We picked this for a cheapie weekend away, and to check out Pacific Explorer having traveled on Carnival Spirit twice for a total of 17 nights and RCI Voyager OTS for 9 nights. We have always had balconies and will continue to book them for longer cruises but as this was a shortie we decided to check out an ocean view stateroom instead. Lots of groups on board celebrating milestone birthdays, bucks, hens etc. Not many children evident, possibly due to being a 3 nighter. This was a Comedy Cruise, however we found most of the comedy to be pretty disappointing. Just the luck fo the draw on this I would say. Embarkation took about 25 minutes, no complaints. However, White Bay v.s Circular Quay is really a pain, particularly on the return as we were heading straight to work. Sailing away under the Harbour Bridge however is fantastic. Muster held indoors and seemed pretty well done. Indoors means you are more comfortable, can hear and so are more likely to pay attention. Our room # 8234 had a lovely big picture window but was certainly smaller than any we have previously been in and the bathroom is tiny. Both my husband and I commented that we would struggle with this on a longer cruise. We may have felt a little less confined if we had a balcony. It was adequate for a short cruise, and our attendants were lovely and did a great job of waving their magic wand over the room twice a day. Wish I could bring them home with me. The internal areas on this ship are lovely, certainly nicer than Spirit and perhaps even nicer than Voyager. I love how the evening party events are in the atrium and seem to draw you in from anywhere. Entertainment vibe was very good all over the ship. I feel P&O do this very well and seem to "get" Australians. Lots of lovely bay window nooks around the ship to curl up in for a chat or a read or just to people watch. These were a lovely find. External: pool deck fine, love the artificial grass on a lot of the outdoor areas, seems to make it less slippery. The adults' area at the back did not really appeal to us, it does not help that a smoking section is on the port side of The Oasis at the rear. We just could not really warm to it, but perhaps are biased after loving Serenity on the Spirit. The front adult area is lovely, with pretty lounges, but no permanent bar there and mostly unusable for the short time we were on due to the fact that it was usually too windy. (expected on moving ships at the front). Food: Pantry was OK, and I do like the fact that most of the food is served to you and not handled and coughed all over by everyone. I would rate it as 2.5 stars overall. I love the idea of three different styles of venue so that you feel that you are dining in a different restaurant each evening. I also liked the smaller more intimate feeling of them. Husband, however, felt that he prefers the larger MDRs on other ships. The fact that you have to line up and book on the first day however in order to get a table is a pain in the butt and for the life of me, I cannot work out how they cannot have a better system like other lines seem to manage. Big downside. Food was generally OK - good in the restaurants, in fact overall I thought the MDR was more consistently OK than the last time we were on the Spirit. Over the 3 days we had all dinners in one of them, 2 breakfasts and one lunch. All quite enjoyable. Drinks: Corona $AU8, cocktails about $AU12. Gym: very small. Lots of opportunities to pay extra for the usual things, including food, however we did not feel the need to spend extra on a 3 night cruise. Staff all very friendly and Explorer is a nice pick for a short trip getting away from it all. Would consider again. Read Less

I have not previously done a short cruise so when the price and timing worked in with our life we booked around 5 weeks from sailing in a twin berth ocean view level 8 right near the back. Embarkation Not sure why but they started a bit late but it was quite smooth once it got going, before getting on I had a good look at where our cabin was (we only found out days before) so when I got on I was able to make my way directly to our room which was ready, by chance we saw our bags on the way so grabbed them as well on the way to the room. The Cabin The rooms on Explorer are not huge but for 2 it was adequate and comfortable, the windows on level 8 outside (where the life boats are not) are huge and offer a great view out and somewhere to sit to admire the view. The bed was comfortable, the AC and fridge worked as did all of the things that are supposed to work but the shower was locked at a just warm temperature that I would have liked to be hotter Food An important feature of cruising to many and if its the most important thing to you P&O is not your cruise line, 3 night cruise allowed us a night in each free restaurant and no need for the pantry, no meals were great but all OK Entertainment Really good, there were 4 comedians on board who did a range of shows which I really enjoyed, the only criticism would be the venue for the late comedy shows was too small and even half an hour early there wasn't many seats. One of the PG shows was a mime act which was also great. besides the comedy they also put on a "rock of the ages" show which was 45 minutes of non stop entertainment and a fantastic show. Service Our room steward asked us early how often we wanted our room cleaned which I found unusual, normally its daily with a nightly turn down but for our first 2 days we were happy to go along with not being disturbed by it only having the towels changed over, the last day he cleaned up for us doing a really good job of it and he did the turn down, I kind of feel he was a bit lazy with us but at the same time I didn't mind it and to be fair if there was anything we wanted he provided without hesitation so I am actually going to say that was a good thing as much as I am sure plenty of others would not have been so happy with it. Other service throughout the cruise didn't stand out either way for the most part, the future cruise lady was really helpful and went out of her way to help us, dining staff were efficient, friendly and accommodating with the more senior staff doing the rounds to make sure we were happy at most meals. The ship I often read reviews where it seems some people have a terrible experience because of things like "they allowed somebody in the dining room wearing a T shirt" or "the ship needs repair" or "I noticed a rust mark" or my favourite, "the chairs look old", if this is you spend twice as much for a newer ship on another line because it is a 20 (plus) year old ship and it does show signs of its age but for me that does not detract from how much enjoyment I can get from it, in fact some of my more memorable cruises have been on ships not long before they are retired from the fleet, Pacific Sun, Celebrity Century and the Pearl. Value Everywhere you go there seems to be something to spend more money on, while giving me a free short massage as I was walking through they tried to sell me a hair cut and shave for around $120 which I found outrageous and every meal seems to have "indulgent" items to spend more on. The free food venues close at 9 so if you want something to eat after that you are paying for it but with a little will power its easy enough to say no to the extra items. With the above in mind however it was a good value cruise, P&O bank on you spending more money during your cruise to make up for the cheap fare and while I do spend some money whether it be a beer with a meal or buy something from the shop it still ended up cheap for me and certainly my on-board spend was no more than it would have been with any of the more expensive lines The drinks package Being a 3 day cruise you cant have the alcohol packages (not that I do normally) but they still offer the 2 non alcoholic packages, $7.50 per day for soft drink only or $19 a day (if pre booked otherwise its $25 on board) for mocktails, coffees, juices, water hot chocolate, iced chocolates or soft drink. My wife paid the $19 per day before we left and probably got the value from it whereas I drank water and free tea from the buffet and had 2 or 3 bears a day for around the same amount of money which worked out better for me (and probably healthier as I didn't drink more than I needed trying to get my money worth) To sum it up I have now been on 9 cruises in 7 years with 4 different cruise lines on 7 different ships, mostly P&O and I am yet to have a cruise that I didn't enjoy, your more upmarket cruise lines are better for a lot of reasons and deserve a loyal following but for me I love cruising so much I prefer quantity to quality (most of the time), this doesn't mean I wont spend more to go on the other lines but I do spend a lot of time looking for the good deals which do come up if you are prepared to be flexible, my problem is that when I am looking I normally find much better value deals with P&O that I cant resist :) Read Less

