PurpleTraveller

Sunday December 3 - Sea Day Overcast Skies 63°F/17°C We woke to a bit of a gloomy day with clouds and a bit cool. While cloudy it did not rain though the wind picked up later in the day and the Promenade and upper decks were closed. We headed up to the Horizon Court Buffet where it was busy. We grabbed our breakfast and went to the aft outdoor deck to eat. After breakfast we went to the Destination Lecture on Fiordland, Dunedin and Christchurch with Leeanne. After the lecture we stopped in the Piazza to watch the Line Dancing class then quickly popped into the cabin to ring the Dining line to organise to have the same table each evening. This was no problem except to have the window table we had the previous evening we had to eat earlier at 5.00pm. We decided to try this to see how the earlier time worked for us and it will allow us to get to the shows in the Theatre. At 11.00am was the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet in the Wedding Chapel on Riviera deck. This was organised by azbirdmom and about a dozen Cruise Critic members attended. Also attending were a number of officers. It was lovely to meet the people who had been chatting online and thanks go to the organiser. At 12.30pm we went to the Allegro Dining Room for lunch. For some unknown reason we had never been to the Main Dining Room for lunch on a Sea Day on our eleven previous cruises. Possibly because we have been lucky enough to have fine Sea Days and we've been spending our time out on the Sun deck. Anyway this experience was a revelation to us. We had a lovely lunch and great service. It was so much more relaxed and pleasant than the buffet! We will definitely be back on future non sunny Sea Days. After lunch we returned to our cabin where I rang guest services to get our safe fixed. At the same time my husband spoke to our steward because our TV was unable to be used because it had an error message showing on a black screen. Our steward made a call and shortly after our TV was rebooted and was working again. A couple of minutes later a Supervisor come to the cabin and tried unsuccessfully to open the safe. She apologised and said that she would have to organise a workperson to come later in the afternoon to open the safe. We had a lazy afternoon and watched a movie. At 3.35pm a two workpeople and two Supervisors came to our cabin to open the safe. After a lot of effort they managed to open the safe and I was able to get our valuables out. Unfortunately in the process the front electronic panel of the safe was broken and they had to go and find a new part. At 4.40pm they came back and took 20 minutes to install the new electronic panel. We went to the Concerto Dining Room for a pleasant dinner and chatted to the lovely people at the next table. After dinner we went to the Princess Theatre to see Dale Burridge perform. Dale Burridge is an Australian singer who has performed in stage shows such as Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables. He has a great voice and we enjoyed his performance. After the show we returned to our cabin and had a relaxed evening watching a movie. We moved clocks forward another hour overnight. We received a form to order shuttle tickets to Christchurch from Lyttleton to either be dropped into a box at the Shore Excursion Desk or the tickets could be ordered through the Medallion App, Stateroom TV or from portals throughout the ship. Today's Princess Patter

Saturday December 2 - Embarkation Sydney Part 3 We sailed at 5.40pm and were able to watch the view of the Opera House and Sydney as we left the harbour. We returned to the cabin to find that we still had no towels or luggage so we went for dinner at the Concerto Dining Room where we had a reservation for 6.00pm. We were seated at a lovely table next to a window and had Richard as our Waiter and Santosh as our Assistant Waiter. Robert the Restaurant Manager came by to introduce himself and when he was informed that I have a food allergy he organised for me to see the following days menu do that I could preorder my meal and also checked with the Chef that what I had ordered was suitable. We were so pleased with the great service we asked to have the same table for the rest of the cruise. I spoke to the hostess to keep same table but she asked us to ring the Dining line after 10.00am the following day. We returned to our cabin at 8.00pm to find that we still had no towels or luggage. I went and found our steward to get some towels. When I asked about the malfunctioning safe he told me that he would get his Supervisor to help with safe. Our luggage arrived at 9.15pm so I was able to unpack. At 10.00pm we sailed into a storm with heavy rain, hail, thunder and spectacular lightening. We moved the clocks an hour forward overnight. Here is the Princess Patter and some of the information we received in our cabin.

Saturday December 2 - Embarkation Sydney Part 2 We then went to check into our muster station at Princess Live and got a snack from the International Cafe. At 4.00pm everyone was given access to their cabins. We watched the Safety video and realised that we had no towels in the bathroom. Then I set the code on our safe and foolishly didn't test opening the safe after setting the code before putting our valuables in. When I tried to open the safe an error code showed in the panel. Knowing that everyone was very busy we decided to wait to try and get it fixed and went up to the Sun Deck to look around.

