What does it mean..when I'm told, that ship is geared to Australians

[California Native]

Hi Everyone...

When we travel, we travel for immersion..

We don't want it to be like home, if we wanted "home" we would stay there..

With that said, while researching our Australia/NZ cruise options I kept hearing repeatedly from several sources..

The Sun and Dawn Princess' were geared to Australians,

the Diamond Princess for US Citizens tastes..

However, even after intense questioning on my part, no one

has been able to really explain exactly what that means...

So, could all of you educate me...I'm really quite curious.

Thanks so much

K.

[RMS Olympic]

Thank you for posting this question as I was about to do the same.

I have found Australians to be the most friendly people, and my one trip down under was an wonderful experience. I thought taking a cruise out of OZ on an Australian based ship would be great.

My question is how would it be different from a north American product. I for one would like to see something different as I have experienced european products on German, Italian and Greek ships.

How would an Aussie ship be different if at all?

Currently thinking of sailing the Pacific Pearl....cant wait to see her refurbishment.

Thank you

Tom

[Kinkacruiser]

The first difference is that you are charged in Aussie dollars and there will be no tipping next year...I think from October 2011?

Some people say the food presentation and variety is not as good as on overseas cruises ( I don't agree).

I very good question and I'm looking forward to reading responses, as I've only completed one overseas based cruise.

Cheers,

Anna

[Sandielle]

Well folks, I am not sure how you would answer this one :confused: but I'll have a go.

 

We are supposedly more 'laid back', although there are formal nights. Some dress nicely for these, some don't bother. Speaking from a female point of view, I like to make an effort for these. Men wear suits - I didn't see any tuxedos or dinner suits, for instance.

 

The P&O ships, Pacific Dawn, Pacific Jewel, Pacific Sun and later this year, Pacific Pearl, are apparently marketed more as 'family cruises'. Having said that, all ages are catered for. (Being older we would not travel in school holidays - although children are kept happy with their Kids' Clubs.)

 

From what I've read, menus differ, although I can't see that they would be very different. There are plenty of choices anyway.

 

Possibly, the entertainment varies. Australian humour is different, but more so for the older folk, I would say, as there are plenty of American shows on our TV channels nowadays.

 

All charges are in Australian dollars.

 

The two Princess ships you mentioned, which are based here, are reportedly more 'staid'. Likewise they use AUD for all charges and there are small differences in services supplied. They are slightly more expensive, therefore, add more extras than P&O, although both lines are owned by Carnival.

 

I'm sure you will get more answers from more experienced cruisers. Do come down - you are most welcome! :)

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Having just done a cruise on the Coral Princess and having cruised on both Sun Princess and Pacific Dawn I will try and give my impressions.

 

Firstly there is not a great deal between the Princess ships as regards to appearance, service and entertainment. The major difference is the food. The Australian ships are geared towards the aussie palete. The Coral food was definitely geared towards the American palete. The main thing I found lacking was vegetables and salad vegetables. They didn't seem to have much of either. By the end of a month in America I really craved vegetables.

 

As said before Aussie cruise ships are in Aussie dollars which is good for you americans with the exchange rate.

 

If you are contemplating coming here to cruise on the Pacific Peal (RMS Olympic) don't expect the WOW factor. P & O cruise ships are somewhat lacking in that. Even though they still charge high prices.

[California Native]

Keep your answers coming!

Thank you to all that have responded.

We know the AU dollar will be on our cruise on the Sun Princess Feb 2011 and right now the conversion is fantastic

We heard that the beer choices will be specifically Australia (love that-though we arent big drinkers)

Not sure on the food...what does that mean?

What is Australian food??? (I've heard of vegemite and shrimp..that's all)

after travelling all through Europe by land with time spent immersing ourselves in each locale..

I can honestly say, much of the mainstream food in the USA sucks.

Dont even get me started on yogurt and cheese differences compared to the rest of the world...

Anyway, back to Australia...what do you eat that I might not have experienced???

