Coral Princess, some comments

[Aus Traveller]

We returned this morning from a seven day cruise on the Coral Princess. I would like to make some positive and some negative comments -

1. Although the cruise was in school holidays, we didn't see more than 30 or so children on board. Obviously there were many more than that, but they didn't cause any problems or disruptions.

2. Boarding was easy. We were in Group A (11 - 11.30am) and got to the terminal around 10.20. We were able to go straight in. Check-in and boarding were easy, but I feel that there were many more people there than the number supposed to be in Group A. No-one checked to see what group we were in.

3. We parked in Carpark 1 at the terminal. We were able to choose a spot where we felt we would get maximum shade. It was very close to the terminal.

4. We were told it was 750 m walk to the ship. I don't believe it. When the terminal opened I read that it was 375m. I feel that would be more accurate.

5. Although we had up-loaded everything that was required on the Medallion app, the check-in staff wanted to see our passports and vaccination certificates. No-one asked to see the photos of our RAT tests.

6. We had to wear masks in the terminal and while boarding. Masks had to be worn in the lifts and while walking into and out of the dining room. Remove mask when seated. Masks had to be worn in the Princess theatre, but they didn't seem to mandate masks in the Explorers Lounge or the Universe Lounge.

7. One of the best things I found on the ship was the speed of the lifts. We never encountered crowds waiting for a lift and very often I (or we) were in the lift alone.

8. Night-time shows were 8pm and 10pm. Trivia was usually 10 or 10.30am and also 4.30pm.

9. The comedian guest entertainer's show was so bad we regard it as the worst we have seen in all our cruising. Apparently during his second show he kept referring to his notes. Maybe he had down-loaded some jokes off the internet because he didn't have any in his first show. (Sorry to be brutally honest. BTW, we didn't walk out. We sat through the whole show.)

10. The two Buddy Holly tribute shows were good.

11. Three production shows. On the Bayou was superb. This is a new show and is held in the Universe Lounge that has revolving stages. Anyone wanting to go to the 8pm would be well advised to go early. Around 7.40 the CD announced that the lounge had standing room only. We went early for the 10pm show and got a seat at the front. The theatre was full before starting time. On the first formal night we had Encore. It was superb as usual. The last show was Motor City. I thought we had seen that one before, but either the staging or costumes were different, because it didn't seem too familiar.

12. Because of COVID, there was no cocktail party on the first formal night and no champagne waterfall.

13. At the Captains lunch for the most travelled passengers, the Captain didn't remove his mask and the officers didn't stay to host the passengers. They all left so the lunch was just for the passengers.

14. On the second formal night Captains Circle Party, once again the captain had a mask on when he posed for photos. I suppose this is because we are all asked to wear masks when we can't socially distance.

15. The way they run the anytime dining (Dine My Way) works very well.

 

Some negatives -

1. Often the food wasn't hot. We didn't ever get hot chips until we sent the first lot back.

2. At dinner on the second formal night I usually order lobster followed by beef wellington, but there was no lobster shown on the menu. We then found that the lobster is there, disguised under the description 'king prawn and lobster'. A few people I spoke to were disappointed that they had missed the lobster.

3. Sometimes the inexperience of the waiters was evident.

4. No chocolates on the pillow at night. 😢 Maybe I should have put this one at the top of the list of negatives.

5. No disembarkation breakfast in the MDR. It was only available in the Horizon Court of the International Cafe.

 

Edited July 3, 2022 by Aus Traveller

[Chiliburn]

Pore old princess cruisers ,   what about the medallion?
 

Edited July 3, 2022 by Chiliburn

[Aus Traveller]

1 minute ago, Chiliburn said:

Pore old princess cruisers ,   what about the medallion?
 

The medallion worked well. I felt there had been enough comments here previously that I didn't need to outline how it worked, but here goes ....

As the passenger approaches their cabin door, it recognises the person from their Medallion. Their profil pic appears on the screen at the door plus an 'unlocked' symbol. The light on the door lock flashes green and it is unlocked.

We didn't order using the app, but people commented that it was great to order from wherever you were on the ship. On one occasion we were with someone who ordered glasses of water. The waiter got close to the person and queried where the person was.

