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3 hours ago, Jean C said:

Wow, how generous Pacific Encounter is with chairs - the tub chair that is no more than a nostalgic memory on Princess, plus a desk chair. How decadent 😉

Upgrade to a mini suite and you get a tub chair, a desk chair and a sofa!! Oh, be still my beating heart!😂

11 hours ago, Cbtours said:

Great to have good relationship with GP. I’ve been with same one for 46 yrs! I keep telling him to let me know when he’s going to retire, cos then I’ll have to find new one closer to where we live. It makes such a difference when there is good Dr /patient trust.

Absolutely and I hadn't thought of taking antibiotics in my medical kit on a cruise. Great idea and I know my GP will see the logic.

21 hours ago, Sparky74 said:

The Pacific Encounter at Brisbane International Cruise Terminal this morning. 

Pity the weather wasn't better. The old girl looks so much better when she's kissed by the sun.

Terrific outcome! CC members do it again!!🙂

They are currently sailing as Pacific Encounter and Pacific Adventure for P&O Australia. They will be rebranded and re-named Carnival Encounter and Carnival Adventure after March 2025

If you want a fully covered balcony, you need to look at Deck 11 up.

I agree, I like to enjoy morning coffee, etc on my balcony (also coming and going from a port). Can't really 'hide' on a Byron mini balcony but I'm not exactly doing anything that would attract the interest of the balconies above me so I just ignore the fact I can be overlooked. 😂

🥺 Goodbye, Dora, old girl.

On our last Encounter cruise we had a Byron mini and our friends had a balcony on deck 10. The Byron balcony was completely uncovered. Our friends' balcony was partially covered (up near the glass doors) and actually was considerably deeper than our balcony. Same width as ours, but deeper. From memory (sketchy🙄) the balcony was BE category.

Hope this helps with your decision.

I'd be inclined to book tours offered by the cruise line.

6 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

Thanks for that link @Mycruiseobsession. It was an interesting read. Our cruise is still scheduled for 2 stops in New Caledonia. We decided as soon as the news of riots and death broke, that we would stay on the ship for those stops. There is nothing in the article to suggest we will change our mind by April next year. I suspect the itinerary for our cruise may well skip New Caledonia altogether.

P&O still have excursions in New Caledonia listed on cruise control for our December cruise, but I very much doubt the ship will be visiting the area.

16 hours ago, arxcards said:

Until recently, there was a couple of stray cabins above our grade for Spendor next week. They have now been sold or allocated to someone else, so it looks like our prefect record remains intact.

Spendor is sooo accurate!😂

16 hours ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

 

Oh you mean like these? 😘

 

Yep, and there were  odd railings missing in some lifts too. 

 

I tried to wear rose coloured glasses, and the couple of photos I took of the wear and tear were only of the big obvious ones.

 

Dora is definitely looking worse for wear.

 

 

 

Yes, those were the photos to which I was referring.

Completed. Thanks Geoff

I think the Free Upgrade Fairy's wand has been ripped from her grasp and is now in the possession of the Bid for an Upgrade Wicked Stepmother!😟

Our booking is a Byron mini suite forward so if they moved us to somewhere else on the deck I wouldn't be at a disadvantage but I'm thinking if we did get an upgrade it would be a suite and I certainly wouldn't complain about that. But as I said, it's unlikely.

Would be nice to get a free upgrade for our last hurrah with P&O in December, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.😒We've never had an upgrade and I seriously doubt we will this time.

On 6/25/2024 at 7:35 AM, MicCanberra said:

I was always making 'How to ' guides when at work.

Me too. Time consuming.

22 hours ago, arxcards said:

The 200K isn't a deterrent. You have been paying it for years. That is a $46 per passenger tax that is built into the port fees and charges part of your fare. It was already $30pp (130K) in 2015.

 

They could venture south for a few cruises out of Sydney too, but with more competition from Carnival. If they market it right and add even add Lelepa to itineraries, they can woo many of QLD's disaffected P&O cruisers away from Carnival.

