Pacific Sun Christmas Cruise Review & Essay!

[Lestel]

Pacific Sun Christmas Cruise Review & Essay!

 

We have been home now for almost 3 weeks so hopefully I won’t forget too much about our holiday. I had every intention of making notes each day but I was having too much fun and didn’t want to waste any of my 9 days.

This trip had been booked for 12 months and after so much research, planning and anticipation I was hoping for a wonderful holiday. I was travelling with my DH and 2 of our 3 sons, aged 20 and 14 all of whom had never cruised before. We had a lovely holiday but unfortunately it was me who enjoyed it the most! DH took a good few days to settle in, 20 year old missed his girlfriend and although 14 year old did have a great time, he missed Foxtel and his own room – go figure!!! :rolleyes:

 

Pre Cruise

We flew up from Adelaide the evening before and stayed at the Airolodge International on Kingsford Smith Drive overnight. There are a lot of motels in the vicinity of Portside but I chose this one as they offered to drive us over to the terminal at no charge. The terminal is within easy walking distance but walking with your cases would be very tricky as there are no footpaths. The motel was clean and modern and we got a view of the Pacific Sun from the first floor staircase the next morning!

DH & I walked over very early in the morning just to have a look and there was much activity with previous passengers disembarking – poor them! We had a look from the viewing platform – all very impressive and so much nicer than Outer Harbour in Adelaide.

 

Boarding

We got dropped off just after 9.00am and were checked in and received our cruise cards within minutes. We were told to come back about 10.30 and were in B boarding group. When we did return after 10.00, there were a lot more people but it added to the buzz and excitement. We were onboard by 11.00am so it certainly helps to be early. The boarding photo was taken – the only professional one of the 4 of us for the whole holiday so that was a must buy!

 

Cabin

We were in a 4 berth cabin on Upper Deck – U115 which was a very good spot in the middle of the ship. I was pleased with the layout and although sharing did present a few challenges it was better than we expected. The bunks were comfy and more pillows were happily provided when requested. We had lovely cabin stewards in Catherine and Kevin although it was so sad to hear that Catherine had only seen her 2 young sons for 1 month in the previous year. They work 7 days a week for 10 months straight, just unbelievable – we are so lucky in Australia.

We had taken a cooler bag which Kevin filled with ice each day to keep our water cool. We filled our bottles up initially from the stations in the Lido buffet but there are signs asking you not to. Although we were never told off, one waiter did comment one day and after that I bought a couple of the bottles instead and the last day just filled it from the bathroom tap and once it was cold it was fine.

The cabin was noisy from the A/C and various other noises but nothing too troublesome. We weren’t disturbed at all from noise in adjoining cabins although my earplugs may have helped with that! The A/C could only be adjusted with fan speed but the temperature was just fine.

 

First Night

Although I had taken a lot of sea-sickness medication with us, none of us used it as a preventative just in case which proved to be a mistake. 14 year old son became very unwell while we were watching the “Welcome Aboard” show in the Atlantis lounge – the rockiest part of the whole ship. Luckily we got him back to the cabin before he was sick and thank goodness after a good sleep he did improve the next day. There were so many people being sick, I was amazed but apparently it is quite normal for the first night. Those poor staff having to clean up after everyone. Our table of 8 ended up with only 4 people as the rest were unwell. I ended up being one of them but with me I think it was a case of seeing too many other people throwing up!!! I did lie on my bunk the first night wondering what the heck I had done booking the holiday and worrying about doing it again 6 weeks later!!! I was fine the next day so those thoughts were soon forgotten.

