Pacific Pearl - to cruise or cancel?

[angelina2900]

I went on the Pacific Pearl last month and had a ball. We met great people (one of the benefits of a smaller cruise ship) and we got to know lots of people quite quickly. My daughter was in the kids club and said it was great. Our room was great and the beds were really comfortable. We had an oceanview room.

 

The Pacific Pearl has just had a refurbishment (we were told) and it seemed in really good condition. The rooms were good (we heard no noise at night) and we always felt well rested. The food was okay. Some meals were great and others not so great. It seemed a bit hit and miss depending on where you ate as there are a number of different restaurants. The shows were FANTASTIC.

 

PROS: the entertainment, all activities and shows, the comfortable beds, neat and clean ship, the kids club

 

CONS: some of the food wasn't fantastic, but it was okay. No tea or coffee in room (and hard to find after dinner),

 

If you have any specific questions about it, I'm happy to answer.

Hope this helps you.

[Kiwi_cruiser]

CONS: No tea or coffee in room (and hard to find after dinner),

 

On No P&O, Princess Australia or on the Volendam was there tea or coffee in the room, and I have yet to know a 3 - 4 star line that cruises down this way that offer tea or coffee in room.

 

There should been tea and coffee available 24 hours in the buffet in the waterfront.

[cruisin-m]

Cruisin-m, I fully agree with you when you say that there are pros and cons to any ship. Believe me, I have been weighing up all the good reviews about the Pearl along with the bad.

From what I can gauge, I am unlikely to be disappointed with their entertainment, on-board service, kids club, table-service restaurants and even their cabins (which while dated, look to be a pretty good size).

 

However, it's the technical issues which have been concerning me most, and even more so, P&O's response (or lack of) to people's complaints.

I always read reviews (good and bad) before booking a holiday, and take the majority with a pinch of salt. But it's a companies response to these reviews that always interests me the most.

 

When P&O finally addressed the toilet issue with the media, they did so by blaming it on customers and the things they'd flushed down the toilet. Sure, this might be partly true, but it was also due to an initial lack of sanitary disposal units and presumably an old pump system. IMO it's really poor business practice to pass problems with your company onto the customer instead of apologising and then moving forward to fix them.

 

Similar with the spa pool debacle. I have been reading complaints about misleading advertising material for months. However, it is only now that P&O have thanked the latest complainant for bringing this to their attention and bringing about a 'positive outcome'. Positive for who? P&O, because they have probably dodged a bullet? Definitely not for those who feel like they booked the cruise under misleading premises. Again, I think a simple acknowledgment of people's disappointment would be nice.

 

Lastly, as far as I'm aware, P&O have been avoiding questions about the black smoke. Does anyone know if the ship is still pumping this into the environment? I would feel quite guilty about paying for a cruise that is leaving such a huge carbon footprint on the earth.

 

Anyway, sorry about the rant. I never really made it clear until now what my main reservations for rethinking the Pearl were and thought perhaps I should. Feel free to disagree, but please do so in a nice way ;)

 

Thanks again to everyone for your replies. The help on this website has been awesome and your cruising knowledge has really impressed me.

 

P&O Australia is operated by Carnival Australia who are the exact same company who are responsible for Sun, Sea, Dawn and as of next season Diamond Princess from Australia. It's the same people and the exact same head office, admin staff, call centres and everything as each other. So whilst it annoys me as well that they aren't been completely honest with their customers, there is really no difference in this aspect between P&O and Princess (within Australia). Princess does have the most accurate brochure but that's probably because they include/have everything anyway :cool:.

 

Royal Caribbean aren't free of misleading advertising either, all of their brochures (including the most current) promote many things that were non-existant on my Rhapsody cruise, the one that startled me the most was "delectable 5 course dinners in the grand dining room" as there was only ever 3 courses, unless they count the water as a course :p.

 

I was one of the people that flamed them for that response on the spas, standing up for cruising staying all inclusive, but in reality with the spas gone it is in a way beneficial as they made way for the circus act and during my tour the performer on deck hurling around the ex spa area on a giant ring was pretty wow'ing. I still think they should put a few in elsewhere though. ;)

 

Just thought I would point that out. You will have a superb time on either :)

[oskarNZ]

I am the "complainant" who brought the spa pool (or lack of) sitaution to the attention of P&O. Really if you look at their response, it's very carefully worded in order to keep themselves "safe" from litigation. The also didn't think it was a big deal that they were promoting on the Pearl "the world's first chocolate cafe at sea" in their initial brochures but now it doesn't exist. Not once have they addressed what they are going to do for all those customers who made bookings in good faith - at least 1 free 1/2 day pass to Oasis per guest for those that ask prior to departure should be a minimum. Surely this would be a small cost to pay and probably only 50 - 100 people per cruise would request this. Obviously if you left it open once people were on board, then word of mouth would have everyone lining up.