Saturday December 2 - Embarkation Sydney We currently live in country NSW so drove to Sydney the day before the cruise and stayed overnight with relatives. On the day of the cruise we were supposed to catch the train into the city but the trains were unexpectedly not running. Fortunately there were replacement buses and when our bus arrived it was actually a coach so our luggage was able to go into the luggage storage under the coach. Half an hour later we arrived at Wynyard Station where it was a short ten minutes walk to Circular Quay and the Overseas Passenger Terminal. Even with the unexpected changes this was easier than what we usually have to do when we fly half way around the world to embark on a cruise. A short walk from Circular Quay train station is the Overseas Passenger Terminal where Royal Princess was docked. This would have to be one of the best docking locations in one of the best harbours in the world. There are great views of the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the harbour. Boarding time was originally between 12.30pm and 3.00pm but two days before the cruise we received an email notifying us of delayed boarding to give the ship extra cleaning because of some cases of gastrointestinal illness on the previous cruise. Boarding was changed to be from 2.00pm and to be onboard by 4.30pm. We did not want a repeat of the terrible queues that we experienced in Vancouver in June so chose to arrive at 3.00pm after the early rush. This proved to be a fairly good plan. Bag drop took a few seconds but we were then in a queue for 30 minutes to get to the check in desk. We were able to use the Priority lane which saved us a fair bit of time. We checked in, picked up our medallions, went through security and we were on board in a total of 40 minutes. We went to our cabin C535 and dropped off our hand luggage. We had originally booked a midship BW Obstructed Balcony on Emerald deck with a larger balcony. A week before the cruise we were unexpectedly given an upgrade to a mid-aft BB Balcony on Caribe deck. This was despite having "No Upgrade" on the booking and the first time we had received an upgrade after eleven previous Princess cruises. While a bit disappointed to not have the larger balcony, it was a nice upgrade to a higher deck. This is the view looking directly down from the balcony.

Itinerary We have been to all of the ports except Bay of Islands previously and travelled around the North Island on land tours. When we originally booked the cruise we were supposed to be going to Wellington but about seven months before the cruise we were notified that the port had been changed to Picton. We had chosen the itinerary because it was going to Wellington rather than Picton because we prefer Wellington as a port stop but Picton is still a great port with a lovely sail in and sail away.

This is a review of my 13 day cruise from Sydney to New Zealand on Royal Princess. We are an Australian couple in our late fifties and mid sixties who love to cruise and travel. We usually do one big trip a year for four to six weeks to the northern hemisphere during the Australian winter and like to combine a cruise with land travel. We normally don't do many shore excursions and prefer to DIY when possible. Sometimes we add an extra trip or cruise during the year like this one. We have cruised to New Zealand previously in 2016 on Diamond Princess and 2018 on Majestic Princess. On both of those cruises we had a great time but unfortunately we missed out on going into the Fjordland National Park to see Milford, Dusky and Doubtful Sounds due to bad weather. We booked this cruise in the hope that this would be "third time lucky" to see the Sounds. This was our twelfth Princess cruise and we had previously sailed on Royal Princess for 21 days in the Mediterranean in 2016. Royal Princess is a beautiful ship and we were pleased to sail on her again.

I book in Australia and for any cruise outside of Australia the cruise price is in AUD but excursions are in USD.

I just received a free upgrade from a midship BW Obstructed Balcony on Royal Princess to a mid-aft BB Balcony despite my booking being marked "No Upgrade". My cruise is this Saturday and I received the upgrade on Friday last week. I have never received a free upgrade in twelve Princess cruises and this was the first cruise I didn't want an upgrade. So free upgrades can still happen.

Usually you can debark from 7.00am onwards (depending on your arrival time) unless there is a delay. It takes about an hour or longer depending on the traffic to get to Fiumicino Airport and you need to be at the airport three hours before an international flight. A 10.00am flight would not be possible and an 11.00am flight would be very tight but possible if you have prearranged a transfer to the airport and everything goes to plan with no delays, though may be more than a little stressful. I would look for a flight after midday to allow for delays and to reduce the stress level.

Not all sailings are included in the sales. I have two cruises booked for June 2024 and one has nothing on sale beyond the normal 5 - 15% pre-cruise saving and the other has a few excursions at 45 or 50% off and the alcohol drink packages are 45% off.

