This cruise cover the countries I like to visit. Good Cruise but poor front desk service spoils my trip. I also missed my flight home due to delay in disembarkation due to no fault of the ship. Food at Horizon was about the same everyday. Would have loved food specialty at each country. The shows were good but not as good as the performers at the previous Sapphire Princess we had been to. Zumba and dance classes were good. I personally witness a few rubs with the front desk reception. They should be trained to deal with all kinds of situations, unfortunately they were not. They dont seem to know some of the basic questions like how far the ship to the terminal and how far the terminal to customs/immigration. They could not help me when I requested for assistance to disembark on express as we needed to catch the plane as my for my wife was on a walking stick and I have too many luggage to handle alone. Some of those front desk staff should be sacked for being too high and mighty attitude. Overall a good cruise but this encounter with customer service spoils my day Read Less

We chose this cruise as it offered an interesting itinerary at the only time of year that we can travel. This was our fourth cruise but first with Princess. Positives include * Seamanship demonstrated by the Captain and his crew as the ship sailed through some particularly nasty weather should be congratulated. Passengers were as comfortable as possible in a dreadful storm. * Our stateroom steward provided excellent service during our stay. Not so Positives * Bar services were very poor. Bar staff were slow to take orders for drinks and seemed largely indifferent to customers generally. We were charged for drinks despite having a drinks package on more than one occasion requiring us to ask for the charges to be reversed. * Dining menu options weren’t very interesting and the food was generally quite poor. The special Celebrity Chef menu items weren’t particularly enticing nor prepared well. The best food was served in the buffet on the top level. * Entertainment was appalling. Theatre Shows were no where near what we had experienced on other cruises. There were more entertainment venues than acts to perform - no sooner a band or act had warmed up the crowd then they finished up and we were required to wander through to another venue to find another venue where something was happening - it felt totally bizarre to be wandering around the ship looking for entertainment. It seemed to us that the Entertainment Team were unable to secure any acts for the cruise and were scraping the bottom of the barrel just to get through. * Itinerary may have been over ambitious in light of the immigration issues encountered in some ports. At some Ports we were unable to clear Immigration some hours after arriving giving us limited time ashore. Princess should reconsider their itinerary if better arrangements cannot be made. * Debarkation debacles ensued when the ship was unavoidably late into our last port. Our main complaint here relates to very poor communication from the Customer Services team as excursions were cancelled without notice and alternate arrangements were not offered with clear communication. * Ships layout was confusing and awkward. The fact that there are five dining rooms rather than one Grand Dining Room lessened the evening meal experience. Also, as mentioned above there were more bars/clubs than acts to fill them. I don’t expect we will bother booking with Princess again as we have enjoyed better service on other cruise lines. Read Less

We chose this cruise to see various ports of Asia. This was my 9th time on Princess and my wife's 10th. We like Princess because we know how we will be treated, what to expect, and have always anticipated a clean ship, and friendly staff. Entertainment this trip was IMO sub par. The shows were extremely loud and it was difficult to understand what the production crew was attempting to sing. It might have been better without microphones. The orchestra was REALLY neat to listen to. We would have gone every night to the theater if it was just them. We had anytime dinning that worked out very well. We also signed up for the Lotus Spa Thermal suite. The only downside was the four stone beds were never working and always cold. Our shore excursions were a lot of fun including the elephant trek and riding on top of an elephant. I would go on this ship again. Read Less

