Live from the Pearl

[oskarNZ]

Hi OskarNZ, Your comment regarding you not seeing any complaints about sewage issues on other ships/lines confused me as I was sure I had seen many. So I did a quick search and came up with the following:

 

Ruby Princess - 2/1/11 - Blocked Toilet/offensive smells

Norwegian Spirit - 5/9/10 - Blocked Tolet/offensive smells/sewerage overflow

Norwegian Dawn - 25/2/11 - Blocked toilet/offensive smells

Noordam - 23/11/10 - Blocked toilet/offensive smells

Radiance of the Seas - 22/1/11 - Blocked Toilet/offensive smells/sewerage overflow

 

I thought that was enough so stopped looking.

 

Jenny

 

Fair enough:)

I guess I knew there were other ships out there with these issues, but I can quite honestly say that of all the hundreds (possibly thousands) of threads I've read, the Pacific Pearl threads are the only ones where this problem is mentioned (and not just once or twice, but many times).

It is interesting that you mention the Dawn as it seems to have had a few issues lately. In saying that, the prices NCL charge do seem to reflect the age and popularity of their ships.

 

Either way, if I pay for a working toilet, excuses such as 'this happens on other ships' or 'it's probably because someone a few cabins down flushed a sanitary pad' wouldn't really cut it. Particularly if I had to get up early, get dressed, and then go search out a public toilet because my one wasn't working.

[Dizziedi]

OzkarNZ - thanks for your comments - actually I'd given up on this thread as people don't seem to understand that I wrote a review of our opinion of the ship and if they don't like what I have written and they have cruised on the Pacific Pearl, then they should write their own review, remembering that the Pacific Pearl is not the Pacific Dawn or the Pacific Sun or for that matter, the Pacific Jewel.

 

It's easy for someone to suggest that because I mentioned that the toilet wasn't working, or the noise was excessive, interfering with my sleep and quiet enjoyment of my cabin, I'm whinging. Perhaps they could be bothered to take the time and read the problems we had in their entirety and then remember that a review is about the good and the bad.

 

I have stated on more than one occasion that despite encountering problems, we had a good time but people seem to prefer to ignore that.

 

I will be making no further comment.

 

Di

[Bella cruiser]

OzkarNZ - thanks for your comments - actually I'd given up on this thread as people don't seem to understand that I wrote a review of our opinion of the ship and if they don't like what I have written and they have cruised on the Pacific Pearl, then they should write their own review, remembering that the Pacific Pearl is not the Pacific Dawn or the Pacific Sun or for that matter, the Pacific Jewel.

 

It's easy for someone to suggest that because I mentioned that the toilet wasn't working, or the noise was excessive, interfering with my sleep and quiet enjoyment of my cabin, I'm whinging. Perhaps they could be bothered to take the time and read the problems we had in their entirety and then remember that a review is about the good and the bad.

 

I have stated on more than one occasion that despite encountering problems, we had a good time but people seem to prefer to ignore that.

 

I will be making no further comment.

 

Di

 

Hi Di

 

I thank you for your balanced review and I am pleased that you seemed to manage to enjoy your cruise overall after such a bad start :( and the unscheduled itinerary changes etc. I for one want to know everything good or bad about the Pacific Pearl before we make our booking for next year and I hope a lot of issues (particularly related to food temperature/quality) are addressed before we go. Definately taking your advice regarding avoiding the Mini suites.:)

 

Thanks again for your time posting this.

Regards

Jenny:)

[resordanis]

I also agree. Thanks Di for making the report on your cruise. I think you gave the good and the bad and the ugly. As you said several times, you had a good cruise. I for one, would have been far from happy if the toilets were not working or had excess noise from above. Reviews like yours makes CC what it is! If is a forum where we can express our views. It is a good world also that we don't all agree (and we do not have to!). Hope you have some luck expressing your view to P&O.;)

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Re the toilets...

We sailed on Pearl in 1998, when it was Arcadia.

I well recall being woken at 2 am one morning,with a huge noise in the hallway.

Upon opening the door, the stewards were hard at work with vacuums, and when asked what they were doing, said

Just shampooing the carpet Sir.

next day we found out the opposite cabin had a problem with the toilet...

So its an ongoing problem with this ship....

that still appears ,

 

has not been solved.

[bazzaw]

Trouble is - if we listened and took notice of/took action regarding every complaint we heard about any cruiseship - we would be left with none to sail on.

