Pacific Pearl - A Diary/Review of our 10 night NZ cruise

[Riffraff]

Hi all, Thought I'd do a diary/review of our recent Pacific Pearl cruise, 10 nights around the South Island of NZ from 30/3 to 9/4.

I hope it's not too long!

A quick summary before I start -

We really enjoyed the Pearl, we had a great time. The weather was a bit cold so Pearl's outdoor decks didn't get used much which was a shame, since they are so nice.

Pearl is a very nice ship with a happy, friendly crew. It's easy to see where the money has been spent on the refit, her public areas are really nice, although most of the cabins are still 'as is', but they are still comfortable and exactly the same as Dawn & Jewel's. I noticed some of the cabins have new carpet though.

 

Also, to confirm a couple of things - there is a chocolate shop on deck 6 with the other shops that sells lollies, chocolates, chocolate bars, etc.., AND there is a Cafe on deck 12 that sells specialty coffees, cookies and cupcakes, and is like the Chocolate Cafe on Pacific Jewel except it doesn't do the hot food. (no chocolate volcano or ravioli, etc) It does have internet access.

 

Food from The Grill (burgers, etc) is included during the day, but after 10pm there is a cost for the snacks.

 

If you go to the Oasis, at the back on deck 8, you can use the spa pools, and you won't have to pay for a day pass or half day pass anymore.

 

And so, on with the review -

 

After months of countdowns, reading reviews (mostly good, some bad), falling chandeliers and excited anticipation, the day of the cruise had finally arrived!

 

Pearl was due in at lunchtime from her previous cruise, an identical cruise to ours- 10 nights, calling at Milford Sound, Dunedin, Akaroa, Picton and Wellington. We had been advised by P&O that check in for deck 10 passengers would be starting around 5.30pm, but we got there just after 4, checked in, and were on board just after 5.00pm.

We boarded on deck 5, the base of the Atrium, and first impressions were very good. The Atrium is a lovely area. Knowing the ship is slightly smaller than Dawn/Jewel I was expecting the atrium to feel smaller, but it didn't really.

We headed up to deck 10 - and I got my first taste of the similarity to Pacific Sky - the mid ship stairs are the same design as Sky's were.

 

Our cabin was right by the middle stairs on deck 10- a good location for going down to the lower decks, but a handy tip - unlike Dawn/Jewel, the middle stairs don't go up to the open deck - so to go up we had to go forward or aft.

 

We noticed that although a few of the cabins had new carpet, most have not yet been upgraded to match the rest of the ship - our cabin looked a bit tired in places but generally it was perfectly ok, clean and tidy. Exactly the same as Dawn or Jewel's cabins in layout. More than enough space for the clothes and the empty suitcases.

I'd read about the air con being a problem in the cabins, but we found our cabin's air con worked well. The temperature adjustment knob is on the desk panel with the light switches, and it worked very well - one night we woke up sweating and discovered we'd bumped the knob around to hot!

 

We checked the Pacific Daily to see what was on, and who was what on board. Our fears were confirmed - Zoltina-J was the cruise director. Ah well, since we only saw her for 5 minutes each day after the shows, it's not too bad. ;) (She's not our favourite cruise director - but I know a lot of people here do like her). The Captain was Charlie Carr. He's got a very dry sense of humour. (We liked him - especially when at the Meet the Officers before the show he jokingly told Zoltina it would be a miracle if she ever shut up. He looked more like a rugby player than a captain, but he was very good. Zoltina and he had quite a good banter going actually, to be fair to her she was quite good at the jibes with the captain.)

 

It wasn't long after we'd met the cabin steward Sastro, that our suitcases arrived, so we unpacked, and we worked out which nights we wanted to go to Salt Grill. The Pacific Daily has the itinerary for the cruise on the front page and shows which nights are formal and which are theme nights, which is helpful. Once we'd figured that out, I went off to book that for 2 nights, and then we headed off for dinner in the Waterfront.

 

The Waterfront, the main dining room aft on deck 7, is the same basic design and decor as Jewel's - lots of purple colours, with white curtains lit with blue or red lights. A really nice room. As there were 4 of us we had a table to ourselves, which we decided to book each night as we left. This is a really easy process, which you can do as you leave or even before you enter - they simply highlight your booking on that night's sheet, and transfer it to the next nights.

 

In hindsight, we should have been a bit more choosy and tried a few other tables on other nights. Our waiters, Orix and Sheryl-Anne, were nice but some nights when they were busy, things got forgotten. We did meet others who said they had the best service ever from their waiters, so if you don't get great service the first night, try a different table next time. We were going into dinner around 6.00pm, and usually finishing at around 7.30 so it wasn't too bad.

 

Dinner was very nice, the menus have only changed slightly here and there. They still have the 'available everyday' and the 'todays specials'.

After dinner we went off on a bit more exploring of the ship, and then headed up for the 8pm sailaway.

 

It could be said that the best thing to do with Sydney is sail out of it - and at night time it is spectacular. We sailed under the bridge and off down the harbour. The big screen on the top deck certainly stands out, it's nice and bright, and the sound quality is good too.

 

After sailaway we went off to the Welcome Aboard show at 9.30. There were 2 shows each night, 7.30 and 9.30, which fitted in really well with our dinner and drinks afterwards. Dinner at 6.00ish and then the show at 9.30.

The Pacific Entertainers were great, both lead singers (Nathan Scott and Fleur Taylor-Sutton) were excellent too. The Guest entertainers looked ok as well, a comedian/magician, Adam Dean, and a singer who's name I forget because we didn't go to his show.

I thought watching the show, knowing that Zoltina was going to appear at the end of it is a bit like going to the dentist - you're sitting in pleasant surroundings listening to nice music but you still have this feeling something unpleasant is about to happen ....... :)

 

Sure enough, she came on stage (to the Sydney Swans theme song, which got VERY tiring by the end of the cruise) and introduced herself, told her First Night Joke (can't remember which one that was now, sorry) and asked if many people had cruised with her before. Quite a large number had (including us of course).. and most of them seemed very happy to see her again.

 

The showlounge is a lot like Jewel's, but without the hard bench-style seating. There are either soft seats in a curve, or moveable chairs which are more comfortable and supportive. Visibility is fine on the lower level, deck 7 - but if you go upstairs to deck 8 (there are spiral staircases in the showlounge) vision is a bit restricted in the back, and the front row has a thick handrail which can be awkward to see through.

 

It had been a long day so after a cocktail during the show we were feeling tired, so went off to bed. The bed was turned down, we had a full turn down service each night and chocolates on the pillow every other night.

Sastro the cabin steward did a great job of looking after us.

 

More soon...best go and do some work now.

