Review part 2 w901 new years eve cruise pacific dawn

[Kruzein]

Well here goes i wil start at the top and work my way back.

 

The Captain Lorenzo Paoletti

I only wish that this man had of been the captain on our last 2 cruises on the Pacific Dawn. He was very friendly, approachable and informative. His address at midday each day bought the shipm to a stand still so that we could hear his honest and indepth address to the passengers aboard the ship. The virtual bridge tours 2hrs was fantastic and he has a very good sense of humour and realtes very well to Australians. His love for motorbikes were evident and after the talk i approached him and asked what hi favourite bike was and then we discussed motorbikes. Very strict but very in control and at NO STAGE did i have any reason to think the captain didnt know of any activity on the ship. this was apparent on the 2nd day at sea in the afternoon he made an announcement about the antisocial behaviour onboard by some passengers and how he would not condone any behviour rhr makes other passengers uncomfortable and then had passenger Code of Conduct leaflets delivered to every passenget onboard. When the ship had mechanical problems on the way home he mad the announcement and then 15 mins later he corrected some of the detail and said "This is the captain and i am telling you the absolute truth" well most people with a sense of humour broke up laughing and he kept us informed the whole time. And his English was very good and he has a great sense of humour.

 

 

Cruise Director Zoltina J Medwina - Daley

 

Well i know some of you dont like her but after having Josh on the last 2 cruises anything was an improvement. I have to say i absolutely loved Zoltina she was a breath of fresh air she is very extroverted but i like that. She brings and Aussie flavour to the cruise which is a plus and i bumped into her on many many occassions and her time was your time she never shunted anybody she spoke to the old,young, big,little no matter who. And i have to say her wardrobe was very stylish and we used to have bets on what colours/ costumes she would be wearing and we toild her this and she thought it was a hoot. I complimented her on her presentation. Her jokes were good as she said to me she has a 77 year old father and he doesnt want to be sitting listening to ppl babbble on so she kept it short and sweet and also ppl dont go to see her they go to see the shows and that is what was the differnce between her and Josh he thought he was the show she doesnt. Excellent Cruise Director

 

 

Marius MatreD & Ravinda Head Chef

 

Marius was very approachable and very pleasant once i got to know him. if he spotted me anywhere on the ship he would divert and come and ask if the meal was okay even in the pizzeria. He approached our table in the Plam Court Dining Room and asked who was Lisa and then went about offerning a Galley tour as part of the Ccers. I accepted of course. When the air con was off on formal night he came over and began to fan us with serviettes and the sweat was running off him as well and we told him to please thank the kitchen staff for preparing the food in such condiditons. So you have no worries as far as your food is concerned it is in great hands.

 

Ravinda Well unfortunaltely for all you passengers about to go onboard the Pacific Dawn Ravinda Disembarked after our cruise and will not return until May he has flown over to India and catch up with family in Mumbai some which he hasnt seen for over 18mths and also he wants to make sure his family and friends are safe after the bombings. So he will be back in May to again take charge of the kitchen. He did the galley tour with us and even though it was 5pm and he had bookings at 6pm in the Palm court he answered every question and was an absolute delight to be around and so calm it was unbelievable. I get more uptight cooking for 4 then he does for 2000

 

 

Entertainers & Cast

 

I am goin to do the cast first then i will get onto the special guest entertainers:

 

The cast were fantastic, very friendly and professional. We joined in a lot of the activities that they do as well onboard and found them to be a very friendly and sweet bunch of kids. The shows are the same as last cruise except for the Pirate show but that happens on all ships as they only completely cahange the shows every 5 years they just reblock and rechoreograph them as the casts change and bring their individuality to them. However their were new costumes and the lead singers were diffent and much nicer and social then the last ones they had. So to all the guys and girls seeing it wa on their 3rd cruise together you done an excellent job. Leads Craig & Rachael, Scott (Dance Captain), Kirsty, Jason, Ana, Adam, Jodie, Kage & Brooke

 

Now special guest entertainers. we had Peter John Byrnes, Cameo Rascale, Joel Osborne, Greg Hudson, Mick Meredith, Ivor Richards

 

Peter John Byrnes "Neil Diamind Impersonator" (he is irish)

He did a show in the showlounge and then later int he cruise did a hot august night up on the lido deck he was bloody fantastic the audiences loved him and couldnt get enough of him he was friendly and very pleasant i enjoyed his concerts very much and would like to see him again.

 

Cameo Rascale

Are a family act and very clever it consists of mum, dad, son 12 and daughter 10 they did acrobatics, juggling and dance and they were a very good family act for the kids as well we enjoyed this the young boy held juggling lessons in the atrium which bought a huge crowd to participate. Everybody would ejoy this act.

