Sea Princess Cruise Review - 29/11/2011 to 11/01/2012

[NthNSW]

I just recently returned from my first cruise ever. You don't hear about Princess Cruises often, so I wasn't too sure what to expect. In short, I had a very good time on the cruise, and would give it 4/5 stars. I would certainly consider cruising with Princess Cruises again.

I'll go into a bit more detail about my experiences on the Sea Princess each day.

 

EMBARKATION DAY - 29th December

Arrived at the Overseas Terminal at about 11am, and were able to get our luggage quickly onboard the ship. We then filled out a couple of forms (one about your current health and an outgoing passenger card from customs). We were advised to start lining up around 11:30am, and shortly before noon, the line of about 125-150 passengers moved fairly smoothly into the terminal to go through the boarding process. The boarding process was surprisingly speedy and people were quite civil too. We were on board the ship shortly before 1pm! I stayed in an interior cabin on Caribe Deck about 2/3rds to 3/4ths down the ship. The cabin was for three people, with a single bed on one side and a double bunk of single beds on the other side. Obviously the rooms are smaller than a motel's but it didn't feel cramped and was comfy. There is one Australian powerpoint your room, so I recommend bringing a double adapter or powerboard if you think you'll need it. I saw the cabins that catered for two people, had a double bed, which made their room kinda cramped. Bathroom was just a touch small. An extra 6 inches or so would have still made it compact but nice. The vacuum-flushing toilet gives you a surprise the first time you flush it, if you're not use to them, lol! Our housekeeper was Lorena, a pleasant and cheerful Phillipine woman who would ALWAYS acknowledge us when we walked passed. Even though she's probably told to do so, it was nice and added to the cruise experience.

The weather in Sydney was mild to warm and mostly sunny as we sailed out of the harbour, which I'll never forget. Seas were small.

Dinner that night was lovely (Traviata Dining Room, second sitting). Emerald was our head waiter and John was our Junior waiter, both from the Phillipines. Both provided excellent and attentive service, especially Emerald who was that bit more experienced. There was a delay getting into the dining room that night because each group needed to be shown where their table was, which is understandable.

All prices on the ship are in Australian dollars.

If you think you will drink three or more beverages a day (by beverages I mean; soft drink, milkshake, juice and mocktails), then I HIGHLY recommended signing up to the UKP package (Unlimited Kids Package). It costs $7.49/day. If you don't have the package, soft drinks will cost $2.50 each and milkshakes will cost $3.00 each, not sure about juice and mocktails price (as i never had to worry about the prices of my drinks) but they'd be around 2.50-4 each outside of the package. The ship's time went ahead 1 hour at 2am that night.

 

DAY 1 - 30th December

I woke up in the morning, got out of bed and took a few steps to go to the bathroom. I felt like I was walking uphill, I was still kinda groggy and stumbled back a bit, then down the boat went. The seas picked up overnight to arond 4.5-5 metres, 'Rough mounting seas'. At one stage that morning, I heard a heap of crashing from inside my cabin. Something must've fell over in the crew area on our deck. The ships movement was inconsistent because the wave direction was seemingly random, rather than a somewhat regular 'up/down' movement. I joined Larry's Fun Choir that day and we had a rehearsal (our songs were Any Dream Will Do, Things, Edelweiss, Carolina In The Morning, By The Silvery Moon, Sailing, I Still Call Australia Home, and We'll Meet Again). At our first rehearsal there were about 20 women and 6 men (including me).

By late afternoon, I was feeling a bit queasy but not fully sea sick. I still attended dinner and had all four courses but only had one diet coke and one glass of water. It is important to eat if you are feeling sick (not too much but enough to avoid becoming hungry), and not to have too much water/drink. Also going out on deck can help, though avoid prolonged stays in the front quarter and the very back of the ship were the sea's motion is most noticably felt. Attendance was a bit down that night at dinner, with some others no doubt feeling sick.

The weather was cool to mild, sunny at times and windy. The ship's time went ahead an hour at 2am that night once again, meaning we would be on NZ time on NYE. Fourth time lucky, I finally arrived at the Horizon Court when they weren't closed or replacing food between mealtimes. Partially my fault for arriving twice when it was changeover time, and once kinda their fault I guess. They say in the Princess Patter (like a daily newsletter on the ship with summaries/activities etc.) that the Horizon Court is open to midnight, however I went there at 11:05pm and was told by the staff there that they were closed. While it is a small issue, you're either open to Midnight, or you're not. There was nothing to indicate that they were closing before Midnight that night. Another very small thing is that there should be somewhere where you can get a limited range of food between Midnight and 6am. These are insignificant issues but a few of them do add up to take the absolute perfection out of an otherwise very enjoyable cruise.