Although we up-loaded photos prior to the cruise, the security staff photographed us when we boarded and again when we were about to disembark.

We didn't bother to buy any of the bangles etc to hold the Medallion. My husband wore his on the lanyard that it comes with while I carried mine in my pocket or handbag.

[Aus Traveller]

The ship operates virtually paperless. There aren't those annoying ads for the spa or art auctions. I don't actually know if they had any art auctions on board. The Princess Patter is now one A4 sheet printed on both sides rather than a an A3 sheet folded in half.

[Porky55]

8 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

We returned this morning from a seven day cruise on the Coral Princess. I would like to make some positive and some negative comments -

1. Although the cruise was in school holidays, we didn't see more than 30 or so children on board. Obviously there were many more than that, but they didn't cause any problems or disruptions.

2. Boarding was easy. We were in Group A (11 - 11.30am) and got to the terminal around 10.20. We were able to go straight in. Check-in and boarding were easy, but I feel that there were many more people there than the number supposed to be in Group A. No-one checked to see what group we were in.

3. We parked in Carpark 1 at the terminal. We were able to choose a spot where we felt we would get maximum shade. It was very close to the terminal.

4. We were told it was 750 m walk to the ship. I don't believe it. When the terminal opened I read that it was 375m. I feel that would be more accurate.

5. Although we had up-loaded everything that was required on the Medallion app, the check-in staff wanted to see our passports and vaccination certificates. No-one asked to see the photos of our RAT tests.

6. We had to wear masks in the terminal and while boarding. Masks had to be worn in the lifts and while walking into and out of the dining room. Remove mask when seated. Masks had to be worn in the Princess theatre, but they didn't seem to mandate masks in the Explorers Lounge or the Universe Lounge.

7. One of the best things I found on the ship was the speed of the lifts. We never encountered crowds waiting for a lift and very often I (or we) were in the lift alone.

8. Night-time shows were 8pm and 10pm. Trivia was usually 10 or 10.30am and also 4.30pm.

9. The comedian guest entertainer's show was so bad we regard it as the worst we have seen in all our cruising. Apparently during his second show he kept referring to his notes. Maybe he had down-loaded some jokes off the internet because he didn't have any in his first show. (Sorry to be brutally honest. BTW, we didn't walk out. We sat through the whole show.)

10. The two Buddy Holly tribute shows were good.

11. Three production shows. On the Bayou was superb. This is a new show and is held in the Universe Lounge that has revolving stages. Anyone wanting to go to the 8pm would be well advised to go early. Around 7.40 the CD announced that the lounge had standing room only. We went early for the 10pm show and got a seat at the front. The theatre was full before starting time. On the first formal night we had Encore. It was superb as usual. The last show was Motor City. I thought we had seen that one before, but either the staging or costumes were different, because it didn't seem too familiar.

12. Because of COVID, there was no cocktail party on the first formal night and no champagne waterfall.

13. At the Captains lunch for the most travelled passengers, the Captain didn't remove his mask and the officers didn't stay to host the passengers. They all left so the lunch was just for the passengers.

14. On the second formal night Captains Circle Party, once again the captain had a mask on when he posed for photos. I suppose this is because we are all asked to wear masks when we can't socially distance.

15. The way they run the anytime dining (Dine My Way) works very well.

 

Some negatives -

1. Often the food wasn't hot. We didn't ever get hot chips until we sent the first lot back.

2. At dinner on the second formal night I usually order lobster followed by beef wellington, but there was no lobster shown on the menu. We then found that the lobster is there, disguised under the description 'king prawn and lobster'. A few people I spoke to were disappointed that they had missed the lobster.

3. Sometimes the inexperience of the waiters was evident.

4. No chocolates on the pillow at night. 😢 Maybe I should have put this one at the top of the list of negatives.

 

Thanks AusTraveller, agree with almost all you said (fortunately opted to not see the Comedian 😮‍💨)

But can I add a few additional points:

1) We missed the usual communications from the ship -

     The 12 noon “Captains/Ship Reports

     That we passed Willis Island - ( happened to catch it while walking the decks.)

