Pacific Princess - May 17th Pacific Theatre Review

The 24-day "Islands of the Pacific Theatre" cruise on the Pacific Princess was one of our most memorable. If there were glitches, the passengers were often willing to ignore them, as we were all having such a good time.

John, my partner, and I, opted for a three-day pre-cruise stay at the Royal Hawaiian. It is truly like stepping back into the past, when Waikiki consisted of the "pink palace" and the Moana. Even some of the veterans who spent some of their leave during the war, at this venerable landmark, had fond memories. It does, in retrospect seem a bit overpriced in that at several hundred dollars per night per person, it doesn't even include breakfast. But there are lots of places to enjoy your meals nearby. (Our personal favorite is Duke's) We decided to begin our exploration of World War II in the Pacific at the place it all began...Pearl Harbor. No one who has been to Pearl Harbor cannot be moved by the sight of all those brave heroes of the different branches of the military, who lost their lives that fateful Sunday morning, December 7, 1941.

Our three days in Honolulu came to a close, when a bus pulled up to the front of the Royal Hawaiian, and we were whisked off to the Aloha Tower, where the Pacific Princess was berthed.

As we are platinum members of the Captain's Club, and our documents had been filled out online prior to the trip, we literally sped through the line, posed for the obligatory welcome aboard shot, and were in our mini-suite 5 minutes later. John had opted for a mini-suite because of the length of the cruise, and he felt that it would give us more room than just a cabin with a veranda. It was a wise choice, since we often spent the afternoon sitting out on our balcony looking out to the passing sea.

We had stateroom #8033 on the port side. Our cabin steward Nello, kept our cabin spotless throughout the voyage, even when we had left it mess.

Something needs to be said about the food. It was often quite good, and there was always an abundance of whatever you wanted. But the quality of the food has deteriorated in the past decade. Tableside favorites such as Caesar salad, Bananas Foster, and Fettuccine Alfredo, are on the menu, but these once tasty gourmet gems are more like what you would find at a coffee shop. Also, in the buffet in Horizon Court, the sugar-free desserts are kept under the counter in the refrigerator, rather than out among the other desserts. The sugar-free desserts were excellent and sufficiently varied during the course of the trip that very little was repeated. But it would certainly be diner friendly so that those who wanted a sugar-free dessert didn't first have to seek out a staff member who could provide that treat.

The dinning room was generally okay. The staff in that area appears to have been lessened, because there was often a noticeable gap between courses, and the serving staff seemed to have allotted more tables in their particular stations. Sometimes our waitperson mixed up our orders, or in some instances, totally forgot to serve a particular course to one of the diners. But the food, though in measured servings, never allowed anyone to leave the table while still hungry. Only on one evening, was a steak that John ordered so tough and gristle-filled, that e was unable to eat it. I had planned a birthday celebration for John at the end of the cruise, but nothing was done (such as a special cake with singing waiters, etc.). But these were minor lapses.

The Italian Restaurant has a huge and overwhelming variety of dishes that are presented to you. By the time one has sampled all of the various antipasto offerings, one is too sated to attempt one's entree.

The sterling Steak House was quite good, and we dined there on three occasions. The prime rib was succulent and savory, and the steaks were a definite cut above similar fare in the main dining room.

The entertainment varied from good, to passable, to "eeks, this is really bad". Beryl Davis, a lovely vocalist from the big band era, was wonderful, and proved to be a delightful interviewee in two programs in which she reminisced abbot her career with the bands, as well as her life in Hollywood. Michael Banjo Young, who never fails to please his audiences, further delighted us. There were five production shows, and though several were familiar from previous cruises, the highly talented (primarily Australian) cast of singers/dancers, were wonderfully enthusiastic. In addition to the Pacific Princess Orchestra, there were two other musical ensembles, Bliss and Thelma's Trio. Word must also be made of Kemble, the Casino Bar pianist. Every night he held court, playing whatever passengers requested, as well as providing a running commentary on the music, and amusing wit. This classically trained pianist, proved versatile in several genres from Broadway to popular song, and time-tested standards...all this and a good singing voice! I certainly hope that he'll be on our cruise this October/November on the Tahitian Princess!

