South Pacific Cruise Reviews

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

THE PRICE IS VERY REASONABLE. GO! The excursions may be expensive....so just get off the ship and find your own transportation and/or cruises on the shore. BE BRAVE! :o)

p write your reviews here!

Great trip. Go! If the excursions off the ship are too expensive, which they may be, just get off and find your own transportation or tours on the shore. No problem. Be brave! :o)

doodley boos

Very well organized and operated. Very good entertainment. Super food. Almost no obnoxious announcements on PA system. Shore excursions seemed expensive compared to do-it-yourself...

The ship was clean and the staff was very helpful and treated everyone with respect. Their attitudes made the vacation very enjoyable....always a smile on their faces. They added some new activities since the last time we had cruised with Holland American. They now offered a Tai Chi class which was great! They also offered a lot of fun classes too. I would highly recommend this ship and this cruise line. We've already booked this same cruise for 2012. The destinations were the best for snorkeling in particular Rangiroa. You spend so much time doing activities you don't even go back to the room except to get ready for dinner or go to bed. We've been on 18 cruises and this one was the best of all!

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.

This was the BEST experience ever as far as cruising goes... Our main waiter and assistant waiter were sooo attentive and preempted our needs and wants... they went above and beyond! The food in the main dining room is out of this world and we enjoyed every night at our table for two. Our cabin steward was also amazing and was happy to attend to our needs and wants with a smile! The bar staff were fantastic... actually all the staff were amazing! The ship was the perfect size!

If a cheap cruise is what you are looking for then this is your cruise ship. Food was very poor, our cabin looked clean but when really looking it was dirty. Worse was our bed. It was too low and too soft so we both had back problems on board. I had a massage and really felt very good and day and evening. Then went to bed and pained returned in the AM.

The refurbished Rotterdam (VI) is beautiful inside and out--very well maintained. We loved the new spaces such as the Mix and the Retreat with the outdoor big screen movies in the evenings. The itinerary was wonderful--South Pacific at it's best. Absolutely gorgeous Islands, atolls and motus. Wonderful colors of sand, sky and sea. Fanning Island stop was a very pleasant surprise with terrific buys on native handicrafts and friendly people. Sea days were filled with all sorts of enjoyable activities or we could just relax. Rotterdam has the best onboard entertainment we've seen on any cruise. There are so many choices for dining with the La Fontaine, Lido, Pinacle and Canaletto restaurants plus the pizza place at the Retreat and the Terrace Grill by the pool. Food was wonderful! Great variety and extensive menues.

TRULY BELONGS IN CARNIVAL'S LINE-UP. SAD, SORT OF LIKE MCDONALDS BUYING RUTH CHRIS STEAK HOUSE. EITHER MCDONALDS IMPROVES OR RUTH CHRIS SUFFERS. IN THIS CASE, RUTH CHRIS SUFFERED.

OLDER SHIP, HOWEVER WELL KEPT. WAIT STAFF WERE POLITE & HELPFUL. WE HAD AN OCEAN VIEW ROOM A BIT SMALL, HOWEVER IT WAS FINE FOR US. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME WE WERE ON AN ALL INCLUSIVE SHIP & BOY WHAT A DIFFERENCE. WAIT STAFF WOULD'NT TRY TO PEDDLE THE "DRINK OF THE DAY" FOR $5.00-8.00 PLUS TIP. EXCURSIONS WERE A BIT PRICEY, BUT HEY YOUR IN TAHITI IT DOES COST MORE. SHIP OFFERED A DAY OUT IN A MOTOU (SPELLING?) TRIP. WHICH IS TAHITIAN FOR ISLAND. WOW IT WAS WONDERFUL & BEAUTIFUL. THIS SHIP IS GEARED FOR ADULTS, THEREFORE LACKED IN CHILDERN ACTIITIES.

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

SAILED IN EARLY MARCH 2010. PLANE ARRIVED A FEW HOURS LATE HOWEVER SHIP WAITED FOR ABOUT 40 PASSENGERS. PORTS OF CALL NICE, EVEN THOUGH A TYPHOON HAD BLOWN THROUGH FRENCH POLYNESIA A MONTH OR SO AGO. FOOD WONDERFUL & PLENTIFUL. WE ALWAYS HAD AN APPETITE FOR THE ROOM SERVICE MENU. I HAVE 1 QUESTION ABOUT THE DRINK SERVICE. IN ALL THESE SITES THEY STATE WINES & SPIRITS ARE INCLUDED & PREMIUM DRINKS ARE AT CURRENT MENU PRICING. HOWEVER ON THIS SHIP ALL DRINKS WERE INCLUDED, EVEN CHAMPANGE. ANOTHER GREAT THING WAS ALL TIPS WERE INCLUDED. ON MANY CRUISE LINES SOME OF THE WAIT STAFF & OTHER HELP WONT GIVE YOU THE TIME OF DAY UNTIL IT COMES TO TIP NIGHT, THEN THEY ARE ALL SMILES & ACT AS IF THEY HAD KNOWN YOU FOR YEARS. ALL STAFF VERY FREINDLY THROUGH OUT THE ENTIRE CRUISE. THIS SHIP IS TRUELY ALL INCLUSIVE.

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

Overall-easy if one relaxes and trusts the staff/crew/baggage. Room clean and ready for us to unpack. Lots of variety for sitting to read or visit-lots of cubby holes, open seating areas. Plenty of activities-thought we would be bored sailing but actually didn't have time to get it all in. Liked the variety of land tours. Thought bottled water should be complimentary. Liked the spa specials and the fact that I could always find a deck chair!