Just back review P1 - Pacific Sun Butterfly Whispers

[fishart]

Hi Folks,

Just arrived back home (Townsville) from Sydney and from our cruise on the Pacific Sun – N731 Butterfly Whispers.

Two adults and one 11 year old son (who’s not shy)

Not sure where to start here, but here goes to what may become a little epic, so my apologies in advance…

Now, I guess alike many newcomers to cruising, I had packed too much…

I packed our iron, although handy, not really necessary but I liked the independence all the same to iron at my own convenience…

I packed some basic cleaning goods (ie: disinfectant and air cleaner etc) because I was kind of expecting a smokey smelling room– Definitely not required.

I packed way too much clothing – but I guess it’s a female prerogative to overload our suitcases with clothes and shoes etc..

I followed a suggestion to take some of those removable hooks (3M) – don’t know why….as there was plenty of hanging space…

Umm, took some pool toys for the beaches (like Ouvea) but never pulled them out of their packets.

What WAS handy to pack:

A 6 point power board – our room had only the one Australian power point - so the board was handy for plugging in chargers for our cameras, phones, etc…

Walkie Talkies – we had a pair of cheapie (Uniden) UHF walkie talkies – Brilliant for use on the ship – great reception between the different levels/decks and we knew exactly where our son was pretty much the whole time.. Just take plenty of spare batteries cause kids are tempted to chat more often than you want… If you want to hire the ships versions, they are $5 each per day – and technically you would need 2 so $10 per day is a bit steep, personally…

We took our own snorkeling gear – To hire from the ship is priced as follows for the entire cruise: Adults $39.95 per snorkeling set, - Children $29.95 plus there is a $20 deposit…

Now an overview of our room:

Although a newbie to cruise ship holidays, I am very savvy with my boats so when I booked our cruise - I specified exactly which room I wanted.. Defiantly midship or thereabouts. Chose an outside window cabin U147 of Upper deck 6. Good choice…

Firstly, lesser motion when the ships bounces in the swell…the transom can be just as bouncy as the bow, so you don’t want to go too far back neither… Other negative being on one of the lower decks and directly on the stern is the engine noise and prop cavitation…we felt some cavitation in our room but very little noise – whereas if you walked to the back rooms, the noise and vibration was awful…Just a tip for those whom may be sensitive to motion sickness etc…try to stay as midships as possible…

Our cabin was a four berth (only 3 beds needed), comprising of 2 single beds on the floor and two single berths that can fold up into the walls.. Surprisingly a little roomier than I had expected…I had imagined a far more pokier room, but it was fine for the three of us…maybe with four in the room, could be a little more confining….

The room we had was very clean, smelt completely smoke free and the service we received from our two fantastic Philippine cabin stewards, Neilzon and Andy was second to none!!

Plenty of room under the two lower beds to slide you luggage underneath. We had 6 bags and all 6 were able to be tucked away.

The mattresses are comfy, the bedding itself was nice and clean, however my only gripe was that the sheets (namely the bottom sheet) was not fitted, so it was easy to mess-up the bedding as the sheets could easily slip off the mattress… Pillows very soft, and if you required any extra pillows or blankets etc, the cabin stewards are more than obliging to assist.

In our cabin was two half sized wardrobes which were partitioned in half, so technically you had 4 smallish wardrobes… Each section had plenty of wooden hangers supplied, and each had a small safe which you program with your own code. The shelving inside the wardrobes is very slender and offers very little use but we mainly hung most clothes and what ever was left folded, was sat on the top shelf beside the small safe..

A small, but useful desk with a large mirror is centered in the room, offering a couple more drawers which are more usable for clothes…a phone is supplied for access to all departments on the ship including contact to other guest rooms…

A small hairdryer is fitted in the wall next to the desk, I didn’t use it as I had brought my own…so cant offer any insight there…

A tv is in the cabin – with a small selection of channels, including the latest release movies, world news, world sports and even an on the ship channel which airs each morning to give you an overview of what is happening for the day…

The bathroom was again not too confining…the shower is of a workable size, water pressure was great and plenty of hot water for those like me who like hot showers..

A small extendable clothes line is setup inside the shower cubicle and a simple soap holder. Above the basin is some shelving, allowing one to sit small cosmetics or toiletry bags snuggly… and a few single hooks and a small towel rail supplied to hang used towels etc…

The toilet is a little more interesting – at first it is positioned a little awkward so you feel a little pigeon-holed – the seat is quite large and one felt that their bottom may actually sink into the bowel itself..maybe getting a little wet splash on the ‘ol botty…but we never did…maybe have the right sized bottoms…ha ha ha…

More-so however is the flushing experience.. Ever visited toilet on a plane? Well, this is very similar…the flush involves a large suction action and is quite noisy – could be daunting/scary for little kiddies, so be warned!!

