Pacific Dazzler vs. other cruiseline questions

[Scrumpy]

We are considering the Pacific Dazzler itinerary in Dec. 2007. (R/T from Auckland). One other cruise under consideration is a one-way 12-nite Princess cruise that is mostly NZ ending in Sydney. My husband is a Kiwi and we can't quite reconcile the idea of cruising around his homeland and going to so many places we've already seen, although a cruise ship would certainly be a relaxing way to re-visit those places. Our other concern is that we have not tried Princess and have only cruised on Holland America. They also have a NZ-Aus route that is nearly the same as Princess, but again it is a longer cruise. We are trying to visit NZ family and squeeze in a cruise within a 3 week period. We'd prefer a 7 nite cruise to a longer one since we'll have more time to spend with family, but we don't want to sacrifice a good onboard experience. (Our only P & O experience was in England and that was so long ago we hardly remember it).

Does anyone have any specific advice or suggestions about the itinerary - or either Princess or P & O versus Holland America? We are looking at one of the suites (mini-suites???) on Pacific Star, but it looks more expensive than a similar cabin on Princess. We could really use some help.
Thanks!!!

[whytey]

We are considering the Pacific Dazzler itinerary in Dec. 2007. (R/T from Auckland). One other cruise under consideration is a one-way 12-nite Princess cruise that is mostly NZ ending in Sydney. My husband is a Kiwi and we can't quite reconcile the idea of cruising around his homeland and going to so many places we've already seen, although a cruise ship would certainly be a relaxing way to re-visit those places. Our other concern is that we have not tried Princess and have only cruised on Holland America. They also have a NZ-Aus route that is nearly the same as Princess, but again it is a longer cruise. We are trying to visit NZ family and squeeze in a cruise within a 3 week period. We'd prefer a 7 nite cruise to a longer one since we'll have more time to spend with family, but we don't want to sacrifice a good onboard experience. (Our only P & O experience was in England and that was so long ago we hardly remember it).

Does anyone have any specific advice or suggestions about the itinerary - or either Princess or P & O versus Holland America? We are looking at one of the suites (mini-suites???) on Pacific Star, but it looks more expensive than a similar cabin on Princess. We could really use some help.
Thanks!!!

There is a cruise next year on the Sapphire Princess. Departs from Sydney next year for 12 nights visiting Melbourne, Hobart and places around New Zealand. Consult a travel agent they are there to help you with your holiday!

[Ransome]

If you've only cruised on HAL before, then you will likely find the P&O Australia product more down market using older ships (Pacific Star is ex-Carnival and ex-Costa). IMHO Princess would be a better option. The P&O UK product is not the same as P&O Australia.

However if it's the destinations that are more important, go for Pacific Dazzler.

[Scrumpy]

thanks for your help. We've expanded the search and thrown another cruise line into the mix. I'm hopeful that we will make a decision soon.
Thanks again!