If you are under the age of 60 and love to have a great time, laugh, drink, socialise and be entertained then this cruise is NOT for you. It was 95% retirees over the age of 70. The activities and entertainment were designed to entertain the same age bracket. We are in our 30/40s and found the activities boring and the demographics were way too old. There was not even any background music playing in the bar/lounge areas and the pool deck areas. My kids ages 12/9 were absolutely bored, there was no entertainment for the kids and they found kids club to be very boring with limited visiting hours. The first night of our cruise the kids club was only open with adult supervision. Most of the time we were getting bold out of the way by wheeler walkers and motorised bikes. Some staff were lovely but majority just did not look happy in general. Services wasn’t that great either apart from a very selected few that were happy to go above and beyond for us. Food in the restaurant was great and the speciality restaurants were also great. Buffet was terrible. Overall we were very disappointed and won’t travel on the cruise line again. Read Less

we chose this cruise in order to familiarize ourselves with this ship as we have booked next cruise from NZ on the 30th of December Embarkation went smooth taken only 15 minutes to be on board. Cabin was very comfortable. Traditional dining at the Botticelli restaurant was good however for access you have to go to deck 7 walk towards the back of the ship then down to deck 6. or walk on deck 7 towards the back and take the lift to deck 6. Entertainment at the theater was good but not large enough for the number of passengers. you have to go about 30 minutes earlier to got a seat. However The Piazza area is a mess. You cannot find a seat at the International cafe as people go there early in the morning and stay there practically all day reading books or talking with other passengers . Also entertainment should be taken to other areas of the ship to avoid congestion in the Piazza Read Less

Having opted for a very expensive Suite upgrade on this short 2 night cruise, I was disappointed in the unavailability of all the promised items. I will make this quick as internet is timed, not based on data. 20 minutes of internet was required to read 1 email and run a speedtest, which failed. Hopefully I can dispel a few outdated statements on the website about Suite "perks". The executive summary is "Save you money and get a balcony room. With the savings, buy yourself an expensive drinks package or lash out at the bar. Visit the specialty restaurants. Don't waste it on the suite." Mini-bar - There is little choice. 1 brand of each Vodka, scotch, brandy, gin. If you don't like the brand, bad luck. You can select to swap out the drinks for another variety, as some have stated. I asked for Scotch. There was none. Settled for (flat-tasting) beer. Room Service - Suite passengers have a "special"menu to choose from in their 24/7 room service. Rang room service and asked for the standard fare; coffee and a club sandwich. "Sorry we only have coffee and cookies because we're preparing for breakfast (in 4 hours time)". I'll just have coffee then thanks. Again, bring some snacks onboard and save your breath and money. Coffee arrived, devoid of any food after a phone call asking again for the room number. I am told the telephone system gives the room number, however.... On the positive side the Cabin was comfy and service was OK with a few "Don't bother me with that, phone room service"from the cabin steward. Food: Nearly choked on a chicken bone in the "Curtis Stone"pot pie at the restaurant. More like a chicken and leek soup with an overdone, dry pastry top. So much was I looking forward to the Curtis Stone featured meals, I chose it against the waiters recommendation. The good news is that my Lady took the recommendation and received a badly cooked slice of non-descript, grisly meat with a few beautifully cooked shrimp on top. This was a "special" addition to the meat dish. Desserts were OK. This is the first cruise I've ever been on where the food in the buffet has exceeded that in the restaurant. I can only hope that the paid-extra-for Specialty restaurant has better fare tonight. I am having difficulty seeing what was received as "perks". Other than the priority embarkation, which you can get through the loyalty program I would go for the cheapest cabin you're happy with and save you money to enjoy yourself. Have the buffet; food was wonderful and varied. Use the $200 each extra for the suite to get a drinks package ($87 per day) and proper coffees (room service coffee is that American style filtered, watery fare). Beer $8.75 as at October 2019 (extra for special Oktoberfest beers. Cocktails range from $11 to $16. Menu didn't show much choice. $3 discount in the Elite lounge for a limited range of cocktails. Wines $13 per glass and from $46 upwards per bottle. Menu showed limited range. With 7 glasses per bottle, you know which to order to get value for money. [ or tee-total for the trip and drink up on-shore ] I don't hold out a lot of hope that things will improve when she changes to P&O. Perhaps that is one of the reasons for the poor showing. People may resent her changing over and take it out on the passengers. I look forward to Breakfast in 3 hours time. I hope I haven't inconvenienced the staff too much by asking for some food early. :( Read Less