[tassie cruiser]

Thanks so much for your review (or the first part) hopefully lots more to come. We are sailing on Pacific Pearl this Sunday.Cant wait...... When we were on Pacific Dawn last, our room steward was Sastro :D Must be the same one, what are the chances of 2 x Sastro's :p Did your Sastro have kind of buck teeth.....and always smiling and giggling.....Our kids adored him and still mention him....Looking forward to hearing more...Really enjoyed, it didnt last long enough..lol.. We have heard a lot of mixed reactions to Pearl so looking forward to finding out ourselves this Sunday....5 more sleeps :p Fiona

[robinsoncruisers]

Work can wait....we want to hear more! sounds great so far :)

[Riffraff]

Thanks so much for your review (or the first part) hopefully lots more to come. We are sailing on Pacific Pearl this Sunday.Cant wait...... When we were on Pacific Dawn last, our room steward was Sastro :D Must be the same one, what are the chances of 2 x Sastro's :p Did your Sastro have kind of buck teeth.....and always smiling and giggling.....Our kids adored him and still mention him....Looking forward to hearing more...Really enjoyed, it didnt last long enough..lol.. We have heard a lot of mixed reactions to Pearl so looking forward to finding out ourselves this Sunday....5 more sleeps :p Fiona

 

Yes, that sounds like the same Sastro - always happy and smiling, he was great. He looked after the cabins around our one, we were in 10182.

[Riffraff]

Day 2 - March 31. At sea

Had a good sleep in the comfortable bed.

Breakfast - and the chance to check out the buffet. The breakfast selection was nice, the food was all hot and the buffet is laid out well. There was a good selection - including a favourite, the home-made hash browns.

 

We must have timed things just right, but we ate in the buffet every lunch and breakfast and had no trouble with cold food or with finding a seat. There seems to be ample seating, and also lovely, decent wooden tables and chairs outside at the back too, so we always found a seat without too much trouble. There are also several large coffee stations with several machines. The coffee is good, you might need to experiment to get it how you like it, but there is also several types of tea available as well.

 

After breakfast, we had to do what normally happens before we sail - muster drill. Since we sailed at night and in the middle of dinner and the shows, muster drill was held this morning at 10.00 am. Given the time I would expect they had a higher percentage of people missing it, but it seemed to be most people turned out for it. After the muster drill we felt it was time for a coffee, so went up to deck 12 and The Cafe. It's a small cafe on deck 12 forward. It's basically the same as the Chocolate Cafe on Jewel, except they don't have the hot food, just the coffee, speciality coffees and cookies, and cup cakes. Coffee is 3.50, cookies $2 each or 2 for $3, and the cup cakes (yum) are $3. (They're also available in Charlie's Bar on deck 5.)

 

As soon as we stepped inside, we were greeted with a big "hello!!" from Winnie the bar steward - she recognised us from the Chocolate Cafe on Pacific Jewel in March last year!. The staff in the Cafe were all friendly, and it was amazing she'd remembered us. "4 lattes, please" became a common sound when we walked in. And with a chocolate served with each one, not surprising we had some chocolates left over at the end of the cruise! All eaten now though..

 

After the coffee we explored the shops. They were having some early specials, checked out the duty free but couldn't decide what we needed, so we bought some other things in the main shop, which was quite well stocked. They had the good ship models, and we bought some other souvenirs as well.

 

Before we knew it, it was lunchtime, so we went to the buffet for lunch - again, hot food and an easy-found table. I like the windows in the buffet - they are floor to ceiling - and make the buffet seem quite large and spacious. The new tables and chairs are good too.

 

After lunch we were in the mood to relax, so we went down the outside decks to the Oasis on deck 8, the lowest of the outside decks you can access. P&O had said the Oasis would be free from April 1, and today was March 31, but they had done the right thing and made it free from the start of the cruise.

 

The sun was shining but only sporadically, and there were only a few people relaxing down there. there was one attendant, and we started chatting to him. he didn't expect the Oasis would be very busy this cruise because of the weather, but he confirmed that there is no longer any charge to access the Oasis. We tested the temperature in the spa, it wasn't hot but just slightly warm. Tempting to have a spa sometime, but we never did get around to it. They are nice pools though, and it was lovely and relaxing sitting there looking out to sea on the comfy loungers. On a cruise to the islands it would be lovely sitting out there, and I'm glad P&O have decided to make their Oasises (is that the plural?) free. I did ask the attendant if the extras are still available, like the fruit etc, and he confirmed they were. I didn't see any signs advertising that, so you'd probably have to ask for them.

 

After a while we decided to continue our relaxing in the Dome. We headed up there and discovered an advantage over Pacific Dawn's Dome during the day - unlike Dawn, you can get coffee in The Dome on Pearl! So we did - I know it sounds like we'are having a coffee every 5 minutes, but it's nowhere near that often. Honest. :D

It was nice sitting in the very comfy chairs in the Dome. Another thing I like better about Pearl's Dome, for tall people like me, without the sloping windows there's no risk of banging my head on anything! Also, Pearl's view is less obstructed by the DJ box than Dawn's. I didn't think Pearl's Dome was much smaller than Dawn's. Dawn's does still look more stunning though.

 

The others all went off an had a nanna nap - too much relaxing makes you tired, obviously! I went back and did more shopping, and then went down to the Martini Demonstration.

Ddinner tonight at Salt Grill. Very similar in look to Dawn's, and the food was beautiful, with the service to match. I had the gnocci, wagyu steak and the liquorice parfait. Yummmmm, a lovely meal was had by all.

 

At another table were 3 of the officers having their dinner, and then the captain and another officer came in to another table while we were having dinner, so technically we can say we had dinner with the captain and officers. In the same restaurant, at least. :D

 

The show tonight was an entertainer we hadn't seen in the opeing show - a tribute to Shirley Bassey. Her name was Jennifer Green, and she was good. After the show we went to MIX - the bar on deck 6. It's a really nice bar, and a good location in the atrium. We had drinks here quite often, Maida the bar steward always said hello when we came in and was very friendly, and the two barmen were pleasant to watch as well ;)

When you first go into MIX the menu is a bit of a surprise - it is the speciality cocktail bar, and the cocktails on the menu can only be had in that bar. But they also do all the normal cocktails so if the cocktail you like isn't on the menu, just ask them, they can make anything, and the usual ones (fruit tingle, toblerone, strawberry cloud, etc etc) are the usual price.

After the drinks we went off to bed, putting the clocks forward an hour for the second night, to get us onto NZ time..

[suexxx]

Hi Riffraff. We will be in your cabin next Feb. Went on Pearl this Feb & we decided to go again as we missed a few ports. Had a great time & enjoyed the ship. I wonder if we will have the some stewart looking after us? Loving your review. Suexxx

[Riffraff]

Day 3 - April Fools Day. At sea.

 

It's the second time we've been at sea on April Fools Day, and although the last time (Pacific Star, 2006) there was a passenger-instigated prank, this time we didn't see or hear anything dodgy. :)

 

Slept in this morning, probably because of the missing hour last night - never mind, we'll get it back at the end. Breakfast in the buffet, and we missed the shore tour talk but we weren't too worried, we knew it was going to be replayed in the cabin TV later, and we weren't doing any shore tours. In fact they cheated - they did replay the tour talk in the cabins - but it was the tour talk for the previous cruise! Of course it went to all the same places in the same order so we might not have noticed, except the shore tours manager did keep mentioning what day of the week we'd be there. Normally it wouldn't matter, but he also mentioned the weather forecast, which was meaningless! Not to worry, it would be roughly the same weather - cool, breezy, maybe sunny, maybe showery.

 

Yesterday had been a bit 'rough'. Well, I wouldn't have said it was rough, but I guess some people would say it was. Today the sea was calmer, and we seemed to see more people up and about. We did spend a bit of time yesterday occasionally wondering "where is everyone?' - a few may have been in their cabins, unwell. But today there were more out and about.

