We have done 10 cruises before this, all small expensive boutique cruises. It was time for a short break and in desperation booked on the Aria for a seven night cruise. All the negative reviews and media did not help our stress levels, but we needed a quick break. We were in for a massive surprise. Our balcony suite was really nice, all the staff friendly and helpful. Entertainment was great. We loved the food. Salt is a must. Dragon Lady and Angelos were also good. My favorite was the Pantry. I used to grab a plate and walked around picking my favorite bit from every stall. Waterfront is average to good. Only one negative, if you like your eggs perfect its going to be hit and miss. The ship is very accessible for the disabled and there were heaps of people in wheelchairs having a great time like all the others. We only had a long queue to get on the ship, but its the same as when we fly international. This is mainly due to people not following their embarkation times and showing up whenever they want to. The one other issue raised in the past is the ship not catering for smokers. This is not true anymore as deck 12 has a great spot high up for the smokers with the Dome Bar just inside to grab a cocktail. We had 100km/h winds and 6 meter swells on the way back from Vanuatu. The ship coped magnificently with only a small amount of rolling and pitching considering the weather. (I am an ex naval officer who has spend a lot of time at sea in different ships and atrocious conditions.) All in all it was the best value holiday we ever had. We will be back. Read Less

Why can't their be an area that is not focused on alcohol. What ever happened to family dance night where there is no bar or alcohol involved. As a family we love all activities. We paid for the gold tickets for the adventure park and our children couldn't use their tickets because the adventure park office didn't open until the third day of cruising. We have one adult daughter, three teenaged youth and one under 12 child. We don't drink neither do our children. We participated in all the dress up parties but they were overcrowded. If you had children you had to sit it out because they couldn't come join in the fun it's not appropriate to have alcohol around them. Every floor had a bar and the cruise parties were alcohol focused and we didn't want our son or youth around that. We took our son up to the children's den and there was nothing up their for him to do. Overall, the food, staff and accommodation was good but it would have been perfect if there were options for non-alcohol drinking adults and there adult children. We wanted to listen to the comedy but that was in the bar. We wanted to watch a family movie but there was bingo in the auditorium. Disappointed with not enough options for families. We went swimming after breakfast and guess what everyone is drinking alcohol. Went to spend time in the spa pool, well they were drinking their too. My son wants to cruise again soon, but the alcohol focus is a turn off for me. Our bathroom had built in dirt in the hand basin. Two adults in our group complained about hitting their head on the upper bunk bed. No towels for the swimming area. Including myself. Read Less

In general the cruise itself is fine. We all enjoyed it. Only on one ocasion during lunch at the Horizon that I found lipstick on my coffee cup. The staff immediately replace one for me.While I was having the cooked cabbage, I chewed a piece of plastic about 2x2 inches. I reported to the staff and he sent his supervisor to me to apologize. The next day somebody called me from the office and apologize again. However there wasn't any compensation at all. I think this is a major problem especially when we had the norovirus. We had an inside cabin. It was small but functional with lots of storage space. However the bed is not high enough to store our suitcases underneath. Service was hit and miss. Most of the dinning staff are good. We seldom see our cabin attendant though. In my opinion food was good but lack of variety especially the Horizon court. We did not join any ship's excursion, we DIY. Noumea was disappointing, expensive and not much to see. Embarkation and disembarkation was quite efficient. We have been to 10plus cruises and Princess is a step under Celebrity and HAL. Unless Princess have a good deal we will stay with Celebrity Read Less

We had an amazing time on this ship! So much to do and Entertainment was spot on, however, we did have some really rough seas which stopped us from going to some of the Islands which was a real bummer! We still had the best time and all of the theme nights were great! I Would love to go on another one again! Here is a video of our trip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz6mTVznIVE&t=12s Perfect little family getaway! Pros: Great themed parties Unlimited YUMMY Food Walk the plank was insanely fun and would highly recommend to any thrill seekers out there! The entertainment team was on point- from the amazing nightly performances to playing taboo to keeping the party alive at night the entertainment team definitely made this trip very memorable for all the right reasons! Cons: We got stuck in a CYCLONE and could only go to one island The one island we went to had most of its usual tourist activities closed Read Less

