P&o cruise's ?

[tregs]

I'm thinking of going on a cruise late this year or early next year with my partner and our 4yr old son and we are trying to find out what other people thought of there trips so if you have been. what was it like ,where did you go , cost plus hidden cost , general thoughts and would you go again ? Pic's welcome .

[Yellow_Festiva]

We did a Pacific Sun cruise in Dec 2010. Think it was 7 days??

From what I'm told by regular cruise goers it is the worst of the (3?) P&O boats. I didn't mind it at all, it was the very first cruise I had been on.

Went to New Caledonia and another island that slips my mind!

Pro's:
* No 'hidden' costs' that I could think of??
* Dirt cheap way to travel if you get your ticket at the right time.
* Food... food.... FOOD.. good God, we both gained 5kg's each in a week... Oh, and the variety / selection and quality was well above what I was expecting.
* Easy to use Ship pass card system for most purchases... means you didn't need to carry any cash, just your room card on a lanyard around your neck.
* Heaps of activiteis both on and off the boat.. the offboat activities were pretty good.
* Stuff to buy wasn't overly expensive.
* The option of fine dining at a small additional cost.

Cons:
* Food... food.... FOOD.. good God, we both gained 5kg's each in a week...
* Some offboat activities got booked out fast. Some were not good value, you could do it a little cheaper if you just went with one of the companies at the dock.
* When you booked a table to eat dinner, there was almost only ever 5:30 or 5:45 seats available??? Was a running joke after a few days... no biggie however.
* Sharing a table with others you may not know (generally 6-8 to a table),
* Small gym on the Sun, always full.
* In Sydney, there are 2 docks... they are a few km apart, yet have a similar name / number (5??). Of course, we got dropped off at the wrong one.
* Themed people always trying to get you to pose for pics (that you can buy later at inflated prices).
* Many workers (cleaners etc) get paid an absolute pittance, around $50 a month was what I was told if they were Indian / Pakistani etc. Give them a generous tip caus they deserve it ;)

Sure there is more. We had 100% perfect weather. Ocean was like glass the whole trip and we never felt like it was a boat we were on...

Sent the inlaws on the same trip early this year and they had a shocker weather wise, vowed it was their first and last cruise lol.

Will post some pics as well in a little while ;)

Cheers,

Jason

[DBourne]

I loved the cruise I did in 2006 which was to New Caledonia.

It was the first holiday where I felt no stress, cos once you're on the boat you really don't have to think much.

Plenty to do on the boats, easy to choose what you want to do at each port (if you want to get off).

The food as mentioned above is unreal…
Drinks are well priced too since you're at sea and at their mercy.

[Ben73]

I went on the pacific sun early this year.
It was just a 2 nighter from Sydney, out in the ocean, then back into Newcastle.

It would of been great....... If we never left the Harbour.
Pretty much felt sick most of the time out at sea.
It was a sunny couple of days, but the ocean wasn't as smooth as my body wanted it to be.
Never again. Unless somehow the ocean turned into a pond.
My only problem was feeling sick, the rest was great.

[TATT2]

Ive done 2 cruises, 14 day cruise to NZ and a 7 day cruise to the islands, i enjoted them but wouldnt rush out to do another one, cost me a fortune in alcohol.....missus loves them

[TS50]

Sorry

[TS50]

We did a 12 day Pacific Jewel Trip in March / APril this year
First ever cruise, went because some friends asked us to join them
We had a balcony cabin, which we liked, but does add dollars
Had a ball, ate too much, drank too much
We did Noumea and Isle of Pines in New Caledonia, Champangne Bay, Port Villam and Mystrey Island in Vanuatu
We did miss Walla due to a cyclone hanging around, but trip was pretty smooth
Food was never a problem , and we were able to book for 7.30 every night we wanted.
With the card, and no cash system, some people can spend more on drinks etc than they think, but you can easily kepp an eye on it.
Yellow Fiesta put as a con, sitting at a table with others that you dont know, I took this as a pro, we met some really fun people doing this, only met one group that we didnt get on with

My experience is that we are glad we did it, would we do it again?
yes but not for a while, and maybe different ports / countries

Like most holidays, its only what you make it

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by TS50

Yellow Fiesta put as a con, sitting at a table with others that you dont know, I took this as a pro, we met some really fun people doing this, only met one group that we didnt get on with

My experience is that we are glad we did it, would we do it again?
yes but not for a while, and maybe different ports / countries

Like most holidays, its only what you make it

I should have been more specific, only a con for the people who don't generally like mixing.. we didn't mind it, and like you only had 1 night where we didn't really like our company. We chatted to a few people who 'wished they were told when booking' about the eating arrangements... wonder why they bothered taking a holiday?

