Pacific Explorer Inside Cabin

[Zanny]

Hi. Was wondering your thoughts on booking a 14 night cruise from my hometown Adelaide and return.in these times of still having covid around..We haven't had covid and are fully vaxed and when I go our to shops etc still wear a mask and face shield.

Hoping someone has advise who has been on this ship in inside cabin since cruising began.

[SinbadThePorter]

I was in an inside cabin on Encounter last November for 10 days. Covid measures onboard were pretty desultory. Masking was probably 50% indoors while walking around, 5% indoors while sitting and 1% outdoors. Distancing indoors and out was basically ignored. Washing hands going into the buffet was never required. Although there was hand sanitiser available if you wanted it, nobody seemed to care.

 

There was a certain amount of quarantining going on, but I couldn't work out the extent. It just didn't seem very different from recent Coral Princess cruises.

[Zanny]

Thanks Sinbad The Porter well you never caught covid etc on the cruise or after you returned.?

Seems that all the rules were pretty  laxed. Before covid we often had inside never problem but if you had to isolate for days might go crazy.

I think the price of balconies on all ships is sky high compared to before 

Thanks Zanny

[Zanny]

Hi again Sinbad The Porter.

How did you find the ship ? I have been on the ship when it was  Dawn Princess.

Haven't  been on P&O since 2015 when their 5 ships were in Sydney harbour.Did you find you had lots of expenses for additional  snacks etc.?

Have become elite on Princess about 5 years ago  but haven't  sailed being elite as yet.I just thought that the Explorer  price and sailing from Adelaide  seemed like a bonus if it's okay on-board Thanks Zanny

[SinbadThePorter]

10 minutes ago, Zanny said:

you never caught covid etc on the cruise or after you returned

 

I've never caught covid on any cruise. I did however catch it straight after a checkup at the doctor.

 

There are more onboard expenses on P&O than Princess, but they are easy to avoid. Probably the most disappointing thing about P&O is the lacklustre food in the Pantry, but a good cruise fare can make up for a lot of disappointments. I found the free restaurants, Angelos and Dragon Lady, to be quite good.

Edited January 28, 2023 by SinbadThePorter

[Yaya_in_Oz]

My general rule of thumb - less than a  week, interior is fine. More than a week, forget it. Isolating in an interior cabin would create mental health issues for me. Others may find it Ok. I’m not prepared to risk it.

I’d find it impossible to do a risk assessment on who might get Covid. Perhaps the face shield may add an extra layer of protection although I haven’t seen anyone wearing one on board.

[arxcards]

1 minute ago, Zanny said:

Thanks Sinbad The Porter well you never caught covid etc on the cruise or after you returned.?

Seems that all the rules were pretty  laxed. Before covid we often had inside never problem but if you had to isolate for days might go crazy.

I think the price of balconies on all ships is sky high compared to before 

Thanks Zanny

The thought of isolating in a suite wouldn't appeal to me either. I haven't had an inside cabin on that ship since her days as Dawn Princess. They are somewhat cosy. 

 

The rules are not in place to protect individuals, but the overall safe operation of the ship. The rules are adequate, but getting all passengers to comply is another thing. If you are concerned about catching covid, maybe you are not ready to cruise yet. We, and a large number of our cruising friends have been isolated aboard or have brought it home as a souvenir. This was over a period of many months, across many ships. We didn't catch covid on Pacific Explorer if that is any consolation, but two friends did as well as the Cruise Director. It took till cruise #4 to catch it on Majestic Princess.

 

Timing is everything though, as the current surge is dropping away. If you are looking to cruise in the coming months, there is covid aboard most ships, but numbers are being pretty well managed. If you are looking at next year, who knows what things will be like.

