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Hi guys, no need for the information, I have since found out from a good friend just yesterday.

My wife & I are booked on the J522 P&O Pacific Jewel cruise out of Singapore in June 2015, cruising via Indonesian islands, then PNG, then back to Brisbane.

I read in the P&O brochure, that "craft beers" are served in the Orient Bar, can anyone advise me of which craft beers are available on this ship.

I realise this ship travels from Freemantle to Singapore, then "apparently in dry dock or re-certification? for a few days, then it sails back to Brisbane.

Having never been on a P&O cruise ship before, I was wondering what craft beers do they usually serve, or perhaps they may have "Tiger Beer" from Singapore on tap???

StanzaSark - I can help you with most the destinations you listed, as we stayed in Port Vila a few years ago in a nice resort for 7 days, then flew up to Tanna Island for another 7 days stay to visit Mt.Yasur Volcano (which we walked up to the rim, with a local guide - just magic) We again visited Vanuatu on the Sun Princess, & having stayed in Port Vila, we opted for "Circle the Island" bus trip, which allowed us to see places we hadn't seen before.

firstly, in regard to your questions:

* Isle of Pines is a tender boat port. A very pretty island, beautiful pine trees, blue water, white sand. Not much to do here, except walk or swim. Last time I was there, there was a artist just up from the beach, who sells expensive ladies wrap-arounds. There is also a shop which sells food/coffee, etc

Recommendation - swim, swim & a walk. PS - there is a large rock island close to the beach - you not allowed to climb on it, if you do you will upset the local natives

.

* Mare - have not visited, but should imagine it would be similar to Isle of Pines.

* Port Vila - You walk from where the ship berths, into the town of Port Vila, which is mainly shops, banks, uneven footpaths, potholed roadway...but having said that, there is a park which looks over to Irriki Island (there is a ferry which runs back & forward for free but you have to eat there)

In the township, there is a waterfront park, with locals playing bocci, and a nice Cafe called Nambawun (which means Number One) they service Tanna Coffee (very good coffee)

* Mystery Island - never been there, but it is situated at the southern end of Tanna Island, and no doubt they sail past there in the evening to see the volcano erupting.

* Noumea - is a pleasant place to visit. Whenever my wife & I visit there on a cruise, we get the Noumea Explorer Bus (hop on-hop off) which has regular pick-ups & stops around a set area (maps of the route are given out by the driver). We usually go up Anse Vate Beach for a swim with the locals, or Lemon Bay, then after the swim its time for a coffee in one the beachside cafes - word of warning - people smoke in most cafes, so sitting outside for a non-smoker like myself is a problem, but I did find the Coffee Club - you can sit inside with no smoking allowed.

There are some nice sandy coral islands just off Anse Vate Beach.

Hope this information helps.

I live in Hervey Bay, and there are HEAPS of whales in the Bay. Some weeks ago a baby whale came within 300 metres of the shore near Enzo's on the Beach Cafe, what a treat for people dining there.

My son & grandson visited us from Singapore a month ago, and we took them whales watching & we lost count of the whales we saw, they came so close to the boat, you felt you could lean out & touch them (but that's not allowed)

Ducklite - thanks for the info on Pacific Francs being replaced. I just did a quick check to see what Pacific francs I had on hand, and its a very small amount, so it can go in the garbage bin later.

I will definitely hang onto my Singapore Dollars for the visit there in November this year, and I also have USD's on hand, for us in Dili, East Timor (they only use US dollars) - we are hoping to buy some souvenirs there on our trip visiting there next year on P&O Jewel.

Illyria - you might be interested to know that here in Australia, signatures on Credit Cards is now finished. About a month ago, all the Banks now require everyone to use a 4 digit PIN only.

Some people I believe have trouble remembering PIN numbers, and try to disguise their PIN on a piece of paper showing a phone number with PIN disguised in that number, however, I found a simple solution by doing the following.

I always remembered the 'street number' of my parents home many years ago, then I remembered street number of a relative.....now the 4 digit number is so easy to remember without writing it down, etc. (in fact you could write it down, eg. street number of our previous house & street number of Uncle Harry, eg. 3864 or 9120.

Before I depart for overseas my wife & I always go to our Banks, notify them what part of the world we will be in, for how long, departure dates & arrival home date.

We also arrange with the Banks to get foreign currency for main ports that we will visit, and after our trip if we have some currencies over we put it away (may use it again for a revisit of that country - I have Singapore Dollars & Pacific Francs in my cupboard at the moment)

If the country your visiting is a bit dodgy, then I would opt to purchase sufficient foreign currency beforehand, thus eliminating the need to visit Banks or ATM's in that port.

Personally, we have never experienced any problem by doing that.

A friend just told me that the P&O Jewel will depart from Marina Bay Cruise Terminal, and a great place for getting those special Singapore photos from, eg. Gardens by the Bay, Singapore Wheel, the evening lights of Singapore, etc.

Dancinman66 - thanks for the advice. When my wife & I visit Singapore to see our son, we often go down to Harbourfront, where you will see Star Virgio cruise ships berthed there, and they seem about the same size as P&O Pacific Jewel??

Marina Bay Cruise Terminal is the latest terminal, very easy to get to, either by bus or taxi. I guess in the future all cruises will go from Marina Bay Cruise Terminal.

Just for the information of other cruisers going on this cruise - sometime ago I downloaded a page off the computer on Marina Bay Cruise Centre which states:-

* Public Transport - board the North South lines towards Marina Bay Station. Then from the station walk towards Central Boulevard from Marina Bay Station (Exit B) or if arrive on the Downtown Lines take Exit C.

Board Bus 402 at the bus stop near Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower3, then alight at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre.