     The fact that we weren’t going to Port Douglas was on FB before we heard anything from the ship - how did this happen??  
Sure there were more of these type of things missing 🤔

 

 2) We were Club Class and think it’s worth it just for the restaurant - the experienced waiters, exceptional service, food recommendations and attention to the small details were fabulous. (sorry about the lobster last formal night - we ate it 😋)

 

3) yes, missed the chocolates on the pillows - so bought our own 🍫

 

We just felt the ship (not the staff) was a little off, if you get my meaning.Not all changes are due to Covid, or Covid is becoming a convenient excuse. Again, this is just my personal opinion - only time will tell.

 

We did enjoy our cruise very much, was wonderful to be on a ship again.

[Aus Traveller]

I also missed the noon announcement from the Bridge. We keep peeping out to see Willis Island, but often there is a conversation between the ship's officer on the bridge and staff on the island. In the past this has been broadcast on the open decks. The first I knew about missing Port Douglas was when a passenger remarked about it at 5pm. Obviously the decision was made hours earlier than that because the Princess Patter that was delivered to the cabin before 7pm already had the change to the itinerary. The Captain made the announcement around 6.30pm. Maybe he didn't want to say anything until everyone was on board. He seemed to limit his interaction with passengers. I think that was the only announcement we heard from him.

[Porky55]

1 minute ago, Aus Traveller said:

He seemed to limit his interaction with passengers. I think that was the only announcement we heard from him.

Agreed, still ironing out all his “first time in this area” teething problems perhaps?
 

Have no idea what other ships he has captained, but sure someone will know 🤔

[Chiliburn]

I was under the impression that the medallion has a public address feature?

[OzKiwiJJ]

The best lobster is in the Bayou Cafe. It's Maine lobster not the usual stuff served in the MDRs. 

 

I thought the embarkation process was a bit messy and, yes, I think there were more than just the Group A passengers embarking before 11am.

 

One thing I noticed was that at the start of the cruise the majority of people were very diligent about wearing masks when moving around inside the ship and in the theatres. However by the last night mask wearers were in the minority.

 

I've heard of three confirmed cases onboard through a post elsewhere. All from the same group of people.

 

There is a trick to getting the app to work properly so if you're having problems sign out and sign back in using your cabin number, name and date of birth. I posted screenshots in another thread a few days ago.

 

 

[Aus Traveller]

36 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

I was under the impression that the medallion has a public address feature?

Do you mean we hold it to one ear and can hear a public address? I don't think so.

[Chiliburn]

21 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Do you mean we hold it to one ear and can hear a public address? I don't think so.

That’s what I love about Princess cruiser

Edited July 3, 2022 by Chiliburn

[Ozwoody]

Thanks Guys

What a great debriefings.

Very enlightening and entertaining.

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

Above all, though, it was just wonderful to be back on a cruise ship. I'd almost forgotten how relaxing a cruise is.

[sayaguru]

You beat me to post do I'll just add a few thoughts. The ship didn't feel crowded to us except in the theatre and in the shops the last day. 

We had  few issues with the coffee card. Thry kept charging us and the server in Internationsl Cafe said don't worry just go down and take it off. When I ordered myself it was correct. 

Bar service was sometimes slow. I found ordering yourself on the mediation was quicker usually. 

The food was great except the vege burger. Horrible. Over an inch thick patty made with quinoa and no flavour. I couldn't eat it. 

Staff were friendly as usual but were sometimes a little flustered with the ordering. It's just practice. I would suggest checking your account on the app everyday. A few people had thongs added that they didn't have. Once I ordered and they started puting the order through and I happened to see the screen. I said that's not me. They usually say your name. And again when they deliver. Listen to avoid mistaken orders. 

Agree the comedian was horrible. After 15 minutes Couple of people laughed. He said- thanks for laughing. 

Shows were great. 

I bought a clip for the medallion (the $20 one). It broke. I was worried about it breaking again even though they said there have been no issues. I was worried about losing it when clipped on my shorts so I got the watch instead. Happy with that. 

