Pacific Explorer Movements

[Kiwi_cruiser]

You might be interested in what Pacific Explorer will be doing over the next couple of weeks before her first cruise with passengers.

 

Found this PDF from the NSW Port authority website: https://www.portauthoritynsw.com.au/media/5329/factsheet_140422_wb-002.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1tNAmNLVky5kF3mA41mJQNBlPupnRQgmEJ4bKm-yLRYRzNf71Ck30YHOA

 

" Pacific Explorer is expected to:

 

➢ arrive at the Overseas Passenger Terminal (OPT) on 18 April until 19 April

➢ arrive at White Bay on 19 April and remain until 6 May

➢ return to OPT from 7 May to 10 May

➢ go on ‘work up’ or activation voyages, and potentially spend a couple of days at Athol Anchorage and Gore Bay (weather dependent) from 11 to 17 May

➢ return to White Bay from 17 to 30 May

➢ depart White Bay on 26 May for an ‘activation’ cruise from 26 – 29 May

➢ Depart White Bay for its first passenger cruise on 31 May

 

Please note these dates are indicative only and subject to change."

[OzKiwiJJ]

That's mean! They're teasing all us frustrated Sydney cruisers by having her up front in the main part of the harbour instead of neatly tucked away at White Bay. 🤣🤣🤣

[OzKiwiJJ]

It will be interesting to see if Coral Princess comes over a bit earlier to do work up / activation cruises out of Brisbane. 

[Chiliburn]

36 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

It will be interesting to see if Coral Princess comes over a bit earlier to do work up / activation cruises out of Brisbane. 

Apparently Carnival Group ,in the U.S. is really thrashing the advertising on the start up of the Australian season .

 Apparently it’s the Funderstuck  promotion.

[Hammer61]

I’m actually booked on one of the first cruises, 4 days to Morton island, booked last week on the spur of the moment when it just popped up on my PC whilst surfing the net, flash sail for $450 each for a guarantee balcony cabin! Told the wife, she said why not! So I booked, don’t have clue what to expect never sailed with P&O.

 

Fingers crossed its ok, just seems a bit ridiculously cheap to me and of course now im booked and tell people I hear rumours of it being a younger persons cruise line, lots of partying and yahooing youngsters, cheap food and crowds of people  Oh well we will know find out, been so long since we cruised I just booked with blinkers on as was on leave that week anyway with nothing planned.

 

Usually its Princess or Cunard, although Royal Caibbean is booked soon as well, as is Azamara in 2023 although expecting nothing on par or even close when compared them!!!

Edited April 25, 2022 by Hammer61

[Chiliburn]

9 minutes ago, Hammer61 said:

I’m actually booked on one of the first cruises, 4 days to Morton island, booked last week on the spur of the moment when it just popped up on my PC whilst surfing the net, flash sail for $450 each for a guarantee balcony cabin! Told the wife, she said why not! So I booked, don’t have clue what to expect never sailed with P&O.

 

Fingers crossed its ok, just seems a bit ridiculously cheap to me and of course now im booked and tell people I hear rumours of it being a younger persons cruise line, lots of partying and yahooing youngsters, cheap food and crowds of people  Oh well we will know find out, been so long since we cruised I just booked with blinkers on as was on leave that week anyway with nothing planned.

Is that on the 7th of June?

[Hammer61]

1 minute ago, Chiliburn said:

Is that on the 7th of June?

Yep 7th June, Public Holiday on the Monday, cruise departs White Bay on the Tuesday, looking forward to it with a few reservations of what to expect! As long as it’s clean and friendly, not over crowded as did hear they really fill the ships up to keep prices down, food is half decent and entertainment ok and we can find a quieter space if we want, then for 4 days we should be happy, not expecting Cunard standards though, that would be unfair for $450 each...........

[Aus Traveller]

26 minutes ago, Hammer61 said:

I’m actually booked on one of the first cruises, 4 days to Morton island, booked last week on the spur of the moment when it just popped up on my PC whilst surfing the net, flash sail for $450 each for a guarantee balcony cabin! Told the wife, she said why not! So I booked, don’t have clue what to expect never sailed with P&O.

 

Fingers crossed its ok, just seems a bit ridiculously cheap to me and of course now im booked and tell people I hear rumours of it being a younger persons cruise line, lots of partying and yahooing youngsters, cheap food and crowds of people  Oh well we will know find out, been so long since we cruised I just booked with blinkers on as was on leave that week anyway with nothing planned.

