I'm not going to go into too much detail here as I don't want to sound too negative. Basically we didn't get the cabin we (carefully) selected, we didn't receive our OBC (refunded by the travel agent - don't know what went on there!), our one excursion was cancelled and we had several hours wait to board in Melbourne.

The itinerary was great, Port Lincoln, Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, Portland, Melbourne, Burnie Port Arthur, Hobart and back to Melbourne. All ports were really good, apart from Kangaroo Island which didn't seem to want the ship and couldn't cope with the influx of people at all. Port Lincoln, Portland, Burnie and Port Arthur were terrific with very welcoming locals, shuttle buses where needed and ambassadors to guide you. Burnie was a bit quiet as it was a public holiday. The itinerary alone makes this trip worthwhile.

The ship. Pacific Jewel is in pretty good order for her age. It is being refurbished later this year which will freshen it up a bit. Plantations (the buffet) was only open at meal times, which made snacking somewhat difficult. It was usually busy and packed. Waterfront restaurant was good with good quality food (mostly) but it is a pain with having to book every night for dinner. My tip, if you like your waiters rebook the table and time as you leave the restaurant each night. We found the waiters dining tips to be pretty reliable. Waterfront is not open for lunch on Port days, but we used it for breakfast, lunch at sea and dinner and enjoyed our meals. The music venues we sampled all had loud music, but quiet areas could be found away from the noise. The Theatre was not particularly comfortable to sit in but the shows were good, especially the guest entertainers (love James BuStar). Oasis on decks 10 & 11 was very pleasant with a bar on deck ten and no loud music! Read more