It was our wedding anniversary so we thought a short cruise would be a good way to celebrate. We had been on a P&O cruise before and so had high hopes about eveerything. Sadly we were very disappointed this time. Embarkation was pretty easy. No problems there. On board the ship there was a very unpleasant smell in some areas, like sewerage. Our room was small but ok as we only needed to sleep there. The bed was quite comfortable and the feather pillows really good. The air conditioning in the room was also good. The thing we were most disappointed with was the food and some service. We did not like having to line up for service in The Pantry, particularly when the staff behind the counter did not or could not understand what you asked for meaning you had to ask several times. The food in almost every instance from The Pantry was really tasteless. I couldn't honestly make a comment about how delicious any hot food or dessert was with the exception of porridge with yogurt and the french toast. Everything else was bland and boring. We ate at Angelo's, the Dragon Lady and the Waterfront. These restaurants proved to be better. The biggest disappointment of all was the Shell and Bones seafood restaurant inside the pantry. That should have rung a bell but we thought there would be different chefs to those in The Pantry. Unfortunately I don't think that was the case. We ordered a hot Seafood Extravaganza anticipating something out of the ordinary, but no, it was very disappointing and to make matters worse, it was a paying restaurant. My husband, a keen fisherman and very good cook of seafood, said it was the worst seafood meal he had ever had. The (American) lobster was tough, the tiny (and I mean tiny) fried scallops balls and prawns in breadcrumbs were cooked in old oil it seems as they were very dark brown and overcooked, the salt and pepper squid had no salt or pepper and a little bit rubbery, the 3 octopii were the size of 10cent pieces. No oysters, no mussels and not even a few chips. We were so disappointed. The staff overall on the ship were very friendly and courteous and helpful. No complaints there. The lifts at the end of the 3 nights were starting to break down making moving between decks time consuming and difficult for those who couldn't manage the stairs. We also experienced two toilet facilities where the toilets weren't flushing. A real bugbear was how inconsiderate some people were with monopolising the popular deckchairs. People would put towels or bags on them early and disappear leaving an empty but monopolised chair for long portions of the day. With limited seating in popular areas some sort of time limit on chairs should be worked out. The entertainment was quite good, especially the rock band revival show and the trivia nights. Overall it was nice to be on the water relaxing but my husband and I would not go on this particular ship again as it definitely didn't measure up. Read Less

It was our 25th wedding anniversary and something special was what we were after. The Pacific Pearl didn't disappoint. Booking a short 3 night 'Comedy' themed cruise was a blast. Sure the ship in parts is showing some age, a bit of rust in parts but we can't complain with the energetic and helpful attitude of the staff. We didn't book to stay all day and night in our cabin but found it adequate for our needs. We were on deck 9 with a good sized porthole, letting you see the conditions outside. On boarding we booked Luke Mangan's restaurant for our anniversary dinner, only to be told that Luke is on board the cruise. At $49 for 3 courses plus breads it was great value and even better Luke was working the floor, greeting all guests and more than happy to have a photo. He put on a cooking demonstration the following day in the Marquee showroom and besides cooking his signature dishes, was a great showroom interacting with the audience. On the comedy side, booking not knowing who we'd see, we had headliners Bob Downe, Hung Le, Rusty Berther(Scared Weird Little Guys), Dean Atkinson the ventriloquist, Kat Davidson and Kehau Jackson. (If you don't know them-look them up). The house band Exito and all the bands and musos were great, the jam on the last night was a blast. The trivia games were fun, it was a bit chilly to use the pool. The food in the Plantation was varied and had something to suit most, if you couldn't find something to taste, you're hard to please. The footy finals were shown on the big screen, Friday and Saturday night with movies through the day and night. It is entirely up to you how little or much you spend. But for a sampler to cruising, I think we'll be back. Read Less

P&O Australia is what it is, a budget cruise line so my expectations are lower and in general they do a good job, its obvious that the Pearl is past it and has not received the upgrades that the others have as it is retired next year but why is the service and food so poor in comparison. We don't have the nice new buffets but the food served is a miss match of items that just don't go together and most of it is served cold. The coffee in the machines is just awful and you are not even provided with a tray anymore, assumedly so people take less. The room I had was a mini suite and these are nice on a P&O Ship but its the little things that I notice, no chocolates at turn down any more, the water in the room was removed after the first day and the door did not latch other than a hook so you could not close it once on the balcony. The Waterfront Dining was average but after an incident with four very rude women just turning their backs on us as the staff made us share with them we were put off, we asked to be moved but this all turned out to be to hard when they wanted to place us on the table next to where we were, basically we were to embarrassed to return again. It was billed as a comedy cruise that was a cruise to no where but there was only shows in the evening, the first night we had a ventriloquist and an 11pm comedy show, the second a comedy variety show and another late night show then the third night singing and dancing show and one comedy show at 11pm that was the best in the cruise. But what about the day time, we spent all day with very little to do, the entertainment team was on board and they did one show, why not put on some matinee shows and day time comedy, after all it was a comedy cruise. You get to see the same amount of comedy on an average Carnival Spirit cruise. Overall it was a good way to spend a weekend but maybe just cruise somewhere on Carnival Spirit instead, same amount of comedy but a much nicer ship. Read Less

