Please Help Me Decide

[MMDown Under]

3 minutes ago, oskarNZ said:

I’m pleased you responded as that is really useful to know.  
I have wondered if it’s worth waiting until we get the chance to actually fly into Cairns and spend a proper amount of time in the area, and your response makes me think it might be. 
In fact, if it weren’t for the risks of summer (stingers and storms), I would consider doing it this upcoming trip instead of a cruise.  I don’t mind wearing a stinger suit for one or two excursions, but not a whole week.  
 

Carnival does one day Port Douglas and one day Cairns.

P&O meanwhile does an overnight/2 days in Cairns but no Port Douglas.  
I did wonder if one option was better than the other? 

Port Douglas and Cairns.

if there are stingers at Port Douglas or Palm Cove, Cairns,  you can swim in the Stinger Enclosure.

[oskarNZ]

Thanks also to everyone for the feedback about fries.  
I’m not specifically concerned about the access (or lack thereof) to fries throughout the ship, it’s just that I find charging for things like this an odd business decision.
 Perhaps it’s just me.  

Edited May 10, 2023 by oskarNZ

[oskarNZ]

8 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Port Douglas and Cairns.

if there are stingers at Port Douglas or Palm Cove, Cairns,  you can swim in the Stinger Enclosure.

Good to know.  Will google that.

 

Out of interest, why do you say Port Douglas is better? Is it because Port Douglas itself is a nicer city or is it because it’s closer to better excursions.  

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, Jean C said:

Hi, I've been wondering for a while whether to respond to the above.

 

We have done snorkelling from the platform cruise ships use for their Great Barrier Reef excursions (although we did this on a non-cruise holiday), and we went to Whitehaven Beach with Princess. We've since done a fair bit of snorkelling and really can't recommend the ship's tour - the coral you see is dead/bleached and fish weren't abundant. If you possibly can, you should go to Port Douglas before or after your cruise and do a private Outer Reef snorkel tour - the coral is unbelievably stunning in size, variety and colour and the fish abundant.

 

As regards Whitehaven Beach, I have mixed thoughts. Our excursion was on a beautiful blue sky, calm day. Bits were fantastic, the viewing platform you go to for a view of Whitehaven and the stunning colours of the water and sandbars, and Whitehaven Beach itself. The downsides were the very long high speed boat trip there and back - uncomfortably long - and the short amount of time at Whitehaven Beach itself. We went for a quick dip in the water, and it was quick as the water was freezing, ate the boxed lunch provided, and then it was time to leave for the journey back - even just another half hour would have made all the difference as there was no time to walk along the beach for a bit. So for the huge cost, I don't know if I would recommend it or not. Again, if it were at all possible to visit that part of Aus other than on a cruise ship tour, that would be preferable. I'm pleased to be able to say I've been there though, albeit very briefly!

The one thing I did like about the Whitehaven Beach excursion was that you saw quite a few of the Whitsunday islands - we went the opposite way after leaving the beach.

 

We were there in September and the water was quite a pleasant temperature.

 

I agree that a short stay in Port Douglas is the best way to see the reef. We went out on one of the smaller boats, Wavelength, and had a wonderful time.

Edited May 10, 2023 by OzKiwiJJ

[MMDown Under]

13 minutes ago, oskarNZ said:

Good to know.  Will google that.

 

Out of interest, why do you say Port Douglas is better? Is it because Port Douglas itself is a nicer city or is it because it’s closer to better excursions.  

I would want to see both places, rather than longer at one.  Port Douglas is smaller so you can walk from the ship to the town then from one side of the peninsular to the other, then walk along the beautiful long beach  (which is what I did).  Some passengers did a small boat tour independently from wharf here. Cairns is a city.  Beautiful walk along the Esplanade, no beach, swim in big lagoon, lots of birds on mud flats, beautiful tropical botanical gardens.  you can catch local bus to the Northern Beaches, day tours to Atherton Tablelands etc.

[Aus Traveller]

Cairns has some great spots - the Esplanade and the enormous pool are just a couple. If anyone wants to go to the Reef, Port Douglas is probably better (in my opinion). There are boat trips to the Outer Reef and also to the Low Isles.

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, oskarNZ said:

Good to know.  Will google that.

 

Out of interest, why do you say Port Douglas is better? Is it because Port Douglas itself is a nicer city or is it because it’s closer to better excursions.  

It's a shorter trip to the outer reef from Port Douglas. 

 

Cairns is a city, Port Douglas is a holiday town. It has a gorgeous beach with no buildings overlooking it, some excellent restaurants, and if you stay close to the main shopping street, Macrossan St, is very easily walkable. We spent many holidays up there before we discovered cruising. 

