When the Jewel’s a rocking the party’s non stopping!

by P&O Cruises on June 16, 2010 · View Comments

Another rocky day at sea, but once again this didn’t stop our passengers from dressing up to the nines for our formal night and having a fabulous evening in the Atrium.

Our Champagne Waterfall received a big round of applause after it tried to topple over in the movement of the ship, however it stayed upright until the very end. The night went off with a bang as Cruise Director Sara-Jane was carried down the stairs singing ‘Get the Party started’ and the nights festivities kicked off, there was lots of dancing, singing and the show stopper was the Baked Alaska parade and the Vision Lazer show which looked spectacular shining through the champagne waterfall. Many people were dressed up in their glad rags, but one particular lady stood out for me, Giovanna Rossetti. Giovanna was wearing the most magnificent green dress and definitely stood out from the crowd. I went and spoke to Giovanna and her husband Mario who told me that the dress had been purchased especially for the cruise as this was their first cruise with P&O Australia. They said that they have had the best time and would definitely come back, they have enjoyed everything from the entertainment to the food and have found everyone on board super friendly.

It was great to meet you Giovanna and Mario and hope to see you and your beautiful dress in the future!

Well stay tuned for some more antics from the Jewel, right now we are about to start another cruise up to Fiji!

Sarah

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  • John Hall

    Wow! I think they must have glued those champagne glasses together if they were able to survive the rocking of the ship last night!
    Hope my in-laws, Yvonne and Reg, didn’t get into too much of the bubbly!

  • Wyn Hyzer

    I remember Paul Hancox from a cruise we took aboard the old Crown Princess in 2001. He was the best fitness instructor we have ever encountered on a cruise! I have wonderful photos of our final aerobics class aboard the ship. I’d love to email them to him. Any way that I can do this?
    Wyn
    [ Paul referred to my husband and me as the "sweatiest (not the sweetist!) couple onboard" that week!]

  • P&O Cruises

    Hi Emma – sorry that you’re having trouble with your booking. If you haven’t already done so, you should speak with our Telephone Sales and Service team by calling 13 24 94. Just remember, if you booked through a travel agent, the Cruise Consultant will need to speak with them. Hopefully we can turn that frown upside down :)

  • natalie

    Anyone been on a sth pacific cruise around this time of year…off in a week & hope it will still be warm!

  • Sharon

    Hi Natalie,
    Where are you? I’m in Adelaide and it’s definitely warmer in the pacific than it is here right now :)
    Check out this site:
    http://www.southpacific.org/faq/weather.html

    Can’t wait till I get on board again in 89 days (but who’s counting) Cruising is the only way to holiday!
    Enjoy your cruise Natalie!

  • natalie

    Thanks for the site Sharon!!!

    We are in Sydney, so a little warmer, not much…

    Adelaide is such a beautiful place, very lucky!

  • http://bubblesrox99@hotmail.com Tash Fairweather

    hi all

    just a quick question for everyone. I am turning 18 while i will be on board with friends do you think this is a good ship for it? if not please suggest

  • Shelley

    Hi everyone,

    We are set to sail on July 28th & can hardly wait! Love the blogs & fabulous pics, keep up the good work everyone.

  • Sue

    Hi All,
    we are heading off on our cruise in eight weeks aboard the Pacific Jewel. We had read about a wine room in the dining area that is available to book. Does anyone know how to arrange this before sailing or do we have to wait until we are aboard. Also is there a cost for this booking and is it worth it – there will be four of us and it is to celebrate three special occasions in one.