We liked the itinerary and were keen to discover a new ship. Our initial impression of the ship was it was well refurbished although the cabins were small they were well laid out and had plenty of storage. We had a balcony cabin which had a kettle and a fridge which both came in handy during our voyage. The cabins were well serviced in line with other cruise ships. There are lots of restaurants on board that you pay extra for. We were happy with the buffett and main dining room and only ate at the blue lagoon restaurant on one night. The price of the drinks and coffees and cakes were very reasonable. The size of the ship was great and we were able to find our way around very quickly. The staff were very attentive and helpful although many needed to practice their English a bit more. We would comfortably go on the ship again if the itinerary was to our liking. It was great to see the other passengers who were well into their 70s and 80s enjoying all the facilities including the water slide spaAnd swimming pool. We didn’t go to the shows however the feedback was very positive. Definitely targeted towards the over 60 cruiser. We would recommend the ship those who had not cruised before all the looking for a relaxing holiday where they could enjoy a few drinks and have a swim in the pool. As this was a re-positioning cruise I am guessing that is why there was very little entertainment on board including music during the day. Read Less

Cabin is smaller than any we have occupied on 18 prior HAL cruises (with the possibe exception of when we sailed on the MS Prinsendam) Pros: Centrallylocated amid ship. Easy access to Dining Room and Atrium area. Obstruction of view only about 35%. Friendly, efficient cabin stweards Yusuf & Nicko. Cons: Immediately below main gallery--constant noise (thudding, scraping of heavy objects, banging, etc. most of the night well into the wee hours of the morning). Minimal options for "mini-bar"--just sodas & water--no refrigerator. (Disadvantage for 4 & 5 star Mariners) Air condtioning inadequate to comfortably cool the cabin. Corridor outside the cabin is also noticebly warmer than most other interior public spaces on the vessel. Only a single electrical outlet in the area of the small desk. Outletr in bathroomis not capable of receiving polarized (let alone grounded) plugs. No USB receivers. Fortunately, cabin stewards will provide a power strip if you request one. Your mileage may vary, Read Less

We chose this cruise as it was suitable as our first cruise of the season. We had been on this ship some 5 years before but it is still in very good order. Only our 5th Celebrity cruise but due to our Royal Caribbean history we were given Elite class. Embarkation was quick due to that benefit. We had done all the ports before, both by sea and land, so will not expand on them. First the good points - as I said the ship is in good order with many comfortable lounges -the food is generally good with tasty curries in the buffet on port days. Lunches in the MDR were only average, breakfasts were good and dinners satisfactory with some disappointments. Our inside cabin was quite spacious and served the purpose. The room attendant was also excellent. The dining room staff were also good, mainly Indonesian and Filipino , a little reserved at first but relaxed after they got to know us. The passengers were a mixed lot, mainly Aussies, NZ, Uk and a lot of well off Americans. All very nice apart from a Bible bashing couple. The theatre was good with never a problem in getting a seat. It holds 1400+ and getting there early was not necessary. The individual artists were good but the production shows were poor except for the last night, an acrobatic show with an extremely good female acrobat. The captain entertained us with his reports and quirky sense of humour was easy and taxis were plentiful. Disembarkation was easy and taxis were plentiful. The not so good points- We missed the dedicated Diamond and Diamond+ lounges on Royal Caribbean. There were no Captains Club drinks on embarkation night or on Captains party night. On RC you get proper coffee and nibblies in Diamond lounges, but missing on Celebrity. However, in the Ensemble lounge we got excellent service from the waiter, Hendry. Although we got our drinks for free we noticed the extortionate cost of drinks eg a glass of ordinary wine US$10 or 14 or 19. A lot in Australian money. A coffee in special coffee lounge was US$6 = A$9. The specialty restaurants are all priced in US dollars and are also expensive. They did not seem well patronised at the times we saw them. Read Less

