Pacific Jewel Review

3.5 / 5.0
0 reviews

A. E. Asia 10 May 2015

Review for Asia Cruise on Pacific Jewel
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Sea-Wheeler
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: May 2015

I have done quite a few cruises with P&O and it may be my last. The embarkation process in Fremantle, Perth was excellent however both the embarkation and disembarkation process throughout the remainder of the cruise was absolutely appalling and so disorganised to the point wher some passengers missed their shore tours. The dining options - buffet (deck 12) or Waterfront restaurant (deck 7) or Salt n Grill or Luna (cover charge applies - deck 12) - I was unimpressed with the service and the menu on offer. I do not appreciate being offered Shepherds Pie or Pasties on a cruise menu. Whatever happened to the prawns cocktails and lobster tails on formal nights? The food was below par compared to other P&O cruises I've done in the past and compared to other cruise lines. Many of the shore tours were over-priced for the inclusions and the length of the shore tours. The entertainment was hit and miss with a few good guest artists however the entertainment team did very few shows. A word of warning - there is a lot of digital lighting effects during some of the shows which can trigger seizures in some epileptics so be careful. One of the things that really irritated me was People parking their scooters and wheelie walkers in the area for guest confined to wheelchairs. This was a nightly occurance no matter which show time - the 6.00pm, 7.30pm or the 9.15pm. P&O needs to do something about this problem in the Marquee because there are only 4 places for guests confined to a wheelchair and should not be used as a storage compartment for medical aids. The bar waiters on the Pacific Jewel provided great service on deck 12 and elsewhere.

The daily activities were fine if you wanted to vegetate for the entire cruise. Come on P&O, pick up your game, not everyone wants to sit around listening to music or read a book. The activities were mainly exercises (average 5-6 times daily); movies on large screen (usually kids movies 2-3 times daily provided football did not dominate the big screen & the volume was so loud that guests had to shout so others could hear what was being said); promoting Aqua Spa treatments (4-6 daily); gambling (4-5 daily); lectures and Friends of Bill (4-5 daily); music to listen to throughout the day (at least 18-20 times daily); activities with a fee (5-6 daily); evening shows (nightly 6.00pm, 7.30pm & 9.15pm); the free activities included: trivia (2 times daily), trivia with questions (2 times daily - 1 trivia question followed by guest general enquiries), bridge (2 x daily), shuttle board (2 x daily), table tennis (2 x daily), golf (2 x daily), daily water aerobics, quoits, dance class, sunbed challenge or chair aerobics, book swap as P&O no longer has a library, and an art auction every 2-3 days. I'm afraid I need just a little more stimulation than these activities. There needs to be more fun activities and lively music on the pool deck. Overall, P&O needs to improve the service, the menu, the activities and definitely the embarkation and disembarkation process at the ports of call.

Cabin Review

Cabin Interior

The cabin is spacious and well appointed with plenty of storage space in the main areas of the cabin. The bathroom is a wheel-in fully accessible for a person in a wheelchair with a fold-down seat and a shower hose however there needs to be an additional bathroom unit with a door in the bathroom rather than the three shelf unit with rods to hold articles in place. There is a floor to ceiling mirror as well as a large mirror at the writing desk. There are 2 additional chairs in the cabin and a small glass table. The medical emergency call buttons are well located throughout the cabin and there are light switches by the bed to turn off the main lights as well as the 2 bedside lamps. Guests can request twin or single bedding on booking a cruise. The bed is a split queen/king size. Overall, this cabin was well appointed. The location of the this interior cabin was not so good for a person confined to a wheelchair because it was at least 20 metres to the nearest lift (wheeling on carpet is very difficult for a person in a wheelchair) and the glass doors on deck 12 were always locked on one side making it impossible to access the restaurants and pool area. It was frustrating and annoying to have to wait for either a staff member or guest to unlock the door so I could get through to access the facilities on deck 12. On many occasions I had to go from deck 11 to deck 7, wheel from the front to the back of the ship to access the other lift at the back of the ship to get to deck 12 which is not only time-consuming but exhausting.

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