Princess Cruises To Noumea & Vanuatu

[CruisingwithC]

Hi,

 

Just wondering if anyone has cruised with Princess Cruises before and what you thought of them. I'm considering doing one to Noumea and Vanuatu in June on Sea Princess would love to hear any reviews.

 

Also is June a good time to travel to Noumea and Vanuatu I believe it would be cooler and not in cyclone seas or rainy season but is it too cold to swim or still okay to swim?

 

Would love to hear from anyone who has been during this time of year and any reviews on Princess Cruise Line - Sea Princess.

 

Thanks.

[sun-set]

Hi,

 

Just wondering if anyone has cruised with Princess Cruises before and what you thought of them. I'm considering doing one to Noumea and Vanuatu in June on Sea Princess would love to hear any reviews.

 

Also is June a good time to travel to Noumea and Vanuatu I believe it would be cooler and not in cyclone seas or rainy season but is it too cold to swim or still okay to swim?

 

Would love to hear from anyone who has been during this time of year and any reviews on Princess Cruise Line - Sea Princess.

 

Thanks.

 

Every cruise is different and cruisers have different priorities, but Princess is my favourite line and Sea Princess is my favourite ship.

We have cruised to New Caledonia and Vanuatu in June and snorkelled at most of the stops.

I think you will love your cruise on Sea Princess, but have a look at some reviews that you will find on this site.

Look under Cruise Critic Message Board, then under members reviews.

Edited March 13, 2014 by sun-set

[Gnomey]

We've tried a few lines and Princess is our favourite. The Princess staff seem to try a little harder and look after you well - especially if you have a medical emergency. We're hopping on Sea Princess in a few weeks again to refresh our opinions but compared to the others we have tried they are still No. 1. Don't expect big cabins on the "sisters" Dawn, Sea & Sun, although the mini suites seem fairly large (and pricey!). Can't offer an opinion on the Islands as they are still on the list.

Steve.

[John Bull]

Recently back from Sun Princess - inadvertently to pretty-well every stop in Vanuatu & New Caledonia because the planned four stops in Fiji were all cancelled due to a cyclone forecast.

 

Cruise lines do seem to station their older ships in Aus & Asia, and Sun Princess is no exception.

As sun-set's post, her cabins/bathrooms/balconies ( at least for standard balcony cabins) are as small as I've encountered, though that's hardly a deal-breaker & they're otherwise well-equipped & very acceptable.

Other criticisms include a ship layout which isn't the best, with some areas such as the stern pool very remote from other public areas (though some would argue that's an advantage ;)), the wheelhouse bar pretty-well unusable much of the time because of all the so-called "art auction" paintings leaned against tables & chairs, a lot of wasted deck areas, poorly co-ordinated sound on the Sea Screen (excessively-loud music but quiet & difficult-to-follow dialogue), and a rather limited theatre with just two exits so there's a frustratingly long delay trying to get out at the end of a show (there are more emergency exits, though they lead to crew areas).

Certainly not my favourite ship, but by no means the worst I've sailed.

So don't treat these criticisms as significant, she's generally a decent ship with a good crew, good food & generally very acceptable entertainment. And a very friendly ship, which makes all the difference.

 

Drinks prices not as expensive as we'd anticipated, & no service charge. But we took aboard a dozen bottles of 5 to 7AUD Aussie wine, & even with the 15AUD corkage on ten bottles it was significantly cheaper than the cheapest wines on offer plus better quality. Clearly few others do likewise cos Princess got in a dither about it & their admin struggled to cope, but I suggest you consider doing the same.

BTW the acclaimed new Princess all-you-can-drink package will not be offered on Sun Princess or Diamond Princess. Clearly Aussies' capacity for alcohol is as healthy as that of us Brits. :D

 

As to the islands, the main joys are the laziness, the beaches, the swimming & especially the snorkelling. But sight-seeing opportunities are exceptionally limited, and although the snorkelling was great we weren't intending to snorkel at virtually all ports.

Most calls are ashore by tender, which makes them a little less reliable in poor weather or heavy swells.

