dazadelaide

Yes would love to read about your adventures. Have never thought about posting on this forum when we have cruised in other locations. Have a great time. Daz

Yes we are from Adelaide so when I look at any cruise I automatically just add $2000 to the price for airfares and hotel accommodation. We have taken most of the cruise options leaving or arriving Adelaide over the years but there are not many. Due to that we have gone to Kuala Lumpur quite a bit over the years as we can get direct flights and very good hotels for a reasonable price. Daz

Still good value for us 2 people in a cabin. Daz

We were on the Explorer cruise just prior to the Freo - Freo cruise. Found not much has changed since our last P&O cruise last year. Crew were friendly and yes they don't have that fake interactions to gain tips like some other lines. Some passengers make me cringe with some of the things they say to crew especially later at night when too much booze has been had. Food has not got any better or worse in my opinion just like a pub meal from our local. Still really like Dragon Lady over Angelos but I always take my own chilli no matter where I dine in pubs or on cruise ships as I like really hot food as much as possible. ,The entertainment was the same as the last 6 P&O cruises we have taken ( 7, rock anthems and let's misbehave ) hope they will have some new ones coming up before our next cruise in Dec. But we did strike the worst party band this time around. I don't think the singer could speak english as the lyrics he was singing to most songs have very little resemblance to what the actual lyrics were. It did make for some hearty laughs though. The other music around the ship was fine and about the same standards we have had before. Didn't attend any of the comedy shows on this cruise this time around just didn't get around to it. First time we have been to Freo and spent 4 days after the cruise before flying back home to Adelaide. I know that some people like to bag P&O especially when they have cruised other lines bur really we have been on 5 different lines over the years and over 20 cruises now and yes some are better than others but we have enjoyed them all. P&O are definately at the lower end of the cruising experience but it still is very good value for money so we will keep on using them as well as other lines into the future. Daz

We also got stung with the resort fee crap in Las Vagas a few years ago. Just give me the total price! Daz

Personally I wouldn't ever wear a hat in a restaurant as I find it disrespectful also, but I still wouldn't be upset by it. Unfortunately smart casual means different things to different people. Having been in the rag trade for more than 35 years I have seen so many interpretations of dress standards I have just given up and now just go with the flow. Daz

I don't understand what people are wearing can affect you and what you are eating. I can understand if clothing is too revealing and makes you feel uncomfortable but the wearing of hats in a dining room? it may feel disrespectful to some people but surely it can't affect how you enjoy eating your own food. Daz

My wife bought a bottle of D'arenburg sav blanc for $56 and drank it over 3 nights in the restaurants. She did this because it cost $13 for a small sav blanc on the first night and as she only ever has 1 or 2 over dinner a bottle was better value. At the end of the night you just take the bottle to your room finish it there or just put it in the fridge for later. (some people just take it around with them and drink it at the other venues on board) There were other sav blancs on the menu at each restaurants but from memory they were around $70 per bottle. Daz

Just got off the Explorer, yes just go to the Dragon Lady as soon as you get on. There will be a couple of crew members there taking your booking for the first three nights. You can book each of the three restaurants once and then after your first night you can book for night 4 and just do that for each night after that. Have fun, the Explorer is an older ship and a bit tired in places but we always have fun whenever we have cruised on the Explorer. Daz

Just got off another 5 day cruise on the Explorer, yes she is tired but overall we still had a great time. As for paying for everything like oldlovers said, you only pay for what you use. So my fare on P&O is around 20% cheaper than other lines and I am able to go on a cruise, really enjoy myself and only have a small bill at the end is fine by me. Drinks were not overpriced, just around the same or less than my local cafe. If I wanted a coffee and cake in charlies bar it was about $9. My local cafe charges $6.50 for a coffee and cakes around $7. Just my opinion. Daz

No probs, We are off on the Explorer tomorrow and have packed some different flavors to break up the cola only dilemma. Daz

Boring! only one side of the story again. You can find anything you want on the internet. no matter what your agenda is you can always find thousands of articles to back up your arguments. Daz

