We went on this cruise as a large family group, 13 people across 4 cabins, as the dates and length of cruise suited everyone.
I have been on the P&O Eden once and the Carnival Legend (twice) before.
Highlights of the Aria - kids club, both turtle cove and shark shack, the staff were terrific and the events they held across the ship were great fun.
The Edge, lasertag and zip line, we had ...
We chose this cruise because we were looking for a getaway from the kids for a week, and to see Tasmania.
We stayed in Melbourne for 2 days prior to leaving. The weather was nice until it was time for us to sail. It became rough with gale force winds. We left port over 12 hours late. Then the first day at sea was very rough. Almost half the ship out with sea sickness.
Embarking was easy, as ...
My daughter had been on Carnival and Princess Cruises. She wanted us all to go on one together. A lovely ship with the majority of staff that were just so friendly. Room decor a bit dated and the windows had obviously seen many days at sea so they looked dirty although they weren't. Very spacious, a/c worked great. It was the last voyage from Brisbane as it will remain in Melbourne for a bit of ...
We have cruised with P&O Australia before, with mixed results, so we were a little hesitant about booking this cruise. But the price was outstanding and the OBC too good to refuse.
Having just got off the Sun Princess a month before, we were immediately "at home" in our cabin (balcony, deck 11, forward). In fact, on waking up a couple of mornings I had to remind myself were on the Explorer and ...
Nice ship. A little tired looking. We we unable to book all the restaurants as we did not do it quick enough. Great entertainment. The dress up parties where a bit of a let down. Only some of the music went with the theme. The rest was your standard sift rock. If its a gatsby theme then play 30s and 40s music. We went to dance classes to be prepared.
Compared to my prior cruises ...
We read all the negative reviews expecting this cruise to be substandard. This cruise was perfect, staff great. I have no idea what people complain about and wonder if there is an expectation beyond what people pay for. Service great, food in buffet and free restaurants average, but you get what you pay for. If people expect high quality food while travelling 7 days to 2 countries with five star ...
We needed a break after a very busy year and decided to try a cruise for the first time. Not being sure what to expect, and not being sure if we would enjoy it, we were very pleasantly surprised that there were plenty of places to escape the crowds on the ship, the Pacific Explorer. We are both 60 ish and travelled as a couple without any children. During the cruise (8 nights) we did not feel ...
Our family of 4 had a 5 nights cruise to Tasmania. Both the embarkation and disembarkation were quite smooth. The public area of the ship is nice, but the cabin shows its age. We had a inside cabin. This was the first time for me to be in an inside cabin, so can't compare with other ships, but to me it is really small and there was no room to store our suitcases. I enjoyed the food at Angelo, ...
December 2019 cruise to PNG. Something different to see and well impressed. Be prepared for some negatives on the Aria. No chance of sleeping in as each day from 7.30 am an over enthusiastic crewman/ fitter excels in bashing ship metal with a mallet then spending ages grinding off bits with an angle grinder somewhere around deck 4 or 5 midships. Food generally good but suggest giving Angelos a ...
My husband and I absolutely loved this ship. There were lots of entertainment and there was always something to do.
If you are not into their activities, then you can spend your time eating at their amazing restaurants. The Pantry has plenty of options but the food in D Angelos and Dragon Lady and Waterfront are superb. 400 Gradi has awesome pizza and meats and cheeses but you need to pay. ...