  • Tig

    Hi All,
    We are going on the Jewel in 12 weeks just wandering could someone tell me what the prices on alcohol is eg spirits white wine and low alcohol beer i want to make sure that we have enough money as i have heard it is expensive.This will be our 2nd cruise the first was back in 1986 im sure things have changed.we are also celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary is there anything that we should know.I am looking forward to meeting new people

  • Lillian

    We have just come back from the Jewel cruise 12th-26th, If you had never been on a cruise before you will probably fined the cruise ok. I have to say compared to the Princess cruises, this was substandard, The eating arrangements, we were lead to believe there was eating at what ever time you wanted… WRONG!!!!!!!!! if you had not booked you could only get in only when they allocated you a time, and EVERY DAY you have to either line up to get booked in or phone, (Even for the next day you could not ring after 5.30pm to make a booking), and some times this took up to nearly a hour to stand in line. (I am talking about the dinning room). We were not even aloud to take a bottle of wine to our cabin to have a drink on the balcony as we got ready for dinner. I did have a good holiday but to compare I would NEVER go P&O again. I would make sure its a Princess before I booked. I am sure my words wont spoil your holiday but go book the dinning room as soon as you get on board if you want to eat in the dinning room on the first night.. I know you will have a good time, but I felt a bit let down, and also felt like I was being treated like a child not a responsible adult just out to enjoy my holiday and celebrate my birthday. I was also shocked that there was an area at the back deck with nicer chairs you had to pay $5 for half a day or $10 for a whole day to use them. Granted they come with tea and coffee supplied, (Which you can get for free, if you go yourself to the buffet area) If you are a non smoker BEWARE, there are allotted places where smokers can go on deck but they don’t seem to keep to these places and are not policed at all.
    We did meet some great people on board and we made sure we had a good time- but on the whole I did feel a little disappointed.

  • natalie

    sailing tommorrow…can hardly wait, but can anyone tell me how long it takes when we arrive back home to diembark?? Trying to arrange our bus pick up time….it says 7am on our tickets….

  • bev press

    Hi Natalie I have just come off the Jewel and it was such a buzz. you will be given a disembarkation sheet that will give you all you times and options. We were totally off by 10am. have a great cruise

  • Karen

    Hi all, my partner and I are from Adelaide and about to go on our first cruise leaving on the 28th of July (my Birthday yay), has anyone got some good tips for us

  • Sue

    Are there any marriage celebrants going to be on the August 27th Cruise on the Pacific Jewel? My friends who are going with us want to marry on the ship, She is a celebrant herself so will be able to do most of the paperwork but will need someone on board for the form 14 etc.

  • P&O Cruises

    Hi Sue,

    We’re following up what options are available for your friends – although on the lowdown I can hint that we’re about to announce something soon which is very much on topic :)

    P&O Cruises

  • Dave

    Hey Karen,

    Yep…. Just enjoy yourselves……..

  • http://pacificjewel Natalie

    Hi Karen
    1st of all Happy Birthday.Plus being on a cruise on your special day is great.The crew go all out to celebrate!They know how to party..2nd of all My family and I are also from Adelaide and we like cruising only in the months of July/August only.Getting away from our bleak weather..Weve just got back from holidays in the Gold Coast for a change,@ I will tell you there is nothing like sitting back and relaxing/enjoying yourself.We had 2wks off but I felt like I needed time off again after running around everyone else..1st of all go for a swim in the beautiful crystal blue waters(to cold here for that) at Mystery Island.. One of my top 3.Eat a crayfish there.2nd Go Duty Free shopping in Vila,plus look at the local markets,At Noumea just for relaxation go the the chocolate shop for something different and have a coffee and buy some of the choccys for back home,make sure they dont have nuts in them though.Great gift.Ride a bike around the Isle of Pines.It has one beautiful white long beach that goes on @ on.Hope that gives you some ideas.Depends on if you and your partner are adventure’s or not.I am.If so try a jetboat/parasailing in Vila.Most of all Have Fun..You both will make new friends/memories.Once a cruiser always a cruiser.Bon Voyage.. All the best.Natalie

  • Glenn Brewster

    Hi, is anybody able to go and knock on cabin 10117 and ask for Sharon Brewster and tell her that even though it’s only been 2 days since I last ser her, I miss her terribly and love her very much and can’t wait to give her a big kiss and hug when she gets back into Sydney tomorrow morning.