Yes it's rare to be asked, but we have traveled a bit in the middle east and have been asked quite a few times there. Never have had any problems but we always just keep them in the original prescription packets. Daz

P&O have pepsi brand drinks not coke. So only sugar free soft drink is pepsi max. After every cruise on the feedback form I ask for at least 1 more flavour of sugar free soft drink, but to no avail unfortunately. Daz

Personally we still enjoy P&O We find their price for what you get is still reasonable. We don't require twice daily cabin services, towel animals, silver service restaurants to have an enjoyable time. We were on Virgin late last year and while we really enjoyed the experience the visa applications were a nightmare, no help from Virgin whatsoever! Going on Quantum of the seas next year so we are not welded to P&O but we will still use them whenever we want a cheap and cheerful break. Daz

Thanks for the replies, I have read on another post about a refreshment package that includes mocktails specialty coffees and sodas. Is this available on Quantum and what does it actually contain in this package? thanks Daz

Hi, Thanks for the replies. We will be on quantum sailing out of Brisbane Australia for 15 nights. So 3 coffees a day each = 45 coffees each, same with soda. So if we go with a coffee card how many coffee can we get with a card? Is a card valid for 10"punches" or do the cards come in various amount of "punches" Also how does the freestyle soda machines work? do you have a special cup you need to carry around with you all the time or do you have a card that you use at these machines? Thanks Daz

Hi all, Wife and I are going on our first RCI cruise. We dont drink alcohol so we would like to know if RCL does soda packages or do you just pay as you go. Also are there speciality coffee packages as when we are not drinking soda we are drinking coffee. Thanks Daz

Thats how I have got the $US We were on Virgin In October and I thought I would try my hand in the casino. Not being a gambler I asked the casino staff what i needed to do. She showed me but i didn't fully understand and i bet more than i wanted and after 2 pushes i realized my mistake but it was too late to change when i realized but that second push of the button won me free games and i ended up winning $1200. I went and cashed in straight away but the only options were ship credit or cash in $us so i took the cash for the next time we travel so this will be a great chance to use my "free money" Daz

Hi, Is it correct that you can pay your final bill with cash in $US on RCL? We have only ever paid on other cruises with a credit card but we have a bit of $US left from a previous trip that I would like to use. Thanks Daz

5 and 9.15 were the only times available via the app and when we walked up many times. Dont know how full your cruises were on your 43 nights. Our cruise from Dubai to Singapore was over 90% full that may have been part of the problem. As I said that was the most annoying part of the Virgin experience. Daz

"Flexible with time" great if you want to eat at 5pm or after 9.15pm. The restaurant booking system was the most tedious thing about our whole Virgin experience. We were on a 15 day cruise tried booking 45 days out and was only able to book 3 times. Tried when on board but had no luck tried walking up twice were able to get in but only at razzle dazzle gave up after first week and just ate at the galley for the rest of the cruise. Daz

ok thanks for that. not really into shows that drag people up on stage against their will. 4 out of the 5 might be ok though Daz

We have been given $100 casino cash on last 5 cruises on P&O. on 4 of those cruises have walked away with cash ( best was $450 ). Never spent any more than the $100 free play. We keep hoping for cheap cruises but have only ever got the $100. Don't know how we got the original freeplay as we had never spent anything in the casino on the 2 previous cruises before the $100 appeared on our 3rd cruise. Daz

We were on resilient in nov 23 for 15 days and most of what you said was true for us with a few exceptions. The food really is too fussy for us very nice but just too fussy. Getting into restaurants was difficult unless you want to eat at 5.30 or 9.15. Booked as many on app before boarding (45 days out ) and then tried to change and add but not much success. Really only 2-3 choices at each venue was all we wanted to eat and as we didn't have a great deal of venue choices on a 15 day cruise they became a bit tiresome. Main shows were not for us but all the other music around the ship was great. Overall we had a great cruise but with a few irritations but not enough to dissuade us from going on Virgin in the future. Daz