Great Overview of New Zealand

Ship tip

The Princess Theater is extremely small for such a large ship. For the 7:45 show, we had to get to the theater 45 minutes early to get a good seat. By 7:15-20, the theater was pretty full and many couples had to split up to get a seat. The food at the World Fresh Marketplace(buffet-no extra charge) was average, bland tasting. The Crab Shack was offered 2 nights at the World Fresh Marketplace, but it was $45 per person. It was announced in the Princess Daily itinerary the night before and we called the next morning at 8AM and we could only get a reservation time at 9:30PM...too late for us. The food in the Symphony Dining Room was above average, but the service was excellent(we chose anytime dining and our waiter was Christian and his assistant, Sehk). Alfredo's -individual pizza size is perfect, but if you cannot finish the pizza, you are not allowed to take it back to your cabin. The pasta portion size was too small. The Noodle Bar(no extra charge) was above average, but bland. You definitely needed to add seasoning to it which was provided at the bar. The Outdoor Grill-great hamburgers, hot dogs and bratwurst. The lobster choices were overpriced. The Chinese restaurant, Harmony ($35 per person)was very good as well as the service. Disappointed that we were charged $12 extra for the lobster dish and found out later that night, lobster was available at the World Fresh Marketplace at no extra charge. The Crown Grill ($35 per person)-the food and service was excellent. However, if you are trying to make a show, please allow time to be served and tell the wait staff that you are trying to make a show. The food in the International Cafe was excellent as well as the service. The coffee package is an excellent deal($36 for 15 specialty coffees, iced coffees and shakes(I always got the large size, great deal). The $7 a day coke package was also an excellent deal. It includes unlimited sodas, juices and mocktails. However, we did not realize until the last few days of the cruise, that different bars offered different mocktails. We were disappointed that we were given the times in each port of call prior to the cruise, but on the day of each stop, some of the departure times were an hour to 2 hours earlier than what we were given. Too many high-priced watch shops. We rarely saw anyone in the shops(such a waste of space) We would have tried Le Mar, the French Restaurant, but for $45 per person and not seeing too many people eating there, we opted to not try it.