 

The more I think about the situation the more I feel ripped off - but unfortunately we have paid for our cruise in full. I would be happy to take a full refund and book something else at a later date, but we would be out of pocket for airfares and prepaid accommodation prior to sailing.

 

I presume your situation is such that you can get a full refund? Good luck with whatever option you go with and happy travels!

 

Thanks Kiwi Kid. Good luck to you also and happy cruising :)

 

I am still more than 180 days out from cruising so, as far as I'm aware, I can get a full refund. I hope there's no small print somewhere that I've missed. Will ring them later on in the day.

 

Because P&O had said the outcome was 'positive', I had hoped, that at the very least, they had said or done something positive for you. It doesn't sound like that was the case? :(

I agree that a half day voucher to the oasis spas would be a nice gesture. At the end of the day, I'm not even sure that I would use these vouchers. It's just nice to see people's concerns addressed properly and not swept under the carpet.

 

Have a great day.

[oskarNZ]

I went on the Pacific Pearl last month and had a ball. We met great people (one of the benefits of a smaller cruise ship) and we got to know lots of people quite quickly. My daughter was in the kids club and said it was great. Our room was great and the beds were really comfortable. We had an oceanview room.

 

PROS: the entertainment, all activities and shows, the comfortable beds, neat and clean ship, the kids club

 

CONS: some of the food wasn't fantastic, but it was okay. No tea or coffee in room (and hard to find after dinner),

 

If you have any specific questions about it, I'm happy to answer.

Hope this helps you.

 

Thanks angelina2900, it's always interesting to read a balanced review like yours.

 

What you said seems to much in line with other reviews I've read. I don't think I've read one bad review yet about the Pearls entertainment and kids club and it great to hear that they are getting these things right. I could never cruise on a ship where the kid's club reviews were bad.

[oskarNZ]

.

 

What you said seems to much in line with other reviews I've read. .

 

Oopps, what I meant to say was:

 

What you said seems to BE much in line with other reviews I've read.

 

I tried to edit, but mucked it up somehow.

[oskarNZ]

P&O Australia is operated by Carnival Australia who are the exact same company who are responsible for Sun, Sea, Dawn and as of next season Diamond Princess from Australia. It's the same people and the exact same head office, admin staff, call centres and everything as each other. So whilst it annoys me as well that they aren't been completely honest with their customers, there is really no difference in this aspect between P&O and Princess (within Australia). Princess does have the most accurate brochure but that's probably because they include/have everything anyway :cool:.

 

 

Hi cuisin-m. Thanks for that info. You bring up a very good point and it's something I need to think about. So far I haven't been impressed by P&O's PR team and feel disappointed to hear that the same people could be dealing with the Diamond.

 

I knew they were both under the Carnival umbrella, but I understood P&O to be run from Australia and the Diamond from the U.S. It is interesting to hear that from next season the Diamond will be run from the same Australian office as P&O.

 

What changes does this mean for the Diamond?

Will it be based in Australia and no longer be going up to Alaska during our winter?

Will onboard money change from $US to $AUS, and will tipping change?

 

Would love to hear from anybody who's in the loop on such matters.

[rkmw]

No tea or coffee in room (and hard to find after dinner)

 

i have never seen any tea or coffee in your room on p&o or princess and you can get tea or coffee 24/7 from the buffett on both lines

 

It is interesting to hear that from next season the Diamond will be run from the same Australian office as P&O

 

who said that the Diamond was going to be run from the Australian office, it only comes here once a year to do a round trip to NZ and it goes back to Asia and its in USD

[Dizziedi]

Bob, you're right about the lack of tea/coffee facilities in the rooms - not even in the suites EXCEPT Pacific Dawn's full suite (according to the brochure:rolleyes:). As I love my coffee first thing in the morning, I take my own coffee maker with me:o which reminds me, I'd better go pack it, we're off tomorrow.

 

I will report live from the Pearl:D

 

Cheers

Di

[rkmw]

Bob, you're right about the lack of tea/coffee facilities in the rooms - not even in the suites EXCEPT Pacific Dawn's full suite (according to the brochure:rolleyes:). As I love my coffee first thing in the morning, I take my own coffee maker with me:o which reminds me, I'd better go pack it, we're off tomorrow.

 

I will report live from the Pearl:D

 

Cheers

Di

 

hi Di, have a good cruise and let me know what its like as we are on it at the end of july, gunna sneak any wine on

 

bob

[Kiwi_cruiser]

hi Di, have a good cruise and let me know what its like as we are on it at the end of july, gunna sneak any wine on

 

bob

 

I might bump in to you as we get off after spending 29 nights on her!

