Pacific Princess and EZAir Review (South Pacific Itinerary)

My GF and I recently returned from a couple of weeks in French Polynesia (hereafter referred to FP). The bulk of our time there was a Christmas 10-day Princess Cruise with one day in Tahiti pre-cruise, followed by a few days post-cruise.

My report on the islands and activities can be found in the port of call forum here...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=45146705#post45146705

Here’s my review of the Pacific Princess and the EZAir program we used to book our flights.

The Pacific Princess in Moroe Bay at Huahine in French Polynesia...

Sailing on a smaller ship

A small ship like the Pacific Princess has a few great benefits and one serious downfall. I'm guessing that it's small size is actually essential for cruising in FP as I would think that only smaller ships can navigate the shallow lagoons and narrow channels in the barrier reefs that surround the islands to get within reasonable tender distance from shore... I'm not sure bigger ships would be a viable option for some of these islands. Another benefit is that with only 500-600 passengers it's easy to get on or off via tender or otherwise. Most days, open tender was often announced within 30-45min of anchoring (compared with 2hrs on bigger ships). It's not all that surprising considering the tenders can hold 100 people at a time. Venues are never crowded either although I could still see a shortage of deck chairs on sea days (many claimed but vacant). Elevators are quick to arrive but seldom needed as you're never more than a few decks removed from where you want to be. I never waited in line at the reception desk... There was always two or three staff working when I visited and I could walk right up. Another benefit (or not) is that you will get to know the staff and your fellow passengers better due to the intimate size... You will see the same people every where you go, every day.

The killer drawback to a ship this size is that it pitches and rolls much more noticably on open seas. Without stabilizers or the added length to significantly span the distance between wave crests, this small ship can feel more like a bouy than a luxury liner. As a result many people we talked to or heard about were bed ridden ill with motion sickness for the first half of the cruise (when seas were at their worst) but even the short 3hr run from Moorea to Papeete at the end had some people feeling queasy. Fortunately, I don't suffer from motion sickness, but my GF is prone to it and suffered on this ship, even with medication. She had no problems on the Grand-class ships we've sailed in the past - not even needing medication on those ships. Many of the people I've talked to felt the same way. An unfortunate outcome of our experience on this ship is that we may never be able to enjoy a world cruise since this and the similarly sized Ocean Princess are often the ships of choice for those round-the-world itineraries.

As you might expect, another characteristic of a small ship is the absence of some venus that some people might enjoy from the bigger ships such as the International Cafe, Vines, and the large multi-story atrium. However the ship does offer both Sabatinni's and the Steakhouse specialty restaurants although they are only open on alternating evenings due to staff constraints. The Panorama Buffet does a decent job of offering similar espresso beverages, teas, and sweets as the International Cafe so caffeine junkies need not worry. Afternoon tea is served in Sabatinni's with a good selection of treats, sandwiches and scones.

Another note… unlike the bigger ships we’ve sailed, the wine we brought on board a couple of times from port was completely ignored. I’m not sure if this reflects a different policy on this ship, is unique to FP cruises, or is being relaxed fleet wide, but it was nice not to be treated like a child when bringing wine on board.

Interior Decor

I would describe the interior of the Pacific Princess is tasteful, stately and old-world. It's interior with faux fireplaces here and there is almost at odds with its itinerary in the South Pacific but it offers a warm cozy feeling inside, especially if you have a windy, rainy day at sea. The Pacific Lounge which is a large room the size of the main theater but on the top most deck looking forward offers great views and is something the big ships don't have.

Food and Service

The main dinning room food and service was outstanding as usual and the same can be said for the specialty restaurants, although the Stakehouse menu on this ship was missing the muscle pot and lobster tails which I recall from the bigger ships menus (although maybe things have changed fleet wide?). The lack of anytime dining took a bit of adjusting too... We started out with the late seating (8:15PM) but found ourselves going to bed shortly after dinner, then switched to the early seating (6PM) but found ourselves consistently running late for dinner. 7PM would have been ideal but we made the early seating work.

The Panorama buffet offered its usual mediocre blah breakfast and lunch food that I find barely edible most of the time... Sadly nothing new to report there, although it was good to see an omelet station at breakfast on such a small ship. The outdoor seating area adjacent to the buffet is one of the best places to hang out on the ship (along with the pool bar).

Entertainment

Our expectations for entertainment were suitably low (given the size of the ship) and we were pleasantly surprised. The entertainers were generally good and the two person lounge bands were ok (but stuck in the past - doesn't any cruise ship act known a song from the last two or even three decades?!). The Princess singers and dancers were not up to the same standards as the bigger ships and the one production show I attended was naturally scaled down significantly. The best entertainment by far was the two local Tahitian shows that came aboard... That was a very nice touch and not something to miss. If I recall correctly, they come on the evening the ship overnights in Papeete and the afternoon it docks in Raitea (the latter of which includes two different performances: one with children and one with adult performers).

