I completely agree with Lizzy77's review of the March Cherry Blossom cruise. I was on board for 42 days, Sydney to Sydney. It was our seventh cruise and the longest since 30 days spent on Seabourn Sun. It's apparent that Princess doesn't regard its Australian passengers as requiring the same standards as Americans. I've previously cruised on Pacific, Sapphire and Diamond Princess and this was totally different. The staff was young,inexperienced and sometimes short-tempered,the ship looked tired and the bedlinen was a disgrace. I had my mattress replaced because it hurt my back, the bedsheets were not just worn, but had huge tears and holes in them and I can't think of a word for the scrappy pillows.

A friend had warned me to expect a very small cabin and that's what it was - though the balcony helped a lot. And she was right - knees were against the bathroom door while sitting on the toilet!

I don't go to the shows but I was shocked to pass the Vista Lounge at 10.30pm and see a cleaner vacuuming the floor. So much for night-life. I prefer movies and lectures and the Princess Theatre, holding 550, is totally inadequate for 2000-odd passengers. The theatre would fill with book-readers up to an hour ahead of shows and lectures to get a seat. And there wasn't the option of viewing the missed port lectures on television later, as on other Princess ships, since they weren't filmed on video. The facility was there but it wasn't used. Read more