I had a good time with my friends always enjoyed princess cruises. The food was good with a spread of selections. The DaVinci and Michaelangelo restaurants were great. The ship is clean and beautiful. The staff is always very helpful and attentive to our needs.The cabin we are in the semi suit which is very spacious for the 4 of us. The nice guy assigned to our cabin Mr Reynaldo Curitana kept our cabin clean and with enough supply of towels. A few things that kind of dampen our cruise was the rocking and rolling at the Tasmanian sea for about 2 days which made us sea sick for a while. The shows at the Princess Theatre were kind of boring its not what i expected since I've been with other princess cruises before. We went browsing at the fine jewelry EFFY shop I took a liking to a ring but really had no intention to buy but with such persuasion skills of the seemingly nice salesmen Nick Vitalli and Julian I was convinced but the problem was it was too big for my ring finger. They said "oh resizing is easy it will only take about 30 min to an hour" since we are disembarking at Sydney and staying for a few days we were told there is a " Monroe Yorke Diamonds" level 29, 2 Chifley Square so we went only to find out that it was no jewelry place but a reception desk with a receptionist who said they don't do such a thing and gave us a number to call. I think we were duped we were misinformed. We tried that number with an answering machine never returned our call. I called customer care 1877ASKEFFY several times greeted with a busy signal. Are the jewelry we bought real or Is this company even legitimate?????????????? Read Less

With so few opportunities to cruise from Fremantle we took the opportunity to fly to Sydney for a 4 day cruise to Melbourne. Hence the title "Booze Cruise". I must admit to being disgusted by ANY shipping line that condones drinking alcohol to excess. Passengers who purchased the alcohol package at $US80+ per day certainly decided to get their monies worth regardless of their loud and often offensive behaviour. Obviously not concerned about their health either. The food was very average. The ship had sailed from the west coast of USA via Hawaii to NZ and then Sydney. 35 days. The natural yoghurt in the buffet was from the US (New Jersey - east coast) had been frozen and split. The fresh fish on board for tea one night was a Mediterranean fish. Fresh??? How long had that been on board. Dining room "ran out" of steak and roast beef one meal. Curtains in the deluxe balcony were missing. Only had sun block curtain lining hanging. Bathroom was good with good sized shower. Celebrity is very class orientated. Have sailed several times with Cunard and even they were more relaxed and less class conscious than Celebrity. Sorry. Not my cup of tea. Read Less

Friends of ours booked this cruise and wanted us to come along.The biggest disappointments on this cruise were the food,which was just mediocre and the excursions which most were overpriced and didn't give us what we had expected. The staff in the fixed time dining room were excellent as well as our cabin steward. The anytime dining area was usually very crowded and the food selections limited and repeated on a less than weekly basis.Towards the end of the cruise,it also ran out of some basic items and offered only one choice in others.A lot of the pastries were dried out.No ice cream was served.Ice creame could be purchased on deck however. In the dining room,a large percentage of the food,especially desserts were left uneaten.They were either dried out or stale. Steaks never came as ordered.Mine was served almost raw.Pork bellies arrived under cooked. Having cruised with Viking and Holland America recently,Princess fell far short of satisfying our ideas of what the cruise was going to provide.All cruises we have gone on over the past 10years gave us value for what we paid.Princess did not.This was our first Princess cruise and likely our last. Read Less

Over all the experience was not so good. The ship was too big, it had to be docked at Circular Key not White Bay as it wouldn’t fit under the Harbour Bridge. The laundry's were located the end of the ship on each deck directly above and below each other, meaning a cut lunch and a water bottle was needed. Some of the wait staff spent more time speaking to each other rather than looking after the paying passengers. The price of refreshments was a rip off being &42 a bottle and $12 to $14 a glass for wine. Water in the state room was also overpriced at $6.50 for a 1.5 ltrs bottle. The entertainment was that good, not a lot of of variety offered. The big screen was not used that often for movies. The main entertainment areas were located at either ends of the ship again meaning the cur lunch and water bag were needed. The layout of the main eating areas (help your self) on deck 16 was rather strange, having different sections for different foods but not those that should have been together ie the bread was with the cakes not with the hot foods. It meant by the time it took to get all you needed to make a main meal and returned to your table it was cold. Read Less

