royal Caribbean ship, we plan to take 4 cruises in the next two years & we will think long and hard about using them again.  I believe that the staff were trying very hard and there were some outstanding individuals, however, staffing, structures and processes prevented them to work and deliver to an acceptable standard. Overall we still had a great time as you make the most of it, however, we did not feel that we received the service and attention we deserved.

3rd time on Explorer. Great ship and enjoyed heading out to the islands in Noumea. On for NYE and Christmas was fantastic.I love RCI and will definitely be doing another cruise with them. I love their ships and the specialty dinnning is so good.

Had a wonderful time on this cruise. Had two level 7 balconies for a family group. Ship immaculately clean, housekeeping staff excellent and on the whole food of a very good standard considering how many people they are catering for. The itinerary was very good and even though we are NZers we enjoyed the spectacular scenery. I loved the christmas decorations, the well appointed centrally located cabin, the orderly manner of getting on and off the ship, the Apple certified trainer Charle's iPad workshops and the Main dining room and Murano speciality restaurant. food.

Our teenagers loved coming and going as they pleased and the family time that a cruise enables. Their favourites were the Ocean view buffet and the Mast burger bar near the pool. My husband loved the library and the running track and the gym and our balcony.

The weather was great and the Sounds cruising truly spectacular.

Only grumbles would be the expensive drinks packages and the exorbitant internet rates which we decided not to go for, so it got to be a long trip without our ultra fast broadband! Also quite a lot of pressure to spend money onboard, just have to exercise self restraint there. We got some lovely photos from the pro photographer, which I was happy to pay the rather high price for as they were the best photos we've had taken for a long time, and they were just the ones on the staircase in the atrium before dinner.

My advice for this ship is to get a 2a cabin around level 7 on the central hump, excellent value and if you can get perks included especially the internet and beverage package that is even better. These cabins seem to be more in demand than the 1A cabins, I think because they look down to the sea without obstruction. Have to book early for the Xmas trip as it was full and seemed to be very popular. Many aussies, americans and english onboard.

Shows were variable, some excellent, some not so good but I wasn't expecting a broadway quality show every night.

We boarded the Solstice on December 4th, 2015.  The check in was really fast and efficient.  The champagne greeting really hit the spot after touring The Rocks before we boarded.  Our stateroom was really nice...lots of storage for clothes and gear.  The staff was always available and the service was great.  The food in the Epernay dining room was really good.  Excellent selections, lots of variety.  The kangaroo was great (don't tell your granddaughters...).  The New Zealand ports of call were all fun.  When we got into the countryside the hospitality was great.  People went out of their way to take our photos, give us a lift and share information.

Jorge, Stanley and Serat took great care of us!

The ship is old the food is awful We all got very sick on the cruise . The staff could not care if you are having fun. Parts of the ship is falling apart. Sat on a chair in the celebrity lounge fell to the bottom. The shows were the staff members. 

We all had the worst time of our lives. Overnight trip o Queenstown what a rip off . 600 dollars a person not worth 200 dollars You can see I am so angry Celebrity gave my friends a free classic drink package  by mistake they told me tough on you Stay away you would be angry if your friends 2 couples paid the same as you did and they got a 1400 dollar upgrade Ship is falling apart. 

This was my first Princess cruise, I'd done two P & O Cruises and I didn't know much about Princess and reading the reviews where there was a few complaints, I was a bit worried. 

But overall I was very happy with everything. I'll start with the good things. 

- movies under the stars with popcorn

- free Princess tote bag in my room when I checked in 

- free room service

- staff were very friendly and helpful

- food was very good. Many times after dinner I had to lay down because I had eaten so much or the food was so rich. The food in the restaurants was fancy restaurant quality. I don't eat a lot in expensive fancy restaurants so I can't compare but I would give the food 5 stars. The food in the buffet was good, standard buffet fair, for breakfast, pancakes, waffles, cereal, fruit etc, for lunch and dinner salad, steaks, stir frys, pasta, mashed potato, all sorts of options, there was a lot of variety. 

- free pizza restaurant - I loved the calzone, it was the only one I ate. 