[oskarNZ]

 

who said that the Diamond was going to be run from the Australian office, it only comes here once a year to do a round trip to NZ and it goes back to Asia and its in USD

 

Hmmm, I wonder if perhaps I misunderstood cruisin-m's comment. I hope so.

[Dizziedi]

Bob thinking of packing a bottle of Verve in one of the check-in bags as it's our anniversary on Friday as well as full moon:cool: and we can't buy Verve on board - justification.

 

KiwiCruiser - if it's a nice day we plan to dump our bags at the ship and then go to Nick's Seafood for lunch. Do you live in NZ? We will be over for the RWC b2b on the Rhapsody.

 

Cheers

Di

[resordanis]

Bob thinking of packing a bottle of Verve in one of the check-in bags as it's our anniversary on Friday as well as full moon:cool: and we can't buy Verve on board - justification.

 

KiwiCruiser - if it's a nice day we plan to dump our bags at the ship and then go to Nick's Seafood for lunch. Do you live in NZ? We will be over for the RWC b2b on the Rhapsody.

 

Cheers

Di

Hi Di,

Just thinking of you as I just sent an email to Paul. Have a great cruise. Have a glass or two for me! Can't think of a better way to start a cruise than by going to Nicks for lunch. Can't wait for your review!

Cheryle:D

[cruisin-m]

Hi cuisin-m. Thanks for that info. You bring up a very good point and it's something I need to think about. So far I haven't been impressed by P&O's PR team and feel disappointed to hear that the same people could be dealing with the Diamond.

 

I knew they were both under the Carnival umbrella, but I understood P&O to be run from Australia and the Diamond from the U.S. It is interesting to hear that from next season the Diamond will be run from the same Australian office as P&O.

 

What changes does this mean for the Diamond?

Will it be based in Australia and no longer be going up to Alaska during our winter?

Will onboard money change from $US to $AUS, and will tipping change?

 

Would love to hear from anybody who's in the loop on such matters.

 

The Diamond and all the Princess ships 'management' so to say remains in the US, however, when they are in Australia it is Carnival Australia (same as P&O Australia) who is resposible for bookings, marketing, brochures, information, PR and I would even say management to some extent for the Princess ships, I guess they would act like a caretaker for the US management in a way while the ship is away from them.

 

The tipping and USD will remain on the Diamond and Diamond will return to Asia/Alaska when its season finishes in Australia.

 

What I wanted to make you aware of is that regardless of which Princess ship you choose from Australia it is Carnival Australia who are looking after their marketing, PR, bookings, information etc which is what in previous comments seemed to really bother you about P&O Australia, they will be the same :). I hope this clarifies it, the Diamond and Princess are still managed in the US and the Diamond isn't going to be based here, I think my comment mightn't have been that clear before :p.

[Debsta]

Have a great trip. Looking forward to reading your 'live' thread :D (unless it's bad then I'll close my eyes :eek: :p)

 

Have fun!

[Dizziedi]

Hi Cheryle, thanks, I'm sure it will be good (I hope). Saw Paul today - we offered to take him to lunch but he couldn't make it. He is so busy - the strength of the $ is making TA's a fortune at the moment.

 

Thanks Deb, I'll report in and hopefully it will all be good stuff:D

 

Cheers

Di

[The_Big_M]

The Diamond and all the Princess ships 'management' so to say remains in the US, however, when they are in Australia it is Carnival Australia (same as P&O Australia) who is resposible for bookings, marketing, brochures, information, PR and I would even say management to some extent for the Princess ships, I guess they would act like a caretaker for the US management in a way while the ship is away from them.

 

I don't get what you mean there. They produce brochures including the Diamond out of the US to cater for the American market for the entire annual season. They don't just pull them from the US and freight over some AU printed ones at the end of the year. Similarly, you can book a Diamond cruise through a TA at any time here - it doesn't switch offices.

 

It only does 4 cruises between AU/NZ so it isn't justified economically to transfer any functions out of the US over that time.

[cruisin-m]

I don't get what you mean there. They produce brochures including the Diamond out of the US to cater for the American market for the entire annual season. They don't just pull them from the US and freight over some AU printed ones at the end of the year. Similarly, you can book a Diamond cruise through a TA at any time here - it doesn't switch offices.

 

It only does 4 cruises between AU/NZ so it isn't justified economically to transfer any functions out of the US over that time.

 

I'm not refering at all to the US, obviously Princess markets to their home country for their entire fleet.

What I'm saying is that for bookings made in Australia by Australian's it is Carnival Australia who handles them, markets them, provides information about them and so on.