    Thanks,
    Glenn Brewster.

  • Michael

    Hi Karen!
    We’re in the same boat as you (pun intended)…from Adelaide and cruising on the 28th. I’m taking our family group of 8!
    Are you flying over in the morning?? We are Jetstarring over.

  • Alison Elliott

    Looking forward to our cruise in a little over a week. We are interested to know how warm it will be, hard to imagine WARM from wintry Victoria..Brrrrr !
    Alison

  • Katrina

    Hi Tig, I’m not a big drinker but remembered that the bottles of wine started from about $22-24 and I think spirits & beers are similar prices to clubs in Aus. Something to remember is, if you don’t finish your wine at dinner (or you prefer red & your spouse prefers white), you can have your bottle put aside each night & continue to drink it over subsequent nights/lunches etc.

  • Katrina

    If you are still 17 when you embark, you will be issued with a red cruise card, which tells bar staff you’re underage. You may have to go to Reception on your birthday & ask for a new (blue) card, which will allow you to purchase alcohol.

  • Karen

    Hi Michael, we are going with Virgin Blue leaving at 9.am. You cant miss me I look like liza Minelli ( but 20 years younger lol) or so every one says. We are looking forward to meeting new friends and relaxing an having fun.
    Karen

  • Karen

    Hi Natalie,

    Thanks for that. It’s very daunting the first time round and it is nice to know what other people have done as well. Yes my birthday should be one to remember…well I hope I remember anyway lol, Karen

  • Mandy

    Hi Sue
    We just arrived back from 10 wonderful nights on the Jewel last Thursday (15th). We booked the wine room on our last night and it was fantastic!! There were 3 couples … and between us we were celebrating a 30th wedding anniversary, belated honeymoon & an engagement! The waiters made us feel really special and the food was delicious! It was a cost of $28 per person but well worth it. We just made the booking on the ship, a few days before the last night. The wine room is within the Waterfront Restaurant … ask one of the waiters to show you … they are all very obliging! Hope you have a great cruise … cheers!

  • http://pacificjewel Natalie

    Hi Karen
    It is daunting/nervous the 1st time around but also very exciting.I went on my 1st P/O cruise 5yrs ago with my hubby @ our 3yr old son at the time. I was 37 at the time and to be honest,I thought it was going to be a challenge but it was the best experience that I ever did.I dont have no regrets.It was my 1st trip o/s as well.We have been back again but different islands than last.We love cruising.Like I said before we just got back from the Gold Coast for 2wks, for some change but I felt more exhausted when I came back.I know my next holiday will be a cruise again.Looks like that you like to party so dont forget Duty Free at Vila for drinks.But P/O hold the alcohol until its nearly time to disembark.It gets delivered to your cabin door.Dont forget also to declare your items at customs as well just a small formality/not hard at all.Go and have fun @ soak up the sun.Least it sunny hear today compared to yesterday.Bring it back home.Go for a swim for me,you wont regret it,the water is nice this time of year would you believe..Let me know how it goes.Bye Natalie

  • gerry

    Hi Karen,we on the same Virgin Blue so we’ll be looking for a song or two. This will be our first P&O cruise so we’re looking forwardto the experience. Sounds great!

  • Tig

    Hi Katrina
    Thanks for that can you tell me what the food was like also did you do the buffet or the resturants.

  • Karen

    Hi Gerry, we are counting down the days our first P & O cruise as well. I may look like Liza Minelli, I wish I could sing like her lol! Watch out any karaoke night, a few reds and you never know…. my poor partner my hide at this point. Hope we see you we are looking forward t alot of fun and meeting new people.