 

DAY 2 - 31st December

The seas progressively calmed down today, however it was cloudy and cool day. I felt fresh in the morning, after feeling queasy yesterday evening. We had another rehearsal for the choir, with the number of women doubling and the number of men increasing to around 12-13. The captain announced that the ship was 45 minutes behind schedule that morning because of yesterday's seas. I thought there would have been a bit more 'buzz' for NYE, I guess the cool weather meant the Riviera Deck was pretty much deserted and muddled up a bit the ship's plans for that night. I was in the Atrium when the clock struck midnight, they let down the balloons and streamers suspended on Deck 8 to the fanfare of paper horns and cheers. We passed the northern tip of New Zealand early on New Years Day.

I was a bit disappointed with the Sundaes Bar on Deck 12. They do make good milkshakes, which I strongly recommend (especially Strawberry). But their ice creams are exactly like McDonalds ice cream (you can get vanilla, chocolate or both), and were free of charge. They don't do sundaes, lol! They do coffee/tea too. They also had a small selection of about 6 or 7 chocolates/candies (including single Tim Tams and Dairy Milk bar). I feel like this is something that could be improved on the ship. An ice creamery with a selection of 12-20 flavours (including several sorbets) and sundaes would be a nice addition, along with the existing milkshakes. One member of staff there was a bit rude, and abrupt but the others were pleasant enough.

 

 

I will post days 3, 4, 5 & 6 either tomorrow or hopefully Monday. :)

Then another installment after that one later this week.

[aussie57]

Hi NthNSW Thanks for a great start to your review. We were on the SeaP exactly a month before you & had a wonderful time. I was in the choir too but it was led by a Canadian called Alex who was due to go home. We had different songs to your too, but I believe our songs had been on the program for over 12 months so it would have been good to have some new ones. Was Larry the piano player from the Atrium? If so his evening shows were very popular on our cruise & the Atrium packed with people even sitting on the stairs. He's very entertaining.

[K-Roo-Zers]

Welcome back NthNSW,

 

Thanks for your review so far. Looking forward to hearing the rest of it.

 

We are travelling on her, 4 March, for the 42 night Cherry Blossom and can't wait.

 

Do you recall whether she has the Thermal Spa - with the heat beds and the various saunas???

 

Thanks for posting - dying for the next instalment.

 

Nicki

[stass1]

Also looking forward to hearing more, we're off on her on feb six and looking forward to it greatly. Did you have an inside/window etc, we're in a balcony and wondering about how much space we will have

[bobhsv]

Also looking forward to hearing more, we're off on her on feb six and looking forward to it greatly. Did you have an inside/window etc, we're in a balcony and wondering about how much space we will have

 

You will have enough space. I did notice that the bathrooms in the balcony cabins were smallish. The inside bathrooms were larger. The balcony, being recessed is great through Milford Sound...cuts out the wind factor, and also very private. Plenty of storage, with more drawer space than I expected. You will need to take a powerboard.

Jen

[Sandielle]

Keep on writing, NthNSW! Loving it. :)

[windsor26]

What is happening now?

[Aus Traveller]

Is Larry the piano player on the Sea Princess at the moment? He was on the Sun Princess last year when we were on a long cruise. He was great.:)

[Duck Creek]

My sister was on this cruise and yes Larry was on it. She said he also ran the passenger choir.

[Aus Traveller]

My sister was on this cruise and yes Larry was on it. She said he also ran the passenger choir.

He did last year on the Sun Princess when we were on it. I hope he is still on the Sea Princess when we go on it.:)

[johndon]

Does anyone know if the Sun Princess organises a Choir? We are on it from 30th March to NZ and would like to join in the choir if they have one.

 

John

[Sandielle]

John, I have asked about this and apparently,yes they do, especially on longer cruises.

[Aus Traveller]

Does anyone know if the Sun Princess organises a Choir? We are on it from 30th March to NZ and would like to join in the choir if they have one.

 

John

We were on the Sun Princess for three cruises last year. The shortest cruise was 14 nights and there was a choir on all three.:)

[Royalty X]

Hi NthNSW, I'm loving reading your review of Sea Princess and look forward to reading the rest of it. Any chance you could post some pics from aournd the ship please?