 

On our cruise the swell at Mystery Island made tender-loading slow and a little hazardous - ordinarily I don't think we'd have been landed in those conditions, but the captain would have been mindful that it was the first substitute call following the disappointment of the axing of Fiji. Mystery Island is tiny, no roads, no inhabitants (just stalls set up by locals from an adjacent island), & you can walk right round it in about 30 minutes. Nothing of interest, just nice beaches & good snorkelling.

The other substitute ports:

Champagne Bay. Very attractive beach, snorkelling & local facilities. Taxis & vans available, couldn't find sharers to go to Million Dollar Point, so settled for a cheap little van trip to the Blue Hole (more snorkelling).

Mare. What a dreadful port of call. Nothing whatsoever near the jetty, other than one bar. No private transport available since Princess had hired every bus & van to shuttle everyone to a beach about 20 minutes away, though there's little on the island worthy of a van tour anyway. And that beach was dire, with no facilities other than a few tented stalls. Snorkelling poor compared to other calls. Normally that shuttle costs 15AUD return, IMHO a total waste of money, but since it was a substitute port Princess ponied-up the cost.

Isle of Pines. Best of the substitute ports & very worthwhile. Good little van tour hired at the jetty, including Queen Hortense' Grotto & the ruined penal colony. Rounded off by excellent snorkelling by The Rock.

Of the original itinerary:

Lifou. An OK if rather uninteresting port-of-call.

Vila. A pleasant little shared van tour hired at the pier. Included The Cascades waterfall but the admission charge was an excessive 25AUD. Not being tight-fisted, but nobody likes to be ripped-off and no-one on our van was prepared to pay, same with a couple of other vans which arrived at the same time - greedy islanders shooting themselves in the foot. Exceptional snorkelling on Hideaway Island, worth the admission (20 (?) AUD)

Noumea. Certainly the most interesting port-of-call, very French, well-developed. The hop-on bus isn't a hop-on bus as such - it's just a shuttle to the beaches, no commentary, no places of interest. We enjoyed our own walking tour, details from the excellent tourist office in the main square. Sun Princess no longer ports at the cruise terminal - the approach needs dredging, so she berths in the commercial docks, with an efficient free little shuttle service.

 

All-in-all, back to what I mentioned earlier. Great for lazy days on the beaches & for snorkelling. But if sight-seeing & local culture are your thing, I feel sure you could do better elsewhere in the South Pacific.

 

All just MHO as always.

And perhaps prejudiced by the disappointment of not getting to Fiji, the main reason for choosing this cruise.

 

JB :)

[Eaglemad]

Thanks JB for your thoughts on the Sea Princess, cruising on her soon with a few of the ports you discussed included.

How much are the beers and cocktails you mentioned were reasonable

Cheers

[John Bull]

Thanks JB for your thoughts on the Sea Princess, cruising on her soon with a few of the ports you discussed included.

How much are the beers and cocktails you mentioned were reasonable

Cheers

 

Draught beer 5 AUD, bottled from 5.50 AUD.

Cocktails varied, from around 7?, 8?

Wine (if anyone else is interested) from about 26 AUD.

 

Best duty-frees by far - Vila.

 

AUD widely accepted on the islands, though not for govt museum admissions.

 

JB :)

[Painter]

I will be on the June 1st on Sea Princess. I have cruised on Sapphire and Diamond...love those ships ...but Sea Princess is smaller so will have to wait and see how I go regarding sea sickness.

[Painter]

Draught beer 5 AUD, bottled from 5.50 AUD.

Cocktails varied, from around 7?, 8?

Wine (if anyone else is interested) from about 26 AUD.

 

Best duty-frees by far - Vila.

 

AUD widely accepted on the islands, though not for govt museum admissions.

 

JB :)

 

 

John ...do you mean the AUD money is accepted as payment on all the islands?

 

Strange...my late step-father's name was John Bull.

[Aus Traveller]

John ...do you mean the AUD money is accepted as payment on all the islands?

 

Strange...my late step-father's name was John Bull.