- I was happy with the room. There were other reviews where people complained about the rooms but I was happy. It was an inside twin. It wasn't the flashiest decor but it was spacious and comfortable and had a good size wardrobe. 

- I didn't seem to get as pestered as much as on P & O to buy drinks when sitting on the deck. When I was on P & O, I seemed to have someone asking me if I wanted to buy a drink every 10 minutes but on this trip, I barely got asked and sometimes I couldn't find a staff member when I wanted a drink!

- I went with my 13 year old son and he went to the kids club and seemed to like it. He could come and go as he pleased and he had no complaints

- Happy hour where you buy one drink and get another one for $1!

Bad things

- free iced tea in buffet was extremely watered down

- free lemonade in buffet was really strong, it is the old style lemonade made out of lemons so I needed to add ice to water down the strong lemon taste

- when in Port Villa, from the moment I got off the ship, there were about 30 - 40 local men all waving and gesturing me to come to them. I went to one and he offered to take me around the whole day for $120. I said no, he kept pestering me. I walked away and found a guy holding up a sign for the water taxi to town for $5, I went with him but when I got in the water taxi (basically a dingy) he sat next to me and started pestering me to take me around the whole day and was bargaining with me on the amount and I had to say no a few times. He got out, we crossed the water to town. When we got to the other side, there were about 10 local men who started hassling me about taking me around town. I said no several times again and they were following me as I was walking away, then another man started asking me if he could drive me around town. That really put a damper on things, plus it was very hot and humid so myself and my son decided to go back to the boat and we managed to find a taxi driver to take us back then he started harassing me to take us around. By the end of it, I was glad to get back to the boat and disappointed I had only spent about 30 mins in Port Villa. 

- I found that as we went along from island to island, they seemed to peter you more. I didn't get pestered at all on Mystery Island or in Champagne Bay but on Lifou, I constantly had people asking me if I wanted my hair braided or a massage. 

Ports:

It was supposed to go to Wala and Luganville. It didn't. I don't know why it didn't go to Wala, it was removed before I booked in August but it was replaced with Lifou. And Luganville was removed because apparently they were doing work where the boat docks so the boat couldn't dock or something. 

First stop was Champagne Bay which was beautiful, pristine beach, clear and vibrant water, locals were there selling goods. You could also hire a local to take you to some local spots. 

Second stop was Mystery Island. I had been here twice before and it had changed a lot since I was last there in 2013. There were long rows of huts with locals selling things, you could get your hair braided, have coffee, get a massage or a beer. I had a soft drink in a 'pub' which was just a grass hut and spoke to a very nice local man. Unfortunately it was raining on the day, but apart from that, it was a good day. 

Next stop was Port Villa, which I've explained my experiences above. But if you don't want to go into town, there is probably a kilometre of little huts and stands near where the boat docks with locals selling things and there is cars lined up along this stretch with taxi drivers willing to take you anywhere and you can haggle on price. I talked to some people that paid $30 per person to be taken around town for half a day and they take you wherever you want to go and wait for you while you shop. Because of the missed stop of Luganville, the ship was in Port Villa for 2 days. I didn't get off the ship the second day because of all my dramas. 

Next stop was Lifou. It was really windy, it was a nice island but not as nice as Mystery Island or Champagne Bay. As with the other islands, they had locals selling stuff. And you could see traditional huts they still use as their bedrooms and if they have the money, they build a western style house next to it. 

Last stop was Noumea. I took the $15 get on/get off bus. I think if you wait until later in the day, they open the kiosk for this because I don't remember seeing it when I first got to the tourist centre. They have people standing around selling tickets for the choo choo train, which was about $40 which is a lot cheaper than what the ship charges but because I had wasted so much time deciding what to do, I left it a bit late and didn't want to miss the boat so I decided on the bus which was a 25 minute round trip. I didn't get off because I didn't realise you could go to a really nice beach called Lemon Beach to swim so I didn't bring my bathers and I decided not to go to the museum or other stops because it was midday by this point and I wanted to leave plenty of time to get back to the boat by 4pm, in case there was any problems. Next time, I'll get the bus earlier and get off at some stops. 

As mentioned before, my room was interior, on the Plaza level, and it was quiet, I didn't have a problem with noise unless someone was really being loud outside my door. 

