New Zealand on Royal Princess December 2, 2023

[Awesomehooker]

Omg!  I appreciate this kind of photos to know I don’t have to pack hand soap or shower soap!  I hate the kind that’s a bar.  I’m very grateful for all your info!  There’s been nothing in this shop in New Zealand anywhere else on the internet.

[azbirdmom]

Loved that after the Christmas decorations started that it seemed every day something new appeared. On the last day of the cruise a kangaroo with a Joey appeared in front of the sleigh. Hope you don’t mind this addition to your wonderful review, you had the picture but I just thought it was such a nice touch by those who decorated the ship!
 

 

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by azbirdmom

[cms2001]

3 of us are taking this cruise in March, and then staying on for the next cruise.

Did you notice the procedure for people doing this?

[PurpleTraveller]

2 hours ago, Awesomehooker said:

Omg!  I appreciate this kind of photos to know I don’t have to pack hand soap or shower soap!  I hate the kind that’s a bar.  I’m very grateful for all your info!  There’s been nothing in this shop in New Zealand anywhere else on the internet.

 

You are very welcome! Glad to have been of some help in your planning. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great cruise! 🛳️

[PurpleTraveller]

1 hour ago, azbirdmom said:

Loved that after the Christmas decorations started that it seemed every day something new appeared. On the last day of the cruise a kangaroo with a Joey appeared in front of the sleigh. Hope you don’t mind this addition to your wonderful review, you had the picture but I just thought it was such a nice touch by those who decorated the ship!
 

 

 

 

Not at all! I loved how every day I would see some new decoration somewhere around the ship. I also loved the kangaroo and joey - a lovely Aussie touch! 🦘 

 

Hope you, your husband and your family have a wonderful Christmas and New Year and hope to meet up again with you on a future cruise. 🎄

[PurpleTraveller]

41 minutes ago, cms2001 said:

3 of us are taking this cruise in March, and then staying on for the next cruise.

Did you notice the procedure for people doing this?

 

I'm sorry but I don't know. I did meet a couple of people who were doing the following Christmas cruise to Fiji but I don't know what the procedure was. If anyone else knows maybe they could reply.

 

Hope you have great cruises in March! 🛳️

 

[azbirdmom]

8 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

Hope you, your husband and your family have a wonderful Christmas and New Year and hope to meet up again with you on a future cruise. 🎄

 

Hope to see again too, and wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

[PurpleTraveller]

Conclusion

 

We had a great cruise and these are my opinions only.

 

Embarkation and Disembarkation 

 

Embarkation took 40 minutes with most of that waiting in the line to get to the check in counter. Once we got to the check in counter hall we were able to use the Priority lane and were at a counter almost immediately. Once we had our medallions we were on board quickly. Our embarkation was thankfully a lot better than what we had experienced in Vancouver in June.

 

Disembarkation was quick and easy.

 

Ship

 

Royal Princess is in great condition and is just as good as when we sailed on her in 2016. We like the larger Horizon buffet and Piazza but miss not having a full Promenade and Skywalkers. Overall she is a wonderful ship and we would happily sail on her again in the future.

 

Cabin

 

As I mentioned earlier we were upgraded from the Obstructed Balcony we had booked to a Balcony on Caribe deck 10. The cabin was comfortable and in a good location. We only used the lifts a few times and being on deck 10 meant it wasn't too far up to the Lido deck on 16 or too far up from the Piazza on deck 5 to our cabin on deck 10 when using the stairs. 

 

The only disadvantage of this cabin was that it is next door to a four berth cabin which I would normally never book a cabin next to. There were four older teenagers next door and at the start of the cruise they were a bit rowdy and we could hear and feel thuds and crashes from next door. We were happy that the noise lessened as the cruise progressed and we heard little from them for the last week of the cruise. 

 

Fortunately our bed was very comfortable unlike the terrible bed that we had on Crown Princess in June.

 

Food

 

We found the food in the buffet at breakfast was the same standard as we have had previously. We did not eat in the buffet for lunch or dinner.

 

The International Cafe was great for a light lunch and we ate lunch there a number of times after returning to the ship from a day in port.

 

We also ate at the Burger Grill and Slices Pizza on the Lido deck for lunch where the food was of the same standard we have had on previous cruises and was good.

 

We ate in the Concerto Dining Room for dinner every night and the food was good with a couple of exceptions that were very good. We had better food in the Dining Room on our Crown Princess cruise in June.

 

We did not eat at any specialty restaurants or Alfredo's which was deserted whenever we walked past.

 

One thing I noticed was the very watery apple juice each day at breakfast in the Horizon buffet. Some days it was so watery it was more like a glass of water with a small splash of apple juice and was almost tasteless. I have never experienced this before as I always drink apple juice at breakfast when on cruises.

 

Service

 

Overall the service we received throughout the cruise was great. 

