We have a "cousins" get together every year and two years ago we decided to make it special this year. When choosing a cruise we wanted to leave from Melbourne, so we chose This cruise. As an elite Captains circle member I bragged about the service, staff and food on Princess and that it was worth the extra money. Last year my sister was diagnosed with cancer so this trip had added significance for our group of 24. Right from the start, we got off on a bad footing. Not once but many times, members of our group complained about the rudeness and indifference provided by some members (definitely not all) of the passenger service desk. The inability to provide information, inability to say who could provide information and unpreparedness to provide solutions was staggering.

We had bad weather and only had a very limited time in Auckland, non of which Princess could be held accountable. However when the weather was known to be rough, outdoor activities were still scheduled, when extra indoor ones should have been. On arrival in Tauranga a review was being undertaken on whether we could get into Gisborne due to the weather. A decision was made that it was not safe and therefore we would stay till midnight in Tauranga. That announcement was made after many ppl had already gone on excursions. The decision should have been made earlier and communicated to all passengers so that they could stay and do extra things in Rotorua instead of racing back by 5:30 and waiting 7 hours for a departure.

Anytime dining is a joke as you can't book in between 6:00 and 7:30pm. So you have a very early dinner or a late one or eat in the horizon. Read more