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. We had a photo taken of the three of us with a paradise backdrop as we walked up the gangway.

 

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.

[Sonyac]

The top deck prior to sailaway was covered with people trying to get good vantage points to take photos and see ourselves leave the port in Sydney. We were all encourage to buy sailaway cocktails to be had in hurricane glasses (tall, coloured plastic champagne flutes) which were pretty potent. Many people got refills and bad behaviour was beginning to take shape from a few people. There were a few displays on the deck below where the pools were of the spa treatments you could have, the different cocktails on offer and floral arrangements for purchase. There were flyers on each display with some staff available for explanations of the various services.

 

Our party went exploring through each area taking photos as we went along. We were able to find out where everything was and what kinds of items were held. I even got a guided tour of the health and fitness area and the spa. I was given another copy of their flyer with their pricing. I disregarded using their services initially as I wasn't planning on getting any treatments but then a couple of services turned up that I couldn't refuse and so relented but more on those later.

 

After getting on and touring, we decided we were hungry and proceeded to the buffet in the Cafe Del Sol. We were greeted by staff pumping out small amounts of water-free sanitizer which was required to be used every time you went up to use the buffet so that no instances of food contamination could occur leading to outbreaks of gastro. You then picked up your bundle of cutlery and napkin folded together and a plate and proceeded down the line to select the type and amount of food you wanted. The selection was amazing and each day had a theme to it but breakfast was always the same, just the scrambled eggs and pancakes had a different flavour each day. The only drawback to this was how long a person spent at each station but patience was the key to success and eventually you got to the end of the line which funnily enough was at the middle of the buffet where at dinner there would be a chef slicing roast meat as required by you. This was so that the buffet could be a double-sided affair so as not to slow down a procession of hungry people all wanting to eat. We sailed away under the bridge and headed for Tweed Heads.

 

Once out to sea we went down to our cabins to see if our luggage had arrived and unpack our suitcases, to which it had and we did. Once all luggage was packed away we read our Pacific Daily to see what the evening entailed and to plan what we would do for the evening. Dinner was agreed to be in the buffet but prior to that was some activities to be done. Our routine was never the same each day as various activities were organised at different times such as trivia, theme nights, karoake, games, crafts etc. The only days where things were different were port days. More on this later.

 

The items that require you to pay extra for are as follows:

 

Casino

 

All purchases for cash at the casino from your account attract a 3% fee. This means that for every $100 you withdraw it is going to be $3 to do so.

 

Bingo - depending on which book you buy, the prices are $10, $20 and $30.

Pokies - as much money as you wish to gamble, I won a minor jackpot on one of the machines on the last night of the cruise on a 1c machine.

Tables - once again, as much money as you wish. There are the usual roulette, Blackjack, pontoon tables but there is also 3 card poker and a proper electronic poker table.

 

Food

 

Steakhouse - $25 each person

La Trattoria - $10 per person for either pizza or pasta

The Lido Grill - Between $5 and $6 sees you getting the usual fast food fair such as hotdogs, burgers, kebabs or yiros' or between $2 and $3 sees you getting a massive serve of fries or wedges with sweet chilli sauce and sour cream

The Lido Cafe - prices vary, check the menu

La Patisserie - depends on what you are having, my hot chocolate and eclair cost $5

 

Services

 

Florist - wrist corsages are $12 each which look lovely for formal night (see attached photo)

Spa Treatments - Hair upstyles start at $55 and go up, if you see a special for $89 it means the inclusion of a hair clip or dusting with bronzing powder. There is a massage and facial package for $119 that comes out on the 3rd day, look out for it for real pampering.

Room Service - Apart from the cost of the items, there is a $3 delivery fee for everything you order each time. If you would like bottles of water for a few days, I would suggest either bringing some on board with you at a cheaper price than $3.50 per 1.5L bottle or ordering some through room service and ordering more than just a couple of bottles.

 

Crafts

 

Ceramics@Sea - cost of $22 for a mug and $25 for a bowl, only items that were available on our cruise. Apparently they get ordered from America and take ages to come in.

T-shirt Painting - cost of $15 to paint the t-shirt but once you have paid the initial $15 you can then come back to the other sessions throughout the cruise for free to finish off your t-shirt.