In Vanuatu and Fiji AUD is accepted everywhere except government museums. In Noumea AUD is accepted in the cruise terminal (market stalls and tours) and in some shops. Pacific Francs are required for the museums, public buses, botanic gardens, aquarium and taxis.

[John Bull]

John ...do you mean the AUD money is accepted as payment on all the islands?

 

Strange...my late step-father's name was John Bull.

 

Yes, certainly beach stalls, & other tourist-orientated outlets on all the islands, those prices are usually advertised in AUD & change given in AUD. Ditto van tours, though I've no doubt AT is correct about town taxis.

We had no problem in town shops & bars either, though I doubt we got best value with AUD.

For the museums (very low charges) we used change given in a bar.

Bear in mind we were unable to get CPF in the UK and hadn't planned for so many days in Vanuatu.

Depending on the number of days, you may find it worth getting some local shrapnel but there's not a lot of need to spend much money.

 

I guess your late step-father's parents had a sense of humour - John Bull is the UK's equivalent of Uncle Sam. ;)

JB :)

[Eaglemad]

Draught beer 5 AUD, bottled from 5.50 AUD.

Cocktails varied, from around 7?, 8?

Wine (if anyone else is interested) from about 26 AUD.

 

Best duty-frees by far - Vila.

 

Hi JB, sorry to bother you with drink related questions (I am not an alcoholic I just want to allow enough in the budget for drinks)

 

Is a 15% gratuity charge added to the quoted prices and what are the prices like for duty free on the ship compared to Vila

 

Cheers

[Painter]

Yes, certainly beach stalls, & other tourist-orientated outlets on all the islands, those prices are usually advertised in AUD & change given in AUD. Ditto van tours, though I've no doubt AT is correct about town taxis.

We had no problem in town shops & bars either, though I doubt we got best value with AUD.

For the museums (very low charges) we used change given in a bar.

Bear in mind we were unable to get CPF in the UK and hadn't planned for so many days in Vanuatu.

Depending on the number of days, you may find it worth getting some local shrapnel but there's not a lot of need to spend much money.

 

I guess your late step-father's parents had a sense of humour - John Bull is the UK's equivalent of Uncle Sam. ;)

JB :)

 

John ...My John Bull was originally from England and he was in the army. Saw most of his Australian service in intelligence Vietnam war at that time.

[Aus Traveller]

Draught beer 5 AUD, bottled from 5.50 AUD.

Cocktails varied, from around 7?, 8?

Wine (if anyone else is interested) from about 26 AUD.

 

Best duty-frees by far - Vila.

 

Hi JB, sorry to bother you with drink related questions (I am not an alcoholic I just want to allow enough in the budget for drinks)

 

Is a 15% gratuity charge added to the quoted prices and what are the prices like for duty free on the ship compared to Vila

 

Cheers

On cruises on Australian-based Princess ships no gratuity is added to drink prices. Duty free alcohol prices are much cheaper in Vila than on the ship.

[John Bull]

No drinks service charge.

And duty frees much cheaper in Vila.

 

Same as AT's response.

 

JB :)

Edited March 14, 2014 by John Bull

[Eaglemad]

Thanks JB and AT for the info, I'll be doing my duty free shopping in Vila and if the boss allows it, having a few cleansing ales on board.

Happy Cruising

Nathan

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

JB, are you talking about the Sun or the Sea? We have only sailed the Sea, and we signed for service charges for grog purchases in Dec 2013.

 

Loved the Sea Prinny and would sail any day again on her. But not from mid May-mid July because our waiter is on his 3month break then LOL!! :p

[John Bull]

JB, are you talking about the Sun or the Sea? We have only sailed the Sea, and we signed for service charges for grog purchases in Dec 2013.

 

Loved the Sea Prinny and would sail any day again on her. But not from mid May-mid July because our waiter is on his 3month break then LOL!! :p

 

No, ours was Sun Princess.

And for the second cruise in a year (the other RCI out of the UK) we were expecting a service charge which never materialised. Now confirmed, because our card has been debited with our on-board spend but no 15% added.