 

We had fantastic service in the Concerto Dining Room from our waiters Richard and Santosh. Robert the restaurant manager was outstanding and gave us excellent service and looked after me and my food allergy. They were the best dining team we have had on any Princess cruise.

 

Occasionally the service on the back deck of the Horizon buffet was lacking and we either had to ask the crew who were standing in the sun chatting for a drink or go into the buffet to get ourselves a drink. The service in the Horizon buffet at breakfast could also be very slow and on the few occassions that we had breakfast inside we had almost finished our breakfast before anyone asked us if we would like a drink. 

 

Our steward didn't introduce himself or ask us if we needed anything. I only met him for the first time when I went to find him at 8.00pm on the first night to get towels as we didn't have any in our bathroom. We barely saw him but our cabin was kept clean and serviced.

 

Packages

 

We didn't purchase a package as we drink little alcohol, don't drink coffee and don't need daily internet. We had OBC and used it to pay for our shore excursion and our drinks during the cruise and left the cruise not owing anything. We used free internet on shore at Tauranga and Paihia only to check emails. We did not use OceanNow to order food or drinks as we are happy to get our own.

 

Weather

 

The weather forecast before we left didn't look good with cool temperatures and rain forecast at many ports. Fortunately, though the temperatures were not very warm they were higher than forecast and we didn't have any rain when we were in port. We also had a few sunny days. Unfortunately it was quite windy on many days, particularly our Sea Days, and the upper decks were closed on many days.

 

Ports

 

We enjoyed all our ports even though we had been to all of them previously except the Bay of Islands. We were delighted to get into the Fiordland National Park and see the Sounds on our third attempt. It was a pity that we missed the sail away from Picton as it was dark when we left but it couldn't be helped. New Zealand is beautiful and the people there are lovely, friendly and helpful.

 

Shuttles

 

We had to use shuttle buses at a couple of ports as they were industrial ports where pedestrians can not walk. We did not have any issues but apparently the shuttle buses to Christchurch from Lyttleton were a bit of a mess with some passengers not getting to Christchurch until well after 12.00pm. The Captain apologised for the long delays that evening but a number of passengers we met were not impressed with their shortened day in Christchurch due to the delays. We did notice that although times were given for shuttle and tender tickets to start being given out, that they started giving them out earlier than stated.

 

Tenders

 

We only had to use tenders at one port in the Bay of Islands. I thought that the tender ticket system worked well and we were happy with the time we were able to get off the ship. We did not have to wait to get on a tender to return to the ship.

 

Shore Excursions

 

We only did one shore excursion in Dunedin which we enjoyed though it was rushed. Other passengers we spoke to enjoyed the shore excursions they did. As mentioned previously it was fortunate that the excursion that was unable to return to the ship in Picton was a Princess excursion so that the passengers were looked after and were able to return to the ship in Auckland.

 

Lectures/Presentations

 

We enjoyed the Enrichment Lectures by Russell Twomey and DH particularly enjoyed the Navigation at Sea Presentation. We thought that the Destination Presentations did not give enough time to what there was to see and do and how to do it, at each port. We also noticed that the Tauranga public bus information given was incorrect.

 

Entertainment

 

We went to the Theatre to see three Production Shows, a couple of singers and the Farewell Variety Show. We enjoyed all of these particularly the "Colours of the World" Production Show. It was necessary to get to the theatre half an hour before a Production Show to get a choice of seats and 10 minutes before the show to be assured of a seat. We listened to other music around the ship and in the Piazza and enjoyed it all.

 

Passengers

 

The ship was almost full and most passengers we encountered were great. We met some lovely people when having dinner and in the Theatre. There was a wide range of ages from babies to older passengers. There were a number (but not a large amount) of children and teenagers on board and the ones we saw were well behaved. There was a large number of passengers from Asia and the important announcements were made firstly in English and then in Mandarin. 

 

(The following Christmas cruise was going to have 600 children on board and the same number of adults as this cruise.)

 

Covid/Gastrointestinal Illness

 

The ship had a deep clean before we boarded as the previous cruise had an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness. The crew were making sure that everyone washed their hands before entering the buffet and there were repeated reminders to wash hands and use the hand sanitizer. For the first few days bread rolls, butter and salt and pepper shakers were not on the tables in the main dining rooms and they were served by the waiters. We heard of a few of cases of gastrointestinal illness but we were not aware if it was a major issue.

 

There were a few cases of Covid that we heard about on the cruise but it did not hear that it was widespread. We only used the elevators a few times and wore masks when we did. We also wore masks when the Theatre was crowded and on shuttle buses and the one shore excursion bus we were on. We also washed our hands and used hand sanitizer everywhere we went.

 

Overall

 

We had a great cruise and enjoyed visiting New Zealand again. Royal Princess is a lovely ship and we were pleased to cruise on her again. We would be happy to sail on Royal Princess again in the future.