 

Wife and I have been on 8 cruises now - and they have all been far from perfect (except our first on the lowly Pacific Star- which my memory tells me was absolutely perfect and which I will remember to my grave). There have been specific instances of things that I thought were quite poor and which could have been organised much better (Don't start me on disembarking P&O Oriana in Southampton) or the food in Queen Mary 2 buffet)

 

BUT - personally, I have come to the conclusion that now, with experience, we do not expect anything, do not assume anything and do not listen to anything relating to cruising and cruiseships. We just do whatever it is we want to do and cross our fingers that all goes well. In life, we win some and we lose some - as long as we win more than we lose, we are ahead of the game.

 

Ships are mechanical monsters with a million moving parts - inhabited by thousands of human beings (including staff) with all their strengths and weaknesses. To spend time on such a thing and with such people, one needs much patience, tolerance, understanding and forebearance. Going on a cruise is not like flying in an aircraft - not like staying in a hotel. It is unique. And those who do not understand these things would do themselves a favour by holidaying in Hawaii. :)

 

Barry

[Wyuna1]

Barry you are exactly right. If 85% of all that occurs in life is excellent, good or at best acceptable then I think you have won. I have experienced all of the most commom complaints of cruisers on this thread in international standard hotels on 4 Continents, all cruise lines I have sailed and even have trouble getting hot toast in my own bedroom at home, although I do not have a problem with noise on my roof except at Christmas time. I look forward to my upcoming cruise on Pacific Pearl and as mentioned I will post a review upon our return. Hpoefully no I am sure I will be reporting the positives as well as the negatives and I can assure that I like a glass of wine as much as most, I will not be spending any time trying to breach a condition of passage by trying to smuggle alcohol aboard. You pay overs at any licenced venue except perhaps the RSL. At least cruising you have the option to pay the price or not unlike most non discount airlines that offer complimentary refreshments inbullt in to every airfare.

[millinz]

Its good to get an honest review, but you have to admit, there are some comments there which are definitely "whinging"...

 

"There were kids turning up in the Waterfront Restaurant after 8.00pm." What, are kids not allowed to eat late?

 

"Entertainment was probably amongst the best we have seen on cruise ships - except for the amount of kids (who should have been at school) dominating adults seats (even in the 9.30pm shows)." There are no "adult seats", even in the 9:30pm shows.

 

Obviously you don't like kids, but that's what you get on a family friendly cruiseline!

[yamcrzr]

Its good to get an honest review, but you have to admit, there are some comments there which are definitely "whinging"...

 

"There were kids turning up in the Waterfront Restaurant after 8.00pm." What, are kids not allowed to eat late?

 

"Entertainment was probably amongst the best we have seen on cruise ships - except for the amount of kids (who should have been at school) dominating adults seats (even in the 9.30pm shows)." There are no "adult seats", even in the 9:30pm shows.

 

Obviously you don't like kids, but that's what you get on a family friendly cruiseline!

 

Thankyou Millinz, my thoughts exactly.....

 

Cheers

Sharon

[cruisin-m]

Hi Dizziedi,

 

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy your cruise. The problems you have described really aren't acceptable.

 

Even though I have cancelled my cruise on the Pearl, I do come back to this P&O Forum every few weeks hopeful to see that things are improving. While I'm not interested in cruising with P&O any time soon, I have not ruled it out completely for sometime in the future. After all, they are the most affordable company in the NZ/Australian market, so If anything I want to WANT to cruise with them (if that makes any sense?).

 

What I don't understand is the way people respond to complaints against this company. Admittedly the people on this site are much more sympathetic and understanding than those on the Facebook site, but there are still some who really don't like hearing the criticisms. Why not? It is primarily through complaints that companies discover the ways in which they need to improve. At these prices, there is no way these ships would last in the U.S or European market, so why do we as Kiwis/Aussies think we should have to put up with a sub-standard product. Surely, we have the self-esteem to know that we deserve comparable products to everyone else in the world.

Perhaps if we actually support people (like Dizziedi) with their genuine complaints, instead of scaring them away, we might finally start seeing all these issues being addressed and the quality of South Pacific cruising improving.

 

If I had a penny for every time I saw response like the following to people's complaints, I'm sure I'd be able to afford a whole cruise by now.