Loved being back on board. Met some lovely people and thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. 

We walked straight off at 8.40 as we had our own bags. You had to fill out a customs form due to the duty free. 

Started looking for another one already. 

Any questions please ask. 

 

[windsor26]

Thanks for the updates folks  all info is interesting  just hope they have a larger choice of wine before we cruise on her

[losfp]

Thanks for the reports!! Looking forward to our January trip. I hope all the teething issues after restarting are smoothed out by then 😄 😄 

[portcbob]

Thanks guys for your feedback and tips. Hope the Comedian is off the ship for our upcoming 28 nighter.😁

[arxcards]

13 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

We returned this morning from a seven day cruise on the Coral Princess. I would like to make some positive and some negative comments -

1. Although the cruise was in school holidays, we didn't see more than 30 or so children on board. Obviously there were many more than that, but they didn't cause any problems or disruptions.

2. Boarding was easy. We were in Group A (11 - 11.30am) and got to the terminal around 10.20. We were able to go straight in. Check-in and boarding were easy, but I feel that there were many more people there than the number supposed to be in Group A. No-one checked to see what group we were in.

3. We parked in Carpark 1 at the terminal. We were able to choose a spot where we felt we would get maximum shade. It was very close to the terminal.

4. We were told it was 750 m walk to the ship. I don't believe it. When the terminal opened I read that it was 375m. I feel that would be more accurate.

5. Although we had up-loaded everything that was required on the Medallion app, the check-in staff wanted to see our passports and vaccination certificates. No-one asked to see the photos of our RAT tests.

6. We had to wear masks in the terminal and while boarding. Masks had to be worn in the lifts and while walking into and out of the dining room. Remove mask when seated. Masks had to be worn in the Princess theatre, but they didn't seem to mandate masks in the Explorers Lounge or the Universe Lounge.

7. One of the best things I found on the ship was the speed of the lifts. We never encountered crowds waiting for a lift and very often I (or we) were in the lift alone.

8. Night-time shows were 8pm and 10pm. Trivia was usually 10 or 10.30am and also 4.30pm.

9. The comedian guest entertainer's show was so bad we regard it as the worst we have seen in all our cruising. Apparently during his second show he kept referring to his notes. Maybe he had down-loaded some jokes off the internet because he didn't have any in his first show. (Sorry to be brutally honest. BTW, we didn't walk out. We sat through the whole show.)

10. The two Buddy Holly tribute shows were good.

11. Three production shows. On the Bayou was superb. This is a new show and is held in the Universe Lounge that has revolving stages. Anyone wanting to go to the 8pm would be well advised to go early. Around 7.40 the CD announced that the lounge had standing room only. We went early for the 10pm show and got a seat at the front. The theatre was full before starting time. On the first formal night we had Encore. It was superb as usual. The last show was Motor City. I thought we had seen that one before, but either the staging or costumes were different, because it didn't seem too familiar.

12. Because of COVID, there was no cocktail party on the first formal night and no champagne waterfall.

13. At the Captains lunch for the most travelled passengers, the Captain didn't remove his mask and the officers didn't stay to host the passengers. They all left so the lunch was just for the passengers.

14. On the second formal night Captains Circle Party, once again the captain had a mask on when he posed for photos. I suppose this is because we are all asked to wear masks when we can't socially distance.

15. The way they run the anytime dining (Dine My Way) works very well.

 

Some negatives -

1. Often the food wasn't hot. We didn't ever get hot chips until we sent the first lot back.

2. At dinner on the second formal night I usually order lobster followed by beef wellington, but there was no lobster shown on the menu. We then found that the lobster is there, disguised under the description 'king prawn and lobster'. A few people I spoke to were disappointed that they had missed the lobster.

3. Sometimes the inexperience of the waiters was evident.

4. No chocolates on the pillow at night. 😢 Maybe I should have put this one at the top of the list of negatives.

5. No disembarkation breakfast in the MDR. It was only available in the Horizon Court of the International Cafe.

 

Nice wrap-up and some useful tips for us in August. Thanks!! Princess has always had the best comedians.