 

The Ship

My only cruise experience had been the 3 nights on the Sun Princess in July and it was so hard not to compare because the Sun Princess is a much more impressive ship, both in size and layout and especially décor. I did find the Pacific Sun more claustrophic as with the exception of the Atlantis Lounge the ceilings were all pretty low. The stairwells were much smaller and I found that I would get dizzy if I didn’t change direction while climbing them – I must have looked crazy but at least it gave me more exercise as well!! Being a smaller ship though, the Pacific Sun had the advantage of being able to get back to our cabin quickly from other parts of the ship. It was so much easier to use our own toilet than have to worry about using the public ones. I did notice though on the odd occasion I did go the public ones, they were much cleaner that the Sun Princess ones, I suppose because they weren’t getting as much use. I missed the Promenade deck and being able to walk the entire circumference as well as the “secret” balcony access we had on Princess. The staff were just as lovely on both ships although Princess had a lot more waiters in the public areas to take your drinks orders. Maybe that helped save money this time!!! Our cabin was bigger on this cruise; no way would 4 of us have fitted in the Sun Princess one. The ship was always clean and tidy and in good condition for it’s age. We did use the Oasis area on the afternoon of the first full sea day and really enjoyed it. The $10.00 each was worth it to get the comfortable chairs, bottle of water and 2 ice creams. You can get as many as you want but I figured more than 2 was just plain greedy!! It was very peaceful up there and we had prime position right at the front out of the wind and under the shade sails. We only used it on that one occasion but we would recommend it for some chill out quiet time.

 

Dining

We had lunch the first day in the Lido buffet and were pleased with the selection and quality. Our boys thought it fantastic to have access to all that food! We varied between eating here and in the dining room for breakfast and lunch. We always managed to get a table, sometimes sharing. I enjoyed taking breakfast out on the back deck area and the cappuccinos from that area were lovely and reasonably priced @ $2.50 each. It is a shame the buffet is not open at night to give more choice – although we were very happy with the dining room it would have been good for our son. We were on 2nd sitting which time wise was great for us but our 14 year old didn’t eat with until the 6th night. That was Christmas so he didn’t get a choice that night! He missed out on dinner and teen club the first night when he was sick and after that he didn’t want to miss the beginning of the evening’s activities so he could make friends. It was a shame he chose to miss out on our lovely meals but he was happy with late lunches from the buffet and buying Pizza when he was hungry. After he did come to Xmas dinner and enjoyed the food and service he did dine with us another couple of times as his friendship groups were well formed by then and he knew what he was missing.

We were in the Burgundy dining room and were happy with our table and dining companions. It was funny that the only other CC member on board was Teegiee with her family and it turned out they were on a table next to us! We were delighted with our waiters Ralph and Elmer who looked after and entertained us so well – they were fantastic! Of course the food was great – I didn’t have to shop, plan, prepare, cook it and clean up – only to eat it!!!! So glad those stairs were there. As the holiday went on it got harder and harder to climb them we got so sluggish from all the good food and drink!

Breakfast and lunch are served in the Bordeaux dining room which we attended sometimes. The food was always good and it was good to meet different people at each meal. We heard about the fantastic afternoon teas they served on sea days but we never quite made it – perhaps that’s a good thing as I can’t imagine how we would have fitted it in! ;)

 

Entertainment

The entertainment certainly varied from very good to pretty bad but in all we enjoyed it, particularly the Pacific Sun Entertainers. This was only their 2nd cruise so they were full of enthusiasm and the audience did warm to them. The lead lady, Bronwyn Andrews was really outstanding. We were able to get a seat easily each evening without having too rush, partly because it is a large venue, partly because some nights there were not a lot of people there. We did give the show a miss one night so we could enjoy the sunset instead. The cruise director was Adam Goder who was excellent although on the odd occasion I came across him elsewhere he was not particularly friendly L

 

Noumea

After reading so many non favourable reports about Noumea I was surprised when we sailed into a beautiful harbour. We arrived at 3.00 pm and the ship docked directly at the bottom of town. You walk off the ship into a building that has a little market and numerous booths selling tours. We ended up going on a minibus tour for $125.00 for 3 of us for 2 hours. We saw a lot of sights which I enjoyed and the guide/driver (an English expat) gave a lot of history and political information which DH enjoyed. We didn’t walk around the town at all but were quite impressed with all the areas we drove through. We didn’t change any money and the tours/markets all displayed prices in dollars as well. I guess if you go into the town you may need francs. The Sun Princess was also docked that day although she has to berth in the commercial wharf area away from the town due to her size. It was exciting to see her, brought back lot’s of good memories. :D There was a lovely sunset that night and we were also able to watch the Sun Princess departing.