[NthNSW]

Apologies for never finishing off this review. Better late than never I suppose! Things may have changed on the Sea Princess in the past 11 months. Added some pics (taken on two different cameras, an older one and a newer one). The finer details of my experience on the ship itself is more hazy now compared to when I wrote Day 1 + 2 review back in January. Although I still remember New Zealand itself well.

 

DAY 3 - Bay of Islands - 1/1/2012

New Years Day! We sailed around the northern top of NZ (Cape Reinga) in the early hours of the 1st. It was a cloudy morning in the Bay Of Islands. The cloud broke to partly cloudy skies by late morning, the cloud increased in the evening as we sailed away. It was mild but humid in Paihia (not uncomfortable humidity though like you get on the east coast of Aus in summer). You could definately tell that the northern tip of New Zealand is borderline subtropical. The tender process was fairly fluent. We did not do a shore tour that day as none of the tours interested us that much. People going on the first scheduled shore tours get priority over non-shore tour people. Instead of going on a pre-arranged shore tour we caught a free bus to Paihia town centre (you can walk if you're keen, its about 2kms from Waitangi Wharf, but why turn down a FREE bus? lol!). I was itching to put my foot on NZ Land. It was an amazing feeling and gave a sense of accomplishment. Paihia is a nice little village, and fairly tourist-oriented. Being a tourist village, things are overpriced, although isn't too bad when you consider the exchange rate (at the time I think $1AUD was buying $1.30NZD). There were plenty of people around, with the Volendam also in that day. I also did my first ATM withdrawal here, and was very glad it worked. Despite it being New Years Day everything looked to be open, and the bank was also open. I suppose it's a choice of stay closed or not benefit from a potential 3500(ish) customers (inc Volendam).

Bay Of Islands Min temp: 17.4ºC / Max temp: 22.6ºC

DAY 4 - Auckland - 2/1/2012

Cloudy, breezy and cool morning. I did spy a couple of light showers about Auckland mid-morning. The cloud started to break around 11am, and it became increasingly sunny. The wind for a period of time in the early afternoon become strong. It was mostly sunny and mild by late afternoon and into the early evening as we sailed out of Auckland. We docked at Princes Wharf near the Ferry Terminal. It didn't take us long to get off the ship and onto our shore tour. We chose the Auckland Museum & City Tour. The museum was interesting, though given time constraints we did have to rush through it a bit. The city tour covered the CBD area and surrounding suburbs, it also drove over the Harbour Bridge to the North Shore. The driver gave the option of letting people off in the CBD before returning to the ship. We got off the bus in the CBD. We then went to the Westfield shopping centre across the road. Compared to Australian Westfield complexes it was a let down. It was pretty much like a shopping centre you'd expect in a regional city, like Wagga Wagga or Coffs Harbour. The city has a similar feel to Sydney, and didn't feel foreign. We had lunch at McDonalds at the food court, it was similarly priced to Australia (though cheaper if you consider the exchange rate). A Large Sweet Chilli Wrap meal was $10.70NZD, which is a similar price to Australia.

Auckland Min: 16.5ºC / Max: 19.7ºC

DAY 5 - Tauranga - 3/1/2012

It was a drizzly and cool morning in Tauranga and we did pass through a couple of moderate showers on the way out of the city. The showers began to clear around Te Puke, and by the time we got to Rotorua it was mostly cloudy, cool to mild but fine. It continued to be like this all day at Rotorua. When we returned to Tauranga it was cool to mild and mostly cloudy. We pulled into port at Tauranga near Mt Maunganui. Our shore tour was the Maori Experience, Te Puia Thermal Reserve & Agrodome. It was about an hour bus trip from Tauranga to Rotorua, we went via Te Puke on Highway 2 & 33. Apparently going via Highway 36 is shorter, but there is inconsistent mobile coverage on that route and so the tours prefer not to use it (in-case there's trouble etc.). We had a buffet lunch at Te Puia Reserve. I'd never seen a geyser before, so visiting the Thermals was a rewarding experience. Yes, it does stink, lol. When you first smell it, the stench takes you by surprise. After a little while, it almost starts smelling like bacon and eggs though. I recommend that people stopping in Tauranga take a shore tour to Rotorua (preferably one to the geysers, either Te Puia or Wai-O-Tapu). The tour was soured by the coach driver who seemed to have a grudge against the Maoris though, it was otherwise excellent.