 

Joel Osborne

I didnt go to this as it was part of the "adult" comedy held up int he dome at 11pm and i couldnt be bothered however my husband, son & sister wnet and other passengers agreed he was very funy and worth going to see and they all talked about him putting his body through the head of a tennis racquet. Maybe next time

 

Greg Hudson

This was enjoyable he was a hypnotist/ magician he got 20 passengers on stage and hypnoised them to do things. I was a bit hesitant as i have seen this on television and thought it would be rude etc but it wasnt it was very very very vunny i enjoyed it so much that i wnet to the 2nd show. He also did a magic show for children.

 

Mick Meredith

For viewers of the footy show NSW you would of seen this fellow he makes up parodies of day to day things and sings. He was also part of the adult comedy up in the dame after 11pm. Myself i can only put up with so much taking the mickey out of Westies "people that live in western Sydney and macquarie fields and most of the material he had used before and to make it worse he was on the cruise in March 08 and everything seemed the same material big thumbs down.

 

Ivor Richards

Deadset this guy needs to do us all a favour and give up he was on the Christmas Cruise in 2003 the Inaugral Cruise November 2007 and now this cruise. He is woeful the same jokes the same suits the same demenaour he is just pathetic i complained to P&O about him after the November Cruise and i will be doing the same this time he isa waste of a cabin and he was luck to half fill the show lounge. I would of rathered the waiters entertain us boooooooooooooooooo

 

 

Cruise Staff

 

The cruise staff were great they involved thmeselves in everything and anything they were fantastic at getting ppl involved but i cant understand why ppl get so serious about trivia, pictionary etc it is only a bloody game we are not playing for bloody sheep station and if the question dont suit they get real pissed at the staff. I suggest you get a life if you are one of these ppl it is for FUN FUN FUN. So to Zoltina. Nathan, Tom, Shardae, Bobbi, Caren (bingo) well done to you all and i loved the activities organised onshore that was something new and enjoyable

 

The Bar Staff Waiters and Waitreses both food and drink were fantastic as always put up with some unruly behaviour but that is expected but should not be accepted. Job well done and always with a smile on their face.

 

Shop / photograghy staff

Job well done some of them very friendly others need to learn more ppl skills. Overall very good. Next time one of the photographers ask u for a photo on or off the ship just oblige as they have a quota of 400 pics per day to reach or else very interesting.

 

Security staff

I will say i know the 2 main security officers onboard i wont name them however i spoke to them throughout the cruise. I will say there wasnt anything they didnt know unless it was in cabins and then they found out later more on that below great job done under the circumstances and i will be mentioning this in the letter to P&O

 

The Tender crew very good as usual and dont get the mentiopn they deserve along with the maintenance crew.

 

 

 

Now i am goin to give my view and opinion on "things that may or may not of occured onboard this cruise" I am not condoning what allegedly happened but i think we need to put it into perspective so as not to dwell on the negative but to highlight the positives.

 

Now my first impression on boarding the ship and during sailaway was geez there are a number of large groups of males (now i cnat be discriminative so i will leave it to your imagination) this was same on my March cruise and it concerned me then but i only had one instance this cruise when i went to the Dome on night 2 and tried to get to the bar these morons stand in groups and gangs and you have to brush past them and then put up with their comments. Well i give as good as i get believe me they soon parted adn i never had another problem, however the groups seemed to dwindle as the cruise went on so u didnt have to be einstien to work out why. I also had a word to security and they were dispersed immediately so well done... It realy pisses me off when ppl complain but all one has to do is be proactive and it alerts security to the problem and then problem solved come on ppl open your mouth your not dobbing you are being responsible dont sit the next day and bitch and gossip because you seen or heard it do soemthing about it they wont come knockn on your door and you never know like i did you may actually find they arent as bead as you thought and you can becoame friendly with them.

To my knowledge and again it is hearsay there were alegedly about 30 ppl that did not complete the cruise. I know there were some problems as i was on carie deck and from past experience and being on that deck that is where they "lock them up" from day 2 there were security guards sitting outside a cabin on caribe. allegedly 5 passengers were put off in poum and travelled the 5 hrs with police back to the mainland this was for allegedly fighting and also 1 female and 1 male for allegedely getting it on in the elevator ?? Now from then on it was all to do with fights and antisocial behaviour. I wasnt there so i cant say and i dont sit around the decks trying to find out the gossip that is BS. as far as i am concerned Security done their job professionally and they were very well advised and there was nothing they didnt know an these passengers were being watched right fro the terminal before they boarded the ship. There were guards on my deck til Vila and then they got a break. I was up in the Dome on the last night / early hours morning and i watched these security guards in action they are bloody good at their job and at stopping the escalation of further trouble. I was sitting to the side of the dome as you walk in with group of about 10 and we watched these "gangs" come in for their last stand and torment and bad mouth the security trying to start **** and the security deal with it perfectly and more passengers locked up til we disembarked.