We've decided not to complain about this. ;)

 

Sorry you were charged the 15% on Sea Princess *

 

JB :)

 

* well, no, that's not entirely true. To be honest we don't care :D

Edited March 15, 2014 by John Bull

[Aus Traveller]

JB, are you talking about the Sun or the Sea? We have only sailed the Sea, and we signed for service charges for grog purchases in Dec 2013.

 

Loved the Sea Prinny and would sail any day again on her. But not from mid May-mid July because our waiter is on his 3month break then LOL!! :p

 

The service charge and the automatic gratuities were discontinued by Princess on 1st May 2011 for the three Australian ships (Dawn Princess, Sea Princess and Sun Princess). There would not have been the extra charge of 15% on drink prices in December 2013 on any of those three ships.:)

[sun-set]

The service charge and the automatic gratuities were discontinued by Princess on 1st May 2011 for the three Australian ships (Dawn Princess, Sea Princess and Sun Princess). There would not have been the extra charge of 15% on drink prices in December 2013 on any of those three ships.:)

 

All Australian and New Zealand based ships including (P&O Australia-Pacific Dawn-Jewel and Pearl also Carnival Spirit) have removed the extra charges to comply with the laws and customs of those countries.

How can they possibly be gratuities when they are automatic?:confused:

Edited March 16, 2014 by sun-set

[rkmw]

All Australian and New Zealand based ships including (P&O Australia-Pacific Dawn-Jewel and Pearl also Carnival Spirit) have removed the extra charges to comply with the laws and customs of those countries.

How can they possibly be gratuities when they are automatic?:confused:

 

only the aussie & kiwis dont have to pay the gratuities as its included in the fare, everyone else has to pay the gratuities

[John Bull]

All Australian and New Zealand based ships including (P&O Australia-Pacific Dawn-Jewel and Pearl also Carnival Spirit) have removed the extra charges to comply with the laws and customs of those countries.

How can they possibly be gratuities when they are automatic?:confused:

 

Being pedantic I know, but it has nothing to do with Aus law. As long as cruisers are advised at the time of booking that daily grats are mandatory (yes, there's something seriously wrong with the grammar here ;)), or they have the right to remove them, there's nothing unlawful about them.

It has much more to do with custom - the Aus attitude to tipping, which is even more anti-tipping than in the UK. The more transparent policy of including them in the cruise price is much less contentious for Aussies, and would be for Brits too.

 

Same custom/transparency reason for not adding a service charge to drinks, a policy adopted by Royal Caribbean for ex-UK sailings for the same reason.

 

only the aussie & kiwis dont have to pay the gratuities as its included in the fare, everyone else has to pay the gratuities

 

We're Brits & we booked through a Brit agency. We could have removed the daily grats which were added to our on-board account by simply asking for that to be done at reception.

But we're experienced cruisers, we know the score, and we know that they're effectively the crew's wages. We took them into account when costing the cruise & it would have been immoral to remove them without very good reason.

 

JB :)

[Aus Traveller]

We're Brits & we booked through a Brit agency. We could have removed the daily grats which were added to our on-board account by simply asking for that to be done at reception.

But we're experienced cruisers, we know the score, and we know that they're effectively the crew's wages. We took them into account when costing the cruise & it would have been immoral to remove them without very good reason.

 

JB :)

The contracts for staff on the Australian-based Princess ships (Dawn, Sun and Sea) take into account the fact that they will not be receiving the auto-tips. (Some passengers still tip.) On these ships the staff don't rely on the tips to make up a reasonable wage as they do on ships based in USA so I don't feel it would be immoral to remove them (on the Aussie-based ships).

 

The other aspect sometimes mentioned is that the tips are included in the fare charged to Australians. I don't know if Aussies pay more or less than people from other countries, but I am sure that some Aussies get better deals than others.

[John Bull]

The contracts for staff on the Australian-based Princess ships (Dawn, Sun and Sea) take into account the fact that they will not be receiving the auto-tips. (Some passengers still tip.) On these ships the staff don't rely on the tips to make up a reasonable wage as they do on ships based in USA so I don't feel it would be immoral to remove them (on the Aussie-based ships).

 

The other aspect sometimes mentioned is that the tips are included in the fare charged to Australians. I don't know if Aussies pay more or less than people from other countries, but I am sure that some Aussies get better deals than others.

