She’s one of Australia’s favourite ships – and to celebrate her 20th birthday next year she’s had a bit of a nip and tuck.
The Sea Princess sailed to New Zealand this weekend on her inaugural cruise from Brisbane for the season before she sets off on her world cruise from Sydney.
So what’s new aboard the Sea Princess?
The cabins:
For a start, every one of the cabins has a new bed. And not just any bed. It’s the Princess Luxury Bed developed by US sleep expert Dr Michael Breus – who we first met on the Majestic. Read his sleep tips here https://stg-cruisepassengercomau-cpstaging.kinsta.cloud/get-best-sleep-life-princess-cruises-voyage/
The beds feature individually wrapped coils and are designed to deliver the best sleep for anyone aboard a Princess ship. Combined with an awesome pillow menu, you’ll get an amazing sleep – we know, we’ve tried the beds.
The suites have also had a makeover – see our picture gallery for a sneak peak.
The Entertainment
We were treated to a version of The Voice on the Ocean – a show based on the smash bit TV series, but with passengers as contestants and crew as their mentors. It’s fun. But all we can say is: it depends on just how talented the passenger manifest is on any one voyage. But we can see how it can be addictive. You get to vote in the finals with an electronic voting system.
The Princess Theatre features Encore, choreographed by Danny Teeson. It’s a mix of pop, opera and musical theatre. We haven’t see this show, so do send in your verdicts!
The good news is our Princess favourite – Movies Under the Stars – has been improved with a new screen which doubled the image quality. We love this part of the cruise, so anything that makes this experience better gets our vote.
The food
We were treated to lunch at the “reimagined” Osteria Corniche” – and the good news is this Italian favourite really has had a fantastic makeover, with a new menu featuring some really sensational pizza dishes.
We know – what can you do with a pizza that hasn’t been done before, right?
Well, how about bacon-wrapped prawn? Or our favourite: prosciutto, pear, gorgonzola and spinach? Try getting that out of Dominos. We don’t think so!
The appetizer was langoustine tails martini cocktail. And the desert: Espresso Crème Brulee or Pavlolva panna cotta.
We loved (and ate!) them both.
For kids
Ok, so it doesn’t have monster waterslides. But Princess Cruises is determined to fight back. So it’s mobilizing its partnership with the Discovery Channel to produce some immersive and enriching stuff for kids. They are calling it Discovery at Sea – but before all your teens despair, there is also Play Station 4, and a super jukebox system that allows kids to play the music they want. Teens can stay up till 1pm – that has to be appealing.
The details
Sea Princess, which carries 3,000 passengers and crew, will make 12 round trip cruises to New Zealand from Queensland. Fares for 7-night cruise through Queensland to the Great Barrier Reef start from $949 per person twin share, with a $100 shore excursion credit per stateroom when you book a balcony and above.
On June 5 it sets off on an epic 106-day itinerary visiting 27 countries and 41 ports, travelling 32,000 miles from Sydney to Dubai, Southampton and New York.
The new trans-Atlantic route includes Iceland and Greenland, Quebec City and ports along the Atlantic Provinces.
There will be 30 UNESCO world heritage sites.
See www.princess.com or call your local travel agent