We did the most amazing cruise from Broome W.A. to Darwin N.T. 10 night/ 11 days in the most awesome part of the world. There were only 45 passengers on board and the crew were amazing. The excursions which were twice a day were interesting and the guides were amazing in their information about the areas we visited. The scenery and areas in the Kimberley was so amazing and quiet. Heaps of birdlife, wildlife, whales and dolphins and crocodiles. The weather was kind also. I wish I could give 30/10. The service and cleanliness was excellent. Couldn't praise the crew enough. Our cabin was close to the dining room and was cleaned every morning and the bed was pulled back ready for bed at night. Clean towels every day. The food was to die for. Great selection on the menu. Everyone sat wherever they wanted to. Everyone got to know everyone. Read Less

Without doubt the Kimberley region is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Few people get to see it from the Indian Ocean ... even fewer from the comforts of the True North in the company of such amazing staff. This was a holiday that was much more - an education, a revelation, a privilege and - an opportunity to engage with unbelievably professional staff and wonderfully interesting fellow travellers. There aren't too many places left which truly feel untouched ... with no footprints, where one does not want to leave a trace. Cathedral rocks, freshwater pools, mangrove mazes and pitch black catacombs welcomed us just as they did the amazing artists who mysteriously painted the ancient rock art into the landscape tens of thousands of years ago. Jo-Lee at the bar remembered everyone's favorite drinks, Tegan as cruise co-ordinator was fantastic in ensuring our specific needs were attended to always, Pete Hall (hallie) taught me more about catching Barra in 10 mins than I'd ever learnt in my whole life. Mick taught me how to throw a cast net in one easy lesson and Nat gave me the confidence to hold a slithering snake without fear. Georgia impressed everyone with her magnificent hand drawn graphics and Sean and Kei were brilliant tender skippers. My first hand picked/fresh shucked oyster was delicious and the experience of pulling mud crabs in the mangroves was awesome. Ben the skipper was magnificent in allowing the whales (5 humpbacks) to sidle right up to the True North (I'm talking 5 metres away) ... they came to us. The ship itself had 6 tenders .. aluminium dinghys for excursions - giving a level of comfort and safety (in crocodile waters) not afforded from a blow up zodiac type. I would personally not like to be sitting on the gunnel of a zodiac in the Kimberely. Evenings on board consisted of the evening meal (chef addresses each table) ... a run down of the days activities and what's on tomorrow... followed by drinks at the bar, usually recorded music (although with 2 house guitars on board we were lucky enough to have a couple of musos play live on a couple of nights). The crew organised a fun quiz night and also a dress up party night for everyone ... both great fun. I cannot speak highly enough of every aspect of our time on the True North. Much more than just a holiday ... my wife calls it a spiritual experience. Our footprints may have washed away ... however we carry memories to last a lifetime. The bonus for me? ... I was inspired to finish writing a song I'd been working on for some time. Thank you True North. Read Less

We chose this trip because it was going to interesting places like Easter island. Little did we know they almost ever get on at Easter Island and since it is a long way from anywhere we had ten sea days in a row. This was very annoying and I would encourage people to think twice before doing this trip. There were some good ports like Rejavik and New York and St. John’s and Charleston but the two ports in Peru were awful since you could not get off at the port as it was considered too dangerous! We had to go to a shopping centre that was about an hours drive from the port in Lima. Why do we stop at dangerous places. It was a disgrace. Our entertainment troupe of singers and dancers were excellent but the other entertainment on board ranged from average to dreadful especially the guy Jon who must have been chosen by an influential person he could not sing to save himself and the atrium was deserted when he was there. The food was good and much to our liking and the cabin staff were excellent and so were the waiters but the front office staff were very rude and not helpful. Read Less

