Great itinerary for this cruise, travelled in great company on the beautiful Majestic Princess.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation went quickly and smoothly. It seemed within minutes of arrival at the port we were on the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Whilst service and food in the main dining room was very good I did find the menu options limited, particularly if you didn't eat seafood. Choice was also limited for children.
Lobster Bar also does burgers, hot chips a and hot dogs which my kids loved. I had burgers also and have to say they were pretty good.
World Fresh Marketplace whilst there was plenty of food I did find the menu options repetitive and although on a New Zealand cruise leaving out of Australia with over 2000 Australians onboard I noted that the menu remained largely focused on the Asian and American market. I would have liked to see more Australian and New Zealand foods on the menu.
Alfredos Pizza this place is amazing the food is delicious if you don't do anything else make sure you visit here. My kids and I loved visiting for lunch and sitting along the bar where you can watch as your meal is made fresh before your eyes.
Alfredo's Pizzeria
5 out of 5
Staff, food and environment is all amazing. The meals are to die for with high quality and fresh ingredients used, you can watch as your meal is made fresh before your eyes.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Outdoor pools were good but I did strangely find myself covered in a white substance. I found the spas a little too warm for my liking but that was just me. I went into the Hollywood Pool club but soon left again, the smell of chlorine was unbearable there is no airflow so the smell just lingers...it is an adults area only but it is not a well used space on the ship with it being empty whenever I walked through. Princess should really consider doing something else with the space, having games and musical instruments etc which seems to be something families could enjoy together behind an adults only area seems bizarre.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Outstanding entertainment
Children's Programs
4 out of 5
Entertainment for young children is targeted appropriately and was a place my 10yr old wanted to be. We did have an instance where my daughter went to see a friend across tge hall and was to come straight back. We went to the friends cabin after a few minutes when she did not return only to find that they were not there, we searched the entire ship it seemed before finding out that the toddler centre allowed my daughter to be signed in by a complete stranger and in the wrong room for her age group...this was scary to say the least. We addressed the issue with our daughter and spoke to staff to ensure it never happened again.
Teen room was not the same my son 16yrs was given permission to come and go as he pleased and more often choose not to be there as the program was not targeted appropriately to the age group with a strict schedule of activities they stuck to...gaming machines whilst available were only allowed to be played at certain times. Activities like necklace making and similar activities not suited to teenage boys. A more relaxed approach to teenagers should be taken with gaming machines available to children as this is generally how most begin to interact in today's world. Forced, talk about yourself sessions don't make kids comfortable.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Room stewards were amazing, happy to help with anything and everything. Our Steward combined our lower beds as requested, opened our adjoining balcony door. He made amazing towel animals that always brought a smile to our face. All service staff in food service areas and bars were fantastic.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Cabin was a good size and was comfortable particularly as our steward packed the bunk bed up into the roof each day and brought it down again each night.
Ship tip
1) definitely try Alfredos 2) Wake view bar is a great place to sit and enjoy breakfast 3) In your cabin bathroom the small lever on the back of the tap lifts the sink plug and toilet paper can be found under the bathroom vanity near the bathroom door...tissues are what you find beside the toilet
We went to the summit of Mount Eden it was a stunning site to see. We had a person with us who was unable to walk up following recent surgery on her knee so our taxi driver contacted council and had the bollards lowered so he could drive us up to the summit.
We also went to Devonport with the intent of exploring North Head and My Victoria, however we were a family group of 6 and despite online resources saying maxi taxis were available they are not and any maxi rides need to be pre-booked....sadly for the us this meant we could not explore.
Toured Hobbiton Movie Set and Rotoura in this port through Zealandier Tours.
Hobbiton was great to see but my advice is to wear good walking shoes, a good hat, sunscreen and water...it gets hit out there.
Rotoura was good, we watched the cultural show and then looked at geysers and boiling mud pools.
Our tour whilst good in that we got to see both attractions in the same day was a little rushed. The tour information stated that as hobbits loved their food we would be surprised by the amount of food we would consume...that is easy...not a lot was the answer, with limited time we were all given a bottle of water and a bag of snacks (half of which kids will not eat) and we were told we needed to eat that on the bus as we moved from one site to the next. At the end of our Hobbiton tour we were told there was no time to purchase souvenirs and were ushered back onto the bus this was quite disappointing.
Wellington Cable Car and TePapa museum was good...cheaper to self explore with the cable car only costing $9NZ for an Adult return and the Te Papa Museum being free to enter.
This port was a quaint little town and there are your options as soon as you get off the ship. The area is subject to quick changes in the weather...We had planned to go on the jet boats but because and weather was coming they canceled all tours on the jet boat.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