We wouldn't take much wooing let me tell you.🤣

13 hours ago, arxcards said:

Correct. P&O days haven't counted to Princess most cruised lunches for ages. Those of us who would still hold elite status after a change would get the best of both worlds. 

However, there would be even more of the predominately P&O cruiser group that would lose their black medallions, mini-bar and laundry if those changes were made. Still a win if they are happy to continue cruising with elevated status on Carnival, but a loss if they would rather be on Princess. Most of my P&O friends hate Carnival with a passion.

Yep, we're passionate about hating Carnival! 😆 I don't know what it would take to get me on board. Probably a free suite with everything thrown in - like that's going to happen. Still, to quote the James Bond title 'Never Say Never'.🙄

16 hours ago, arxcards said:

A marketing company suggesting they should spend more on advertising - ingenious! 🤣

 

They do need a hook though. For mine, they need to find a way of turning P&O passenger goodwill into a tangible benefit on Carnival, or risk losing them to other brands. I reckon it would be cheaper to woo existing P&O cruisers than to advertise for new cruisers to replace them.

 

Either way, I think there is some interesting news for Carnival to drip feed us with.

I agree, Geoff. It would appear that there are a lot of P&O cruisers who are less than enamored with Carnival and who are actively looking at other brands.

22 hours ago, Sparky74 said:

Sorry, that’s an intentional malapropism. 🤷‍♂️

I start the cruise with barking day and finish with disembowelling day. I make sure we complete our mustard drill and if I have any problems I go and talk to them at guess-who services. 
DW reckons I’m not right in the head. 🤪

Well put!

6 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

I don’t remember chocolates but we started cruising in 2010 and stayed loyal to Royal for a number of years. I remember towel animals every night, spectacular carved fruit displays in the buffet, and ice carving demonstrations every cruise. 
Times change and I must admit that I join in with the moaning about cutbacks but in reality it’s either that or prices will increase even more. We are fortunate that (at the moment) we have a variety of cruise lines to choose from which offer different inclusions and different price points. 
DW & I celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary in November and have a week's leave up our sleeve. I’ve suggested a couple of different cruises as options but she wants to do something different for this special occasion. I’ve priced a few alternatives and I’m still convinced that cruising offers great value for money in spite of rising fares and diminishing inclusions. 
At the risk of going back "on topic" 🤣 we board the Pacific Encounter In three weeks. I wonder if the Waterfront will be open for lunch on barking day. 🤔

Would be very interested to hear your impressions of your cruise when you get back, Sparky. We haven't been on Encounter for over 12 months, though we are booked on her in December. Particularly of interest will be IS the Waterfront open for lunch on barking day?!! We want to avoid the Pantry at all costs (including going hungry 🤣).

Happy Anniversary, BTW.

I really do mourn the demise of the 'upgrade fairy' whereby a lucky few got a free upgrade, none of this bidding nonsense. Not that we've ever been showered with fairy dust, but it would have been a nice bonus.

20 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

I haven't noticed that the hours in either the MDR or the Pantry are shorter. For example, even in 2012, P&O's buffet was only open at specific times (not all day like Princess) and I think they are the same now. Hours in the MDR are the same - unless the Pacific Explorer is no longer offering lunch on embarkation day. Otherwise the hours seem to be the same.

 

Choccies on the pillow - I can't recall when P&O ended this (if they ever had them) but I know that Princess ended them with the COVID pause.

I have a VERY vague recollection of choccies on the pillow on Pacific Dawn in 2016, but don't recall receiving them since.

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

All cruise ships have varying degrees of bogans, grunts, snobs, yobbos,  tossers. Yes, P&O is pitched at "cruiselings", so there are plenty of them aboard. All cruise ships have mirrors too.

 

Life imitates cruising 😉

Not just cruise ships either. At any resort there's a good chance you'll encounter all of the above.🤭