Cruise On Ocean Princess, Honolulu to Sydney. 27 days

We had booked a mini suite for this cruise and were basically pleased with the size of the room and the bathroom. The balcony was double the size of the standard balconies. The bathroom was larger and had a bath as well as upgraded towelling. So, a little bit of luxury. Our room steward, Hector, was obliging friendly and attentive. The Ocean Princess is a small ship with about 650 passengers on this cruise. Overall the ship looks OK for a 1999 build but on closer inspection it is showing it's age. The cabinets in our room were chipped and needed restaining or replacing and the pool had serious chipping on the edges. Some of the deck furniture was cheap and poor quality and there were never enough shaded areas for people to sit in when in the hot sunshine. If you are going to sail in hot climates this must be a priority since we are now educated in skin cancer causes. The pool was small and often crowded on sea days. The food was 4 star and somewhat repetitious at dinner in the main dining room over the 27 days. The best meal was lunch in the Panorama buffet when there was a wide choice and easier to satisfy your taste buds. The Panorama buffet was naturally crowded at breakfast and lunch and often it was difficult to find a table for 4 during busy periods. There were no hand sanitizers outside the main restaurant which I thought was a failing. The evening shows were excellent, especially for a ship of this size. The daytime activities were limited and often biased towards fitness and health and beauty. Over the 27 days there was a lot of repetition in daytime presentations. Overall if you choose a small ship you will have space and activity limitations. This ship is now 14 years old and cannot compete with it's newer and larger competitors in many aspects. However there were good points and overall we enjoyed the cruise. As a final thought, when our cruise lines going to do away with adding gratuities to your onboard accounts and include it upfront in your overall price. I believe in tipping for personal services eg. room steward and waiters, and not subsidising the cruise lines' bottom line which is what we are basically doing, by paying gratuities which are shared by all staff.

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