Shanghai to Bangkok with room for improvement |
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Reviewed By: Booth, Wigan on 8th Feb 2010
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| Cruise Line: Princess Cruises |
Times cruised before: 10+ |
| Cruise Ship: Ocean Princess |
Sailed:
January,
2010 |
| Destination: Far East |
Age: 56-65 |
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Just back from a 16 day cruise from Shanghai to Bangkok calling at Okinawa, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore and Koh Samui, travelling as a party of 9 adults. We opted for the 'cruise only' option, booking our flights with 'Emirates' direct from Manchester (thus avoiding Heathrow) and extra nights hotel stays in central Shanghai and Bangkok - saving £250pp for a longer and more enjoyable holiday and a top airline. Princess must be substantially loading their prices.
The ship is one of the eight built for Renaissance some 10 years ago - this one being R4. It is of good proportions with just 650 guests and some 350 staff, the staff-customer ratio and passenger space are excellent. It has recently undergone a refurbishment and partial refit. This was noticeable in new carpets in the lounges and re-upholstered chairs but otherwise seems to have consisted of lashings of white paint applied to cover up rust and rotten wood particularly on the balconies. I understand a lot of 'engineering' work was undertaken.
The ship never seemed crowded. Deck 10 was split with the lovely forward- looking Tahitian lounge at the front and speciality dining rooms at the rear. Deck 9 provided sun-decks around a small pool area with 2 hot-tubs, a lovely panelled and well-stocked library and the Panorama buffet with inside and outside seating. Decks 8,7 and 6 were taken up with all outside cabins, the majority with balconies, whilst on Deck 5 were found the Cabaret Showlounge, small Casino, Piano Bar, Shops, small 2 deck atrium and the main Club Dining Room. The Pursers, Shore excursion and Captains Circle Desks were on Deck 4.
Our cabins (outside with balcony) on Deck 6 were fine with pleasant dark wood panelling, seating area with double couch, writing desk, adequate storage and a compact bathroom (shower only). They are not particularly large cabins but very comfortable and the balconies are quite deep.
Food on the ship was ok, which seems a bit guarded. The breakfast buffet (and lunch if we were onboard) were fine with plenty of choice and relatively freshly cooked food. The sandwich bar , Pizzeria and Burger Bars were all excellent providing good alternatives. The problem arose with evening dinner on 2 counts. 1.The food never seemed to live-up to the 'over the top' menus. By the end of the cruise we were crying out for good honest food well-cooked but everything was tarted up with garnishes, sauces, strange menu descriptions and an overwhelming air of trying to be too clever.
2. The service to begin with was dire - disorganised and very slow. Our waiter struggled at times, whilst his number 2 was for ever being taken away to cover for illness and absence on other tables. We did make our feelings known and matters did improve but even on our last night the wrong dishes were still being served to members of our party.
Entertainment was dire. Just 3 production shows were staged in 15 nights, consisting of stiff and robotic performances of unknown songs with no flair. The Cruise Director (and Asst) had jobs to die for, in that they were never seen around the ship, whilst the dancers and 2 singers ( all young Americans) were aloof and unfriendly. The rest of the evening entertainment was taken up with one-man acts, none of which we saw as they all performed at 7pm for 2nd Sitting. There was no way in which we would hurry down for that time. We chose 2nd Sitting for a nice dinner at 8.15/8.30 followed by a show not the other way round. We have no idea why this was an almost permanent feature. The redeeming act was the Pianist/Vocalist in the Piano Bar who was excellent and friendly. There were also 2 duos in the Tahitian Longe. Princess need to look at Thomson to see what can be done (with much more limited resources)
The Itinerary was OK - it was the reason we travelled so far. Highlights included Shanghai (excellent central berth) Okinawa, Hong Kong (overnight stay and another excellent central berth) Singapore (what a place) Koh Samui (but just half a day) and Bangkok. Downsides were the ports in Vietnam namely Chan May (for Da Nang) and Phu My (for Saigon) which were 'not fit for purpose'. - especially Chan May which consisted of a pier and a dirt track! The journey to Da Nang was one hour in each direction, whilst it was galling to note a Costa Ship docked in a central berth in Da Nang. The journey from Phu My to Saigon (Ho Chi Min City) was even worse requiring 2 hours in each direction. Our guide could not believe that we had not docked much more centrally in the city.
We could not understand why it took two whole days to sail to Singapore , according to the ship's log 627 nautical miles at a steady crawl of 10 knots, as an overnight stay would have enabled us to see so much more of this fascinating city. This was compounded by the fact that we managed the return to Koh Samui, some 633 nautical miles in just one day!
We raised these points with the authorities on board , who could not really argue with us. It was quite apparent that all this was decreed at Head Office back in the 'good old USA'.
In summary this was the trip of a lifetime for relatively seasoned cruisers, who thoroughly enjoyed the experience, the sights and sounds but were left with a slight feeling of disappointment. Considering the substantial cost per person, the distance required to travel, we wondered whether we had made the correct decision in selecting Princess for this cruise. We nearly chose a similar cruise with Azamar, on an identical vessel at a similar price and wonder whether we made a mistake. It seems to us that Princess are good at the standard cruise but cannot deliver on higher expectation. The ship is fine but cost-cutting eats away at entertainment, food and service and especially the itinerary where days at sea are cheaper than days in port, and flea-ridden backwaters in Vietnam will do for their clients. We detect the dead hand of Carnival!
PS. The Captain (Stefano Ravera) was magnificent. Proud of his ship, interesting in his talks and permanently visible around the ship, he should be given Princess' largest vessel immediately. The comparison with the disaster of a captain on the Grand Princess last June was remarkable.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Good in Buffet and Casual Eateries. Too fussy and underwhelming in main dining room | | Entertainment | |
| 3 Production Shows in 15 nights. Robotic and uninspiring. Speciality acts always performed at 7pm for 2nd Sitting - why?
David - Pianist / vocalist was excellent | | Shore Excursions |  |
| Elephant treck and 4wheel drive in Koh Samui was very good though not cheap. The only ship-excursion taken. At all other ports we pre-arranged local guides via internet. All were excellent and THIRD the cost of Princess tours | | Staff | |
| Captain Stefano Ravera - see comments in review. | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities | |
| Smaller ship with limited facilities. Library is one of the nicest rooms at sea. | | Cabins |  |
| Well furnished, attractive and comfortable. Bathroom is tiny. Balcony fine. | | Overall Rating | |
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