I got the coffee card, I love my cafe quality coffee. The free coffee was ok, but if you are a coffee snob or love your daily cafe coffee, I recommend the card, which it works out to be about $2.30 per coffee which is really good. 

So that was my trip. After comparing this with P & O, I'd have to say I prefer Princess better. And the good thing about Princess is they have a loyalty program so you get more perks the more you cruise. P & O doesn't offer that. And because they're owned by the same company, you can use your P & O trips to get loyalty points on Princess. 

The Paul Gauguin cruise ship was a great experience for our 11 night cruise Nov.10-21.  The food was excellent, the entertainment was fabulous, the waiters and workers were friendly and very helpful, making sure your cruise experience was wonderful!  There were 3 main restaurants on the ship and all were exceptional!  All the wine & spirits were included and all the gratuities were included.  The extras were an unknown extra cost of almost $1,000: snorkelling tours,guided island tours, etc at each island were extra costs and you had to sign up for them in advance or you couldn't do anything on that particular island!  That was a little frustrating but we learned to get signed up after the first or second day!  Our suite was nice sized but 2 small windows unlike some of our shipmates that had a large picture window and were several floors up.  We enjoyed our experience and liked that it was a small ship with under 300 people on board and we were all taken good care of the whole trip!

Ten with 5 sea days in a row, all went and past too Quickly. 

We loved the experience of being on the Explorer with Ice Shows and the wave rider outdoor movies and Specialty Restaurants. 

First of all we had a great time.  The room was nice. The food was much better than I expected it to be.  For the most part the service was good or above.  The main dinning room had some problems.  The big problem with this boat is there is not enough common space room for everyone. Everything was crowded. For the 9PM show there were never enough seats. I had to sit on the floor one night.  The one big lecture room was not that big and was always standing room with people sitting on the floor.  The buffet which was good for breakfast and lunch was always too crowded and took too much time to find a table.  The excursions were very expensive so we just walked off the boat and found local ones for less than half the price at every stop The entertainment was usually poor

Excellent service by all crew members. One complaint that Princess will not recognize is that in our honor bar many of us Americans and Canadian customers would like a choice of an American or Canadian bourbon in the honor bar.   Such as Jack Daniels, Canadian Club, or Crown Royal.    After many requests they have never gave us any attention to our wishes.   We have written this on many of Princess Cruises but it falls on deaf ears.   Otherwise most trips are quite good.

This was our first cruise and by far and our experience since then the very best cruise we've ever done it is very hard to felt a perfect boat was not a mark on it not a piece missing not a scratch on the wall food was unbelievable service in staff was amazing we are now looking forward to our next trip on the 8th of November 2018 Sydney to Auckland 21 days away

We enjoyed our second cruise to the South Pacific & Fiji this time on the Solstice (Dawn Princess 2014) in October/November 2015. We loved it so much we booked again on the Solstice this time for New Zealand in 2017!  We chose cabin 6210, a partially obstructed deluxe veranda stateroom. We loved the larger veranda/balcony space and the glass front was perfect for enjoying the view while sitting down (we had a hole in a metal surround on the Dawn so felt spoilt with the glass). We did not find the partial obstuction a problem and chose this stateroom so knew ahead of time after research and pics from past cruisers what we would have. The only request I would have made to make this more comfortable was a foot rest with the recliner chairs and table but I made do with feet up on the other chair when husband preferred to stay inside or up on the glass. The cabin we felt was large enough and larger than the Dawn and enjoyed the long lounge where we could sit comfortably and watch TV or get ready to go out instead of sitting on the bed. The bed and linen was very comfortable and hubby and I slept like logs (him thanks to the extension cord they provided at request for his CPAP machine as the only plugs were across the room at the desk. The long cord did cross the floor and technically could have been a tripping risk but we had no probs). We loved the bathroom and found it again larger and more functional than the Dawn. It had a good amount of storage space and we hung our toiletry bags with little problem and with the help of a strong magnet hook we could hang clothes to air or dry above the toilet with no problem. We did miss a clothes line or airer and laundomat but hubby (who usually does our washing) managed washing the clothes in the sink and hanging in the shower with magnetic hook or over the chairs near the glass door with big pegs on the two wash days on the 12 day cruise. We chose our clothes to be quick dry and had enough to last us and wore things a few times with an airing (dinner clothes were only worn a few hours and we swapped and accessorised to jazz it up - scarves/pashminas are great for this). We are Australian so bought 3 adaptors with us, 2 European and 1 US (powerboards are not allowed) after studying the desk plugs (thanks to other cruisers' photos) so we were able to have the CPAP plugged in, and charge the phones/iPad/GoPro and had no problems. We bought our own magnetic hooks/clips to put around the room but the Solstice had a good amount of hooks around the room but more would be great and the cupboard had ample hangers and space for my clothes (hubby prefers to use is suitcase like a drawer under the bed). Our room stewards were great and friendly and kept us in ice, clean towels, our daily newsletter and a neat and lovely place to retire to in the evening. So that I think is all about the cabin. We loved the extra veranda space with the forward facing view so much we booked on again but one deck up for our trip to NZ.