 

The staff, even the Captain, has to be masked at all times indoors. Not good for protocols when there is photographic proof that this isn't happening posted all over social media. Perhaps they should have an open deck location for Captain's cocktail photos.

 

Interesting comparison. On Pac Explorer, we made a point of getting our boarding photos done with masks on, but the photographer didn't want a bar of it. In the end, he relented and took one with masks off and another with masks on.

[arxcards]

12 hours ago, Porky55 said:

Thanks AusTraveller, agree with almost all you said (fortunately opted to not see the Comedian 😮‍💨)

But can I add a few additional points:

1) We missed the usual communications from the ship -

     The 12 noon “Captains/Ship Reports

     That we passed Willis Island - ( happened to catch it while walking the decks.)

     The fact that we weren’t going to Port Douglas was on FB before we heard anything from the ship - how did this happen??  
Sure there were more of these type of things missing 🤔

 

 2) We were Club Class and think it’s worth it just for the restaurant - the experienced waiters, exceptional service, food recommendations and attention to the small details were fabulous. (sorry about the lobster last formal night - we ate it 😋)

 

3) yes, missed the chocolates on the pillows - so bought our own 🍫

 

We just felt the ship (not the staff) was a little off, if you get my meaning.Not all changes are due to Covid, or Covid is becoming a convenient excuse. Again, this is just my personal opinion - only time will tell.

 

We did enjoy our cruise very much, was wonderful to be on a ship again.

Gold Medal. Just added to my packing list.

[arxcards]

13 hours ago, Porky55 said:

Thanks AusTraveller, agree with almost all you said (fortunately opted to not see the Comedian 😮‍💨)

But can I add a few additional points:

1) We missed the usual communications from the ship -

     The 12 noon “Captains/Ship Reports

     That we passed Willis Island - ( happened to catch it while walking the decks.)

     The fact that we weren’t going to Port Douglas was on FB before we heard anything from the ship - how did this happen??  
Sure there were more of these type of things missing 🤔

 

 2) We were Club Class and think it’s worth it just for the restaurant - the experienced waiters, exceptional service, food recommendations and attention to the small details were fabulous. (sorry about the lobster last formal night - we ate it 😋)

 

3) yes, missed the chocolates on the pillows - so bought our own 🍫

 

We just felt the ship (not the staff) was a little off, if you get my meaning.Not all changes are due to Covid, or Covid is becoming a convenient excuse. Again, this is just my personal opinion - only time will tell.

 

We did enjoy our cruise very much, was wonderful to be on a ship again.

We heard about the call not to go to Port Douglas due to tendering conditions pretty early on FB. But that was from other friends that were also aboard. I get the feeling the first to know would be those with affected Princess shore excursions, although I expect anyone connected with the ship visit in Port Douglas would be just as quick off the mark.

 

I expect some things may never be the same again, but we are really looking forward to spending time on Coral & Majestic over the coming months.

[Sparky74]

13 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

We returned this morning from a seven day cruise on the Coral Princess. I would like to make some positive and some negative comments….

 

Thanks, Evon. 
Our experience and opinions are very similar to yours. 
it was great to be back sailing again and overall it was a positive experience.
I loved the way my stateroom door knew I was approaching and unlocked itself.

I struggled a bit with the app and never managed to get the daily program to show on it so referred to the reduced Princess Patter. I did miss the weather forecast in the Patter. 
I used the app (and large screens) to locate DW and Auntie from time to time and found that handy. I preferred not to carry my phone with me around the ship. I didn’t like that I couldn’t use my mobile data while logged onto the ship's free wifi. This was only an issue while we were docked or anchored but it was a cause of frustration on the first day. 
The comedian was dreadful. We did end up walking out. I can’t believe they put him on a second night. We didn’t go the second time. 

I was disappointed to miss On the Bayou. We were still at dinner when they announced standing room only. They would have been better to repeat that show on another night rather than the comedian.

Dining room service was fairly slow and they mad a number of mistakes, giving me someone else’s order and vice versa. Not once but a number of times. We went to afternoon tea once and the service was dreadful! And Auntie is stil, waiting for her gluten free afternoon tea!