Same... would only do another cruise from OZ if it were to other islands... Would love to do a longer cruise and visit Tuvalu / Kiribati / Soloman Islands and some of the other smaller, less known islands in that area.







Did a little snorkelling as well






Thought to myself... why don't we have this on the road in OZ?


Thought of a few more!

Phone roaming. The Sun, and I assume other P&O ships are able to allow roaming as there is a system on board that you can connect to. The network is 3 letters RMT or something. I couldn't connect to it even though I was roaming, and when I returned Vodafone does have an agreement with them so If you rely on your phone while away look into this.

When you land on the islands, you can pay a few dollars to get your passport stamped.

I think there was a 'no shorts' rule at dinner? So bring some dressy clothes.

Don't try and dodge paying your bill prior to departure. You cannot get off unless you pay. Watched several people infront of me get escorted from the exit gate due to 'forgetting' to pay their bill.

[TS50]

My phone is with Telstra
and is set for International Roam, so had no issues with the phone
You have to have your phone set for international roam

SMS's were about 75c each, calls were dearer, but i didnt use it a lot

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by TS50

My phone is with Telstra
and is set for International Roam, so had no issues with the phone
You have to have your phone set for international roam

SMS's were about 75c each, calls were dearer, but i didnt use it a lot

Phone was set for roaming, I remember I was peeved off as I couldn't connect to the network aboard. When I got back I looked into it further and found it 'should' have worked. Never took it further as it was already done.

Phone worked on and around the islands of course....

[FTE217]

As per TS50 I took my family (3kids) on our 1st cruise as well just a month ago.
Did 7days to Noumea incl Isle of Pines on the Pacific Pearl.
First couple of days was getting the sea legs - some people were pretty bad but you get that I suppose - we were all pretty fine by the 3rd day.
Weather was great and thats probably either makes or breaks these kind of trips.
Kids had a ball - table tennis - theme nights - and as mentioned food food food.
Trivia - Bingo - different bars for each occasion - yep keep an eye on your credit but WTF its cocktail time !
Some of the night acts/shows were fantastic.
Isle of Pines is Paradise !
We loved it and will consider another cruise in another years time.
Budget was blown but what the heck had a great time highly recommend for a group of friends and the kids just do their own thing.

[Charliewool]

We went on P&O's Pacific Jewel in March for 14 nights (Fiji Adventure) in a mini suite.. 3 ports in Fiji + Vanuatu, Mystery island, Isle of pines and Noumea.
Mixed reviews from the passengers, personally we had a ball.
We picked out & booked our shore tours well before our trip, so were guaranteed a place on the most popular tours.
We did helicoptor flight over Vanuatu ($99 each) The Ocean Walker, which is a 30 min helmuted "walk" about 4 metres underwater in Vanuatu (also $99 each) A huge buzz for my other half, who can't swim a stroke.
Also did a day cruise on the "Oolala" from Port Denaru out to their own tiny desert island ($120 each, inc BBQ lunch and all the Fiji bitter and wine you could drink) This was probably the highlight of our entire trip.. Absolutely magic experience.
Drinks on board were $6 VB, $7 Crownies, most cocktails $9.50 (and miles better cocktails than you'd pay $15 for at most Aust. nightclubs)
The onboard nightly entertainment was fantastic, and something to suit all ages. The beauty of a cruise is you can do as much or as little as you feel like. There is always something going on somewhere onboard.
The food was 1st class in both main restaurants. There is also Luke Mangan's SALT Grill restaurant. This had a $40 surcharge, but MUST be experienced at least once during your cruise.
All up cost for the 14 days (including flights to & from Sydney) was around $12,000 for the 2 of us. This was without scimping on anything, and with a top deck Mini-suite. I think you could easily do the same for 2/3rds of this with a decent ocean-view cabin and not going "overboard" on the crownies and cocktails like we did!
A few pics...
Ocean Walker..


