princess daphne

[Kruzermum]

Hi everyone,

Happy New Year :D

Only 16 more days until we depart OZ for Singapore, we are very excited.

 

I took the advice of others on CC and contacted CIC I spoke with Laura reference the Optional Shore Excursions,she kindly emailed me through the documents. I also made mention that we had not received our tickets yet from our Travel Agent (I have tried making contact with them today, so am waiting on a return call). I really want to be able to check out the actual docking sites for our trip so I can arrange some of our own transportation. I don't even know the name of the dock we are departing from in Singapore the night of the 24th Jan and if all the times are correct from the original booking. So if anyone has any information for me on the Bay of Bengal departing Jan 24 @ 11.59pm it would be much appreciated.:)

Cheers Steph

[opshop]

Hi 13 jan cruise We are traveling on the 13th Jan from Singapore as you are. We are staying night before at the Faruma riverfront hotel. Have stayed there before not to impressed with it. Let me know where you will be when we board and we can compare notes. Have travelled on a few cruises round Asia. Hope to hear from you. From opshop

[cruizerofperth]

Hi OpShop

We are staying at the bayview hotel the night of the 12th, it is not the one that was quoted, and I have no idea what it is like. We are flying in from perth so will only get breakfast and be there a couple of hours anyway as get in at about 2.30am on the 13th. We will have a nap and then head to the boat.

 

We are in "steerage class" hehe. A bit disappointed when we realised we had messed up on our booking but by the time we got the tickets and realised, we could only upgrade to a jnr suite which was about 3k more and way too expensive but never mind, it was our own fault and you only sleep in there, so long as no one pulls a titanic on us and locks us up if we are sinking we will be fine (lord forbid).

 

Love to meet up somewhere when we board. Maybe we could meet in one of the bars or by the pool?? Let me know.

 

Cathy

[Kiwiboy]

Hi All

This is my first post and my first, and last, cruise on Princess Daphne.

My partner and I boarded her in Singapore for the New Year cruise for 9 nights. I knew she was an old ship so was not expecting all the mod cons. However from the outset, I noticed that maintenance of the vessel was not of a high standard. Our cabin was Deck 7 by the waterline, and was very spacious with two single beds and a fold down for a third person. There was no fridge or safe, and no plug for the bathroom sink. We also noticed a pungent smell of diesel, and hoped this would go away when we sailed, it didn't.

The ship can cater for about 450 passengers. On this cruise there were 176, 143 were Australians, apparently from Perth on a fly/cruise package with Jetstar. We left Singapore and unfortunately headed straight into a storm. The seas were similar to that seen inside a washing machine, so very uncomfortable. My partner and I went to dinner but he only lasted a few minutes before heading to the cabin, where he stayed for the next two days. The sea conditions were no fault of the cruise line obviously.

I stayed for dinner and decided on the spring rolls and roast chicken. The spring roll, yes only one, arrived, 1", 25mm long, over cooked and nestled on a few strands of carrot and cabbage. No sauce provided. The roast chicken was dry and the vegetables consisted of one small rosette of broccoli, a few small pieces of potato and pumpkin and some beans. There was no sauce or gravy for the chicken. The dessert was a square of chocolate mousse that looked like it could have been sliced from a block you could get at the supermarket. Oh well there was always coffee. It was cold!

The TV channels consisted of news channels from Pakistan, Russia, China and an Australian one that was dedicated to teaching foreigners English. There were two movie channels. One was Asian movies and the other had a Sandra Bullock movie that played repeatedly for two days.

The Buffet breakfast wasn't much better. The scrambled eggs were runny, the bacon was extra crisp, and the sausages tasted metallic.

Lifeboat drill was taken 24 hours after we sailed. Many passengers were asking, "What would we have done if something happened last night?".

Second night, "Captain's Sail Away Dinner". A better effort tonight, although the peas weren't cooked and were like small bullets. A lady at our table asked for a glass of champagne. The first glass had something floating in it, the second glass was warm, and the third she put some ice in from a gentleman's ice bucket on the table. This lady and I decided on the prune ice cream for dessert. What we got was vanilla ice cream with the prune syrup left from breakfast poured over it. We laughed, what else could you do.

With only 176 passengers on board we would have expected the service to be fantastic, it wasn't. In the bar you had to wait a while to be asked if you wanted a drink. In the restaurant, it was difficult to get someones attention without having to wave to get your wine or water refilled.

Talking to passengers who had traveled on other CIC ships, they all said Princess Daphne was the worst. By the last night before we reached Vietnam, we had rusty water running down the wall of our cabin. The mirror in our cabin was cracked, the small tray above the sink was rusted completely through.

They emptied the swimming pool of water due to the stormy weather. I had a look inside and was shocked to see rusting pipes and mesh covers on the bottom. I wouldn't want my feet to come into contact with that.

My partner and I decided, that taking into account the weather, food and conditions on board, we would leave the ship on arrival in Ho Chi Minh.. So we asked to disembark and fly back to Singapore. The Pursers staff, especially Tracey, and the ships Vietnam agent were marvelous and by 7pm that night we were on a flight back to Singapore and then on to New Zealand. In all reality, this ship has done her dash and needs to be scrapped.