 

Drinks

 

ALL drinks are at pub prices. There is no diet coke or coke zero on board, just a product called coke light which is a japanese item not australian or even american. It doesn't taste the same either. All cans are smaller than their Oz counterparts. They are 300mL instead of standard size so you are getting ripped off there in that respect. All alcohol reasonable and all cocktails averaging $6-$7 apart from 2 which are $12-$13 respectively.

 

Souveniers

 

Expect to pay a little bit more for souveniers from the boat. Little fluffy teddies with P&O sailors hats retail for $17.95 but you can get good deals on t-shirts and caps at the end of the port days which are 2 for $29.95. They come in generous sizes (I would normally buy a medium for my son but he will fit into a small) but most are more "man" type t-shirts ie. the colours are usually black, brown or a kind of khaki colour, not really girly at all except for one blue one of a person snorkelling which I purchased for myself. Also look out for formal night specials, camera specials, accessories specials and last minute souvenier specials such as luggage tags, luggage straps, magnets, stubby holders etc.

[Sonyac]

Recommendations

 

Book tours with the local operators as it is cheaper, and don't forget to try and barter if there is a large group of you. We ended up getting a country tour for 3 of us at the bargain price of $55 for 3 of us instead of the usual $20 each person because it was all we had left, it was only a saving of $5 but better for us than them.

 

Don't buy anything that is suspicious for Quarantine. Don't trust people who say that they have fumigation certificates as you can get caught out. Customs will check everything when you get back on the boat and may even confiscate stuff. I ended up buying some bags that were made in china so there was no problems with bugs being in the bags as they were not locally produced. Anything made from material was fine.

 

Buy your alcohol early on the boat so that you don't miss out. On our cruise the Jim Beam and Vodka sold out in 2 days.

 

Watch out for the jewellery specials for 14K gold items. 14K is not usually sold by jewellers in Oz so I didn't purchase anything as it is an odd amount. Usually gold is sold in 9, 18 or 24K gold, not 14.

 

The Art Auctions are good for the trivia questions and early bird auctions. Just by turning up to an art auction for the trivia and early bird auction, I answered the most trivia questions and ended up going home with a piece of art and I carried it off the boat and sent it home on the plane with me for a smaller fee than the boat wanted to charge for using a courier. I don't know about anyone else but $65 is a bit excessive for using a courier.

 

The reflections dvd and the photos are very good. The dvd has a lot of footage that goes on for a while, a lot of stuff wasn't filmed which was a shame such as the bingo, the shows and even an art auction. It was also out of chronological sequence at one point which really put me out as I couldn't explain to family members the timeframes. I was happy with the photos although one photographer was really crap and his idea of posing was not particularly great. I would have preferred another photographer but hubby didn't want to wait by the stairs for a photo even though it was the best place to get them done. They were the only formal photos I got because hubby refused on the second formal night to have any shots taken which I was dissapointed as I was wearing my better dress. He had our travelling companion take them and now they need to be photoshopped to be improved. No fancy lighting equipment, just the lighting from the ship which wasn't good.

 

Watch out for the papparazzi. They are everywhere and will take your picture no matter where you are, be it in the dining room, the steakhouse, the captains ball for past cruisers, the champagne waterfall, the formal nights, the special shots taken, the ports of call, embarkation etc.

[Sonyac]

Ports Of Call

 

Noumea - Very different in the city compared to the rural areas. The city has two sides to it. The pretty side and the shabby side. When walking around the main parts of the town, you see pretty monuments, a beautiful shady square and nice shops. Travel over to the Latin Quarter and you feel like you are in the brothel zone. All shops are dilapidated, many are empty, the markets are in this quarter and many vendors are small and sell many junk items. The bus station is also located here and many poorer folk can be seen sitting and waiting for buses. It is still a developing country but there are drawbacks. For instance, eating fish is a delicacy but if a particular tree is in flower then all small reef fish should not be eaten as that is when the coral is in bloom and the fish feed off of the coral. It is said that eating the fish would see you very ill for some months. This is why deep sea fish are considered a delicacy but come at a price. A seafood platter for 3 people costs $380 Australian. As it was remembrance day, most of the shops were shut but there were some still open and we were able to do some shopping. Many market stalls within the port terminal were open for trade but it was definitely a case of buyer beware when it came to items under scrutiny by customs. I was fortunate enough not to buy anything that was confiscated. The countryside is beautiful and walking along the beach is wonderful. All beaches in Noumea are topless beaches and I did cop a couple of breastfuls as we drove past a beach on the way up to the rural areas. We went by bus and stopped at a spring within the mountains. It was there that we could all fill our water bottles for free and have fresh drinking water from a spring.

