There is only two positives to this cruise. I got to see Glenn Shortock sing and I bought two handbags. I have cruised on this ship when it was the Princess Dawn to Fiji and had a wonderful cruise. Now it has changed to the Pacific Explorer and attitude change. Staff were rude and ignorant. I went to Charlie’s bar at 8.15 pm last night to get a coffee(no one around) and there was five staff behind the counter and I waited 7 minutes (yes I timed it) before asking if anyone was serving and a reply back that they were a bit busy. ( they were standing there talking between themselves) The food in the pantry was the same every day. The entertainment was appaling. If you are going to have theme nights such as Gatsby night at least play music related to that period, not have a young band playing all the latest hits. Also the bands should at least know some songs which suit all age brackets as 75 percent would have been over 50. (The male dou weren’t too bad) I have on 17 cruises, 5 being this type of cruise and this would rate as the worst. Read Less

Loved the experience of visiting remote areas seldom visited by cruise ships. The locals provided us with unforgettable experiences! Highlight was swimming with whale sharks! Staff was excellent and couldn't be faulted. Any minor issues were dealt with very professionally. Passengers came from all over the world and most of them understood what an expedition cruise is all about. Expedition crew was knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Age group was between 14 and 84 in total we had 96 passengers and 90 crew. This was our 3rd Silver Seas expedition cruise and we have loved them all! The Discoverer might be showing its age but that didn't worry us too much. Chef Pia does a great job producing tasty meals under trying circumstances and with no chance to replenish supplies. We have already booked an expedition cruise for next year as we just love to visit remote natural areas. The excellent guest speakers add to the experience! Read Less

We booked this 4-day cruise because it offered 4 days of laughter - Big Laugh Comedy. It was with some trepidation that we boarded our ship in Sydney. It had arrived 4 hours late from its previous voyage - but what better place to wait 4 hours than close to Circular Quay and beautiful Sydney Harbour? As expected, there were long queues at embarkation, but the officials and staff were friendly. We knew this ship well as the Dawn Princess, as we had previously spent 28 days on board cruising around Australia - we have also spent 53 days on her sister ship, the Seas Princess, on a half world cruise. We were absolutely delighted at the tastefully redecorated public spaces that P&O has created! The Bonded Store, the Blue Room (which we nicknamed The Cold Bar on our previous voyages). All the dining venues have been redecorated and are pleasant and functional. Staff was very friendly, efficient and happy. The comedy was what we came for - and it was very good! Some comedians appealed to us more than others, naturally. We would love to see this particular cruise become an adult only - 15 or 18 years + event. This would make the comedy cruise very much more appealing! An added bonus for us, was the amazing quality of the restaurants and the food that P&O served up. The Dragon Lady and Angelos Dining at Sea - no extra charge - were absolutely superb! The Waterfront Restaurant was our choice for breakfast and lunch - the food was fabulous. We did not use the self serve dining room - the Pantry - but noted the improvements that P&O has created. There is still an issue with seating everyone. Our cabin, a window cabin, was roomy, had plenty of cupboard and drawer space and was adequate for our four day cruise. Much is needed to refurbish the cabin! We look forward to seeing what is achieved in the cabins........ As a bonus, we had a day on Moreton Island. We chose a shore excursion to the northern point of the island. It was a very good day tour, although very expensive. We will certainly look for more short cruises out of Sydney on this delightful ship! PS: disembarkation was a breeze! Read Less

