ceeceeDee

Just back from our cruise on Encounter. If anyone is interested 9201 is a great cabin deck 9 forward. Well maintained and very comfortable. Also it isn't that to walk to the forward lifts.

To all the lovely people who wished us bon voyage for our cruise 10 days ago, thank you soooo much. (Mic, I think you were one and Old Fart another). We had a ball and if you want to read the run down go to 'Help Me Decide' forum topic where I sweated over a hot keyboard doing a review.

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.😉🍸🤣

Not a good idea to go overboard! Splash!😄

Thank you! The weather is being kind. Sunny winter's day.

Sounds great!

Thanks, so much!!! Now 5 hours 26 minutes!!!😁

1 day 3 hours and yes, we have finally packed!!😄

Or in my case, hot pink with black beaded overlay and fringe and gold headpiece and shoes. Like I said, it's my fav!🤣🍸

I guess we can speculate all we like. Only time will tell. The only sure thing is that it won't be the Titanic!🤣

my first thought was cable tie

3 days. I REALLY should do more than just think about packing.☹️😂

Hi GandM. You bet ya booty people dress up for Gatsby!!! Our last cruise you couldn't move for boas and feathers!😄 Gatsby is my favourite theme night and we go all out. Leaving for our next cruise in a couple of days and first item in the suitcase is my Gatsby outfit.

We always get a premium drinks package. We're not huge drinkers, but it's really not all that difficult to for us to at the very least break even. This time around our drinks packages were a promotion included in the fare, so we're in front!🍸

Hey Tripmode33, we're looking forward to it too! Happy sailing and at the very least we'll be in for some warmer weather!

This is from September last year that someone posted on line. Definitely a P&O ship, but not sure which one. So, that will give you an indication of prices. Guess you would need to do the math to ascertain whether you are better off with the Refreshment Drinks Package or pay as you go. Depends how many drinks you think you will consume per day.

Thanks for that detailed response, Geoff. Much appreciated. We are due to embark on our next cruise in five and a half days. Haven't heard a squeak out of P&O regarding Verifly no longer being required. One would think if they have ditched it they would send out a system generated email. Then again, one thinks a lot of things and one is often wrong. 🤣 As I said, I don't really care as we are prepared either way.

Suites, we were just grateful to get on a cruise and took things as they came. Didn't think twice about sharing a cabin with strangers or a bathroom down the hall or a duty free 'shop' which consisted of a small table with goods displayed on it or the segregation between first class and the rest of us or the different food served in first class etc., etc. We had a wonderful time and if there was anything to complain about, I certainly don't remember it! Maybe we've been incredibly lucky, but we haven't had any complaints about any cruise we have been on (or cruise line) since then.

Hi Geoff I don't doubt you for a minute, but I haven't seen any announcement from P&O regarding Verifly being no longer needed. Do you mind telling me where you saw it? Strictly speaking, it doesn't bother me one way or the other as I am carrying hard copies of all documents so it is a bit of a moot point. I'm just curious since the P&O FAQs still mention Verifly. Cheers Cee

Hey Tripmode33! We are on the same cruise! Whoo hoo!🙂 In another thread entitled Verifly and the P&O App I listed in detail the trials and tribulations of loading the P&O app. May be useful if you take a look at that if you haven't already done so. Aus Traveller has more or less covered your other questions. I can't give you up to date information as we haven't sailed with P&O since 2018 (darn Covid). However at that time you could request a table for two. We actually quite enjoy sharing a table and meeting new people so we opted for that. From what I have read, there are machines on board where you can access your account if you don't get the app up and running. Saves lining up at Guest Services (btw if you want to avoid queues at GS, go early in the morning or latish at night). We have successfully uploaded our information on Verifly, but as Aus Traveller said it is definitely a good move to have ALL your documentation in hard copies to avoid any difficulties at the Terminal. The last thing you want is to get stressed out before you even board! Wishing you a great cruise and maybe we'll run into you on board! Cheers Cee

7 days 5 hours 12 minutes and counting 🙂

Shared cabins with strangers must have been a 'thing' in the early 70s then. My girlfriend and I went on a short 3 day cruise on P&O's Iberia and shared a quad cabin with two other girls we didn't know. And yes, the bathroom and loos were down the hall. Must have been an inside cabin because I certainly don't remember a porthole! I do remember we plebs were not allowed anywhere near First Class passengers, though the Captain did grace us with his presence for a cocktail party. 😁 I've never heard of mixed sex shared cabins (with strangers, that is). Sounds a bit 'iffy' to me. From what I've read even 3rd class on the Titantic segregated the sexes when it came to shared cabins.😬

On all our cruises,the staff have been fantastic! Most notable (probably because we see them more often) are the cabin attendants. From the first meeting when we board they are there with happy smiles and a 'can do' attitude. We always take the time to get to know them, ask about where they are from etc. They are human beings and deserve to be treated with respect both for themselves and the wonderful job they do. Bear in mind that they are far from home, living in cramped quarters often for 8 months straight working 7 days a week (sometimes 12 hours a day) and dealing with the general public who can be abysmal in their attitudes and behaviour. Yes, their living conditions and pay are probably better than their country of origin, but that is no excuse to treat them as second class citizens. I remember a lovely young lady working in one of the bars whose nickname was 'Sunshine' (this was seven years ago and I have never forgotten her). And how apt that was. She was from Port Vila Vanuatu which had been recently devastated by a cyclone at the time. Fortunately her family was uninjured but she was understandably worried about them. However, she continued to do her job with a big smile and the only reason we knew what was going on in the background is because we took the trouble to chat to her. She gave everyone great service but just that bit extra for us. I've worked in retail and hospitality and it truly is a pleasant change when customers treat you with respect and understanding. Some people seem to think that they can subject you to rudeness and abuse just because you are a 'server'. Not so. We are doing an honest day's work selling you that dress and it's no different to anyone else working for a living (from the CEO to the Janitor). It costs absolutely nothing to be kind to everyone.

Hubby usually hits the nearest bar! 😂 If it's open, I hit the cabin, meet the steward and check if there's anything we need whilst the steward is around, then collect hubby and do a whistle stop tour of the ship so we know our way around and then decide if we want to join the sailaway party or chill out on our balcony as the ship sets sail.

We saw 2017 in on a cruise in the South Pacific. What a blast. Ended up with THREE celebrations. Once for local time, once for Queensland time and once for Australian daylight saving time. So the festivities began at midnight for local time and just kept right on going.