 

Well this is the end of my review. Where are we off to next? We will be going to India at the end of February next year, have a land trip to Turkey in June next year followed by a 7 day Greek Island cruise on Celebrity Infinity and a 10 day Italy and Croatia cruise on Celebrity Constellation. Our next Princess cruise is a 14 day cruise on Emerald Princess to Iceland and the British Isles in September 2025, though I wouldn't be at all surprised if I book another one before then.

 

Thank you for reading my review.

 

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. 🎄  

 

Until next time Bon Voyage! 🛳️

 

 

[JLC0912]

@PurpleTraveller.  Thanks for doing this comprehensive review.  We have booked this cruise in 2025 and it is good to know that you had a good experience on board the Royal Princess.  

 

You mention that prior to the cruise, you were sent an email that the ship would go to Picton instead of Wellington.  Did you find out why that change was made?

 

Does anyone know if other cruise dates also had that same substitution?  I might change my travel plans to try if this is something that happens regularly. Thanks 🙂

[azbirdmom]

5 minutes ago, JLC0912 said:

@PurpleTraveller.  Thanks for doing this comprehensive review.  We have booked this cruise in 2025 and it is good to know that you had a good experience on board the Royal Princess.  

 

You mention that prior to the cruise, you were sent an email that the ship would go to Picton instead of Wellington.  Did you find out why that change was made?

 

Does anyone know if other cruise dates also had that same substitution?  I might change my travel plans to try if this is something that happens regularly. Thanks 🙂

 

I was on the same cruise and I still had the notice that they sent on April 21,2023.  Here's an excerpt:

 

 

They gave us a decent amount of notice on this change.  Not sure about other cruise dates but I have noticed other trip reports since then have referenced stops in Wellington.

[JLC0912]

@azbirdmom

Thank you much for the info!  I will keep an eye on that issue since I really want to visit Wellington.  It is one of the ports that interest me the most.  I plan on seeing the Te Pa Pa museum, the Weta Workshop, the cable car, the Botanic Gardens, Cuban Street, and sample their Thai food!  I really do not want to miss that.....  Also of note is that Wellington is probably better since it rains alot in NZ and there are more things to do in Wellington in the event of inclement weather.

 

It is good to know that Princess notified people well in advance so they could make changes to their travel plans.  I could see the Weta Workshop in Auckland.  And perhaps try to fit in some Maori cultural experience to replace the Te Papa museum.

Edited February 8 by JLC0912

[PurpleTraveller]

2 hours ago, JLC0912 said:

@PurpleTraveller.  Thanks for doing this comprehensive review.  We have booked this cruise in 2025 and it is good to know that you had a good experience on board the Royal Princess.  

 

You mention that prior to the cruise, you were sent an email that the ship would go to Picton instead of Wellington.  Did you find out why that change was made?

 

Does anyone know if other cruise dates also had that same substitution?  I might change my travel plans to try if this is something that happens regularly. Thanks 🙂

 

Thank you for reading my review!

 

The notice about the port change from Wellington to Picton said that the change was due to cruise ship congestion. Fortunately there was plenty of notice and we had been to Wellington twice before. Wellington has a lot to see and do, particularly for a first time visitor but Picton is also lovely. 

 

I checked the next two Royal Princess cruises to New Zealand and they are going to Wellington. I have also read of some cruises that have been to Wellington since my cruise. I did not have a port change on my two previous New Zealand cruises in 2016 and 2018 so hopefully this is not a common occurrence.

 

Hope you have a great cruise and get to Wellington. 🛳️

 

Edited February 8 by PurpleTraveller

[JLC0912]

@PurpleTraveller.  Thanks for the additional information.  Your blog is full of useful info. Have you considered doing a youtube channel?  I will follow your posts as I think it could help me get some detailed info while selecting cruise options in the future.  It seems you have many scheduled, so those posts would likely be helpful.  We are in our late 50s and retired as of January of this year.  I would like to do more cruises, but we are somewhat restricted by having to board two dogs and a cat when we travel.  Also, with some of our vacations we paid more for dog boarding than our hotel rooms.... 

Anyway, If your posts on your other cruises are as complete as this one, it should help me narrow down my choices.  Thank you for taking the time to post this detailed review.🙂

 

 

-Jen

[PurpleTraveller]

37 minutes ago, JLC0912 said:

@PurpleTraveller.  Thanks for the additional information.  Your blog is full of useful info. Have you considered doing a youtube channel?  I will follow your posts as I think it could help me get some detailed info while selecting cruise options in the future.  It seems you have many scheduled, so those posts would likely be helpful.  We are in our late 50s and retired as of January of this year.  I would like to do more cruises, but we are somewhat restricted by having to board two dogs and a cat when we travel.  Also, with some of our vacations we paid more for dog boarding than our hotel rooms.... 

