Live from the Pearl

[Dizziedi]

Hi everyone,

 

Sadly, the Pearl is not good (want to get off actually). We are still hopeful of good things BUT!

 

Cabin/Mini-Suites:

Brochures are completely incorrect/misleading. The balcony is miniscule and wouldn't fit sun lounges on for a kick-off. The air-conditioning doesn't seem to be working today. The toilet didn't flush but have had that fixed. Striped carpet which is quite nauseating. The mini-suite is nothing more than a balcony cabin - do not pay the extra. Bed is comfortable:).

 

We were kept awake last night by the thumping from people dancing on the deck above us. We were then woken by chairs being dragged across the deck:mad::mad:

 

Food/Restaurants:

Plantation restaurant looks like a Coles Cafeteria so have not been there - rumour has it that the food hasn't changed. We have dined in the Waterfront each time but as news travels that it is the better of the two, numbers have increased and bookings are (almost) required. Food in the Waterfront is okay. Nothing is really hot.

 

Luke Mangan's restaurant however is great. We went there last night and it was well worth the money. Will frequent that.

 

Bars/Entertainment:

Bars are quite nice. Dome is good (at least through the day). Trivia has been good except for the sports trivia - the host's English is very poor to say the least.

 

Was advised this morning that we were supposed to have been compensated for things 'printed in the brochure' not existing. Chinese rumours are that the brochures were printed before the ship was even bought:confused:.

 

As you know I had organised for a wine and champagne package to be delivered to our cabin prior to us boarding. After 5 calls to Reception, enquiring as to when it would be delivered, I telephoned P&O. P&O all of a sudden decided that the alcohol would need to be delivered to the restaurant. They are going to follow up the recordings when I get back. Meanwhile the Hotel Manager delivered the wine/champagne to us as a gesture of Goodwill. Whilst I'm thankful, there shouldn't be any goodwill involved. I ordered and paid for it to be delivered to the cabin, end of!

 

I have been told that it is all about RSA. Well, please explain why Yobbos can walk around the ship with schooners of beer, cans of beer, glasses of wine. Drunk and in front of children - great RSA:rolleyes:.

 

Yes, the ship was late leaving with no advice as to why. Nonetheless, we did get away with a very smooth first night which was good. The Captain is currently checking the weather report (urgently) and will report back to us at midday - sounds ominous:eek:.

 

One plus is that we have met some nice people aboard.

 

Will check back hopefully with a better report.

[steve1970]

We were looking at a balcony cabin, but after reading reviews about the Ocean Village and the cleaning above the cabins and the moving of chairs etc in the evening decided against it.

Would be interesting to find out if you tried out the food in the buffet or not.

The wine and champale sounds like a typical debacle, you are correct no 'goodwill' - you ordered, you paid and you should *get*.

 

Heard anything regarding the Spa Pool situation??

 

Hope it goes better for you - I am sure it will.

[lizzy77]

I am sure that things will get better for you as you meet more great folks. A cruise is what you make of it.

Next cruise give RCCL a try or The Diamond Princess.

[Sailaway John]

Hi Di and Tony,

 

Sorry to hear about your problems. Fortunately we have never had anything like that happen to us and we don't want it to happen. Boy I would be mad and I most probably would have been put off the ship if I had of spoken my mind about the problems. I am a quite type of guy but when annoyed I can be very ugly, especially when paying good money for the product you want and expect.

 

Re the noise in the cabin from above - that is why we always go for a deck that has accommodation cabins on top and bottom of us.

 

Anyway, keep in touch and you will have a better time on the next cruise for the World Cup. If you need some company, just reserve a cabin for Eileen and I and we will be there to support you.

 

Regards - Eileen & John

[rkmw]

hi Di, glad you both are having a good time and hope you enjoy your wine

 

next time you book a cabin go for deck 10 as you have decks above and below you

 

bob

[sheridan318]

Sorry to hear that about the cabin noise, we had the exact same problem on the Pacific Jewel mini suit, why they cant rectify the problem is any ones guess as we complained that often I think the front desk all hid when they saw us coming, but like John said if you pay extra you expect the best.

we will be getting on the pearl as you disembark so hoping things improve for you, hope the rest of your holiday is great :D

Jacquie

[The Fox]

Hi everyone,

 

Sadly, the Pearl is not good (want to get off actually). We are still hopeful of good things BUT!

 

Cabin/Mini-Suites:

Brochures are completely incorrect/misleading. The balcony is miniscule and wouldn't fit sun lounges on for a kick-off. The air-conditioning doesn't seem to be working today. The toilet didn't flush but have had that fixed. Striped carpet which is quite nauseating. The mini-suite is nothing more than a balcony cabin - do not pay the extra. Bed is comfortable:).