  • P&O Cruises

    Hi Lillian,

    It sounds like you’re an experienced Princess Cruiser and we’re taking your feedback onboard. One thing that we pride ourselves on at P&O Cruises Australia is the number of dining options that we do provide, from buffet to a la carte and casual dining through to specialty dining. We do understand that it gets busy during peak periods, which is why we also offer 24-hour room service to ensure you can always have something available. We also try to ensure passengers are spoilt for choices by introducing The Oasis; an adults-only sanctuary which has day bed, wicker lounges, access to magazines, unlimited hot non alcoholic beverages and well as complimentary water bottles.

    We’re constantly looking to improve onboard experiences which is why we also encourage disembarking passengers to complete our onboard evaluation which is very important.

    We are glad to hear that you met some great people on board and that you had a good time. We are lucky to have a great P&O community online, so thanks for sharing your experiences with us.

    P&O Cruises Australia

  • chris

    Hi Tig
    We have just come back from a week on the Princess Dawn. Food was fantastic at the buffet and the restaurant. We didn’t go to the Salt Grill. Definitely experience the buffet and the restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Although you may not feel hungry also do a high tea at 3.30 in the dining room too for the experience. For us, we ended up having breakfast in the buffet, lunch either at the dining room or buffet but booked for dinner every night in the dining room. There were four of us but we sat on a table of ten which was great to meet new people and ended up with our own group of 10 for the rest of the week.

  • chris

    Have fun – we had a ball. Make sure you tell them it’s your birthday as they make it special for you, particularly at dinner in the restaurant.
    My tip – We had a small spring water bottle which we filled up and took with us on the tours. You can buy them on the boat. We bought three of the large bottles on board and drank these. I think it’s important to drink plenty of water because of the air conditioning, wind and particularly if you are drinking alcohol so you don’t become dehydrated. The large ones were $3.50 each but you can drink the tap water too. Also if you don’t like large crowds then find the front of the ship for coming into ports.
    At Vila we went to the Secret Garden tour, came back and looked at the markets, had lunch and then took a taxi into town for duty free shopping. $10.00 each way for the two of us. Had a fantastic day there and was the best place to purchase your souvenirs.

  • Rhonda Rice

    looking forward with great enthusiasm to our next cruise in May ‘11.geoff and myself are new to cruising and totally addicted now. after the comedy cruise in july we couldn’t wait to book again for the next time. we’re going up the coast. I have bad memories of sea-sickness when cruising with my late husband many years ago, so geoff and i are staying close to shore where it’s safer. pacific jewel is much improved than the oriana and ‘love boat’ i went on in the 70’s. rhonda

  • jesse

    ive been thinking bout trying out the p&O but after reading alot of reviews. its kinda turned me off u get 5 bad one’s to every one good one.should i just ignore them. or make other plans an go to thailand?

  • P&O Cruises

    Hi Jesse, if you’re interested in hearing what people think of our cruises you’ve definitely come to the right place – however, I also suggest you check out our Facebook Page (here: http://www.facebook.com/POCruises )

    Thanks!

  • http://pacificjewel Natalie

    Hi Jesse.
    Since no-one has answered your blog here goes..Go on a cruise.You dont have to cook.Clean up your room. You get to meet new people and make great new friends.You get to see a new port/island nearly everyday.I just got back a few weeks ago from the Gold Coast for a change,and all I did was run around after everyone else all day.NOT NEXT TIME.Dont let bad reviews put you off honestly.If you have any problems it will get sorted out..Your holiday is what you make of it.Plus the Pacific have the most beautiful islands/most friendliest people around.Go ahead book a cruise..Next time I will.Take care

  • Rob

    how much money would you need in Noumea?

    Would you exchange before you go on the cruise or in that particular island?

  • Dave

    Hey Rob,

    Changing from Aussie $ to Pacific Francs (Noumea’s currency) can be done on board any of P&O’s ships, usually available at reception the day prior or on the day you dock in Noumea.

    You can also change it back to Aussie $ on board but only the notes, they won’t accept coins.

    All depends on what you are planning to do in Noumea… maybe between A$50 – A$100, in some areas of Noumea it can get a little expensive (much like Sydney’s Darling Harbour) going after the tourist $.