 

Ouvea - Ouvea was missed completely by us as we felt that being a coral atoll it would be much the same as Isle of Pines just less deserted. We were quite happy to be on the boat for the day as the first half was peaceful and quiet with no music on and the pool only for adults. It was heavenly. There were afternoon activities after lunch which kept you occupied. Unfortunately though, 4 people got left behind after final embarkation was supposed to happen so a tender had to be sent out to get them, the captain was not happy.

 

Isle Of Pines - This is THE place to snorkel. Not only is the water deeper but the fish are magnificent. I actually swam with the tropical fish underwater :D and took some amazing pictures of them too. The rainforest is amazing and well worth the trek. The beaches are fine, powdery white sand but one must respect the coral reefs and the fish that live among them. The tender process was very smooth too with no major mishaps.

 

After many fun fill days and nights it was quite a good cruise. The cruise critic meet and greet went very well with 11 people in all turning up. The tour of the galley was amazing and a photo was taken which I will post up either tomorrow or the day after.

 

However, I have some sad news. For those of you going on future cruises with Pacific Dawn, Fabio is no longer the Maitre'D. He has gone home for a rest before starting up on the Sea Princess to cruise the Carribean and go past California before starting its cruising in Alaska, Fabio's favourite place to cruise. I bid a fond farewell to Fabio on behalf of all of us here at CC and he said he was going to miss the staff that he had built friendships and relationships with in the 4 years of being the Maitre'D. Ravinjdra is still the Executive Chef on board so the excellence of the meals shall continue. The new Maitre'D has done handover from Fabio and is now in charge.

 

Hope everyone has enjoyed my review. I have kept some secrets to myself, figured it was up to you guys to find out the stuff I've not talked about so that you have some element of surprise when you sail. :D

[steggles]

Great review Sonya! Come on January 8th!!!!! :D

[sailawaysally]

I enjoyed being on the cruise with you, at least it felt like it, you explain things so thoroughly. I am finding it hard to keep my excitement to myself as our next cruise is my hubbys surprise Christmas present. It amazes me that I can still feel as excited as the first time I ever cruised! Being 6ft you would have found the bathroom a little tight and yes I agree about the drawers being in the way, but I was amazed at just how many drawers there are in the room. We couldn't fill them all with just 2 of us!! They are great cabins for 2 people. When are you booking your next one?

[VicGuy]

I can't believe Fabio has left us. He was the best Maitre'D.

Who has become the new Maitre'D Sonya and who was the Cruise Director on your trip. Sorry for the questions but still in shock

Your review is fantastic. Really making me want to go again:)

[karmac]

Great review Sonya. Are we going to see some pics too?:)

[luckiestmitw]

Hi Sonya,

Thanks for taking the time to write a review...very enjoyable...sounds like you had a great time..:)

 

Thanks again

 

Regards Sandie:)

[croydonCruiser]

Thanks for a great review Sonya. :)

 

That's sad news about Fabio leaving. He was great. It sounds as though Marc Delmas has also gone. He was the Executive Chef when we sailed in August. He was great too. We really enjoyed the demonstration they put on together.

 

I hope Zoltina J has also gone! I don't really want to see, or more accurately, hear her again when we go on our next cruise. :eek:

[Gratz]

absoluely brilliant! thanks for doing this. I will forward this review to all the family i am travelling with - thanks

[Kruzein]

Thanks Sonya

For a great review :) Sad news about Fabio :mad: he was perfect for the job. Good luck to him...

Cant wait for the New Years Cruise :D

Lisa

[LouLou28]

Great review Sonya! Thanks!!

[Cruzer Nut]

Hey welcome back Sonya,

 

That went quick!!!

 

Thanks for the fantastic review, could just about picture myself there with you.

 

Thank you so much for all the effort you went to finding out prices etc for the spa, Hairdresser, Steakhouse and the Ceramics etc. Hope you had time for yourself as well.

 

Has given me more ideas of what I want to do.:o Now I have to go and Save more!!! :mad:

 

 

I spent so much time in the Duty Free stores last time with all the Jewellery there, 14k is the Gold that is sold in the US they only have 14 or 18k (very rare to find it here in Oz we only do the 9 and 18k) I have a Ring made from 14k that I bought in the States 15Yrs ago and it has a richer colour than 9k but is not as soft as 18k.