 

But I will say that even with all cabins full, as apparently we were, it never felt too crowded and we kept wondering if we'd left a whole heap of people behind. We were curious to know how many passengers there were, and we eventually found out - 1651 passengers, 713 crew. So even though all cabins may have been full, the berths in the cabins were not all full. If all berths are full she holds 1800 passengers.

 

That's why it felt like there weren't many people around - we had about 1950 passengers on Dawn at Christmas. I hadn't realised how many fewer passengers Pearl holds, considering she is only slightly smaller than Dawn, and that Sun, which is a lot smaller (47,000 tonnes against Pearl's 63,500) holds more passengers. No wonder Pearl felt spacious then. I think the technical term is passenger/space ratio, so Pearls must be one of the best in the fleet. It certainly never felt too crowded, even though the weather meant that not many people were out on the open decks.

Anyway, I digress..

 

The Cruise Fair was on this morning in The Dome, the showcase of all the different venues and products on offer on board. On the last one at Dawn at Christmas we'd had lunch there, just by sampling all the food, the sushi, etc etc - but this time it was mainly cocktail samples, Salt Grill merchandise, cake decorating competitions, and so on. Still enjoyable though. MIX bar had a good deal - a black MIX apron, cocktail shaker, mixer, measure, and a few other cocktail things for $40. They looked pretty good, and that wasn't a bad price for what you got, I thought.

 

After the Cruise Fair, we headed off to the buffet for some lunch. After lunch we had a lazy afternoon (so what's new?), we were debating whether to go to the Liars Club but found oursleves instead in the Cafe having a coffee (and I had a double chocolate cupcake- nice!)

 

It was cocktail night tonight so we went off to get ready, after sitting in the Dome for a while reading and watching the weather improve -the seas got calmer and the sun got sunnier.

We stopped in and donated at the casino on the way to the cabin.

 

Dinner tonight was good in the restaurant, and after dinner went to the casino again, then the show. Before the show we had the Meet the Officers. Captain Carr introduced himself, and the officers - he mentioned that the Deputy Captain is very ambitious, so he never walks in front of him going down stairs! He had a good sense of humour.

The show tonight was Please Dont Stop the Music - very high energy, and dazzling with the new screen.

After the show we went to MIX for cocktails, and then sat there while the Laser show was on in the Atrium at 10.45.

Another relaxing day done, and tomorrow we see land - a lot of it.

[Riffraff]

Hi Riffraff. We will be in your cabin next Feb. Went on Pearl this Feb & we decided to go again as we missed a few ports. Had a great time & enjoyed the ship. I wonder if we will have the some stewart looking after us? Loving your review. Suexxx

 

hi Suexxx, what a coincidence! It's a good cabin, very handy to the centre stairs - just remember to go forward or back if you want to go up - the centre stairs only go up to deck 11. Cabin is also handy to the laundry too.

[Riffraff]

Day 4 - Land! Milford Sound.

 

Don't use your mobile phone as an alarm, unless you're sure it's set to the right time - ours was still set to Sydney time, so we slept in a bit - woke up as the pilot boat was coming alongside! We got up and went to the buffet for breakfast, with the camera ready. We grabbed some food and sat near the windows and could see the great view of nothing but land out the window as we entered the sounds.

 

We went outside into the cold, rugged up and went up to the upper decks. It was really cold, but well worth the awesome view. The weather was overcast, misty on the tops of the hills and slightly breezy. The ship sailed slowly up the sound, and when we got as far as we could go we turned around slowly and headed out again. There were several dolphins playing around in the Sounds which were great to see, and so many waterfalls. While we were in the sounds they were selling hot chocolates with marshmallows, with an optional shot of Kahlua or Frangelico, which was a great idea and certainly appreciated by some!

 

The scenery is spectacular, and the new camera got quite a workout in Milford Sound! Then, as we were heading out of the sounds and south, it was getting towards lunchtime and some of the restaurant staff came around with trolleys loaded with bowls of hot soup they were giving out. Looking around at the passengers, (some rugged up in the doonas from their beds), we did look like a shivering cold lot!

We spent most of the day outside looking at the scenery. I'd been in Milford Sound before, from the land side, so it was great to see it from the other side. As we left the Sounds and headed south to Breaksea Sound, the weather deteriorated a bit, the wind got up and it got a bit choppy. Only a hardened few cruisers (like us) stayed out on deck- but we did go down to deck 7 where it was a bit more sheltered. And even warm - there are some large vents above the lifeboats and there was nice warm air coming out of them. We did go and get some lunch agt the buffet for a break from the cold, but then around 2pm we entered Breaksea Sound. This one we didn't turn around and come out of, we sailed through Breaksea Sound and into Dusky Sound, through Dusky Sound and out into Foveaxu Strait around 3.00pm.

 

Milford Sound had been dolphins, but it was seals we saw in Breaksea Sound, sitting on a small rocky island. It was more of the same beautiful scenery, and the weather had improved, the sun even breaking through in parts, providing some nice rainbow shots for the photographers.

 

Of course, if we'd perferred, we could have gone into the Marquee and watched a couple of movies, Unstoppable in the morning and The Social Network in the afternoon. I wonder if anyone did? I suppose some might have, but I wouldn't have missed standing out on the open deck as we sailed slowly through the sounds. Such a lovely day!

 

After we left Dusky Sound we went to the Cafe for another coffee and some cupcakes, and then after checking the photo shop for any photos, we went off to dinner.

And with sunset at 8.55pm, we had land in sight while we were in the restaurant having dinner as well, as we sailed around the bottom of the South Island and headed for Port Chalmers.

After dinner we went to MIX for drinks, and then the others went off to the show - Adam Dean the magician/comedian. Apparently he was very good. We looked at the shops and had another drink, and then for the second night in a row there was a laser show.

Then off to bed, ready for the first shore day tomorrow in Dunedin.

[Riffraff]

Day 5 - Dunedin.

 

A bit of an early wake up for our travelling companions in the next cabin (my partner's parents). There wasa lot of time-shift confusion on this cruise, we went forward an hour the 2nd night, and again on the 3rd night, to bring us to NZ time for Saturday. But Saturday night NZ went off daylight saving, so overnight the clocks went back an hour. Except they didn't adjust the automated wake up call system - so when they asked for a wake up call at 6.00am, they got woken at 5.00! I joked that at least they were guaranteed to make their shore tour!

 

After we woke up we went to the buffet for breakfast, and sat out the back on the wooden tables, looking out at the view over Port Chalmers. Even though it's just the port for Dunedin, the town there is quite nice.

 

The others were doing the Taieri Gorge train trip, and after breakfast we looked over the side to see the train arrive. It didn't come on to the wharf because we were at the other berth, but it came to walking distance of the ship so they could walk straight from the ship to the train.

We watched them leave, saw the train disappear behind the massive pile of wood chips, and then we walked back to the back of the ship. As we did so I could see why we were at the other berth - a Maersk container ship pulled up alondside the other wharf.

 

We went back to the cabin to get ready, and head off the ship, onto a shuttle bus and head into town. The shuttle bus cost $15 return, or $8 one way. We had an enjoyable ride in, listening to the cringe-worthy conversations of our fellow Aussie passengers, in paticular one family who were enjoying their first trip out of the country..possibly even their town.:)

 

The shuttle bus driver commented that we must be glad to be on solid gound, after our rough crossing! Sorry? did I miss something? Did we have a rough crossing? Apparently some of the earlier passengers had been saying how rough it was and how glad they were to have stopped rocking and rolling.