 

 

 

Really? What ships are these. I've been reading a lot of posts on the Disney, NCL and Royal Carribean forums lately and of the 100's I've read, I can honestly say I haven't seen one comment about blocked toilets. People pay good money for their holidays and IMO a working toilet should be the least of their expectations.

 

 

 

I'm sorry, but booking a suite (or mini-suite as it turned out) is research in itself. By paying for the most expensive class of cabin on the ship, you automatically assume it is going to be the best. I for one, would never predict that it was going to be so noisy I wouldn't be able to get a good nights sleep. I have been reading a lot of info on the Norwegian Epic lately and from what I can tell, they changed the running of their POSH club after initial cruises showed that it caused too much noise for Suite passengers below. It was good to see they listened and responded to people's concerns.

 

 

 

I'm sorry, but comments like this annoy me the most. They seem so self-indulgent. Unless you know the complainants personally, I believe it's really rude to imply that they approach life in a negative manner. I don't know anyone who goes on holiday determined to dislike everything about it. However, I do know some lovely, easy-going people, who have had parts of their holidays that they didn't enjoy. At the end of the day, most people work and save really hard for their holidays and it's reasonable for them to have a certain level of expectations.

 

Anyway, that's my rant, and I hope it hasn't offended anyone.

 

We're all entitled to our opinions and we all respect that, likewise different people enjoy different things.

I just do have to mention that I find it a tad hypocritical that you're having a go at various people who speak their mind on the matter (e.g. defending ships toilets and location of cabin) but then go on to call P&O a "substandard product".

 

I just have to throw it out there that the cruise I had on Pacific Sun was actually more enjoyable in most aspects food, entertainment and service then the recent Rhapsody of the seas cruise. If Pacific Sun went the way of Rhapsody I would be really dissapointed, I realise most people that read this will think I'm a lunatic but that's my opinion, it definitely wasn't a substandard product on P&O to me.

I do have a laugh when I see it get called a "beaten down old tub" but I still respect the opinions :p

 

As someone else here suggested it was the tone of some things that did sound strange such as been dissapointed in seeing kids in the dining room, regardless of time. Before anyone flames me I completely respect the opinion of the poster and anyone else who dislikes P&O :).

I love all cruise lines!:D

[oskarNZ]

We're all entitled to our opinions and we all respect that, likewise different people enjoy different things.

I just do have to mention that I find it a tad hypocritical that you're having a go at various people who speak their mind on the matter (e.g. defending ships toilets and location of cabin) but then go on to call P&O a "substandard product".

 

I wondered who was going to be the first P&O fan who was upset by my 'sub-standard' statement.

While I apologise for annoying you, I stick by my statement and don't believe it to be 'hypocritical'. Clearly, I'm not P&O's biggest fan at present. But regardless of ship or company, I believe people have a right to want to see improvements on a ship without the implications being made that they have a poor attitude.

I defended someone's criticisms of the Norwegian Epic lately, and that happens to be a ship I really want to sail on in the next few years. Primarily because my family and I will be able to afford a 2-bedroom villa (with all the wonderful suite perks) for about the same as what we were going to pay for 2 obstructed view cabins on the Pacific Pearl.

 

As far a 'sub-standard' goes. My comment is based primarily on the age of the ships. It seems that as soon as a ship gets too old to cruise in the Northern Hemisphere, P&O buy it, give it a few new chandeliers (I'm going to try and refrain from chandelier jokes) and then cruise it down here. Jazzing the ship up is only good if you also fix up all the underlying mechanical issues, which, from what I can gauge, P&O don't always do. Toilets will continue to block if old pump systems are not upgraded, ceilings will continue to leak if they aren't patched up, old Tenders will continue to break down if they aren't replaced, and old engines will inevitably break down causing a ship to limp across the ocean and miss ports.

 

Despite all this, I am not saying that people can't have a good time on a P&O ship. From what I've read, most people seem to enjoy their entertainment, kids club, food (taste, not temperature) and onboard service. IMO, they seem to have most of this stuff sorted. So if they just started investing in a few newer, more reliable ships, they would, by world-standards, have a very desirable product. If people's complaints are what is needed to eventually see this happen, then so be it.

[bazzaw]

OskarNZ

 

Primarily because my family and I will be able to afford a 2-bedroom villa (with all the wonderful suite perks) for about the same as what we were going to pay for 2 obstructed view cabins on the Pacific Pearl.

