Great ship. Lots of sea days. Good food, nice ports. All very enjoyable. The Tasman Sea can be a bit rocky.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
I was staying pre-cruise at Hilton Auckland - so literally one minute walk to the cruise port. I found it possible to check-in earlier than the App advised (around 11.30am) although the prices was longer than usual - they said due to some new system having been introduced. There were 7 people in front of me (Blue Lane on Princess) and it took nearly half an hour. I believe it may have been an issue with the port requirements and not Princess
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Good choices for both food and drink. I ate exclusively in the buffet first breakfast and lunch and in Allegro MDR for dinner. The food choices were maybe a bit reduced but the quality of the food - especially in the MDR - was very good.
There were lots of choices of bar. I mainly drank at Princess Live Cafe and Double Down
International Cafe
4 out of 5
Separate queues for coffees (which you pay extra for unless they are included in your package) and food (which has no extra charge). I found it great for a cappuccino after breakfast and I would often get a yogurt there too (they didn’t seem to have these at the Horizon buffet ). Good service
Gelato
4 out of 5
I only visited here once. The service was great and the dessert was huge and very good. But how many times can you eat these huge desserts - especially with all the other food on offer!!
Allegro Dining Room
4 out of 5
Pretty well organised. I ate at 5 pm each evening and the door staff quickly got to recognise you. The food quality was good throughout - often excellent. The service was mixed in fact they changed our waiter after about a week and the service improved massively, but it felt a bit slow generally compared to other experiences I have had on other Princess cruises.
Vista Lounge
3 out of 5
Great venue. While there were wait staff at most events, there was no actual bar open here.
The Pastry Shop
4 out of 5
Good choices of sweet treats
Horizon Court
4 out of 5
Pretty well organised and a good selection of food choices. I never struggled to find a seat in Horizon although it was busy at certain times.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
On the usual Princess ship, so no rock-climbing or race track. The activities tend to be quizzes, games shows, mild sports (eg carpet bowls or putting j and pool-based. I enjoyed the quizzes and games shows and found them entertaining. While I didn’t use the pools, there seemed to be available deck chairs at all times (it was Feb in Australia so the weather was great) and plenty of pool options
Princess Live
3 out of 5
I loved the activities here but not sure of the layout which is mostly fixed chairs where the next row is slightly higher than the preceding one - like a lecture theatre. There was one level right at the back with bar stool seats and - most importantly for quizzes - a table to lean on, but that could usually accommodate only about 15 people.
Casino
4 out of 5
For a cruise ship there was a good number of slot machines (which I don’t play) and table games. 2 roulette tables which were never over-full when I played. Usual odds stacked in favour of the House of course,
Entertainment
4 out of 5
I saw a couple of guest entertainers- a guy doing Buddy Holly which was very good and a good lady singer. The music throughout the ship was very good and varied. The Cruise Directors staff were all very good.
Princess Theater
4 out of 5
Good big space with generally good views throughout. It’s an older crowd - so get there early (30 mins is safe) for any performance to secure a seat where you want to sit.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Nice balcony cabin. Unfortunately I had to book as guaranteed cabin as I was “late” in booking (I booked nearly a year out). So the cabin was under the buffet and nearer the aft end of the ship. There was however very little noise from the buffet above. There was a bit of engine vibration at times but I guess that you might get that in a little of cabins. The cabin itself was all as expected and kept clean by my room steward.
Ship tip
Do everything early - book the cruise, embark, get to the theatre, quiz venue or buffet - you will never be first regardless of how early you do this.
I spent 3 days pre-cruise in Auckland to recover from a long travel. The city is great. It’s fairly compact and I enjoyed staying there at The Hilton (so next door to the cruise port) and visiting Sky Tower, Mt Eden, the downtown area and a day trip to Hobbiton.
The port is quite far from the city (not walkable) so I decided to take a Princess tour to the Dandenong mountains. The tour was ok and took us partly thru the city, but I probably should have tried to get into downtown Melbourne and see some more of the city instead.
I had been in Sydney 3 times before for work so I just walked around the port and downtown area. It was nice to see the city after nearly 20 years though. It’s very walkable and of course the Bridge and Opera House are right next to the Cruise port.
Port Chalmers is about 7 miles from Dunedin. There are shuttle buses which cost (i think it’s $20) but I took a Princess tour to Larnach Castle. The tour guide was very good and took us thru Dunedin on the way there as well as stopping for 30 mins on the way back. The castle was a big house and was nice to see with stunning coastal views. Dunedin was very interesting with its very strong Scottish roots and therefore very familiar place names.
The port of Tauranga is actually in Mount Maunganui - about 7 miles from the city of Tauranga. But it’s right in a gorgeous beach with lots of water-based activities within a 10 minute walk from the ship. The town is nice too with a fair number of shops. I had planned on taking the Hop on bus but I got confused by the directions (I think it was just me) so ended up walking around My Maunganui.
Lovely port area and very convenient for downtown which is very walkable. I too, the Hop on Bus to see more of the city and that was fun. Always been attracted to Tasmania - don’t know why. Downtown is quite flat and the shopping area is good enough.
Although the port is quite close to downtown, you are not allowed to walk from the ship. There are frequent and reliable shuttle buses - which are free. Wellington has a lot to see in a compact downtown area. The city has made great use of its waterfront and there is great greenery in the botanical gardens which you can access for free. A nice place to visit
Bay of Islands was gorgeous. It’s a tender port so that’s always added fun. I did a Princess tour to the glowworm caves - that was pretty good though it’s definitely a one-off type experience for me.
The ship,had only sailed between Australia and New Zealand which I know are 2 different countries but they are both closely connected. So why did it require a face-to-face with Customs officials both at the stop in Sydney and also on disembarking at Auckland (which had been my port of entry)? This caused substantial delays to disembarking the ship - not the fault of Princess crew who seemed as frustrated as the passengers!! And Auckland customs was a complete mess with several proofs of reorganising their staff meaning no-one was being cleared while queues grew longer - very poor from Auckland customs.
Glad you had fun. Great itinerary. As you noted, Australia and NZ are separate countries so that’s why they have separate Customs. Kind of like how the US and Canada are different countries.
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