[Jean C]

23 hours ago, oskarNZ said:

I’m pleased you responded as that is really useful to know.  
I have wondered if it’s worth waiting until we get the chance to actually fly into Cairns and spend a proper amount of time in the area, and your response makes me think it might be. 
In fact, if it weren’t for the risks of summer (stingers and storms), I would consider doing it this upcoming trip instead of a cruise.  I don’t mind wearing a stinger suit for one or two excursions, but not a whole week.  
 

Carnival does one day Port Douglas and one day Cairns.

P&O meanwhile does an overnight/2 days in Cairns but no Port Douglas.  
I did wonder if one option was better than the other? 

My daughter really wanted to go to Whitehaven Beach, and we're all doing a cruise up the Queensland coast in a few months so the opportunity is there. However she's giving it a miss as a cruise ship tour, based on the high cost and the minimal time you're there. I said the high speed boat trip was unconfortably long, I didn't mention that a lot of passengers got soaked to the skin on the boat - the crew found it very amusing and only after people were soaked did they offer waterproof jackets.  We stayed dry on the way there although got wet on the way back 🌊 

[sherri3802]

On 5/7/2023 at 6:50 AM, oskarNZ said:

Hello Aus/NZ cruisers,

 

My family are returning to cruising after about a 4 year hiatus and I am trying to convince some friends to come along with us.  They have never cruised before and as such, I feel a bit of pressure to make sure their first experience is a good one.  
We will be a group of 4 adults and 3 teenagers who will be travelling in peak school holiday season. Our budget is not limitless and I am more keen to show our friends how cruising can be good value for money than ultra luxurious.  
 

I
 

3) P&O Encounter also to North Queensland.

To be honest, I have steered clear of P&O over the years as I cruised with them a long time ago and found the ship too busy for my liking.  We couldn’t even get seats for trivia half the time which irritated me.  The food was better than I was expecting though.  
Many years have passed though and I am wondering how the company has held up over the years and if it’s worth trying again.  I watched a video of the ship and decor-wise it looks the nicest of the 3.  It has by far the most teenage friendly activities and it’s the cheapest meaning we could afford a balcony cabin instead of a window one.  
How does the food and entertainment compare on P&O these days? What are the crowds like on the Encounter?  Are we going to struggle to get seats in public spaces and reservations at places like the main restaurants and Edge activities for the kids?  I ask as I feel like this is the sort of thing that could make or break this holiday for us.  
I do understand that there is more nickle and diming on P&O and having to pay more for things like burgers by the pool is annoying, but on the flipside, I do like that everything is in Australian dollars and gratuities are not something to worry about.  Plus I like that it has 3 different main included restaurants offering 3 different styles of food (assuming the food is good).  We liked this about Disney. 
 

4) Lastly, I was considering the Quantum of the Seas, but scratched it after it increased in price a few days ago. Also, I worry about the reviews saying how crowded it is.  But if anyone can convince me why this ship would be worth spending as much as $100 more per person per night over the other 3, I am happy to listen.  
 

Thanks heaps for any thoughts. 

Okay, I am no expert on cruises but I have done 3 P&O. Two were pre covid.

The last one was on Pacific Adventure last month. Here are my observations, for what they are worth.

1. Nice enough ship, decor wise.

2. Prices can be really good. Sign up for emails as a past passenger and occasionally they will offer special deals.

3. The meals-there has been serious cost cutting. I mean, serious. Maybe this is so across all cruise lines, I'd be interested to know.

But where once I can recall there were about 6 choices of main meal in the dining room, it is all arranged differently now. There are 4 mains.

There are 3 main dining rooms and you are rotated through these, a different one each night. Each seems to have the same menu for 3 nights, then a second menu comes into play. I assume each venue rotates through its two menus.

But here's the downside. My daughter is vegetarian and one of her children has a nut allergy.

Each night, there was just one vegetarian option on the menu, for entree or mains. If you didn't like it, too bad. Our first night was in the Waterfront and her entree was basically just cubed beetroot. Mains was spicy beans. I'll eat anything but my meals were pretty average too. The creme brulee was very tasty but it was lucky to be 1cm deep, if that.

If you wanted anything like steak, forget it. That is listed as 'Indulge' and will set you back about $35.

No beef wellingtons or any of the special sorts of things I recall from the past.

Even my poor little granddaughter, she ordered the trio of icecream and was told she couldn't have it as sometimes they have a nut topping. We asked if she could have just the plain icecream, no topping and were told no. I do understand they have to be careful with allergies but seriously, this was the kids munu-why have a nut topping at all and surely they could have icecream that had not been near nuts?

We found the meals at the other 2 dining rooms were better. You can try to change your bookings but it is not easy. We changed one and could only get 8pm and my grandson fell asleep at the table.

My daughter refused to return to the Waterfront on our last night as it was back to the hated menu so we had to go to buffet.

