Just returned from cruising New Zealand for the last 2 weeks. This was our first cruise with Princess, after cruising with Carnival 3 times because we have a young teenager. Certainly the demographic of this cruise was much different to Carnival and we were one of the younger couples on board, being in our 50s and 40s. That said, it was outside of the usual public school holidays, so the passengers were older.

We had a mini suite on Dolphin Deck 9 and it was lovely. Away from the crowds and noise and a good size. A very recent addition to this ship is a new Movies on Demand system, most movies in HD with lots of choice for young and old, all for free. With 2, 42 inch LCD screens in the room, this was great for wet days at sea. Also, Princess have recently added a universal 220 volt socket in each room, which is great for us Australians and any others used to not having 110 volt current devices.

The food was exceptional in all restaurants, although I did not think that Sabatinis and particularly the Sterling Steak House were all that good value for money. Vivaldi was our regular pick with a nice ambience. Read more