I went on this cruise as part of a wedding. The wedding itself was very nice, it was held in the Dome, which was closed for the event, although the staff in charge of the music screwed up multiple times. And that was the good part of the cruise. The ship itself was smaller than usual, being a Comedy Cruise, the layout seemed fine although there was only 1 pool and 2 spas in the main pool area. My cabin was dated, I was on deck 5 and the bunk bed above me creaked all night, and i dont mean every now and then, almost constantly throughout the rocking. The dining was absolutely abysmal and i would not eat the food on the ship if it was free. The pantry was boring and lacked variety, the Italian restaurant had disgusting bread-sticks, flavourless food and a very boring menu. The Pantry (buffet) was slow and tedious, taking away the option for collecting your own food, meaning you had to get another plate if you wanted to go to a different cuisine, the food itself was bland and mostly rubber (i couldnt pierce the top of my jelly with my spoon). There were very few activities and the entertainment was very average. The service was very mediocre, the staff in the restaurants were incredibly slow and I payed no attention to them, as opposed to other cruise staff, which are usually quite joyful and get to know everyone. We did travel with children who were bored out of their minds the whole 3 days. Would never travel on this ship ever again. Read Less

We did the three night sampler cruise out of Sydney 11-14 February 2016 on Explorer of the Seas. We booked a Junior Suite, 9568, which was large and had heaps of storage, a bath, walk in robe, extra large private balcony, a three seater lounge plus two armchairs plus two other chairs - one at the 'desk' and one at the 'vanity'. We slept well in the comfortable bed and the room had no ship movement noise. Our steward Francis was friendly and attentive and always remembered us by name, and the room was clean and well equipped. Francis was also the master of towel animals, very talented. The shower was good, plenty of towels, nice toiletries, large vanity and mirror. The wardrobe was huge, lots of hanging space and shelving options. Room also had a kettle with tea and coffee, coffee maker, fridge with mini bar, hair dryer. The TV had a message function, Bill viewing etc. We are Elite Status with Celebrity so we become Diamond Status on Royal Caribbean. And Royal excel here, the Diamond Lounge was wonderful - accessible 24 hours with breakfast and light snacks available at different times, and a coffee machine providing a range of hot drinks available all day. In the evening alcoholic drinks and snacks are supplied. The barman on duty for two of the evenings was Ketutt, who looked after everyone so well. The other server was good too, friendly and efficient. Great service. We ate every night in the main dining room, we had My Time Dining so can go whenever but after having such great service on the first evening we ate in the same area the following two nights as well. Our waiter was Ricardo and along with his assistant provided excellent service, food was really good and there was a large choice of options every night. I really love the pumpkin bread on Royal too - yum! The ship is in really good condition, there are heaps of sun chairs everywhere so if you want to just lay around and read there are heaps of places to do this. The pool areas were crowded as we had excellent weather and calm seas every day. The bars were very busy, with many people waiting for service. There were numerous activities on every day as well, outdoor stuff by the pool, there is a rock wall, mini golf, basketball court, wave rider, table tennis - heaps of stuff like that. We enjoyed the video trivia sessions which were hard! Also the ice show which was really wonderful and several movies were shown - one in the afternoon in the theatre and one in the evening on an outside screen. The highlight of the entertainment was the Queen Tribute band - they were absolutely fantastic. This was our 20th cruise and we have never seen an entire audience demand an encore of a band before. Amazing! We are booked on Ovation of the Seas in December so looking forward to experiencing another new Royal Caribbean ship. Read Less

Just returned from a short 3 night cruise from Sydney staying in a Balcony cabin Deck 9. Firstly would like to say the ship is lovely and the entertainment was great. However...if you are intending on purchasing a drink package on this ship I would think again. We purchased the Ultimate drink package which included top shelf liquor and premium coffees and juices. We spend a fair bit of time at the Solarium bar (adults only pool area) where there were always very long queues to get a drink. I noticed a drink waiter coming around for a couple of hours on one of the days but he was no where to be seen by the 2nd day. Many people I observed were very annoyed at having to queue up constantly to get a drink. The bar service was very slow and they didn't have enough people on duty. Someone mentioned that this is common on short cruises from Sydney as they allow some of their staff to take leave during this time which results in minimal staff on duty. If you decide to purchase the drink package I would go inside and down in the lifts to the schooner bar, order drinks and bring them back up in the lift. This is much quicker than standing in line. I have cruised many times and have found the service on the RC ships through the Caribbean to be much better than what I have experienced cruising from Sydney. Perhaps it has something to do with the 'tipping' in America. I even had trouble trying to get a freshly squeezed orange juice, the wait time was very long. The water went off the first morning of the cruise so we couldn't get coffee from the cafe. We found the first night at dinner in the restaurant they were very unorganised and we seemed to have trouble ordering drinks from our drink package. The staff on the Explorer did not look happy, and the service was average. The best service I encountered was on the morning we docked. We were having breakfast in the Windjammer and the service was exceptional but I think it was because they were trying to get us to have breakfast and move on fairly quickly to disembark. Very disappointed with the service on this cruise and for that reason would not cruise on this ship again. Read Less