Thanks!

K.

[California Native]

I didn't see any tuxedos or dinner suits, for instance.

 

:)

 

when you say dinner suit does that mean a black or dark blue suit?

and when you say men wear suits..is that nice pants with a sport coat or perhaps a tan suit???

DH has 1 suit, it's black and the one he wore on our wedding day 4 years ago..

He looked quite snazzy, so if we do formal night that's what he would wear...

[MMDown Under]

If the age of ships is important to you, be aware that ships based in Australia are older ships.

 

If you enjoy newer ships, with more facilities, you might like to consider ships based overseas which travel via Australia/NZ ports (eg Diamond Princess). These would have American, New Zealand and Australian, etc. cruisers on them.

 

(From port bookings, it appears that Radiance of the Seas and Celebrity Century will be cruising Down Under in the future.)

 

You can get a feel for future cruises under the respective roll calls.

 

To really experience Australia/NZ, try to add land content to any cruise you choose.

[bazzaw]

I think the BIGGEST difference that you will note - is that the Sun and Dawn are filled with Ozzies!! :):) Don't ask me what that will mean to you - because I don't know. :) But I am sure you will either hate us or (hopefully) love us. :)

 

Many years ago I did some coach tours in Europe - and most of the passengers were from the US. We had a great time and loved (most :p) of the American people onboard. It was very refreshing, interesting and enjoyable for us to travel with a group who were "similar - but different to us". Different backgrounds, different attitudes to all kinds of things, - but still familiar. :)

 

I have been on 5 P & O (Australia) cruises now- and I am starting to get a feeling of "deja vu" . I would love to take a cruise on a ship where most of the passengers are Americans.

 

Barry

[bazzaw]

Dresswise - I think it would be fair to say that the women dress up more and put in more of an effort for evening dining (including the formal nights) than the men.

 

DH has 1 suit, it's black and the one he wore on our wedding day 4 years ago..

He looked quite snazzy, so if we do formal night that's what he would wear...

 

That would be perfect! :)

 

I know that this thread is discussing the 2 Princess ships based in Oz- but it is noteworthy that P & O no longer describe the formal nights as "formal" - they now call for "cocktail" attire (whatever that means.)

 

I have heard Australians normal dress sense as being "casual - to the point of indifference!" :)

 

 

Barry

[Sandielle]

when you say dinner suit does that mean a black or dark blue suit?

and when you say men wear suits..is that nice pants with a sport coat or perhaps a tan suit???

DH has 1 suit, it's black and the one he wore on our wedding day 4 years ago..

He looked quite snazzy, so if we do formal night that's what he would wear...

 

That suit of his would be fine! By dinner suits I mean the jackets that have the satin, or whatever, trims - I'd reserve those for the Cunard Queens. They can also wear good pants and shirt and tie. The only forbidden wear in the dining room at dinner (night) time is shorts and sandals/thongs. You will be sent away if you are wearing those. It is OK for women to wear dressy slacks and nice tops and sandals. It is up to you, really.

 

Note: When Bazzaw mentioned the Sun and Dawn I feel he was referring to the Pacific Dawn and Pacific Sun - not the Dawn Princess and Sun Princess.

 

PS: I think my DH looks snazzy in his suit, too!

[bazzaw]

Sandy

 

Note: When Bazzaw mentioned the Sun and Dawn I feel he was referring to the Pacific Dawn and Pacific Sun - not the Dawn Princess and Sun Princess.

 

No :) As the OP was referring to the Sun and Dawn princesses in their original enquiry, I was referring to them. :) Somehow this thread got hijacked to talking about P & O ships. Barry

[Aus Traveller]

To answer the original question -

 

The vast majority of passengers on Sun Princess & Dawn Princess will be Aussies, and also there would be a large group of New Zealanders. It is unlikely you will be able to pick the difference in accents. There is a bit of friendly rivalry between the groups. I felt that these two Princess ships were a little bit 'less Australian' than the Aussie P & O ships. I am not saying that is better or worse. On cruises we have been on with P & O there have only been an occasional North American on the cruise staff (Josh and Peewee), but on Princess there were several. This would change from time to time..