4. Entertainment. It was quite good on the whole. We went to every show at 7pm.

What we found was that on the first night, we turned up about 6.45pm and had no problem. After a few nights though, even when we got there 25 minutes early, we had to split up and it was hard to get seating. On our last night, we turned up 30 minutes early and there were no seats to be had.

My daughter, before she had children, cruised a long time ago on a much smaller ship called (I think) Pacific Star and she said she much preferred that as there was never a problem getting seats. But there sure was on our cruise.

There are lots of activities teens might like though. The pools were good. My grandkids loved them.

5. During the day, unless you are a big trivia or karaoke fan, there's not a lot to do, it's a bit boring. That's my personal view. If I went on P&O again, it would depend on itinerary with a few ports. We were unlucky with one of our port days cancelled altogether and the oter washed out with rain so we only got off the ship 1 1/2 days out of 9. It would help if they put movies on in the theatre during the day and not just on the big outdoor screen. Who wants to sit up there in the cold or windy or wet weather.

6. The shops are a bit ordinary, I couldn't even find one that sold a bit of reading matter and I had finished my book.

7. Staff were obliging but some were obviously new to the job. There were repeated times they forgot to do things in our cabin eg replace beach towels etc

 

I'm not trying to sound too negative. I had a reasonable time but out of my 5 cruises, this one was in 5thy place, probably as we had too many sea days. But my main disappointment was meals. Tasty enough but not the quality ingredients of the past.

[MMDown Under]

2 hours ago, sherri3802 said:

Okay, I am no expert on cruises but I have done 3 P&O. Two were pre covid.

The last one was on Pacific Adventure last month. Here are my observations, for what they are worth.

1. Nice enough ship, decor wise.

2. Prices can be really good. Sign up for emails as a past passenger and occasionally they will offer special deals.

3. The meals-there has been serious cost cutting. I mean, serious. Maybe this is so across all cruise lines, I'd be interested to know.

But where once I can recall there were about 6 choices of main meal in the dining room, it is all arranged differently now. There are 4 mains.

There are 3 main dining rooms and you are rotated through these, a different one each night. Each seems to have the same menu for 3 nights, then a second menu comes into play. I assume each venue rotates through its two menus.

But here's the downside. My daughter is vegetarian and one of her children has a nut allergy.

Each night, there was just one vegetarian option on the menu, for entree or mains. If you didn't like it, too bad. Our first night was in the Waterfront and her entree was basically just cubed beetroot. Mains was spicy beans. I'll eat anything but my meals were pretty average too. The creme brulee was very tasty but it was lucky to be 1cm deep, if that.

If you wanted anything like steak, forget it. That is listed as 'Indulge' and will set you back about $35.

No beef wellingtons or any of the special sorts of things I recall from the past.

Even my poor little granddaughter, she ordered the trio of icecream and was told she couldn't have it as sometimes they have a nut topping. We asked if she could have just the plain icecream, no topping and were told no. I do understand they have to be careful with allergies but seriously, this was the kids munu-why have a nut topping at all and surely they could have icecream that had not been near nuts?

We found the meals at the other 2 dining rooms were better. You can try to change your bookings but it is not easy. We changed one and could only get 8pm and my grandson fell asleep at the table.

My daughter refused to return to the Waterfront on our last night as it was back to the hated menu so we had to go to buffet.

4. Entertainment. It was quite good on the whole. We went to every show at 7pm.

What we found was that on the first night, we turned up about 6.45pm and had no problem. After a few nights though, even when we got there 25 minutes early, we had to split up and it was hard to get seating. On our last night, we turned up 30 minutes early and there were no seats to be had.

My daughter, before she had children, cruised a long time ago on a much smaller ship called (I think) Pacific Star and she said she much preferred that as there was never a problem getting seats. But there sure was on our cruise.

There are lots of activities teens might like though. The pools were good. My grandkids loved them.

5. During the day, unless you are a big trivia or karaoke fan, there's not a lot to do, it's a bit boring. That's my personal view. If I went on P&O again, it would depend on itinerary with a few ports. We were unlucky with one of our port days cancelled altogether and the oter washed out with rain so we only got off the ship 1 1/2 days out of 9. It would help if they put movies on in the theatre during the day and not just on the big outdoor screen. Who wants to sit up there in the cold or windy or wet weather.

6. The shops are a bit ordinary, I couldn't even find one that sold a bit of reading matter and I had finished my book.

7. Staff were obliging but some were obviously new to the job. There were repeated times they forgot to do things in our cabin eg replace beach towels etc

 

I'm not trying to sound too negative. I had a reasonable time but out of my 5 cruises, this one was in 5thy place, probably as we had too many sea days. But my main disappointment was meals. Tasty enough but not the quality ingredients of the past.

