Pacific Eden Review - Good and Bad

[Tomo72]

We just came off the three night Australia Day cruise on Pacific Eden. In all we enjoyed the cruise but are fortunate that we can compare to two other recent cruises having been on Pacific Pearl for 5 Ships and Voyager in December.

 

The layout of the ship is very different to any other we have been on and seem to be one corridor after another. We got used to it so no problems there.

 

It was out first time being on a ship with The Pantry. We loved it, but noticed that the crew do not monitor or enforce the use of hand sanitiser. Perhaps because they feel the passengers dont use the utensils, but we saw danger signs especially on longer cruises.

 

The staff all worked very hard and were very friendly, but you could tell that a lot were new to their jobs. Once again no problem...be patient and be happy.

 

We tried both specialty restaurants which are still free. Lucky because we wouldnt be happy to pay for those products yet. Dragon Lady was ok at best. Angelos was very tasty food, but not a lot of food. We are not big eaters, but finished up at the Pantry.

 

The ship has quite a bit of wear and tear to be seen which we were quite surprised to see. Not a big problem for us, but thought it might have had a better tidy up in Singapore.

 

Great lounges around the main pool, but so deck chair on top deck would be great.

 

We had a internal cabin on deck 4. By far the largest cabin of its class in the 5 ships we have been on.

 

Will we cruise Eden again? Yes if the cruise suits.....absolutely!

 

Oh do they have a cruise director because they didnt appear at any live announcement or show.... I am sure they would have appeared on Sunrise but we didnt watch that sorry.

 

I am happy to answer any questions if anyone has a query.

[Royalty X]

Great review, thanks Tomo72.

Oh do they have a cruise director because they didnt appear at any live announcement or show....

Alun Sullivan is the CD on Eden. He was great when he was Zoltina-J's deputy CD on the Pearl a few years back, but now he has the "top job", he seems to just swan around trying to look important, without actually doing anything. :rolleyes: Edited January 28, 2016 by Royalty X

[icat2000]

Thanks for your review. I find the best Cruise Directors are the ones that interact with the passengers and put on a variety of activities and not the same stuff every day.

[LuckiePuris]

Thank you for your honest review. Would you mind if I ask a few questions?

 

- did they mention when they will start charging for those two specialty restaurants?

 

- did you notice if it was easy to book Salt Grill / was it advertised?

 

- was it easy to get a spot in the main dining room or did you need to make a reservation?

 

- I've been told on my 3 night cruise that sailaways is a white party. Was this the case witr yours also?

 

- my cruise starts check in and boarding at 4pm, with a 9pm sailaway. I'm unsure how dinner will go the first night, taking into account the muster drill. Was this the same case for your cruise?

 

- how were the bar prices in comparison to VOS, after taking into account the currency conversion on VOS. Etc general price of a can of coke, a piña colada, a glass of house wine.

 

- any tips to make the most of a short cruise?

 

Thanks!!

 

PS I'm also cruising on a 3 night Eden cruise however it's a surprise cruise for my partner so it's not on my countdown incase he happens to glance at cruise critic!

Edited January 28, 2016 by LuckiePuris

[Tomo72]

Thank you for your honest review. Would you mind if I ask a few questions?

 

- did they mention when they will start charging for those two specialty restaurants?

 

- did you notice if it was easy to book Salt Grill / was it advertised?

 

- was it easy to get a spot in the main dining room or did you need to make a reservation?

 

- I've been told on my 3 night cruise that sailaways is a white party. Was this the case witr yours also?

 

- my cruise starts check in and boarding at 4pm, with a 9pm sailaway. I'm unsure how dinner will go the first night, taking into account the muster drill. Was this the same case for your cruise?

 

- how were the bar prices in comparison to VOS, after taking into account the currency conversion on VOS. Etc general price of a can of coke, a piña colada, a glass of house wine.

 

- any tips to make the most of a short cruise?

 

Thanks!!

 

PS I'm also cruising on a 3 night Eden cruise however it's a surprise cruise for my partner so it's not on my countdown incase he happens to glance at cruise critic!

 

They said it was a "special" for this cruise when we booked Angelos and Dragon Lady, but staff in both said they werent ready to charge for them yet. They didnt mention how long they would be free for.

 

We didnt book Salt as we had eaten there before a few times. We wandered by on the second night and found in about half full. They may have lower patronage due to the others being free though.

 

We were told Bianco was part of sailaway too, but when we boarded it was advertised as smart casual. We sailed away at about 6pm. Bianco night was on the second night and formal/Gatsby on the third night. We have found the info given regarding themes very hit and miss with PnO.

 

For Waterfront they were taking bookings for the 530pm sitting and after that they checked you in and gave you a buzzer to let you know when your table was ready. The food in The Pantry was great though so it could be an option for a late sailaway.

 

The drinks are cheaper on PnO compared to VOS, but we had a drinks package on VOS. For example a Corona was $8, a Pina Colada $11, a can of soft drink $2.75. Wines were around $9 a glass. They did have a soft drink package available for $7 a day even though it was a short cruise. No alcohol package available.

 

Best tip is have fun and dont let the little things get to you. Get up early, go to bed late...catch up your sleep when you get home!

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.:D

[Aus Traveller]

Great review, thanks Tomo72.

Alun Sullivan is the CD on Eden. He was great when he was Zoltina-J's deputy CD on the Pearl a few years back, but now he has the "top job", he seems to just swan around trying to look important, without actually doing anything. :rolleyes:

We weren't impressed with him on the Pearl. He seemed to talk about himself a lot of the time when he was hosting activities.

[LuckiePuris]

They said it was a "special" for this cruise when we booked Angelos and Dragon Lady, but staff in both said they werent ready to charge for them yet. They didnt mention how long they would be free for.

 

We didnt book Salt as we had eaten there before a few times. We wandered by on the second night and found in about half full. They may have lower patronage due to the others being free though.

 

We were told Bianco was part of sailaway too, but when we boarded it was advertised as smart casual. We sailed away at about 6pm. Bianco night was on the second night and formal/Gatsby on the third night. We have found the info given regarding themes very hit and miss with PnO.

 

For Waterfront they were taking bookings for the 530pm sitting and after that they checked you in and gave you a buzzer to let you know when your table was ready. The food in The Pantry was great though so it could be an option for a late sailaway.

 

The drinks are cheaper on PnO compared to VOS, but we had a drinks package on VOS. For example a Corona was $8, a Pina Colada $11, a can of soft drink $2.75. Wines were around $9 a glass. They did have a soft drink package available for $7 a day even though it was a short cruise. No alcohol package available.

 

Best tip is have fun and dont let the little things get to you. Get up early, go to bed late...catch up your sleep when you get home!

 

Thank you so much, your feedback is invaluable.

 

Okay I won't worry about wearing white to embark then :)

 

Glad to hear that Salt wasn't completely full, I would really love to try this. I'm used to being able to pre book specialty restaurants with RCI & Celeb, so have been nervous about waiting until onboard to book.

 

It's only a short cruise but I'm determined for us to make the most of the three nights, experience all the ship has to offer, and just relax :)

 

Thank you again!

Edited January 28, 2016 by LuckiePuris

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for your review. I find the best Cruise Directors are the ones that interact with the passengers and put on a variety of activities and not the same stuff every day.

 

Agreed, Zoltana is excellent and really gets the audience/passengers involved.:D