I did hear the noon report a couple of times and others reported that Willis Island was announced. I think it depended where you are wether you heard it or not.

It wasn’t until we were off the ship that I realised that we hadn’t received a copy of our account. Had I realised, I would have checked it on the app or TV. I can’t find it on the app now nor on the website so I guess I’m going to have to ring them for a copy.

We've only sailed with Princess once before. We have heard people rave about Princess but weren’t overly impressed this cruise. There didn’t seem a great deal to do during the day. Fortunately I’m a reader and DW brought some craft projects to keep herself busy. And I spent a lot of time with Auntie. 
 

But it was great to be back cruising again. And the positives out weighed the negatives. We have more cruises this year with HAL, Carnival, and the dreaded P&O, so should be well placed to do a compare and contrast by the end of the year. 

Happy sailing!

 

[Cbtours]

14 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

We returned this morning from a seven day cruise on the Coral Princess. I would like to make some positive and some negative comments -

1. Although the cruise was in school holidays, we didn't see more than 30 or so children on board. Obviously there were many more than that, but they didn't cause any problems or disruptions.

2. Boarding was easy. We were in Group A (11 - 11.30am) and got to the terminal around 10.20. We were able to go straight in. Check-in and boarding were easy, but I feel that there were many more people there than the number supposed to be in Group A. No-one checked to see what group we were in.

3. We parked in Carpark 1 at the terminal. We were able to choose a spot where we felt we would get maximum shade. It was very close to the terminal.

4. We were told it was 750 m walk to the ship. I don't believe it. When the terminal opened I read that it was 375m. I feel that would be more accurate.

5. Although we had up-loaded everything that was required on the Medallion app, the check-in staff wanted to see our passports and vaccination certificates. No-one asked to see the photos of our RAT tests.

6. We had to wear masks in the terminal and while boarding. Masks had to be worn in the lifts and while walking into and out of the dining room. Remove mask when seated. Masks had to be worn in the Princess theatre, but they didn't seem to mandate masks in the Explorers Lounge or the Universe Lounge.

7. One of the best things I found on the ship was the speed of the lifts. We never encountered crowds waiting for a lift and very often I (or we) were in the lift alone.

8. Night-time shows were 8pm and 10pm. Trivia was usually 10 or 10.30am and also 4.30pm.

9. The comedian guest entertainer's show was so bad we regard it as the worst we have seen in all our cruising. Apparently during his second show he kept referring to his notes. Maybe he had down-loaded some jokes off the internet because he didn't have any in his first show. (Sorry to be brutally honest. BTW, we didn't walk out. We sat through the whole show.)

10. The two Buddy Holly tribute shows were good.

11. Three production shows. On the Bayou was superb. This is a new show and is held in the Universe Lounge that has revolving stages. Anyone wanting to go to the 8pm would be well advised to go early. Around 7.40 the CD announced that the lounge had standing room only. We went early for the 10pm show and got a seat at the front. The theatre was full before starting time. On the first formal night we had Encore. It was superb as usual. The last show was Motor City. I thought we had seen that one before, but either the staging or costumes were different, because it didn't seem too familiar.

12. Because of COVID, there was no cocktail party on the first formal night and no champagne waterfall.

13. At the Captains lunch for the most travelled passengers, the Captain didn't remove his mask and the officers didn't stay to host the passengers. They all left so the lunch was just for the passengers.

14. On the second formal night Captains Circle Party, once again the captain had a mask on when he posed for photos. I suppose this is because we are all asked to wear masks when we can't socially distance.

15. The way they run the anytime dining (Dine My Way) works very well.

 

Some negatives -

1. Often the food wasn't hot. We didn't ever get hot chips until we sent the first lot back.

2. At dinner on the second formal night I usually order lobster followed by beef wellington, but there was no lobster shown on the menu. We then found that the lobster is there, disguised under the description 'king prawn and lobster'. A few people I spoke to were disappointed that they had missed the lobster.

