I find it very difficult to write reviews of cruiseships/cruises. I do not like the type of review that describes in detail what the writer did onboard during the day ( eg had bacon and eggs for breakfast – the bacon was cold) – and I find comparisons of ships to be unhelpful as they all have their good points and bad points. Furthermore - what I consider to be a good point, others may think it to be a bad point and vice versa. So, I guess that all we can do is to present our thoughts as they occur to us – and leave others to attempt to make some sense of them. Our most recent cruise was on Queen Mary 2. Pacific Pearl is a LOT different to Queen Mary 2 (DUH!) – not only is QM2 more then twice the size/tonnage of Pearl , the daily cost to us was 3 times what we have paid for this cruise, the atmospheres onboard are totally different, the clientele onboard each ship are miles apart. Hence it really is very difficult to assess a Mini-Minor after having driven a Rolls Royce.
After only one short day onboard Pacific Pearl, I think it would be fair to say that anybody who has cruised with P&O AUS in the past on other ships of the Company and enjoyed the experience – will also enjoy Pearl. But probably the converse will also be the case. From previous experience, I have always found the P&O AUS ships to be VERY laid back, relaxed, friendly – with absolutely no pretensions that may be found elsewhere. If you are considering cruising on P&O AUS ships, you will need to understand Australians and New Zealanders and enjoy their company. The vibe so far is good – but I am a little surprised at the number of children onboard (all of whom are well behaved). However I have been told that the children get reduced fares until the age of 12 – and a couple of weeks missed from school is more than made up by the experience they get during their cruise.
As I said above, all ships have their good and bad points – and most have some kind of WOW! factor that is unique or peculiar to them. I could point out quite a few that we have experienced on other ships. It seems to me that Pacific Pearl has everything that is needed in a cruise ship – but, it lacks a unique WOW! factor. Perhaps I have been on too many that do definitely have one – eg Pacific Dawn’s Dome, Oriana’s Promenade deck( and other things), QM2’s ??? (well, just QM2 itself!). But – can every ship really have some kind of WOW factor?? I don’t know. There are two things about Pacific Pearl that I don’t like – the artificial grass?? “growing” on top of cabinets in the Waterfront Dining Room (what “Designer” was/is responsible for it???) – and the entire Marquee Theatre. I had heard bad reports about the Marquee – and they are all true. I think that it would be the worst/most poorly laid out /designed Theatre that we have encountered on any ship that we have been on. I know that sounds harsh – but I would be interested to hear others thoughts on it. However, it has obviously existed since the ship was built 20 or so years ago, so perhaps my judgment of it at this early stage of the cruise is unfair.
I spent most of the day yesterday exploring the different parts of the ship. Some random photos (in the form of a slideshow) can be found here.
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