Anyway, If your posts on your other cruises are as complete as this one, it should help me narrow down my choices.  Thank you for taking the time to post this detailed review.🙂

 

 

-Jen

 

Thank you so much for your lovely comments! I write these reviews to try and help other cruisers with providing information that I am interested in knowing before I go on a cruise to that location and also hopefully make reading enjoyable with some nice photos. I also enjoy reliving my cruises when writing the reviews. I wouldn't do YouTube because I am a bit "old school" though I do occasionally watch for something that interests me. 

 

I am of a similar age as I (now don't tell anyone) am turning 60 this year. Our children are grown and don't have pets so have no restrictions for travelling. We don't just do cruises though we like to do a couple each year. We are off to India later this month which should be great. I've always wanted to go to the Taj Mahal.

 

Have you read any of my previous reviews? They are all on my signature. I did one of my 2018 New Zealand cruise when we did go to Wellington and it also has some information at the end of the review about my 2016 visit to Wellington when I answered another cruiser who asked about Wellington. I wrote my first review in 2017 and you will see that my reviews have changed a lot in the time since then, hopefully for the better. 😊

 

If you have any other questions please ask as I am always happy to try and help. Thanks again and happy Cruising!

 

Allison

 

[sboh]

I really enjoyed reading your review and seeing your beautiful pictures. I’m starting to think about visiting Australia and New Zealand and debating between a coach tour and cruise. I was afraid if I chose a cruise I wouldn’t see enough of the natural beauty of New Zealand but your pictures have convinced me otherwise. 

[PurpleTraveller]

2 hours ago, sboh said:

I really enjoyed reading your review and seeing your beautiful pictures. I’m starting to think about visiting Australia and New Zealand and debating between a coach tour and cruise. I was afraid if I chose a cruise I wouldn’t see enough of the natural beauty of New Zealand but your pictures have convinced me otherwise. 

 

Thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed the review.

 

To be honest you would see more of New Zealand on a coach tour, particularly the areas away from the coast which you won't see on a cruise. Fortunately New Zealand is fairly small so a coach tour would let you see a lot of the country. The big advantage of a cruise is the unpacking once, not having to be up at the crack of dawn each day to move on to your next destination and not having to think about dinner each night. So much more relaxed! On a cruise you can see some of the natural beauty of New Zealand and cruising through the Fiordland National Park is wonderful which you wouldn't see as much of on a coach tour. Personally I love a New Zealand cruise.

 

As for Australia, it is a big country and a coach tour would only show you a small portion. It is easier to fly to different places such as Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru. You would have to pick what you wanted to see most. There are cruises that go to Tasmania from Sydney and others that go to Queensland.

 

It all just depends on what you want to see and how much time you have. You could read my review of my 2018 New Zealand cruise (link is in my signature) where I went to different places at each port to help you decide on whether a New Zealand cruise is for you.

 

Happy planning and if you have any questions please feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer them. I hope you do come to visit us. 😊

 

[PR-Texas]

Thanks so much for the detailed review.  We will be going on a similar cruise as part of our cruise tour to AU and NZ in November 2024. Especially thanks for including the daily temps and pictures of folks outside.  That really helps our planning. 

 

We've booked Princess excursions in all the ports since this cruise will be a one time trip and there are things we want to see and do. Do you know how shuttles were handled for folks who were on Princess excursions? 

[PurpleTraveller]

3 hours ago, PR-Texas said:

Thanks so much for the detailed review.  We will be going on a similar cruise as part of our cruise tour to AU and NZ in November 2024. Especially thanks for including the daily temps and pictures of folks outside.  That really helps our planning. 

 

We've booked Princess excursions in all the ports since this cruise will be a one time trip and there are things we want to see and do. Do you know how shuttles were handled for folks who were on Princess excursions? 

 

Thank you! I'm really pleased that my review is helping with your planning. We find that it is best to bring layers as the temps can range from quite cool to warm in November. It can be very cool at sea and in the Sounds so a wind proof jacket is handy but the rest of the time short sleeves with a fleecy is usually sufficient.

 

We only did one excursion in Dunedin and the procedure was the same as we have experienced on other Princess cruises. We met at the theatre at the time on our excursion ticket, waited in the theatre in the section for our excursion, were called by our excursion group and walked off the ship to our bus which had a sign on it with the excursion number. There was someone collecting our tickets at the door to the bus. At working ports where there were shuttles to take independent travellers into town the excursion buses were at the dock so the excursion participants only had to leave the ship and walk to their excursion bus.

 

I hope you have a great visit to Australia and New Zealand and have a wonderful cruise! 🛳️

 

[PR-Texas]

Thanks for the info.  That's kind of what I expected but it's good to have it confirmed.