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temani

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    Brisbane, Australia

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  1. Here are some observations of our first P&O cruise on Encounter to North Qld from Brisbane in November 2022. Bear in mind that Covid protocols were still in place at that time. We arrived early and dropped off our cases in Bag Drop, then looked around for somewhere to sit as no-one appeared to be entering into the Terminal. No seats left, so sat on a concrete surround of a flower bed. Time went on and more and more people arrived and when no more seating was available they stood queuing. A couple of hours later it seemed, a loud voice told the crowd that until everyone had disembarked from the ship there would be no-one getting on. We had noticed a couple of ambulances outside so maybe this was the reason for the delay. When told that 'those sitting around the Bag Drop would have to move' I could feel our patience running out. Not good enough to be herded like sheep. We are seniors and one of us can't stand for a long time. Eventually got onboard and found our balcony cabin which was lovely. As we had previously cruised Asia with Sapphire Princess we were used to the ship's layout. We had only been given the choice of two dining times 'Early' or 'Later'. On board we found that our time was 5.45pm and that we had been rotated through Waterfront, Dragon Lady and Angelos. We could change the venues if we wished which we did. Although menus were only changed a couple of times, we found the food very good and also in The Pantry - something for everyone and plentiful. Dress codes in the restaurants ranged from smart casual to t-shirt and shorts and baseball caps. In The Pantry it wasn't unusual to see swimwear and bare chests (men). We only saw one show Blanc de Blanc, risque but very funny, but we had to pay for this one. Lots of charges for onboard extras. The real downside for us about P&O was the disorganised rush off the ship at Cairns port. We had booked a ship tour to Kuranda and after receiving a tour number were directed to wait in one of the theatres. When our number was called, we thought that we would be guided to our disembarkation deck before the rest of the ship were allowed to disembark. No such luck. We almost had to fight our way through crowds to go down to the deck we were told to go to only to find that it was the wrong deck so another fight to get to the correct deck and eventually find our transport. No such keeping distances here! Won't say never again, but looks unlikely that we will choose P&O.
  2. I think most of your questions have been answered earlier, but thought I would add from our own experiences on Pacific Encounter to the GBR in late November. When we booked our cruise we chose the 'Plus' (I think it was called) fare, so drinks were included. We usually drink white wine and could each have up to 15 glasses of wine under a ceiling price each day - we never even got close to that amount! But mostly we drank Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc which was very good. Ship's price was around AUD12-13 per glass. I think the name of one we preferred was Kim Crawford? If we ever wanted to buy a bottle of wine, then we had to charge that to our cabin. We did buy one bottle. Think that was around AUD43. In our cabin, on boarding, was a list of the restaurants included in our fare. We had been rotated through all three - Waterfront, Dragon Lady, Angelos throughout the seven day cruise and we had already chosen the earlier sitting - ours was at 5.45pm each evening. You must either choose early or late sittings before boarding the ship. You can swap restaurants around as long as you give notice. We had downloaded the P&O App on advice once onboard, so no problems there. We didn't like Dragon Lady so opted out of that one. It was so dark in there, the people at the next table couldn't see what they were eating! We particularly liked Angelos, decor throughout was lovely and the food good, although only one menu change throughout the seven days. The pizza eatery was not open at all on our cruise.
  3. Aus Traveller, thank you again. Not worrying now about the cabin! Will definitely try Angelos. Wishing you a great cruise next week and would welcome your comments on return home.
  4. Thanks so much for your help Aus Traveller. We know now what we'll opt for. As you say, the 'alternative' restaurants may not be for everyone, but we'll see what happens. We haven't even been allocated our balcony cabin yet! Usually like to choose our own when we first book. Again, we'll see what happens as there's only a few weeks to go.
  5. Filling in our details before cruising in late November, we are asked to pre-determine what time we want our evening meal. We are given the option of 'early' beginning at 5pm, 'late' beginning at 7.30pm or 'I will decide when onboard'. This is of course for the non-speciality restaurants. Apparently if we choose a specific time, we will then be shuffled around The Waterfront, Angelos and Dragon Lady during our seven night cruise. Are things really that rigid? We had to take very early times each night on the old Aria and so missed sailaway from some nice ports. If we leave our options until onboard, will be be able to get 'anytime dining'? We don't want to miss any shows either and so far can't find out at what time these are on. We have therefore left this part of our filling-in blank for now. Thanks for any advice given. Temani
  6. Hi Gwendy, We are cruising from the BICT in November and have booked our car in with Andrews Airport Parking which is close to Brisbane Airport. They do shuttles to the cruise terminal as well. We always use their undercover parking and have had no problems. This will be the first time for the cruise terminal and we had to pay a bit extra because the trip is longer. They will also pick us up on return. Their contact number is 07 3268 4222.
  7. Departing from Halong Bay, Vietnam in the afternoon - breathtaking! Would have been the same for arriving, but we had arrived overnight from Hong Kong, so woke up to see those fantastic limestone karsts all around us.
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