If you have already booked on Princess Daphne.........Good Luck!!!!

[AndreaN140]

Thanks Kiwi Boy - so sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the ship. As you say, the seas are out of control of the cruise line but the food and service sounds awful.:(

 

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. I had almost decided not to cruise on her anyway as the itineraries don't suit us for when we want to sail.

 

I look forward to seeing some other reviews to see how the others fare. From what I've read on some other review sites, not all of the cabins have been refurbished and it sounds like you got a real dud. :eek:

 

Hope your next cruise is better! I'm currently spending hours on the computer researching Asian cruises for October/November next year ...... :confused: keen to do something that includes some time in Vietnam and want to be on board for around 10 - 14 days. I've narrowed it down to a couple of cruises. Pity Star Cruises only seem to do short 4 - 5 day cruises these days. Never mind, I'm sure my cruise is out there somewhere waiting for me to find it!

 

A

[cruizerofperth]

Thanks for the feedback Kiwi Boy. Commited to it now, so will have to make the most of it. Just wondering, with the diesel smell, did you ask to be moved to another deck and if so, would they do it..... It is a loaded question...... I am on deck 7!!:eek:

[chris@aanet]

Thanks for your review Kiwiboy. My expectations weren't too high for this ship, but your comments are a bit of a shock. Have you complained to CIC Cruises?

 

We are booked on the 24th January. Too late to turn back now.

[Kiwiboy]

We didn't ask to be moved to another deck as the ship had more movement the higher you went. The problem was the diesel smell was coming in the air intakes and into the air conditioning system. A few other passengers asked to move cabins. Some were lucky and others were not.

We haven't complained to CIC yet although we have sent an email to Tracey on board ship.

The bar and restaurant staff are all East European. Serbian, Croatian, Russian and Romanian. They were not as attentive to our needs as the Asian staff you get on Princess Cruises or P&O.

[Kruzermum]

OMG............This is so terrible to hear and I really hope that they certainly pull their finger out before we cruise in less than 3 weeks.

 

Do you have pictures to share of these experiences in the cabin, food, and the pool. I'd be very interested in seeing these. In fact I'd be keen on seeing any recent pics of her, as the brochures have not been up dated.

 

I most certainly would not have hesitated in contacting CIC and complaining the moment I stepped on dry land 'WHY WAIT'?

 

We will take the punt and like I said I hope they have their act together by the time I step on board.

 

I would really like you to post some pic's of her as I know other CC'ers would also like to see what we are about to embark on.

 

Hope to hear from you

Cheers,

Stephanie.

[Kiwiboy]

Hi Kruzermum

I hope you have a better experience than we had. I am hoping that Tracey will print off and show our review at their officers meeting on board and things improve.

Unfortunately I haven't got any photos as the weather was too rough and when we reached Vietnam we just wanted to get off.

[cruizerofperth]

Well Kiwiboy, I guess I will be able to tell you in 7 days or so if they paid any attention to your feedback!!:cool:

[cruizerofperth]

Hi Kiwi, sorry to bombard you with questions, but can you please let me know if your room was the front or back of the ship??

[opshop]

Hi Cathy We are on deck 9 we decided that this may be our last cruise so we decided to get a better cabin. We are from coffsharbour nsw so if you can find us we would love to meet Look for 2 old baby boomers and not 2 spring chickens. Hope we all have a nice cruise weather permiting see you on board. from Monica

[Kiwiboy]

We were cabin 735 at the stern, we had two portholes. Cabins 733, 731 etc were a lot smaller.

[cruizerofperth]

Hi Opshop

We have today upgraded a couple of levels, just to get off deck 7 given the feedback above. Not sure of the exact location yet, we should know tomorrow. We are closer to the "Boomer" range than "spring chicken". Perhap we can catch up in the piano bar or even go to dinner on the first evening. If we leave it to chance, and the ship is full, there is a chance we will never run into each other (although given the feedback from Kiwiboy, I doubt it will even be half full).

 

I am sure we are going to have a wonderful time, we will just have to make it that way.

Look forward to meeting you

Cathy

[cruizerofperth]

Thanks for the room info Kiwiboy, we were to be in cabin 744 which is very close to your cabin but given your feedback we have upgraded a little. May not make one bit of difference but at least we have tried. Thanks for the feedback, sorry it was not what you hoped for, very disappointing.

[Kruzermum]

Hi all,

 

Can you please tell me how you upgraded? Did you call CIC directly and ask for this? Also I'd like to know if you mentioned to CIC or your agent about the disappointing feedback the Princess Daphne has recently received and if this has been also shared by others.

 

I am calling CIC today to express my concerns. I am aware that the PD is not a grandeur, glitzy, glam cruise ship. But in saying that, she is marketed with the attention to detail of fine dining, old fashioned service of complete care and excellence to her guests. I also understand the she had maintenance done only 2 years ago and the rusty water running down the walls would concern me also.