    I’m sure there are some other well travelled P&O cruise addicts out there that may have better thoughts on how much to spend…………….

  • Tig

    Hi,
    We are going on our cruise in 6 1/2 weeks could someeone tell me if we can bring water and softdrink on the ship. We are going on the jewel cannot wait as we are going to renew our wedding vows on board

  • Trish Youngson

    Its been over 2 weeks since my cruise on the Jewel and i wish I was back on there, it was my first cruise and I had sooooo much fun, I am already planning my next cruise and thinking of what themes nights we can do to beat our star trek and star wars stand off !!!

    A big thank you to all the crew and staff on the Jewel for making my holiday one of the best holidays I have ever been on.

    See you next year.

  • P&O Cruises

    Hi Tig,

    That sounds so exciting – and congratulations on renewing your vows.

    We do allow you to bring drinks on board for personal use only, in small quantities.

    Thanks,

    P&O Cruises

  • Jules

    Is there anyone sailing on the Jewel departing 10th Oct with young children in tow? Love to hear what you have planned. Also need advice on what to do re: kids club…do you need to book children in early ? not sure how it all works. Any recommendations on any of the tours suitable for under 7 yrs

    Thanks

  • Deb Bechaz

    I would like to thank all the staff on the Pacifc Jewel for a wonderful holiday.
    Rob & I where celebrating our 30th Wedding Anniversary and what a Anniversary it was.
    We had the best time & I can honeslty say it was the best holiday we have had.
    We unfortunately missed going to the Isle of Pines, but now there is an excuse to go cruising again.
    So thankyou P&O and all the wonderful staff on the Pacific Jewel for making our holiday so special.
    Can’t wait to book our next cruise…………….

  • Michelle

    We are heading off on the Jewel for our first ever cruise in 2 weeks. You said we can bring drinks on board for personal use – does this include a couple of bottles of wine? Or if we buy wine on board, can we take this back to our cabin to drink?

  • Maz

    We’re cruising on the 17th Aug & can’t wait – only 4 days to go. Great to read everyones hints & tips – thanks very much.

  • Karen

    We would also like to thank the staff on the Pacific Jewel for a wonderful holiday.
    I celebrated my Birthday on the day we left and had a ball. we also have some lovely formal photos as a great memory!

    Wondering if anyon can help from Adelaide if possible. We purchased the double dvd of scenes and islands but there was another one ou could also purchase does anyone have a copy or know where we can source one?

    Thanks again and jes we will be sailing away with P&O in the near future.

    Kind Regards Karen and Mark

  • P&O Cruises

    Hi Michelle,

    Unfortuately alcoholic drinks cannot be brought on board or taken to your cabin as we need to adhere to responsible service of alcohol.

    Thanks,

    P&O Cruises

  • Michael

    We had a great time on Pacific Jewel, Jul 28 to Aug 7. Very impressed with the professionalism of Captain and Crew…well done!
    Apart from the weather, the only disappointment for me was the price of red wine at the bar…$9.75 per glass, for a wine as rough as the force 9 seas outside!!! Come on P&O…gross overpricing.
    Oh, also in the ripoff basket was the $20 per print photos. If these were reasonably priced you wouldn’t need to destroy all those hundreds of un-sold prints at the end of the cruise.
    I’m a reasonable person who expects to pay for top service, but, these prices are overboard! As a captive audiance, I guess we either pay up or shut up.
    Otherwisw, a great cruise, thanks.

  • FIONA

    Hi I was wondering about buying cigarettes on board – are you able to buy them and use whilst cruising? Or are they given to you at end of cruise like the alcohol is???

  • Michael

    If you buy duty free smokes, they are kept from you until the last day.
    If you buy at the bar, at P&O prices, you can use them.

    BTW…following my note above re photp prices…to purchase one JPEG file…one photo…$40!!! Cannot see how this can be justified.

  • Vicki

    YAY paid my cruise balance today. not long now. Cant wait. anyone going on 13th Nov or 27th Nov.

