P115 Pacific Pearl Idyllic Getaway – Far From Idyllic

[Skyrules]

"""""I think in the case of the OP and myself, when things happen that shouldn't happen such as the toilet blocking that the OP mentioned, it makes cruisers take a closer look at other aspects of the ship / cruise and when you do that, you find a number of things that don't sit well with your experience on that cruise / ship.""""""

 

 

 

I remember reading on here somewhere (cant find it now) where this subject was bought up a while ago and someone on here listed which ships have previously had trouble with toilets blocking etc.....And, it wasnt just older ships, there was a long list and if memory correct the list included Oasis Of The Seas and similar aged and class of ships..P&O (Aus) were actually listed as having the least problems in that area... Please correct me if I am wrong, but remember reading it with interest, thinking how interesting it was..:) Fiona

 

 

Yes, this has often been discussed... Even the Cunard Queen's have had bloked toilet issues.

 

Cruise Fact Number 1; As long as ships have vacuum toilets (which they always will) and passengers ignore warnings about putting inappropriate items down the toilets (there will always be passengers that will ignore the warnings) cruise ship toilets are going to get blocked.... Doesn't matter whether it's the QM2 or the Manlly Ferry.

[bazzaw]

Yes - an unfortunate fact. When we were on P&O Arcadia, a nice young couple who we got to to know had to be quartered elsewhere after their cabin flooded. I don't know what the flooding was - except to say that I was glad it didn't happen to us. There is no doubt though that it would affect your view of your cruise!! :o

 

 

Barry

[dougo in oz]

No worries Sandielle - maybe later...

 

Re the cabins flooding ... I know that this happened several times on various decks on the Pearl ... we had a LOT of first time cruisers on who either didn't see the signs in the bathrooms or didn't read the Pacific Daily.

 

I also suspect that people will put something down the loo that they shouldn't - "it's just one, it won't hurt" ... but then again, they are not at the end of the line that gets blocked so they have no idea what chaos they have caused unless someone tells them or unless someone can isolate them as the cause.

 

Same thing with food handling - use the tongs not your fingers - amazing how many couldn't be bothered with that too.

 

Both issues have happened on all the ships I've cruised on and I hasten to add - it's not me !!

[Skyrules]

One thing we did find on our cruise on Pacific Pearl is that it has a problem with cabins flooding from outside.

 

Early in the cruise Mum & Dad noticed that the carpet in their cabin, under the window, was damp, and it got progressively worse. Even dry there appeared to be a "high tide" mark on the carpet.

 

They reported it to their cabin steward, who reported it on to engineering, whose response was, no that problem was on the last cruise it's been fixed.... So he got a fan dryer into the cabin to try and dry out the cabin but that didn't really work, as the water was still coming in from somewhere. When they complained to the Purser's desk and got the engineering staff and hotel director to come around and look. Mum & Dad didn't want the problem to continue on and other passengers to have the same experience.

 

Interestingly - we were in the cabin next door, and didn't have a problem with water in the cabin.

[dougo in oz]

One thing we did find on our cruise on Pacific Pearl is that it has a problem with cabins flooding from outside.

 

Early in the cruise Mum & Dad noticed that the carpet in their cabin, under the window, was damp, and it got progressively worse. Even dry there appeared to be a "high tide" mark on the carpet.

 

They reported it to their cabin steward, who reported it on to engineering, whose response was, no that problem was on the last cruise it's been fixed.... So he got a fan dryer into the cabin to try and dry out the cabin but that didn't really work, as the water was still coming in from somewhere. When they complained to the Purser's desk and got the engineering staff and hotel director to come around and look. Mum & Dad didn't want the problem to continue on and other passengers to have the same experience.

 

Interestingly - we were in the cabin next door, and didn't have a problem with water in the cabin.

 

 

What was the cabin number they were occupying? Deck 11 by any chance?

[Skyrules]

What was the cabin number they were occupying? Deck 11 by any chance?

 

No, Deck 10 - Cabin 10184

[karmac]

Re the cabins flooding ... I know that this happened several times on various decks on the Pearl ... we had a LOT of first time cruisers on who either didn't see the signs in the bathrooms or didn't read the Pacific Daily.

 

 

As first time cruisers, they should have made an extra effort to go to the muster drill (even experienced cruisers should go to these). We have been on 6 P&O cruises and every single one of them has mentioned at muster drill about what to not to put down the toilet. The exact words are....."if it doesn't go in your mouth then it musn't go in the toilet".