Booked on the Comedy Cruise due to a relative wanting company. Not generally a huge fan of cruising - have memories of the dreaded norovirus and terrible embarkation experience from years back. Embarkation was, if anything, worse than my previous experience - 1.5 hours from entering the building to getting on the ship, and some had taken 2.5 hours. Paid $600 for two (4 nights), inside cabin, ended up on Deck 10. Lots of room - twin configuration (travelled with child in cabin) much more spacious than double since usable space in middle. Generally quiet as well, even though near lifts. Really loved the public areas of the ship, all the little details like the art in the stairwells and the funky lifts. Theatres were nice, especially Black Circus. Just enough loungers that there was generally one available (also middle of winter, but pools were heated). Liked curling up in the bay windows with a book. Included restaurants very pretty as well, except the Pantry self-serve which was just basically a food court ambience as you'd expect. So the ship punched above its weight in appearance. The food was "quite nice" but not amazing. A lot of it was heavy on the salt and oil, but usually something reasonable to eat. At least I didn't get sick this time, so that was a big plus. Shell and Bones was not worth the extra - seafood obviously costs a bit more which is reasonable, but it was just a roped-off area of the Pantry and really not that special an experience. Cocktails were great, and the bar staff in the theatres very efficient. Comedy shows were the main drawcard for me, and were fun. Moreton Island wasn't much to write home about - did the glass bottom boat tour to see the wrecks - but I did like the tender ride! All in all, I'm still not a huge fan of cruising, but might be tempted to go again if the cruise had a theme I liked, and if they fixed the embarkation process - possibly more lounges with ticketing to call you up in groups like they do at disembarkation to avoid shuffling along in endless queues would have helped. Luggage drop-off all worked well though. Overall still a bargain in terms of value for money. Read Less

Outstanding in every way. Food amazing and much variety. Cree and staff so friendly and helpful. Guest lecturers/guides very knowledgeable and great sense of adventure and fun. Cabin was large and had surprisingly good storage. The activities planned every day were fascinating and varied, and there was still something to do on board for those who was nted a rest. The scenery and other aspects (Aboriginal art, geology, animals and plants) were explained well. Take the helicopter flight and walk to Mitchell Falls if you can. It’s well worth it! The zodiacs were lots of fun and allowed us to get in close or land to see things. This was my first extended cruise and I enjoyed every minute. If you’re prone to seasickness, get meds from your doctor before going. I did and was affected only once at the end on the run through open waters to Darwin. Broome to Darwin direction was s good choice because it’s calm until the end. We went in late June. Read Less

Firstly I’ll say this was our second cruise.Our first was on The Dawn Princess July 2016 which was possibly the best holiday I’ve ever had.So it took 2 years of working overtime and saving hard to cruise with Princess again.I lived for it ! Boy what a difference. I cannot say we didn’t enjoy our cruise,we did but there was a lot of little things that added up to disappointment. Embarkation was smooth and easy.Our inside cabin was as expected and fine.We boarded at 12.30. We had 2 suitcases and a holdall bag with soft drinks with us,we had both suitcases delivered to the cabin but the bag was missing. Our Steward tried to locate the bag to no avail. At 9pm ish we telephoned the service desk and were asked to come down to get the bag. When we got down they asked us to sit in the atrium area and wait for security, so the guy comes with the bag and asked us to open it,now I understand all about the naughty room which is fair enough but there was other passengers enjoying drinks etc. all around us .. looking.There was nothing in our bag that shouldn’t have been. It was one of the most embarrassing situations I’ve ever been in and brought me to tears. We did complain afterwards but they just didn’t seem to care. So that rant over. Other things we noticed .. sitting at The riviera bar area the tables were rarely cleaned and always messy.Although the staff were friendly and attentive in other ways we cleaned our own tables.On tropical night there was no decorations on deck,no atmosphere.The food in Horizon court was very repetitive and dull. We hardly ever saw the cruise director, on the Dawn the CD mingled with passengers a lot more.A few days into the cruise they ran out of our favourite beer, not reordering because of dry dock coming up I think. We had an excursion booked with Princess to visit the Petronas towers,we received a letter to the cabin saying that because it was a public holiday in KL the itinerary was changed to KL tower.We felt this excursion was not to the same value but we weren’t offered any part refund. We had 4 ports in a row, we got off and on with ease.We had a lot of rain and couldn’t enjoy the pool,nobody’s fault,and then 1 sea day before disembarking in Singapore.On that sea day the weather brightened up and preparations for dry dock started all around us, it was like they were taking the ship apart while we tried to eat,tried to enjoy our last day,tried to come back new ! They even emptied half the water from the pool.I am trying to have faith this may have been a one off disappointing cruise because of dry dock. We are booked to visit NZ on the Golden next year,I can only hope it’s a major improvement or that will be our last with Princess. Read Less