I've cruised on Princess many times and saw a great offer for this cruise. I'm sorry I took it, this was the worst cruise I've taken. My cabin was not clean; there was rotting fruit in the refrigerator and toenail clippings on the floor of the balcony. There was hair all over the desk, and paperwork that appeared to be from the previous cruise. Additionally, the wall base was coming loose and created a tripping hazard right at the bathroom door. I brought these issues to the attention of my room steward, and they were addressed that evening. There was a water leak right outside my cabin door and it soaked everything put in the mail slot. It took 6 days and several calls to guest services to fully resolve the problem, even though every time I spoke to guest services, they said it was reported as fixed. On 3 occasions, I was in my cabin while they looked for the leak and attempted repairs. At no time was a message left in the cabin or on the phone indicating the problem that I reported had been fixed. And even though I asked that nothing be put in the mail slot, everything was. I was eventually told by an engineering supervisor that it would have to be repaired on a port day, after notification to all cabins affected. I came back to my cabin one port day to find the corridor a mess and a bunch of people working on the water line, but I never received notification that the work was going to occur. There seemed to be a gross lack of communication and a clear lack of follow up inspections by supervisory personnel. Princess eventually gave me $100 room credit, but I feel that it wasn't nearly enough for the trouble. Data services did not work in the cabin at all and were very slow, even in the internet cafe. All of the tours were rushed, with no real shopping time, and little time at any of the sites. At some locations stops were made that weren't on the posted itinerary, and weren't appropriate for cruisers. On 2 tours, were were outside during thunderstorms, but there was no protocol for protecting passengers during this situation - or the flooded road we drove on in one instance. Although all of the tours were 4+ hours, meals/snacks were not included, and no time allotted for eating. The only tour that included a meal was the disembarkation tour I took in Singapore, where they took us to a seafood restaurant - I happen to be allergic to shellfish, and was not aware that we would be eating in such a place until we were on the tour. Read Less

Princess Sapphire, nothing special, the ship was nice, but no special features. shows were good and staff were mostly pretty good. Go and visit Adnan at the crooners bar, he was great. They seemed to have a hard time with getting people on and off. the line ups to get out for excursions on the 2 tender days were awful. by the time you got out you didn't have time to do anything. Then the ship was late leaving because of the huge line ups to get back on. The port days with docks were better but not great. For me this trip had too many sea days. Kuala Lumpur was a great port. Bali might have been better but it took so long to get off that there really wasn't much time. Penang was a good stop too. Food in the dining room was very good, but the buffet was not great. Read Less

Princess Cruises advertised an Endless Drink Package that had Soft Drinks, Mocktails, and Shakes/Malts. My husband loves to have Malts so I purchased the package for both of us, due to what Princess advertised on their website. When my husband went to order a malt, he was informed that the Endless Drink Package did not cover Shakes/Malts. We informed the host that per the Princess Cruise's website when purchased it did. They stated that it no longer does. We had to pay the $2.0 for the malt and then went to the Front Desk to inform them of the Bait and Switch, which is illegal that had happened. The Front Desk emailed Princess Cruise's corporate office, and the corporate office refused to honor what they had advertised. I only purchased the Endless Drink Package due to what they had advertised. They did not remove the advertisement before I had made my purchase, so it should have covered everything that was advertised, but they switch it on be after we had arrived on the ship. This was just wrong! I found many misleading statements by the Art Auction personnel also. The worst was when they stated for my husband and me, to come to the Art Gallery to finalize a purchase at a particular time, and when we arrived, the person at hand was too busy and could not finalize the transaction. He informed us that we had to attend another Art Auction, and then he could help us to finalize the transaction. We attended another auction, and once again we were put off on finalizing the transaction. We met the same person at the Art Gallery again, as instructed. This person again was too busy for us,.and tried to put us off for the third time. I informed him that this was our cruise and he had no right to ruin it for us and had to take care of finalizing the transaction NOW! And, if not, I will ruin any further transaction he had to handle. He then took the time to finalize the transaction. The food that was offered to the passengers was only good on some days, other days the hot dogs and pizza were the only good options. A cruise is supposed to be an enjoyable experience, but ever since Carnival Cruise took over Princess Cruise it has gone downhill, and the Bait and Switch tactic was the most unbelievable thing. Other then the above, the service people were excellent! The cabin was comfortable, entertainment need help in some cases, the guest lecturer was excellent, and the shore excursions were enjoyable. Just beware, Princess Cruises sometimes advertises one thing and then honors another. And, it is never on the plus side, it took a lot out of our enjoyment being Baited and Switched. Read Less