I think the reason for the negative reviews on this ship is that people have champagne tastes on a beer budget. I went on a 3 night Food & Wine cruise and really enjoyed it. This was my first cruise, and given the negative press, I decided the best thing to do was go with an open mind. I traveled with 3 girlfriends & we all had a good time overall. A bit of a breakdown: The Room We shared a 4 berth oceanview cabin, which had 2 x single beds, a sofa & a bunk. The mattresses were reasonably comfortable & there was plenty of space to store all our luggage. The bathroom could use some touching up - there was obvious rusting & the shower curtain had mould stains. Could have used a few extra power points (4 girls getting ready at one time could be a challenge) & the TV quality wasn't great. We didn't spend a great deal of time in the room though so we were happy with what we had. Housekeeping was a little frustrating. Towels were not being replaced when left on the floor, & after 3 calls made to housekeeping over the course of an afternoon yielded no results, we ended up finding an unattended cleaning trolley & pinching some clean towels from there. Food Make sure the first thing you do when you reach your cabin is get on the phone & make a reservation at Salt Grill! Yes you pay extra, but it is absolutely worth it. The scallops were the best I'd had & I'm told the chocolate tart deserves a moment of silence. Luke Mangan was also sailing & popped out to say hello to the guests. The Pantry is pretty much a food court, we grabbed some food from there on the first day & didn't really enjoy it, so we stuck to Waterfront for the rest of the trip. Waterfront is lovely. Every time, we were welcomed with a squirt of Purell & never had to wait for a table. We didn't go out of our way to avoid peak times either. Variety in Waterfront is great. I have seen that people have complained about serving sizes - I had no issue, particularly if I was ordering entree, main & dessert. If you're extra hungry, order another serve - it's not going to cost you more! I will note that there were some issues with the food being kept warm on its trip from the kitchen to your table. Service was reasonable. Bircher muesli for breakfast was delish. Bars & entertainment Low points: The Gatsby & Bianco parties. Each person in the band seemed to be playing at a different speed making the music jarring. Apart from a couple of props, there was nothing particularly special about the parties. Service - while bar service was mostly great, there was an issue with a staff member who gave my friend still spring water when she'd asked for mineral water (she didn't specify sparkling). Rather than just swap the bottle, the staff member proceeded to argue with my friend until I pointed out that the bottle said Spring water, not mineral. It was a simple miscommunication - the server made it a bigger issue than it was. High points: The Blue Room - lovely atmosphere & music, a great spot for a cocktail & to enjoy some Jazz in the evening. Trivia - I have never laughed so hard at trivia as I did at the music trivia event with The Alter Ego. Evening shows - love the Mindreader, comedian was great too. The Marquee can get VERY hot - we didn't stay for the show on the first night because we were sweating as soon as we walked in the door. It seemed that a request to the staff fixed the temperature within an hour or so, although I did have to ask each day. A great introductory cruise for this beginner. I don't think I'm a cruise convert & I think I might go for a more upmarket cruise line next time, but P&O still delivered on what I paid for. No Noro Virus either! Read Less

Our first cruise and to be honest I feel as if I will not feel safe to try another. The emabarkation was well organised and the staff very engaging. Cabin was adequate and comfortable. We did not find our luggage for sometime even though other people's were left outside their cabins. Eventually located it abandoned outside a lift. Neither of us get seasick (previously have been out on fishing boats etc). We did become very unwell but this was after consuming food from the pantry. The food is cold. Bacon and eggs, grilled fish so cold it was inedible. Tried to get a simple salad from the salad section. The top layer of the salad looked good but when served only 1percent contained what was on show the rest was lettuce from underneath. Sandwiches were not available only rolls that had an overload of bread and minuscule filling. Hungry we ate the luke warm zucchini soup. Hours later we were both vomitng. We are both health professionals and suspect the recent "gastro" outbreak was probably more attributed to the inadequate temperature control of the food rather than a virus, fellow passengers had the same complaint. The Waterfront Restaurant served delicious hot meals but was overcrowded and there were long waits to be seated. People trying to avoid the pantry! Sometimes just a snack for lunch is nicer than another sit down meal. Do not even think you will find a healthy salad sandwich anywhere on the Pacific Eden. It is understandable why buffet style has been replaced due to hygiene, however not to maintain food at a safe temperature is worse. Read Less

The Pacific Eden is sold to people as a refurbished Ship. It is far from it! OK on the good side, the restaurants are brand new and are very well decorated as is most of the bars. The rooms and general public areas are all very old and dated. We had a suite that was nice and big, however it had a very old (Art Deco?) feel to it. The bath was badly stained and had been patched. The toilet and sinks were also stained and in bad need of replacement. The balcony was rusty and had very old broken furniture. The TV was a small old 19" Plasma, however it did have a DVD but nowhere could i find any to borrow! The bed was comfy though with a good supply of pillows. The dance floor was directly above so don't think of getting to sleep anytime before midnight! The comedy shows were excellent with a good selection of male and female performers, we didn't miss one show and were fully entertained. Now to another big disappointment - the food. The main restaurant had fantastic decor but was badly let down by the quality of food and attention to detail by the wait staff. The portion sizes were reminiscent of the old "dollar dinners" that seniors used to be able to purchase from RSL's! Food was quite tasteless and overcooked, I had to ask 3 times for a wine list and when the white wine finally arrived it was warm! I complained and got a nice cold one but no apology or attempt at rectification. We also went to the new "Dragon Lady" asian restaurant which had an amazing decor but again, badly let down by the quality and quantity of the food, try 3 dumplings or 3 small chicken satay sticks for a main course sized meal! The food we had was cold and not tasty. The rice was stodgy and over cooked as was the sushi. The wait staff were excellent, however very embarrassed to be serving such crap food General Comments: The ship had a very old oily smell to it! The toilets outside the main restaurant were dirty with waste paper bins overflowing There was no staff dispensing hand sanitisers at restaurant entries like other cruise lines have Even though the seas were very flat this little boat was pitching quite badly. would make for an interesting ride in heavy seas! The seats in the Theatre were very uncomfortable and in the upper circle there was a hand rail making it hard to see the stage. The Comedians, illusionist and actors/singers/performers and shows were excellent. We were supposed to be served complimentary coffee and pastries for Breakfast on debarkation but nothing was supplied! There is no long term parking options at White bay terminal, it cost me $60 in taxi fares from and to Central Railway. No public transport close to the terminal either! Would I go on a P & O ship again ? I doubt it. I am surprised that this long established company would serve up such a bad experience. Trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear never works. I would not recommend this to any of my friends. Read Less

I was a bit wary of cruising mainly due to seasickness experienced on car ferries from UK to France. I decided to take the plunge with my experienced cruiser family. To my delight, I didn't feel nauseous at all. We had a great cabin on deck 6 which was quiet and well appointed with a cheerful steward looking after us. The ship was very clean and hand sanitizer is used in every food area. The crew members are helpful and enthusiastic. We lounged in the adult only pool with the cocktail of the day, ate tasty meals in the dining room and the Windjammer cafe. We enjoyed the dance show and the ice show was fantastic. I tried ice skating and rock climbing and danced the night away poolside. It was a brilliant introduction to cruising and I will definite be back for more. Read Less

