We commend the crew for the efforts they made to provide the amenities that one expects to enjoy on a cruise. However, we were unsatisfied with the condition of the ship. We had a balcony cabin on the 9th floor. Walking the corridor to get to the bank of elevators that would take us to the Horizon Food Court, we noticed a unsavory odor prevailed. When we walked the Promenade deck the same odor occurred in the same vicinity on that floor. And on the rare occasion we walked the 12th floor, that same smell was there. It smelled like garbage, but I'm not sure why it would be present both inside and out, and on these separate floors.

One night we came back to our cabin, where we were greet with a loud howling noise. We contacted maintenance services who sent someone to our cabin with a chunk of wood. This condition apparently was a regular occurence. The seal was broken on the sliding door to the balcony and the block of wood acted as a shimmy to keep the door in place. We would remove in the morning in order to open the door, and the room steward would reinsert it in the evening when he prepared the cabin. We each did receive a $30.00 shipboard credit for this "inconvenience". The dining rooms were too small to provide the "Anytime Dining" option, so we opted for the early dining, which meant we were expected in the dining room at 5:30 PM. While they tried not to rush you, it became evident that they were anxious to reset the table for the next seating. The Princess Theatre was so small, that if you weren't seated (one person often held seats for a group) at least 20 to 25 minutes before the show, you had to wait for the next show. For a ship that was spending 4 days at sea, and in our case 5 days at sea, there were insufficient board games such as Scrabble. While they always sent a staff person to tidy up the small library, they didn't make the effort to ensure that the games, such as Scrabble, had all the pieces or were even returned to the cabinet. While the Fitness Center was nicely outfitted, the swells of the seas, precluded us utilizing the machines in favor of more passive activities.

We were scheduled to return to Sydney on 11/25, however, when a passenger chose to leave the ship via the rail, rather than the dock, we were required to backtrack in search of him. Although there was no doubt there was no foul play, and that he would not be found alive, apparently the ship was still required to "search" the Tasman Sea for him. Because we had to spend another day at sea, we lost our day in Sydney and the payment for our hotel. When I responded to the Princess Survey they emailed to me, I explained these things to them. At that time, I also requested reimbursement of $242.26 for one night in the hotel and left it to their discretion as to an equitable amount for the missing day in Sydney. A young woman responded by email requesting an opportunity to speak to me by phone. I provided my phone number and she did call. Her position was that Princess had chosen to only reimburse passengers who had incurred monetary expenses when they rebooked their return flights. Since we were planning to spend time in Australia before returning home, our flights did not have to be rebooked. (Our flights had been booked with Princess Lines when we booked our Cruise). Therefore, no reimbursement. We feel that the expense of the hotel is similar to the cost of rebooking a flight. We have been told that group travelers are often reimbursed whereas individual travelers are not. We were disappointmented in the ship amenities and the response of the Princess Cruise Customer Relations Representative who was following their reimbursement guidelines.