 

I wonder if you could expand on the above please. I have seen statements like this before here - one said that they could get a balcony on Celebrity for the same price as an inside on one of the P&O ships. I believe that is is probably not so - although possibly could also be true IF the fares were quoted under two entirely sets of conditions.

 

I have cruised with P&O and have found their fares to be very low - especially if they are bought cannily.

 

Barry

[Bella cruiser]

I wondered who was going to be the first P&O fan who was upset by my 'sub-standard' statement.

While I apologise for annoying you, I stick by my statement and don't believe it to be 'hypocritical'. Clearly, I'm not P&O's biggest fan at present. But regardless of ship or company, I believe people have a right to want to see improvements on a ship without the implications being made that they have a poor attitude.

I defended someone's criticisms of the Norwegian Epic lately, and that happens to be a ship I really want to sail on in the next few years. Primarily because my family and I will be able to afford a 2-bedroom villa (with all the wonderful suite perks) for about the same as what we were going to pay for 2 obstructed view cabins on the Pacific Pearl.

 

As far a 'sub-standard' goes. My comment is based primarily on the age of the ships. It seems that as soon as a ship gets too old to cruise in the Northern Hemisphere, P&O buy it, give it a few new chandeliers (I'm going to try and refrain from chandelier jokes) and then cruise it down here. Jazzing the ship up is only good if you also fix up all the underlying mechanical issues, which, from what I can gauge, P&O don't always do. Toilets will continue to block if old pump systems are not upgraded, ceilings will continue to leak if they aren't patched up, old Tenders will continue to break down if they aren't replaced, and old engines will inevitably break down causing a ship to limp across the ocean and miss ports.

 

Despite all this, I am not saying that people can't have a good time on a P&O ship. From what I've read, most people seem to enjoy their entertainment, kids club, food (taste, not temperature) and onboard service. IMO, they seem to have most of this stuff sorted. So if they just started investing in a few newer, more reliable ships, they would, by world-standards, have a very desirable product. If people's complaints are what is needed to eventually see this happen, then so be it.

 

Hi OskarNZ,

 

Just a couple of things firstly P&O Australia didn't just 'buy' their ships, these ships have been owned by Carnival corporation since new and are just passed around the fleet given a refit and renamed at every incarnation. I think that particularly the ex Sitmar ships (Dawn, Jewel & Pearl) have a certain style to them and we are fortunate to have them. :)

 

Certainly they are not new but I wouldn't consider them past their use by date either. If you don't like the them, don't travel P&O. Having said that their age is no excuse for dodgy maintenance and we certainly deserve a quality cruising experience regardless of age.

 

I remember your previous questions and machinations regarding the Pacific Pearl. Remember when you asked many questions about whether to cancel your Pacific Pearl cruise when you had already made up your mind? (I am still a little confused as to by why you did that:confused:)

 

I am fascinated to know what your lines/ships you have previously cruised with?

 

Jenny:)

[sharri34]

Hi Di,

 

Shame to hear that you didnt enjoy the cruise:( We're booked in to go on the Pearl at the end of the year, However, I've gone for a cheap little inside cabin for once :p I really hope they fix most of those problems up, it'd be a shame, seeing that I enjoyed the Jewel so much I was hoping her sister the Pearl would live up to it :D Thanks for an Honest Review, and hope u still managed to have a decent time:o

[oskarNZ]

Hi OskarNZ,

 

Certainly they are not new but I wouldn't consider them past their use by date either. If you don't like the them, don't travel P&O. Having said that their age is no excuse for dodgy maintenance and we certainly deserve a quality cruising experience regardless of age.

 

Jenny:)

 

This is the exact point I've been trying to make. We in NZ/Australia do deserve a quality cruising experience and if older ships are not maintained/refitted properly, this is not what we get.

 

You're also right about the fact that if you don't like them, you shouldn't travel with them, and at this stage, that is what I have chosen to do. However, surely this doesn't mean I'm not allowed to share my reason's why?

 

In saying all this, despite what some obviously think, I never meant to join this thread to criticise P&O. Rather I was fed up by people constantly giving other's a hard time for their critical reviews. It often borders on cyber-bullying and can end up with good people being scared away from otherwise helpful websites. To be honest, these same people are a very small part of the reason why I was put off P&O in the first place. Some of the fans on the Facebook site are so unbelievably nasty (such as a woman a month or so back who hoped a complainants plane would fall out of the sky) that I found myself thinking "Gosh, I hope these people aren't on my cruise'.