 

We were kept awake last night by the thumping from people dancing on the deck above us. We were then woken by chairs being dragged across the deck:mad::mad:

 

Food/Restaurants:

Plantation restaurant looks like a Coles Cafeteria so have not been there - rumour has it that the food hasn't changed. We have dined in the Waterfront each time but as news travels that it is the better of the two, numbers have increased and bookings are (almost) required. Food in the Waterfront is okay. Nothing is really hot.

 

Luke Mangan's restaurant however is great. We went there last night and it was well worth the money. Will frequent that.

 

Bars/Entertainment:

Bars are quite nice. Dome is good (at least through the day). Trivia has been good except for the sports trivia - the host's English is very poor to say the least.

 

Was advised this morning that we were supposed to have been compensated for things 'printed in the brochure' not existing. Chinese rumours are that the brochures were printed before the ship was even bought:confused:.

 

As you know I had organised for a wine and champagne package to be delivered to our cabin prior to us boarding. After 5 calls to Reception, enquiring as to when it would be delivered, I telephoned P&O. P&O all of a sudden decided that the alcohol would need to be delivered to the restaurant. They are going to follow up the recordings when I get back. Meanwhile the Hotel Manager delivered the wine/champagne to us as a gesture of Goodwill. Whilst I'm thankful, there shouldn't be any goodwill involved. I ordered and paid for it to be delivered to the cabin, end of!

 

I have been told that it is all about RSA. Well, please explain why Yobbos can walk around the ship with schooners of beer, cans of beer, glasses of wine. Drunk and in front of children - great RSA:rolleyes:.

 

Yes, the ship was late leaving with no advice as to why. Nonetheless, we did get away with a very smooth first night which was good. The Captain is currently checking the weather report (urgently) and will report back to us at midday - sounds ominous:eek:.

 

One plus is that we have met some nice people aboard.

 

Will check back hopefully with a better report.

 

 

Hi,

 

Sorry to hear about the pearl but P&O gave the same spiel with the Jewel....tried 2 cruises on it....not impressed at all .....with the ship or P&O to extract evey cent they can....in april you could purchases bottles of wine at any bar for 22.00 or 9.00 per glass. in august the same year you could only purchase wine by the bottle in the restaurant. looked bit weird waklking out of the restaruant with 2 bottles of wine in hand....and you had to open them 4 x 9 =36.00 4 glasses divded into 22.00 = 5.50....not enough profit for P& O to have people buying wine by the bottle at the bars.....no wonder RCI and Carnival are sending more ships out her.

 

My view

 

Col

[windsor26]

Hi,

 

Sorry to hear about the pearl but P&O gave the same spiel with the Jewel....tried 2 cruises on it....not impressed at all .....with the ship or P&O to extract evey cent they can....in april you could purchases bottles of wine at any bar for 22.00 or 9.00 per glass. in august the same year you could only purchase wine by the bottle in the restaurant. looked bit weird waklking out of the restaruant with 2 bottles of wine in hand....and you had to open them 4 x 9 =36.00 4 glasses divded into 22.00 = 5.50....not enough profit for P& O to have people buying wine by the bottle at the bars.....no wonder RCI and Carnival are sending more ships out her.

 

My view

 

Col

 

Surprised at the price of wine we tend to stick to the Princess ships because of their itineraries but their wine is never less than $27 bottle You can buy at the bars and they offer to keep it cool for you for the next night if you like You can also take your own wine on board to drink in your cabin we always take a cask or two and keep them in the frig.

[Bella cruiser]

Hi everyone,

 

Was advised this morning that we were supposed to have been compensated for things 'printed in the brochure' not existing. Chinese rumours are that the brochures were printed before the ship was even bought:confused:.

 

Yes, the ship was late leaving with no advice as to why.

 

Hi Dizziedi,

 

Sorry things aren't 100% at the moment I hope things improve for you and you have a great cruise. Having regard to a couple of your points.

 

P&O would have known all they needed to know about this ship so can't use to justify inconsistencies in the Brochure.

 

They didn't recently "buy" this ship she has belonged to P&O/Princess since 6 months after her launch, they acquired her after the Sitmar takeover in 1989 and have just been passing her around between their brands ever since so this is not a valid excuse for errors.

 

Regarding your issue of slightly delayed departure, it would appear that the Captain waited for a lower tide as she has only a 4 metre clearance under the Harbour Bridge at high tide.

 

Jenny

[Debsta]

Was advised this morning that we were supposed to have been compensated for things 'printed in the brochure' not existing. Chinese rumours are that the brochures were printed before the ship was even bought:confused:.

