My husband and I sailed on what we call "the cruise to nowhere", being the 19 March 2024 Brilliance of the Seas "11 day "cruise to the South Pacific from Sydney, Australia
The cruise was meant to head to Lifou, Noumea, Mystery Island, Port Vila and Luganville for 11 days. In the end we only (just) got to Lifou - the other ports were cancelled and the cruise was cut short from 11 days to 8 days ...
Compared to previous Princess cruises, this was definitely a step down in service, food, entertainment. The ambiance of cruising was not there. No dress code for the MDR. Food service slow… MDR was akin to eating at the local diner.
The staff did not make the experience ‘special’. Limited engagement with the waitstaff..more of a serve and get it over with vibe. Orders were sometimes ...
Overall: This was somewhat disappointing cruise that did not live up to the hype.
Embarkation: A breeze. Easiest boarding ever. No lines, knowledgeable people.
Cabin: We had a B-1 veranda stateroom. The room itself was fine. Flat screen TV, although not much to watch. (You could watch “Titanic” if ship disaster movies are your thing.) Adequate underbed storage for our soft-sided ...
The ship is magnificent, although the recent refurbishment in 2023 didn't reach all the staterooms( not allowed to call them cabins), the carpet in our room was badly stained. When contemplating a cruise with Cunard get everything in writing, we spent 3 hours on the phone between NZ and Australia with the Cunard agent and decided to upgrade our stateroom to a room with an un-interrupted view, on ...
did this trip four years ago same ship different ports all tender ports missed ,food quality no where what it was, cost cutting all across the board...the room stewards have to attend to even more rooms and dining room staff are less...trivia in the overcrowded small bar down stairs deck two opposite the casino not in crows nest any more...waited for shore days for a beer as two to three for the ...
Seems like Princess are skimping on staff. Distinct lack of drinks waiters. Having to wait up to 20 minutes for a waiter to come by. Cost of drinks very expensive. Basic glass of wine $15.one would think that it would pay to have extra staff as this is where a lot of money is made.
Food was great. Entertainment excellent. We only took x1 Princess excursion as they were ridiculously expensive, a ...
We were travelling with friends from a previous cruise. There
The ship is dated. The external appearance is worn. The interior fittings in looked dark and out of style but
The cabin decks carpets looked worn.
The ship layout was confusing having travel up and down decks to reach the rear restaurant. ,,,
The medallion app was great and easy to use, streamlining drink orders etc. ...
I chose this cruise to celebrate my birthday with my two daughters and four grandchildren. I wanted to do the 4 day cruise but could not justify the 20,000 dollars so chose the two day one. By the time you have converted the dollars to USA and paid travel insurance and the gratuities the cost adds up even for two days.
The cruise itself was a lot crammed into a short amount of time. Long queues ...
I write this from the Rolling Stone Lounge on MS Noordam. A lovely time overall, the band is awesome!!!! but children under 10 running wild at 10:15pm in the rolling stone lounge with inadequate parental supervision is not my my idea of a good time.
Precocious children spoil the fun for adults who just want to have a good time from an adult perspective. A few drinks and a bit of a dance is ...
This was our first cruise with Oceania and a small ship. It was great we could stop at places that larger ships do not visit.
Staff and food were really excellent, but the entertainment was not as good or varied as a bigger ship can provide.
Our cabin was on Level 7 (A1Concierge Veranda) and it was disappointing to discover our hand basin was cracked, the soap dish was badly chipped and then ...