Thank you very much for your detailed revue.  
Not a ship for foodies obviously. I hope you put a complaint in about the poor vegetarian meal choices.  I’m not a vegetarian but my daughter took me to a popular vegetarian cafe in London where customers queued out the door.  I am a cook, so know the meals weren’t expensive.  Cubed beetroot for a veg meal!!

No plain Icecream for a child?!  I actually just had potato and leak soup with Turkish bread for lunch.  Delicious and filling but wouldn’t break the bank.

[ceeceeDee]

It also wouldn't be difficult to do a mild vegetable curry with coconut milk. A vegan friend gave me the recipe and it is absolutely delicious with a side of jasmine rice. We are not vegan or vegetarian but this dish graces our dinner table at least once a fortnight and is enthusiastically received by all.

[MMDown Under]

1 hour ago, ceeceeDee said:

It also wouldn't be difficult to do a mild vegetable curry with coconut milk. A vegan friend gave me the recipe and it is absolutely delicious with a side of jasmine rice. We are not vegan or vegetarian but this dish graces our dinner table at least once a fortnight and is enthusiastically received by all.

I only realise how much Asian food Queenslanders eat now when overseas visitors comment.  When I was young, takeaway used to be fish and chips or Greek/Italian.  Now it is Thai, Malaysian, Indian, Japanese, etc.

[lyndarra]

Your vegetarian menu experience reminded my of my MSC cruise. One of my dining companions was a retired chef - a vegetarian. At dinner in the MDR he was shown a menu of vegetarian dishes from which he could order for the next night. It worked quite well and he was generally happy with the quality. His meals turned out to be as good as, if not  better than, what we got from the standard menu.

[MMDown Under]

8 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

Your vegetarian menu experience reminded my of my MSC cruise. One of my dining companions was a retired chef - a vegetarian. At dinner in the MDR he was shown a menu of vegetarian dishes from which he could order for the next night. It worked quite well and he was generally happy with the quality. His meals turned out to be as good as, if not  better than, what we got from the standard menu.

We shared a table with a Dutch chef and his Italian wife on MSC.  She told us what to order or not to order and he returned any meals which weren’t satisfactory.  We ate like kings.

There is no reason why vegetarian meals shouldn’t be as good as non vegetarian meals, as you said.

[oskarNZ]

19 hours ago, sherri3802 said:

Okay, I am no expert on cruises but I have done 3 P&O. Two were pre covid.

The last one was on Pacific Adventure last month. Here are my observations, for what they are worth.

1. Nice enough ship, decor wise.

2. Prices can be really good. Sign up for emails as a past passenger and occasionally they will offer special deals.

3. The meals-there has been serious cost cutting. I mean, serious. Maybe this is so across all cruise lines, I'd be interested to know.

But where once I can recall there were about 6 choices of main meal in the dining room, it is all arranged differently now. There are 4 mains.

There are 3 main dining rooms and you are rotated through these, a different one each night. Each seems to have the same menu for 3 nights, then a second menu comes into play. I assume each venue rotates through its two menus.

But here's the downside. My daughter is vegetarian and one of her children has a nut allergy.

Each night, there was just one vegetarian option on the menu, for entree or mains. If you didn't like it, too bad. Our first night was in the Waterfront and her entree was basically just cubed beetroot. Mains was spicy beans. I'll eat anything but my meals were pretty average too. The creme brulee was very tasty but it was lucky to be 1cm deep, if that.

If you wanted anything like steak, forget it. That is listed as 'Indulge' and will set you back about $35.

No beef wellingtons or any of the special sorts of things I recall from the past.

Even my poor little granddaughter, she ordered the trio of icecream and was told she couldn't have it as sometimes they have a nut topping. We asked if she could have just the plain icecream, no topping and were told no. I do understand they have to be careful with allergies but seriously, this was the kids munu-why have a nut topping at all and surely they could have icecream that had not been near nuts?

We found the meals at the other 2 dining rooms were better. You can try to change your bookings but it is not easy. We changed one and could only get 8pm and my grandson fell asleep at the table.

My daughter refused to return to the Waterfront on our last night as it was back to the hated menu so we had to go to buffet.

4. Entertainment. It was quite good on the whole. We went to every show at 7pm.

What we found was that on the first night, we turned up about 6.45pm and had no problem. After a few nights though, even when we got there 25 minutes early, we had to split up and it was hard to get seating. On our last night, we turned up 30 minutes early and there were no seats to be had.

My daughter, before she had children, cruised a long time ago on a much smaller ship called (I think) Pacific Star and she said she much preferred that as there was never a problem getting seats. But there sure was on our cruise.

There are lots of activities teens might like though. The pools were good. My grandkids loved them.