Food was amazing, service helpful, thoughtful, friendly and could not be faulted. Atmosphere relaxing and spoiling, there were free activities we enjoyed and others for a fee that we enjoyed. I did the IOS course with my iPad and phone (take them with you) which I think was about $24 US for 4 lessons and I learned things I did not know that I now use in my business as I use my iPad almost exclusively where as there were older generations there that got to learn the basics to keep up with their younger family members. We found the organised activities slowed down the further we got into the cruise and did find ourselves walking the ship to find something to do as we are not swimmers but in hindsight it would have been a good time to find a nice hideyhole and listen to my audiobook and music while enjoying the ocean, sunshine, etc which I did do at night on our balcony while hubby caught up on the good range of movies and shows free on the TV. I watched about 5 movies that took me 10 days to watch as I was so relaxed at night I kept falling asleep ;). Room service was free unless you wanted something after midnight (or 11pm depending on which person took the order). We did try to take some food back to our room at one time but a new staff member was stopping people taking plates out but this was reviewed and had no problems after.  One of the highlights was cheese and wine on the lawn as we listened to one of the musical entertainers as we pulled out of one port. We also did a port tasting (fee a bit pricey but interesting and something hubby and I were both interested in). We tend to go in separate directions due to our interests which I found a bit frustrating that we had no way to communicate when apart so found ourselves going back to the room regularly to find the other or notify of our whereabouts on the ship. This time could have been used relaxing in the solarium, on a deck or enjoying another activity without feeling the other would be wandering looking for the other. We are looking into the Ship mate messaging or similar. Ship mate is an amazing app by the way. I found it in 2014 when looking for a count down to the cruise for my very anxious husband who would not allow himself to get excited about our first cruise/real holiday due to various reasons. He is however competitive and the count down did the trick and every day he told me the days to our cruise and allowed himself to start to believe that it was real and would happen. Thanks Ship mate crew we love it, all the upgrades and recommend it to all cruisers. Anyway getting back to our lovely cruise on the Solstice. Food was lovely and we dinned in the main dining room most nights but did enjoy a meal in the Silk Harvest for my birthday as a treat (which I did not think had gone through via the website when trying to book pre-cruise and when I tried to do it again could only get the later dining time so did not book and had a lovely surprise when there was a lovely message left at our room as a reminder that we had the dinner the next night (complete with birthday cake) which is typical of the efficient service we enjoyed on the Solstice. These people run what amounts to a city in the middle of the ocean and they do it so well. We had the classic drink package as part of our package and loved being able to have a drink or two without worrying about the bill at the end of the cruise. I would recommend a drinks package and they also offer discounts on the fee required restaurants for multiple purchases and I would like to take this offer up again after experiencing the Silk Harvest even though I managed to lose my new Pina colada on the floor (by accident and it was my first alcoholic drink so no I was not under the influence) but the hostess had it cleaned up and off the floor and a new one in my hand before I had time to get my tissue out to dry my embarrassed tears.  There is so much more that I can share such as the efficiency of the excursions, the entertainment was a mixed bag and entertaining (I did miss a pianist playing the baby grand in the foyer each evening that we had on the Dawn however), the excellent medical service I had to use (always get travel insurance) and the lovely massage I enjoyed but generally we loved our time on the Solstice and were thrilled with our cruise and came home very relaxed to enjoy my son's wedding. Things we would change? Keep a wide berth from the art gallery! The very friendly staff will chat you up, invite you to an auction, give you an entry into the free competition which hubby won and was very excited about and we went up to collect his prize which he had a choice of some prints (none that would fit in our home decor or were to our taste) but we graciously picked one but then were informed that we had to pay the postage from the US of $60+US and we could also choose to have it framed but none of the frames were under $100+ and declined that. So with our tight budget we had been "conned" into a cost that we did not want and the prize and competition lost its sparkle. We did however have another stroke of luck when I won a lovely pearl necklace complete with packaging and bottle of champers (that son and daughter-in-law enjoyed on their honeymoon) and were thrilled because not only did I win a beautiful prize it did not cost us a cent. It was a shame hubby could not make it a trifecta in the casino. Tips!!! *Pay for excursions/restaurants/drinks packages/gratuities, etc in the booking and registering stage online in Australia cause you are paying in $AU. Once you are on the ship it is in $US. *With anytime dinning, book your table for dinner the next night when you arrive at the restaurant for dinner. We did the 5:30 - 6pm sitting and always had a table for two to ourselves but tables are close enough that you can chat to the people next to you or ignore them completely. Up to you. *A couple we met told us they load money into their cruise account before the cruise and at the end of the cruise they go to customer relations and get back in cash what they did not spend. *Celebrity had free shuttle buses to shopping areas for the guests not going on booked excursions which was very much appreciated. *Keep the magnet of your evening bag and phone case away from your cruise card or you will be at the services desk getting it reset to get in your room. But they were so kind and always apologised to me even though I had wiped it by accident.