 

The shuttle bus took us right into the centre of Dunedin, the Octagon. We had a wander around, did some shopping, and while we were shopping we often heard other passengers complaining when the shops wouldnt take Australian dollars! They were insistent that they should accept Au$. Some places, the touristy ones, did agree to take them (the Taieri Train takes AU and US $ as well as NZ) but always gave change in NZ dollars, of course. They weren't happy about that either! I know there are lots of similarities between Aus and NZ, and there are jokes about it being another state, but they do have their own currency!

 

We went to the information centre and booked a tour. It was an hour-long tour on a double-decker bus. It was a good tour, took us around the major landmarks and attractions. It took us to Baldwin Street, the world's steepest street, but of course it didn't go up it. We did get out and take photos.

 

When the tour bus drove us back into town, it stopped off at one of my favourite buildings, the Dunedin Railway Station. As we pulled in we noticed the Taieri Gorge train was there after it's trip, so since we had a 5 minute stop there we went and saw if the others were there, which they were. They'd had a fabulous trip. There were 13 carriages on the train, it was a popular trip. They said it seemed that half the ship passengers were on the train!

The train divided at the station so some of the carriages could be used for the Taieri Gorge afternoon trip, and the rest returned to the ship.

 

The comment was made that even though doing it as a shore tour was more expensive than going to the station and getting the usual Taieri trip on your own, (it cost them $189) there are sufficient benefits to make it worth the extra - the train trip from Port Chalmers to Dunedin, the drinks available throughout the day (beer, wine & soft drinks always available), the morning tea and the supplied lunch. They were given the option of getting off the train at the station, but they opted to stay on and get the train back to the ship.

And we got back on the tour bus, and back into town to the information centre, where we got off. After a short walk around, and a quick look inside the Cadburys chocolate factory (being a Sunday it was shut but the shop was open, and packed) we headed back to the shuttle bus stand, and got the bus back to the ship.

We got back onboard, put away our shopping, and then went ashore again for a wander around Port Chalmers. We found a nice lookout in the hills above the church and got some good photos. I noticed the ships's window washers were busy, cleaning the windows on the lido deck.

 

We wandered back to the wharf and back on board. At dinner we caught up with the others and heard more about their tour, and after dinner we went to trivia, but didn't do very well.

James Bustar was the guest entertainer tonight, but we didn't go to his show. Drinks in MIX and then off to bed. Sometime during the night we will pass Pacific Dawn, she was in Akaroa today heading to Dunedin.

[Ruby_1966]

:D Am loving your review so far, thanks for taking the time to make it so detailed and interesting. Going on my first cruise ever on the Pearl Jan 2012 so drinking in all the info!

[GrannyAnnie70]

Thanks RiffRaff for your wonderful review of your cruise on the Pacific Pearl. It made for a great read! Looking forward to our cruise on 29th July. My daughter and I will will having our first holiday together. Looking forward to more updates.

[tassie cruiser]

Loving your review. We are off on Pearl this Sunday to south pacific, reading about the ship is great. At Xmas we are on Diamond Princess. NZ. So enjoying reading all about the NZ ports. We have been on cruises previously but never to NZ or Pearl, so you are been helping so much. Thanks again. Fiona

[Riffraff]

Day 6 - Akaroa

 

I don't know what time we passed Pacific Dawn in the night, nobody said what time we were going to so I guess it was sometime in the middle of the night when they figured everyone was asleep.

Misty morning this morning in Akaroa harbour, looking out of the buffet windows. After breakfast I went and got tender tickets for us from Connexions, and then went down to the cabin where the others were all ready. About 5 minutes after that, we were called, and we left the ship at around 9.00. We stepped onto the wharf 15 minutes later, so not too long a tender ride.

 

Akaroa is a lovely place, a lot like Russell in the Bay of Islands. Despite living in NZ for the first 32 years of my life, I'd never been there! We walked along the shops, I found the fudge shop (if anyone can find a sweet or fudge shop,... :D ) and the incredibly well stocked general store. Quick dry cement, anyone?, or an ice cream, or some potatoes? They had everything there. Next door was a really nice cafe,- I had the best lemon meringue pie ever - and lots of craft shops and art galleries.

 

We walked along the waterfront, saw the Cenotaph which had been damaged in the September earthquake, and sent a couple of postcards from the Post Office. The one to England arrived there 4 days later, and the one to Australia took 4 days as well.

 

Lunch was fish and chips by the water - the best place to have them. And very nice they were too. Afterwards we walked back to the wharf and the shops, the others looked at more shops and sat in the nice park there while we went off to explore the other side. We walked around to the lighthouse, and also up to the cemetery. It had started to rain by this stage, but once we were wet we couldn't get much wetter so we carried on. It was quite surreal, and very quiet, walking in the rain through a cemetery where most of the headstones had been toppled by the Sept earthquake. Monuments, plinths and headstones were lying askew, some broken, and some lying on top of other graves. Very strange to see. Akaroa wasn't effected much by the big earthquake in February, but it was by the earlier one.

 

We walked back to the wharf and met up with the others, and headed back to the ship to get dry, get warm, and have coffee in the cafe, with the fudge we had bought.

 

We went down to the restaurant at 6.00 again. Tonight there were already several people sitting at tables around us, they must have got there around 5.30 or 5.45. We noticed that if we arrived slightly earlier than 6.00, we were able to get slightly better service because it wasn't quite as busy. But tonight the service was slow. I don't think it's necessarily always the case, - some people we'd met at breakfast said they had a great waiter who was always quick and bringing them extra things - but tonight it was quite slow. We waited for the order to be taken, and then for it to be delivered, and they didn't ask us if we wanted the usual wine. I put it down to these two waiters in paticular not really working out a good system yet, they'd do one thing at a time, not like some of the other waiters who could bring water for one table and then take orders for another. I think the service will improve, and if you do find it slow one night, try a different table the next night.

 

We weren't in that much of a hurry anyway, we had lots of time before the show, but as we left the waiter did apologise profusely, and the next night ( we weren't bothered enough to change tables) they gave much quicker service.

The food was good, I can't remember the main course but the dessert was lovely, of course.

 

After dinner and a brief visit to the casino, we had cocktails at MIX and then went to the show - Pirates II. This is a good show, the sequel to the Pirates of the Pacific show. I loved the way they re-capped "what happened last time" by doing a very fast run down of the songs from the first show in about a minute.

This was the night of my partner's great stage debut - and my wimping out. During the first game, they enlisted the help of several members of the audience, and they were dragged up on stage! We all regretted not bringing the camera! It was a lot of fun. But then later, during the 2nd part where they get audience up, they came for me but I chickened out and said no, so they quickly got someone else. My rather pathetic excuses of not wanting to deprive someone else of the chance for fun, didn't really go over very well :D:o Ah well, we can't all be stars...

 

After all that excitement I needed a stiff drink, so we went and had cocktails (again). I noticed the public toilet outside the show lounge had the door propped open by the waste paper bin. That's a bit strange, I thought.....

[Riffraff]

Day 7 - Picton/Wellington

 

Norovirus!