This was a last minute booking as it fitted with time off work and was inexpensive. We are Elite on Princess but have cruised with P&O several years ago and were not expecting it to be of the same standard, however we were pleasantly surprised. The ship is small so easy to find your way around and very nice inside, quite different to other ships we have been on, more like a modern Hotel. Our room was a ocean view on deck 4, all we could get at that late stage, but it was quite large compared to some of the rooms we have been in on other ships. The only issue was machinery noises from below at night and the air conditioning that had a mind of its own and no matter where the controls were set varied between freezing cold and hot. We normally take the traditional dining option on Princess but did enjoy the options of the different dining rooms - Angelo's, Dragon Lady and the Waterfront. The food was what you can expect on a cruise ship and remember it is not expensive. Some meals were very good and some not so good. It was necessary to book well in advance if you wanted a specific time, in order to see the shows and while this was ok on a short cruise we would still prefer the Traditional dining option - same time, same table, same people, same waiters on a longer cruise. There was no shortage of variety as although the menus were quite small they changed every 4 days. We only ate in the Pantry at lunchtime and breakfast on shore days when we had early starts. There was a huge variety to choose from and generally the food was good. It was a little disjointed though having to go to different stations to put a meal together. Best to find a table then check out what you want, and then get to the stations with the longest queues first otherwise the hot food will be cold. The entertainment was excellent, the production shows, guest artists and live music was as good as any we have seen on a cruise ship. Sideshow alley, the magician/singer duo, and the Hawaiian Comedian were stand outs. Embarkation and disembarkation was very well organised, as good as we have come across. The Tendering process was poor, we gave up in Lifou after waiting over 1 1/2 hrs in the morning. And when I finally went ashore in the afternoon it took over 2 hrs from the time I joined the queue for the return journey, all the time standing in pouring rain - not pleasant. It is a small ship and therefore there are not the facilities we are used to. There is no hot tub in the adults area and as the main pools were freezing cold the two hot tubs in the main pool area were always full of children. It was the school holidays and we understood that the capacity of children allowed on board was maxed out. There are no wine lists in the bars - only in the restaurants and although there was a good range of wine in the restaurants it was very limited in the bars and there was different availability in the different bars. Bottled wine was in the $30 to $60 range with reds in Angelo's generally more reasonable than a good Chardonnay anywhere on the ship. It was good to see the ships security policing the R18 shows and adults only areas and crew removing towels from loungers that had been left by lazy and thoughtless passengers. The Unesco Heritage site snorkelling trip in Noumea was a highlight despite poor weather conditions. Expensive but well worth it, one of the best snorkelling sites we have been to in many years. Sharks, turtles, lots of tropical fish both small and large, moray eels and great coral. Having a guide with us made it feel much safer and they knew the best spots to go to. On a sunny day this would be stunning!! The shore excursion to Mare was also good, nice beach with easy swim to some coral reefs with some brightly coloured tropical fish. Due to poor weather we did not get to visit Mystery Island. Overall a good cruise and certainly value for money. Read Less

Before traveling we read many negative reviews about this ship so our expectations were quite realistic. It was a taster cruise to see if I could handle the seasickness and being on board for days in a row. We had an amazing time and could find little fault. For the price we paid, we didn't expect the highest quality food or the most luxurious accommodation but our meals in the specialty restaurants were fine. Yes the serves were small, but extra dishes could be ordered. I loved the smaller serves, compared to the huge meals served in most restaurants everywhere these days. The staff were amazing. Nothing is too much trouble. We found the entertainment to be excellent with something for everyone. I am sure there are more glamorous ships on offer but we went with an open mind and a positive attitude and enjoyed the whole experience. On this comedy cruise we laughed our way across the Tasman. Read Less

We went on the Astoria in March 2019 and firstly the really good aspects: It went from our home port in Poole so no distance to travel. It is a nice size with not too far to walk to the restaurants and lounges, it is quite stable so although quite rough seas it didn't roll too much so no sea sickness. It had a cinema with recent releases being shown. They had a good speaker on board who shared his Vulcan experiences so being into aviation this was a nice surprise. The cabins were very well appointed with plenty of space for clothes etc. The staff were very friendly and we received good service. They provided shuttle buses at all the ports for independent travellers not going on the excursions so there weren’t the long walks that we have had on other cruise providers Next the not so good aspects The cabins were noisy and vibration from the engines could be felt all night long. We couldn't work out whether this was the location of our cabin - deck 4 mid ship but I suspect that it was throughout the ship but the beds were very comfortable so didn't affect our sleep. The general consensus was 'the more you pay the more you sway' .The service in the Olissipo restaurant was quite slow and the food average. We did treat ourselves to the steak bar and had an excellent 8 course meal although one of the steaks was too tough and went back. The schedules weren't kept to due to rough weather (not their fault) so we only ended up with 4 full days ashore and 4 half days. Our trip to the Scillies was cancelled which was disappointing. We felt that the information provided by the excursion team was poor for independent travellers. For instance when we went to Invergordon we were told that it was difficult to get the public transport into Inverness and that we should take the £25 ship transfer. In fact there was a bus that went straight into Inverness and cost only £12 return. Clearly they were more interested in selling the excursions. There were 2 sizes of wine on offer a large and small glass but despite repeated requests for a small glass, large ones (187ml) always arrived. So we ended up buying a bottle which was cheaper. Overall it is a good value boat and CMV are recommended as good organisers. We would go on Astoria again. Read Less