Chose this cruise for a couple of reasons, 1 left from Fremantle, 2 Sun Princess, love it. Embarkation, no complaints at all getting better compared to other cruises we have done from Fremantle. Love taking my bottles of Prosecco on board too! Cabin interior, small but we knew that, comfortable bed and pillows, NO smells and spotlessly clean thanks to our wonderful steward. Food was amazing in the buffet or dining room. We cruised with friends who had only cruised Cunard Queen Mary before and they said that the food and ambience on board SP was better. The shows were good, played Trivia most days, loved the Crossing of the Equator ceremony which is probably my only muse that P&O do their theme nights and parties better, Princess could have at least one per cruise. Never had a problem getting a sun bed and Movies Under the Stars with popcorn was great. The seas were calm and the weather warm. Monsoon came in on time this year with us getting very wet in Phuket at Patong, which you could get to and most people did go ashore. It was a long ride to Patong and the weather did spoil it but not Princess's fault. We were on a local ferry for the tender and that was a bit dodgy. Tendering process when used was very efficient hardly any waiting. Captain made nice announcements and speeches but gave off a clear message not to make contact with him when he walked around ! Great staff behind the counter who had to deal with some horrible, nasty guests complaining about things they should have known about eg turning up on the last night with wads of cash to pay their account which had already had holds put on their credit card everyday and going nuts that they couldn't be taken off...if you have the cash put it on up front and the credit card does not get touched. And some complaining about the end of Ramadan holiday and the monsoon season, maybe research next time. Apart from that we loved that there were not a lot a whingers around the ship as we have had on other cruises, again just them nothing really to complain about! Would love to go on her again especially after the refurb she is currently undergoing, just loved every minute of every day. Some people are just hard to please and I can be as well but no complaints here on this cruise. Getting off in Singapore a breeze compared to previous cruises, new terminal straight out and into maxi cab no waiting. Stayed at Furama as part of the Princess deal, loved it again with Executive Club room and extras. Love Singapore. Only gripe was the Qantas flight home, again as part of Princess package, very small plane, hot cramped, non reclining seats, 2 loos for all economy class, tiny hard seats, miserable crew. All passengers complaining about this plane, much too small for this length of flight.Will book on larger plane myself next time as have done for previous cruise very cheap flights on large airbus with Scoot. Read Less

After going back to back on two cruises first on Carnival Spirit to Singapore then the Sun Princess to Fremantle, we found the Sun, public area decor relaxing, entertainment fantastic and much more superior, movies for free on TV as well. Cleanliness was taken much more seriously. The state room was in need of an update. The Sun was returning to Singapore for a refurbished, so hopefully state rooms will be fresher next time. We felt at home and comfortable when we came aboard the Sun. The shore tour speaker, Lindsay, was very informative, having experienced every port herself, with wonderful tips about where to go and what to expect. The shore tours were excellent, and we were well looked after. Comparing the previous ship (Carnival Spirit) lectures, the Princess line is far more superior. In fairness, Carnival did have free ice cream and their pools were salt water, drawn in from the sea, and we were given the opportunity to upgrade from an inside cabin to an extended balcony for a small sum, and the cabin was modern. Their decor was over the top, and their entertainment was almost non existing. Read Less

This Cruise left from our home port and did a few ports that we have never seen before. Amazing ship, amazing staff, amazing food! Entertainment was fantastic. Can’t fault the ship or princess cruises. Had a lovely holiday, and were lucky enough to be invited to the bridge by the captain which was wonderful. Everything was so well organised. Horizon buffet was so good especially breakfast. The grill have the best beef burgers and hotdogs. The waiter in the main dining room were so friendly and knowledgeable and made our dining experience a lot of fun! There was so much to do each day and golf in the casino with jovan was so much fun. Our 11 year old son enjoyed kids club and made some good friends. All the staff seemed to know him which he loved! I would definitely cruise on sun princess again and look forward to booking another cruise. Read Less

This was our first cruise and the start of many more. This exceeded any expectations that we had. From the minute you embark to disembark you will know that you are going to be on the most fabulous holiday and it is impossible not to enjoy yourself! The staff and crew are just amazing and will make sure that you enjoy every single moment. The cruise is catered for absolutely everyone. This is just the start of our journey and look forward to many future cruises with princess cruises. It was laid-back, fun and friendly. We met some wonderful passengers and the atmosphere on-board was buzzing! There seemed to me a great mix of Couples, singles, seniors and families with kids. Whether you enjoying the shows, spas, pools, bars or restaurants there is something for everyone without an overcrowded feel! I cannot wait to start planning our next princess cruise! Read Less