 

P&O hasn't changed a lot since 2015. The same things that had charges vs Princess having inclusive are much the same. Burgers, pizza, room service etc have a charge attached on P&O, but that has long been the case. As the cabin goes, it is the same as you would have experienced on Dawn Princess with only different carpets and bedding. Some of the public areas look better now - a bit more vibrant than that faux timber styling of Princess. Most of the public areas still have the same function, so the ship will feel familiar and easy to navigate.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I went on it when it was Dawn Princess. The inside cabins are very narrow. Unless they've changed the furniture it was very cramped with the bed in queen mode, it's best as two singles as that gives space between the beds to move around. The bathroom is reasonable - one of the slightly bigger Princess shower cubicles. Storage was adequate. 

 

Personally I wouldn't book an inside cabin for a 14 night cruise these days. I was unwell one day on Sea Princess and being stuck in the inside cabin all day was depressing. The one thing that made our isolation bearable on Coral last year was being able to go out on the balcony for a change of scene.

[sewgood]

15 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

The inside cabins are very narrow

 

The ones that run longways with the ship are very narrow.

The head of the bed faced the front of the ship.

[Ozwoody]

We have been in several internal cabins when it was the Dawn Princess.

Some are very narrow as advised some are a little bigger.

We have done a world cruise on the Dawn in an internal cabin, with no problems, as we tend not to spend much time in the cabin during a cruise.

Being cooped up for covid in an internal would be a pain, but pre covid, people where cooped up for 5 to 6 days if they got gastro. Which wasn't uncommon for groups to come down with.

To cruise or not to cruise, internal/external in these times is something that each person has to decide for themselves, some will go up the wall cooped in an internal, others will go bugger, and grumble through it.🙂

I definitely like a balcony, but if the balcony is to costly for me, then I want to cruise so if its to be an internal so be it. I just want to cruise.😁

[Cruisers47]

On 1/28/2023 at 5:32 PM, Ozwoody said:

We have been in several internal cabins when it was the Dawn Princess.

Some are very narrow as advised some are a little bigger.

We have done a world cruise on the Dawn in an internal cabin, with no problems, as we tend not to spend much time in the cabin during a cruise.

Being cooped up for covid in an internal would be a pain, but pre covid, people where cooped up for 5 to 6 days if they got gastro. Which wasn't uncommon for groups to come down with.

To cruise or not to cruise, internal/external in these times is something that each person has to decide for themselves, some will go up the wall cooped in an internal, others will go bugger, and grumble through it.🙂

I definitely like a balcony, but if the balcony is to costly for me, then I want to cruise so if its to be an internal so be it. I just want to cruise.😁

I have changed to balconies since Covid and have been lucky so far.

 

we usually do a Christmas cruise each year.,,last year Azamara, from Fremantle, next year NZ with Celebrity.,,looking at 2024 and for $1 each, have booked from Melbourne to Kangaroo Island,Then Tasmania and back to Melbourne.   Looking at what is available , just a bit fed up of the high cost so although I have not been on P and O many years ago but at what P and O is charging we can go to their specialty restaurants every night if we so desire!   For 8 days for $5500 for both of us including drinks and wifi and $200 OBC I thought we would give it a try.  I know it is not up market but it is the company that is more important!

 
Eileen

 

[Aus Traveller]

16 minutes ago, Cruisers47 said:

I have changed to balconies since Covid and have been lucky so far.

 

we usually do a Christmas cruise each year.,,last year Azamara, from Fremantle, next year NZ with Celebrity.,,looking at 2024 and for $1 each, have booked from Melbourne to Kangaroo Island,Then Tasmania and back to Melbourne.   Looking at what is available , just a bit fed up of the high cost so although I have not been on P and O many years ago but at what P and O is charging we can go to their specialty restaurants every night if we so desire!   For 8 days for $5500 for both of us including drinks and wifi and $200 OBC I thought we would give it a try.  I know it is not up market but it is the company that is more important!

 
Eileen

 

You have probably booked on the Pacific Adventure or Pacific Explorer. I haven't sailed on these ships, but I will mention that on the Pacific Encounter, two of the specialty restaurants (Angelo's and Dragon Lady) are included in the fare cost. Luke Mangan's is at an extra charge.