We woke up late this morning, already berthed in Picton. On our way to breakfast we met up with the others returning from breakfast in the restaurant, where they had learned there is an outbreak of norovirus on board. Sure enough, when we went to the buffet, there were twice as many staff behind the buffet, and they were serving us. Surprisingly, we found the queues in the buffet much quicker this way. I would have thought it would have slowed things down, but with them serving us people weren't hanging around to get a second spoonful, or deciding if they wanted something, they were just getting what they wanted and diasppearing. The only time it did slow things down a bit was the coffee, since they had a crew member making it for you from the machine.

 

After breakfast we headed into town. In Picton the ship is berthed next to the inter-islander ferry terminal, and it is a short walk into town, but they were also putting on a free shuttle bus to the centre of town as well. We got the bus in, feeling lazy, and wandered around the shops. It's only a small place, but it's very nice. They had markets set up on the waterfront, so we walked down and had a look at them.

 

We had a nice pub lunch in a Scottish pub in town. We'd wandered around the shops and were going to have a quick game of mini-golf (putt-putt) before going back to the ship, but it was closed. So the others got the shuttle bus and we walked back to the ship, ready for the sailaway. It is lovely cruising out of the Marlborough Sounds, although it did get a bit creezy so we went into the warmth and shelter of The Dome. It would have been easy to fall asleep in the comfy couches they have in there!

As we sailed away, the Captain gave his usual sailaway announcement about winding up the rubber band and advising us to grab a gin and tonic and enjoy sailaway - but he also warned that it would get a bit rough over to Wellington. It did, but it wasn't too bad.

Dinner tonight was great, our waiter Orix did a great job and we were served really quickly. Quite different to the night before!

 

We arrived in Wellington and tied up to the wharf about 9.30pm, as scheduled. It was a bit cold and windy, but we were up on deck and I watched us arrive in my old home town, still my favourite city in NZ. At around 10.00pm they made the announcement that we were alongside, and were clear to go ashore.

Because we were docked in the working container and freight wharf, the arrangement was that disembarking passengers were free to come and go all night, but to get from the ship to the wharf gates there was a shuttle van which would run continuously through the night, until the regular shuttle service started the next morning. The shuttle van was also shuttling crew from the bulk carrier that was berthed behind us, but since only a small number of passengers (us included) got off, it wasn't a problem. There were also taxis that could take you straight from the ship, through the gates to the city, but we opted for the shuttle and a walk.

 

We were dropped at the gates and walked into town. We walked into Courtenay Place, the main nightlife part of Wellington. Sure enough there were lots of things open so we went into an old favourite cafe of mine and had a late-night coffee. We were sitting in the fairly-full cafe drinking our coffee at 10.45pm on a Tuesday night and commented that we clearly weren't in Brisbane any more! It's hard enough finding stuff open after dark, let alone at 10.45pm! :D

We got a taxi back to the ship, and went to bed. Strange to lie in bed without the ship moving, for a change.

[Riffraff]

Day 8 - Wellington

 

Woke up at 7.00am to sunshine streaming in the window. Got up and had breakfast out the back, watching the morning traffic coming in from the Hutt Valley and Ngauranga Gorge, just like I used to do. It's much nicer to watch it from the back of a cruise ship!

We went back to the cabin to collect our stuff, and headed down to disembark.

 

This was the only time there was an issue with disembarking. This time we were only using one gangway, for both shore tours and people just walking off. In the other ports the shore tours had gone down their own gangway, but here there was only one. And unfortunately, most people had finished breakfast and wanted to go ashore at the same time as all the shore tours were setting off. We went down and joined the queue of people, and slowly made our way off, but it did take a while. In the queue I could hear the crew on their walkie-talkie trying to get access to the second gangway, but they couldn't.

 

The result was quite a long queue, up the atrium stairs and around the sides, and some passengers weren't happy that they seemed to be only letting the shore tours off. People started to get a bit agitated with others trying to push in, etc. Eventually though they organised it so some shore tours, and then some walk-offs, could get off instead of trying to get all the tours off at once.

 

The last time something similar had happened was on our cruise to Perth. In Melbourne, we only had one gangway, and the cruise director Sandy made several announcements warning people there was only one gangway, and there would be queues if they all tried to get off at once. Any decent cruise director would probably have done the same thing, but our CD doesn't tend to do things that don't result in adoration for her, and so no announcements were made. To be fair, someone else could have made an announcement. However, the queue was moving so we managed to get off after a while. People seemed happier once they could see that the walk-offs weren't being held back by those on shore tours, and that it was more fairly organised.

 

Once inside the terminal building we got tickets for the shuttle into town - $10 return - and went into town. The shuttle bus stop was in Brandon St outside Kirkcaldie & Stains (Kirks to the locals). It was great to be in Wellington again, such a great city with it's trolley buses and great shops and cafes. We were walking along Lambton Quay, the main street, and then to the railway station where we were meeting up with a friend of mine. She took us to the Parade Cafe for something to eat, and then we headed into town to do some serious clothes shopping. Mission accomplished, we headed off to do the touristy things, we went up the cable car and took the obligatory tourist photo of Wellington. My friend went home and we got one of the last shuttle buses back to the ship, at 2.00. We had to be back on board by 2.30, for sailing at 3.00pm.

 

I think that was probably the most common comment we heard - we should have had more time in Wellington. Unfortunately we had to leave then to be back in Sydney on time for the next cruise to leave. My idea was it would have been good for it to be an 11 night cruise, leaving Wellington later that evening instead of 3pm, and arriving back in Sydney in the morning.

 

As we left the Captain made two announcements. The first was the official norovirus announcement, confirming we do have norocirus on board, and to please assist the crew and ourselves by maintaining personal hygiene, frequent hand washing, use of hand sanitisers, and most importantly advising the ship's medical staff if you have any symptoms.

The second announcement was to do with the weather. The forecast for overnight and the next day was "not great". 6 metre swells (someone mis-heard him and thought he said 60 metre swells!) and a rough night ahead, please take care and the open decks will be closed.

On that serious note, we sailed out of Wellington harbour, and headed for Sydney.

 

At 4pm there was a talk in Connexions held by the Future Cruise Manager, Vivienne. She has a desk down by the pursers desk (it's on a ship, so I refuse to call it reception :) ) and she gave a talk about some upcoming cruises, and the benefits of the Future Cruise Credit scheme, and the deal with booking another cruise while on board. If you book one on board you get a cheaper deposit $100 per person, and on board credit, and the booking can then be transferred to any travel agent to take advantage of any specials or on board credit they offer as well.

Or, the Future Cruise deposit scheme is where you pay $100 per person, and anytime in the next 4 years if you book a cruise, that is the deposit paid, plus you get up to $250 on board credit, depending on the length of the cruise.

 

The others didn't come to this talk, they were too busy relaxing in the Dome as we were sailing through Cook Strait. But one of our group wasn't feeling that well....... :(

 

Dinner tonight was our second night in Salt Grill. But there was only 3 of us, as my partner had taken themselves off to bed. I had the usual :) except this time the chocolate tasing plate instead of the liquorice parfait for dessert.

 

Even in Salt Grill the norovirus precautions were having an effect. Instead of slices of breads and a bowl of olive oil & balsamic vinegar, and a bowl of dukkah, we were each given individual slices of bread and individual bowls of olive opil, but oddly no dukkah at all, not even individual bowls. And I noticed the tables that ordered the plates for 2 to share, the meal was presented as one meal but then halved by the waiter and put on two separate plates.

