princess daphne

anyone been on her as thinking of booking a cruise on her.

strange classic intl do no longer have an office in london

dave

Hi there,

I have just posted a similar question. Yes I have booked this ship for January next year (2011) departing Singapore. It was an incredibly spontaneous booking on my behalf (only saw the ports and made my booking). I am finding it quite difficult to find any forums from past passengers. I have used this site before and just loved it as everyone is so wonderful and helpful. I am thinking that Princess Daphne not the the 5 star glitter and glam but more traditional cruising. I know it has has a re furb not that long ago, but the brochure I have still looks fairly...shall we say classic :-).

I have booked it, with the thought in ind it's an adventure, something different and we love cruising. The price was right and I think it will be quite charming. What cruise are you looking at? I'd love to know if you get more info, I''ll keep you posted as I get more familiar with my research.

KM

Hi Kruzermum,

Thought I would drop in to say that my husband and I have booked on the Princess Daphne, back-to-back cruises, Hong Kong to Japan and back, and Hong Kong to Singapore via Vietnam and Cambodia, March/April 2011. Another couple, friends of ours, have also booked these 2 cruises. We also know Seabourndt from a previous cruise on the Funchal, the Classic International ship that used to cruise out of Fremantle each Summer.

We did three cruises on the Funchal, and thought it was a very good value, friendly, well-run ship, so we are expecting the same sort of experience from Princess Daphne.

I agree with you - it is very hard to find any reviews or forums from past passengers.

I also very much agree with you - we love cruising!

Cheers, Matilda

OH, Thanks you so much for your feedback. I am feeling a little more at peace now. I am sure we will have a fabulous time, I am so excited. Any more news you hear please feel free to contact me. stephanielmack2003@yahoo.com

Have a wonderful time :-):)

well do enjoy the cruise as it is before ours let me know what you think. got some info on princes with help fromlesley.also heard from travelsphere so will decide who has best price. she does look a lovely classic ship. going down to dover next monday as she comes in. indeeed we were all on FUNCHAL in 2005 to austraklia shame we never made it on the ship to australia.

all the best

dave

Hi again, Kruzermum,

I am wondering which January cruise you are doing on the Princess Daphne? Perhaps you will be in one or two ports that we are going to later than you. If so, you will be able to give us all the hints before we go!

By the way, I don't think you got the answer to your question - Seabourndt is looking at doing the Japan cruise - one of the two that we are doing.

From Matilda (Lesley)

Hi Everyone!!

Finally found the page I was looking for...... Thanks for the weather info Lesley, I am deciding what to pack already, but you probably already knew that!! I keep trawling the net to glean whatever info I can, but so far everything has been explained in the catalogue.... but I can't help but keep looking.

Hopefully others will find us on this site!!

All the best to everyone, Lea and Shayne

Welcome to the thread, Lea and Shayne, and of course I know that you will also be on the Princess Daphne cruises on 6/3/11 and 23/3/11, with us! You are very keen - it is a bit early to start packing!

Anyone else out there who has booked on the Princess Daphne??

Cheers all,

Matilda (Lesley)

Still wondering if anyone else out there has booked on the Princess Daphne for early 2011?

Hello everyone

I came across this site by accident and decided I just had to join.

I've just booked the Japanese Delights cruise on 6th March 2011 on Princess Daphne. Don't really know what to expect as I've never been on a cruise before but am really looking forward to it. If anyone has any advice for a first timer it would be gratefully received!

I'll be going with my daughter as Japan is her ultimate holiday destination so I'm hoping it's going to be a once in a lifetime experience.

Anyway, I'll keep an eye on this forum from now on and look forward to seeing you in March.

Debra

Nice to hear from you, Debra. Although Japanese Delights on the Princess Daphne won't be our first cruise, we are just as excited about it as you would be. We like all sizes of ships, but there is something special about the smaller, traditional ones. We have hardly seen anything of Japan, so think it will be terrific, plus Pusan and Shanghai, of course.

