Lets begin with the physical appearance. First of all if you are looking for glitz and glamour then this is not the ship for you. The interior reminds you of an older, stately hotel. It is very clean and subdued in its decor. Even the casino seemed a bit sedate. If you like Vegasesque features you won't like this ship. Bear in mind it is the smallest ship in the Princess line along with its sister ship the Pacific Princess. We learned during the "Meet The Captain" cocktail party that Princess is actually building a new SMALL ship with similar dimensions, i.e. 30K tons and a length of about 600 ft. which seems to buck the trend for all new ships being goliaths. What do you find with small vs. mega-liners? This is what we noticed; First of all you see the same people more often and this means you have more opportunities to meet and greet. It leads to a friendlier atmosphere I think. Secondly word on a smaller ship travels fast. As you recall from TR part one a woman suffered a cardiac arrest and died. It seemed in no time that everyone knew about it and everything else for that matter. Third you do feel the motion more, esp. if the seas are rough.

For calm seas its no problem but if the waves and wind kick up you do notice it more, esp. if you are at either end of the ship. Amidships was much better so I would advise those going on smaller ships to be in the middle as much as possible. I wondered how the Paul Gaughin did in this weather. We saw her as we passed Raiatea the first time. She was docked but couldn't get out due to the choppy seas and the narrow inlet. She is only 18K tons and about 100 ft. less than the TP. Fourth its much easier to get the "lay of the land" as it were.

Next what about the service? In a word SUPER! If you read TR part 1 then you saw how wonderful that officer was in aiding us, esp. my wife in getting a more suitable room. Everyone working on that ship never once failed to be less than polite, accommodating and friendly. We felt welcomed and well considered. A few days into the cruise we took a galley tour and met the head chef. I was astounded when he asked my wife if she felt better. How he knew she had been ill I don't know but the fact that he did and asked was very impressive to us. Our cabin attendants were always polite, smiling and most importantly had our room spice and span. And our waiters were amazing! They were always on top of everything and worked tirelessly to be sure our needs were met. Read more