5. During the day, unless you are a big trivia or karaoke fan, there's not a lot to do, it's a bit boring. That's my personal view. If I went on P&O again, it would depend on itinerary with a few ports. We were unlucky with one of our port days cancelled altogether and the oter washed out with rain so we only got off the ship 1 1/2 days out of 9. It would help if they put movies on in the theatre during the day and not just on the big outdoor screen. Who wants to sit up there in the cold or windy or wet weather.

6. The shops are a bit ordinary, I couldn't even find one that sold a bit of reading matter and I had finished my book.

7. Staff were obliging but some were obviously new to the job. There were repeated times they forgot to do things in our cabin eg replace beach towels etc

 

I'm not trying to sound too negative. I had a reasonable time but out of my 5 cruises, this one was in 5thy place, probably as we had too many sea days. But my main disappointment was meals. Tasty enough but not the quality ingredients of the past.

Thanks so much for your detailed and honest review.  It confirms some of my concerns.  
The P&O cruise I have been looking at was on a really good (but non-refundable) flash sale over the weekend and yet I couldn’t bring myself to book.  I think it was my gut telling me something.  
 

In this day and age, all vacation spots should have multiple vegetarian options.  I was vegetarian up until about a year ago and I still eat vegetarian meals much of the week.  I support the comments that tasty meals can be made fairly cheaply.  
I just recently returned from an all-inclusive vacation in Mexico where I had access to not one, but two, restaurants that were both 100% vegan.  The food was some of the best I’ve had.  
The success of good veg meals does require access to a lot of fresh ingredients and I read a review somewhere that P&O has really gone down hill when it comes to vegetables and salads.  

[MMDown Under]

26 minutes ago, oskarNZ said:

Thanks so much for your detailed and honest review.  It confirms some of my concerns.  
The P&O cruise I have been looking at was on a really good (but non-refundable) flash sale over the weekend and yet I couldn’t bring myself to book.  I think it was my gut telling me something.  
 

In this day and age, all vacation spots should have multiple vegetarian options.  I was vegetarian up until about a year ago and I still eat vegetarian meals much of the week.  I support the comments that tasty meals can be made fairly cheaply.  
I just recently returned from an all-inclusive vacation in Mexico where I had access to not one, but two, restaurants that were both 100% vegan.  The food was some of the best I’ve had.  
The success of good veg meals does require access to a lot of fresh ingredients and I read a review somewhere that P&O has really gone down hill when it comes to vegetables and salads.  

Non refundable flash sales are always a red flag.  Well done listening to your gut.

[sherri3802]

On 5/17/2023 at 5:33 AM, oskarNZ said:

Thanks so much for your detailed and honest review.  It confirms some of my concerns.  
The P&O cruise I have been looking at was on a really good (but non-refundable) flash sale over the weekend and yet I couldn’t bring myself to book.  I think it was my gut telling me something.  
 

In this day and age, all vacation spots should have multiple vegetarian options.  I was vegetarian up until about a year ago and I still eat vegetarian meals much of the week.  I support the comments that tasty meals can be made fairly cheaply.  
I just recently returned from an all-inclusive vacation in Mexico where I had access to not one, but two, restaurants that were both 100% vegan.  The food was some of the best I’ve had.  
The success of good veg meals does require access to a lot of fresh ingredients and I read a review somewhere that P&O has really gone down hill when it comes to vegetables and salads.  

I am relieved that my post has been received so well. I was a bit nervous writing anything critical.

 

I think what concerned me was that if anyone had one of the more usual food allergies or preferences eg coeliac, nut allery, vegetarian, then their choices would be extremely limited at each venue.

Each meal has a list next to it to indicate if it is vegetarian, gluten free etc

There would most likely only be one choice for those people.

 

If you have a more unusual allergy eg can't have onions or garlic, then I believe they do come up to you and run through the menu.

 

To be fair, my daughter loved some of the noodle dishes at Dragon Lady and she enjoyed a meal at Angelo's. But again, there was only one option available so just as well she loves noodles.

 

I'm no gourmet chef but I was also surprised by one dish on the kid's menu. Pasta and sausages. The pasta, which looked like penne, came with no sauce or topping at all. Perhaps it had had a tablespoon of olive oil stirred through but if so, I could not taste it as I tried some.
Very dry. Four pieces of sausage on top ie one sausage.

My granddaughter ate most of it and seemed to like it okay but I have never seen just plain pasta served anywhere.

 

[oskarNZ]

7 hours ago, sherri3802 said:

I am relieved that my post has been received so well. I was a bit nervous writing anything critical.

 

I think what concerned me was that if anyone had one of the more usual food allergies or preferences eg coeliac, nut allery, vegetarian, then their choices would be extremely limited at each venue.

Each meal has a list next to it to indicate if it is vegetarian, gluten free etc

There would most likely only be one choice for those people.