 

Aussie/NZ passengers are definetly more laid-back then North American travellers. Dressing on formal nights is less formal, although I have to say I haven't seen as many sequins all in one place as on the Captains cocktail party night for past passengers on the Sun Princess. :D Otherwise on formal (or cocktail) nights, not a lot of Aussie/NZ women wear sequins. They seem to have died a natural death in the 1980s or so.

 

You will probably not encounter any sun-lounge hogs. I don't think the species exists here, although someone might have sighted one. You will probably see people in the show lounge saving a seat for their husband/wife or maybe for a friend. Most Aussies are quite relaxed and simply ask if the seat is free. If the answer is an apologetic "My ...... is coming" that is usually accepted without a problem. I have heard of someone being unhappy about that, but I think that is very rare.

 

Food - We have cruised a few times on shipps based in the US, and I can't think of major differences. Some that come to mind - Lots of salad and veges and good steak. At breakfast you can find pancakes and syrup, but you would have to look for them as they are not a usual part of our diet. 'Australian bacon' is not crispy friend bacon that is popular in the US. If you want it like that you should specify. On the buffet I have seen 'soft-cooked' and crispy bacon side by side in different serving dishes.

[Sandielle]

Sorry Barry. I mentioned P&O because I thought that would be the "real" Aussie experience - whatever that maybe! :D:D:D. I think we are a nation of diverse people now.

 

To our American friends, Where2next and RMS Olympic, others have given great replies, but I have to apologise for the aberrations. :cool:

Just come down and enjoy a cruise with us and see our countries as well - both Aus and NZ are beautiful in their own ways.

[kaseyoz]

Having cruised on the mariner of the seas and also carnival both from America and also sapphire Princess from Sydney to NZ and also Sun/ dawn Princess 3 times (and again tomorrow on a quickie cruise) I would like to add my two bobs worth too.

 

The Sun/Dawn Princesses will have a lot more aussies on board while the Sapphire had more Americans.

The sapphire cruisers were a little older and more dressier each night than the aussie.

Each night after about 11pm the ship was dead except for the aussies in the Vista lounge or where ever music was playing. That could have been due to the older crowd as well.

As mentioned we are very laid back and casual and will talk to everyone we come across especially when we hear your accent. As also mentioned you will not need to reserve chairs or loungers.

The food served will be much less. On our mariner cruise we kept getting asked if the food was ok as we appeared to eat very little. The serves on Aussie ships are smaller.

The sun princess is now able to produce coffee that WE can drink and bacon we acn eat.

Sorry guys but that is just different tastes not a complaint.

 

Please come down here, you will find us a friendly lot and please ask if you have further questions.

 

Please also ignore all silly posts as they are from a troll who will post every day and then get deleted and banned only to start another ID every day. We are all not so negative

[Skyrules]

Thank you for posting this question as I was about to do the same.

I have found Australians to be the most friendly people, and my one trip down under was an wonderful experience. I thought taking a cruise out of OZ on an Australian based ship would be great.

My question is how would it be different from a north American product. I for one would like to see something different as I have experienced european products on German, Italian and Greek ships.

How would an Aussie ship be different if at all?

Currently thinking of sailing the Pacific Pearl....cant wait to see her refurbishment.

Thank you

Tom

 

Operationally, our ships (Pacific Sun, Pacific Dawn, Pacific Jewel and soon Pacific Pearl) are operated along similar lines to the Princess ships and in fact a lot of the management of these ships is done from the US, and the crews interchange between Princess ships and P&O Australia ships quite a lot.

 

For cruise experience - most of the 'differences' have already been mentioned.

 

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that Australian Responsible Service of Alochol policies apply - therefore Australia's legal drinking age of 18 is recognised (even on Sun & Dawn Princess).