I guess all the precautions are designed so that you are the only one touching what you eat.

Despite this, the food and the service was as usual, wonderful.

By this time, though, the sea had got quite rough. I was delighted, but the others weren't so keen.

 

After dinner I went to check on my partner - fast asleep - and then to the casino for a bit, then we went off to the 9.30 show - Run Away to the Circus. However, Zoltina came on with the bad news that due to the increasing roughness of the sea, for the safety of the dancers and the Pacific Cirque acrobats who are also in it, the show would be postponed.

Instead there would be a movie put on, and if the seas calm down as they are supposed to tomorrow, the show will be re-scheduled.

 

The others went to bed and I went to get a coffee at Charlies Bar, opposite the pursers desk. I was going to go to the Country and Western Night but decided against it and headed off to bed instead.

 

In the Pacific Daily a few days ago had been mention of a new thing on Pearl, and coming to the other ships sometime in the future - the Chef's Table. Here's a brief description from the Daily -

The Chef's Table - Waterfront Restaurant - Deck 7 Aft.

An exciting new dining option has been introduced on Pacific Pearl, the Chef's Table. This VIP experience will offer 12 guests an unforgettable dining experience in the private Wine Room of the Waterfront Restaurant. The Chef will join guests for a pre dinner cocktail followed by a tour of the galley before personally presenting each course of the delicious degaustation dinner with specially selected wines. For bookings contact the Maitre d'Hotel in the Waterfront Restaurant. $75 per person.

 

We thought it might be something fun to try, something different anyway, so a few days ago we saw the Maitre'd as we were leaving the restaurant, and the two of us put our names down. (The other two weren't interested). He explained a bit more about how it works - it will only happen with a minimum of 8 people, and a maximum of 12, so if you are interested you can book it, and once the minimum numbers are reached you will get an invitation in your cabin confirming that it is happening, and when. Most likely it will be the last formal night, and start at around 6.30, and go for a couple of hours.

Tonight when I got back to the cabin the invitation was there, for both of us to meet with the Executive Chef and Maitre'd at reception, at 6.30pm tomorrow night. Hmm..could be a problem if it is norovirus in our cabin! As it turned out we don't think it was, or if it was only a mild case.

[Chivalrygirl]

Only 28 days till I join the Pacific Pearl. I have so enjoyed such a good write up by one very smart Kiwi. You have made such a good job of your diary/review. Hope you don't mind but there are quite a few over on FaceBook also following your thread.

Can't wait to read the last of your trip.

Congratulations on such a well balanced review.

Cheers

Val

[bizzygurl]

Now, this is why I wanted to be a part of Cruise Critic! A fantastic review with all the info that anyone could wish for. Thank you so much! Only 14 sleeps till we are on the Pearl... :)

[Riffraff]

Thanks guys for the nice comments. I'm glad you're all enjoying the review, including those on facebook.. it's fun to write because it's like reliving the cruise. I always enjoy reading other peoples reviews so it's good you're enjoying reading mine :)

 

I'd better get it finished then...

 

Day 9 - At sea and feeling it..

 

A very rough night. I couldn't sleep very well, because of the excitement of feeling rough seas! I kept telling myself to relax and enjoy it, but it was too much fun I wanted to look out the window and see the waves. There is something wrong with me, obviously. I've been in rougher seas, so I wasn't worried, and am so fortunate not to get seasick. I really feel for people who do, although I might not show it as I skip happily past them in the corridors, enjoying every minute of it. :D

Seriously though, I'm so glad I do enjoy it, as it must be miserable for those that get sick.

 

I woke up at 10 to 6, and decided it was all too exciting to just lie there, so I crept out with the camera to walk the deserted decks and take photos of no people. :) The ship was deserted. I think there was one other person on deck 12 outside (the upper outside deck was closed off) and there was no-one inside on deck 7. I stopped to take a photo of the Atrium and sustained a rough-sea related injury. I was standing in front of the closed photo shop display boards when one swung open behind me and clouted me on the back of the head! Gave me a fright more than anything else, and I had to laugh.

 

As I walked around a few other people started to appear, and I headed back to the cabin to see how my partner was doing. Thankfully they were feeling slightly better, and asked if I could get a cup of tea from the buffet, so I went off and had breakfast and then brought back the tea.

It sounds awful, but the norovirus has been great for service in the buffet. It's even quicker now, and better still the jams and marmalades are in the indivual sachet things, not all lumped in a big bowl that you have to spoon out on your plate and always get way too much. :)

 

After the tea my partner was feeling better, although not up to running around or anything. We suspected it might not have been noro after all, but just a genuine upset stomach. The fact that I never got it could back this up. I was fastidious with the hand sanitiser, but it still would have been easy for me to catch it, I would have thought. Anyway, I gathered up the necessary things to be washed and headed off to the laundry.

 

I don't mind doing the laundry on a ship (as long as there's no laundry rage). It's a chance to meet fellow passengers and doesn't take too long. The laundry was just along from our cabin, which was handy. I didn't have to wait too long for a machine. The trouble was a lot of the machines had big loads of washing in them, and the rocking of the ship meant they kept going "unbalanced" and stopping. Poeple were lifting the lids on them all the time to kick them back into action. I learnt an interesting tip in the laundry as well. One lady had come in with the ship's blue and white towel. Someone pointed out that she didn't need to wash them, but she said it's not for washing, it's a dry one and she throws it in with the wet clothes in the dryer, so they dry quicker!

It's 1 $2 coin for the washing machine, 3 $1 coins for the dryer, and powder is $1 per sachet.

 

Washing put on, (it takes about 40 minutes) I went back to the cabin, and then I went up to the Dome for a bit with the others, watching the ship pitch up and down, and do some reading. Back down to put the washing in the dryer, and then back to the Dome once it was done. I also did a bit more shopping, before going with the others to the buffet for lunch.

 

My partner was feeling much better by the afternoon, which was good. The man in the cabin next to us was looking for Sastro, his wife had been quarantined and he didn't want Sastro going in there cleaning. He found Sastro, and Sastro explained that all the stewards know which cabins are quarantined, and he wouldn't be going in there. They have special cabin stewards who only deal with the quarantined cabins, and go in with masks gloves and large plastic rubbish bags for all the linen. They even have a different uniform - a black outfit, a slghtly alarming colour, a bit reminiscent of the plague or something! I have to say the way the crew are trained to deal with this situation and how they go about it is excellent.

 

It affects more than just the stewards and waiters too. The Future Sales Manager had to put away her large laminated deck plans of the ships that people look at. The Heritage Store had to put away all the P&O posters they sell, and the book that you can look through to choose one. I wanted one, and they said that of course I can see the book, but I must sanitise my hands first. All the toilet doors are propped open with bins so no-one has to touch the handles (not the cubicles, of course, just the main doors). The photo shop staff are constantly cleaning the walls by the photo displays where people have been touching, and crew are constantly cleaning the handrails in the atrium.

 

The winds outside, which according to the captain were forecast at force 9, eased off a bit in the afternoon, and the movement was a bit less as well. Tonight was the second formal night, and we'd got our invitations to the Captains Club, which was at 5.15 in the showlounge. We all went along. But of course we haven't cruised enough yet to get a look-in at the prizes. 3rd place this cruise was 23 cruises, and the winner was on his 100th cruise.