 

If you have a more unusual allergy eg can't have onions or garlic, then I believe they do come up to you and run through the menu.

 

To be fair, my daughter loved some of the noodle dishes at Dragon Lady and she enjoyed a meal at Angelo's. But again, there was only one option available so just as well she loves noodles.

 

I'm no gourmet chef but I was also surprised by one dish on the kid's menu. Pasta and sausages. The pasta, which looked like penne, came with no sauce or topping at all. Perhaps it had had a tablespoon of olive oil stirred through but if so, I could not taste it as I tried some.
Very dry. Four pieces of sausage on top ie one sausage.

My granddaughter ate most of it and seemed to like it okay but I have never seen just plain pasta served anywhere.

 

Wow! That sausage meal doesn’t sound even remotely nutritious. It annoys me when restaurants, including those on land, think kids are okay with food free of vitamins and flavours.  
 

Also, as someone who hasn’t decided yet, I really appreciate feedback, both good and bad, in order to make an informed decision.  
I’ve seen Facebook pages where fans of particular lines  can become quite defensive (in a disrespectful way) whenever anyone posts something negative about the company they love.  However, for those of us researching, it’s better to approach any booking with realistic expectations rather than our head in clouds.  The fall to land can end with a night thump otherwise.  
So thanks again for your feedback, it’s appreciated.  
 

 

[ceeceeDee]

Hi Oska. Well, we have just returned from seven days on Pacific Encounter and as promised here is my honest review of our trip to the Great Barrier Reef.

Before I get to the nitty gritty, let me just say we had an absolute ball and were very sad to get off the ship.

Brisbane Cruise Terminal: Yes, it's out in the middle of nowhere but there is a coffee cart at the main entrance so it's not all bad. Admittedly we had priority boarding, but it all went very smoothly and the P&O 'meeters and greeters' were very cheerful and welcoming so we didn't feel like cattle in a crush. Word to the wise, take hard copies of all your documentation, especially your vaccination certificate and boarding pass. No one looked at our Verifly and they did not inspect our negative RAT photo, but merely asked if we had done one and if it was negative. I think they do spot checks only as I did come across a few people who had to show the photo. Getting through Security took up the most time of the boarding process, but that's usual. In all I think we were about 30 minutes getting on board. Our travelling companions did not have priority and I think they were about an hour getting through. It is what it is when dealing with 2600 or so passengers.

Ship: At first sight she does indeed look like a shopping trolley from the rear.😄 She presented very well and looked fresh. To us she looked a little small but that's only because our last cruise was on Symphony of the Seas and she was seriously huge. Frankly, I prefer the smaller ships but I'm not reviewing Symphony here so we'll leave size out of it.

Public Areas:  In my opinion they did a great job on the refurb. Lots of open interior spaces with very comfortable seating - couches, tub chairs and padded benches - and easy access to a variety of bars and shops. We particularly enjoyed the Blue Room with it's leather or velvet couches. Great place to kick back and enjoy the live bands over a drink. There was always a quiet spot in the interior public areas to just sit and relax without feeling overcrowded.

Of course the exterior public areas (Lido deck, etc) attracted the crowds and the swimming pools were well patronised. Admittedly we didn't spend a lot of time up there. The adults only area, Oasis, has sun lounges (not wildly comfortable in my opinion), tables and chairs, a pool and a view over the stern. And, of course, a bar. I didn't think it was as private as the adults area on the old Pacific Dawn and for non smokers it would have been a pain to have a smoking area in one corner of it. I also noticed the ceiling in the bar area was water stained suggesting a fairly serious leak at some stage.

We stayed in a Byron mini suite so we had access to the Byron Beach Club. Loved it. Really comfortable lounges, cabanas and tables and chairs with screened views and sun shades. Nice bar and you could order food (at a charge) from Luke's Burgers or Pronto pizza delivered to wherever you were sitting. It was not crowded and a really nice place to relax with a drink and a book or nip down one level to the pool and spa.

Bearing in mind that Encounter has reached her majority age-wise (21) she wears it well. Yes, there is rust around some of the window frames and balcony railings and a few streaks on the hull but it is surface rust and the result of a marine environment so it is a constant occupation to keep it at bay. She is definitely not a rusted out hulk or badly maintained.

We noted in some of the cabin area corridors the wall lining has buckled a little particularly on deck 14 (more leaks methinks) which in all honesty looks a bit tired but it gets a LOT of foot traffic with people on their way to the pool and there were one or two blowers in our corridor (deck 9) but it did not appear to be a major leak and the carpet was only mildly damp so it would suggest that it was nothing major.