[musicorn]

Keep your answers coming!

 

Thank you to all that have responded.

 

We know the AU dollar will be on our cruise on the Sun Princess Feb 2011 and right now the conversion is fantastic

 

We heard that the beer choices will be specifically Australia (love that-though we arent big drinkers)

 

Not sure on the food...what does that mean?

 

What is Australian food??? (I've heard of vegemite and shrimp..that's all)

 

after travelling all through Europe by land with time spent immersing ourselves in each locale..

I can honestly say, much of the mainstream food in the USA sucks.

Dont even get me started on yogurt and cheese differences compared to the rest of the world...

 

Anyway, back to Australia...what do you eat that I might not have experienced???

 

Thanks!

 

K.

 

 

Food what does that mean?

 

When I travelled to LA and Vegas in 2002 I noticed the difference in the foods. I am not sure if this is the same on cruise ships that taylor to AUS or US Diets but happy to give my experiences if it helps.

 

Breakfast in LA was a Continental Breakfast. Now in AUS this would be cereal, toast and perhaps some fruit. In LA this was sweet buns and danishes with jelly and other sweet toppings. No fruit and no toast but they did have raisen bread.

 

The differences for me with the lunch and dinner foods were tht in AUS there tends to be more fresh fruit and vegetables whilst the US has more fried and crumbed foods. If salads were provided in the US they were very bland and few.

 

Now cheeses - here in Tasmania we have a lot of very nice cheeses. If you order a cheese platter here you will usually get a variety of a soft chesse, a hard cheese and some blue cheese. You will get a small amount of fresh fruit and crackers and some quince paste. In US when we ordered a cheese plate we got some diced cheese and crackers. Not sure if this usual or just where we ordered from.

 

Not sure if this helps or not.

[Sandielle]

Hi Karon. Well put! I was being conservative with aberrations, so hope the genuine posters didn't get me wrong. ;) Heaven forbid!!

[bobhsv]

Just wanted to add my opinion here re the food. We have found that the food selection on the cruises we have been on, all very similar, including the Diamond Princess, which did have an abundance of our Americans friends aboard. However, the food on Star Cruises, was different, more of an Asian influence, which was nice too. We found the service of a higher quality on the larger ships, but were not disappointed at all with the aussie Pacific Sun for example. I feel that no matter what ship you choose to sail on, you will always have a decent selection. I am a food-aholic, and sadly can never sample all that is on offer, on any ship I have sailed on. The only thing I do miss is the midnight chocolate buffets, that some ships have abandoned.....shame on them!

 

Generally aussies are relaxed, non-complaining, and extremely fun to be around. I love cruising with different nationalities, and feel that deep down we are all the same when it comes to cruising. Make sure you see a bit of Australia, outside of the cities....well worth the extra dollars, and I guarantee that you will want to come back. NZ is fantastic too.

 

Cheers,

Jen

[California Native]

Hi Everyone!

I just want to thank all of you for your kind answers (excluding the few that went off topic)

I think this thread will be helpful to many US based cruisers

So a little more about us...

We are from the San Francisco Bay Area...very laid back and plan b - z type people..

However, when it comes to travel research a bit more

type A personality...hence all the questions..

I have no doubt in my mind that we will be welcomed down under..

especially with the generosity shown here.

I have personally sailed on the Dawn Princess 6 times when she was based years ago on our West Coast for the Mexico/Panama Canal runs I love that size of ship and we dont need or want all the bells and whistles a big ship will provide.

I'm wondering if my standard Elite benefits that I receive with Princess

still applicable on the Sun or Dawn Princess runs??? I would think they

would be, but has anyone noticed anything different???

So, my DH has more food questions...

1st let me say..living where we do we eat A LOT of fruits and veggies..

so that appeals to us...though if you ever visit California ...a must stop is

In and Out burger..you will think you died and went to burger heaven.

Anyway..DH LOVES breakfast...I guess I should say American style breakfast...he was very sad in Italy with just a biscotti.