Upgraded from balcony to mini suite a week before sailing @$80 pp, was well worth it, priority checkin & transit onto the ship in a matter of minutes. Also had free soft drinks included, fruit basket & nibblies, after cruising a lot in our earlier days around South Pacific & Asia, we don't tend to do small /local trips anymore, our last 4 cruises have been repo cruises from between 18-37 days in length in Europe & America. When we boarded the Jewel we could see she is an older ship but the cabin (11126) was well appointed, the only downside is the location under the pool, the noise of the deck chairs could be annoying at times, in terms of restaurants -we prefer the cafeteria & the pantry concept was interesting, traffic flowed well, less wastage (but I don't think ruled it out ) & more healthy in terms of germs not being passed through many hands touching utensils. I would have to say thatthe Jewel are not as hygeine alert as other ships. Other lines always someone in doorways ready with sanitiser & they are well positioned at lifts & pretty much sanitiser stations at every doorway, we didn't utilise the spa or speciality restaurant services, perhaps on a longer trip, I found the service staff in all areas to be friendly & service orientated, I would happily go on the Jewel again& recommend her to others, we just spent a month on the solstice & whilst it was a beautiful ship - their unethical business practise of increasing alcohol prices by $3US per drink was an insult to the 2000 Australians who boarded in Hawaii & so I actually rate P&O higher than celebrity, the ships might not be flashy new ones but they beat celebrity hands down in terms of service & atmosphere - we also had the pleasure of celebrating the 5 ship spectacular & justice crew & exito were awesome -well done P&O it really was spectacular! Read Less

P & O The Jewell.... I went on this 3 night cruise on the 20th November 2015. The cruise was a nice way to relax but the ship was a very low class and low budget cruise ship, inside was ugly with a brown and white paint job a lot of the inside walls were badly rusted but were painted over. The food was pathetic and there was no serve yourself buffet like on the other ships we have been on, the food was devided into four sections e.g.; Australian, Mexican, Indian & Chinese. Aussie food was a roast and chicken with vegetables and gravy, Chinese consisted of a pasta dish 99.9% pasta with cabbage and a few thin strips of carrot whatever meat was in it was almost invisible, and fish & chips. Mexican had three dishes and Indian had beef, pork and chicken with their Indian breads, the deserts were pathetic mainly something in a pastry shell, no ice cream and very watery custard. The meals were dished out by the workers which meant a very long wait in a queue up to 15 minutes or longer depending what food you wanted I waited 15 minutes just to get one bowl of oats which was more like runny liquid made on water-YUK. Breakfast had a good selection of cereals and hot food but by the time you got served most of the food was just barely warm. The tea & coffee was also served by a worker which meant a wait in line as well, the cups were green plastic for the hot drinks and some had dirty finger prints on them and also lipstick stains, a sure sign that they were probably just rinsed and not washed properly. It was almost impossible to get a table unless you were there as soon as they opened and on many occasions there was no cutlery, the reason given was that there were a lot of people and they had to wash the cutlery. The bathroom was so tiny anyone bigger then myself would have trouble moving inside but the worst was the towels they were supposed to be white but were off white with some even a light grey and had yellow stains as well, I was disgusted when I saw them, I like my whites to be snowy white not off white or grey, we were told not to drink the tap water but to buy the bottled water which was very expensive, but like everything on the ship they are obviously trying to save money at the expense of their customers. the window in our cabin was so dirty from sea spray we could'nt see out of it.. I have been on a few different cruise ships but have never come across anything like this before. A waste of good pension money, it takes us many months to save to go away and this was a cruise I will never forget. I will be doing my homework from now on before we go onto any more cruises.. Not happy.. Read Less

If you know the difference between Machiavelli and McDonalds, between France Soir and Hog's Breath, between the Park Hyatt and the Holiday Inn....... then this is NOT the cruise for you. Booked a year in advance. Dreamed and planned of each minute of the 3 days, not only my first true holiday in 15 years but also my 40th birthday, and the reality was in truth more like a nightmare. Men in their 40s, who got tattoos in the 20s when they had 6 packs, now have kegs and sttttttttrrrrrrrrreeeeettttttccccchhhhhhhed out dragons, tweety birds and naked ladies, consider it acceptable to wander around topless with 2 to 4 drinks in hand throughout the ship. Put a shirt on boys, we don't want to see it and you shouldn't be showing it anywhere outside of the pool or your bedroom, not in public drinking, shopping and dining areas. Crowds and queues, substandard bidvest type food, none of the luxury gourmet experience detailed and promised. The one half way decent meal required an additional payment as it was a specialty restaurant. Given the amount paid for this cruise in a top suite, to not have this included just ended up being insult to injury. Having as mentioned, booking a year in advance, I think we paid the highest rate on the entire ship as we had booked the very first suites (below the single royal suite) on this cruise and had therefore paid absolutely the highest price with no discounts or OBC inclusions or the like that were offered over the next 11 months prior to the cruise. We got NO discernible special treatment despite having booked in an Owner's Suite and in fact had our first nights restaurant reservation cancelled due to a private party despite having booked some weeks (basically when bookings opened) in advance. Given that this booking was to celebrate my 40th birthday, this was not a good start. Cancelled our drink package after day one having not actually been able to get to a bar to order an inclusive drink. Did eventually get a refund. Room service, despite the poor quality, was efficient and crowd free. Room attendance was good. Cabin was very nice and ended up being our sole refuge and one enjoyable aspect of the trip. Expected to spend 20% of our time in there but probably ended up closer to 70% to avoid the incessant crowds. Fortunately it was lovely if a little dated, and requiring better maintenance and cleaning - found a pair of brand new Gucci socks in the packet in the drawer, didn't quite compensate us for the rest of the issues. Binoculars were a nice touch. Basically the cabins are a little like being at the Windsor or the old Hilton on the Park (pre renovation) in Melbourne. You are not getting a Langham, Crown or Park Hyatt Experience here. They are comfortable and functional - but given this was a top suite seemed a little underwhelming. Concierge club was worse than the worst hotel lounge or airport lounge anywhere in the world. The canapes for the evening cocktail hour were put out at the start and were either all taken and not replaced or left to develop bacteria over the next few hours. No replacements no health standards or safety just a plate of nibbles unwrapped and dumped on a counter. Basically if you want to go for a total piss up for 3 days with people that don't have tastebuds and you really like crowds then this is for you. If like us, this sounds like HELL then AVOID and don't waste your money. I know if you can't say something nice you shouldn't say anything at all but I really don't want anyone else who envisaged the romantic and luxurious version of cruising to be fooled/duped/conned/tricked into believing this is it! PS Booked through RACV and not worth the bother, if you really are a sadist or just have to attend a bucks/hens weekend which is all this cruise is good for, then book direct with RC. Read Less