 

Isle of Pines

Teegiee recommended getting up early to watch and photograph the arrival at Isle of Pines and I’m so pleased I did as it really was lovely. This was our first experience with the tender system and it did take us almost 2 hours from getting our ticket before we were off. It would have been better to be organised earlier but difficult when the boys won’t get out of bed! Isle of Pines was beautiful and the snorkelling fantastic. It was the warmest, clearest water I had ever snorkelled in, so initially I was so impressed. Unfortunately I had a mishap as I received what I think was a nasty jellyfish sting on my legs. Very, very painful and pretty scary as I had no idea had got me, it felt like it was still wrapped around my legs but it wasn’t. :eek: I was silly that I was on my own, quite a way out and had to get back to land and DH as quickly as I could. He got me back to the jetty area but there was no first aid help available at all which was pretty poor. There was a huge queue for the tenders as they were having trouble with securing them to the ship due to choppy seas. They did get me on the next tender so DH did comment that my drama did have a positive result – I didn’t share his opinion and was really disappointed that our time was cut so short. By then although my legs were so sore where the swollen welts were, I hadn’t developed any other reaction/symptoms so I knew I wasn’t going to die so I would have preferred to stay on the Island! When we got back to the ship, the telephone system was out and the walkie talkies weren’t working properly so the Pursers Office couldn’t reach the nurse – glad I wasn’t having a heart attack!! After a shower and a rest I was fine, just couldn’t cross my legs that night!!

 

Ouvea

Our absolute favourite, just so stunning, the water colour is amazing. DH, myself and youngest went over on a much easier tender service. No issues with waiting at either end – I think a lot didn’t go over after the previous day’s delays. There were a lot of private cars waiting for us, charging $3 per person to go to the main beach. I asked about “The Bridge” First lady said - 40 km’s away so I didn’t think that was right. Next man said $5.00 each, well actually all he said was ‘cinq’ so I was pleased I remembered something from high school French! It took around 10 minutes and then he just stopped. We were quite unsure if we were in the right spot as it literally was just a bridge on the road over the water – nothing else at all and no other people apart from one local family. We were a little nervous at first but after we came across another group from the ship we were reassured we were in the right spot. From what I can gather all the beach area’s are lovely but at “The Bridge” it is so much quieter and you are not sharing the beach with hundreds of others from the ship. We spent about 3 hours relaxing there and just loved it. The water was so clear but there was very few fish. I didn’t really care about snorkelling after the previous day and was quite happy just to stay in the shallows! We had taken some sealed crackers with us for snorkelling which we didn’t need so we were pleased to have them and our water for our lunch. Matt befriended a local dog so he shared his crackers and named the ‘boy’ dog Polly! Later in the day a few more people turned up and also a lot of the entertainment crew so we knew we were in the right place. When we made our way back up to the road our original driver was up there (pretty sure he hadn’t waited for us!) so we were able to easily get back to the ship. A lot of other passengers were walking but it was really too hot to do that. There are a number of pictures from “The Bridge” on my Flickr site so you know what to expect.