Cabins: We had a Byron mini suite which differs from the other mini suite categories only by the Byron liveried cushions, carpet and curtains and it has a Nespresso machine (yee haaa! Bonus for Byron guests!). There are other perks but from a cabin point of view the mini suites are the same. They are quite spacious (277 sq ft according to the brochure), the beds are really comfortable with crisp linen and a variety of pillows (hard, soft, etc). The bedside lamps have a usb port built in to facilitate charging mobile phones and there is an extra lamp with usb next to the comfy couch in the living area which converts to a double bed if there is an extra person staying in the suite. There are two Australian power points on the servery and two large flat screen TVs, one facing the bed and the other facing the living room. The balcony is a good size with a small round table and two chairs as well as a padded lounge. And yes, there is surface rust at the base of the balcony screen. The mini suites on deck 9 do not have overhead cover, so you can be seen by the decks above you but we didn't find that a problem and it was possible to sit out there most of the day without feeling exposed to the elements. We sat there with a drink for sail away. It was lovely to have this private space and watch Brisbane fade into the distance. Also fabulous when arriving and leaving Cairns. The bathroom was compact, but functional with a shower over bath configuration. Yes, it had the dreaded shower curtain but there was plenty of room and I didn't once have a personal encounter with the shower curtain. Grab rails made getting in and out of the shower easy. Plenty of hot water and the toilet functioned as it should. (Speaking of which, we did not detect any sewerage smell anywhere on the ship). Ok, the bathroom decor was a little dated and there was a chip in one of the tiles in the shower wall but the bathroom was spotless and kept that way by our dedicated stewards. I would venture to say that the bathroom has not been updated from the Princess days. With a bit of ducking and weaving we managed to both use the bathroom mirror at the same time but you certainly couldn't hold a dance in there. My one big complaint is the hair dryer provided. Instead of having a smallish rounded end, it is square which makes trying to style one's hair effectively all but impossible. I gave up and mostly wore my wigs of an evening because my hair looked an absolute mess. Note to self, bring own hair dryer next time.

Our friends stayed in a balcony cabin on deck 10. These appear to have the original Princess decor. Some people call them dated, I thought they were quite charming and our friends had no complaints. Also their balcony was deeper than ours which was surprising (Also partially open overhead, though if you sat near the door you had shelter). Their bathroom was a tad smaller than ours and had the shower recess configuration with shower curtain. I don't believe they were attacked by said curtain and they didn't say anything about feeling cramped in the shower. Balcony cabins are around 165 sq ft I believe so our extra 10 sq ft was obviously taken up by our living area.

Dining: Ok, here we go. This is the area where most people have complaints from what I've read. Yes, there are options in the complimentary dining areas that attract a surcharge. Yes, the menu options are not as varied as the pre covid days. However, I was perfectly satisfied with the complimentary options. Fish, chips and salad in the Waterfront were of good quality and the size of the servings defeated me at lunch. Dinner choices were still good. I had beef with jus one evening and it melted in the mouth. The pumpkin soup and minestrone were delicious. Hubby had ravioli for a starter one evening and liked it so much he opted for it again on another night. Usually a choice of three desserts and always accompanied by a side of ice cream. 

Angelo's was our venue of choice. Fabulous ambience and top notch service. (If you dine here in the next 4 weeks or so, ask to be seated in Gayan's area. He should be awarded waiter of the year). Again, limited limited options but top quality. Potato soup was amazing. Cabonara was superb as was the beef and noodles. Desserts limited but again accompanied by ice cream on the side. Tiramisu was a knock out.

Dragon Lady: Limited choices but quality all the way. Hardly P&O's fault, but our visit to Dragon Lady was marred by an over tired toddler throwing a tantrum to end all tantrums right next to us for a considerable length of time. It was impossible to have a conversation and we were two tables away. Also we were seated right next to piles of excess chairs stacked against the wall. Rather spoilt the ambience. That was our one and only visit to Dragon Lady and I really don't remember much about it because of the foregoing. We just couldn't wait to leave. Parents, if your toddler is THAT tired, please opt for room service or grab something from the Pantry and eat in your cabin.

The Pantry: We only ate lunch here when in port and Waterfront wasn't open. The food was good, but it is always crowded and difficult to find a table. I had baked ham on one occasion and it was delicious with a tasty gravy and apple sauce. Found the desserts to be largely uninteresting but who needs the extra calories anyway. By the way, the coffee in all the complimentary dining areas is woeful. Either buy a barista coffee from the cafe or opt for tea.

Luke's Bar & Grill: I had three courses for a cost of $58 and it was worth every cent. Started with the crab omelette, followed by melt in the mouth barramundi and finished with the signature liquorich parfait. OMG, total food bliss. Include Luke's in your budget, you definitely won't regret it.