[musicorn]

As first time cruisers, they should have made an extra effort to go to the muster drill (even experienced cruisers should go to these). We have been on 6 P&O cruises and every single one of them has mentioned at muster drill about what to not to put down the toilet. The exact words are....."if it doesn't go in your mouth then it musn't go in the toilet".

 

I agree it is my favorite part of Muster...

 

....If you have not eat or drank it first do not put it in the toilet.

 

I ask my kids all of the time especially around tissues - did you eat that? I think many people forget that the toilet paper on ships is designed to fall apart once really wet. Tissues of course are not.

 

On one cruise I was on somebody tried to flush a face cloth. Glad I am not a plumber on board a cruise ship. :eek:

[Kiwi Kid]

By pure coincidence - I have just posted a new thread along these lines on the P&O AUS sub-forum

 

I really can't get over the wildly differing reviews I have read about Pacific Pearl . They range from " I would never set foot onboard this ship again" to "This is the best ship in the P&O Fleet"

 

We have now sailed on 6 cruiseships - from the lowly Pacific Star to Queen Mary 2. And, in my opinion, they were "all the same!". The food standards on all 6 ships were similar (I call it "International hotel food" ), the service from staff was the same, the shore tours were all the same, ship management was the same, etc, etc. The only thing that changed was the level of our cruising experience - and sometimes I think that is the thing that causes these differences in reviews. It is obvious that the higher level of experience that you have of ANYTHING, the more that you may start to compare the different stages of that experience and come up with an unsatisfactory (to you) judgement of one of the stages.

 

BUT - having now said that all these cruises were basically "the same" - they were also all completely different! How can one compare Pacific Star with QM2?? - but my (favourable) recollections of our first cruise on Pac Star will stay with me until my death bed. And come to think of it - I don't think the food on Queen Mary 2 was as good as what we got on Pac Star!!

 

So - I am really looking forward to our upcoming 28 days to Tahiti on Pacific Pearl. It will be just a shame that they don't sell any decent beer on her - this fizzy Aussie lager just doesn't cut it with me after the great British ales we had on the P&O UK ships.

 

Barry

 

 

Got to agree with you Barry - if this was our first ever cruise and I had nothing to compare it to, then I would have rated it higher. Have done P&O before and obviously I like the product - or I wouldn't have booked this cruise. Certainly a more "fun" ship than Princess which didn't suit us very well. Weather also plays a part - obviously well beyond anyone's control and regardless of which line you use. My first cruise was also on the Star - and I fell in love with cruising! Knew not to expect 5 star, but loved the food, entertainment - the whole package.

 

If we hadn't had issues at the beginning for 4 days, then 2-3 days of bad weather at the end, there would have been so many more positives for an 8 night experience. It's the luck of the draw - cabin 8171 just wasn't lucky for us. But presuming that the in wall pipe repair was done properly, it needn't be for anyone else. Also you can't help people's stupidity! For me it's the "putting right" that matters - in this instance P&O let themselves down.

 

Food too is obviously very subjective - I'm not fussy nor do we like or appreciate "gourmet" - but most of the time the buffet offerings were cold and obviously a rehash of last night's meat option - ie beef pot roast had become a beef goulash. I can't recommend Salt Grill enough - though for me some of the food on a Carnival cruise I did in November 2009 was just as good - obviously without the ambience or the ability to linger. It was also about a 1/3rd of the overall price!

 

One thing that I think Kiwi's need to take into consideration when booking any P&O Australasia cruise is that everything's charged in A$'s - which with the exchange rate sitting where it is around .73 cents, it's really expensive! The highly rated trip to Amadee Island at A$189 equated to NZ$260 each - ouch! And to add insult to injury, if you had booked direct (which you can't due to sail-away time), cost would have been 12,200 XPF which, based on today's exchange is NZ$182! When we booked, the rate wasn't as bad.

 

Just my 2 cents worth! Happy travel!

[Kiwi Kid]

Yes - an unfortunate fact. When we were on P&O Arcadia, a nice young couple who we got to to know had to be quartered elsewhere after their cabin flooded. I don't know what the flooding was - except to say that I was glad it didn't happen to us. There is no doubt though that it would affect your view of your cruise!! :o

 

 

Barry

 

It astounds me that P&O in the UK had a spare cabin - I was told by P&O Australia that it's company policy to fully book the ship. When I suggested it wasn't great business practice for those on the ship that ran into cabin issues, was informed that they "deal with these issues as they arise". If we'd been moved on day 1 when it was obvious that it was going to take at least 12 hrs to dry out the cabin & try to remove the odours, then our holiday experience would have been so much better! Enough said!