Tauranga Min: 15.9ºC / Max: 18.7ºC

Rotorua Min: 14.0ºC / Max: 18.1ºC

 

Day 6 + 7 coming very shortly!

[NthNSW]

Continued...

 

DAY 6 - Napier - 4/1/2012

We sailed into Napier around midday (on-schedule), and it was nice and mild with some mid to high level cloud. It become mostly sunny by mid-afternoon, though mid/high level cloud increased slightly in the evening. We spent most of the afternoon around Hastings, and it was warm there. It was really pleasant weather. We went on the Silky Oaks Chocolate and Pernel Fruitworld Tour. I endulged in some chocolate therapy at Silky Oaks. The tour also drove through Havelock North and Hastings, both pretty towns. It drove up to Te Mata Peak and we stopped for a short time. It was a beautiful view, with basically 360 degree views. Pernel Fruitworld Tour was informative and we got a free fruit-flavoured ice cream. We made a quick unscheduled stop at the Centennial Gardens in Napier, they're a nice little gardens with a picturesque waterfall. It would have been awesome to have an extra couple of hours in Napier, just so we could have explored Napier itself. It is a fair hike between Tauranga and Napier by sea and think this is the reason why it doesn't get there until midday. I was becoming a late night regular at the Horizon Court after dinner making a pig of myself. Dinner was always filling though and tasted wonderful, but being in my early 20s I'm a eating machine. Eating for the sake of eating, haha. Service was ALWAYS excellent too, and my glass of coke would be very promptly filled if empty (didn't have to ask, they're psychic I swear, lol). They took down the Christmas decorations that night.

Napier Min: 13.1ºC / Max: 22.5ºC

Hastings Min: 12.9ºC / Max: 24.9ºC

DAY 7 - Wellington - 5/1/2012

It was mostly cloudy and cool morning in Wellington, not too much of a breeze. Between about 10am and 1pm it was partly cloudy and mild. The breeze gradually increased to a fresh wind by mid-afternoon, and it became mostly cloudy too. When we were at Kelburn (on the hills above the city), the wind was about strong to gale force there. The cloud cleared as we exited Wellington Harbour, and entered a sunny Cook Strait. Seas were slight to small as we crossed the strait. I caught the bus from the cruise terminal at the port, and spent the morning in Wellington doing my own thing: walked around the CBD and visited Parliament/Beehive. I was surprised at the lack of security on the Parliament grounds, it wouldn't be like that in Australia and certainly not in the USA. From memory, I think it was $5 return to catch the bus. I returned to the terminal with about 30mins before my scheduled tour started. I took the Te Papa Museum and Cable Car tour. The tour also included a bit of city tour too, with a stop at Parliament/Beehive (I didn't know it was going to stop there, so I got to go there twice, lol). I think if you're going to Wellington, you must do the Cable Car. A short but memorable experience (try and get a window seat :-P). I was impressed with Wellington, seemed like a nice city.

Wellington Min: 16.3ºC / Max: 20.4ºC

 

Day 8 + 9 next...

[NthNSW]

Continuing on...

 

DAY 8 - Akaroa - 6/1/2012

It was sunny, calm and cool as we sailed into Akaroa Harbour. Cloud increased as we headed up into the hills of the Banks Peninsula. It was cloudy, cool to cold and breezy on the Canterbury Plains. The cloud started to clear around Springfield as we began the long though gradual ascent to Arthurs Pass. Arthurs Pass was sunny and warm with a light breeze. It was mostly sunny during our time in the picturesque mountains, and as we headed back down on the TranzAlpine train. Cloud increased again on the plains, where it alternated between partly cloudy and mostly cloudy. When we returned to Akaroa it was mostly sunny and mild. The ship sailed into Akaroa Harbour and we were taken ashore by tender. The port facilities at Lyttelton remained damaged from the earthquakes. My shore tour on the TranzAlpine did not go to Christchurch, as going to Akaroa added about two hours (Akaroa is about an 60-75mins from C'Church or Rolleston) onto the whole trip (originally 7hrs, but increased to 9hrs because of the extra distance from Akaroa). Had the ship gone to Lyttelton, we would've gone to Christchurch during the tour to Arthurs Pass. There were a few tours that went to Christchurch, but less than they would normally offer. I was on the first tender off the boat and was the last tender onto the boat. We caught the bus up to Arthurs Pass (with stop at Canterbury Plains at Homebush), and the train from Arthurs to Rolleston, then bus from there to Akaroa. I also thought the winding through the hills on the Banks Peninsula was picturesque. It is a pricey shore tour ($329 per person), but a memorable experience and a taste of New Zealand wilderness and felt like we were in a Lord Of The Rings movie.