 

The Captain came on and the first thing he said was "See, I told you it was going to be rough!" He did the normal thank you speech, and then people drifted out. Sadly, although they were feeling better we decided it was probably best not to try a big meal with lots of wine, and so while the other 3 went off to the restaurant for dinner, I went off on my own to meet up with the rest of the passengers and the Maitre'd and Executive Chef at the Pursers Desk, for the Chef's Table... (I did consider cancelling of course but we decided at least one of us should experience it :) )

[Riffraff]

The Chef's Table..

 

After the others went off to dinner in the restaurant, I went to the atrium and met up with the Maitre'd and the Executive Chef. The Maitre'd explained how it was going to work, and then he left us. The Chef, a german called Joerg Becker, took us up to the library were we had champagne and canape's, while he told us a bit about himself and we quickly introduced ourselves. The champagne was quite nice, and served in generous quantities too.

 

The chef invited any questions, and after a bit more champagne were lead in a procession down to the Restaurant, and into the Wine Room. As we went in I gave a royal wave towards our table. :D

 

Under the normal course of events we would have been lead into the galley and had a short galley tour, which would have been really interesting at about 6.45pm when it's in full action. However with the norovirus, as the chef said "no civilians in the galley!" So we were shown to our seats in the Wine Room. The chef explained how the 7 course meal would work - he would explain how each course was made, and that each course would be accompanied with a glass of appropriate wine, and at the end of each course he introduced us to the person responsible for the creation of the dish and the head of that section of the galley.

 

The chef was a very jovial guy with a good sense of humour, especially when it came to mentioning anything to do with diet products. One of the people mentioned their dietician, and he claimed not to understand that word at all :D. And when someone mentioned the name Gordon Ramsay I thought they were going to get thrown out of the room! :D

 

I am not a great fan of seafood, apart from fish, and have never eaten prawns, lobster, crayfish or anything like that. But I had decided since this felt like a special occasion, I would make the effort to at least try things.

The first course was delicious. Quail Galantine with pickled rhubarb and lavosh. The next course I wasn't so sure about - Steamed Crab with Shellfish. It was actually crab meat and Moreton Bay Bug meat, with a seafood bisque, and to my surprise I really liked it! The chardonnay that came with it wasn't to my taste, I preferred the cab sav from the first course.

 

Next course was Coral Trout with Lobster - a beautiful piece of coral trout and a small piece of lobster tail. I ate the lobster quite happily - luckily for me the Bug meat and the lobster tail did not look like what they have come from, so I could eat them with no trouble. Eating something that looks like a large insect has always put me off before, but since they were just pieces of white meat I was ok :)

 

The chef explained that between the fish course and the meat course we should 'refresh the palate' , so the next course was Basil and Lemon Sherbet. A scoop of lemon sorbet with fresh basil served in a Martini glass, with some Brown Brothers Zibibbo Rosa rose' poured over it. Very nice!

 

The meat course was Roasted Wagyu Beef Tenderloin with Bordelaise Sauce, garlic potato mash, pancetta and peas. Served with a nice merlot. Dessert, and by this stage I was getting very full, was Variation of Mango - Mango served 3 ways, as a cheesecake, a brulee and in Opera Cake. Served with a glass of Muscat. And the final course was Australian Blue Goat Cheeses with Port Wine Reduction. I'm not a fan of blue cheese and was so full I couldn't eat much anyway, but apparently it was nice, according to those of us that did like blue cheese. The chef said that it was actually a bonus - an incorrect order delivered to the ship that they hadn't actually ordered. But he had taken advantage of it and turned it into a special course for this menu.

 

The whole meal was a great experience. The conversation, and the wine, flowed freely and it was very interesting. We got to learn a bit about what goes on in the running of the galley, the telephone conference calls he has with the other executive chef's on Dawn, Jewel & Sun. The tasting of all the meals on the menu every night by a group of the chefs, the difficulties of managing the staff comings and goings - when our cruise ends 8 chefs were leaving and 8 new ones arriving, and then at the end of the next cruise 9 leave and 9 arrive, and it's his responsibility to make sure each chef is in the job he's best at - no point having a good pastry chef in the fish section, and so on.

 

The Maitre'd had explained that the evening would take about 2 to 2 and a half hours. At the end of the evening as we were thanking the chef for a great evening he said we were the group that kept him talking the longest - it was 11.25pm! 5 hours- the longest of the 8 chef's tables they had so far had!

 

It had been the formal night of course, and the champagne waterfall was supposed to be on - but the chef assured us we hadn't missed anything, since the seas were so rough it had been postponed. The forecast for tomorrow was much better so the things that had been postponed today - the culinary demonstration, the secong Pirates II show and now the champagne waterfall - would all be on tomorrow instead.

 

So luckily we didn't miss anything. It was a real shame my partner wasn't well enough to come with me, because it was a great experience. If you get a chance to do it I would recommend it. Just don't eat anything during the day! You will miss whatever else may be on at the time of course, but it's worth it, and worth the money too. The Maitre'd explained that in his opinion it was not the done thing to get people to pull out their cruise cards at the end of the meal, so the $75 each would be just charged straight to our onboard account. During the meal the photographers came in and took a group photo with the chef, and if we had done the galley tour we would have had a photo taken in there as well. Also, the next day in our cabins was delivered a copy of the menu signed by the chef and Maitre'd, a note of thanks for attending and a plate of petit fours, as well the photo. The whole thing was really enjoyable.

 

Feeling a little guilty about having had such a great time and great meal, I went off to find the others and see how their night had been....

[Riffraff]

Meanwhile.. apparently their dinner hadn't been as sensational as mine - my partner thankfully was able to eat dinner, they had a bowl of soup. But one of the other meals, the pot pie, got sent back because the mashed potato was cold and the meat was a bit tough. She complained to the table waiter, and he took it away to show the chef. When it returned it was slightly hotter. The rest of the meal was ok, and as they were leaving the restaurant she mentioned it to the restaurant manager. She promised to look into it and follow it up, and was very apologetic.

 

The next day, their complaint was followed up by one of the hotel staff, and they received a complimentary bottle of wine to go with dinner. They apprecaited this and were quite happy with the way it was handled.

 

The show tonight was Starry Starry Night, which the others went to. It is usually on the last night, but Zoltina moved it forward to tonight to replace Centre Stage which should have been on tonight but it was still a bit too rough. Confused? I hope that made sense!

 

After the show they went to MIX - and were asked by Maida the bar steward where I was. In fact apparently, as they commented to me afterwards, my absence was noted... Maida the bar steward in MIX, one of the photographers, the table waiter, and even the waiter in the showlounge! It's nice to be missed :D.

 

When I left the Chef's Table I figured they'd be either in MIX or the casino, and sure enough, they were donating money again..

[Riffraff]

Day 10 - last full sea day

 

Woke up after a great nights sleep. A much smoother sea and less rocky ship today - in fact, are we on the same ocean? It's hard to believe after yesterday, but today the wind has dropped, the sun is out and the seas are much calmer - and the outside decks are being used again!

