Executive Summary: My wife and I believe that any cruise is a good cruise. However, this being our 23rd Princess cruise we would rank it about number 20. We did the identical itinerary in October 2012 aboard the Sapphire and that is the ship and cruise that we compare all others to.

During this voyage we encountered two unusual problems, a medical emergency requiring a diversion to an unplanned port, Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas Islands which resulted in an additional day at sea and an outbreak of Norovirus which required great effort by the crew to contain the spread of the virus. The Captain and crew did an exceptional job in keeping passengers informed of the progress in solving these problems and the Company and ship provided all the assistance they could in offering facilities and assistance to help passengers alter their onward plans in addition to offering to cover the costs for changing flight arrangements. We found Captain Justin Lawes to be the most visible, approachable and most communicative Captain we have ever had.

The weather on this cruise was not as pleasant as that in 2012 but we only had one day in Bora Bora where the heavy rain and low ceiling and rough water resulted in the cancellation of our planned tour. Read more