The cruise director was a strange guy... He never really got engaged with the audience or offered much humour, although he sang a song no one knew (with debatable talent), and didn't offer much in the way of helpful information about the next port day like most cruise directors do after a show. He was an odd duck... our least favourite to date but hats off to him for organizing a couple of local Polynesian shows.

Laundry

If you’re like me, showering three times a day in the tropics and changing equally as often, then laundry facilities are almost as important as the bar service. On the Pacific Princess there’s only one laundry room mid-ship on deck 7, but it has about 8 stacked washer and dryers and two ironing boards which seemed to be plenty even on sea days when everyone wants to do some laundry. What’s nice is that instead of using coin operated machines, they’ve implemented tokens so you can just swipe your cruise card at a kiosk in the laundry room to dispense the necessary tokens… no more rolls of quarters required.

Spa and Gym

Neither of us used the gym but it looked reasonably equipped for a small ship and my GF’s trip to the spa for a facial and massage special on the last full day was a great experience.

The Pacific Princess sailing away from Bora Bora...

EZAir

As anyone who’s investigated French Polynesian cruises knows, the cost of the flights are probably one of the most significant expenses related to such a trip and in general, the flights are one of the most stressful parts of travelling for any cruise.

We had been monitoring the Christmas Tahiti cruise on the princess website for several weeks when a promotion appeared about 6 months out with decent discounts on EZAir flights. Instead of the usual $1900 return airfare from Vancouver, fights were available for about $1200 each. The flights on sale were restricted which means there is a nasty change/cancelation fee of $300pp. I learned the exact amount and process of changing the hard way. I'll spare you the details of our particular situation, but I will say the root cause of the problem is that Princess has strict guidelines/rules which must be adhered to with respect to arrival, departure, and connection windows that can be very difficult constraints to meet. Now, obviously these guidelines are designed to minimize the chance of missing a flight, and in an ideal world, everyone would have several hours to connect, but it’s not always practical, reasonable or possible. What’s worse, is that not all Princess Customer Service reps are aware of the constraints, and while the online booking tool seems to account for the constraints and rules, it is possible to book yourself into a situation that requires a change on a restricted fare… so if you use EZAir, just be careful and make sure you know what you’re doing.

Overall, EZAir was a very frustrating affair. Even if you don’t have any issues or change fees like we had, there’s the issue that dealing with Princess EZAir is NOT easy! You cannot talk to an EZAir rep directly, you must use a Princess customer service rep as a go-between which makes for a very inefficient and time consuming process to make any changes. I spent an entire morning on and off hold with Princess to make my change.

About 60 days out, Princess will reconfirm all flights and that's when we got another surprise... On our return, the connection in LA between our Air France flight and our Alaska Airlines flight went from just over 2hrs to just under 2hrs due to slight updates in the schedules of both flights. Since Princess requires a minimum connection time of 2 hours, this change violated their rules, "forcing" a robooking to a flight out of LA the next morning, requiring an unexpected overnight in LA. We were offered a choice of a couple hundred credit on Alaska which we don't fly, or reimbursement for $150 towards a hotel. Naturally we selected the hotel reimbursement, but this change caused a variety of issues and costs for us… (added meals, taxis, etc.). I have to mail the receipt from the hotel to Alaska airlines to get a reimbursement so it’s not very seamless or customer friendly.

The most aggrivating thing is that the Airlines or Princess can clearly change the flights without paying a fee when they require a change to meet their rather arbitrary rules, but I need to pay $300pp to make any change to meet their rules.

However, as I said, regardless of the change fee issues, simply dealing with EZAir is not easy and it's not worth the stress... Life is too short.

In the future I will not use EZAir if at all possible due to the hassle of dealing with them.

Thanks for the EZAir heads up. I was told they had improved greatly this appears to be false if your experience is anything to go by. We had problems connecting in France years ago as they only allowed 2 hours to go through customs and catch a flight 20 mins. running to the other terminal. We were lucky they were just closing the door when we were spotted running across the tarmack. Oh what fun, think I will rethink our London flight in May. Who knows where they will send us, when we are supposed to have a direct flight Boston-London.

Great review of the ship. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks for the EZAir heads up. I was told they had improved greatly this appears to be false if your experience is anything to go by. We had problems connecting in France years ago as they only allowed 2 hours to go through customs and catch a flight 20 mins. running to the other terminal. We were lucky they were just closing the door when we were spotted running across the tarmack. Oh what fun, think I will rethink our London flight in May. Who knows where they will send us, when we are supposed to have a direct flight Boston-London.