  • sue

    hi vicki. my sister & i are going on the 13th nov this year, paid our balance, now just to wait for our tickets !!! less than 12 weeks to go : )))

  • Beth

    Hi, I have been on cruises before but never to NZ. I have just booked on for November, I was wondering if there will be an “island night” onboard?? I find it one of the best nights! Thanks :)

  • Vicki

    Yes Sue, I cant wait. 12 weeks seems so long but I am sure it will go fast. :)

  • Vicki

    can anyone tell me if you can hire snorkelling gear on the Jewel. The Dawn had an aqua hut where you could hire all the gear but was wondering if you can do the same on the Jewel.

  • P&O Cruises

    Hi Vicki,

    You certainly can! There’s an aqua hut on board Jewel also.

    P&O Cruises

  • Vicki

    great, thank you

  • AJ

    Hey All, Just booked Pacific Jewel, Pacific Islands Cruise for Jan very exciting,
    Just wanted to know how much people spent while on board to try and help save/ budget! Would be useful to know if you drank much and what shore tours were good value.

  • Wyn Hyzer

    Just reposting this and hoping for a reply from someone with the P&O staff!

    I remember Paul Hancox from a cruise we took aboard the old Crown Princess in 2001. He was the best fitness instructor we have ever encountered on a cruise! I have wonderful photos of our final aerobics class aboard the ship. I’d love to email them to him. Any way that I can do this?
    Wyn
    [ Paul referred to my husband and me as the "sweatiest (not the sweetist!) couple onboard" that week!]

    Reply

  • P&O Cruises

    Hi Wyn,

    Paul Hancox is the cruise director on board the Pacific Dawn now.

    If you’d like to send him a message – you can email it through to us at social@pocruises.com.au and we’ll pass it onto him.

    Thanks,

    P&O Cruises

  • Teresa

    Hi,
    How do we know what theme nights are happening on the cruise? We are planning to travel on the Pacific Jewel on September 22.

    Teresa ;-)

  • P&O Cruises

    Hi Teresa,

    The cruise director decides which cruises will be available – once you’re on board. The main theme nights that we have are listed here so you can plan what to bring on board in advance. We also have some items available in the shops.

    Thanks,

    P&O Cruises

  • Kerrie

    6 girlfriends and myself joined the Pacific Dawn in April for a cruising holiday and we had the most fabulous time ever, we so enjoyed ourselves that we have just booked our next cruise for next year, so if you are thinking of cruising just do it, everything is done for you, you can do the most of everything or you can do the least of things, FABULOUS.

  • Michelle

    Lillian, we have been on a couple of cruises and found them to be one of the best holidays we have experianced. We are heading off on the jewel on the 13th of November and gettting very excited. You are obviously a very hard to please person, a holiday is how you make it. We have found the staff and the hospitality to be highly commended. We think you need to get a life. Next time, stay at home!

  • karlie mcquillen

    i love corey is the best dancer evaaa
    xoxox

  • FIONA

    Hi all,

    Returned yesterday from the Jewel and had a magnificent time, well done P&O. Entertainment was great, apart from Zoltana singing the Swannies song all the time (only joking!!), meals were great and the crew were fantastic. One of the first things I did when I arrived home was to check the brochure to see which cruise to go on again next year. So, all of you that are about to go, you will have a wonderful time. Thanks again P&O for the best holiday I think I have ever had.

  • P&O Cruises

    So glad to hear you had an awesome cruise Fiona!

    Looking forward to seeing you on board again soon :)

    P&O Cruises

  • Sue

    Where were the magazines, water bottles and other non-alcoholic drinks? The only liquid we could get on this deck was a pot of tea or coffee? We have only just come back from our cruise and it certainly didn’t have all these things in the oasis! In fact we had to pay for our soft drinks so I definitely know they weren’t free.