Helicoptor and Vanuatu view..



Lowering tenders for mystery island..


Sunset...

[GT0132]

My partner and I between us have 4 kids (aged from 13 to 17) and are looking at pacific cruises after Christmas for 10-12 days for the 6 of us as it seems like a more affordable holiday alternative than going to Phuket or Hawaii at that time of year, Hawaii being our preferred choice, but cost prohibitive .

Friends have recommended the Princess cruiseline or Royal Carribean.

There was a segment on 60 minutes a few months ago regarding the problems with P&O cruises (drunkiness, hooliganism, thuggery, drugs etc) and wonder if there was any truth in it.

[TS50]

We didnt see it on our cruise, (drunkiness, hooliganism, thuggery, drugs etc)
The have crew patrolling the ship the the whole time, and apparently one person was put off in Port Villa for being drunk and agressive
I think it was pretty well policed

[Charliewool]

That P&O segment on 60 minutes was aired the week we returned from our cruise... I couldn't believe they were talking about the same ships!
We saw NO hooliganism, drugs, OR people jumping over the side.
As TS50 said.. very well policed by security.

[Simple6]

Princess Cruises are the up market P&O (owned both by Carnival). So yes P&O is sometimes known as the party cruise because its initially cheaper, which gives more money for booze.

It doesn't help that one of my work colleagues went a cruise with mates (all 20/21yrs old) and got kicked off at Gladstone (I think - FNQ anyway) for being drunk and being in a fight.

[SpoolMan]

We done a 14 day cruise with P&O to N.Z. in March this year awesome value for money.
Cons:
If you are drinker cheapest beer is $5.50 most are $7 this where they make there money.
Shore Tours are over priced but are well organised, we used a company called N.Z shore tours paid in N.Z dollars some of there tours were half prices compared to P&O's charges for similar or same tour.
The public areas of the ships are nice the rooms are nothing flashy on the P&O ships, rooms are rated at 3 1/2 stars.
pros, to many mention, no airports or lengthy waiting we done 7 ports thats 7 Cities and don't have to pack your bags once.
Customer service is everything, you don't see this type of service any more they have a system for everything and plenty of people to carry out anything that needs to be done.
The 2 cruises I been on never seen any trouble, they have lots of security they also have youth security for the under 18's.
Carnival owns lots of Cruise line companies all over the world, including the one that sank last year all there companies operate under there own identity.
Princess & P&O email us with offers almost every week, Princess have a $5 a day soft drink package which is good value if your not a drinker of alcohol.
Can of soft drink $2.75 to buy on P&O, take all your munchies on the ships with you..

[qdda5]

Look at this link for your feedaback.
We have done lots of cruises and found this site very helpful.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/...uiseLineID=114

[TS50]

we read a lot of reviews after we had booked, before we went
and wanted to cancel
some reviews seemed very wide of the mark that we found
most people that sent in a review, seemed to be the people that had a gripe, were not many positive ones

[ch33z1l]

We went on the Pacific Sun to NZ for 14nights Feb/March with another couple.

Pros- Bar staff/Cabin crew, very friendly. Some even got to know us by name.
Food is banquet style, but still quite nice. A few things I steered clear of like Potato and Shrimp soup. Restuarant food was great. Even when you had to pay, they were still very accomodating, and portion size was massive.
Good range of tours.
Great entertainment - comedy shows, dancing, etc.
Photographers taking snaps on every corner

Cons
Shore tours are expensive. Try and book them through the shore tour companies rather than through PO
Offshore weather is unpredictable
Cruises not really for the younger generation. Nightclub wouldn't take requests for anything recent, even though we were the only ones in there.
Alcohol - double shot scotch and coke $12
Photos - expensive to claim.
Only 2 laundry's per deck.

Only evidence of hooliganism - was 2 70yr old women in a brawl over who had rights to the washing machine.

[HULK EF]

Pacific Jewel.
14 night Fiji getaway..