I had seen the promotional videos of TrueNorth and met some of the crew when TrueNorth was in Sydney in 2018 and I thought at the time - wow, I would love to do this. I was fortunate that an opportunity landed at my door, I needed to be in Broome and it happened for me. I had the most amazing time, I did not envisage that it was going to be as good as it was. Someone had said to me 'it is difficult to put into words what a trip on the TrueNorth is like, you just have to experience it'. They are correct! A TrueNorth adventure is an experience that you will not get anywhere else. It is a combination of experienced and professional staff, incredible beautiful and remote places in the Kimberley, a boat/ship that is purpose built to take you places to enjoy and immerse yourself in adventures that are wonders of the world. Each day I thought, if the trip stopped now, I have seen/experienced and done things I have not previously done - I would die happy. I am planning on going on another cruise, there are so many adventures that TrueNorth do that would rock my boat - my next one I think will be the Rowley Shoals. If you only get the chance to do one adventure in your life, do one of the TrueNorth cruises, they are worth every penny! Read Less

I am on board this ship attending a genealogy conference. Thank goodness I AM attending a conference because the overall options for things to do on this ship are terrible. Everything is aimed at young families - the ones where the parents traipse off and have a good time but leave their brats to run amok and annoy fellow guests. Then there is the food - the Windjammer is terrible, all food is well overcooked and what is not eaten is served up the next day in a variety of stir fry's and casserole-type dishes. The Sapphire Dining Room is just as bad. The only decent meals are to be had in the speciality restaurants which leads me to think they make the general food so bad you will naturally take up the specialities! It would also appear that the shore excursion staff are not kept informed about any changes to excursions until the very last minute and are not able to get the message out to its passengers. For one excursion I was booked on, I was complaining about the change of date at such late notice (the evening before) when several other passengers advised they had had 4 date changes to the same excursion. Was also booked on the Tour of the Ship only to be told while waiting for the tour to commence that it would not be happening because we were sailing through the Torres Straits and no one is allowed to enter the bridge or engine room on this day. HELLO why was the day available for the booking in the first place when the organisers would have known we would be travelling through those Straits on that day. Arrived in Darwin to be told our collected tour group (who had to meet at the fore theatre room on Deck 3 had to walk up to Deck 4, across to the aft elevators and go down to Deck 1. We get down there having had to wait many minutes for elevators (they only take so many people) to be told, no you are exiting from Deck 4. Up we go again to find we have to disembark down the steepest, wet, gangway I have every seen. Our group consisted of many elderly persons with mobility problems including a totally blind woman with a stick. Surely this is a health and safety risk just waiting for a passenger to have a fall and sue the pants off of Royal Caribbean. I have done several cruises with their sister company Celebrity and the difference between the two is staggering. Royal Caribbean - Explorer of the Seas - no longer supplies fresh water jugs to your cabin; no longer gives you that little chocolate on your bed making you feel special; instead of two cabin stewards there is only one very overworked steward; the conference room in the fore of the ship has only 1 toilet for up to a hundred people. Then there is the state of the elevators, one of which kept breaking down - to be honest it was the one you could rely on because it wasn't working with the others continually whizzing past your floor or staying on each deck for around 4 or 5 minutes minimum. Much quicker to take the stairs but not suitable for the elderly or those with mobility problems. I could go on but then I'd only be seen as a whinger - along with at least half of the passengers on this cruise. My advice - pay the extra and go with Celebrity or its ilk. Read Less

