Complete W832 Review

[Sonyac]

Okay, back on dry land and prepared to spill my guts about the whole cruise :D

 

First day:

 

Got to port after sleeping off the alcohol from the night before's very messy night to pull up at the curb and unload the luggage. Nice blue sign stated all luggage to be taken to the trolley boys at the end of the walkway to the right for loading onto the ship. Then proceeded to check in to be greeted by a ballooned ceiling with "Happy 1st Birthday" written all over them, all blue and silver ones congratulating Pacific Dawn's voyage 1 year after its maiden cruise from Sydney. Also in with this theme was a South Pacific feel band playing all sorts of reggae music to keep the mood going for the celebrations. Two check in lines were operating, those travelling on Aloha deck got preferential treatment and the rest of us plebs had to wait in line number 2 for our turn. We didn't wait for long before being served. All was going very good until we noticed people with embarkation cards that were black and white in their hands, I started to panic thinking we were forgotten about. I went up to the nearest desk and asked where I could get one. Two ladies from P&O kindly helped me, hubby and our friend get into the line with group number 3 after I had explained that we had checked in an hour prior. We were then ushered towards the line going through to customs and were also asked which lady had assisted us with check in. We gave the details and proceeded through to the boat. Once on board we went to find our cabin. This was easy as I had looked to see where we were located and then just remembered that we were adjacent to the back of Turtle Cove.

 

Once in the room we set our stuff down, grabbed a room key each and explored what was on offer in our room. The bed configuration was two double bunks but one bed was put away into its cupboard. There was no option for putting the two lower beds together to form a queen size bed which meant that for the first time in years, hubby and I slept apart. I would later thank this arrangement as I would often go to bed a lot earlier than hubby would and seeing as I had claimed the bed by itself with no person above me, I was not disturbed by a hulking human throwing himself into bed at night and wrestling the quilt off me. The only drawback to the room was that the many drawers on offer for clothing were located next to the bathroom door so that if you wanted an item of clothing and someone was coming out of the bathroom, you were unable to either open the bathroom door or open the drawers to get clothes out, not to mention the uncomfortable position of a mirror which meant you had to go into the tiny bathroom to dress if you were travelling with a companion who was of the opposite sex to you and not related to you in any way, shape or form. The bathroom was small enough that if you swung a cat around it would hit all four walls. The toilet was at an odd angle to how it should have been leaving no real leg room to sit if you were of a particular height (I am 6 foot tall) so I ended up often sitting diagonally on the toilet seat to accomodate my large legs and be comfortable. The bathroom storage was adequate however and no other storage devices were required. I also found the shower to be of adequate size to accomodate two people at a time ;) and there is a soap dispenser with liquid soap located within the shower.

 

For an inside room there was plenty of storage for the clothes of each person and each cupboard had wooden hangers with slits for clothes loops on skirts, dresses and pants for women or shirts for men. There are no hangers with clips however so if you wish to hang garments by the waistband and do not have garment loops then bring the old fashioned metal adjustable skirt/pant hangers with you in your checked luggage. There is a fridge within the room to store drinks, food etc. It is only bar size but is decent enough to store litre bottles of water.

 

As you would find in a hotel, there are bath towels, hand towels, face towels and beach towels within the cabins as are life jackets. There is also complimentary bars of marine friendly soap and plenty of toilet paper and tissues located within the bathroom wall and on a shelf under the sink.

[bigbigbear28]

Hi Sonya,

Welcome back. I hope you had a great cruise.