Lovely ports of call made us choose this itinerary and adult medium ship. Dining was excellent, lectures varied and interesting, the evening entertainment was on the whole very good but the Headliners on ship singers and dancers were absolutely excellent. All very talented and ranked as good as any west end show. The cabin was the problem A86 mid aft four down from midships on port side. See cabin review and beware! Not worth the money. Excursions were varied and we took advantage of many in countries as Australia, New Zealand, Papa New Guinea, Japan, South Korea and China all well organised on time and educational. The dining area was well laid out although our table 48 was over the top of the propellor shafts and not only noisy but juddered from the vibrations. Most ships seem to think that rear ship for dining front for theatre and entertaining all at low level. Better if higher up, less shaking and stick the night club and gyms down the rear. Conversation had to be raised when ship moving above 17 knots, obviously designers never take a holiday on cruise ships. Still did not spoil a wonderful holiday (except cabin) see below. Read Less

After reading so many scathing reviews of the Pacific Aria I had called P&O to see if I could change our booking to another ship a couple of months ago as I was extremely concerned that my 80 year old mother would have a terrible time after reading about lifts breaking down, water leaking, and horrible food. I'm so pleased that I left the booking as it was on the lovely Aria as my hubby, mother and I all had a wonderful time. The ship is beautiful and not as small as I'd imagined she might be. The common areas feel spacious and have a touch of elegance in the decor, especially in the bar areas. There are always places to sit in comfort without a crowd of people around you- perfect for a quiet drink before dinner, to read or just to gaze out of a window at the water without being disturbed by too much noise. So many cosy and intimate spaces, each with it's own feel and so very relaxing! Hubby purchased a bronze level "The Edge" pass and LOVED it. He got his money's worth out of it in the first 2 days and will definitely recommend it for anyone looking to do something a bit more active on board. There were only 50 passes purchased on our cruise which meant little to no waiting times and plenty of opportunity to use the facilities. This would obviously change depending on the number of passes purchased per cruise and whether or not it was school holidays. There was a good range of on board activities including craft, quoits, board games and trivia games. My personal favourite activities included the bag tag making craft and cocktail making class in the Mix bar. My only complaint about the activities is that on a couple of occasions the entertainment crew dropped the ball and didn't show up for the scheduled activity- one was morning trivia and despite the reception staff trying to contact entertainment, no one showed up. The second time was the bag tag making craft activity, however, one of the crew did manage to contact the entertainment team and they sent someone to us, albeit late. The evening entertainment was a bit of a mixed bag; night 1, "Off the Charts" was sub par, night 2 was Timothy Hyde, a magician. He was a showman with the gift of the gab but overall his performance as a magician was very mediocre, at best. However, Twice Upon a Time and La Forza were absolutely world-class shows that we were were blown away with and would be very happy to pay for the privilege of seeing either show again. Another show worth mentioning is Side Show Alley. Our experience was dampened by a couple of loud-mouthed females - at least one of which was a guest singer on board (disappointing and totally lacking class), who yelled, cat-called and cheered throughout the entire performance, despite being asked by other guests to refrain. This seriously spoilt the dramatic affect of the show- I guess no one bothered to tell them that it wasn't a concert and musical theater isn't the venue to scream at. This, of course, wasn't the fault of the cast but sadly for the entertainers who had obviously worked hard to present an amazing show, this did detract from our experience. Other entertainers worth mentioning include the extremely talented Mitch and Mike Gordon and White Chilli - we found ourselves making sure we sought them out whenever possible to listen to them perform. We had a blast at the Bianco party but sadly didn't attend either the Gatsby or Back to School parties as I just didn't have the time to organise suitable clothing before sailing. Embarkation was smooth and made easy by the friendly staff at the terminal and at each port the P&O team were friendly and helpful. The gym was fantastic- such a great space and much bigger than a lot of on board gyms in other ships. Others have complained about the service on the Aria, however, we had no issues whatsoever. All staff went out of their way to ensure everything was taken care of. Sarah (in the Mix bar), Grace (Sugar) and Riuel (Waterfront) all need special mention for always having a smile on their faces, their friendliness and warmth and care shown to all passengers. Our room stewards did a great job and were very inconspicuous. The toilet in our room blocked 3 times during the cruise but was fixed like magic very soon after we reported it so was no inconvenience to us. A couple of the lifts did break down a couple of times, however, were back in use within a short while each time. There was no inconvenience for guests as the other lifts were all working. We all must have gained at least 5 kgs each, so needless to say the food was plentiful and pretty delish. We loved the Pantry- so many choices and so beautifully clean and fresh. I was very happy to see the change and wish the buffet away from all ships. We could easily and happily do a MUCH longer cruise with the food options on board the Aria that are available. Dragon Lady and Angelo's were still available at no charge and we ate at Angelo's twice and Dragon Lady 3 times. Both have amazing decor and staff were lovely, however, Angelo's was a bit hit and miss- fabulous the first time and pretty bad the second time with fish that was so overcooked and dry it couldn't be eaten, missing ingredients (the parmigiana was supposed to be served with eggplant, but once it was served we were told the eggplant was "unavailable"), the gnocchi sounded delish but was almost flavourless. Our first meals there included the fish which was amazing (hence why it was ordered a second time), the parmigiana, again, it was lovely and came with the advertised eggplant the first time, and the risotto. Dragon Lady was spot on every time and we loved it! The meals in Waterfront were mostly great, but there were some meals that weren't as good as others- that being said, that happens at all restaurants and none of us ever went hungry. Overall, the food was fabulous with heaps of choices. Our cabin was lovely and spacious. I was concerned with my mum having to climb into the bathtub to take a shower but there are railings as hand holds and she managed quite well. It would be much easier to have the tubs removed and just leave a shower but this did not impact on our enjoyment at all. The pool areas are perfect spaces to have a cocktail, chat with new friends, read or make use of the facilities and have a cool down in the pools. The ambiance in both spaces was great. The guests on board were among the friendliest that I've ever come across on a cruise- no whingers and lots of really great people who we had the privilege of cruising with. We didn't do any shore tours so I can't comment on them. We loved our 12 night cruise so much that we booked our next cruise on the beautiful Aria before we had disembarked and I can't wait until my next adventure on her! Read Less