 

Mystery Island

On Christmas Day we arrived at Mystery Island which from the ship looked like what I expected of a tropical island. Of course once you’re there with everyone else from the ship it’s not quite a peaceful tropical paradise!! I intended to get to the ‘white post’ area I had read about to go snorkelling but I was out voted and we just set up straight across the island where there were a number of others in the water. We were definitely in the wrong spot as there were very few fish but before we could move elsewhere there was big storm. It was lovely swimming in the rain but I was concerned about our ‘stuff’ getting soaked so ultimately we had to get shelter and when it showed no signs of abating we decided to go back to the ship. Others did tell me they had fantastic snorkelling so I will just have to back another day! Santa arrived on the last tender of the day and did a few circles of the ship before coming aboard. I was very surprised when I popped into our cabin to see Santa outside my window!! Even our 14 year old received a present and actually sat on his knee for a photo! It really wasn’t like Christmas Day at all but I did really enjoy not having all the organisation etc that Christmas at home entails. The 2nd formal night was Christmas night so that did help to make it special.

 

Vila

I was glad I had seen pictures of where we docked before we arrived at Vila as it certainly looks rather dismal. It’s great that the locals set up the market right there on the wharf for the passengers. DH & I were among the first people off as I wanted to have a full morning of shopping in town. That didn’t happen because apart from alcohol there was nothing worth buying. The alcohol prices at Fung Kuei were great with Bundy rum @ $17.00 per bottle and Jim Beam @ $16.00 but apart from that the shop was much depleted of stock. I think that with so many ships in before us they had been bought out!! We ventured into a number of other shops but really pricing was very similar to home, if not dearer in a lot of instances. DH was very happy the credit card was not used at all. We will never moan about our council again after seeing the potholes in the town as well as the piles of rubbish all over the place. It was probably exacerbated by the Xmas holidays but it was such a shame. Although I had read so much advice on the forum I made a last minute decision to book a P & O tour to the Cascade Waterfall rather than making our own way there – big mistake. We booked the last tour which was supposed to be 3 hours in total getting us back to the ship by 4.30PM I thought this would be safe as I had read the ship always waits for the tours and I wanted to maximise our time in the afternoon. No, we didn’t miss the ship but we were back much too early and the tour only had us away for about 2 hours. The Cascades were absolutely spectacular and we all really loved them but we just didn’t have enough time there. We no sooner got to the top and got in to swim when we were told we had to come back down! It was a shame but we still thought it fantastic and of course we’ll just have to go again!!

 

Sailing Home

We enjoyed the sea days and after 5 ports in a row it was good to be able to chill a little. On the Saturday we actually didn’t spend any time outside as we just went from one activity to another – so many things to choose from. I love that you can be busy or just do nothing!! On the last sea day we made sure we had a few hours on the deck with our books and a few more cocktails. I treated myself to a Xmas special in the Spa which I enjoyed, the spa wasn’t really that fancy but the Scottish beautician who had recently joined the ship was a delight to chat to and it was lovely being pampered. She didn’t do a hard sell of products after either so that was great. DH bought me a beautiful Swarovski crystal necklace and earring set which I love. With all my organisation I ‘forgot’ jewellery for formal night so he came to my rescue! He paid $150.00 and I was pleased to see the same thing in Adelaide for $270.00 so it was good to know we got a bargain! Handbags were not really priced well and the stock they had was not what we have in our stores here at the moment. They did have sales but nothing in the main shops came out then, it was other older stock. I loved all the photographs they took and apart from the initial boarding ones we waited until the last day to buy. They didn’t become any cheaper at all but it was good to make a decision once they were all available. We didn’t have a Bombe Alaska parade but there was a big parade of the entire kitchen and wait staff on the 2nd last night which was lovely. Us giving them huge cheers and claps seems so insignificant compared to the enormous effort they put in. We left our auto tips on (we received $75.00 each on board credit so that covered them) and also gave extra to our cabin stewards and table waiters personally. We were told that even if we had taken auto tips off they could still have kept the money but we wanted to be safe as well as ensure those behind the scenes didn’t miss out. The last night was more subdued and really rather sombre – I just hate things ending and saying goodbye. Brisbane looked lovely on the Monday morning, much nicer than when we had left. Disembarkation went pretty smoothly – we only were waiting for about 30 minutes before we were called and the procedures in the terminal was very efficient. We had a long and boring day in the airport before catching our flight home to Adelaide. We were very envious of those locals who could just get in their car and go home!!