Luke's Burger Bar: We had the double cheese burger and Parmesan fries delivered to the Byron Beach Club. Fries were $5 (and serve is big enough to share and be satisfied) and the burgers were $12 each. The patty in the burgers was delicious and the size of a decent sized rissole. Absolutely worth $12 outlay. Could barely finish it. Eat ya heart out McDonalds. 😄

So, on the whole over all the venues we tried we were absolutely satisfied with the food. Portions were generous, excellent service and we couldn't fault the quality. Ok, you don't get several pages of options but I can live with that. I go on a cruise for the overall experience and although I'm a bit of a foodie I'm not there solely for the food.

Crew: Fantastic! Always a smile even when the poor bar staff were absolutely slammed with impatient punters six deep at the bar when the State of Origin was on the big screen. (They looked exhausted in the aftermath, but the smile was still there). Some of them have incredible memories. John in the Bonded Store remembered us (is that a good thing? 😯)  from our cruises in 2016 and 2018!!! BTW if you want a nice, quiet drink in classy, relaxed surroundings go to the Bonded Store. It's a very well kept secret. The most number of people I saw in there was six including us.

Entertainment: Depends what you are looking for. We went to trivia with Sophie, the cruise director presiding. It was a hoot. Only semi serious and silly answers were encouraged. We didn't bother with the more serious trivia elsewhere. We tend to entertain ourselves and not interested in bingo, karaoke and craft activities.

We saw Blanc de Blanc ($20 cover charge, we used on board credit). The bookings desk made a point of informing every guest individually that it was an adults only production and very risque. We did not find it offensive (a few bare bums and off colour jokes) and it certainly had all the bells and whistles when it came to production values. Frankly, I wouldn't rave about it but didn't begrudge $20.

We didn't find time to see the shows in the Marquee.

We ended up addicted to the Blue Room. Great live music, fantastic ambience, excellent table service for drinks and not over crowded. So, our evenings mainly consisted of an early dinner, perhaps a cognac in the Bonded Store then an enjoyable evening in the Blue Room.

If you want something more lively the Encounter Hotel is usually jumping of an evening. Far too noisy for my taste and the late night karaoke is a 'must miss'. Or at least it was on our cruise. Talk about sounding like fighting cats on steroids. Ouch! Apologies if you were a participant on our cruise, we obviously missed your melodious performance on the odd occasion when we were passing by on our way to the Blue Room.

Shore Excursions: We didn't do any organised tours but did our own thing in both Cairns and Airlie. Our travel mates took an organised tour to Port Douglas and professed themselves very happy with the tour. We went to the Casino Zoo in Cairns and enjoyed the reptile show and being blown away by the size of Goliath, the crocodile. Cruise ship guests get a discount on the entry fee BTW. If you are in Cairns for two days, do the Zoo on the first day and it is free to go back. There is a flying fox and climbing course high above the ground (with safety harness of course) which is great for the kids so if you get a ticket on the first day they can go back on the second day.

Speaking of Cairns. It finally happened. Six guests went AWOL with four of them actually missing the ship's departure! A first in our experience.

In conclusion: I hope you are still with me at this stage.

We had a wonderful, relaxing time (I read three books in various locations all over the ship). We enjoyed the food and cheerfully agree that the options are limited but for us it's not all about the food and we certainly didn't go hungry or ate anything we didn't enjoy.

Encounter is an old girl, but she wears it well. Yes, there are areas that could do with an upgrade but she is definitely not old and tired and she is not falling apart and mechanically she is very sound. The only vibration we felt was when the side thrusters came into play when she was berthing in Cairns and Brisbane. She did shake her booty a couple of times when the sea was a bit choppy but nothing to complain about (and we were on deck 9 forward). We didn't get motion sickness and she sailed smoothly for most of the time.

Crew are exemplary and we found Guest Services very helpful (P&O app wouldn't load on our phones) and cheerfully printed out our onboard account three times during the cruise so we could keep an eye on our spending.

I'm delighted to report that we didn't spend a cent on board because our generous onboard credit covered our spending and honestly we didn't skimp, but didn't go crazy either. Our drinks package and internet were a promo included in the fare. So our only outlay was transport to and from the ship and money spent on shore.

If anyone would like a detailed run down on the perks attached to Byron Beach rooms, let me know and I'll be happy to oblige.

P&O is a budget cruise line with older ships (mostly Princess 'cast offs') so don't expect Cunard or Royal Caribbean. Symphony of the Seas was just over 12 months old when we cruised on her and although she has a lot of 'wow' factors and all the bells and whistles we actually had just as good a time on Encounter and although we had a forward cabin we didn't find it a huge problem to get around the ship. All I can say is that we found absolutely nothing to complain about with our cruise on Encounter or P&O in general. It wasn't perfect, but realistically nothing is.

I hope you are still awake, Oskar.😉🍸🤣