16 of us just sailed on voyager of the seas on a 3 night sampler.We had been on the 1 night in novemeber 2013 and vowed never to go with this ship again but we did. We had read all the previous negative reveiws and thought what have we done . Well we were suprised as all the staff were very good.Ebarkation was very quick on the ship in about 20 mins. But cant see where 80 million went only to take out a lot of the lounge spaces and put in more cabins. Far too many people,no lounges to sit and have a nice drink as could not get in them,one of us would have to go up to Anchor lounge an hour before to get a seat for pre dinner drinks. Anytime dining was a disgrace i booked our 2 talbles of 8 2 months before sailing and then went straight to dining room to confirm and it was all wrong were told it would be fixed when we got to dinner we were given 1 table of 10 and 1 of 6 away from each other needles to say we fought them and got it changed and was ok for the 3 nights. The food in the Saffire dining room at night was outstanding and we had the best waiters ever well done Ben 10 our waiter. The drink waiter after the first night just came to our tables with the drinks he knew we had and put them in front of us. we had the premium drink package and it was fantastic, but too many lines at all bars to get a drink, very few waiters serving drinks out at the pool. Generally not enough staff foe example go to dining room fro breakfast takes at least 2 hours. As i said earlyier we had a great time but we will nevser sail on this ship again not a patch on Rhapsody and Radiance need to take heed RCCL or Princess will beat you as we will stay with them more rooms to use. Read Less

WOW first cruise for 25 years and what a trip. Visited some magic destinations and experienced the South Pacific culture. entertainment was great a credit to the staff on board. Food was amazing as were our waiters in the main restaurant. We travelled with a group of 10 (5 adults and 5 kids) which the kids just had a blast meeting new friends and enjoying the activities and pools. Overall this was one of the best holidays I have been on and enjoyed it that much we rebooked with RCI on board for 2016. Can't wait let the countdown begin. All staff were exceptional from cleaning staff to waiters to bar staff and the cruise director. Well done RCI, thanks for the happy memories. Read Less