The most important thing to do in Kotor is to be awake for the beautiful sail in. It is one of the best in the world. You will see the magnificent scenery on the way out but the morning light is very different to the afternoon light. You do not need to do a tour in Kotor as the beautiful old city is just across the road from the dock and has a pedestrian underpass so you don't even have to cross the road. The old city is small and has lots of lovely old buildings, churches, restaurants and shops. You can climb the old walls to the St John Fortress for amazing views of the city and bay, however it is a very steep climb and not for the faint hearted. You can get a boat tour or the local bus to Perast and visit Our Lady of the Rocks Church and island which you sail past on the way in to Kotor. There is also a Hop On Hop Off bus that goes along the coastline. https://hoponhopoff.me/en/ Visiting Budva is also a popular tour to do either through the ship or Viator.

I went in June 2019 and we had good weather, waterfalls were flowing, no crowds, very few children on board, very long days (midnight sun), pretty towns, magnificent scenery and all over a wonderful cruise. Mt Dalsnibba, Geiranger Brekkefossen Waterfall, Flam Alesund Bergen

Thank you for your recommendation. I looked at their website and their tours look excellent. I am booked on a cruise for September 2025 going to these three ports and will keep an eye out for when their tours open for booking. I have also saved the link. Thanks again.

On my September 2025 cruise the "Best of the Golden Circle" tour in Reykjavik was USD229.95 until this week it went up to USD244.95. It looks like your tour was listed at the incorrect price but I would still be unimpressed that they simply cancelled your reservation rather than sending you an email and explaining that it was an error.

When I asked on our Alaska cruise on Crown Princess in June I was told that they had run out of the blue bags and that they would not be getting any more.

I think the number of passengers can vary. In 2022 in Kotor, Montenegro our "Small Group Castelnuovo and Fort Mare Fortress" excursion had 29 passengers which is not what I would consider a small group. When in Messina Sicily two days later our standard "In the Godfather's Footsteps" excursion had 28 passengers.

It must depend on the cruise. Of my two cruises in June 2024 one doesn't have the excursions on sale other than the standard 5% to 15%. The other has 45% off. One has drink packages on 45% sale and the other has 20%.

I agree that the distance may be small for some and large for others. I am keeping a close eye on what is happening in the region as I have a two week land tour booked to Turkey for next June. I have two Celebrity cruises after the land trip but at the moment my flights to and from Australia are to Istanbul.

We always stay at Premier Inn West Quay when in Southampton. It is a no frills but clean, comfortable and reasonably priced hotel that is across the road from West Quay Shopping Centre where there are lots of shops and restaurants and a short taxi ride to the cruise terminals. It is also walking distance to the train station where there are direct trains to Winchester and Portsmouth which are both great day trips to do. We hired a car from Europcar, which is also walking distance from the hotel, to go on a day trip to the New Forest and Dorset Coast which was wonderful.

Excellent! I have had two trips to Portugal cancelled (2020 Covid and 2022 tour cancelled) but I'll get there one day. I hope you have a wonderful time. So sorry to hear about your personal life change and hope all goes well for you into the future. A trip to Portugal is something great to look forward to.

Getting the train from Termini in Rome to Civitavecchia is really easy and inexpensive. We usually get a train later in the morning so that it is not crowded. Cost in 2022 was €4.60 each. When arriving in Civitavecchia the shuttle to the ships are right outside the station and cost €6.00 each this year. If you are paying on the bus you pay in cash. There are different shuttles for the different ships so check the sign on the bus or ask the driver to make sure you are going to the correct ship. If your ship is docked close to the port entrance you could walk if you don't mind dealing with your luggage.

I haven't done a ship excursion in Santorini but on my two times there on Princess (in 2014 and 2016) there were seperate tenders operating for the ship excursions to Athinios and for independent travellers to the old port at the same time. It could be different now. Also on the only ship excursion at a tender port that I have done in Europe on Celebrity (2022 in Kotor) the excursion time was the time we left the ship. Of course both of these could be different for different cruise lines, ports and circumstances.

I couldn't agree more! For us as Australians crew appreciation is not included in the packages so putting those aside we had a bill of USD139 which converts to AUD217 for our 11 day Alaska cruise in June. This covered one day of internet and drinks for the entire cruise. The cost for the Plus package would have been AUD65 x 11 x 2 = AUD1430 which converts to USD915. Our saving was AUD1213 or USD776.

Yes that is correct. The ship excursions tender to Athinios port where there is road access for the buses. Everyone else gets tendered to the old port where there is no road access.

I have always had very comfortable mattresses on previous Princess cruises until my last cruise on Crown Princess. It was the most terrible lumpy, saggy and uncomfortable mattress I have ever had the misfortune to try and sleep on. When I complained about the state of the mattress I was told nothing could be done as it already had a mattress topper on it. It needed to have been replaced long ago. It seems that there are some not so good mattresses which is a real shame as no-one expects to pay to go on a cruise and get an uncomfortable bed.