Choose this cruise to primarily see Singapore and the various ports of call. Overall, the ship is very confusing. Not enough signage at the elevators. Constantly found myself heading in the wrong direction. The food on this ship was poor, at best. Steaks ordered medium and delivered well done. Shrimp cocktail was served luke warm instead of icy cold. And the buffet was not good at all. Bad layout, bad selection, dried out food. The entertainment was right out of the 80s.old and outdated. One of the make singers could not even sing and they gave him opera? The casino was so tight it wasn't even fun to play. On previous cruises from Holland America, the machines were loose and fun to play. The casino on the Holland ship was always packed. This one, empty most of the time. Living in Vegas, I know what tight machines are. These were much tighter. Overall, the cruise was relaxing once I accepted the shortcomings. Holland America will still be my first choice, at least thus far. Next month we try Norwegian. Read Less

My 3rd time on a princess ship this time was average at best. Seriously lacking entertainment choices I felt not even one comedian on board the broadway shows were a joke couldn’t make past 2 opening numbers and had to walk out. The ship is still in good shape the cabin crew seems overworked I heard 20 rooms per day per steward ! The food was just above average to me. I tried club class for the first time and I’m not convinced it’s worth it. Seems to be just another money grab by the cruise line. Special section of the Santa Fe dining room for club class and one extra special on the menu per evening... whoopie ! Club class gives you a better location for your mini suite but that’s about it still the same room. Really a diverse group of passengers on this voyage I had a good time none the less. Read Less

We chose this cruise to go to Southeast Asia and particularly the ports advertised. we found the cruise terribly disappointing. Princess misrepresented the times in ports. because of terrible tendering services the port times were very short in ports where the vessel anchored out. The food service and entertainment were disappointing. The quality of the meat was poor, and the meat tough. good entertainment was nonexistent. the internet service was expensive and very slow. the chocolate was good. waiters should have had more training. never saw ships officers around ship. In Bali, one tender went aground, then 2 other tenders were sent to help. the ship should have compensated for this to allow passengers to extent the sailing time so passengers could have a reasonable time ashore. no they kept the sailing time as posted, but really didn't sail till hours later. being a naval architect, and having worked on designing cruise ships and their cruises, I found this cruise particularly disappointing Read Less

