Which ship should we sail on to NZ...

[golfer76]

...next year sometime?!? Radiance, Voyager or Sun Princess?!?

 

Decisions, decisions!! Sell 'em to me people!! C'mon!! :D

 

Keep in mind I'm a sporty type who loves their pools and using the other types of sporty facilities onboard!! I also like my food...I have a simpler palate than most (pizza or chips anyone?!?) too although I don't mind the fancy dining with the missus either.

 

Please note...I will hold you all personally responsible if your choice turns out to be crap!! :p:D

[thied]

do you wish to fly to the where there cruise ship departs from?

[Flipper133]

...next year sometime?!? Radiance, Voyager or Sun Princess?!?

 

Decisions, decisions!! Sell 'em to me people!! C'mon!! :D

 

Keep in mind I'm a sporty type who loves their pools and using the other types of sporty facilities onboard!! I also like my food...I have a simpler palate than most (pizza or chips anyone?!?) too although I don't mind the fancy dining with the missus either.

 

Please note...I will hold you all personally responsible if your choice turns out to be crap!! :p:D

 

You have no choice...

 

Go on the Sun Princess

 

1. It departs from Brisbane so eliminates problems with baggage that you would have if you needed to go to Sydney to depart

 

2. The ship is the right size (77,000 tonnes) not too big not too small

 

3. The Sun Princess is Ozzified... local A$ and Ozzie power points and NO TIPPING

 

4. Plenty of food variety from Pizza to burgers to buffet to fine dining

 

5. Has a gym to sweat off frustrations and extra kilos, and a massage "parlour"....but of course only for theraputic reasons :D

 

6. There is mini golf and a golf simulator + water sports and people watching!

 

If you dont enjoy the Sun Princess I will shout you a ticket to the cricket !

 

cheers

[Aus Traveller]

There are several factors to consider -

1. Which ship you like and your age group. Cruises to NZ attract an older age group than the Pacific Island cruises and shorter cruises attract younger people.

 

2. Some ships do have more sporty or deck activities, for example P & O have more than Princess. I am not sure about Royal Caribbean.

 

3. Do you want to do a round trip and not fly either to NZ or return? Less bother for a round trip, less cost and also no weight restrictions.

 

4. I see you are from SE Q'ld. Consider the Pacific Dawn or Sun Princess sailing from Brisbane. You don't have to pay for airfares, have the hassle of getting to and from the airport and you also don't have a weight limit on luggage.

 

5. I think a ship operating in AUD removes one bit of bother, so P & O and Princess would fit the bill here. (pardon the pun)

 

6. P & O and Princess both have gyms (free). Massages etc. are expensive.

 

7. Look at prices. There are some great specials available at the moment.

 

8. Food is good on all of them. I can't really pick which would be better. If you want room service food then Princess has the advantage of that being available at no extra charge whereas P & O is $3.

[golfer76]

Thanks for the reply so far peoples!! Sorry...I was sort of half joking!! I do have some idea about the ships etc and what they offer. I have cruised with both P&O and RCL before so have a good idea what they are about. I've never cruised with Princess before...I'd imagine it's similar in standard to RCL...a bit above P&O. ;)

 

I'd probably prefer a bigger ship to be honest - more things to see and do, so I was leaning towards Radiance or the even larger Voyager!! The Sun Princess does appeal however since it leaves from Brissy instead of having to catch flights down to Sydney. I don't know what to do...arrrrrgh!! Guess I'll just have to keep an eye on prices!! ;):D

[robinph]

Thanks for the reply so far peoples!! Sorry...I was sort of half joking!! I do have some idea about the ships etc and what they offer. I have cruised with both P&O and RCL before so have a good idea what they are about. I've never cruised with Princess before...I'd imagine it's similar in standard to RCL...a bit above P&O. ;)

 

I'd probably prefer a bigger ship to be honest - more things to see and do, so I was leaning towards Radiance or the even larger Voyager!! The Sun Princess does appeal however since it leaves from Brissy instead of having to catch flights down to Sydney. I don't know what to do...arrrrrgh!! Guess I'll just have to keep an eye on prices!! ;):D

 

