This is probably the best cruise we have taken so far. We love south pacific cruising. We love sea days. We loved the ports of call. We travel exclusively with Princess Cruises and plan to remain loyal to them.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
The platinum and elite line was long due to the number of qualified passengers but moved along with precision. We were moving almost constantly and were treated wonderfully by all personnel involved.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The food in all of the locations were visited was excellent. We ate in the dining room, buffets, Share specialty restaurant, pizza and outdoor grill and the international cafe, almost every place except the Crown Grill. I complement the chefs for the quality of food we were served.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
The only activity we participated in was the fitness center after walking the running deck. The equipment was in perfect condition. The use instructions were clear and the machines were of the type that it would be difficult for an inexperienced person to operate incorrectly.
Entertainment
We did not attend.
Children's Programs
We had not children with us,
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
There should be a rating higher than excellent, perfect I would say. Our dining staff from the headwaiter down was the best we have experienced in over 300 days cruising, Our cabin steward was always there when I needed something. Our cabin was as clean as it was on the first day every day. The other staff we came across were always friendly and willing to help. Other cruises, especially long ones sometimes the friendliness wanes but not this trip. Again, the best we have encountered.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Nothing dirty, nothing out of place. The design made sense and we knew how to find everything.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We are comfortable with this size and arrangement. We had plenty of space and it was super clean every day. No corners were cut. The bed was amazing for a cruise ship. The bedding was luxurious and made for a great night's sleep every night.
Ship tip
I highly recommend this ship especially for long cruises.
We have been here many times and did not take an excursion. The Aloha Tower is mostly a college campus and mostly everything was closed. Honolulu seems to be suffering almost a blight. We took a ride to Maui Divers and were forced by them to sit in the heat for almost an hour for the shuttle to take us back to the ship. This was a tourist trap and we were treated very poorly. This is not Princess Cruises fault. The highlight of the day was walking to shops a couple of blocks from the ship. I needed some clothes and supplies and Was-Mart, not the one offered by the shuttle, and Ross had what I needed.
My favorite port until now. We loved it as always. We did not take an excursion. We walked the main road and visited most of the shops. We ate at a favorite restaurant of ours right on the beach. The banyan tree is such a nice area to relax.
No excursion. This is a great port for excursions but not so much if you just want to walk around, We took a shuttle to K-Mart and walked around there. What we enjoyed the most was the weather, warm and moist.
No excursion. We haven't been here since the day before the earthquake about 9 years ago, We walked around, dipped our toes in the water and thoroughly enjoyed our relaxing day. This is the best port for us in the Hawaiian Islands,
No excursion. It was sunday so almost all of the shops were closed. We did visit the vendors along the streets bear the ship. This is a great place to buy small trinkets for gifts. It was very warm and humid but not unlike it always is.
The sail in and out is spectacular. The scenery is beautiful. Again we were on foot and visited the local vendors. We admired the jewelry stores and found some things we really liked. No excursion. The weather is exactly what we like on vacation.
No excursion. It is nice to walk around and visit the shops, especially the two story marketplace. We enjoyed street entertainment almost everywhere we went.
My favorite port of the whole trip. This was our first time there. No excursion. I think our ship's passengers more than doubled the population of Moorea. We visited the vendors and they were extremely friendly. We spent the better part of our day sitting under a palm tree enjoying the music and dancing performed by what looked like one big happy family.
There were problems from the get-go. Immigration was not ready for us and we disembarked a half hour later than we were scheduled. The Princess staff kept us informed of what we were supposed to do with customs and immigration. They kept us comfortable with their excellent treatment. Once we left the ship we went thru immigration slowly. Once we got thru there the nightmare began. We had to wait for a porter and then once our bags were on his cart he guided us to the location where our driver was waiting. The sidewalk was crowded because there was chaos caused by the different types of transportation slowing down the process. Another porter started yelling at people to get our of her way. She was rude to the people standing around with no where to go and our porter got into it when she shoved her way into the space we occupied and pushed us out of her way. Fortunately I had been in communication with our driver and he swooped in quickly as quickly as traffic would allow and we were able to leave. Our driver said he drives cruise passengers with almost every ship docked in San Pedro and Long Beach and this was the worst he has ever seen. I do not blame Princess for this mess. I think someone should look long and hard at the pier management.
We will be writing a review on our 26 Nov-3 Dec Emerald cruise. I have to be upfront though- we look for the Fun and disregard the minutiae that others let bother them. We are going to different destinations but the ship feedback should still apply...(Hawaii, eh? Nice...)
dinky58 please let me know how your cruise goes. We are on the Emerald Princess next year December 19th. For the 15 day Hawaiian cruise we simply just cannot wait we are so excited please post lots of pictures
This trip is on my bucket list. Sounds like you had a great time on Princess. I love Princess as well but I can't relate to being loyal to a cruise line. Be loyal to your spouse, family, friends, but being loyal to a cruise company is like being loyal to a flavor of ice cream. Why?
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