I have done a few reviews of the 12 cruises we have done & always focused on the positive with a few niggles. After reading negative reviews lately of the Voyager I was sure it was from people who are too picky. Unfortunately I was wrong. We have been on Rhapsody 3 nighter a few years ago for my mothers 70th. Being a sampler we thought they would pull out all stops to convert those who hadn’t cruised to the “dark” side. It was a shocker, but put all the staff issues down to a one off. RCCL are still playing the same games overpromising & underdelivering. It could be the 3 day itinerary, as other who had sailed before on Voyager had high praise & were as shocked as we were by the issues. First the good… The ship is great, really good refurb . I can see where the money went as the décor was the best we have experienced over P& O , Princess & carnival. On the surface it looks so exciting with all these different venues. That was it!! Scratch the surface & it is all an illusion. Food- Pretty good. We ate at Giovanni’s first night & it was excellent. Windjammers was a good variety & plenty of it but again very hard to get a table. Didn’t get Breakfast in Dining room as there was always a queue plus was only open from 7- 9.30.We had late sitting for dinner & the waitstaff were great, meals were delicious & nothing too much problem Shows- Not a big show person, but my wife, is & loved them . I went too & enjoyed. The Ice skate show was impressive. Arriving only after line reduced still got a good seat. The Bad !! From the beginning, we got an email to say even though we had nominated early boarding which was confirmed on our seapass we would now have to board at 4.30pm plus ,for some reason we would now be leaving at 7.30 not 9pm. We had booked dinner in Giovanni’s at 7pm so we could be up for sailaway. Lots of angst deciding what to do. Managed to change booking to 8pm, thanks guys. We still can’t figure why that happened. We took the drinks package which seemed like a good idea but became concerned reading reviews about lack of drinks staff, etc. Spot on! The bar staffing for a ship that has 3400 odd passengers had staffing for about 1600 passengers .Every bar had a huge queue all cruise long with one or 2 bar staff. They worked there butt off. At first we assumed it was all people wanting there first drink. They might have got on top but then it was time for muster (which was a debacle) & you had 3000 people wanting a drink after it was over. Drinks Package- No way would I do it again! You would have to be an alcoholic to drink that much for a whole cruise. As it was we only took the package as it was a 3 day cruise & wanted to try it. There are no prices on any of the drinks menu so no idea what we would have paid & for those not on a package no way to know what you are clocking up on account. The bar staff didn’t give a bugger about service or drink quality, assuming we were all on the package & as far as they were concerned we were getting drinks for free. Wrong , we paid up front! I ordered a margarita which is not a margarita without salt on the rim to balance flavor. My barman did a rough pour , quick shake & poured into glass. When I asked about salt on rim he grumbled took another glass out the back & came back & poured Margie into that glass & thumped on bar. My sister was in Pig & Whistle pub to order a Bacardi & coke & got a Malibu & Coke which she didn’t like. She said she had asked for a Bacardi & Coke . She was told that was what she had. She again asked for the right drink & 3 staff came & intimidated & argued with her. Eventually they made her another one. This was 2 examples of many over the weekend. We often would order a glass of red wine & despite ordering the same one it would taste different each time. Cask wine anyone?? Venues- For a ship that size the only venue, that was big enough for any event was the show lounge. Trivia was in Pig & whistle Pub that has about 20 seats. You could rarely get a seat in any lounge. As usual there were people sitting in there reading a book at a table for 4. The pools were jam packed the bars were 3 deep & not a lounge to be found in adults only area. Many seemed to have towels on them all day with no one there despite signs saying reserving would be policed. FlowRider- I waited 40 minutes in a line for 1 staff member sign a waiver. Once I had that the wait wasn’t too long to have a go. Good fun. Putt Putt- never got a chance. Queues in the sun all day just to get a putter then wait to start. Johhny Rockets- Booked out all cruise. Parents went for lunch at 3.30 but pretty basic. Izumi- Very good. Lifts- very slow, stopping at all floors. Because they were slow, often no one on that level because they gave up waiting. We often stay on lower levels & use the stairs to burn off indulgences but because it is a tall ship ( 13 levels) it is that extra couple of levels that make you use it more. Staff- Like our first RCCL cruise we seem to have the “B” team on board, so that’s all I can go on. I have never seen such a disinterested, unmotivated crew before. I know they are working but staff usually make the most of it. Our last cruise on Carnival legend really was the fun ship with staff looking you in the eye, greeting you continually, asking how your day was & stopping for a chat. This was the complete opposite apart from a few gems like the funny lady at Windjammers singing Washy Washy, get some Yum Yum, No washy No Yum Yum or the mature aged Italian waiter cracking jokes at lunch in the dining room. Usually staff would look through you like you were a ghost or if you said something too them barely acknowledge your existence or be just plain rude. Casino- was good . We lost money & won money & could stay for hours without being fleeced as opposed to the C legend casino( that was the worst thing about that ship). Funny though the cashier could put a debit for US dollars on your account to gamble but when it came time to cash in they gave you US dollars. I asked to have it taken off my onboard account but was told I would have to go to reception on Level 5. I waited in line for 40 mins to pay off my account. Maybe americans are used to lines & I expected a few lines but there was nothing we did that didn’t involve lining up . It was like the ship wasn’t really designed for that many passengers. Never have we had a problem on other ships. Obviously being a short cruise everyone was wanting to do everything so we had to change our thinking of a relaxing cruise to surrender & accept it. Cabins- Our group was on level 3 with new inside cabins that replaced the nightclub so were nice & new. Pretty quiet with good access to areas. Departure- As we were driving home ourselves we requested latest disembark. We got told to leave at 7.30. Why ask?? When we boarded we were asked whether we wanted our account converted back to AUD by RCCL or my Bank. I had nominated my bank online but didn’t register for check in so again ticked that box. As a final kick in the bum from RCCL we got our account converted by them with an exchange rate of 70 cents. Luck it wasn’t too much on account otherwise it could have got nasty. Summary- My parents love Radiance & have sailed a number of times & couldn’t believe it was the same cruise line. We did hear this from many passengers some who had sailed Voyager pre refurb. Based on what we experienced, never again. The ship felt crowded & noisy . Apart from promenade deck there was nowhere quiet to relax with a book or snooze. There is too much competition for our cruise dollar with better experiences elsewhere. Yes it was 3 dayer but I would’nt risk it nor recommend them to anyone. Apologies to those booked but hope RCCL read these sort of forums & lift there game.   Read Less

Billed as a “3 day Sampler” cruise, this was my first adventure on a ship with over 2000 passengers and my first time on Celebrity. What I liked: – My S1 Sky Suite on the aft corner of deck 10 was lovely. Lots of room for 2 people. Nice and quiet. – The library on deck 10. It faces out onto the atrium and is a nice quiet getaway to read. – The Sky Observation Lounge, forward on deck 14. We saw many dolphins swimming along with the ship during a visit to this lounge. This was one of the few places on the ship that wasn’t crowded. – 3 entertaining shows. The Aussie Boys (3 male singers), the Solstice Show (an excellent acrobatic type show) and the very talented Jane Cho (an electric violinist). – The deck 14 & 15 walking track. – As a suite guest, we were able to eat breakfast and dinner (subject to space available) in Blu. This was a nice restaurant with good service. I was concerned that it might be booked out but the Maitre’d organised a table for us immediately. This was the only place where we didn’t have to wait. – The Oceanview Café (buffet) on deck 14 is the biggest buffet I’ve ever seen and it had so many things to choose from. I loved the gelato ice cream there. It made sense to have gelato in the café for free rather than paying over US$5 in the Café al Bacio. What I didn’t like: – Too many people. The ship was literally packed to the rafters. There were long queues for everything – drinks at the bar, coffee at Café al Bacio, getting into & out of the elevators, both outdoor and indoor pools. Celebrity didn’t have enough staff to serve in the bars or pool area…one or two staff to serve 3 and 4 deep people queueing for drinks. It wasn’t pleasant. – The only time I saw our butler was when I called him to report that the balcony was continually flooding with water and the panel between the cabin balconies was broken. He came promptly to view these problems and they were fixed but I never saw him again. – No offer of a pillow menu – is there even such a thing? – Not enough activities. Not everyone wants to lie in the sun all day, or go to seminars about marsupials, chocolate diamonds or watches. Trivia at 0930 in the morning was far too early. – Food is very subjective but generally I liked the meals. I did have 2 courses that were awful (a prawn (shrimp) cocktail and a soup). Did the Chef even taste this food before it was sent out? – Tables for 2 in the dining room were extremely close together making it very awkward when sitting down. Unfortunately we met some very rude people who were incapable of even a smile let alone a pleasant acknowledgement. – Disembarkation was a free-for-all. No coordinated deck by deck or timed disembarking. It took ages to eventually squeeze into an elevator to get to deck 5 to disembark. Another unpleasant experience. Summary: Whilst I enjoyed my 3 sunny sea days, the crowd situation was awful. Celebrity needs to ensure they have enough staff to serve people when the ship is at full+ capacity. If this was a ‘sample’ of cruising with Celebrity, I don’t think I would want to experience it again.   Read Less