3. Sometimes the inexperience of the waiters was evident.

4. No chocolates on the pillow at night. 😢 Maybe I should have put this one at the top of the list of negatives.

5. No disembarkation breakfast in the MDR. It was only available in the Horizon Court of the International Cafe.

 

Excellent summary. When I get chance I will add anything else I can think of. Got a few things to attend to first.

[Cbtours]

14 hours ago, Porky55 said:

Thanks AusTraveller, agree with almost all you said (fortunately opted to not see the Comedian 😮‍💨)

But can I add a few additional points:

1) We missed the usual communications from the ship -

     The 12 noon “Captains/Ship Reports

     That we passed Willis Island - ( happened to catch it while walking the decks.)

     The fact that we weren’t going to Port Douglas was on FB before we heard anything from the ship - how did this happen??  
Sure there were more of these type of things missing 🤔

 

 2) We were Club Class and think it’s worth it just for the restaurant - the experienced waiters, exceptional service, food recommendations and attention to the small details were fabulous. (sorry about the lobster last formal night - we ate it 😋)

 

3) yes, missed the chocolates on the pillows - so bought our own 🍫

 

We just felt the ship (not the staff) was a little off, if you get my meaning.Not all changes are due to Covid, or Covid is becoming a convenient excuse. Again, this is just my personal opinion - only time will tell.

 

We did enjoy our cruise very much, was wonderful to be on a ship again.

Just the bit re PD? We heard an announcement from the captain while we were in cairns (at early dinner I think) that we wouldn't be be going to PD next day due to weather and tenders needed. Though I hadnt been on FB to read if anything was on earlier?

[Cbtours]

46 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

Thanks, Evon. 
Our experience and opinions are very similar to yours. 
it was great to be back sailing again and overall it was a positive experience.
I loved the way my stateroom door knew I was approaching and unlocked itself.

I struggled a bit with the app and never managed to get the daily program to show on it so referred to the reduced Princess Patter. I did miss the weather forecast in the Patter. 
I used the app (and large screens) to locate DW and Auntie from time to time and found that handy. I preferred not to carry my phone with me around the ship. I didn’t like that I couldn’t use my mobile data while logged onto the ship's free wifi. This was only an issue while we were docked or anchored but it was a cause of frustration on the first day. 
The comedian was dreadful. We did end up walking out. I can’t believe they put him on a second night. We didn’t go the second time. 

I was disappointed to miss On the Bayou. We were still at dinner when they announced standing room only. They would have been better to repeat that show on another night rather than the comedian.

Dining room service was fairly slow and they mad a number of mistakes, giving me someone else’s order and vice versa. Not once but a number of times. We went to afternoon tea once and the service was dreadful! And Auntie is stil, waiting for her gluten free afternoon tea!

I did hear the noon report a couple of times and others reported that Willis Island was announced. I think it depended where you are wether you heard it or not.

It wasn’t until we were off the ship that I realised that we hadn’t received a copy of our account. Had I realised, I would have checked it on the app or TV. I can’t find it on the app now nor on the website so I guess I’m going to have to ring them for a copy.

We've only sailed with Princess once before. We have heard people rave about Princess but weren’t overly impressed this cruise. There didn’t seem a great deal to do during the day. Fortunately I’m a reader and DW brought some craft projects to keep herself busy. And I spent a lot of time with Auntie. 
 

But it was great to be back cruising again. And the positives out weighed the negatives. We have more cruises this year with HAL, Carnival, and the dreaded P&O, so should be well placed to do a compare and contrast by the end of the year. 

Happy sailing!

 

Good points and we cant compare til next trip for us, as we were fortunate to have a suite so got club class dining. And there were no problems at all with anything and staff were exemplary. However the suite was a strategic plan to earn the extra credit to have us now qualified for elite. We will be able to do comparison for our next 3 trips all in regular balcony.

[portcbob]

25 minutes ago, Cbtours said:

Excellent summary. When I get chance I will add anything else I can think of. Got a few things to attend to first.

Hi. Doing the 28 nighter with you guys from Brissie in October. Is there any talk onboard about our cruise being broken up by Princess into a number of smaller cruises and if there isn't any talk are you able to ask some staff which may know. Bit nervous about this as there is rumblings.

Thanks Bob.