 

Yes, I agree that there is no transferring of functions from the US to Carnival Australia, but Carnival Australia handle Princess bookings, marketing, PR etc year round for Australian bookings. Because this is what was a big let down for OscarNZ with respect to P&O,I thought it would be best to let them know it will be the same admin staff providing information and customer service (pre-cruise) on both P&O and Princess for Australian bookings only.

 

I have no idea about this next assumption whatsoever, so could be entirely wrong, but I would also assume that Carnival Australia does play a role in ordering food, organising entertainers etc as you would think that Princess in the states wouldn't be familiar with local suppliers or performers.

[oskarNZ]

I'm not refering at all to the US, obviously Princess markets to their home country for their entire fleet.

What I'm saying is that for bookings made in Australia by Australian's it is Carnival Australia who handles them, markets them, provides information about them and so on.

 

Cruisin-m is correct. I have just discovered this information for myself. The princess.com website detects the country settings of your computer and then directs those of us down this side of the world to the Australian site. The phone numbers the page provides are actually those of P&O Australia and when I rang them last night I had to ask to be put through to a Princess representative.

 

Also, I wanted to send them an email The only email address I could find was on a brochure I got from the Travel Agents and it is a Carnival Australia email address.

 

So, yes cruisin-m is correct and I think even if I wanted to book a Princess cruise around the Carribbean I would need to do it through Carnival Australia.

[oskarNZ]

A quick update.

 

I cancelled my Pearl cruise last night. They are going to post me a refund cheque for the full amount of my deposit and the process was pleasingly pain-free.

The big sense of relief I felt once this call was over, further confirmed that this just wasn't the right cruise for me.

 

Anyway, on a bit of an emotional high, I decided to go ahead and book the Diamond cruise instead. I just had one last health-related question I wanted to ask them and then I was going to book. However, in the process of asking this question, I have hit a brick wall and once again been disappointed by the customer service of this company.

 

Sorry to be vague. I have emailed Carnival Australia and would like to see their response before I jump to any conclusions and inappropriately criticise the whole company for something that may just have been inexperience on the part of one staff member. At least that's what I hope it was.

 

 

Anyway, thanks again for everyone's advice. Will keep you posted.

[Bella cruiser]

A quick update.

 

I cancelled my Pearl cruise last night. They are going to post me a refund cheque for the full amount of my deposit and the process was pleasingly pain-free.

The big sense of relief I felt once this call was over, further confirmed that this just wasn't the right cruise for me.

 

Anyway, on a bit of an emotional high, I decided to go ahead and book the Diamond cruise instead. I just had one last health-related question I wanted to ask them and then I was going to book. However, in the process of asking this question, I have hit a brick wall and once again been disappointed by the customer service of this company.

 

Sorry to be vague. I have emailed Carnival Australia and would like to see their response before I jump to any conclusions and inappropriately criticise the whole company for something that may just have been inexperience on the part of one staff member. At least that's what I hope it was.

 

 

Anyway, thanks again for everyone's advice. Will keep you posted.

 

Hmm, I hope you sort out your issues to your satisfaction but I bet you are thinking that Cruisin-m was right, you are indeed dealing with the same company that you had reservations about. :rolleyes:

 

Jenny

[thied]

I have to say some not all of the staff that work do bookings answer the phone for the cruise lines, have no idea what to do or answer if the question is out side of the script they have to work with in front of them,

 

if its not in the script hold please while they see a superviser and even then they do not what to do, then they will we get some one to ring you back to answer that for you. Its not just the cruise lines that have this problem but many gov agents/ call centers have the same problem.

 

Try dealing with a telco not only do they not know what you talking about, but you have a had time tring under stand what they saying when english is second to them may be third.

 

 

 

Love Thied

 

 

 

.

[The_Big_M]

Cruisin-m is correct. I have just discovered this information for myself. The princess.com website detects the country settings of your computer and then directs those of us down this side of the world to the Australian site.

 

That's a different issue. Any bookings on any Princess ship anywhere in the world are booked through the Australian site if you're coming through from an Australian location; it's not about transferring marketing and so on just for Diamond while it visits.

 

For example, if you wanted to book a cruise on Emerald Princess in Russia in the middle of this year through the Princess AU website, you would also be charged in AUD. That's just because the local office is a representative office and takes bookings for all Princess cruises in a more convenient currency to Australians, not because the ship has become "run from the Australian office" (which is what the original claim was).

[oskarNZ]

The Big M, it was me who used the word 'run' as I was initially confused by Cruisin-m's first comment.

 

However, s/he has clarified what s/he meant, and I believe we are now on the same page.