 

Usually its Princess or Cunard, although Royal Caibbean is booked soon as well, as is Azamara in 2023 although expecting nothing when compared them!!!

We usually sail with Princess, but sometimes with P&O. I agree that P&O generally has a younger crowd than Princess, and with it being a short cruise, there will be probably be more younger people than usual. We have never found yahooing on P&O, but we usually go on seven-night cruises. At $450 you can't miss.

 

Other comparisons with Princess - On P&O you cannot take any alcohol or softdrinks at all on board and you will be asked to empty or drink water in water bottles. On P&O you will see more security personnel than on Princess.

 

Food - It's OK. Maybe a notch less than Princess. Sometimes in the dining room we found that the icecream servings were teaspoon size, but other times they were OK. We just asked for a couple of servings. A major difference is the buffet. On P&O there is no self-serve. Serving staff behind the glass cabinet place whatever you want on your plate. There is absolutely no table service in the buffet area. Staff will not serve juice or coffee. They simply clear and clean the tables. The buffet isn't open continuously from 6am to 11pm. It is open for a session of a few hours for each mealtime.

 

Alcohol - Drinks prices are cheaper than on Princess. The MDR will not keep any leftover wine for you for the next night.

 

Shows in the theatre - Unless they have some new ones, they were awful. We should have realised when we arrived five minutes ahead of the start time and the theatre was only one-third full. Hopefully there will be new shows. There was mention when Pacific Explorer came into Sydney that there were.

 

Dress in the evenings - There are no formal nights on P&O, just a 'Cocktail night'. The meaning is clear, but I have seen guys in shorts and T-shirts while their girlfriends are really dressed  up. On the seven-night cruises they have a White Night (no explanation required) and a Roaring 20s night. I don't know which ones they will do on a 4-night cruise.

 

P.S. On the 'cocktail night' there would be literally only a few men wearing suits and no woman in long skirts. Most of the pax wear what you would wear to a  restaurant. The younger crowd seem to put more effort into the Roaring 20s night.

Edited April 25, 2022 by Aus Traveller

[Hammer61]

8 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

We usually sail with Princess, but sometimes with P&O. I agree that P&O generally has a younger crowd than Princess, and with it being a short cruise, there will be probably be more younger people than usual. We have never found yahooing on P&O, but we usually go on seven-night cruises. At $450 you can't miss.

 

Other comparisons with Princess - On P&O you cannot take any alcohol or softdrinks at all on board and you will be asked to empty or drink water in water bottles. On P&O you will see more security personnel than on Princess.

 

Food - It's OK. Maybe a notch less than Princess. Sometimes in the dining room we found that the icecream servings were teaspoon size, but other times they were OK. We just asked for a couple of servings. A major difference is the buffet. On P&O there is no self-serve. Serving staff behind the glass cabinet place whatever you want on your plate. There is absolutely no table service in the buffet area. Staff will not serve juice or coffee. They simply clear and clean the tables. The buffet isn't open continuously from 6am to 11pm. It is open for a session of a few hours for each mealtime.

 

Alcohol - Drinks prices are cheaper than on Princess. The MDR will not keep any leftover wine for you for the next night.

 

Shows in the theatre - Unless they have some new ones, they were awful. We should have realised when we arrived five minutes ahead of the start time and the theatre was only one-third full. Hopefully there will be new shows. There was mention when Pacific Explorer came into Sydney that there were.

 

Dress in the evenings - There are no formal nights on P&O, just a 'Cocktail night'. The meaning is clear, but I have seen guys in shorts and T-shirts while their girlfriends are really dressed  up. On the seven-night cruises they have a White Night (no explanation required) and a Roaring 20s night. I don't know which ones they will do on a 4-night cruise.

Thanks for that review, helps a lot, hopefully the shows have improved 👍

 

 

[Aus Traveller]

4 minutes ago, Hammer61 said:

Thanks for that review, helps a lot, hopefully the shows have improved 👍

We are going again in August. I hope they are better also. There was one called Sleep that was absolutely terrible. It is such a shame because P&O used to have fantastic shows. I remember their Pirate show, another called Run Away to the Circus that had enormous inflatable elephants and an Australian themed one. All really great. I hope the entertainment department has utilised the two-year pause to produce some good new shows.