Also the itinerary is to be considered Princess offer a good port intensive cruise which enables you to see a good section of the east coast of NZ, we are booked on the Voyager to NZ but their itinerary is no where as good, only going to sus out the ship more than anything, we like both Princess and RCCL as far as their ships and service are concerned. Traveeling from your home Port has to be an advantage. Whichever you choose hope you enjoy it. Robin:)

[MargoK]

Thanks for the reply so far peoples!! Sorry...I was sort of half joking!! I do have some idea about the ships etc and what they offer. I have cruised with both P&O and RCL before so have a good idea what they are about. I've never cruised with Princess before...I'd imagine it's similar in standard to RCL...a bit above P&O. ;)

 

I'd probably prefer a bigger ship to be honest - more things to see and do, so I was leaning towards Radiance or the even larger Voyager!! The Sun Princess does appeal however since it leaves from Brissy instead of having to catch flights down to Sydney. I don't know what to do...arrrrrgh!! Guess I'll just have to keep an eye on prices!! ;):D

 

 

Depending on when you are wanting to cruise there isthe Diamond Princess is much larger than the Sun/Dawn/Sea. Lovely ship, loved every minute last year

Or Celebrity - we are on the Century this year but next year the Soliste is coming down under.

You will be spoilt for choice

[golfer76]

Also the itinerary is to be considered Princess offer a good port intensive cruise which enables you to see a good section of the east coast of NZ, we are booked on the Voyager to NZ but their itinerary is no where as good, only going to sus out the ship more than anything, we like both Princess and RCCL as far as their ships and service are concerned. Traveeling from your home Port has to be an advantage. Whichever you choose hope you enjoy it. Robin:)

 

Thanks for that Robin...yes, I noticed the itinerary difference between Voyager and the Sun Princess. The Radiance out of Sydney has a similar itinerary to the Sun from Brissy by the looks of it. :)

 

The Radiance was supposed to be the first ship my wife and I were going to cruise on, but we got itchy feet and decided to do a cruise a year earlier than expected - on the Rhapsody lol.

 

Which ever ship we choose, I don't think we come out of it with any negatives. ;):D

[golfer76]

Depending on when you are wanting to cruise there isthe Diamond Princess is much larger than the Sun/Dawn/Sea. Lovely ship, loved every minute last year

 

Or Celebrity - we are on the Century this year but next year the Soliste is coming down under.

 

You will be spoilt for choice

 

Yes...the Diamond Princess looks like a beautiful ship indeed. Doesn't really do the NZ itinerary the wife and I want though unfortunately. But how knows...stranger things have happened!! ;):D

 

As for the Solstice well that just looks a bit too posh for me lol. I like the idea of real grass to putt on though lol!! :D

[whimsy7]

we went on the Sun princess to NZ and really enjoyed it. great staff and also the people we met were very nice.

@ Flipper133....did not know there was golf putting onboard.....missed the chance to improve my putting!!

we're going on the Rhapsody in 2012 and have noticed some small differences in the cruise lines.....

Princess has 24 hour Horizons for the insomniacs/those who like to eat at 2 am...lol. Royal Caribbean Windjammer is not 24 hours....closes at midnight (?)

Princess food options in main dining room were amazing. Rhapsody has fewer choices in main dining room ....that said, the food on Rhapsody will probably be just as good as on Sun Princess

able to bring own soft drinks onboard Princess but not on Rhapsody...this was not important to us but might be for some passengers

we enjoyed the afternoon tea in the main dining room on Sun Princess. unsure if there is afternoon tea in main dining room on board Rhapsody

one thing that the Rhapsody does have is a rock climbing wall.....good for golfer76.

also read that the gyms on the Royal Caribbean ships are very good. yet, we found the gym on the Sun Princess to be well fitted out.

we would cruise with Princess again. thought we'd try the Royal Caribbean to see the difference on another cruise company.

after all these discussions, it might come down to the best deal on offer!!

[golfer76]

we went on the Sun princess to NZ and really enjoyed it. great staff and also the people we met were very nice.

@ Flipper133....did not know there was golf putting onboard.....missed the chance to improve my putting!!

we're going on the Rhapsody in 2012 and have noticed some small differences in the cruise lines.....