 

Like I said on my thread, I had NOT already made up my mind about cancelling my cruise. Sure I was having some pretty big doubts (hence the reason I asked the question), but I also had some pretty compelling reasons for wanting to stick with my booking. I sincerely hope you don't think that I set up the whole thread with the purpose of starting some P&O bashing, as I would find that quite insulting and unfounded.

 

Lastly, I'm not sure how exactly my previous cruise history relates to this topic as I don't think an experienced cruiser is any more warranted in their opinions than a first time cruiser. However, I'm comfortable sharing the fact that I have only had the good fortune to cruise twice so far - once around the Eastern Med and another along the Yangtze River. Both experiences were fantastic.

[oskarNZ]

OskarNZ

 

Primarily because my family and I will be able to afford a 2-bedroom villa (with all the wonderful suite perks) for about the same as what we were going to pay for 2 obstructed view cabins on the Pacific Pearl.

 

I wonder if you could expand on the above please. I have seen statements like this before here - one said that they could get a balcony on Celebrity for the same price as an inside on one of the P&O ships. I believe that is is probably not so - although possibly could also be true IF the fares were quoted under two entirely sets of conditions.

 

I have cruised with P&O and have found their fares to be very low - especially if they are bought cannily.

 

Barry

 

Hi Barry,

 

I probably shouldn't have said this comment. You are correct that the conditions are not the same. NCL do seem to offer great value for money and even with gratuities factored in, the 2-bedroom villa will cost about the same as what my family were going to pay for the Pearl. However, in all fairness the peak seasons between the 2 countries are different. While Dec/Jan are peak season for us, most of these months are low season in the U.S. Also, I am looking a few years ahead for the Epic as apposed to just one for the Pearl. Lastly, don't even get me started about the added cost of flights. lol:)

 

So sorry, please don't read anymore into this comment. I think I let my excitement at perhaps (for the first time ever) being able to afford a suite get the better of me.

[Bella cruiser]

This is the exact point I've been trying to make. We in NZ/Australia do deserve a quality cruising experience and if older ships are not maintained/refitted properly, this is not what we get.

 

You're also right about the fact that if you don't like them, you shouldn't travel with them, and at this stage, that is what I have chosen to do. However, surely this doesn't mean I'm not allowed to share my reason's why?

 

In saying all this, despite what some obviously think, I never meant to join this thread to criticise P&O. Rather I was fed up by people constantly giving other's a hard time for their critical reviews. It often borders on cyber-bullying and can end up with good people being scared away from otherwise helpful websites. To be honest, these same people are a very small part of the reason why I was put off P&O in the first place. Some of the fans on the Facebook site are so unbelievably nasty (such as a woman a month or so back who hoped a complainants plane would fall out of the sky) that I found myself thinking "Gosh, I hope these people aren't on my cruise'.

 

Like I said on my thread, I had NOT already made up my mind about cancelling my cruise. Sure I was having some pretty big doubts (hence the reason I asked the question), but I also had some pretty compelling reasons for wanting to stick with my booking. I sincerely hope you don't think that I set up the whole thread with the purpose of starting some P&O bashing, as I would find that quite insulting and unfounded.

 

Lastly, I'm not sure how exactly my previous cruise history relates to this topic as I don't think an experienced cruiser is any more warranted in their opinions than a first time cruiser. However, I'm comfortable sharing the fact that I have only had the good fortune to cruise twice so far - once around the Eastern Med and another along the Yangtze River. Both experiences were fantastic.

 

Hey OzkarNZ,

 

Firstly, I didn't abuse of disrespect you in my reply, I totally think you have taken me wrong, in fact if you read further up this thread I thanked The OP of this thread for her balanced review, so I certainly don't bully anyone and applaud a balanced informative review (that's the only kind that is interesting to me), why would you think that I would give someone a hard time about their opinion. I hope you are not inferring that I would wish anyone ill, that's just plain offensive.

 

Secondly, you are welcome to post on any thread you like (we all are) and I did not detect any malace toward P&O in your comment, just that you were disatisfied with aspect of your previous dealings with them (fair enough) I am not sure how you got that from my post. The part about the origin of the ships was just provided by way of information in case you were interested.

 

Thirdly, it was just my impression that you were fairly sure of the outcome of your Pac Pearl booking at least part way through that thread but I am not infallable and have been wrong before. I accept that this was not the case as you stated.