Sammi Baker was the cruise director, and certainly one of the more capable we have enjoyed in our quarter century of cruising. She was quite approachable, and has earned the loyalty of her entertainment staff, all of who spoke highly of her. She planned a wide variety of fun activities, trivia quizzes, sports competitions, as well as the regular slate of programs. We had a hilarious crossing of the equator ceremony, a spirited boat-building contest (which our dinning room table won!), as well as an ambitious schedule of lectures by experts from academia as well as the personal memories of Admiral Wilson, who saw service on many battlefields in the Pacific as a navy flier.

We did have an exciting afternoon midway through our cruise. Thee ship suddenly lost power! We were having lunch up in the Horizon Court, when suddenly, the ship's lights shut down, and the engines quit. The captain reassured everyone that the problem would be investigated and remedied as soon as possible, and during the course of the afternoon gave the passengers frequent updates. We were several days from the nearest port, so it was our good fortune that no one panicked. The repairs to the fuel filters were made, and within four hours, we were once again using the generators. The entertainers all pitched in to perform in the various venues on the ship, so as to calm the nervous and take our minds off our current predicament. The captain and his crew were commendable during this period without toilet facilities, electricity, and even more crucial--air conditioning!

All good things do come to an end, and so we bade our farewells to the Pacific Princess on Friday morning, and then took a motor coach from Osaka, to the nearby city of Kyoto, as part of the post-cruise package we had booked through Princess. I'm glad we did that, as we were able to enjoy some of the hospitality to Americans for which Japan is known. We stayed for two nights at the Rihga Royal Hotel in Kyoto, enjoyed an entire day of sightseeing, and even had time for some shopping. Japan is not inexpensive, and the cost of meals and libations may shock you.

Sunday afternoon we were driven to Kansai Osaka International Airport. Would I take this cruise again?...oh yes, in a heartbeat!

John and Andy

PS: We meet several wonderful cruise critic members. We celebrated happy hour almost daily to recount our many adventures and relax before a busy evening at sea.

Thanks for the review - sounds like you found Pacific Princess as charming as I had. Sorry to hear about the issues you found with the food in the dining room. I thought that Pacific Princess was a step above the rest of the fleet when I traveled her - hopefully, they're not cutting back quality based on the number of passengers on board. The low number of passengers made interaction with staff quite nice when I was on board.

We did notice lapses in the dining room service...that seems to be fleet wide and it seems that the wait staff have more tables to cover than they can effectively handle...another cost saving "idea" I guess.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise...

Andy - Thank you for the review of the cruise. It gives us an idea of what to expect (I guess not too much) on the ship! We did, after all, pick this cruise partly for the small ship experience - and we certainly know this is not the Silver Wind! I'm sure we will enjoy whatever the Pacific Princess. has to offer.

John promised to post about Port experiences - I am anxiously waiting for this information in order that we may plan our Shorex with some idea of what to expect.

The Princess tours offered seem pretty "thin" - I guess not much to tour on these islands ??- but hopefully we will be able to get the most from our visits. I would rather not spend hours on a Princess Bus just riding around looking at local scenery....and military cemetaries!!

Also, hoping we will have interesting lectures aboard - Did you find that to be true on your cruise?? I am looking forward to some interesting History - retold!!

Thanks again --waiting anxiously for more Port intensive information....Thanks, Renee :D

We did a variation of your cruise, but on Sky Princess, San Francisco to Sydney, 27 nights, back in Sep 00, and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Being very interested in WW2 history, I was in heaven. We had a wonderful guest lecturer aboard, Bob Reynolds, a Brit who is on the Pacific Battlefields Commission. I believe he is also connected with a travel group in Novato CA which specializes in Pacific WW2 History.

We were on (new) Pacific Princess this past November, Papeete to Sydney, and enjoyed it very much.

Seriously considered taking the same cruise as you were on - but it didn't jell.

Michael

Thanks ever so much for the review - i'm glad you enjoyed the cruise!

Just two things - who was the captain and do you mind posting his bio - it would be a great help! :D :D

Thanks

Andrew.

Andrew - Are you going on the July 25 Pacific Princess Cruise??? (Same itinerary - reverse)

Thanks for the review! My husband and I will be on the July cruise and we were wondering if the cruise director has red hair and was she on another cruise line last year? We had a Sammy as our cruise director on a cruise to the Amazon River and we hope this is the same person.

Again thanks and we are looking forward to our next cruise!!

Mary Broad