Food was awesome!
Food glorious FOOD!!!!!! always full never hungry!!!
Dd not put on a KG! -or my fiance.
Stayed very active participating in every activity onboard!
Payed pool volley ball againts the crew every day!!

Bookd 1.5 years in advance for a massive discount price on tickets booked.
Had a balcony suite. -Not much more money for a trip you may only do a couple of times in your life.
Had an awesome time. Would definatly cruise again.
Mostly smooth sailing however we did have 6 metre swells one night. was fun!

[qdda5]

Have a really good look at what the cruise provides for you and whether it suits your needs. Most if not all the cruises provide good service most of the time. They cant afford not to as word of mouth gets around pretty quick and makes the news as we have all heard. If true or not they will beef it up just to get it on TV. What does the cruise have for your 4 year old son. Do they have childcare while mum and dad can kick back and relax for a few hours. Does the cruise have entertainment that you will all enjoy. Are the days tours what you would like to see and in your budget. Look first at what is on offer and if it is suited to you all. There are a few more cruise liners now so you have a better choice. Last year my wife and I cruised around Europe and left the boys at home. We did lots of excursions, bought drinks packages (which is a great idea if you like a drink) and had a ball. That suited us on that cruise. We are doing another cruise with Celebrity cruises over to NZ next year and taking the boys with us. We all chose the cruise together based on what we all wanted to get out of it.
Alot of people tend to winge alot about cruises for whatever reason. We have always been happy with the multiple cruise liners that we have been on. The only real concerns are the weather but you cant control that.

Hope this helps.

[Paxton]

I'm off on my third one in two years next month. Absolutely brilliant value. I've done the Fairstar, Pacific Sky, Pacific Sun, and Pacific Pearl. I booked on the last Pacific Sun cruise for July 1, mainly because we were quoted a price that was too hard to beat. Fiji this year on the Pearl was fantastic. Port Denaru and Savala Island were just awesome.

Customer service is second to none. Silver Service restaurants (where you can eat as much as you want), waiters in bars that will bring your drink to you, cabin stewards that are at your beckon call, and entertainment that keeps you entertained (however, once you've seen the show once, you will struggle to sit through it on a future cruise). Usually when we cruise, there are four couples that go together, but next month, it's just the two of us.

Most of the 'drunk' cruises are three nighters, where nobody gets any sleep, and just drinks. I've not done any of those - my shortest cruise will be 7 nights, with an average of 12 nights. Never seen any fights, nor drugs. Security in the night clubs are amazing (and friendly, in contrast to Sydney).

My favourite spot is Mystery Island. Been there every cruise, except, again next month.

[TS50]

you are right there Paxton
Mystry Island was our pick too
everything you could dream off

[Miss_XR6]

RCL cruises are much better in my opinion but price wise for budget traveller especially P&O wins

[Charliewool]

Hey Paxton... Loved Savala too!..

[supershifty]

Hey, a cruise with P&O is great - damned good value! I only travelled "D" deck (shared accomodation with a mate + 2 unknowns, who turned out to be awesome blokes) but, hey, you only go to the cabin to sleep and shower! The food is awesome!, the service is brilliant! The only complaint I'll make is that 14 days is too long - 7 days is just dandy, you can only get so fully "wrecked".

[TS50]

Wife thought 12 days was too long, 10 she thought would be better

[blueoval]

I went on the Pacific Dawn a few years back. 10 days to Noumea, Ouvea, Vanuatu and Wala. Was a very memorable experience.

I ended up getting sea sick on the way back, and found 10 days was too long for me. Was a bit unprepared for the trip and if I went again, I'll be taking Quells a few times a day to ease the discomfort.

Allow plenty of $$$ for drinks and other things you will want to try.

Pre book all tours prior to your trip. Its cheaper that way.

[Paxton]

Originally Posted by Charliewool

Hey Paxton... Loved Savala too!..
image

I can't believe how much I had to drink that day. It was "Happy Hour Every Minute" - the Fiji Bitter flowed like water. Two of our group didn't make dinner. Something about a bottle of wine between them on the boat back to Port Denaru.

Edit: Answered my own question.

Oh, and this is a Ford Forum...


In Suva...


EcoBoost in Noumea.


Also in Noumea.