 

This will be my 3rd cruise and I am no pro like others on this site. I have participated in this site for a couple of years and I do understand that people can unnecessarily have a gripe and a whinge, But I must say that I found Kiwiboys write up quite concerning. I certainly would not expect a sub standard Cruise Ship or adventure for the 'sugar coated' guise of doing a 'classic cruise'.

 

Kiwiboy, can you please tell me if you can take alcohol on board, there seems to be some conflicting reading material, some brochures say OK, other No. I'm not keen on floaties in my champers :eek:

 

Cheers

[cruizerofperth]

In regards to the upgrade, I first spoke to Narelle at CIC who informed that there were cabins available in all classes but that she was unable to assist personally as it must be done through the travel agent that you originally booked with. It was explained that depending which "deal" you bought, there were limitation in regards to the upgrades as well as potentially huge costs. (I rang them first as my travel agent had advised me weeks ago, when I first saw some negative feedback that the only rooms still available was a junior suite as a cost of $3000+ to upgrade, as we had already paid over $3000 each including a couple of days in Singapore following the cruise, we could not do it at this price). Having spoken to CIC I again called the travel agent and quoted that I was aware that there were rooms available in each category. They checked and there were limitations on my package, however, they called CIC Management and we did manage to get an upgrade by 2 levels, costing $600 in total. The upgrade is only to a mid range Category 7, but we are happy with that.

 

In regards to the feedback, we are also very concerned and I mentioned it to Narelle who said that they had "Never" received any negative feedback which I find difficult to understand given Kiwiboy's very clear issues. She asked me to forward an outline of the issues I have seen to their administration, which I have done. However, to receive any improvement, I feel it will take a large number of people to raise the issue or it may be seen as a "once off" if they really have not had any negative feedback thus far. (There was some mention of things like the diesel smells in a german forum some time ago?).

 

In regards to the alcohol issue and some conflicting information, we have received our boarding information as we leave next week and it state NO alcohol to be bought onboard.

 

Hope this helps

Cruizerofperth

[Kiwiboy]

We were told definitely NO alcohol to be taken on board by passengers. They were checking luggage and carry on bags when we boarded.

[chris@aanet]

We were cabin 735 at the stern, we had two portholes. Cabins 733, 731 etc were a lot smaller.

 

We are situated on the deck above yours at the stern, even further back than your cabin.:eek:

 

Given your cruise experience, will you be seeking a refund?

 

Chris

[Kiwiboy]

I don't think they will wear a refund as it was our choice to leave. They may offer a discount on a future cruise, but we wouldn't be interested in cruising with them again. We will just chalk it up to experience:)

[chris@aanet]

I don't think they will wear a refund as it was our choice to leave. They may offer a discount on a future cruise, but we wouldn't be interested in cruising with them again. We will just chalk it up to experience:)

 

It was your choice to leave because of the conditions on board ship!

I would at least ask for out of pocket expenses, if not a refund, of which I'm sure there must be some, having to fly back from Vietnam, and then if unsuccessful put it down to experience.

 

Chris

[Kruzermum]

In regards to the upgrade, I first spoke to Narelle at CIC who informed that there were cabins available in all classes but that she was unable to assist personally as it must be done through the travel agent that you originally booked with. It was explained that depending which "deal" you bought, there were limitation in regards to the upgrades as well as potentially huge costs. (I rang them first as my travel agent had advised me weeks ago, when I first saw some negative feedback that the only rooms still available was a junior suite as a cost of $3000+ to upgrade, as we had already paid over $3000 each including a couple of days in Singapore following the cruise, we could not do it at this price). Having spoken to CIC I again called the travel agent and quoted that I was aware that there were rooms available in each category. They checked and there were limitations on my package, however, they called CIC Management and we did manage to get an upgrade by 2 levels, costing $600 in total. The upgrade is only to a mid range Category 7, but we are happy with that.

 

In regards to the feedback, we are also very concerned and I mentioned it to Narelle who said that they had "Never" received any negative feedback which I find difficult to understand given Kiwiboy's very clear issues. She asked me to forward an outline of the issues I have seen to their administration, which I have done. However, to receive any improvement, I feel it will take a large number of people to raise the issue or it may be seen as a "once off" if they really have not had any negative feedback thus far. (There was some mention of things like the diesel smells in a german forum some time ago?).

 

In regards to the alcohol issue and some conflicting information, we have received our boarding information as we leave next week and it state NO alcohol to be bought onboard.

 

Hope this helps

Cruizerofperth

 

 

Well guys,

 

We will all be eagerly awaiting your reviews, I am counting on you guys to fill us in.

I am sure you will have a fabulous time!

When you take into consideration....no cooking, washing & ironing, freshly made bed everyday:) cocktails on the deck;),sea air and all those exotic locations to shop shop shop...well life is pretty fantastic if we can do it!

 

Have fun.

[chris@aanet]

Well guys,

 

We will all be eagerly awaiting your reviews, I am counting on you guys to fill us in.

Have fun.

 

Well I hope we will hear from jimmy4au soon. He would have disembarked today!

[Kruzermum]

Oooooo That's right, too true! Gee I hope he comes back to CC and gives us a review. He said he would so fingers crossed it's all good :)