I hope someone will find this useful for their upcoming cruise as I have found past reviews and articles when planning ours. Sure helped to lower the anxiety for this couple who are just starting to stretch their wings and fly.

We booked this 28 day cruise in May/June because we did not see it being offered again after 2015.  Even though we had to eat a few bucks cancelling another trip, it was the best money we ever lost because this cruise was fabulous.

Embarkation: The biggest issue with this LA departure was the embarkation process. This needs to be reworked because it was insanely complex and unfair to passengers with physical disabilities. It is not just a Princess-specific problem but they can certainly influence some efficiencies and sensitivity training for the port staff.  Princess should be more accommodating for those with disability and not simply board by elite status level... and that is something they can change. Nuff said.

Cabin: We booked a mini suite because balcony staterooms do not offer a sofa or love seat on which to sit.  The MS was well worth the extra money because of the length of our trip.  It may not be worthwhile to book for shorter cruises but we wanted somewhere to sit other than the bed or on a stiff-backed chair for a month.  Aside from the cabin size, the Princess minis have a larger bathroom with a tub/shower combo. I abhor showering in a missile tube set up so this option was very valuable to us.  Princess does not accord mini suites the same level of benefits that Celebrity does (separate dining room, priority disembarkation, etc.) so if a sofa and larger BR are not important to you, the mini may not be a good choice.

MDR: Our biggest "complaint" about MDR was service efficiency. Let me be clear - the food itself was fabulous but the servers were glacially slow at times. We actually left after waiting for dessert for about 20 minutes on one night. Four of our dinner mates completely changed their dining option because the slow service caused delays in getting to shows.  

Horizon Cafe/Club Caribe: The buffet food options were also great. It was more convenient and relaxed to eat in these venues for dinner.  Breakfast and lunch were another issue entirely.  People seemed to put in roots when eating these meals. It was always challenging to find a table, no matter how quickly the tables were cleared and reset. Basically when someone got up, we grabbed the table and had to find someone to clear it.  This caused a few meals to cool off a bit but it was manageable.

International Cafe: This was my favorite early morning hangout. I got up around 4am every day and headed down for a latte and quiche. Vilmer and Mateo got to know me to the point I didn't even have to state the order.  A couple days I ran late due to having a cold (the virus ran through much of the ship). Even though the buffet changed from overnight to morning offerings, Mateo put a quiche aside for me, heated it up and brought it over to me. This is the kind of personal service that makes travel special. 

