Pacific Eden Review

Escape from Eden; P&O should be ashamed.

Review for Australia & New Zealand Cruise on Pacific Eden
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AdamTravella
6-10 Cruises • Age 30s

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Sail Date: Feb 2016

The headline should say it all. Both myself and my family have been on a few cruises - three of them on P&O - and this had to be the worst we had collectively ever experienced.

There's a few problems with the P&O Eden - it's touted as the brand new star alongside its sister ship Aria - and apparently features world class everything. I'll start with the positives and then list the negatives.

Positives:

Cabin Review

Cabin SUITE

While some of the common areas were completely overhauled by interior designers with unlimited spending, it seems like the money ran out when it came to the rooms which (with exception to The Penthouse suite) were tacky and straight from the late 80s / early 90s. I stayed in a suite and I was so disappointed to walk in to the room and see it not reflect the rest of the ship. Our cabin itself - such poor condition - rusting pipes that leaked water, pool cleaners that sprayed us with water while we were sitting on our deck, toilets that blocked frequently despite normal use, odd smells, a distinct lack of customer communication that is SO frustrating it makes your holiday seem like a chore. It's not uncommon to have to call three or four times to follow up on if anything is being done to fix your situation, the staff simply don't care, forget, or just don't believe in following up with you to let you know what's going on.

Port Reviews

Eden (Australia)

A massive pod of dolphins made this experience a highlight - the staff reaction to the rare event was brilliant and the cruise followed them as they frolicked around us.

Kangaroo Island

Brilliant experience and a thrilling boat ride that we were scared to take at first but then enjoyed immensely. A real highlight. The port itself (Penneshaw) is dull and boring, unless you want to book the Ocean Safari, hire a car from Hertz or Budget and drive to the capital city yourself - it's 60km away.

Portland (Australia)

The most boring shore tour I think I've ever experienced. A dry, hot, bus ride through the landscapes of Portland where the host told us about all the wonderful sights that we would not have enough time to visit today, and instead took us to a rose farm where we spent 20 minutes walking around rose gardens on a dry farm before being asked if we wanted to buy them. Boring boring boring.

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