 

Fourthly, I only asked your cruising history, as it provides some insight to what your cruising expectations may be, I didn't mean to pry or be rude or nosey (please don't take it that way) and I did wonder if you had cruised with P&O before or a more up-market line.

 

At least we agree that the vessels in question should be well maintained, that's a starting point.

 

Jenny

[cruisin-m]

I wondered who was going to be the first P&O fan who was upset by my 'sub-standard' statement.

While I apologise for annoying you, I stick by my statement and don't believe it to be 'hypocritical'. Clearly, I'm not P&O's biggest fan at present. But regardless of ship or company, I believe people have a right to want to see improvements on a ship without the implications being made that they have a poor attitude.

I defended someone's criticisms of the Norwegian Epic lately, and that happens to be a ship I really want to sail on in the next few years. Primarily because my family and I will be able to afford a 2-bedroom villa (with all the wonderful suite perks) for about the same as what we were going to pay for 2 obstructed view cabins on the Pacific Pearl.

 

As far a 'sub-standard' goes. My comment is based primarily on the age of the ships. It seems that as soon as a ship gets too old to cruise in the Northern Hemisphere, P&O buy it, give it a few new chandeliers (I'm going to try and refrain from chandelier jokes) and then cruise it down here. Jazzing the ship up is only good if you also fix up all the underlying mechanical issues, which, from what I can gauge, P&O don't always do. Toilets will continue to block if old pump systems are not upgraded, ceilings will continue to leak if they aren't patched up, old Tenders will continue to break down if they aren't replaced, and old engines will inevitably break down causing a ship to limp across the ocean and miss ports.

 

Despite all this, I am not saying that people can't have a good time on a P&O ship. From what I've read, most people seem to enjoy their entertainment, kids club, food (taste, not temperature) and onboard service. IMO, they seem to have most of this stuff sorted. So if they just started investing in a few newer, more reliable ships, they would, by world-standards, have a very desirable product. If people's complaints are what is needed to eventually see this happen, then so be it.

 

 

I wouldn't necessarily say I'm a P&O fan as they do peave me off from time to time, such as management decisions to start charging for something that used to be inclusive e.g. spa+sauna. So I'm not trying to defend them whatsoever, you're entitled to say whatever you want about them, in fact I encourage it.

It really interests me to see varying opinions of these ships and discussing this is something I enjoy, I'm not trying to question anyones thoughts but merely gain a better understanding of them or make suggestions as to why it occured.

 

For me improvements to a ship have nothing to do with its age and I enjoy going on a cruise that actually feels like a cruise not my local Westfield shopping centre with ice rinks, rock climbing walls, starbucks etc :p ahem RCI.

That's why a minority of people on here do defend P&O for their homely ships when they get labelled as "old tubs". It's the experience of the cruise and the quality of the product not the age or size of the ship that impresses me. Having said that, I could very well dislike the Pearl when I cruise on her if the experience I last got on P&O has declined, yet I could never dislike the 'cruise experience'.

 

As for toilet issues they aren't relative to the pump system as these issues are predominantly isolated e.g. they only occur to select cabins not entire ships(blockages), it is the framework and pipeage etc that cause the problems and it is common on new vessels as well, Radiance class of ships are renowned for having sewerage problems.

Likewise some of the most recent ships such as Oasis and Carnival Splendour have had more substantial engine problems then any of the old P&O ships and most ships do encounter problems from time to time as they are mechanical. We just don't necessarily hear about the brand new ships breaking down because we are on the other side of the world. In the same manner Americans would assume the Pacific Sun never breaks down, which we know better :p as we are informed of this.

 

I don't favour any lines, I just take them all for what they are and do think within the same lines you can get completely different experiences on different ships.:)

[bazzaw]

During our one whole week on Queen Mary 2, we were surprised on quite a few occasions to see those big dryer fans out on a section of carpet somewhere. Don't know anything about what had happened in these places - but obviously they had a need to dry the carpet out in these places.

 

On Arcadia, one night as we were leaving the main dining room, my wife picked up her handbag (which she had left at her feet under the table) and it was quite wet. Next day, the area smelt of damp carpet and they had moved our table a number of feet away from it's original spot.

 

These things happen - and they are not something that I would talk about in any review of a cruise that I had undertaken. From my perspective, they were isolated cases and I wouldn't bag any ship in a general way because of them.