 

Hi, AT.

Yes, since tips are the major source of crews' income, naturally tips-included is balanced by cruise lines passing the tips element to the crew or by higher wages.

 

But on ships with a significant proportion of passengers of various nationalities it gets complicated, & I suspect none of us really know the score.

I'm guessing (only guessing) that such crew compensation relates only to passengers whose tickets were tips-included, and that standard cruise line policies apply in respect of those whose tickets weren't sold as "tips-included".

Several times we've sailed a ship (Voyages of Discovery) advertised in the UK as "tips-inclusive" and found that fellow cruisers who booked in the US/Canada had daily tips added to their on-board account. No problem for them, they knew the score. I don't know whether they had the right to remove them, but north Americans tend not to since tipping is very much part of their culture.

 

Just to muddy the waters, the Sun Princess deal we negotiated with the agency included them paying the daily tips. They then got back to us and said that logistics meant they couldn't pay the daily tips to Princess, so they refunded that part of our payment & asked us to settle those daily tips. So it would have been even more immoral for us to remove & retain tips that the agency had effectively paid.

 

Ticket prices vary enormously when booked in different countries.

Prices are higher in the UK, but even higher in Aus.

North American cruisers undoubtedly get the best prices - just check the internet, and even $-priced cruises offered in spam e-mails from Cruise Critic.

As many experienced Aussies will know, the practice of Brits & Aussies booking through a US agency in order to get those prices has been severely curtailed / outlawed by most cruise lines.

 

Making tickets tips-inclusive is only partly responsible for the price differences.

Other US add-ons such as port taxes are included in Brit (and Aus?) prices.

And we Brits can negotiate big reductions and freebies, way below Brit brochure prices. I know that opportunities to do the same in North America are limited by cruise lines and that helps to close the international price gap, but it's still a wide gap.

I've no doubt that Brits - and especially Aussies, are being taken for a ride, though when others have aired this on CC they've been given a rough ride by our American cousins, too many of whom believe the US is the centre of the Universe & that it's the rest of the world that's out of step.

Market forces? Or discrimination? Don't know, don't care. I only care about what I pay.

 

But I'm going off-topic. :rolleyes:

 

Tips-inclusive is a much more "honest" and transparent way of pricing cruises in the eyes of most Brits & Aussies, especially for the many newbies who only learn about daily "grats" after they've booked, or even after they've boarded. And IMHO the crew would be better off because there'd be no opportunity for cheapskates to remove them. And the absence of those daily "gratuities" on the on-board account means folk would be more likely to voluntarily put their hands in their pockets for a grammatically-correct gratuity at the end of the cruise, to thank crew who'd served them well. I saw plenty of evidence of that on Sun Princess, as well as on UK-based tips-included ships.

 

But while the vast majority of cruise ships are US-controlled & the vast majority of cruisers are North American, we can only expect limited regional variations to reflect other nations' cultures & customs.

 

Rant over :D

 

JB :)

Edited March 17, 2014 by John Bull

[Aus Traveller]

Hi, AT.

Yes, since tips are the major source of crews' income, naturally tips-included is balanced by cruise lines passing the tips element to the crew or by higher wages.

 

But on ships with a significant proportion of passengers of various nationalities it gets complicated, & I suspect none of us really know the score.

I'm guessing (only guessing) that such crew compensation relates only to passengers whose tickets were tips-included, and that standard cruise line policies apply in respect of those whose tickets weren't sold as "tips-included".

Several times we've sailed a ship (Voyages of Discovery) advertised in the UK as "tips-inclusive" and found that fellow cruisers who booked in the US/Canada had daily tips added to their on-board account. No problem for them, they knew the score. I don't know whether they had the right to remove them, but north Americans tend not to since tipping is very much part of their culture.

 

Just to muddy the waters, the Sun Princess deal we negotiated with the agency included them paying the daily tips. They then got back to us and said that logistics meant they couldn't pay the daily tips to Princess, so they refunded that part of our payment & asked us to settle those daily tips. So it would have been even more immoral for us to remove & retain tips that the agency had effectively paid.