4th cruise, 3rd with Celebrity, 2 others on smaller Constellation & Millenium. Value of cruise good but inclusions very expensive. Had balcony midships level 8, excellent. Internet usage $55US per day, Drink Packages ridiculous prices as well. $25US corkage if you bought your own wine to dinner. (1 bottle per person allowed onboard first day). Food in main dining ok except for 2 nights when the choice was inedible. Ocean View cafe ok but again some of the meat dishes were a bit dry & unappetizing. Trying to find a seat at breakfast was a challenge. Solstice is getting a bit tired & needs a refit which is happening next year I think. Captain Tasos is THE best & he & his staff of many could not be faulted. Dining room staff were exceptional & really looked after you. Ports of Call on this itinerary were great, especially our sail through The Sounds. Much prefer to cruise on smaller ships. 2200 pax & 1200 staff just not as personal. Read Less

we chose this ship because it was new but it is badly designed you have to go to different floors to get from one end to the other end of the ship food was average would not sail again on this one found the sun and diamond princess ships are better. Not enough cover around the pool area dance floor between the pools was a wasted space not enough seating for 3500 people no entertainment on pool decks just movies no good for families used passengers as entertainment with line dancing every day played lawn bowls in front of lifts .this ship is ok if you are over 70 and you like gambling or wake up in the morning have breaky then lay at the pool and sleep until lunch have lunch then go back to the pool and sleep until dinner when you have finished dinner they are ready for bed same again next day. Read Less

Excellent value for a suite - liked the itinerary - wanted to experience a new ship. Good overall but we did not like the mattress in the suite. I suspect it is rubber based as it always seemed to be hot. Club class dining is excellent with no waiting during anytime dining. Enrichment Lectures were lacking. Only one American based speaker (most of the PAX were Australian) and he joined part way through the cruise. No others. Captain Dino's announcements were all good but interaction with officers was non-existent - unfortunate - it happens sometimes. Had a look at pricing on a similar cruise (SYD-SIN) next year and note the price has doubled for the same number of days, compared with what we paid. At this price we will probably pass for that itinerary. We enjoyed the cruise and it was great value, an excellent ship. We will sail on her again. Read Less

Golden princess Off to bad start Princess couldn’t find our boarding passes, had to wait half an hour while they made up new ones. Club class dinning steak like leather . This has happened twice so far, I guess they are getting ready for P&O hand over. Room got flooded out now we have mildew smell, they have shampooed twice now, smell is going along the corridor and people can smell it out side our room. Asked for another room were told nothing available! Ordered steak Diane again tough steak again, the only steak that’s ok is the minion. We both were quarantined to our cabin after my wife got A& B influenza. Meals were brought to our cabin - cold and soggy. The carpet was black with mildew so they tried to clean it with no luck Large blower was brought in to try and dry it, I think this made it worse. We are elite customers and this was the worse princess cruise we have ever had, ship is in need of full upgrade we noticed hand rails that had fallen down the stair case, I believe that this ship is going to P&O good luck with that! We missed out on Fiordland National Park due to bad weather which was unfortunate Read Less

Just completed the Melb-NZ cruise 18-30 March 19. Seemed like a good way to see a little of NZ in comfort. Massive delays and chaos at boarding in Melbourne. Burst water main leaving cabins without water until 9:30 AM one day. Casino flooded and smelling. Long queues for shuttle bus into Dunedin with USD 8 charge each way. Long queue for tender from ship to Akaroa even at 11:00AM. Stale cheese board crackers in upgrade Verandah restaurant; reported to maître d' who took no action and continued serving from the same supply on the cheese cart. Drinks overpriced in US dollars and even more expensive when converted to AUS and 15% service charge then added. No ushers in cinema with very elderly people entering in the dark after the film started with one gentleman falling badly on the stairs near my seat. No assistance/supervision in the gym in the early mornings with elderly people on machines. Cabin clean and comfy. Staff very polite and efficient. Food plentiful and good but silly corner cutting like complimentary food from room service but charging for tea/coffee delivered with food. Evening shows too much of the same "song and dance" type routines. Good classical music program and ballroom dancing lessons. Overall the company are milking the Queen Elizabeth name. Read Less

