P&O Pacific Dawn

[cockneybelle]

Hi all, sorry to crash your forum, I'm from and live in London but I wanted some advice on the Pacific Dawn. Anything you can tell me would be greatly appreciated as we are thinking of making the long journey to what looks like paradise and hopping on this ship as our baby boy (ok he's 21 but he's still my baby!!) is going to be working on this ship as one of the singer,dancers next year. The Pacific Sun doesn't sound up to much judging by the what I've read on here, hoping Dawn is much nicer! Looking forward to some positive comments :eek:

[bazzaw]

G'day Cockneybelle

 

I have come across this before :) - parents of one of the singer/dancers (from UK) spending some time on the ship (Pacific Dawn).

 

It's difficult to provide "advice" regarding any ship - as everybody has their own thoughts about any individual ship. I really like Pacific Dawn - but haven't been on her for about 18 months. It has a good atmosphere - mostly Aussie cruisers on it, of course. The age group ( and hence the nature of "atmosphere" of each cruise) varies a lot on the length of the cruise and the time of year.

 

If you do come over here (to Paradise ;) ) make sure you leave some time to get around Australia a bit -- it's a BIG place. Real Paradise is in Vanuatu - just ask the people that live there :)

 

 

Barry

[Sandielle]

Welcome Cockneybelle! We have had three cruises on Pacific Dawn in the last year or so and are booked for another one. She's a great ship - plenty of room, big cabins and we've found the staff great.

 

Please take what you read here with a large grain of salt - at the moment there are some cringe-worthy things going on, I'm sorry to say. I have not been on the Pacific Sun - she is oldish but by no means the oldest cruise ship still cruising. If she smelt bad all the time nobody would sail on her.

Many people think fondly of the Sun - I know quite a few people (well-travelled here and overseas) who will still willingly travel on the ship. They, incidentally, do not post on CC any more.

 

Now, aren't you the lucky one? :D I wish my kids had jobs on cruise ships!

Do hope you enjoy yourself when you come down this way. :) :)

[sherri3802too]

I went on Pacific Dawn last year.

It was a nice ship-bigger cabin than we had on a previous Princess cruise. The meals in the dining room were excellent and I thought the entertainment was better. Some of the fittings were a little old but everything was clean.

We particularly enjoyed the hot tubs at the back of deck 11. They are free and have fabulous views of the ocean as you sit in them-not to be missed.

The crowd on our ship was mixed but there seemed a lot more younger ones about than on our previous cruise. It truly was a mixed range though and we didn't feel out of place (we are in our 50s).

The staff seemed to come from all over-with a lot of the shop people and entertainers from England or Canada.

I am guessing that staff changes over time but I would say your son will feel at home and have a ball.

I think you will, too. Best of luck!:)

[cockneybelle]

Thank you all so much for your replies. My son isn't going till January but I'm sure he's already started packing! He graduates from college in July and was offered this gig after auditioning in London for it, which is great news as the recession here has hit the arts in a big way (funding cuts are deep) so hopefully he can sail that out!! He trains for six weeks in Sydney before transferring to Brisbane to board the ship in Feb, am sure he'll have a great time. He is a talented, gorgeous boy and Pacific Dawn will be all the better for having him (I'm not bias at all :D). Thanks again for taking the time to give your opinions, all greatly received.

We are looking at combining a Pacific islands and Australia cruise, doing a back to back one and then spending time on land as it's a long way to go to not make the most of it!! Thats our excuse anyway!

Have a great weekend all, am off to Covent Garden now for lunch with our eldest son, tough life!!

[bopeep555]

I did the whitsunday cruise on the pacific dawn last july 2010. It was the best time of year to go. The Dawn is a lovely ship and the food was amazing. I have done 2 cruises and this was the better one. My sister has done 5 cruises and they all like the Dawn. Dont do the sydney to nz cruise as the ocean is unpredictable. It can be real rough. Hope this helps.

Regards, Bo

[Sandielle]

Hi Bo, I don't like to contradict you, :) but I've just written elsewhere here, that the NZ cruises are not always rough. We've had a few crossings that were so calm you could only tell we were at sea by watching the railings against the horizon. These have always been late Feb/early March. I hesitate to say that is the best time, though, as it is unpredictable.