So, will he find on the breakfast buffet any of the following....

Cereal..Corn Flakes, Special K, Cheerios

Scrambled Eggs

Waffles

Pancakes

French Toast

Fresh Fruit

Orange Juice

You can forget the sausage/bacon/ham..not interested

Thanks again for your assistance!!!!

K.

[musicorn]

As the OP, I would like to respectfully request that the reply posts stick with answering the questions that all of us, USA based cruisers have..

regarding our visit to Australia and New Zealand!

 

Kindest Regards,

 

K.

 

 

Well said where2next. I apologise that this has happened to your thread that has had some really good information in it.

 

In relation to your question about the food for breakfast I think most of what you ask about should be able to be found.

[bobhsv]

Yes, your Elite status is the same. As for the food again, also yes...the listed items should be there, along with perhaps different types of eggs....omelettes, poached, scrambled, fried also with the cereals yoghuts should be there. Definately the pancakes, fruits, toasts, and engligh style breakfasts ie bacon, sausage etc. Definately enough to sate your appetite.

 

Jen

[rockie]

I love the Kiwi Aussie rivalry on our P&O ships, especially when getting off at a tender port and the man asks if there are any Aussies onboard, they all cheer, then he asks them to get out the other side of the tender, the one with no jetty.:D On the other hand I just wish we Kiwis had a version of 'AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE OI OI OI!!!!!!!':)

[rkmw]

Hi Everyone!

 

I just want to thank all of you for your kind answers (excluding the few that went off topic)

 

I think this thread will be helpful to many US based cruisers

 

So a little more about us...

 

We are from the San Francisco Bay Area...very laid back and plan b - z type people..

However, when it comes to travel research a bit more

type A personality...hence all the questions..

 

I have no doubt in my mind that we will be welcomed down under..

especially with the generosity shown here.

 

I have personally sailed on the Dawn Princess 6 times when she was based years ago on our West Coast for the Mexico/Panama Canal runs I love that size of ship and we dont need or want all the bells and whistles a big ship will provide.

 

I'm wondering if my standard Elite benefits that I receive with Princess

still applicable on the Sun or Dawn Princess runs??? I would think they

would be, but has anyone noticed anything different???

 

So, my DH has more food questions...

1st let me say..living where we do we eat A LOT of fruits and veggies..

so that appeals to us...though if you ever visit California ...a must stop is

In and Out burger..you will think you died and went to burger heaven.

 

Anyway..DH LOVES breakfast...I guess I should say American style breakfast...he was very sad in Italy with just a biscotti.

 

So, will he find on the breakfast buffet any of the following....

Cereal..Corn Flakes, Special K, Cheerios

Scrambled Eggs

Waffles

Pancakes

French Toast

Fresh Fruit

Orange Juice

You can forget the sausage/bacon/ham..not interested

 

Thanks again for your assistance!!!!

 

K.

 

hi where2next, with being Elite you will get the same benefits cruising on our ships as well.....we cruised on the Diamond recently and we got all the Elite benefits

 

too bad you cant come over in Oct this year as the Dawn Princess is cruising up the East Cost of Australia to Cooktown and you see the Great Barrier Reef and doing a b2b and cruising the South Pacific to Vila and around the islands

 

rkmw

[California Native]

hi where2next, with being Elite you will get the same benefits cruising on our ships as well.....we cruised on the Diamond recently and we got all the Elite benefits

 

too bad you cant come over in Oct this year as the Dawn Princess is cruising up the East Cost of Australia to Cooktown and you see the Great Barrier Reef and doing a b2b and cruising the South Pacific to Vila and around the islands

 

rkmw

 

We saw that cruise and just drooled!

We are currently on the Sun Princess Feb 20th 2011...

However, we are wondering what might be offered in

Fall 2011/Winter 2012 and then we could combine cruises for a b2b

This October and November we will be here....:D

http://ourpassportstamps.com/Our_2010_Adventure.html