 

Barry

[bazzaw]

We have a Mazda 2. Ever since we bought it , it has had a rattle somewhere around the glovebox. I have asked Mazda a few times to try to fix it - and they have not been able to.

 

Why am I telling you this?? I have absolutely no idea. Is it because I think all Mazdas are therefore rubbish ? No. Is it because I think you should be aware that if you buy a Mazda 2 then you might also get this rattle in your new car??

No. Perhaps it's because I am P**d off with the rattle and I just want to sound off about it?? Yeah - I think that's it!

 

Hmm - that sounds like some cruise reviews I have read :p

 

Barry

[Big Kev]

During our one whole week on Queen Mary 2, we were surprised on quite a few occasions to see those big dryer fans out on a section of carpet somewhere. Don't know anything about what had happened in these places - but obviously they had a need to dry the carpet out in these places.

 

On Arcadia, one night as we were leaving the main dining room, my wife picked up her handbag (which she had left at her feet under the table) and it was quite wet. Next day, the area smelt of damp carpet and they had moved our table a number of feet away from it's original spot.

 

These things happen - and they are not something that I would talk about in any review of a cruise that I had undertaken. From my perspective, they were isolated cases and I wouldn't bag any ship in a general way because of them.

 

Barry

 

 

 

Hmmm !!

Yep, these things happen.

Maybe that is why the protocol says that footwear be worn in the dining room?

And I read somewhere that many people wear their shoes to bed for the same reason :D

 

 

S and P

[oskarNZ]

Bella cruiser, I most certainly wasn't implying that you would wish anyone ill. I was speaking generally about other posts I have read. unfortunately the danger of the internet is that we can be speaking the same language, but still things get lost in translation. I think we have both read too much into each other's threads and it's time to agree to disagree.:)

 

Barry, it's clear that you are proud of your easy-going attitude. I hope you get that Mazda problem fixed - a rattle would be frustrating.

 

Lastly, to Dizziedi, I'm sorry I hijacked your post and caused a bit of a debate. I have no more to say on the topic except best wishes for your future cruises.

[Shiprobbo]

Lastly, I'm not sure how exactly my previous cruise history relates to this topic as I don't think an experienced cruiser is any more warranted in their opinions than a first time cruiser. However, I'm comfortable sharing the fact that I have only had the good fortune to cruise twice so far - once around the Eastern Med and another along the Yangtze River. Both experiences were fantastic.

 

Hi OskarNZ,

 

I don't really want to perpetuate this thread, however I note that you have made some comments regarding the P&O Australia ships that have at times been 'vigorously' defended. P&O offer a style of cruising that many people enjoy and I think the attitude and responses from people demonstrate this. I note that you have yet to cruise with P&O Australia and therefore you are perhaps not best placed to either critisize or defend their product - could I suggest that perhaps you should do yourself a favour and cruise with them, even if only once, perhaps you will be surprised!

[Cruiseroz]

Agree with you on everything except the Salt Grill!!:)

[Dizziedi]

Hi OskarNZ,

 

I don't really want to perpetuate this thread, however I note that you have made some comments regarding the P&O Australia ships that have at times been 'vigorously' defended. P&O offer a style of cruising that many people enjoy and I think the attitude and responses from people demonstrate this. I note that you have yet to cruise with P&O Australia and therefore you are perhaps not best placed to either critisize or defend their product - could I suggest that perhaps you should do yourself a favour and cruise with them, even if only once, perhaps you will be surprised!

 

David,

 

I read with interest your somewhat self-righteous comment to Oskarnz in not wanting to "perpetuate this thread". I assume from that you are suggesting that my review is not worthy of your good self. That in itself is offensive. You suggested that because Oskarnz hasn't cruised P&O he doesn't know what he's talking about. What about having a dig at all the people who haven't cruised specifically on the Pacific Pearl having a dig at me because on this occasion I reviewed the Pearl - the Pearl, not any other ship, just the Pearl because I've cruised on it and because compared to other ships I've cruised on, I didn't rate it, they (and obviously yourself) didn't like it.

 

The whole point of this forum is for people to put forward their views. He has and so have I. If people don't like that, well too bad. It's our view.

 

Enjoy your cruise on the Pearl and if you do so enjoy, then that's great, that's your point of view. I don't expect and I certainly don't accept second best.

 

Cheers

Di