N130 Indonesian Cruise 30 Sept 2011 booked

[oysterfiend]

Just completed all booking/deposit for this cruise on Pacific Sun.

Never been to Perth or Western Australia so this should be great.

Anyone else on this cruise- Any kiwis??:D

 

My mistake - should read 30th August- 11th September

[fishtaco]

Just completed all booking/deposit for this cruise on Pacific Sun.

Never been to Perth or Western Australia so this should be great.

Anyone else on this cruise- Any kiwis??:D

 

My mistake - should read 30th August- 11th September

 

First off congrats! I hope I didnt force you:D

 

Perth is a beautiful city and fremantle great old harbour town so make sure you leave yourself enough time pre or post cruise to see a bit of the place as its almost half a world away in NZ.

 

you wont need to travel hours to margret river for winery tours as the swan Vally just 20kms from perth has plenty to offer with daily wine cruises or great to self drive with quite a few micro breweries on the way in between the hoards of wineries.

 

you already know Bali but closer to the trip i will give you the contact for a great cheap driver with van for lombok that will save you a packet on P&O shore tours.

 

one place to visit in Bali that is a must is The safari park in Gianya,just an hour drive from Benoa harbour,

 

Both Broome and Geraldton provide a free bus from jetty into the towns so its easier and much cheaper to pre arrange any tours before you leave NZ

 

the camel rides on cable beach are about a third of P&O price and they will pick you up from the visitors center if pre arranged before cruise.

 

 

The crocodile farm in broome is only $20 entry and a $2 bus trip from the information center (free bus drops you off at info center) and is about 200 meter walk from cable beach where bus drops you off.

 

Prepare for real tropical weather from half way to Broome until the day before you arrive back in freo.

 

This is a great cruise and you will not be disappointed as you are already used to the old pacific Sun.

 

Get excited:D

 

Den

[oysterfiend]

Yes I did feel FORCED:D

NOT!:)

 

I have been reading all these complaints about Pacific Sun and although I'd rather be on Dawn or Sun Princess I doubt we would have got a 12 night cruise on either of them for about $2100 NZ a piece.

Once you get used of the claustrophobic aspect of the Pacific Sun you just settle in and enjoy what you have.

Our biggest issue last year was the guy next door coughing all the time -

he sounded like a sheep with worms!! it was a hacking cough and definitely could be easily heard.

 

What I'd really like to do somewhere is some easy snorkelling from a beach.- Where we stayed in Tuban the beach was grotty and Sanur was not much better.

 

We will try and get a timeshare week from 16/17th September onwards after the cruise - so we will have about 4or 5 nights to fill in elsewhere around Perth or Fremantle.

[oysterfiend]

Hi everyone,

Just bumping this up.

Anymore comments about sailing on Pacific Sun from Fremantle to Indonesia?? Anyone else going??

[aussie57]

Hi Oysterfield. We did it last Feb. Our 3rd time on the Sun. Den went on the cruise before us & they docked in Geraldton but we had to tender in there & there was no free shuttle bus. Had to walk to town along esplanade & then up to HMAS Sydney memorial which is fine if you don't have mobility problems. I believe people went snorkelling at Gilli Trawangan from Sengiggi beach on Lombok

Check out the roll call for that cruise here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1046031

for lots of info, hints & tips.

Hope you have a great time as we did :)

[oysterfiend]

Hey thanks,

I have started a roll call to but no takers yet.

Can't get over all the complaints about the Pacific Sun.

We went on her last year and Princess she is not , but I didn't think she was as bad as some of the complaints I read.

I did not like the buffet area- it felt claustrophobic to me but around that by eating mostly in the dining room areas.

[aussie57]

Hi again

We have loved all 3 of our cruises on the Sun. We've been on the old Sky & Star too, as well as Princess & Celebrity. I think it's a lot about attitude & realistic expectations. We try not to sweat the small stuff whereas others seem to look for something to complain about. The Sun is clean & kept constantly in that state by diligent staff. The atmosphere is great & the crew are amazing. Don't worry about the bad reviews. there are just as many if not more pax who've loved teir cruise.

[fishtaco]

Hey thanks,

I have started a roll call to but no takers yet.

Can't get over all the complaints about the Pacific Sun.

We went on her last year and Princess she is not , but I didn't think she was as bad as some of the complaints I read.

I did not like the buffet area- it felt claustrophobic to me but around that by eating mostly in the dining room areas.

 

 

On my cruise there did seem to be an awful lot of maintenance from the beginning!

 

not sure if it was because it had already done two Asian runs and a Broome run and the tropical weather made its mark?

 

second and third day in there was so much welding grinding and hammer to metal noise on the deck that they should have paid us to be on it,it was like it was in dry dock.

 

it got better as the cruise went on,i think i am more used to the main maintenance being done at the end of the cruise but this one was at the start.

 

The tackiness showed through with the deck displays,ice carving,fruit carving and cocktail displays. they taped off the areas being used by the staff performers with those yellow "caution wet Floor" fold out signs and red and white 'danger tape":confused: In my videos it looks so amateurish especially as all the cocktail spinning was done with plastic empty bottles,i cant see the point of spinning plastic bottles to show a skill level in staff drink service,not really entertainment in my view.

 

Our cabin was excellent as was the food. The Asian/Filipino staff were very good and went out of there way to help always with a smile. on the other hand the Indian crew were miserable and unhelpful.

 

I would think most people cruising on the Sun for the first time and after cruising on the Dawn etc would be disappointed. Quite a few west Aussies I spoke to who had only ever cruised on the Athena before this cruise said they would never consider P&O again because they were so disappointed in the ship itself.

 

The itinerary is the plus for this cruise and as you have been on the Sun before you will possibly overlook the things others complain about.

 

One pointer on tender passes, you can get as many as you want,so if you are friendly with people only one of you needs to get in line and get the tickets for everybody!

 

I discovered this when i was quite close to the front of the queue one morning and ended up on a later tender,when i questioned why i was given such a late ticket when at the front of the queue I was told more than one person in front had collected over 30 tickets each and it was allowed no problem?