 

I have posted my photos on Flickr- http://www.flickr.com/photos/lesleyspiccies/sets/72157612432601956/

DH & I are going on a short segment on the Arcadia from Perth to Adelaide next month with friends so that will be very different again. After that nothing is booked but I am hoping that will change! I love cruising and just hope I can convince DH!

If you have made it this far – well done, I know it has ended up being so long but it was nice to relive it and have written memories for the future.

 

Lesley :)

[Guest012]

Great review Lesley I look forward to hearing all about your Arcadia cruise we are trying to decide between her and the Balmoral so an Australian perspective will be great.....cheers Shiona

[Ela 2]

Hi Lesley,

That was a lovely review. I really enjoyed reading it. :):)

Evon.

[Gaznjo]

thanks for that lesley....

 

loved the pictures.... really got the excitment going

 

can't wait till our cruise

 

joanne

[suexxx]

Hi Lestel and family. Just finished reading your review and looking at your photos. Great job. A question for you. When you went to Ouvea and got a car to take you to THE BRIDGE, did you ask to be collected at a certain time? Did you pay when you get to THE BRIDGE or when you returned to tender spot? I'm glad you had a good time and the weather was kind. We're off on Sun Princess in 20days. Went on Pacific Sun 2yrs ago on our first cruise and had a ball. Suexxx:)

[Izabelle]

A very informative review Lesley and great photo's I really enjoyed reading it.

 

I see you are on Arcadia from Freemantle to Adelaide, we get on at Adelaide for the 2 nights to Melbourne, really looking forward to checking out such a new ship :)

[i_love_cruising]

Hi Lesley,

 

That was a fantastic review and your photos are absolutely stunning. We are going to Ouvea in March and after seeing your photos, I am really looking forward to it. :)

 

Sarah

[Johhno]

Hi Lesley,

Thanks for the great reviews/photos on both ships ,a question if a may re part of your post.

 

" I missed the Promenade deck and being able to walk the entire circumference as well as the “secret” balcony access we had on Princess"

 

Do you mean the access to the front of the ship from Baja deck?

The reason I ask is thats the same deck I will be on in Feb for our Sth Pacific cruise on the Sun Princess and Iwould love any secret info.

 

Thanks Johhno

[Lestel]

Hi

 

Glad you all enjoyed my review and photographs.

 

Suexxx - We paid the driver when we got there. We didn't ask him to stay and I don't think he would have understood if we had! We were lucky he as well as other drivers were there when we wanted to leave. Other people we spoke to got drivers that stayed with them and took them various places for varying prices. If you loved the Pacific Sun, you will really love the Sun Princess - hope the weather is as kind to you.

 

Izabelle - looking forward to our short trip on the Arcadia. I remember when you booked and at the time we couldn't organise the Adelaide to Melbourne segment but then we were able to sort out work and organise Perth to Adelaide! We don't have tickets or cabin allocation yet and I'm sure I read you have got yours.

 

Thanks again everyone for the feedback.

 

Lesley:)

[Lestel]

Johhno

 

Yes the small forward deck is what I was referring to. It is often referred to as the secret deck as a lot of people have no idea they are there. We were very forward on Baja in an inside cabin so it was great to be able to get to fresh air and views only metre's away. The door is locked at sunset though.

 

Enjoy - I would love to go on Sun Princess again, hopefully for a longer cruise next time.

 

Lesley :)

[seriola]

Lesley, that was a fantastic review - really well written and easy to read, and the photos are great, thanks for sharing all those. Like Sarah, I too was interested in whether the taxi waited for you at the bridge in Ouvea,- if not can you walk back comfortably and how long do you think this might take?