  • colleen harrod

    hi guys leaving on oct 19th on the pacific jewel, looking forward to it so much what do I pack?????? help

  • P&O Cruises

    Hi Colleen,

    You can find everything you need to know through our website about what to pack.

    Happy Cruising!

    P&O Cruises

  • spike

    just back off the jewel, beer prices are around the $6+ mark and friends told me the wine was expensive after buying the wine they had onboard($32) and yesterday he got it for $8 from dan murphy’s. Cocktails and spirits were about $7-$10 and martinis about $12.
    The waterfront dining room got very busy and a lot booked a set time. If you didnt have a booking you fronted up and got a pager with normally a 10-30 min wait although they buggered up one night and we waited 90 mins but they said sorry to us with a free bottle of champers.
    Definitely check out Salt and pay the extra as the food was to die for but before booking check with reception and see what night they intend to do the circus on deck as we missed it due to our dinner booking.
    Not real big drinkers and our grog bill for the 10 days was about $1100 for the 2 of us.
    taxi buses at villa should cost about $3 per head if in a group of about 6 or about $10 per head if a couple. One young guy got stung as he didnt ask the price before he got in and the local tried to rip him for $250 for a 6km trip into town. With the assistance of a local shop owner he settled for $100. we paid $21 for 7 of us.
    Enjoy your cruise

  • Janet

    Hi

    We have just returned from our cruise on the Pacific Jewel. The Islands were amazing and we had a great time. We are first time cruisers and were planning on returning for another cruise with a group of friends late next year.

    The only disappointing thing about our trip was the amount of unsupervised children. We are not old and have children ourselves. We were amazed by the children running riot on board. We appreciate that the cruise staff were most probably restricted to dealing with this issue, surely they are able to ask the parents to control their own children?????

    We were under the impression that there was a children’s club, is this so? If it is the children didn’t seem to go there. We had children running up and down the passage at all hours on our level. The most concerning thing was dinner time. There was a large table of obviously more than one family every evening in the dinning room. The adults just sat there chatting whilst the children ran riot, throwing things and misbehaving. The staff had to step over the children. Other passengers showed their disapproval on many occasions several commenting to us and other passengers. A few of us changed the time we went for dinner yet this table of unsupervised very badly behaved children and adults seemed to be there.

    We appreciate P & O are unable to discriminate as to ages of passengers and everyone is entitled to go on a cruise at any age. We do recommend that either staff/crew members are trained in approaching people to control their children. Also a couple of suggestions, why don’t P & O either set different times for meals with children under a certain age or better still section the restaurant to have children at one end of the restaurant so that this does not effect other passengers and have staff dealing with these tables that are trained in this manner.

    Also we paid more than once to go onto the Oasis area. Again children were running around out of control. What is the point of paying for an area to have ‘quite time’ when you let children run around.

    In saying this I must say that there were some extremely well behaved children on board on the cruise.

    We would also like to add that the drinks were rather over priced. On the Lido deck the wine was shocking for a small plastic glass not even full to the top it was approximately $9.00. We were paying large amounts for very small drinks.

    I guess for our cruise next year it would be more beneficial to look elsewhere as we have been advised that another overseas company have a children’s club on board and make sure they look after the customers that will return.

    Janet

  • Michelle

    Hi, I have a cruise booked on Pacific Jewel for March 2011

    I am concerned about the weather at that time, on the islands etc as i have been told its cyclone season, do you still get some decent (hottish) weather ??

  • Sue

    Hi Janet,
    Thanks for putting your veiws on the P & O Blog. I put almost the same comments on the day after we returned – must have been the same cruise, and my comments have been ‘moderatred’ I think that means deleted, But it is ditto from my hubby and I.

  • Cathy

    Hi Colleen,
    My husband & I are going on the Jewel on Oct19th, It will be my first cruise, We are looking forward to our cruise so much. The only thing I would like to know is how much drinks are on board? If anyone can help that would be great.
    Cheers

  • Michael

    Glad to see somebody else agrees with my comment re cost of a glass of wine (note Aug 14 above.)
    Kids were OK on our cruise, but there were many 16-17 y/o teens being served alcohol and admitted to the late nite disco.
    I guess that, if you don’t drink or buy photos…you’ll have a good value holiday!