 

Now this part I'm interested in :p Looks like Kiwi_Kid has had an impact in the big wide corporate world :D

 

A few disappointments, so now go PARTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE like there's no tomorrow :)

[Shiprobbo]

Was advised this morning that we were supposed to have been compensated for things 'printed in the brochure' not existing. Chinese rumours are that the brochures were printed before the ship was even bought:confused:. {/quote]

 

P&O have certainly owned this ship since new, it has just been moved through various parts of the fleet and refurbished to meet the needs of the market it is placed in. I think it is more likely that the brochure was published before the final plans of the refit were completed. In the opriginal brochure, there were three hot-tubs mid-ships on Deck 12. These apparantly have been decked over. Now I would suggest that thgis has been a weight related alteration, perhaps to offset the MUTS scree that has been fitted, this is common in ships that if something is added then something else must be removed. It is possible that this needed to be the trade off. I don't think that MUTS was going to be included in the original brochures.

 

Anyway, my thoughts.

[evilpandas]

I can confirm the Balconies are not great, and that the food in the plantation is not the best compared to the waterfront.

 

I know the staff are getting upset by the drop off in food quality too.

 

I will also let you know why the boat was late leaving. You will find that they may have finally fixed 2 of the tender boats (out of 4) that were out of service for the last cruise and caused delays at most islands requiring tenders of 2 and a half hours No joke.

 

Will post a thorough review later.

[Wyuna1]

I hope that your lot has improved. There is another live post on the same subject that indicates a different view of the cruise so far. Perhaps you should seek each other out and compare notes.

[Dizziedi]

Hi all, we are now full pelt to Suva. The itinerary has been reversed due to bad weather. We will unfortunately miss Isle of Pines but that's not bad considering. Would have liked to have gone there though. The Captain changed the course for the safety, etc. He is trying to beat winds that are currently around the 165km rate. A little rough today (sick bags are out) but been in worse.

 

People we have made friends with are good fun, lots of trivia, eating in the Waterfront Restaurant and Luke Mangans.

 

The wine list is actually a lot better than I thought. We can get Cloudy Bay so that keeps me happy and you can even get Grange in Luke Mangan's. The food in the Waterfront is not bad at all but the Plantation is not so good. We actually had to eat lunch there yesterday because we missed the Waterfront.

 

Hi John and Bob - we would have taken Deck 10 but the minis and balconies are only on 11. It was too windy on Deck 12 last night so there was no noise. We also received a double lot of canapes as well as an elephant towel (really cute).

 

Went to the Casino for a little while last night - it was packed.

 

Well just been to Trivia and now it's time for lunch, so I'll report back soon.

 

I note Cruiselover loves the ship - well good for him. We pay more for a suite or mini-suite and I expect to get what I pay for in that accommodation and I also expect my wine that I have paid for. We love cruising too or we wouldn't do it.

 

As far as the issue of compensation is concerned, I was advised by the Reception desk. I'm not interested in compensation, I just want to be able to sleep at night.

 

Cheers

Di

[Bella cruiser]

Hi everyone,

 

Food/Restaurants:

Plantation restaurant looks like a Coles Cafeteria so have not been there - rumour has it that the food hasn't changed.

 

 

Wow Dizziedi, I have seen many photos of the Plantation Buffet Restaurant on the Pearl and it looks great and very nice and tasteful post makeover. You must have some very upmarket Coles Cafeteria in your area.

 

It's great to grab yourselves a nice cheese and crackers platter in the afternoon.

 

Buffet style restaurants are not for everyone, my friend that traveled with us last year wanted to eat all her meals in the Buffet but to me that would be like spending 10 days in Sizzler :eek: I personally prefer the MDR but used to grab one of their delicious filled rolls on deck for lunch. Everyone is different:)

 

I hope the itinerary change keep you away from the worst of the weather, smooth sailing.

 

Jenny

[Itachi]

You should be up on deck out in the sun or participating in activities - plenty of time to fill us in later :)

 

Stop wasting your lovely sunny days inside on the net and spend them having fun...unless your looking for a reason not to be enjoying yourself?

[thied]

its great to see some one give a honest review on what they think of how there cruise is going.

 

 

 

 

Love Thied

 

 

 

 

.

[cruisin-m]

It's unfortunate you aren't pleased with the mini-suite but let me assure you it is leaps and bounds nicer then a balcony cabin(did a Pearl tour two weeks ago) and was identical in size and facilities to the junior suites on Rhapsody of the seas except with heaps better decor, carpet, colour scheme and much newer/fancier.

