Brian Meads-Barlow – Cruisescene

SHADED CHARACTER DENOTES HALF STAR

Embarkation/disembarkation                              
Presentation of ship                                          
Hygiene/Safety standards                                  
Overall crew/staff ratings                                    
Entertainment/activities                                      
Restaurant/food quality                                     
Stateroom/attendant                                         
Kid’s centres/activities                                        
Ports of call                                                      
Shore excursions                                              
Overall value for money                                    
Did this cruise meet my expectations?                
Overall cruise experience                                  

SUMMARY OVERVIEW

'3rd time aboard Sun Princess, and I did notice some strong operational differences.

Having spent the southern winter in Japan, Sun Princess repositioned herself in Australia over summer, serving passengers with some exciting South Pacific itineraries in which ours was probably one of the best on offer.

Crew actually appeared to be excited to work down-under; somewhat relaxed. A little too relaxed in some cases perhaps.

The ship showed all the hallmarks of having previously operated in the Japan area (and Asia) and to some degree, it was a little detrimental.

Overall however, the cruise was very satisfying and crew in the majority of cases were very attentive.

This cruise was a 13 day voyage ex Sydney, taking in Lifou (Loyalty Islands), Port Denarau, Suva, Savsavu, Dravuni Island (Fiji) and Noumea.

EMBARKATION/DISEMBARKATION - WHITE BAY CRUISE TERMINAL

White Bay (otherwise described as the White Elephant of ports because of it's remoteness) is a surprisingly well organised terminal.

Embarkation was delayed due to a sanitary program performed by the ship but once arriving, we were checked in and aboard in no time. Check-in staff were friendly and professional as were everyone else involved in the embarkation process.

Disembarkation was just as simple. Passengers were allocated time slots during which they disembarked and we were kerb-side with minutes of having cleared ship's security.

PRESENTATION OF THE SHIP

CLEAN IS THE WORD, our first impression aboard Sun Princess was that Crew takes great pride in the presentation of the ship and it pretty much appeared this presentation was upheld throughout the voyage.

Painting, lacquering was ongoing but at an affordable pace so passengers were never inconvenienced by areas being closed off for service.

In a nutshell? TIDY and well maintained. A pleasure to call her home for nearly 2 weeks.

HYGIENE & SAFETY STANDARDS

Having been completely disinfected prior to boarding, Sun Princess' sanitary standards (and sign-wriiten tips for better hygiene) were very good. Typically, you are greeted to each dining venue with a squirt to the hands and encouraged to wash hands as often, any other time, as you can.

Personal hygiene was high on the agenda and this continued throughout the voyage.

Safety standards were good; expect the mandatory muster and safety awareness campaigns throughout the cruise.

OVERALL STAFF/CREW RATINGS

CABIN ATTENDANT - Satisfactory. I can't really say our attendant did anything other than just service the room daily. If you're looking for someone who'll ask "Would you like a water jug or ice delivered daily", turn towels into creative animals or discuss with you any entitlement you might have with Captain's Circle statuses, it didn't happen with our guy. But he was pleasnat all the same.

BAR STAFF - Satifactory. Again, no one struck me as being super efficient. In fact, some appeared to be complacent in there approach to customer service in that mistakes were made with drink orders and some passengers were made felt they were street mates; eg. "What can I get you mate?"

There were however some attendants who took their role a little more seriously than others. In particular, European staff. They tended to provide a better and more professional approach than some of their counterparts.

RESTAURANT STAFF - Excellent, in all cases.

Staff in both the main dining room and specialty restaurants; cafes, pizza & Sushi restaurants were outstanding.

Culinary has become a huge attraction in cruising and it's little wonder why. These members of Crew really do know how to spoil you and they made dining a real treat.

CRUISE DIRECTOR - Very good | SENIOR NAV CREW - Excellent

CUSTOMER SERVICE DESK - Professional in every way

ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES

In general, entertainment was very good. The Princess Entertainment Crew were outstanding as were the number of artists who performed around the ship's venues, however I was a little disappointed with the ship's DJ and certain choices of tracks that drew a negative reaction from passgengers.

Activities were a'plenty, always something to do. Activities were managed professionally and passengers were more than adequately entertained.

GIFT SHOP - SHOPPING - Average, by comparison of what could be available.

RESTAURANTS & FOOD QUALITY

Very impressive. The taste was as good as the presenation, and that was excellent.

Although meal choices on main restaurant menus were lacking, the quality of meals served were outstanding. Clean, succulent, correct temperatures and timely. This went hand in hand with the excellent table service we received.

A pitfall however (according to taste), there were way too many Japanese dishes offered, 1-2 each night... when you felt like sinking your teeth into something more challenging like a steak or lamb cutlet.

Cafes; burger bar (quick serve alternative snack or lunch dining) - Excellent.