 

(I was actually disappointed because I like to feel the ship moving, but I'm lucky that I don't get seasick.) ;)

[villauk]

Hi Bo, I don't like to contradict you, :) but I've just written elsewhere here, that the NZ cruises are not always rough. We've had a few crossings that were so calm you could only tell we were at sea by watching the railings against the horizon. These have always been late Feb/early March. I hesitate to say that is the best time, though, as it is unpredictable.

 

(I was actually disappointed because I like to feel the ship moving, but I'm lucky that I don't get seasick.) ;)

Really worried now, we've booked Solstice to New Zealand for Xmas 2012 and I was hoping the seas wouldn't be too bad at that time of year. Thought as it was your summer time and the seas would be a little calmer? My DS does suffer with seasickness and if he thinks there is any chance of us experiencing a bad crossing, I'll never hear the end of it!!! We've had a few rocky days on previous cruises, but they've only usually lasted for a few hours or so. If it is rough, is it normally just on the journey over from Oz or does it extend right around the Islands? Realise it's a difficult one, but thought if it's only two days out of 12, we'd be able to cope. If it's expected at all the ports, we're in trouble:eek:. We're disembarking in Auckland so don't have to worry about the crossing back to Oz.

[kiwipete]

Really worried now, we've booked Solstice to New Zealand for Xmas 2012 and I was hoping the seas wouldn't be too bad at that time of year. Thought as it was your summer time and the seas would be a little calmer? My DS does suffer with seasickness and if he thinks there is any chance of us experiencing a bad crossing, I'll never hear the end of it!!! We've had a few rocky days on previous cruises, but they've only usually lasted for a few hours or so. If it is rough, is it normally just on the journey over from Oz or does it extend right around the Islands? Realise it's a difficult one, but thought if it's only two days out of 12, we'd be able to cope. If it's expected at all the ports, we're in trouble:eek:. We're disembarking in Auckland so don't have to worry about the crossing back to Oz.

 

Hi villauk

 

We've done the Sydney to Auckland cruise twice. once in March and again last Christmas. Both times the sea was just as flat as a pancake. Sure there are storms which create a swell ocassionally but nothing the current cruise ships can't handle. I say "look forward to your cruise, it's an awesome journey!"

[Sandielle]

Really worried now, we've booked Solstice to New Zealand for Xmas 2012 and I was hoping the seas wouldn't be too bad at that time of year. Thought as it was your summer time and the seas would be a little calmer? My DS does suffer with seasickness and if he thinks there is any chance of us experiencing a bad crossing, I'll never hear the end of it!!! We've had a few rocky days on previous cruises, but they've only usually lasted for a few hours or so. If it is rough, is it normally just on the journey over from Oz or does it extend right around the Islands? Realise it's a difficult one, but thought if it's only two days out of 12, we'd be able to cope. If it's expected at all the ports, we're in trouble:eek:. We're disembarking in Auckland so don't have to worry about the crossing back to Oz.

 

Villauk, please don't worry about it. :) There's really no way to predict the seas from cruise to cruise. It should be calmer around the islands. The best thing is to book a cabin midship low down where there is less movement. Take Avomine or another Nausea Preventive tablet starting a couple of days before you leave. If he does get sick, an injection from the ship's doctor does the trick. Expensive but you can claim it on your travel insurance.

A Christmas cruise will be wonderful! :)

 

PS We chose February only because that was the time that suited us best, not for the weather. :)

 

PPS If it happens to be rough, just plead ignorance! :D

[villauk]

Thank you both for your positive comments. We are so looking forward to this fantastic experience, on Solstice at Christmas as well, can't wait. This will be our first time to New Zealand and I'm sure we'll be wanting a return visit;).

[kiwipete]

Thank you both for your positive comments. We are so looking forward to this fantastic experience, on Solstice at Christmas as well, can't wait. This will be our first time to New Zealand and I'm sure we'll be wanting a return visit;).

 

We came to New Zealand from UK for a holiday in 1973 and loved it. Came back in 1975 and have been here ever since! Beware it might grab you too!!!!

[ozififer]

G'day all. Back in February my wife and I did a 14 day cruise around NZ on the Sun Princess. Sailing out and returning Sydney. We had smooth crossings of the Tasman Sea in both directions. (You've got to be lucky sometimes). In the 14 days, we had sunshine every day and the only inclement weather we experienced was in Wellington when whe got some rain in the afternoon, the morning had been fine. We cruised Fiordland in beautiful sunshine. Absolutely magnificent. My digital camera worked overtime. Like I said, "You've got to be lucky sometimes!"