 

I still agree with you about these rooms been a waste of money though, as you are hardly ever in your room on a cruise! Why not if you get a nice deal though :p

 

As for everything else you have mentioned they are all fixable which is good ;).

 

Get out there and have a good time, no matter what a cruise line doesn't do perfectly, you should still have an awesome holiday :D

 

P.S- You have a REALLY fancy coles cafeteria in your area, on my tour it looked just as good if not better then every other ship buffet I've ever seen.

[Dizziedi]

You should be up on deck out in the sun or participating in activities - plenty of time to fill us in later :)

 

Stop wasting your lovely sunny days inside on the net and spend them having fun...unless your looking for a reason not to be enjoying yourself?

 

 

Itachi - I said I'd report live and have. It's none of your business how I spend my days thank you. If being on the internet is a form of entertainment for me, then sobeit - deal with it. In any event, the weather is not that great and I will not comment on your latter, snide remark.

 

In the meantime:

 

We have today not been able to go to Dravuni Island due to the wharf having been destroyed in the cyclone. We are therefore at sea again, heading for another 'make-up' Port. The Captain is doing the best he can with the weather he has been dealt and everyone seems to be accepting it.

 

The seas are now a lot calmer and hopefully they'll stay that way.

 

Cheers all,

Di

[Aus Traveller]

We have today not been able to go to Dravuni Island due to the wharf having been destroyed in the cyclone. We are therefore at sea again, heading for another 'make-up' Port. The Captain is doing the best he can with the weather he has been dealt and everyone seems to be accepting it. Cheers all,

Di

What a shame that the pontoon at Dravuni Island has been destroyed. It was only put in last year, I believe by P & O.

[Dizziedi]

Hi all,

 

Due to bad weather, etc, our Captain (I believe his name is Lorenzo Poleati) worked hard and got us to Savu Savu in lieu of the designated Dravuni Island and Port Denarau. As it turns out, Savu Savu is a beautiful island and everyone seems to have had a great day.

 

In any event, I have to say, this man is the best Captain we've come across. He seems to work very hard to keep his passengers happy and what's more, he has a sense of humour:).

 

We took a taxi to a resort and met a couple from the ship who got married at the resort. They were to get married in Port Denarau but as we aren't going there, their arrangements had to be changed. The bride's parents told us that P&O were absolutely fantastic in that they re-arranged everything for them. The resort too, was most helpful. Sadly, the resort they were to get married in on Port Denarau said, 'bad luck':(

 

By the way, the swell on the bad day was apparently 8m. The ship seemed to handle it very well - rocky, but not scary.

 

Well, off to lunch again at the Salt Grill with our trivia buddies.

 

Cheers

Di

[karmac]

In any event, I have to say, this man is the best Captain we've come across. He seems to work very hard to keep his passengers happy and what's more, he has a sense of humour:).

 

 

Cheers

Di

 

He is a fantastic Captain. Hope you went to his "Virtual Bridge Tour" in the showlounge. It is a must....in my opinion.

[resordanis]

Hi Di,

We are just home today and were thinking about how you and Tony were going on the cruise. So sorry that it is not as you planned (I know you were having these thoughts prior to leaving) Hope you can make the best of it! Talk when you get back. Cheryle:)

[Wyuna1]

I am cruising on Pacific Pearl in March. I was a little concerned at your first insight into the ship. Has it improved? Could you please give us a comment or two on the food, the entertainment and what theme nights you have experienced.

[CruiseW827]

We just got off this cruise and thought it was fantastic.

 

Food in the buffet was reasonable and I don't remember cold food at all (accept when I decided to eat my pancakes last at breakfast lol). The waterfront was delicious and again my food was always at the right temp.

 

We were trivia nuts as well always there. Yes ilai Had a very broad accent but he truly was awesome. As were maddisson Ryan and Hayden. Even Alun was very funny. My biggest complaint about trivia were the questions were geared to the Americans for whatever reason. But we enjoyed winning a couple of times too.

 

The shows began slowly. We didn't enjoy Showtime (musical show) but things got better from then on. Circus show was awesome as was please don't stop the music. Great to see Haydn smith on board again, shame his show hasn't changed in 4 years.

 

It was a shame to have missed a couple of ports but we loved how captain Lorenzo kept everyone up to date. I got a little freaked out last night when he got on the speaker issuing a safety announcement after a bump. We were all already feeling ill that just made it worse. We actually went to salt for the second time last night but didn't enjoy it as much as the first rough seas and it was freezing.

 

Our room was directly below the kids open deck and they tended to ride bikes for about 40mins everyday sounded like bowling balls. Other than that no complaints at all with our room.