Pacific Jewel Review
3.5 / 5.0
0 reviews
Cruisaholics2017
2-5 Cruises • Age 50s
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Sail Date: Nov 2017
We have travelled on four cruises (3 with Princess) before this one so we weren't new to cruising and perhaps had certain standards to judge this one against. Although the cruise lines are very similar in many respects and their standards comparable. We found a few differences (some good/some bad) between them). Here are some:
. Our embarkation and disembarkation procedures werre much quicker on P&O with almost no wait times, unlike on Princess (although this may have also been to the cruise not being as popular a one).
. The buffet restaruant in Princess is much better as: you can serve yourself in most areas and so have greater portion control, you aren't waiting to be served so it is much quicker, there is a greater variet of foods e.g. salads, there is more seating available.
Cabin Review
Cabin Oceanview
We were upgraded from an interior and found that the cabin was much more spacious and enjoyable. The faclities were good, although one powerpoint is insufficien these days. The beds were quite comfortable and the room kept tidy and well looked after by our steward Erwin, although often it wasn't cleaned until later in the day. The location was also very good as it was close to elevators and stairs.
Port Reviews
Melbourne
We live and departed from here so can't judge it except from the point of view of a local who thinks its a great city with heaps of things to do of all activity category types including sporting, cultural etc....
Hobart
We have been here before and there are quite a few good things to see there including a big market (Salamanca), shopping, museums and historical places. Traffic is good, although there are a lot of one way streets in the CBD. The public transport system is ok, although information supplied isn't entirely accurate or detailed enough. Also you may find you have to wait for a long time for buses, even on a weekday.
Port Arthur
We have been here before and found this to be a very interesting and entertaining port. The historical site is fascinating and you can easily spend several hours there. There were also other excursions available such as the ecological tour that we did (which was overpriced and not worth the $140 it cost) that can be arranged through P&O.
Burnie
Burnie is an ok town to go to. With a few interesting places such as, museum, shopping area and sites around. The courtesy bus was good from the Port as you weren't allowed to walk in the dock area. It is only a small town though, so if you haven't booked excursion you may find you can see a lot of it in a couple of hours. We wanted to see the penguin observation area, but this wasn't open during the day so that was disappointing.
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