 

I drooled over the Swarovski that still had Princess Tags and US prices still on the back, perhaps they just get stocked from there like the ceramics.

[leggyliz]

Hi Sonya

I really enjoyed your review (one of the best ones)! I too am 6 foot and the loo's on the Pacific Sun are the same. I actually flushed my butt a few times from leaning back too far - lol!!! my shorter friends found this very amusing!!!

We're going on PD next April and really looking forward to it. Thanks for the info on the salon's etc. Could you tell me more about the food?

Thanks Liz

[Sonyac]

Hi Everyone,

 

Zoltina is only there for a couple of more cruises before she goes away too so you may not have her if your cruise is coming up.

 

Fabio was incredible and yes he was perfect but his job was to bring the Pacific Dawn up to scratch for elegant dining experiences and he has done just that. Ravinjdra is very nice though, very friendly and he has a beaming smile. I will post up my photos once I do some editing (read deleting) of the ones that didn't turn out, we literally have hundreds and hundreds of photos.

 

The food was amazing, I even tried snails one night, the menu was so diverse. There was always cheeses with crackers on the dessert menu in the dining room, caeser salad, grilled chicken and smoked salmon were always on offer. There was always a seafood on the menu, chicken, steak of some kind etc. In the buffet there was always a pasta or rice, roast, potatoes done in various ways (eg roasted, mashed) and then the usual fruits, cakes, salads, it really depended on what you liked as to what you chose. I tried everything and was pleasantly surprised at times. There were things I didn't like however but that was because I didn't like the taste even though it looked nice.

[Sonyac]

Hi Everyone,

 

Zoltina is only there for a couple of more cruises before she goes away too so you may not have her if your cruise is coming up.

 

Fabio was incredible and yes he was perfect but his job was to bring the Pacific Dawn up to scratch for elegant dining experiences and he has done just that. Ravinjdra is very nice though, very friendly and he has a beaming smile. I will post up my photos once I do some editing (read deleting) of the ones that didn't turn out, we literally have hundreds and hundreds of photos.

 

The food was amazing, I even tried snails one night, the menu was so diverse. There was always cheeses with crackers on the dessert menu in the dining room, caeser salad, grilled chicken and smoked salmon were always on offer. There was always a seafood on the menu, chicken, steak of some kind etc. In the buffet there was always a pasta or rice, roast, potatoes done in various ways (eg roasted, mashed) and then the usual fruits, cakes, salads, it really depended on what you liked as to what you chose. I tried everything and was pleasantly surprised at times. There were things I didn't like however but that was because I didn't like the taste even though it looked nice.

 

Next cruise will hopefully be in 2010, have to save money big time for the Hawaii 35 day cruise. If it doesn't happen then, we will be going in 2011.

[PASSIONATE ABOUT CRUISING]

Fantastic read Sonya, and very thorough! Looking forward to seeing your photos.

 

Cheers,

PAC:)

[planning obsessed]

Excellent job, Sonya. I've also read your review in the ship review section - very professional. The review for us is a little more conversational, while the other I consider to be suitable for a travel section of a newspaper. Have you thought of submitting it for publication? If they're interested in it they might pay you for your work. You've certainly raised the bar for the rest of us.

Debbie.

[Sonyac]

Thanks Debbie!

 

No I hadn't thought about it for publication, just figured people would want to know the facts. The review on here was meant to be conversational as I consider all of the people on here as part of my daily life (now that might sound a bit sad! :o)

 

As for the other one, I wanted people to read it and know the facts, not make it wishy washy. I don't know if I would get it published, might think about it though.

[bentley girl]

Hi Sonya,

Thanks for taking the time to write your review, very informative and entertaining. I still have 4months to go till my jaunt on Pacific Dawn and although the time is going quickly, reading these reviews just keeps the excitement level up.

Thankyou again,Julie

[gizzigoo]

Thanks Sonya,

 

Relly great review!

 

Very sorry to hear that Fabio has gone, he was wonderful. I could never figure out how he could be everywhere and remember everyones names. Is Geronimo still in the dining room?

 

As Jo said Marc Delmas was also a fantastic personality and they both worked well together.