This was a 35 day cruise to Fiji, Hawaii, Tahiti and New Zealand. People boarded in Auckland, Sydney and Brisbane. 1600 people boarded in Sydney and 900 of them were elite or platinum level. The ‘preferred’ check in line was actually longer than the also rans line. This caused a few ‘elites’ in the line to become a bit indignant about the situation, but it should have been what they expected as longer cruises are bound to attract long time cruisers. Notwithstanding, Princess staff did an excellent job of processing people with a smile, a few jokes, and firm but fair directions.

As noted in other reviews the Golden Princess is looking a bit tattered and is showing its age. The signs range from simple things such the varnishing worn off our balcony railing and chipped furnishing through to bigger issues such as water leaking from the ceiling in the Vista Lounge and, at one time, water gushing from the ceiling in the Explorer’s Lounge. Having said that, the staff kept the ship in clean and tidy condition and it did not detract from our overall enjoyment of the cruise. The ship is due for a refurbishment in April next year. Unfortunately, the future cruise consultant informs us that the refurbishment will not include the upgrade of the TV system to an on demand system, which is available on most other ships.

The quality of the entertainment on this cruise was very high. Of particular note were the modern gentlemen who did four season covers, Danny Ray Evins who did Nat King Cole and blues music shows, and a buddy holly tribute show. The best of them all was Danny Elliott, a multi-instrumentalist, singer, dancer and all round great showman. Other acts of note included, Nikki Bennett, Patrick McMahon, Trevor Knight, Simon McKinney and Pearson and Harvey. The entertainment disappointments included the hypnotist, ventriloquist, and Blues Brother’s tribute. Read more