 

JB :)

Stewards and waiters on the ships are on a contract for (often) ten months at a set remuneration per month. There are many nationalities other than Australians cruising on the ships out of Australia. I do not believe it would be cost-effective (or even legal) for a cruiseline to vary a steward's pay for one cabin for (say) 11 days of a particular month because the occupants of one of his/her cabins was an international passenger. The cruiseline and the employee both sign the contract and it would be binding.

 

I cannot tell you whether the tips you pay go into the old-style tips pool that is divided among all the waiters/stewards/bartenders or whether it goes to the one employee who happened to get the international passenger in their area. I suspect it is the former. Tips given directly to the crew member are their's to keep.:)

 

As you mention, add-ons such as port fees and taxes are included in the fare quoted in Australia. In that case, I believe they are following Australian law where the price quoted has to be the final price and not subject to added taxes.

 

Comparing prices country-to-country can be difficult. I often feel that people are comparing a 'special' price offered in the US (and possibly only available to new bookings just to fill the ship) with full-priced fares available to international passengers. However, I do feel that these specials should be available to everyone, no matter where they live. I have heard of several cases where Aussies can get better prices than international passengers on Australian-based cruises.

 

I agree with your comment that 'tips included' is a better way to go. I have noticed several Aussies still tip even though it is included in the fare. I hope this doesn't become the usual practice and that the staff start to expect tips.:)

[John Bull]

stewards and waiters on the ships are on a contract for (often) ten months at a set remuneration per month. There are many nationalities other than australians cruising on the ships out of australia. I do not believe it would be cost-effective (or even legal) for a cruiseline to vary a steward's pay for one cabin for (say) 11 days of a particular month because the occupants of one of his/her cabins was an international passenger. The cruiseline and the employee both sign the contract and it would be binding.

I cannot tell you whether the tips you pay go into the old-style tips pool that is divided among all the waiters/stewards/bartenders or whether it goes to the one employee who happened to get the international passenger in their area. I suspect it is the former. Tips given directly to the crew member are their's to keep.:)

i don't know how charged grats are divi'd up either, but yes i rather think it's done equably.

 

as you mention, add-ons such as port fees and taxes are included in the fare quoted in australia. In that case, i believe they are following australian law where the price quoted has to be the final price and not subject to added taxes.

ditto the uk. But the usa is only a few decades behind-the-times ;)

 

comparing prices country-to-country can be difficult. I often feel that people are comparing a 'special' price offered in the us (and possibly only available to new bookings just to fill the ship) with full-priced fares available to international passengers. However, i do feel that these specials should be available to everyone, no matter where they live. I have heard of several cases where aussies can get better prices than international passengers on australian-based cruises.

even more difficult for us to compare, since we were never quoted a "cruise-only" fare, it was packaged with flights. And to complicate it even more we added stop-over hotels e/w at kl & in Sydney. But i do recall that when others mentioned how much they'd paid for a similar cabin, i did the mental arithmetic & figured we'd done well.

 

i agree with your comment that 'tips included' is a better way to go. I have noticed several aussies still tip even though it is included in the fare. I hope this doesn't become the usual practice and that the staff start to expect tips.:)

when we've cruised tips-inclusive we've had no problem with showing our appreciation for services above and beyond, or even carried out with a happy & friendly smile - that's surely what gratuities should be about.

But when they're automatically charged to the on-board account and at usa-style levels, even when as in this case we've negotiated the charge into a deal, we don't put our hands in our pockets a second time.

Our usa cousins take a different view cos that's what they're used to.

 

 

jb :)

 

BTW, all three hotels were good, and good value.

Impiana KLCC near Petronas Towers, KL.

Rydges World Square, Sydney. Adjacent Chinatown, 10 min walk to Darling Harbour, 25 min walk to Circular Quay.

Sama-Sama Hotel at KL airport. Exceptional. Superb hotel in every way, treated like royalty yet very reasonably priced.

 

Apols for the lack of caps in most of this post - not me, a glitch in CC's website.

Edited March 18, 2014 by John Bull