 

After the usual breakfast in the buffet (still with the crew serving us) we went to the cooking demonstration - Zoltina-J and the Executive Chef having their usual banter on stage while cooking some of the dishes from the menu. (It was supposed to be yesterday, but postponed till today, due to the dangers of using the gas cookers and so on, on a heaving stage.)

 

The dessert was fun - black forest cake. They had a cook-off, the chef and ZJ making one each. No surprises, the chef's one looked good, but if I had to eat one I'd got for Zoltina's - she was more moderate with the cherry brandy, I'm surprised the chef's one didn't float away! It was fun though. Normally there would have been a tour of the galley but due to the norovirus that wasn't happening.

 

Afterwards ZJ hosted the disembarkation talk. Since our arrival is scheduled for misdday tomorrow we wondered if there was anything to different about that, but no it's just as normal - bags out tonight by 8pm unless you want to carry them off yourself. Tomorrow morning we don't have to be out of our cabins until 11 am though.

 

At the disembarkation talk ZJ did the usual cruise director thing, list the top 10 questions that supposedly she had been asked, some of them on this cruise! Of course they were some of the same ones that all the cruise directors use and pretend that they have been asked - how high above sea level are we, will the elevator take me to the front of the ship, does the ship generate it's own power, how can we tell which photos are ours, etc etc... Even though we've heard them before, they are still funny.

 

That reminded me of some of the amusing fellow passengers. We had a lot of look-alikes on our cruise - one of the entertainers looked just like Claire Hooper from Good News Week, we also had a blonde version of Julia Gillard, and Bob Hawke. That last one was perhaps the most unfortunate, given that she was a woman. She was one half of a couple of lovely old ladies we saw quite often. They seemed to be having a wonderful time by being completely unaware of anything that was happening, where they were supposed to be or what they were doing and when. But they were having a ball.

 

We went to have a look at the photo shop and got told by the staff that the others had already been and bought the photo of the 4 of us, (the photo staff do learn who is travelling with who!) and so we went off to find them - they were in the Cafe of course, having coffee. When they'd finished we went down to the buffet for lunch. After lunch at 2pm they were putting on the 2nd show from last night of Run Away to the Circus.

 

We went off early to get seats for that. It's such a great show, my favourite. We were wondering if they would have the elephants like they have on Jewel, and sure enough they did. The atmosphere during this show was great, and when the big elephant made his appearance there was an audible gasp across the audience. The smaller elephant did a lot more dancing than I remembered from the last time I saw it. A great show, so glad we got to see it.

 

After the show the reality of the cruise being nearly over - packing. While we were packing, the others were delivered their card for the complimentary bottle of wine with dinner. We struggled to put everything in the cases and were convinced we were going to have excess luggage for the flight back to Brisbane, even though we hadn't bought that much. (We did - 5kgs overweight, $75 extra!)

 

We put the cases out, and then we 4 decided to go down and see Vivienne the future cruise person and have a chat about this future cruise credit scheme. She was very helpful, and we ended up paying our $100 each. For that we got a letter with a reference number on it. Anytime in the next 4 years when we book a cruise with whoever, we just quote that reference number and it will come up in their system as the deposit is paid and there is on board credit - depending on the length of the cruise and what grade of cabin. A 7 night cruise with an outside cabin is $50, but a cruise 17 nights or over is $250. And that is added to any OBC that the travel agent offers.

 

So, after that was done (and we felt better knowing even though we don't have another cruise booked yet, at least we've got the deposit sorted) we headed back to the cabin and then off to the final dinner in the restaurant. After dinner we said goodbye to the waiters and headed out - this time we didn't have to re-book "the same again please" on the way out :(. We headed to the casino for a short time, and then off to the show - Centre Stage, re-scheduled from yesterday as well. It was a great show too, and afterwards Zoltina came out and encouraged a huge round of well-earned applause for the entertainers, for doing 3 shows in one day - the repeat performance of Run Away to the Circus, and then the 7.30 and 9.30 Centre Stage show. They had done a great job.

 

Back to the cabin after the show, and we had a delivery - the thank you note and plate of petit-fours from the Maitre'd for attending the Chef's Table, as well as the 2 photos taken with the group.

 

The last thing for the night was also re-scheduled from last night - the champagne waterfall and baked alaska parade. It's the first time we'd had it on a non-formal night, and it was good that we didn't miss it. Although it was always better when it was in the restaurant and they were real baked alaska's, it was still fun. After that we had final cocktails in MIX. The final of Pacific Popstars was on in the showlounge so we looked in on that for a while - the winner was very good!

Then it was off to bed.

[Riffraff]

Day 11 - last morning.

 

It was really strange to wake up on the last morning at the usual time and casually go to breakfast in the buffet like a normal sea day. As the morning went on we could see land getting closer, which the Captain assured us was Australia - a huge relief to the navigational officers, he explained!

 

After breakfast we went up to the front to watch our sail though the heads and up the harbour - dodging a couple of kayakers who got a bit close and were chased by the pilot boat - and under the harbour bridge. Sigh...back again. We were running slightly early, tying up to wharf 5 around 11, not 12.00 as scheduled.

 

We went down to the cabin and collected all our things and headed off to Connexions to wait for our colour tag to be called. We could have gone to the buffet and had some lunch, but we decided not to. We should have done as it was a bit of a wait to get off, thanks to the norovirus. Quarantined passengers were disembarked first, and then the areas cleaned again before normal disembarkation could commence. Once that was done we were off without too much trouble.

 

I noticed that the cabins of the people who had been quarantined were being dealt with by a professional cleaning company who had come on board, and were also cleaning the shed at wharf 5. After we had all got off, they would have been all over the ship making sure it got throughly cleaned and disinfected, before the next passengers boarded.

So we disembarked and joined the queue for a taxi, and off to the hotel for another night in Sydney before flying home tomorrow.

 

Despite the sickness and a few issues with dinner service, it was a great cruise, we all really enjoyed it, and even though Zoltina is not my favourite cruise director I will admit she did a good job of making sure we didn't miss out on anything - everything that had been postponed was put on at another time and we saw all the shows we would normally have.

 

So that's it - the end. I hope it wasn't too long, I did enjoy writing it because it was like re-living the cruise again.

[Ruby_1966]

Wow that was great, I am even more excited for our cruise now.

When the Pearl came to Picton with you on board I drove over there to have a look! About 1 1/2 hours drive from where I live in Nelson.

I stopped some very nice Aussie ladies wearing cruise lanyards to pick their brains with questions and they were very helpful!

The Chef's table sounds awesome.

Well now I have to go to work, which is not nearly as much fun as reading this and imagining myself on a cruise...:(

[Chivalrygirl]

Thank you so much Riffraff, that has to be one of the very best reviews I have ever read. I read a review a day or two after we paid the balance of our P118 cruise and thought I had made a dreadful error of judgement. You have most definitely restored the excitement. The degustation dinner sounds so very good. I think that will be a priority for us, like you I am not such a seafood guru but I know my husband would love it. $75 a head actually sounds pretty fair for what you got for your money, knowing what is normally charged for photographs. It must have made you feel so special and I daresay you will live on the memory of that food for more days to come :-)

Your review was so well balanced and your comings and goings so interesting I am looking forward to joining the ship on the 15th May. Just hope the noro has buggered off some place else, we had it on the Statendam when we went to Alaska a few years back.

Once again a HUGE BIG THANK YOU