Excursions:

We took a couple Princess-offered excursions. At Hilo we went on a home tour/moving brunch. The group was small and the personal nature of going to people's homes was great. The food served was local produce and specialties.  Definitely recommend this one.  At Kauai, we took the Movies and Waterfalls excursion.  This was a lot of fun because the group size was limited. We watched movie and TV show clips, then visited the island location at which it was shot.  Lots of Jurassic Park stories were shared.

We also booked a couple things with non-Princess vendors.  On Western Samoa we did a private tour where just hubby and I were escorted around the island attractions, then enjoyed a lovely BBQ at a private beach club.  On Bora Bora we booked a boat and driver who brought us all around the island and to a private spot where we could enjoy a refreshing dip. We also found rays and black-tip sharks. We would do both of these excursions again.

Ship activities:  There was plenty to do but we didn't really join in a lot of the activities. There was both a passenger choir/chorus and a passenger ukulele band that gave concerts during the trip. Lots of special-interest group meetings, arts/crafts, enrichment lectures (former LA asst district attorney, naturalist, history buff).

Spa: If you like a nice thermal suite, you may be disappointed. I know I was. The suite was located in the bowels of the spa, there was no view, just a single room with five heated benches (always occupied), steam room, sauna, and showers.  I just wasn't enthralled with the arrangements and did not feel it was worth the money.

Specialty dining: We visited the Crown Grill three times, it was ab fab every time.  We tried Sabatini's once.  The vibration and shaking ruined the dining experience for me to the point that I left before the entree was served.  This restaurant is located on the top deck at the very back of the ship.  This had a lot to do with the movement and shaking.  Would not recommend going to this venue unless it's a port night and the departure is later in the evening.

Vow renewal: We decided to renew our marriage vows. Princess did a fabulous package and made the event very special.

Casino: We enjoy a little gambling (mostly slots, blackjack) but the machines seemed extremely tight and I gave up after a few nights of losing money in mere minutes.  I could have just stood in the Piazza and handed out a few 20's - it was just that bad.  The auto-shuffler takes the fun out of Blackjack entirely. Staff was nice but the experience was not enjoyable.

Disembarkation:  We booked a transfer to LAX. It was a bit stressful because there was no assistance with bags aside from unloading them from the bus.  Otherwise the process was efficient - much more so than the embarkation.

Princess is on par with Celebrity (IMHO). As previously mentioned, the mini suite was nice for the seating room but not for much else. On the other hand, Princess had better food quality, hands down.  I can't compare this to RCL, NCL, or Carnival experiences because none of those measure up to this cruise or crew. Highly recommend this if you have the time.

(Will post photos another time)

most notable was the lack of crew or staff. last time we were on the radiance there was always a presence of waitering staff around the pool areas, but not so on this cruise. Quite often was left waiting at a bar waiting for some one (staff) to serve. we have did chefs table on this ship & radiance before. What happened to the lovely books that we were given at the end of the night, or the chefs table apron or the offer of a galley tour....none of this this time. what happened to the desert chocolate buffet late one night ? I had warned my friends of such a beautiful buffet. nothing.... A bit of a disappointment RC. Maybe I got too excited. nice ship & had a good time with most of our traveling party. some thing has to be done about the saving of chairs around the solarium pool. these people must get up at 5.00am and place some thing on the chairs. Quite often no one sitting on the chairs for hours. there should be a time limit then staff remove these towels.

Excellent service from all the crew members.  Had some problems with toilet flushing a few times and took a long time for maintenance to arrive.  On many of our Princess Cruises I comment on the honor bar for never having any American or Canadian bourbon to choose from, such as Jack Daniels, Canadian Club or Crown Royal.  They simply seen to ignore the question when we bring it up.  Otherwise trips for the most part are great

Although a long cruise can be tedious for some and our 1st such long voyage, the joy of meeting fellow cruise passengers was a highlight. The food, entertainment, accommodations and service was what is to be expected, outstanding.  The stops were unique in nature but the best was in getting to really know your fellow passengers.  Many were seasoned cruise clients and others like us were new to long term cruising.  The fellowship and genuine friendliness were especially prevalent during the entire cruise.  Look forward to the next cruise.