Aus Traveller

I had the creme brulee cheesecake in the MDR on our Coral Princess. I thought it was superb.

I don't think you should comment on P&O's food if you haven't sailed with them. 🙂 We have sailed with a several different lines and I honestly can't complain about P&O's food.

We have cruised to PNG a few times on Princess ships.

I don't know when you were last on P&O, but we were on the Pacific Encounter in September-October and thought the food was quite good. The dinner in Angelo's was superb.

Let us know if a print-out of the QR code was acceptable.

We have cruised in all sorts of cabins. A cruise in an inside cabin is better than no cruise. It is $55.50 pp pn for a window and $111 pp pn for a balcony. If it was me, I would pay the extra for an oceanview, but with so many port days, I wouldn't pay for a balcony.

The Plus package applies no matter where on the ship you buy your drinks and yes, you pay the difference if you order more expensive drinks. Whether or not a person considers the wine available in the Plus package to be poor quality, depends on their own taste. If you usually drink expensive wines, then the Plus package selection wouldn't suit you, but if you are happy with Dan Murphy's $15 wine (or the better cask wines for that matter) then the Plus package wines would be OK.

No words can express how I (and I am sure countless others) feel about your news. 💘 Take care.

I see your point, but you would not be confined in the cabin for a few weeks. Quarantine is a maximum of seven days, 🙂 and then only if your cruise is still on-going for those seven days. If your cruise ends before the seven-day quarantine is completed, you complete it at home or in a hotel, depending on where you live.

Comparing the MDR of Princess with P&O - Definitely P&O is aiming at a younger, more contemporary look. The MDR on Princess is the same as it always was - several large oval tables that can seat 10 and several 6-top tables with a limited number of 2-top tables. White starched tablecloths are used. The MDR on the Pacific Encounter has all square or rectangular tables, most are for two people only. They don't use tablecloths even in the evening. The tables are dark slate grey, but I feel the decor has avoided the look of a factory cafeteria. I don't mind it. On Princess we asked to share tables and were not at the same table every night. On P&O, we stayed as the same table with the same waitstaff every night. We didn't ask for this, but were very happy as our waiters were great. At the time (end of August into Sept) P&O didn't sit people at shared tables unless they were travelling together. Princess was operating the way they always have. If you want to share, they seat you at a larger table, but the option not to share is available.

Not a lot of difference. Another difference is the price of wine. Princess charge approx $10 more for similar wine compared with P&O. We take our own on Princess, but with P&O, it isn't allowed.

Pacific Adventure is new to the P&O fleet. She was formerly the Golden Princess.

We have cruised extensively with both Princess and P&O pre-pandemic. This year we have cruised with both lines (Coral Princess and Pacific Encounter). We feel that Princess is still a notch above P&O, but P&O is now considerably up-market compared with pre-pandemic. My comments relate to the decor in the MDR and the specialty restaurants - included in the fare on P&O. We didn't go to Dragon Lady, but the decor, menu and service in Angelos were superb. Other differences between Princess and P&O - On Princess passengers can take wine on board and pay AUD$15 corkage (1 bottle per person free of charge). After paying corkage, the wine can be taken to the dining room. In the buffet on Princess (the Horizon Court), waiters will offer to get drinks (coffee, juice etc) for you. On P&O there is no table service. On Princess lobster is available in the MDR on the second formal night (but it is a bit 'hidden' on the menu). I think it is described as prawns. The dish is a lobster tail with prawns. They also have escargot. These aren't available on P&O. Princess have a welcome cocktail party with the champagne waterfall in the atrium. The cocktail party was suspended for the first few cruises, but has been brought back now. P&O don't have a cocktail party. Princess also have another cocktail party later in the cruise for anyone who has sailed with them before. That's all I can think of for now.

How sad for her family and also for her co-workers. 💔

We aren't too fond of Bali either. Maybe the cruises go there so they are 'international'.

The Around Australia cruises has often gone via Benoa so the passengers have to have passports.

Agreed. The advice from the call centre shows that they do'n't know what they are talking about. They can't test 4,000 people and it is possible some of them would test positive. What a recipe for a disaster if it was to be done that way.

All the maps show that the shipping route up the Queensland coast is inside the GBR. 🙂

We went on a tour around the island offered by Peddells. They also run the ferry service to T.I. Don't miss the church in the main street of Thursday Island and if you go on the tour around the island, have a wander through the cemetery. It contains headstones of graves belonging to Japanese pearl divers who worked in the waters of the Torres Strait.

In my opinion, some of the places suggested for coastal cruises don't have the infrastructure and possibilities for tours required for a cruise ship to visit.

No. The ships don't stay overnight. I have also read that the feeding the dolphins activity is restricted to guests staying at the resort.

I think the Cairns version of Parramatta might be up-market - it is actually Parramatta Park.🙂

You would be able to use your mobile but much of the time it will access the ship's satellite system resulting in expensive phone calls. We restrict our phone calls to when we are in port when our mobile shows that we are accessing a 4G network.

Typo - It refers to the city of Cairns in North Queensland.