[Sandielle]

Food too is obviously very subjective - I'm not fussy nor do we like or appreciate "gourmet"............. I can't recommend Salt Grill enough .....

 

This is my DH's gripe - they have some strange combinations even in the MDR! The waiters will always swap something for a food you like if you ask them nicely though. :D We have been lucky so far.

But that's why we haven't tried the Salt Grill - can't justify the charge when he probably won't like it.

 

One thing that I think Kiwi's need to take into consideration when booking any P&O Australasia cruise is that everything's charged in A$'s - which with the exchange rate sitting where it is around .73 cents, it's really expensive! The highly rated trip to Amadee Island at A$189 equated to NZ$260 each - ouch! And to add insult to injury, if you had booked direct (which you can't due to sail-away time), cost would have been 12,200 XPF which, based on today's exchange is NZ$182! When we booked, the rate wasn't as bad.

Just my 2 cents worth! Happy travel!

 

Yes, the exchange rate does make it harder for you. We noticed that quite a few things seemed more expensive in NZ, too. It's definitely not a level playing field. (Lovely place though, we are thinking of a 3rd cruise to NZ.)

[bazzaw]

That trip on Arcadia was part of a "World Cruise" - so I don't think it would have been completely full.

 

Actually, we have been very happy that P&O do fill the ships to capacity - it is this way that we have gotten such good upgraded cabins for such inexpensive fares when we book a "guarantee" fare. There is a good and bad aspect to all things.

 

Barry

[Skyrules]

It astounds me that P&O in the UK had a spare cabin - I was told by P&O Australia that it's company policy to fully book the ship. When I suggested it wasn't great business practice for those on the ship that ran into cabin issues, was informed that they "deal with these issues as they arise". If we'd been moved on day 1 when it was obvious that it was going to take at least 12 hrs to dry out the cabin & try to remove the odours, then our holiday experience would have been so much better! Enough said!

 

We had friends cruising on Volendam at Christmas and their cabin flooded. They were moved to another cabin, but only for 2 nights as the cabin was to be occupied when the ship reached Christchurch and more passnegers boarded. Luckily, in that time their cabin was repaired, and they were able to move back to it.

[Skyrules]

 

One thing that I think Kiwi's need to take into consideration when booking any P&O Australasia cruise is that everything's charged in A$'s - which with the exchange rate sitting where it is around .73 cents, it's really expensive! The highly rated trip to Amadee Island at A$189 equated to NZ$260 each - ouch! And to add insult to injury, if you had booked direct (which you can't due to sail-away time), cost would have been 12,200 XPF which, based on today's exchange is NZ$182! When we booked, the rate wasn't as bad.

 

Yes, the exchange rate at the moment is a bit of a pain for Kiwi's on P&O Ships, but it is good for Aussies travelling to NZ :)

 

As for the Amadee trip, the same applies for Australian's the 12,000 XPF independant price is a lot cheaper than the P&O A$189, but of course if you don't get back to the ship before it sails it's a bit of a problem!!

[dougo in oz]

... but most of the time the buffet offerings were cold and obviously a rehash of last night's meat option - ie beef pot roast had become a beef goulash.

 

And here I am thinking it was just me who copped all the cold food in the buffet at breakfast and lunch (but that's not why I won't set foot on the Pearl again)!!! In the buffet, there was steam rising from the food -or it may have been the hot plate - but the food was often stone cold. I think for our 20+ days we were on the ship, only once from the buffet I had something hot that was meant to be hot.

 

Having said that, I did find that if we got to the buffet earlier, food was more likely to be warmer than cold, but generally speaking it was no where near the temp it should have been for accepted practices in Australia.

 

On the whole, I thought the choice of food was pretty good.

[Skyrules]

And here I am thinking it was just me who copped all the cold food in the buffet at breakfast and lunch (but that's not why I won't set foot on the Pearl again)!!! In the buffet, there was steam rising from the food -or it may have been the hot plate - but the food was often stone cold. I think for our 20+ days we were on the ship, only once from the buffet I had something hot that was meant to be hot.

 

Having said that, I did find that if we got to the buffet earlier, food was more likely to be warmer than cold, but generally speaking it was no where near the temp it should have been for accepted practices in Australia.

 

On the whole, I thought the choice of food was pretty good.

 

The only hot food I ate from the buffet was at breakfast - and I never had a problem with cold food then. At lunchtime I tended to stick to the cold meat and salads. We didn't have dinner in the Buffet at all, we always went to the restaurant or Salt.