Buffet - Satisfactory. The buffet had been refurbished recently and servery areas appeared to be smaller than before. As a result, choices seemed to be limited however queues were not an issue, Food quality was very good.

STATEROOM ATTENDANT

ADEQUATE. Our stateroom attendant however was quick to accept our request to change the room configuration, especially given a bonus tip was rewarded.

He was polite and attentative but as previously discussed, I didn't really see him going out of his to impress other than satisfactorily servicing our rooms daily.

KIDS CENTRES/ACTIVITIES

GOOD - All the mods & cons, roomy club areas and heaps of activities for the little ones, and teens, to do.

Staff were great, children reportedly warmed to them easily and always looked forward to returning to the centre.

Activity areas were spritely clean and safe.

PORTS OF CALL - EXCELLENT

Without a doubt, 'probably one of the best South Pacific Cruises we've done. Especially having experienced some ports for the first time!

Lifou (New Caledonia), ...4th return...beach-side markets and snorkelling! NOTE: A timed $15 per person fee is now payable to those wanting to snokel. The fee has been added (as well as a well mainained entry deck) to help pay for the conservation of the marine park. The fee however is negotiable for families, and accepted in most Pacific dollar currencies.

Denaru (Fiji), ...our 3rd return to this port, we decided to visit Beachcomber Island for lunch, a swim in the pool and sea; a laze in the sun. This was the perfect way to spend the day in the Nadi area - local hospitality; good food & relaxation. The islands are well worth the short trip over.

Suva (Fiji), ...unfortunately we arrived on a Sunday and many of the establishments were closed.

Suva is probably one of the less popular ports (according to cruise passengers) however it's always an experience to visit a nation's capital and have a look around all the same.

Savusavu (Fiji), ...a lovely port. We visited Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort for lunch and water activities. This is an outstanding family eco-resort situated on 17 acres of plush and luxurious land. Experience the award-winning, five-star Fiji resort and spa, where heavenly surroundings combine with an unsurpassed range of luxury hotel activities. We highly recommend this resort and can provide details and stay packages here at Cruisescene.

Dravuni Island (Fiji), ...Beach port, tendered from the ship. Stunning!

The tender pulls directly to the beach shore and passengers disembark onto a floating pier where they taken a 10 step walk onto the beach. The beach is long however just 30-40 metres deep. The back of the beach is studded with a perfect tree-line (and soft grass) for those who prefer to stay out of th sun.

Typical Fijian artefacts can be purchased along the area behind the beach, as well as refreshing cold drinks.

This is a delightful addition to the list of South Pacific ports and like most others in Fiji, are usually only available on the longer voyages.

Noumea (New Caledonia), ...5th visit by port... They say you can never get enough of a good thing, but passengers are saying that's enough of Noumea!

We beg to differ. Unless of course you're doing the same town walk each time.

The secret to Noumea is: do something different each time you visit!

With MOST South Pacific cruises stopping here, Noumea can offer you something different every time. This cruise, we chose to bus out to La Meridien for a taste of BBQ'd (all you can eat), French cuisine. It was exquiste and priced reasonably.

La Meridien Noumea is about to undergo a mammoth facelift, will be worth our while returning on our next cruise to have a fresh look at it.

RECOMMENDATION: Dual tour; La Meridien & Duck Island (depending on time in port)

SHORE EXCURSIONS

Shore excursions aboard were a'plenty. Great choices; highly recommended tours from trusted tour operators. But availabilty was slim, most having been booked online before the cruise.

Because of the practicality of ports and destinations, seasoned cruisers had no difficulties organising private tours with qualified local touters.

OVERALL VALUE FOR MONEY

Our 13 day South Pacific cruise aboard Sun Princess was good value for money.

Our cruise fare was reasonable and there were no surprises at the end of the cruise by way of unimaginable billings, issue or errors. Drinks, specialty restaurant surcharges and other on board purchases were reasobaly priced.

DID THE CRUISE MEET MY EXPECTATIONS? Largely...

A great mix of cruise passengers made all the difference, as it often does.

The New Year's Eve event was excellent, as were the other themed events & nights organised by the staff.

Passengers could have taken issue with some members of crew; a little inattentive, perhaps too relaxed - too laid-back; casual. A G'day Mate (from barmen) could be seen confronting some passengers.

OVERALL CRUISE EXPERIENCE

Disappointing in some respect, but then everyone's a critic and sad experienes often leave more of an impression than happier ones. That said, it appeared abondantly obvious that the ship had recently deployed from Japan, I feel where services and expecations were perhaps higher, and Australia was somewhat a relief for (some) crew, to be working.

I say that with the high and due respect of those who continued to service passengers in the most amazing way.

Overall experience (all things being even), was very good. I do however think the likes of P&O Australia are beginning to close the gap that once seperated to two cruise products.

Our special thanks go to the 90% of crew aboard Sun Princess, who relatedly covered for those in making our cruise an enjoyable holiday.

Spoil Factor 6.5/10