Edited April 25, 2022 by Aus Traveller

[arxcards]

Generally, we avoid the theatre for the stage shows on most cruise lines. The last couple on P&O were quite entertaining though, and better than anything we had seen on Princess. What is on offer now after a couple of years of nothing is anyone's guess.

 

I don't think the crowd will be overly young, more likely filled with lots of similar people who have been hanging to get back on a ship. The passenger mix will be different to usual, and I expect to hear lots of " but on Royal they have this, on Princess they don't charge for this, on Carnival they do this better. Well, those ships are not in Sydney yet.

 

The food is similar, but maybe a bit more basic. Apart from the dining room, there are two different themed restaurants included in the fare - Dragon Lady & Angelo's. I can't see the menu options being exhausted for 4 nights. The buffet is different, but ahead of its time, as others are starting to follow the design in a post-covid world. The Pantry is laid out in sections, and they serve up what you want. To me it beats the buffet conga line with hands going everywhere.

 

Parts of the ship still feel very Princess like, formerly being Dawn Princess, especially in the cabins. When she sailed as Dawn Princess, she carried a similar number of passengers as she does now with P&O.

 

Can't say whether you will enjoy it or not, but it is a cruise and at a good price.

[Chiliburn]

41 minutes ago, Hammer61 said:

Yep 7th June, Public Holiday on the Monday, cruise departs White Bay on the Tuesday, looking forward to it with a few reservations of what to expect! As long as it’s clean and friendly, not over crowded as did hear they really fill the ships up to keep prices down, food is half decent and entertainment ok and we can find a quieter space if we want, then for 4 days we should be happy, not expecting Cunard standards though, that would be unfair for $450 each...........

I’m on that cruise, the biggest thing I’m worried about is the weather and the size of the ship.

 

See you onboard 

[arxcards]

6 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

I’m on that cruise, the biggest thing I’m worried about is the weather and the size of the ship.

 

See you onboard 

So, it's both the size of the ship and the motion of the ocean 😂

[Chiliburn]

7 minutes ago, arxcards said:

So, it's both the size of the ship and the motion of the ocean 😂

That’s what the captain of the titanic said as it sank.

[Hammer61]

12 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

the biggest thing I’m worried about is the weather and the size of the ship.

We did a crossing from Auckland to Sydney on the Sea Princess a few years ago in bad weather, no access to any outside decks, everything tied down and secured and doors locked or staff on duty to stop anyone going outside etc, shows cancelled and it did look rough when peering out the windows and you could hear the wind whistling, but the Captain did a great job and although at times you could feel the motion as the ship moved up and down, side to side and reports that some people were sick and in their cabins it really wasn’t that bad and the vast majority didn’t seem impacted judging by the restaurants, bars and the buffet as busy as ever, the Pacific Explorer is the same class of ship and coastal Australia doesn’t get as bad as the Tasman sea between Aus and NZ so im not overly worried about it.

 

If the weather is very bad once at Morton Island imagine it may well get cancelled as I think its tenders used? Personally for us it wouldn’t be an issue, looking at what’s on the island, be nice to get off and have a walk around but that’s about it.  

[Aus Traveller]

5 minutes ago, Hammer61 said:

 

If the weather is very bad once at Morton Island imagine it may well get cancelled as I think its tenders used? Personally for us it wouldn’t be an issue, looking at what’s on the island, be nice to get off and have a walk around but that’s about it.  

On cruises to Moreton Island, the ship would be in Moreton Bay near the Tangalooma Resort. Unless there was unusually bad weather, it wouldn't get too rough in the bay for the tenders.

[SinbadThePorter]

12 minutes ago, Hammer61 said:

If the weather is very bad once at Morton Island imagine it may well get cancelled as I think its tenders used? Personally for us it wouldn’t be an issue, looking at what’s on the island, be nice to get off and have a walk around but that’s about it.  

 

The anchorage off Tangalooma is very protected. If it was rough enough to prevent tendering, the ship probably wouldn't be able to get into Morton Bay.

 

It's a beautiful walk along the beach to the Wrecks and back. Actually, very nice walks in either direction.