What can I say Voyager of the Seas is a nice ship if you like a big cruise ship. I did a 2 night sampler cruise with a friend, this was my 3rd time with RCI and I did this cruise to see if I liked the bigger ship and it was my friends 1st time with RCI. My friend was impressed but me I can honestly say that this ship would not be my 1st choice to cruise on out of Rhapsody and I've yet to try Radiance. This cruise was sold out and so you had 3114 passengers onboard. Boarding the ship didn't take long as my friend had a walking stick and we were allowed to get through the queues a lot quicker. We went straight up to the windjammer as we weren't able to access our rooms until 1pm. The food looked good and it wasn't too bad but the windjammer is setup like a cafeteria where you line up and get your food, it doesn't have an island in the middle of the windjammer like Rhapsody of the seas, I also couldn't find machines to get your drinks, the waiters bought the drinks to you and there was 1 person filling up the glasses to be sent out. The room we had was a superior stateroom balcony cabin on deck 9 and I found the room to be quiet small and the bathroom was even smaller compared to the same category on Rhapsody of the Seas. The muster drill was at 5pm and we went down 15 minutes before hand and people were already there in queues for the muster and cabins were being marked off on paper but they missed some and had to yell out to ask if people were from that cabin, in this modern age it would've been easier to scan the passes so you didn't miss people. People were taking their time to come out for the muster when the bells rang. The Royal Promenade is huge and you would think you were in a shopping mall. Ben and Jerry's did not disappoint at all. If you were hungry and wanted a snack you could get it from Cafe Promenade no charge, there was also free tea, coffee and hot chocolate there. If you wanted a semi decent coffee you could get it at star bucks but the queues were very long. The Pig and Whistle was always crowded but it was quiet after muster but I found most of the bars were always crowded. I tried 3 cocktails and there was only 1 that I disliked as the alcohol overpowered it as it wasn't measured out properly. The prices were from $6 and up and if you wanted a souvenir glass it would could $12 for the cocktail but the prices are cheap. The ice skating show was the highlight of the cruise and if you wanted to see it you had to queue about an hour before as seats were limited. The theatre is huge and is used for shows and as a movie theatre, the show the 1st night was ok but unfortunately we went by the daily events on day 2 and the show was down for 10 pm and when we got there the show was in progress and at the end as the show started and 9pm and from what we caught it was a really good show. Dreamworks parade started at 10:30pm but we didn't hang around for it but I thought it was a ridiculous time to keep kids up just so they could see this. We missed out on my time dining and we went to the dining room on the last night, there are 3 restaurants and were were in La Boheme, the service was really good and I couldn't fault the meal I had, as it was the last night cruising the waiters did a parade around the dining room and they all sang. We also tried Johnny Rockets on board, you pay $5 for all you can eat but drinks are extra and the burger I had wasn't too bad, the waiters cranked up the music in here and danced to Staying Alive. We queued 15 minutes before it opened and didn't have a problem getting a table but when we came out there was a long wait to get in. The library and internet is on deck 8 This cruise was nice and relaxing and it's great to do a sampler to see if you like the ship or cruising, but for me I wouldn't hurry back as I found it to big and I didn't fine it as cosy or personal as Rhapsody.   Read Less

Background Information - We picked this cruise as we were travelling with friends that enjoy a good meal and a glass (or two) of wine. We have cruised before and wanted our friends to catch the bug. Sadly, the fittings and fixtures of this vessel are not in the luxury standard and they were a little disappointed. Ship Information - the ship is not in the luxury class and is showing signs of wear. The staff are friendly and make you cruise as hassle free as possible. Activities - as this was billed as a Food and Wine cruise you had to book early or rush to get good seats for the free activities. The 4 Ingredient ladies were the highlight of the trip. The wine was a sad runner up. With the amount of great Australian wineries and or wine regions this was disappointing. Cabin - the usual - our room steward decorated or door for our anniversary -- nice touch. Dining - the food was O.K not great, but I did not have to cook or wash up, so it was time to relax and chat with friends. Entertainment - the movie under the stars was an experience. A big screen with the stars above - magic.   Read Less

After 4 Princess Cruises out of Australia thought I better see how the Aussie ships rate and sitting here writing this review I feel a little underwhelmed by the experience. What I liked - 1/ Vista Lounge was the best I have seen on any ship. 2/ The production show was 8 out of 10 and I really enjoyed and the entertainers seemed to enjoy themselves as well. 3/ As a regular Bingo player I was please to see the higher bingo prizes and the numbers being called at a faster pace. On the US ships you could have a bathroom break in between each number. What I didn't like - Where do I start. 1/ Boarding. I know we joined at the end of a longer cruise but the service in Brisbane was terrible. After experiencing the 5 star service in Beijing in May this was a huge let down. 2/ Although confirmed for early dining and having linked with another couple we were placed on late dining and not linked. Thankfully the Maitre D' sorted this out for us. 3/ We were booked for a interior double and were placed in a triple. Now very comfortable at all. 4/ We were given Blue cards on boarding and it took until after 8pm before we received out correct cards and were assured we then had internet minutes assigned. No internet minutes were assigned and it was just to much effort to get fixed. 5/ Prices on the ship are well above what you find on the US ships. The Ultimate Drink Card on the Diamond Princess in May was US$7 per day and on the Sun Princess was A$11 per day. On the Diamond we purchased a photo book with US$15 postage to Australia, on the Sun it was A$25 for the same postage. Everything was more expensive and given the current exchange rate it make it even worse. I won't start about the shop prices but it seems Princess want to rip off Australians! 6/ Dirty Ship. It may have just been the age of the ship or that Princess don't want to pay Australian Ports to do any servicing but again compared to the US ships this ship seemed dirty and poorly maintained. Overall the ship is an aging design and Princess have sent it along with its Sister ships to the bottom of the world in the hope that these backward Australians won't know any better. They had better smarten up as the world is getting smaller and with other ships coming to Australia over the next 12 months many cruisers are going to forget loyalties and switch ships. Maybe Princess can sell the Sun to P&O Australia where they will still be considered "äs new" and look after their loyal Australian customers before they find out how much they are being ripped off. Unless there are some really good deals I will not be on these ships again and will pay the airfares to join a newer, cleaner, cheaper ship overseas. Read Less