Sun Princess Review
Plenty of scope for Improving shore talk presentations
Rating by category
Additional details
We really enjoyed this cruise. Smooth sailing except for one day in the Tasman sea when were were approaching our disembarkation port of Sydney. Due to an approaching typhoon we missed being overnight in Hong Kong and missed Shanghai all together but we had an overnight in Beijing and an extra Korean post substituted. All very clear communications from the captain during this time. Our cabin Caribe 332 was excellent as was our cabin steward. We have done a number or Princess cruises and considered the food in the dining room in overall quality had dropped slightly. we really enjoyed the International cafe and the option of having a salad or light lunch there and the service by Chefs Edwin and Nareesh was always excellent. The vast range of onboard activities which is important for a long cruise with many sea days was also excellent and very creative. cruise director staff were fantastic ambassadors for Princess and good entertainers in their own right. Only disappointing aspect was the shore talks on the first two legs of the cruise. Totally missed the mark of what independent passengers were after and so repetitive and full of irrelevancies. On the other hand the on board folk loric shows organised by Princess were excellent. Some areas of the public ship had some leaking and we had two days in San Francisco for some mechanical repairs. Overall we enjoyed the cruise.
Cabin Review
Balcony
Al l worked well in our cabin and the new bedding was so comfy and luxurious. Cabin steward Kennedy exceeded our expectations
Port Reviews
Hong Kong
We went to Ocean Park independently as we had been to Hong Kong before... what a shocking experience... we had to queue for almost 2 hours in extremely hot conditions and then once inside we had to queue for more than an hour to go on the cable car. No seniors discount for any other than Hong Kong residents. To make matters worse once we got to the counter we presented a tourist booklet we had been given at the port for a 10% discount and Ocean Park wanted us to stand aside as it seemed news to them. So another 2O minutes wait for 7 people of whom most were in their 70's and/or had some mobility issues. Once we got to the entry gate they demanded tickets which we had not been given and wanted us to go back to the ticket box. We were treated abominably by Ocean Park. Our advice is give it a big miss.
Seward
we did the sea life center independently and this is well worth doing especially seeing puffins up close.
Icy Strait
Whale watching was good. Beautiful place.
Juneau
to see the rare bubble feeding by the whales and the orcas too was awesome. Best place for whale watching.
Victoria
Gardens were excellent but taxi operator went back on the negotiated price by saying he meant US dollars and not Canadian dollars! left a bad taste in our mouths about this. He knew we wern't Americans.
Hilo
did hop on bus which was very reasonable ad we saw 5 green turtles up close
Tahiti (Papeete)
mostly shopped. Enjoyed meal in the rain at the Roulettes
Bora Bora
seeing the sharks , rays and the giant manta rays was a real highlight