For outside rooms the window is quite large, just over a meter in length - I half expected puny porthole but was quite happy with the window we got…

Finally for this section a mention about the thin walls… Not too thin to hear neighbours sneezing, but when you have arrogant ignorant neighbours stumbling home at 3am, and deciding to party on…not very nice. We were surrounding by ignorant neighbours and after the second long night of inconvenience, we rang the Purser office and we didn’t hear boo from our neighbours again. I was really embarrassed by quite a few of the guests onboard…some were absolute PIGS and our poor hardworking cabin stewards were left with some abhorrent rooms to clean on a daily basis…

We had one situation where at 3am some girls rocked back to their room 2 doors down from us and proceeded to dance around their cabin (with their front door wide open) wearing the supplied room lifejackets and heartily blowing the lifejacket whistles… Well, after about 8 minutes, I stumbled out of bed and proceed to their room (probably looking like godzilla’s mother-in-law), and in a very slow, deep voice said “YOU ARE WAKING UP MY FAMILY”….ha ha ha…Well the girls very promptly apologized, closed their front door and I heard no more of them for the rest of the cruise…

Unfortunately you can’t pick you neighbours but if you are inconvenienced, the ship staff will endeavor their best to rectify any issues…

Finally a note about the ducted airconditioning - you can manage the temperature/airflow - the vents were very clean and the temperature was excellent – we didn’t need to make any adjustments what-so-ever.

We didn’t experience any smokers smell anywhere in our room, however we did meet another couple whom had smokers as neighbours and the smokers did smoke in their room which affected nearby rooms… I don’t know what happened in this situation…however I think if you prefer a smoke free environment, the ship pursers will endeavor to mediate between neighbours to deal with the situation.

Okay, well this is the first of a few more reports to come….if you have any questions about the room that I have missed, please ask….oh and finally for those seeking to invest in a balcony room up on the verandah deck…I would suggest you specify rooms V3, V4 and next best V5 and V6…these cabins have the lest obstructions to your views (lifeboats nearby). V1 and V2 are the two rooms closest to public access ladders etc, so privacy is invaded...again however, remember these rooms are quite forward and so you WILL feel the movement of the bow quite distinctively…

Okay, next report coming tomorrow..

Cheers! Iesha

[sailawaysally]

Iesha, what a very detailed report, well done. You have listed just about everything anyone would want to know about the room. I felt like I was right back there with you and could picture it all. Thanks! I have been lucky so far with neighbours but have heard others on my cruises complaining about theirs and also saying that management sorted out the problem. The stewards are excellent aren't they, haven't seen that excellence on land anywhere!! Look forward to the next installment.

[Brushtail]

Great review. I am enjoying it too and, as sailawaysally says, it is bringing it all right back.

 

Look how early we are, and on a Sunday too. Bring on daylight saving next week. We are waking up at 5am because the sun is up. :(

[kaseyoz]

thanks for a very detailed review i am certainly looking forward to hearing more especially if lots of detail is involved.

Yes i would say 6 bags for 3 people for 7 nights is overpacking but you just never know do you????:D :D

you will pack lighter for your next cruise. lucky though if you are not flying you are not limited to weight.

[kaseyoz]

Great review. I am enjoying it too and, as sailawaysally says, it is bringing it all right back.

 

Look how early we are, and on a Sunday too. Bring on daylight saving next week. We are waking up at 5am because the sun is up. :(

 

5am wake up call here for me as well, and yes on a sunday roll on next week!!

[croydonCruiser]

This is fantastic Iesha! We were waitlisted for this cruise (kids' allocation was full) and we didn't get on. Went to Merimbula instead. (Great but just not quite the same :rolleyes:)

 

This is making me feel like we were (almost!) there. Please, keep it coming, and the more detail the better!

 

Jo

[i_love_cruising]

Iesha,

Thanks for a great view of your cabin. For first time cruisers, I think you have detailed it in great depth. Good on you for saying something to those young ladies and that they took heed of it!!

 

My DH and I are sailing on the Pacific Sun in May next year, and you have certainly given us an insight into what our cabin will be like.

 

I'm looking forward to your next instalment!!

 

Sarah

[i_love_cruising]

5am wake up call here for me as well, and yes on a sunday roll on next week!!

 

Kaseyoz (& Brushtail),

 

I envy you having daylight saving. We have 4.00 am wake up calls to look forward to up here!! A big :mad: from me who is a Victorian living in QLD who don't beleive in daylight saving.

 

Sarah

[arxcards]

Unfortunately you can’t pick you neighbours but if you are inconvenienced, the ship staff will endeavor their best to rectify any issues…

 

Okay, next report coming tomorrow..

Cheers! Iesha

 

Thanks Iesha,

Have enjoyed your review so far, not sure which post to reply to, but will settle for the first one. Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed review.

 

Only wish I had the ships staff her, to take care of the neighbours dog barking. :)

 

Cheers

Geoff

[ladyoftherib]

thank you very much, taking the same cruise, leaving this coming Friday.. good to have an overall good vibe about the cruise!

[AuzzieCruiser]

thank you very much, taking the same cruise, leaving this coming Friday.. good to have an overall good vibe about the cruise!

 

Yes, only 5 days to go for us Eve!!:) :eek: Exactly 12 months to the day since my last break!!

[karmac]

Iesha, your cabin was across from ours (last year). We were in U149. There were 5 of us in there. Sure, it was a little confined but we had no problems. We had no problems with neighbours either, never heard them. At least your neighbours behaved after being spoken to. And most people will, they often don't realise how much noise they're making until it is pointed out to them.

 

Karen