  • Janet

    Hi Sue,

    We were under the same impression. There were no free non Alcoholic drinks … apart from tea and coffee. No magazines what so ever. If you left your sun bed to go and find a magazine someone else was on it by the time you returned even after making crew aware you were going to return. Everytime you got up to leave your sun bed you were jumped on so that they could ‘re-sell your position for the day’!

  • cheryle

    HI Vicki yes we are offf on the jewel on the 13th Nov we are travelling in a group of 20 adults and 4 kids and we cant wait.

  • Chris

    I have noticed P & O only seem to answer selected comments! Seems they only like the nice ones.

  • P&O Cruises

    Hi Chris,

    We welcome all kinds of feedback – although usually we reply to direct comments when people need assistance.

    If you’d like to pass on any more information we’d encourage you to contact our customer care team on 13 24 94 (AU) or 0800 780 716 (NZ).

    Please let us know if you need anything further.

    Thanks,

    P&O Cruises

  • http://hotmail john wilkins

    Hi there all,we cruised July 27-August 7 on the Jewel as first timers and had a fantastic time!! All the staff were ever smiling,courteous and helpful.It astonishes me that some are unhappy with this or that or….for you guys reading this just hop aboard with an open mind and be in the mood to have FUN and you will.We booked our next cruise just a week after getting home for May 2011 and theres another one for possibly 30 of us being planned for 2012.The best thing for us is that we could do as little or as much as we wanted.See you again in 2011 P&O

  • Margret

    My first cruise will be on Pacific Jewel on 10 October with a group of 20 family and friends. Getting very excited. Keep an eye out for us, we will be the ones laughing loudly and often.

  • Margret

    One question, is the current rainy weather in regional qld having any effect on the waters we will be travelling from Sydney to the islands?

  • Tig

    Hi we just came back on thursday the 30th of sept from our cruise and after reading all the blogs on the web i was abit worried about going with alot of negativity about the jewel i need not have worried as we had the best time.we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary and renewed ours vows and it couldnt have been better.Alright the drinks and photos are pricey but all the fun we had outweighed anything else we enjoyed it that much we are going again in 2 years. our cabin stewerd ATTISH was so nice would do anything for you. most of the staff were very friendly.I would like to thank Yvette for organising our renewal it was beautiful. for people that want to go but thinking about all the blogs just go and make up your on mind we nearly didnt go cause i was thinking too much about what people said..With the food it was great except they should have more variety of cold meats at lunch time it is the most relaxing holiday that you can have not much fun when you get home and you have to make breakfast make the bed pick up the towels after a shower so on and so on then it hits you reality sinks in. enjoy your holiday everyone.

  • Nina

    Hi Janet,

    I’m reading all the comments and have to say your’s has been very helpful – However I’m a little too late. We have just paid for our cruise and are travelling in Jan on the Jewel… we are all 1st timers and now I don’t want to go. Usually we travel too Hawaii, Mexcio, Greece… – But my sister’s wanted to try something different…..OH well I have to make the most of it now :(

  • Leanne

    going on the Jewel in Jan with my daughter looking froward to having a great time. Bit concerned about the cost of the drinks last cruise the drink were more than resonable. considering they would be duty free they shouldnt be more than the cost on shore. oh dear mybe i will stick to coke but will have a ball.

    would live to know the theme night want to make something special Why don t you advertise it PO?

  • james

    Hi Vicky, we are off to NZ on the 27th. his will be our third cruise but not for a while. Hoping this one it is a good as the last. :)

  • http://blog sue

    hi beth i am sure there will be a island night there are sixteen of us in our party we are all hoping to have a great time as always this is the first time to n.z the good news is the boat is working it sails today so keep your fingers crossed counting down the days

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