We chose this cruise after enjoying a Queen Mary 2 circumnavigation of New Zealand a few years ago. Our boarding time was 2.30pm and we arrived at Station Pier, Melbourne, 10 minutes before the scheduled time to encounter a long and mutinous queue stretching along the pier. We had to queue for 40 minutes on Station Pier in 30 degree heat. Several elderly passengers were becoming quite distressed. Passengers were being allowed into the Cruise Terminal in groups of about 20. Here we queued for a further 40 minutes in a hot, stuffy antiquated building - the air conditioning unable to cope with the passenger numbers. I understand the problem was due to multiple computer crashes and a passenger who fainted in the airless terminal having to be medivaced. Cunard could, and should have handled the situation better. They could have sent a ship's officer down onto station pier to explain the situation first hand. They could have set up the cold drink stations and gazebos on the pier as they did at every port stop. They could have provided temporary seating for elderly passengers. An apology would have been nice. Maybe even a voucher for a complimentary drink once on board. This was hardly Cunard's famed White Star service and the problem was exacerbated by Melbourne Port's antiquated facility. Overall the embarkation was a tedious, unpleasant experience. Most reasonable people accept that things can go wrong. Unfortunately, the bad embarkation experience got the cruise off to a bad start with some passengers just looking to find fault wherever they could. Once on board things changed considerably for the better. Our cabin was spotlessly clean and well appointed. Our steward, Alfie, was an absolute treasure. There were a couple of minor issues with our cabin - a blown light bulb and blocked toilet. Both were fixed very promptly following a call to the Pursers office. Like one of the other reviewers, i was slightly irritated that there was no pen provided in the cabin. On our QM2 cruise there was a nice faux "Mont Blanc" style pen. Cost cutting to save a couple of dollars on a cruise costing several thousand dollars just doesn't make sense. The ship itself is fabulous with its art deco interior, artworks and magnificent staircases. It is only spoiled somewhat by the gaudy poker machines that occupy too much premium space. Surely they could have been placed somewhere less conspicuous (preferably down on Deck 1). I find it hard to understand why some reviewers complain about the food. The dining choices are many and varied. We ate most of our meals in the Britannia Restaurant where the meals were excellent, as was the service (and we're fussy). We had a couple of meals in the Lido buffet where there was plenty of variety and we had no problem with service. We loved the Golden Lion pub and the English fare. The Fish 'n Chips were great and I enjoyed one of the best chicken curries I've had in a long time. Our favourite bar was the Commodore Club for pre-dinner drinks. Service was always excellent and the complimentary canapés were a nice touch. Our only problem with service was in the Verandah Bar where we once waited 20 minutes to get any service. The waiter seemed more interested in chatting with the barman than attending to guests. Drink prices were high for guests paying in AU dollars. Beer was best value with prices being about what you would pay in a good quality hotel, even after conversion. Wine was expensive for Australian travellers who love their wine. The wine list provided an excellent selection from around the world and I enjoyed attending the wine tasting and sampling wines that are not easily available in Australia. Our sommelier was very knowledgeable and happy to share his expertise. The enrichment lectures were of a very high standard as were the song and dance routines accompanied by an excellent band. We had no problem with the embarkation and disembarkation by the ship's boats in Akaroa as reported by another reviewer. We also opted for the Train excursion in Dunedin which was well organised and well catered for. The train came right onto the Jetty at Port Chalmers. The highlight of the trip was the navigation of Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound which was accompanied by an excellent commentary form a local expert. Would we book Cunard again? Definitely. We have already booked the QE Christmas and New Year cruise to NZ. I'm pleased to report that the disembarkation ran a lot more smoothly than the embarkation. Read Less

Found the cruise relaxing staff were very helpful. Didn't enjoy the meals tried twice in the restaurant on Deck 3 or 4. Because we don;t consume alcohol and don't put on airs down to earth couple didn't really feel welcomed there. After that experience used the Ocienveiw Cafe for all our meals and the Mast Grille nice presented food. Enjoyed the show put on most nights in the Solstice Theatre pity they were only a hour long. Enjoyed the outdoor movies pity they repeated them over and over especially The Black Panther and Skycraper. Enjojed watching the girls on deck 15 working with the glass very pleasant and customer looked happy with their items. Bands that played were good normally listened to them in the library. Really not a lot to do at night if you don't gamble or drink. The ship looked nice and clean Indra did a good job making and tiding our room. A few issues with wind blowing thru the door at night whistling, broken tiolet seat cracked T.V. losing signal when watching it otherwise okay.Choose excursions thru the ship 1st not to be left behind and 2nd not to indated by the locals if going ashore. Went on the Nausori Farmers Market Drive hard to hear the person talking as microphone kept cutting in and out. The third excursion I didn't do due to illness which was spreading thru-out the ship coughing, sneezing runny nose and sore throat, as no opening windows in our room think it was spread by the air conditioning.Older couple early 60's no children. Yes we have booked again for same trip 2021 with a room at back of ship with opening balcony hopefully to prevent illness. Read Less