Yes, any assistance we can give - just ask.

Meanwhile, I will ask you a question - where do you live? We are in Melbourne, Australia.

Regards, Lesley (Matilda)

Hi Lesley

Thank you for replying - I shall definitely pick your brains nearer the time for advice!

We live in Windsor, England. I don't know if you know it or not but it's just outside London.

Best regards

Debra

Yes, we have enjoyed visiting Windsor. What a lovely place to live!

Well, I will check back often to see when you are ready to start firing questions.

Regards, Lesley

Hi,

Still looking for more people to join this thread. Anyone out there who has booked on the Princess Daphne for early next year?

Matilda

Hi

Today received the latest edition of; "Fresh off the press from Cruiseco" which included details of;

REMARKABLE ASIA JOURNEY ABOARD PRINCESS DAPHNE

• 17 night Package Deal! Sail on 06 February 2011 from Singapore to Singapore

• **Pensioner Special** Highlights include Halong Bay, Ho Chi Minh and Sihanoukville (for Ankor Wat)

• Prices from $3,090 per person twin share

The ports visited appeal to us, but the jury is out on the ship as reports on it are limited and conflicting.

Have found the following:-

http://www.cruise-australia.net/princess-daphne.htm (a glowing report)

http://www.holidaycheck.com/ship-cruise+ship+reviews_Princess+Daphne-ch_sb-sid_260.html

(Mixed messages here; Having difficulty in translating reviews into English but the mention of diesel and cooking smells in the cabins puts us off. It could almost be the luck of the draw if you are allocated a cabin which has/has not been refurbished.

cheers

e-mail; jrkb@adam.com.au

Hi Kayjohn,

Thanks for the reviews - very interesting.

So, we will see what we think, but we got 2 cruises, back to back, adding up to 29 nights, for $3,715 pp, and thought that was a pretty good price, so will see how we get on.

From Matilda (Lesley)

Have seen a couple of blogs of people booked on the same cruise from Hong Kong (06/03/11) as we have. This is our first trip with Classic Cruises and were hoping to find a couple of reviews about the Daphne.

some friend did the Cruise from Feemantle to England a couple of years ago on the Funchal. they said the service and food was excellent and the accomodatioin was average. We are not expecting the Daphne to be a glamour tub like Princess and RCL and the others, but if the service and food is good will be happy. Especially since the dreadful P&O one in January this year from Brisbane.Think twice about P&O in the future.

But if anyone is travelling on the Daphne before March 2011, would apreciate a couple of reviews.

Cheers

Don Barnes

Welcome, Don,

So you are on the same cruise - 6/3/11 - that's great to hear!

If Kruzermum is still watching this thread, she could perhaps let us know how her January cruise goes. We will be dying to hear.

Hey, how bad can it be? Perhaps as bad as "the P&O one in January this year from Brisbane". Which ship, Don? What happened?

from Matilda (Lesley)

Hi,

Still looking for more people to join this thread. Anyone out there who has booked on the Princess Daphne for early next year?

Matilda

Hi Matilda,

my lovley lady and I are looking forward to cruising on Princess Daphne, Hong Kong to Japan then later to Singapore, we are both looking forward to this cruise,like little kids at Christmas, how manty sleeps to go?

Lovely to hear from you! It is really nice to hear from people on the same cruise(s) - before we set off.

How many sleeps to go? Well, if you had added that up at this stage I would be impressed. I know that the countdown is nearly to 7 months, and we booked 6 months ago, so time is passing!

Have you been on any other of the Classic International ships - Funchal, Athena, or Ariel, which have been based in Fremantle at times? We were very happy with the Funchal, except, at times, with the plumbing!

Where in Perth (beautiful city) do you live?

Lovely to hear from you! It is really nice to hear from people on the same cruise(s) - before we set off.