 

So there you go i have said my bit on the behaviour and the way it was handled i applaud the staff.

 

Now food

The staff as i have said were great, however mine and other ppl's opinion on the food was not good. I think they have lost touch with the what we like factor. I ate in the palm court 3 dinners but i sourced the menu everyday. I also go a copy of all the menus and one can only take chicken breast and veges so many times and it wasnt just me it was the same up in the Cafe De Sol it was a lot of casseroles and stews and bisques & ragout and just not appealing to the ppl i spoke to and i know there will be a lot of complaints being made about the menus. But hey we found an alternative at the grill ane the pizzeria (no garlic bread grrrr) i can assure u we never starved

 

 

The Ship

Well how fortunate for us but unfortunate for the following cruise i felt for you guys. WE were well informed as i said i was just walking into the internet cafe as sthe captain mad the announcement the cafe was empty and within 3 mins there were ppl yelling and crying, panicking etc and i was just get a grip there was an officer in there in white and poor bugger was getting abused left right and centre so i up and left before i punched somebody myself. The ship gave everybody 1 free call to anywhere to organise flights etc and free internet to source same they would also give more calls if required but they were monitored. Activites were orgainsed and we were given as much attention as possible. The day of disembarkation we were fed up until we left the ship however it was cahs purchases only for drinks, shops etc. So they really looked after us.

 

 

Now a few things to add

 

You will all be aware of the CREDIT/ DEBIT card issue. Well i got a Credit Card after being informed Debit Cards are no longer accepted. I thought i would be cheeky and when i went to check in i just offered my DEBIT CARD (to see what happens) Well low and behold they accepted it with not 1 question or blink of an eyelid grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr so i ask others out there to try it and see what happens my other thought was maybe some past passengers may have flags for bad debt and they will not get past.

 

Mobile Phones

 

I had a signal the whole time on MCP the ships system but never used it only when we were running late to organise my travel. and most passengers were very respectful and never used them out in the open which was great.

 

If you have any questions please ask i probably remember them but at momnent cant recall.

 

? WOULD I DO A NEW YEARS EVE CRUISE AGAIN ........ A YES IN A HEARTBEAT

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY & HAPPY CRUISING

 

[rugbypopsie]

Thanks for posting a very interesting review from a totally different perspective.

[mull]

Great review Kruzein,

it was my first cruise so have to take your word that the food has been better.

But a tip from me,the wagyu ribs in the steak house were fantastic.

Tom who did the sports trivia was a good bloke,especially on New Years Day,he was very funny.Hmmm i wonder why :)

I didn't see any trouble and felt perfectly safe all trip,so thats good.

Again great review,

cheers.

[Lizard©]

Great review Kruzein, I would love to have done the New Years cruise, :sigh:

Hope they take note of the food issues......I agree with you on the chicken, though I do love chicken. :rolleyes:

" i can assure u we never starved " I know exactly what you mean there!! :D

 

Lynda.......who desperately wants to cruise but has to wait until 2010

[Skyrules]

Thanks for your honest review!!

 

Totally agree with your comments about Captain Paoletti! We were very impressed with him on our Pacific Dawn cruise last year. We looked forward to his 12 noon updates - we even have a couple of them on video. And his virtual bridge tour was amazing. He too kept us totally informed on our slow progress to Suva - we know well before hand that we wouldn't make it to Suva for a full day, and I think part of the reason there wasn't too many grumbles about it was because the Captain kept us well informed at all times.

[Kruzein]

Thanks for your honest review!!

 

Totally agree with your comments about Captain Paoletti! We were very impressed with him on our Pacific Dawn cruise last year. We looked forward to his 12 noon updates - we even have a couple of them on video. And his virtual bridge tour was amazing. He too kept us totally informed on our slow progress to Suva - we know well before hand that we wouldn't make it to Suva for a full day, and I think part of the reason there wasn't too many grumbles about it was because the Captain kept us well informed at all times.

 

Skyrules

If only we had had capt Paoletti on the Inaugral cruise it would of been more of a success and we would 0of been informed of everything and more importantly been able to understand when he did speak. I would like to go back if Capt Paoletti is in charge but i am sure he said he is leaving very soon :( shame

Kruzein