First the good: 1. Excellent staff across the board. Everyone we dealt with was cheery and accommodating and truly nice. 2. The destinations lecturer was terrific. She was informative and interesting and helpful. 3. The itinerary was well-paced. 4. The dining rooms were well managed and tranquil. There are four of them, three of which are for "anytime dining" and that works surprisingly well. 5. Our stateroom was comfortable (Caribe 747) and our steward (Savio) went above and beyond to keep it nice. 6. As it was a 28-day sailing the entire dining room staff took care to know us and our preferences. Our assigned waiters (Maitree and Anna) were as good as the ones we've had on Silver Seas and Seabourn and Royal Viking, and they were good. All the other waiters we encountered during open seating meals were also excellent. 7. The pizzeria was handy, and the room service menu (except for breakfast) was fine. 8., Embarking in Rome and disembarking in Singapore was easy, as were most of the port visit disembarkations. Now the not -so -good: 1. It had been years since we sailed on Princess, and they've really declined in so many ways. No more festive sailaways (remember on-deck bands and streamers and champagne?) or Captain's parties. No more nice toiletries. As "Elite" cruisers we expected the promised "upgraded toiletries". Turns out they don't exist. Instead of decent soap and shampoo we got a bag with a nail file and eye mask and lip balm. Nice touch, but it doesn't count when you're stuck with the junk that is in dispensers bolted to the wall in the shower. And speaking of the shower stall, it's so small and dingy and poorly lit like the rest of the bath and you keep banging yourself on those nasty soap dispensers that shouldn't even be there. And the shower curtain is too big and long and billowy for the space.... 2. The food is cheap. Bad cuts of meat, scarce vegetables and too much salt on everything. The salad ingredients are so thinly sliced it's amazing they can do it. One radish must be stretched to fill four salads it's so thin. We had a dish that was supposed to be served with asparagus. They actually sliced the asparagus spear lengthwise in half and served three of them cut side down so at first glance it looked like three spears (which is already insufficient) but in reality it was 1 1/2. That's really chintzy. The "coffee" served in the dining rooms and buffet is disgusting. It's some sort of Nestle syrup mixed with water. It doesn't smell or look or resemble coffee, so you are forced to buy a coffee card to get a decent cup. The juices are awful, and the menus aren't very creative. Chicken and leek pie kept reappearing it's unwanted presence way too often.... 3. The ship is a bit shabby in places, but to their credit when I made a negative comment about the bad condition of our balcony and its furniture a crew arrived and replaced the furniture, cleaned up the rusted metal fixtures as best they could, painted the stained walls and trims, replaced the rotten wood rails and washed the crud off the floor. It took them a while, but it made a huge difference. If the ship was properly maintained these things would have been done as routine and not as a special request. 4. There is no enforcement of dress code: "formal night" at the table next to ours showed a big slob in a t-shirt and sneakers seated next to a well-dressed couple. Later that night in the theatre we were next to people in shorts and sandals and some guy with a rag tied on his head. It must have been his "formal dress rag"....5. And speaking of theatre, the entertainment was all over the map: There were wonderful performances by a male vocal quartet and a violin/piano duo plus a cocktail pianist. The house orchestra was also wonderful. There was a totally disgusting "tribute" to Stevie Wonder in which a guy tried to win over the audience by pretending to be Stevie Wonder, right down to pretending to be blind. Since when has pretending to be blind been considered entertainment? It was shockingly distasteful. There was also some kid pandering to the mostly Australian audience with his Austalian-ess and a ditzy Chinese girl cheesily channeling Charo, playing an incredibly loud electric violin and mistating the name of the pieces she was playing. It was like a skit from Saturday Night Live, especially when she'd stick her leg out of her dress and act sexy/coy and say "I love you".... 6. The incessent nickel and diming is unbelievable. Overpriced drinks, souvenirs, shore excursions, internet, photos, etc. are insulting. When you order room service you have to sign a slip acknowledging delivery. Why? Because it's just another way to get you to add a gratuity -- but how do you tip on a non-existent bill? And why should you, when you're paying $13.50 daily? Cruise ships are not ferries, Princess -- we did pay a fare, so it's insipid to be told that if you want a decent steak you have to go to the "Steakhouse" and pay $29 for it. That's $29 on top of the fare already paid for that evening's dinner and you don't get value for it, especially when you see that the "Steakhouse " is just a sectioned-off part of the buffet area and has a stifling hot, stuffy atmosphere....Just make the steak in the dining room decent and all will be well. 7. Plastic plates and glasses in the buffet are gross, and the excuse that you can't have china doesn't work. Other ships have china plates. The buffet is very unappetizing, anyhow, and the drinking water is vile -- it tastes like it comes from the swimming pool. The buffet room itself is a nauseating -- bad traffic flow, people with plates piled high grabbing for tables, no ventilation, no table cloths, place mats, place settings, service. It's like eating in Bedlam. The only good thing about the buffet was watching the people enter into the space and stop at a trough and scrub their hands before proceeding into the room. 8. Beware "Movies Under the Stars" -- it's not just under the stars but it's always. Yup, 24/7, day and night, movies blasting away on the top deck. Is a loud movie track blasting through the air just what you want when sailing through the Suez Canal? If so, then book Princess. If you'd rather tranquility then run the other way. All in all, if Princess could just up their game to where they were twnety years ago it would be nice again.... Read Less