Pacific Princess Review

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Smaller ship delights; some drawbacks.

Review for Transatlantic Cruise on Pacific Princess
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Newfoundseeker
2-5 Cruises • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Dec 2013

This was our second cruise on Princess and our first on a smaller vessel (600 passengers). Universally the crew were wonderful!

Dining: Maitre'd Carlos and his second, Daniele, went above and beyond to make our dining a pleasure while on board. Our main waiter seemed quiet and a bit non-engaging at first, but we quickly discovered his shyer nature barely concealed a clever wit and his service was excellent. I had never know about a Princess Chef's Dinner before this cruise. but shipmates encouraged us to sign up for this rare treat. And treat it is! Not only was the food and wine pairings a cut above the ship's usual fine dining experience, the opportunity to see the kitchens and see the behind-the-scenes ballet by wait staff was amazing. Overall, the food very good and was better than we'd had aboard the Star Princess earlier in the year, perhaps because of the smaller ship venue. Dining areas are seemingly more elegant aboard the "R" class ships and it makes for a more pleasant experience. The aft outside dining area right off the buffet was one of our favorite spots to eat, drink and chill. The buffet food was good but typical and one could always find something of interest. Still, if one expects to have **** dining every night, cruising is not for you! There are always some hits and misses and the more tolerant one is, the more one will enjoy their overall dining experience while on board.

Cruise experience: I learned that smaller ship sailing has its advantages and its disadvantages. Certainly it leads to a more intimate cruise experience. We met many more passengers than past cruises and one feels a bit like a family by the end of an 18 day cruise. While smaller in size, the public spaces proved more than ample for a pleasant time. The Pacific Lounge was large and comfortable and totally underutilized by passengers late afternoon and evenings. We were always able to find seating by the pool, or an appropriate place to play a game or a quiet and comfortable place to read. Hot tubs were in good repair (note earlier reviews) and large enough to accommodate ship passengers. Service by the pool attendants, bartenders and wait staff was excellent; especially an always sincere and smiling Bojan and Alexsander. So, the drawbacks of smaller ship cruising? See above. Dining venues can feel limiting by the end of a longer cruise even though every effort is made to change up menus. It is harder to avoid unhappy or unfriendly fellow passengers, and, face it, there are always some. The usual cliques for trivia, games and lectures seemed to exude a more exclusive and aggressive following. Not totally unpleasant but not exactly welcoming either. Deputy Cruise Director Jason was exceptional and made every effort to keep all entertained and events moving well. However, this passages main cruise director came across as complete sycophant. However, as with most afflicted by this trait, he was easily avoided since he was always rushing to his next self-important task or "performance". These are minor grievances that are meant as comments and not complaints.

Cabin Review

Cabin steward Andres was excellent. Always available and always making every effort to ensure a wonderful cruise experience. He has the rare gift of being on hand but never intrusive. Our cabin was, like the ship, in good repair but felt small and in need of a remodel (entering dry-dock soon we were told). While we had everything we needed it certainly didn't feel the least bit luxurious. By the end of 18 days, the space seemed a bit claustrophobic even with a balcony. I noticed most passengers spent considerable time in public areas and not their cabins. I have never seen a more utilized library (great space)! Two complaints, and shared by many fellow passengers during talks on board, were the quality of mattresses and the absolutely terrible pillows! On no other sailings have we had such base quality linens, mattresses and pillows--nothing luxurious about any of it. The pillows were in such poor shape they were useless to support, even with three or more in use. Several fellow passengers shared this same complaint and the ensuing neck and back pain. Princess: are you trying to drive business to your overpriced spa at sea? We managed our temptation for our usual hot stone massage which is now a whopping $200 without gratuity (or the typical add-ons sales pitch). Captive audiences don't appreciate price gouging. Still, our cabin was acceptable even if any sign of luxury and elegance was missing.

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