Tried P & O Australia and Unlikely to Do So Again

[PetaAnne]

The samplers, comedy cruises, and such will always attract an element that few them as a party cruise or a booze cruise. They are often not very cost effective either as the price per day can be more than double for a 7 or 10 day cruise.

 

Yes, :( I definitely learnt the hard way to steer away from samplers.

I don't know what I was thinking....

 

I might give P&O another go on one of their newer ships.

 

But, I have a few upcoming, so that might have to wait bit. :D

[MicCanberra]

Yes, :( I definitely learnt the hard way to steer away from samplers.

I don't know what I was thinking....

 

I might give P&O another go on one of their newer ships.

 

But, I have a few upcoming, so that might have to wait bit. :D

 

I Don't mind them and as long as you know what to expect, they can still be a great cruise. we have two short cruises coming up. One is the Pacific Aria's inaugural cruise and the other is a sampler on RCI's Explorer, to try and test the ship. :D

Edited July 12, 2015 by MicCanberra

[annb20]

Well done! You took the words right out of my mouth. We usually cruise Princess but decided due to time we would go on the PO Dawn and even though we had a great time the value for money wasn't the same as Princess and if you wanted anything extra which is normally provided on Princess you had to ask or pay. We asked our cabin steward for a blanket to go on deck to watch the movies.

We found the embarkation and the disembarkation was handled poorly and we were almost an hour late for our disembarkation time.

The activities organised were few and far between unless you were prepared to pay for them. While the food was okay it was very much the same type of food in the Plantation room every night. We hated having to line up to book for dinner the next night in the Waterfront Dining room and this menu lacked salads.

I am unsure why all cruise lines go to Noumea as we have always found the people don't really want us there.

On a positive note the rooms had a lot more storage and our cabin steward was very discreet and yes the coffee was a little better.

[The_Big_M]

Sample cruises certainly serve a purpose... whether in the party crowd or not. :D

 

That said, some cruise lines don't do them at the moment, as the crew don't like them either. More work from the passengers to deal with.

[MicCanberra]

P&O's coffee (free stuff in buffet and MDR) is steps above the syrup coffee used on all of the other lines I have been on. My normal morning coffee usually needs to be from Cafe's on the various ships.

Edited July 12, 2015 by MicCanberra

[PetaAnne]

Anyone booked on Ovation of the Sea yet? I was a little bummed there was no Pacific island option. Not real keen to do the NZ cruise. Will be interesting to see how that measures up.

[Aus Traveller]

Anyone booked on Ovation of the Sea yet? I was a little bummed there was no Pacific island option. Not real keen to do the NZ cruise. Will be interesting to see how that measures up.

Ovation of the Seas is a lot larger than (for instance) Pacific Dawn.

 

Her gross tonnage is nearly 2 and a half times (168,666 to 70,285.)

Ovation is nearly 1 and a half times the length (1141 ft v. 811 ft)

Her draft is more (28 ft while Dawn is 26ft).

 

Maybe the Ovation cannot get into some of the Pacific Island ports. Along with the larger ship's extra bells and whistles, there comes some disadvantages.

[MicCanberra]

Anyone booked on Ovation of the Sea yet? I was a little bummed there was no Pacific island option. Not real keen to do the NZ cruise. Will be interesting to see how that measures up.

 

Yes, for the new years eve cruise to NZ.:D

[avalon007]

Yes, we booked the last 14 day NZ cruise in Jan 2017.

 

We also would have preferred the islands, but I booked mostly for the ship experience than the destination. It will give us a chance to do some of the things in NZ we missed anyway - so all good. :)

 

Ovation has 2 covered pools so if the NZ weather isn't so nice we can still enjoy a swim.

 

I think she may be able to visit the islands in the future I just don't think they had enough time to get ready & some ports in Vila may still be rebuilding from the cyclone.

 

I don't see why she couldn't visit several of the Pacific ports that are currently container docks like other ships do now, they handle large cargo ships.

[LuckiePuris]

Datone, next cruise I recommend trying Celebrity Solstice rather Princess again.

 

Beautiful ship, very stylish & elegant, large enough to offer variety & not feel crowded. Age demographic mostly 45 - 65 on average.

 

Some of the best speciality restaurants/eateries we have tried.

 

Just a lovely ship all round. :)

 

I'd agree about Celebrity! To the OP, I have copied the link to my first Celebrity cruise below if you're interested in considering a different cruise line.

 

I've previously cruised with P&O, Royal Caribbean & Carnival, and have inspected a few Princess ships as a TA.

 

I was so impressed with Celebrity in March I did a first - I booked another Celebrity cruise while onboard, and then booked a third within the fortnight of returning home. We absolutely loved Celebrity and they are our cruise line of choice for future cruises if we were cruising just us as a couple.

 

Review: http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2192606

[GUT2407]

I'd agree about Celebrity! To the OP, I have copied the link to my first Celebrity cruise below if you're interested in considering a different cruise line.

 

I've previously cruised with P&O, Royal Caribbean & Carnival, and have inspected a few Princess ships as a TA.

