Pacific Princess

[DonahCBrown]

Found a great review here for the Pacific Princess that said that Princess, rather than P & O, operated the Pacific Princess even when she's doing the summer duty there.

 

We're on the first 'official' Princess cruise of the season, Sydney to Osaka, and were wondering what experience folks have had of the ship under the P & O flag, and if anyone knew if there was going to be a wholesale change in the crew in April, or if the same people just keep running the ship as the review seemed to indicate.

[james j feller]

DONNA,

 

We are going on the same cruise as you are, where did you read the review on the PACIFIC PRINCESS?

 

We are flying in three days earlier and staying at the FOUR SEASONS, where are you staying ?

 

Hope to see you on board and of course anyone else.

 

We did sail on the TATHITIAN PRINCESS, so we know the layout of the ship.

 

JIM and MAXINE

[DonahCBrown]

DONNA,

 

We are going on the same cruise as you are, where did you read the review on the PACIFIC PRINCESS?

 

We are flying in three days earlier and staying at the FOUR SEASONS, where are you staying ?

 

Hope to see you on board and of course anyone else.

 

We did sail on the TATHITIAN PRINCESS, so we know the layout of the ship.

 

JIM and MAXINE

 

There was a link on a thread here - something like Princess vs P & O? - anyway - it linked to a review site that has great reviews and pictures. Posted the link over on the Roll Call for our trip.

 

We're also arriving early - get in on the 21st in the morning. We're at the Marriott at Circular Quay. Looking forward to getting a little taste of Sydney before the cruise. We were thinking about a little trip out into the Alexander Valley, too. Want to see if we can put together a little wine tasting excursion?

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Looking forward to getting a little taste of Sydney before the cruise. We were thinking about a little trip out into the Alexander Valley, too. Want to see if we can put together a little wine tasting excursion?

 

If you are having a pre stay in Sydney you could try the Hunter Valley.They run day trips out there ,which are lots of fun.We did one that included three wine tasting stops and included lunch.It is a very full day,and the scenery on the way is great.

David.

[DonahCBrown]

If you are having a pre stay in Sydney you could try the Hunter Valley.They run day trips out there ,which are lots of fun.We did one that included three wine tasting stops and included lunch.It is a very full day,and the scenery on the way is great.

David.

 

I think that's what I actually meant! Thanks, David! We love the Australian wines. Do you recall the name of your tour company?

 

It was quite a surprise to find that the cost of Australian wines in New Zealand (not to mention the wonderful but outrageously expensive New Zealand Chardonnays!) was so much higher in Auckland than in Hawaii. I guess it is a matter of taxes and subsidies for exports.

[mummsie]

I think most of the crew stay the same except for maybe the cruise director and the captain. Nearly all of the crew when we were on were the original Princess crew. mummsie can't wait to go again.!!

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Hi Donna,

I thought you had meant to say the Hunter Valley,however I had not heard of Alexander Valley,so a after a quick Google search, I have learnt something new .

The tour we did to the Hunter Valley was just a standard one,booked through the concierge at the hotel the day before.They pick up and drop off from all Hotels,and the tour starts at the Coach Terminal in the basement of the Star City Casino where everyone is organised into the various groups for their day tours and away you go. It seems like they just keep taking bookings and if they run out of space they just put another coach on.If you do a Google search on ........

Sydney Day Tours,

it will bring up several other options for you .It is a great day tour.As it is a full day we found it best to take a tour that included lunch.

An option if you have another day spare is the Hop on Hop off Bus.They have two,the City tour and the Bondi tour.The Bondi one is wonderful and gives excellent views of Sydney and the Harbour.

Whatever you end up doing,you can't help but enjoy your time in Sydney,

David.

[DonahCBrown]

We're quite devoted to the Hop-on Hop-off buses! They're a great way to get oriented to new places and we pretty much always take the tour if available. Looks like Sydney has good public transportation, too. That's such a treat for us, as our public transit system is non-existant and we have to drive everywhere. Of course, just having spent a month in New Zealand last October, if we decide to get a car in Sydney, it won't take too much to get back in the swing of "wrong side" driving again. Looking forward to it! Our first time in Oz, but we're planning on coming back for a longer land-based trip. Thanks for the info on the wine country trip. Always better to have someone else do the driving for those! Especially on the "wrong" side of the road!