I think if your flight is very straightforward (direct with no connections) and arrives well ahead of your cruise and leaves well after, then you'll probably be fine... but god help you if you need or want to make a change! :mad:

The killer drawback to a ship this size is that it pitches and rolls much more noticably on open seas. Without stabilizers or the added length to significantly span the distance between wave crests, this small ship can feel more like a bouy than a luxury liner. As a result many people we talked to or heard about were bed ridden ill with motion sickness for the first half of the cruise (when seas were at their worst) but even the short 3hr run from Moorea to Papeete at the end had some people feeling queasy. Fortunately, I don't suffer from motion sickness, but my GF is prone to it and suffered on this ship, even with medication. She had no problems on the Grand-class ships we've sailed in the past - not even needing medication on those ships. Many of the people I've talked to felt the same way. An unfortunate outcome of our experience on this ship is that we may never be able to enjoy a world cruise since this and the similarly sized Ocean Princess are often the ships of choice for those round-the-world itineraries.

Actually, the Pacific Princess is stabilized. We were on the December 8th cruise without issues. There was a "live from..." for your cruise which was very entertaining and it mentioned some pretty severe weather, including a tropical depression.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2139383

Actually, the Pacific Princess is stabilized. We were on the December 8th cruise without issues. There was a "live from..." for your cruise which was very entertaining and it mentioned some pretty severe weather, including a tropical depression.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2139383

Interesting, I guess stabilizers just don't help that much on a smaller ship. From what I saw, I didn't think the seas were any worse on this cruise than any others I've been on, but the ship does pitch and roll more than a Grand-class ship. For example, this summer on the Ruby we hit some nasty waves in the North Sea and the ship handled it very well.

Were the dinner menus any different than what you experience on any other Princess cruise?

Thanks,

Jill

We flew from Vancouver to LA to Tahiti and boarded our first "small Princess ship" cruise on Pacific Princess April 1. We avoided the return flight by asking the captain to drop us off at Canada Place in Vancouver 3 cruises and 32 days later! It was a fantastic cruise. We loved the ship and the crew.

We liked it so much that 34 days later, June 6 we were in Dover England boarding Ocean Princess for 30 days. And then on Sept 16 we couldn't say no to the deal to head back to hawaii from Vancouver on Pacific Princess again as she finished her Alaska itinerary.

In those 74 days onboard we had two days of slightly rough seas as we crossed the equator heading north to Hawaii. I guess it just doesn't bother us much as we really didn't notice much difference as compared to the larger ships.

Ocean Princess has been sold and leaves the fleet in March 2016. I cant imagine that Pacific will be too far behind. Too bad about that. So world cruises will either be moving up to the next largest ships or Princess will stop doing them I guess.

I think the relaxed attitude to bringing an extra bottle of wine on is an "outside versus inside North America" thing with Princess.

Terry

We sailed on the Pacific last summer (first small ship) and didn't have any issues. We took a balcony instead of the mini because we were afraid of noise from above public areas. This was our only regret, not sure if we would go on her again even though Mike liked not having to go far for anything. He gets a little sea sick the first day but was fine on this Alaska trip. Not sure how rocky the South Pacific gets though just know about our trip.

VirtulRain - thank you for all the great info from both of your postings.

We have pretty much decided on Princess over Paul Gauguin (unless we win the lottery) for the 10 day Tahiti round trip cruise in Sept. 2016 or whatever dates around that time Princess lists on May 31st of this year for next year. Airfare, as you mentioned, is a major factor, so thank you again for your insight regarding that matter also. Hoping we can pull off SW, CMH to LAX and then AirFrance to Tahiti but we'll see down the road. Thanks again for all the time and effort you put into your reviews. :)

Great info - thanks, everyone!

A question to those who have stayed land-based pre- and/or post-cruise: for we USers who have never been to French Polynesia before do we need any type of electrical plug converters for our US hair dryers, shavers, phone chargers, etc.?

Thanks! Brian

I'm not sure bigger ships would be a viable option for some of these islands. The Crown Princess has sailed to three of the FP ports. In my opinion, too many people for the tourist infrastructure to accommodate.

 

The killer drawback to a ship this size is that it pitches and rolls much more noticably on open seas. We have been on this ship and the Ocean Princess is more open waters than FP as well as in FP and never felt more movement than on the larger ships.

 

Afternoon tea is served in Sabatinni's with a good selection of treats, sandwiches and scones. They used to have afternoon tea in the dining room.

 

The Stakehouse menu on this ship was missing the muscle pot and lobster tails which I recall from the bigger ships menus (although maybe things have changed fleet wide?). The restaurant on this ship is the Sterling Steakhouse not the Crown Grill which is found on most of the larger ships. The menu for the Sterling Steakhouse is different from the Crown Grill menu.

See my comments in red above

 

A question to those who have stayed land-based pre- and/or post-cruise: for we USers who have never been to French Polynesia before do we need any type of electrical plug converters for our US hair dryers, shavers, phone chargers, etc.?

 

The electrical information may be found at

http://www.power-plugs-sockets.com/french-polynesia/

Thanks, Caribill! Very helpful information.

I have an old converter set from my trips to Europe - I'll get them out and compare them to what is listed / pictured.