Princess has 24 hour Horizons for the insomniacs/those who like to eat at 2 am...lol. Royal Caribbean Windjammer is not 24 hours....closes at midnight (?)

Princess food options in main dining room were amazing. Rhapsody has fewer choices in main dining room ....that said, the food on Rhapsody will probably be just as good as on Sun Princess

able to bring own soft drinks onboard Princess but not on Rhapsody...this was not important to us but might be for some passengers

we enjoyed the afternoon tea in the main dining room on Sun Princess. unsure if there is afternoon tea in main dining room on board Rhapsody

one thing that the Rhapsody does have is a rock climbing wall.....good for golfer76.

also read that the gyms on the Royal Caribbean ships are very good. yet, we found the gym on the Sun Princess to be well fitted out.

we would cruise with Princess again. thought we'd try the Royal Caribbean to see the difference on another cruise company.

after all these discussions, it might come down to the best deal on offer!!

 

 

On the Rhapsody - the Windjammer is not open till that late, but there is the Solarium cafe next to the adults only pool which is open till 2am - serving pizza, fries, hotdogs and hamburgers with a few desserts on offer too from memory. Can you tell where I used to spend my time at midnight when I was on her lol?!? ;):D

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Horizon Court is no longer open 24 hours but you can get food from room service.

[golfer76]

Horizon Court is no longer open 24 hours but you can get food from room service.

 

Well there you go!! It's not much different to Rhapsody then, foodwise I guess?!? ;):)

[whimsy7]

@golfer76,

in the main dining room on Princess, we had a choice of 5 entrees, 2 soups, 1 salad, 6 mains, 5 desserts, 2 ice-creams in addition to the normal list of 7 mains that were on offer!!

might be wrong about the exact figures but you get the idea that there were so many choices! talk about food, food, food!! (no, we did not pig out at the meals but it was amazing that there were so many choices).

from my research, the Rhapsody offers five choices each within the entree, mains and dessert sections. encouraging news is that I've heard that the food is good.

I'm sure that you'll have a great time regardless of which cruise line you go on....hey, it's a cruise....how can you not enjoy yourself?

[robinph]

Flipper133....did not know there was golf putting onboard.....missed the chance to improve my putting

 

 

We have been on both Sun & Dawn Princess twice and have never seen a golf putting, only the simulator, they do have putting and chipping contests around the atrium and other areas of the ship for a bit of fun though. Robin:)

[golfer76]

Flipper133....did not know there was golf putting onboard.....missed the chance to improve my putting

 

 

We have been on both Sun & Dawn Princess twice and have never seen a golf putting, only the simulator, they do have putting and chipping contests around the atrium and other areas of the ship for a bit of fun though. Robin:)

 

That's what I thought. There's no mention of a dedicated putt putt onboard...only the golf simulators. ;):)

[Kiwicruiser25]

Hi, Was looking at cruising on Diamond Princess Syd-Auck or Auck-Syd and was told that it is $US on board. (Not by Princess and I didn't bother to ring them to confirm this, but might pay to check it out.)

I think last year Diamond Princess cruised frequently around NZ but due to the Sea Princess coming in, Diamond is only doing a couple of cruises this season. I love the Sun/Dawn Princess the most, but whichever one you choose I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Cheers

[markarmel]

We were lucky enough to do a 7 night cruise on Radiance 4 years ago.We just recently did a 12 night mediteranean cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam (HAL Ship) and my wife and I both agree that Radiance was a superior ship even though the Nieuw Amsterdam is only 1 year old. Voyager also looks really good. RCL ships certainly have the WOW factor about them,we look forward to getting back on Radiance or Voyager at some stage soon.

[golfer76]

We were lucky enough to do a 7 night cruise on Radiance 4 years ago.We just recently did a 12 night mediteranean cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam (HAL Ship) and my wife and I both agree that Radiance was a superior ship even though the Nieuw Amsterdam is only 1 year old. Voyager also looks really good. RCL ships certainly have the WOW factor about them,we look forward to getting back on Radiance or Voyager at some stage soon.

 

Radiance was supposed to be the first ship we were going to cruise on, but we got itchy feet and decided to do a cruise a year earlier on her little sister the Rhapsody...beautiful ship indeed, although I did miss the golf related activities the Radiance offers lol. ;):D