We chose this cruise because of the following points: 1) it departed from Sydney 2) it was at a time of year when we could take leave 3) it wasn't too long (11 nights) 4) it was going somewhere we hadn't been before (NZ) 5) it was a good price with a balcony upgrade offer for $100 pp.

We had not cruised on Princess before but I had heard it was very good. The ship itself was very elegant, but it was hard not to compare it with out last cruise on Royal Carribean Mariner of the Seas - a similar size ship. The Emerald Princess felt difficult to navigate around and even after 10 days I still got a bit lost sometimes. The 'Piazza' area was elegant but very tight and small. There weren't many shops to choose from compared with the huge 'mall' that is on Mariner of the Seas. Maybe I was imagining it, but it felt that every 'seminar' or 'free raffle' was designed to get you there to sell you something. I actually got a bit sick of it after a while and being the cynic I am, I started to guess in advance what they would be trying to sell at the "how to get a flatter stomach" session, or the "how to walk without hurting your back" session. And lo and behold these sessions were trying to push some sort of (costly) treatment/product etc. on to unsuspecting passengers ready to hand over their hard earned money in a euphoric high of holiday emotions.

The demographic was mainly aged 60+, although there were young families on board too. The activities were mainly limited to trivia, bingo, silly game shows etc. Not much else to do on board other than drink in the bars or lay by the pool. Sadly our last 3-4 days were very rough and cold, so we bounced from one trivia quiz to the next. I don't think I would go with Princess again, I need something a bit more exciting. Shore tours were much more expensive than I have ever paid before. We had a nice time, but it wasn't amazing.