 

I was so impressed with Celebrity in March I did a first - I booked another Celebrity cruise while onboard, and then booked a third within the fortnight of returning home. We absolutely loved Celebrity and they are our cruise line of choice for future cruises if we were cruising just us as a couple.

 

Review: http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2192606

 

 

The one comment I would make is that you will find going from a Celebrity shp to a Princess ship, or vice a versa, really about as much difference as from one Princess ship to another.

[madfisher]

P&O's coffee (free stuff in buffet and MDR) is steps above the syrup coffee used on all of the other lines I have been on. My normal morning coffee usually needs to be from Cafe's on the various ships.

 

Hey Mic I'm with you. I just loved those 3 shot coffees on the Solstice and the best part was they were covered by the Alcohol premium package.

Speaking of which, I am a bit miffed about not being able to get a drinks pack with Princess out of Sydney.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Speaking of which, I am a bit miffed about not being able to get a drinks pack with Princess out of Sydney.

 

You can! You can! :D

 

Unless your cruise is less than 8 nights. :(

 

Princess announced an Aussie drinks package last week. $59 per day for the equivalent of Celebrity's premium package except Princess offers 40% off bottled wine instead of Celebrity's 20%.

 

It may not show in the Personaliser but apparently you can buy it onboard from any bar or drinks waiter. It sounds like an excellent deal.

Edited July 12, 2015 by OzKiwiJJ

[OzKiwiJJ]

Here is the details:

 

For only AU$59 per person, per day for voyages 8 nights or longer, you

can enjoy the convenience of the all-inclusive beverage package. The package covers drinks up to the value of AU$14.

The package includes:

• Cocktails

• Wine by the glass

• Beers

• Specialty coffees (mocha, latte, macchiato, espresso, ice coffe and coffee blend)

• Soft drinks

• Shakes

• Water bottles

• Juices

• Spirits

You can enjoy a 40% discount on bottles of wine under AU$100.

The package will be rolled out across the following Australian based ships:

Sun Princess® - available now

Dawn Princess® - available now

Sea Princess® - available 12 July 2015

The package will also be available onboard Diamond Princess®, Golden Princess® and Emerald Princess® voyages departing from and returning to Australia, 8 nights or longer.

The package can be booked with any bartender or waiter onboard.

*Package does not include beverages above $14, souvenir items, mini-bar items, in-room service or vending machine items. The package must be purchased for the full duration of the cruise, partial packages are not available."

[Stormtruper]

Hey OzKiwiJJ. Where are you getting that information from? Is that true? I've been searching but can't find that anywhere. Are you leading us on or is that true? Would be fantastic if they've finally brought that in for Australian-based Princess ships. Can't seem to find that information that you've shared with us anywhere on the web.

[Stormtruper]

Not to worry OzKiwiJJ. I've found it: http://www.cruisepassenger.com.au/princess-unlimited-beverage-package/

[OzKiwiJJ]

:D

 

Originally it came through on Facebook, verified by a TA.

 

Discussion on the FB page seemed to concur that buying it onboard is the easiest, especially if you have any OBC that can go towards it.

[MicCanberra]

Hey Mic I'm with you. I just loved those 3 shot coffees on the Solstice and the best part was they were covered by the Alcohol premium package.

Speaking of which, I am a bit miffed about not being able to get a drinks pack with Princess out of Sydney.

 

Aspen coffees are covered in the classic package and they are even better.:D

[MicCanberra]

Unless you want to spend the money now (budget issues) or you already know you will drink that much each day than pre-purchase. otherwise, I think it is generally better to buy on board once you know if you will need it or not after one days drinking.

 

:D

[The_Big_M]

Some prefer to prepay as they're usually slightly cheaper.

 

Tme will tell if the same applies with this one. :D

[madfisher]

Unless you want to spend the money now (budget issues) or you already know you will drink that much each day than pre-purchase. otherwise, I think it is generally better to buy on board once you know if you will need it or not after one days drinking.

 

:D

 

so Mic. My question is this. Why do Princess not offer an alcohol package for cruises out of Aus or is this the case with all cruise lines?????:eek:

[ladybird1292]

Princess is now offering a drinks package $59 per day in Australia. Just saw it on facebook

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[madfisher]

Unless you want to spend the money now (budget issues) or you already know you will drink that much each day than pre-purchase. otherwise, I think it is generally better to buy on board once you know if you will need it or not after one days drinking.

 

:D

 

Sorry Mic. I didn't read the thread above and am pleased to see the change in policy from Princess :)

[MicCanberra]

so Mic. My question is this. Why do Princess not offer an alcohol package for cruises out of Aus or is this the case with all cruise lines?????:eek:

 

That was the golden question but they now offer packages.:D

 

As you now know. :p

Edited July 13, 2015 by MicCanberra

[tillydog]

I Don't mind them and as long as you know what to expect, they can still be a great cruise. we have two short cruises coming up. One is the Pacific Aria's inaugural cruise and the other is a sampler on RCI's Explorer, to try and test the ship. :D

 

MicCanberra - Are you on the November 29th sample cruise on Explorer?