[Chiliburn]

21 minutes ago, Hammer61 said:

We did a crossing from Auckland to Sydney on the Sea Princess a few years ago in bad weather, no access to any outside decks, everything tied down and secured and doors locked or staff on duty to stop anyone going outside etc, shows cancelled and it did look rough when peering out the windows and you could hear the wind whistling, but the Captain did a great job and although at times you could feel the motion as the ship moved up and down, side to side and reports that some people were sick and in their cabins it really wasn’t that bad and the vast majority didn’t seem impacted judging by the restaurants, bars and the buffet as busy as ever, the Pacific Explorer is the same class of ship and coastal Australia doesn’t get as bad as the Tasman sea between Aus and NZ so im not overly worried about it.

 

If the weather is very bad once at Morton Island imagine it may well get cancelled as I think its tenders used? Personally for us it wouldn’t be an issue, looking at what’s on the island, be nice to get off and have a walk around but that’s about it.  

I saw the pacific explorer at OPT on Tuesday. 
Don’t expect to much     but     then it’s better then being at home and probably cheaper than being at home.

[SinbadThePorter]

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

On P&O you cannot take any alcohol or softdrinks at all on board

 

No alcohol, but you are allowed 12 cans of soft drink.

[Hammer61]

13 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

It's a beautiful walk along the beach to the Wrecks and back. Actually, very nice walks in either direction.

Great, Thanks for that! We have our day sorted😄 

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

No alcohol, but you are allowed 12 cans of soft drink.

 Loosely packed (not in cartons) and in your carry-on.

 

The days of smuggling Bundy & cola cans in the middle of a carton are long gone, at least with P&O

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, Hammer61 said:

coastal Australia doesn’t get as bad as the Tasman sea between Aus and NZ so im not overly worried about it.

 

 

Wanna bet? We had 6-8 metre seas moving across from the eastern side ofTasmania and up the coast towards Sydney once. That's rougher than I've experienced crossing the Tasman. 

 

I've only been in seas up to 4 metres on a Sun class ship but the ships handled those seas very well.

[stki]

3 hours ago, Hammer61 said:

Yep 7th June, Public Holiday on the Monday, cruise departs White Bay on the Tuesday, looking forward to it with a few reservations of what to expect! As long as it’s clean and friendly, not over crowded as did hear they really fill the ships up to keep prices down, food is half decent and entertainment ok and we can find a quieter space if we want, then for 4 days we should be happy, not expecting Cunard standards though, that would be unfair for $450 each...........

Public holiday in NSW is on Monday 13th June. We are on the 11th-14th June cruise.  We cruised on her when she was the Dawn Princess and a few cruises as Explorer. They serve you in the Pantry (buffet), but you can go as many times as you want. We found we needed to book for Angelos and Dragon Lady. Who knows if it will still be the same as pre covid. 

[Fletch1]

1 hour ago, stki said:

Public holiday in NSW is on Monday 13th June. We are on the 11th-14th June cruise.  We cruised on her when she was the Dawn Princess and a few cruises as Explorer. They serve you in the Pantry (buffet), but you can go as many times as you want. We found we needed to book for Angelos and Dragon Lady. Who knows if it will still be the same as pre covid. 

 

Loved Dragon Lady......excellent food. Together with Luke's restaurant......fabulous! 

[Fletch1]

7 hours ago, Kiwi_cruiser said:

You might be interested in what Pacific Explorer will be doing over the next couple of weeks before her first cruise with passengers.

 

Found this PDF from the NSW Port authority website: https://www.portauthoritynsw.com.au/media/5329/factsheet_140422_wb-002.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1tNAmNLVky5kF3mA41mJQNBlPupnRQgmEJ4bKm-yLRYRzNf71Ck30YHOA

 

" Pacific Explorer is expected to:

 

➢ arrive at the Overseas Passenger Terminal (OPT) on 18 April until 19 April

➢ arrive at White Bay on 19 April and remain until 6 May

➢ return to OPT from 7 May to 10 May

➢ go on ‘work up’ or activation voyages, and potentially spend a couple of days at Athol Anchorage and Gore Bay (weather dependent) from 11 to 17 May

➢ return to White Bay from 17 to 30 May

➢ depart White Bay on 26 May for an ‘activation’ cruise from 26 – 29 May

➢ Depart White Bay for its first passenger cruise on 31 May

 

Please note these dates are indicative only and subject to change."

 

Thanks for posting. What is she doing at White Bay from 19 April to 6 May?