Highlights from the real review coming soon...

[Croozin']

I’m working on the full review (and then you’ll need to sit back with a cuppa – I can write long!) but I thought I’d mention a couple of brief items about our recent 11 day cruise on the Pacific Sun.

1) Drinks

This was something I was really curious about before we left. We found the drinks to be cheaper than Perth prices, not sure how they compare elsewhere in Oz. Coke was $2, LLB was around $2.50, cocktails were $6.50 and $7.50 for the most part, and wine at dinner was between $20-$30 a bottle. We took bottled water on board to have in our cabin, but we didn’t mind for the most part cold tap water and ice when we were out and about. One night at dinner it tasted quite dodgy, but every other time it was good.

2) Upgrade

We booked the trip directly with P&O, and while I was doing it the girl asked if I wanted to be on the upgrade list. Once I confirmed there was no cost to be on it, I of course – why on earth wouldn’t I want to be?! If you get the chance, get on the list. We bought the cheapest queen room available at the time and were upgraded to a room with a big window. It was fantastic to have the window there!

3) Smells

As others have mentioned, there is often a yucky smell that is around the hallways and near the elevators where the staterooms are. It comes and goes, sometimes you don’t notice it and other times it’s really bad. We didn’t have any problems with smells in the public areas, though, just when we’d be walking to our room from the stairs or the elevator. We took Glen 20 with us (I hadn’t even heard of it before, got the idea on the boards) and sprayed our room when we got there, and we lent it to tablemates who had a real problem in their room, but we were pretty much fine.

4) Travel medicine

If you are planning on taking them, test them before hand. We didn’t get seasick at all, but on the second last day we both woke up a bit queasy. My husband read the pack of Kwells – ‘Take 1-2’ – and decided we should take 2 each. Well, it knocked us out for hours, I threw up everything I had had to drink in days within 45 minutes, and we had funny vision – one eye would focus on one direction, the other eye the other direction, and they wouldn’t meet in the middle. Made it hard to walk or even keep eyes open! We ended up sleeping for hours. We felt a bit better at about 4.30pm, but it was awful and a bit scary when it was happening.

5) Ages on board

We’re 25, and P&O did a great job of allocating us to a table at dinner where there were other couples around our age (I think the oldest was 31). As for other travelers, they really covered all ages. So, if you are young and thinking about a cruise, don’t not go just because you think you’ll be out of place. You won’t be.

6) Kids on board

We avoided school holiday cruises as we didn’t want to be surrounded by kids all the time. This was our relaxing holiday for the year! We saw kids occasionally, but the teen and kids clubs must have done a great job because most of the time you didn’t know there were any kids on board.

7) Entertainment

We only went to the last show with all the entertainers, ‘G’day G’day’, and it was quite good. Entertainment other nights included performers who had solo shows and tour round the ships. One guy had a good voice but came across a bit sleazy, so we didn’t go to him (found something else on). There was a royal command performer – it was like watching your grandpa do tricks and tell dad jokes – he was hilarious. My absolute favorite was Leigh James, a wonderful singer and musician who did a James Taylor tribute show. His voice was amazing – when he sang ‘Fire and Rain’ I have to admit I shed a tear – it was just so pure and lovely to listen to. Thankfully it was dark.

There were a couple of new things on the cruise, at least they said they hadn’t been done before: “So you wanna be a rock star?”, where the guest band (Dekada, from the Philippines) played on the main stage (Atlantis lounge) and cruisers got their chance to do live karaoke. It was pretty funny. The other new thing was a crew show – they invited members of the crew to sign up for the show. Barmaids and waiters and room service attendants who signed up got their chance to shine. I didn’t attend the event, but I watched it on our in-room TV the following evening and they did a great job!

8) The staff

We couldn’t get over how friendly every staff member was. Nothing was every too much trouble; they were always smiling and happy. Sure for some it may have been an act, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell! When walking in the hallways, staff would always step aside with a cheery greeting to make sure you got through before them. We just couldn’t believe it.

9) YES, the cruise director Josh IS that guy from ‘How I Met Your Mother’/Doogie Howser. And you’ll never be able to tell me otherwise.

I'm sure there's more, but I'll keep them for the review...

[MsMinx]

Thanks for sharing your highlights!

Having a giggle at the Doogie Howser comment!

I haven't cruised with Josh before but i'm hoping he's onboard in Feb 08 so I can see what you're talking about ;)

[relate2]

Thanks very much for your review Croozin', I hope I can do as well when I come back from the Sun at the end of this month.

[Croozin']

The other thing I was going to put on the short list was the decor. Honestly, do we really have to be tacky 80's decor? We couldn't help but laugh the first time we walked into the Atlantis Lounge! Seriously. After a while we didn't notice it anymore - but the shock!

[Clozzie]

Great snippets of information, can't wait to read your full review. Love the comment about the 80's decor, guess the Love Boat still lives on!

[kaseyoz]

eagerly awaiting the full details. remember it cannot be too big or too detailed, we lap it all up

[LouLou28]

Excellent "Reader's Digest" review Croozin'! Just enough to keep us checking the boards waiting for the full version!:D

[Skyrules]

The other thing I was going to put on the short list was the decor. Honestly' date=' do we really have to be tacky 80's decor? We couldn't help but laugh the first time we walked into the Atlantis Lounge! Seriously. After a while we didn't notice it anymore - but the shock![/quote']

 

You've just gotta love the gold sea horses don't you??

 

And the silver seagulls/birds in the stairwell at the front of the ship.