Christchurch Min: 5.9ºC / Max: 20.7ºC (felt more like 22-23 degrees at Arthurs Pass)

DAY 9 - Dunedin - 7/1/2012

A mostly cloudy and cool morning in Dunedin, There were some small puddles of water about on the Otago Peninsula, there must have been rain overnight there. The cloud started to burn off by late morning, and by afternoon it was mostly sunny and mild in Dunedin with a light wind. By late afternoon, cloud started to increase and it became cool. I went on the Larnach Castle and City Drive tour in the morning (including stops in the hills above the harbour for photos, also at the Iconic train station and steepest street in the world at Baldwin St). We got off in town at the Octagon, and spent the afternoon there exploring the CBD. Dunedin was probably my favourite stop. The city feels vibrant and young (plenty of people my age because of the unis). Everyone was friendly and welcoming. It had that perfect mix of country and city. Regretably, I didn't go on the Cadbury Tour. The ship docks in Port Chalmers, about 15kms NE of the CBD. The bus cost $10 one way. I gave a kid playing the bagpipes outside the train station about $35NZD in notes/coins. I wasn't fussed about getting it changed back in Australia. The kid probably thinks Australians are loaded with money now. I've had thoughts about moving over there once I'm in my 30s, I seriously didn't want to leave!

The captain said seas overnight into the 8th were moderate as we passed through the Foveaux Strait (between Invercargill and Stewart Island). No-one noticed that bit of roughness because we were sound asleep.

Dunedin Min: 12.0ºC / Max: 20.0ºC

 

Days 10, 11 & 12 following soon...

[NthNSW]

DAY 10 - Fiordlands - 8/1/2012

The sunniest weather I encountered in NZ was in the Fiordlands. It was a brilliant, warm sunny day. The wind was strong at times in Doubtful Sound though. Dusky and Milford had much weaker winds. There was snow on the highest peaks in the Fiordlands. It was amazing to be at sea level in warm conditions (excuse the ship's height) and see snow on the very highest mountain tops inland. The captain said it was the best weather he'd experienced in the fiordlands. That day in Milford, Princess Cruises also shot some footage to possibly use in an advertisement, and had been waiting for such clear weather. A couple who had done the same cruise four times, had never seen it so clear and sunny. The fjords had experienced relatively dry weather over the previous few weeks (pretty much a "mini"-drought I guess), and so there were only three waterfalls flowing. The seas quickly picked up to around 3.5-4m as we sailed away from New Zealand. Milford Sound is absolutely spectacular, nothing can prepare you for how magnificent it is. As cliched as it sounds, words cannot describe it and pictures don't do any of the fjords justice.

Milford Sound Airport Min: 9.9ºC / Max: 25.7ºC

 

DAY 11, DAY 12 - At Sea - 9/1/2012 & 10/1/2012

A cool start to the day. It was overcast and raining. The cloud and rain cleared in the afternoon to clear skies. Seas also calmed during the night and became small. As weird as this sounds, it was a strange feeling to be at sea and have it raining.

On the 10th, the seas were slight to small and the weather was mostly sunny and mild. The choir had swelled in size to around 100 people, about 75% women. We gave our performance llive in the Princess Theatre that night (I'm pretty sure it was being broadcast down in the Vista Lounge too for those who couldn't fit into the Theatre).

 

ARRIVAL - Sydney - 11/1/2012

It was a warm morning in Sydney. The Diamond Princess was following up the harbour too. We docked at Barangaroo, and the Diamond docked at the Circular Quay.

Only real qualms being the Sundaes Bar that doesn't do sundaes (lol), and the activities on the boat being skewed towards mature adults and kids/teens. Obviously retirees and parents in their 40s/50s are their biggest clientele, so it would be silly not to cater for them the most, but I think just a couple more activities for young adults (e.g. 18-29) would be nice.

However, I highly recommend the Sea Princess and Princess Cruises. Pretty much everything was amazing, and you get your money's worth on the cruise. New Zealand was simply stunning. Beautiful country, wonderful holiday!

 

Once again, I apologise for not completing this review in a timely manner. But I hope someone may find it informative. :) Look forward to going on another cruise, once I get some money saved up!

[kate59]

Thanks for finishing the review - we have month till we go to NZ so loved reading it.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review!