Like other cruise critic folk I read many reviews prior to my cruise. 95% were negative, thus I had reservations going in.... First thing I'll say to all those 'haters' is you get what you pay for! Don't expect to pay a total of around $1k for a 12 night cruise with all you're accomodation and food provided and expect 5 star everything. If you want that go to a high end resort - pay the standard $1k per NIGHT (not including food!) and you'll get you're 5 star experience. P & O clearly states they are a 3 to 3.5 star cruise. Boarding the ship was seamless in consideration of the volume of people. As we stayed in a suite - yes I paid the extra! I will agree that our 'priority' checkin didn't seem to count for much but we were there early anyway so found ourselves on board approx 1.5hrs after arriving at the Brisbane wharf. All good here. Our room was fantastic (again - what you pay for), it was clean, spacious, had plentiful storage, comfortable king bed, nice balcony, etc. paying the extra we also received many extras. Refer to their website for the long list. The less you pay the greater the likelihood of not as good of an experience. Such is life. Our room attendants were 1st class and did a fantastic job under adverse conditions. I work with people who put in less than half the hours you guys do each week and they are constantly tired, whingy, and generally depressing to be around. You were both like a breath of fresh air. Thank you! Again, I disagree with the negative food reviews on board. Starting with The pantry - the variety is more than sufficient. Does it really hurt you to have to maybe consume the same thing twice during a cruise?? The quantity - if they don't give you enough the first time go back for more. It's all you can eat! Also the quality is not as atrocious as what people make out. It's average and what you would expect for the layout. Waterfront - didn't go much as we were happy with the pantry but always had good food and friendly service. Dragon lady - didn't try it. The grill - when you're craving a pizza or burger it was always great. Salt grill - incredible experience all around. Can't fault the food, service and nice quiet ambience. No it's not expensive as some people have stated!! For a 3 course meal like that you'll be paying 3 times as much at other fine dining restaurants around Oz. There were always many spare tables too because people didn't seem to want to pay/get dressed up a bit. Also for those that said they were somehow still hungry after a marquee performance - room service is available 24/7. Pay the measley fee and eat that in the comfort of you're own room....without pants!! Public areas are all very modern and inviting. Love how there are little 'escapes' for couples. Shopping options good, entertainment a plenty. Don't understand how people can be bored or have nothing to do!! They have thought of everyone from a 1 yr old to an 80 yr old. At the end of the day I went on the cruise to see Vanuatu and Fiji - the ship came second in order of priority but you can't complain of the numerous things to do onboard...it's what you make of it. Sure beats sitting in a plane or car. All staff very friendly, welcoming and generally nice. Considering the time they spend working away from home and family averaging 12 hr days, it's truly incredible. Issues I had were sleep! I'm a fairly light sleeper so I was always sleep deprived. Kids running around on the decks till all hrs of the night was the main reason. I don't think this is P&O's fault more just bad/lazy parenting. People slamming cabin doors....again not P&O's fault just selfish people not thinking of others. Spa prices were too high! Massage and facial for my wife and I cost over $600. It's a shame because I would of loved to get more done but the costs of all treatments I just couldn't justify. A few rude tourists whinging about small things also annoyed me. Be grateful you are able to have this cruise experience where many around the world are not. Lastly, I found the ship quite rocky even on calmer days. Just a heads up if you struggle with sea sickness!!! Otherwise all good!! Fantastic experience both on and off the ship, I feel blessed to be able to have done it. Read Less