Jo

[mrssoexcited]

thank you Lestel, I enjoyed the review and the photos so much. We are away in 4 weeks time on PS and it has given me so much info now. Well done! enjoy your next cruise! :)

[aussie down under]

Hi Lesley,

Thanks for your wonderful review.

We have booked a xmas cruise this year on the sun princess, our daughter will be 15 by then.

She is not too keen on going because it is xmas, "just wont be xmas".

I am after tips on how to make it xmassy if you have any.

Thanks,

Michele:)

[lolabunny77]

Hi Lesley,

Thanks for your wonderful review.

We have booked a xmas cruise this year on the sun princess, our daughter will be 15 by then.

She is not too keen on going because it is xmas, "just wont be xmas".

I am after tips on how to make it xmassy if you have any.

Thanks,

Michele:)

I was on the same cruise onboard the Pacific Sun Christmas 2008 and it was wonderful.I did my first cruise December 2007 also a Christmas One but out of Sydney on the Pacific Dawn and loved it.The Entertainment was the greatest and everything was included which is a bonus.Only Complaint Is I was put on a Dining Table with people older than me at Dinner Sittings Otherwise a Very Happy Traveller.There are not as many young people with the Brisbane Departures as there are with the Sydney Ones.I got tempted by a Contiki Asia Tour to Vietnam for Christmas 2009 in the same price bracket once flights and insurance are added into the deal but will return to cruising after that.

[Izabelle]

Izabelle - looking forward to our short trip on the Arcadia. I remember when you booked and at the time we couldn't organise the Adelaide to Melbourne segment but then we were able to sort out work and organise Perth to Adelaide! We don't have tickets or cabin allocation yet and I'm sure I read you have got yours.

 

 

 

 

Hi Lesley,

 

I remember you wanting to go on Arcadia for the chance to either leave from or return to Adelaide, so glad you could make it.

 

We were issued our cabin number when we booked it is C164 and yes we have our tickets now also. It will be short and sweet for us but really looking forward to it.:D

 

You should get your tickets soon as not long to go now.

 

Have a wonderful time :):)

[kaseyoz]

Hi Lesley,

Thanks for your wonderful review.

We have booked a xmas cruise this year on the sun princess, our daughter will be 15 by then.

She is not too keen on going because it is xmas, "just wont be xmas".

I am after tips on how to make it xmassy if you have any.

Thanks,

Michele:)

 

I don't know if it too late but I would check out the shops for a small table top xmas tree to take with you and maybe a few ceiling decoration that you can throw out after.

Make sure your daughter knows the cruise is her gift and take a few small gifts for her.

 

We gave our kids a couple of small gifts , model of ship, to son who collects them, RCL luggage tags. I also bought from the $2 shop here, tiny purses which look like stockings into which I put some money for them.

 

We travelled with friends and made sure we knew we were not buying each other gifts.

 

 

 

We were on the mariner of the seas over xmas and while it no way felt like xmas being so far away from family and being in the carribean, we looked on it as an adventure and something different.

 

RCL had carols in the promenade on xmas eve which was well attended (well not church carols more xmas songs...politically correct)with egg nog and all the staff.

Xmas day santa was there with a very nice gift for all the kids, even the teens. It was our port stop of st marteen, so we went to the beach with santa hats to take photos.

There was a traditional xmas dinner with another traditonal dinner (maybe jewish not sure)on the menu.

All the waiters (huge dining room over three floors) got together to sing "we wish you a merry christmas"

 

While it was not a usual chistmas for us, I am english and still cook turkey etc etc no matter how hot it is, it was a day we will never forget.

[aussie down under]

Hi Karon,

Thanks for your help.

I'm not sure Mikaela will agree that the cruise is her present, coz she doesnt really want to go! It will be Richard and my present though:).

We are creatures of habit aren't we, it will be different, but something I have wanted to experience for some time now.

Cheers,

Michele:)