How many sleeps to go? Well, if you had added that up at this stage I would be impressed. I know that the countdown is nearly to 7 months, and we booked 6 months ago, so time is passing!

Have you been on any other of the Classic International ships - Funchal, Athena, or Ariel, which have been based in Fremantle at times? We were very happy with the Funchal, except, at times, with the plumbing!

Where in Perth (beautiful city) do you live?

Lesley (Matilda)

Well Matilda you are going to be very impressed indeed ! or think we are raving lunatics, 29 weeks before we take off, he he he; but who is counting. At this time we haven 't sailed with Classic International, previously e sailed with P&O. Mostly we have flown from place to place,yet I much rather travel by ship. I have the pleasure of living in the community of Thornlie, suburb south of the Swan river about 18kms from the heart of Perth.

Hi Arragon,

I don't think you are raving lunatics. I am just as bad myself. However, knowing it is 29 weeks is not the same as knowing how many sleeps!

I'm not sure if our friends, who are also on the Japan/Vietnam cruises, think I am mad. I mark the passing of each 'month to go' by emailing them some information that I have gleaned with my research on one of the ports we go to. So far I have sent them info on Hong Kong and Okinawa. This week I will tell them some bits I have found out about Tokyo

However, it is now 24 sleeps until we leave for Prague and a river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam - getting pretty excited, and keeping my mind off Asia to a certain extent.

Thornlie sounds nice. South of the Swan, but is it anywhere near the river?

From Lesley

Hi

 

Have found the following:-

 

http://www.cruise-australia.net/princess-daphne.htm (a glowing report)

 

http://www.holidaycheck.com/ship-cruise+ship+reviews_Princess+Daphne-ch_sb-sid_260.html

 

(Mixed messages here; Having difficulty in translating reviews into English but the mention of diesel and cooking smells in the cabins puts us off. It could almost be the luck of the draw if you are allocated a cabin which has/has not been refurbished.

 

Let me help out a bit, as a Brit living in Germany. I know Princess Daphne is marketed heavily in Germany as a "luxury liner", but I have not been on it myself. On European itineraries the vast majority of passengers is German. No idea what that will be like on your journey.

First of all, I have to warn you about Holidaycheck. This is the most well-known platform for Germans who want to whine. Mostly the kind that have done no preparation/reading beforehand at all, paid $99 for a 2 week holiday, do not speak anything other than German and expect the whole world to bend over backwards to speak their lingo and serve them Schnitzel. I have learned to pick out the worst reviews and if they mention anything positive, that must be really wow for the average traveller.

German have different expectations concerning price levels, they will find everything expensive. Mostly a Brit will find the same holiday cheap. What is very positive about all the reviews, is they think the quality/price ratio is good, and that they do not think the drinks are expensive. The friendliness and compentence of the staff are rated as excellent. The cuisine is rated as good, but one has a somewhat distorted view: "The food was excellent because the chef was German" .

There are 1 or 2 complaints about diesel smell, but of course we don't know what type of cabin they had. It could be that it was directly above the engine or something like that. One stated that the engine room was on deck 5. Sounds odd? Many say that the cabins were a bit old-fashioned. The person with the worst cabin review has posted pictures, but personally I don't see anything wrong with the cabin.

Most of the complaints have little to do with this ship, but with people not used to cruising, and are commonplace with most cruiselines. There are complaints about free seating at breakfast and lunch, the MD being large, the use of tenders at some ports, excursions being expensive, the ships doctor not being able to speak 100 languages, the average age of the passengers, etc.

Hi UKBayern,

Thankyou very much for your help in sorting out the Princess Daphne reviews. We won't let them put us off at all, and will make up our own minds.

By the way, I am intrigued that you live in Bavaria, near the Czech border. My husband and I are getting very excited at the prospect of being in Prague and then the Budapest/Amsterdam river cruise in several more weeks' time. Should be wonderful!

Regards, Lesley (Matilda)