* Taxi would probably be better, if your not used to the MRT system.

(We use the MRT every time we are in Singapore, we even keep our Ezi-Link Card (with money still on it) to use next time we are in Singapore.

My wife & I are booked on P&O Pacific Jewel J522 departing Singapore for Brisbane, via Semerang, Bali, Komodo, Timor, Alotau, Doini Islands.

The cruise ship departs Singapore 10pm, but I can't find any website that mentions which cruise terminal it departs from?

Singapore has 2 cruise terminals, one at Harbourfront and the other at Marina Bay Sands Cruise Terminal.

As you would not doubt realise, the ship berths on the western side of the island at a place called Nathon. From there I would opt for a day swimming, eating out, shopping on the eastern side of the island at Chaweng Beach.

Its very rare to get a large ship berthing near a pristine beach.

DW & I are doing a Sapphire Princess cruise in February 2015, and it stops at Koh Samui, and we are going to go across to Chaweng Beach (we are beach people)

Thank you to all who contributed advice, I will let my friend know.

Many thanks

RKMW - thank you for the advice, I will tell them about your advice. This maybe there 1st & last cruise with P&O, who knows.

I have a friend doing a South Pacific Cruise on Pacific Jewel, and is booked into a cabin on Deck 9 of the Pacific Jewel. It appears that this cabin is situated over the Marquee Theatre & my friend is concerned that they will hear excessive coming from the theatre, if they retire to bed early.

I have assured my friend, that from my experience, most floor shows finish well before bedtime, however, because I haven't cruised with P&O, I thought I should check this aspect with fellow cruisers on Cruise Critic.

Any advice guys?

I agree with others, just take clothing that you feel comfortable in. On formal nights, I wear dark suit trousers with a smart casual shirt (not any ordinary casual shirt, but something a bit upmarket, if you know what I mean).

Because of the cruises my wife & I do, we have to fly long distances, and lug around luggage bags, in & out of hotels, to cruise terminals & off cruise terminals, so the less luggage I need to take, the better.

On my last cruise on the Celebrity Millenium out of Hawaii, to Australia, men on our designated dining table in the Main Dining Room looked uncomfortable on formal nights, and I think they were jealous that I was wearing "comfortable" smart casual clothing (one fellow diner mentioned this to me at the table without his wife knowing)

Times are a changing, I wonder what the dress code will be cruise ships in 10 years time??? - I hope its not shorts & t-shirt

Carbill - I agree with you, the Chinese make excellent workers. I visit Singapore each year to see my Australian son & his family, and I deal with Singaporean Chinese residents all the time, and I find them super efficient & friendly. I now have quite a few Chinese friends in Singapore.

Lovetocruise - you sound the same as we do.

I have been on Celebrity & Princess cruises before, and my wife & I never take formal clothing, but instead take very smart casual clothing. If a formal night comes up, we just go to another speciality dining room/bar and enjoy ourselves, without lugging around dinner suits, etc.

We have no objection to other people wearing formal gear, its just we tend fly long distances sometimes, eg. Australia to Hawaii or Tahiti to board our cruise ship, and we don't want to lug around bags & bags of clothing.

Quite often on formal nights when we go to another speciality restaurant, we sometimes have the whole restaurant to ourselves....magic.

One night on Celebrity Millenium (formal night that is) we wore very small casual clothing to the main dining room, and other friends on our table were wearing dinner suits, etc. The staff took no notice of what we were wearing, and halfway through the dinner, our friends on the table had wished they done the same by wearing smart casual....Oh well, as they say, each to their own.

Most ship port terminals are not located in the best position for passengers.

Port Vila has a bit of walk to get into town, Pride of America cruise ship & other ships berth near downtown Honolulu - which is bus or taxi ride out to Waikiki, Princess cruises berth in Brisbane River away from the action, but I must say on our last Celebrity Millenium cruise from Hawaii to Sydney, it was nice docking at Circular Quay, right in the city.

Seenixie - the hop on/hop off Noumea bus is well worth using. Once your down on the main drag of Anse Vate Beach (good spot for a swim & coffee later) - later the bus goes around to all the "main attractions" ie. the museum, cruise ship terminal, the shops, etc.

The bus driver has a leaflet of where the bus goes, and where the bus stops are nearby each attraction.

Some years ago, my wife & I were flying back from London to Australia, and we decided beforehand to have a stop-over in Pattaya. Stayed in a nice hotel

there, night life a bit sleezy, however, we did a day trip out to a nice island nearby, and that made all the difference to our holiday. It think the island was called Ko Larn (or similar)

Just heard that Crystal Cruises is suspending a visit to Bangkok, until all the troubles ceases.

Just in time, for our Sapphire Princess South East Asia cruise in February 2015

I am glad I could help out in some way. If you need further advice on any of the items l have listed, please ask, and I will try to answer to the best of my knowledge.

Only having cruised on NCL Pride of America, Sun Princess & Celebrity Millenium, I am not sure if these classified as "small" or "large" or in between?

DW & I never had any problem in "having time to ourselves" with other cruisers. We got involved in as many activities as possible, eg. excercise classes, lei making, wine appreciation, etc, etc, however, we always found time to be on our own most afternoons at Bar above the pool, where we my wife would have one cocktail, and myself one beer, and we would discuss the days activities. Then in the evening, we were on the same table each night, with a lovely group of persons, from Australia and USA. Even though we enjoyed their company, we occasionally would not attend the main dining room, and go to a small speciality restaurant, which we often had to ourselves sometimes - so it was romantic.

I know this might sound strange, but we never get involved in Meet & Greet

as we like to be on our own sometimes,and other times, we like meet people out of the blue on the ship.