Anyone going on P518 - Vanuatu Adventure from Auckland

Anyone here on Cruise Critic going on P518 - Vanuatu Adventure from Auckland on the 8th May 2015???

Me! Me :) You look like you've been on a couple of cruises before? :p

Me! Me :) You look like you've been on a couple of cruises before? :p

Welcome to Cruise Critic ClevedonMum :D and welcome to the smallest/quietist roll call every!

Yes, we have been on a few cruises :)

ClevedonMum - have you been on the Pacific Pearl before??

Have you been to the islands before? :)

Thanks for the warm welcome.

We've only been on one cruise before, Carnival Spirit Sydney to Mystery Island/Isle of Pines/Noumea. We loved it! Especially the warm & caring crew. I'm scared the Pearl will be a huge let-down. I'm yet to tell my partner we'll be sleeping in bunks haha :) I booked it as a surprise trip & we're taking our girls, aged 4 & 5.5 (they hate kids clubs so will be our little traveling companions).

My cousin won a trip on this same cruise last year and raved about it. Hopefully we have the same experience!

We've only been on one cruise before, Carnival Spirit Sydney to Mystery Island/Isle of Pines/Noumea. We loved it! Especially the warm & caring crew. I'm scared the Pearl will be a huge let-down.

We went on the Carnival Legend in October 2014, and we where disappointed in it.

We have been on the Pacific Pearl 3 times, and we enjoy her :) (She is an older ship then you have been on, and she may show her age in some place (but she is due for a dry dock in Aug), but she is still a great ship!.

P&O will be very different to Carnival, P&O have much more fun :D (in my option).

I'm yet to tell my partner we'll be sleeping in bunks haha :) I booked it as a surprise trip & we're taking our girls, aged 4 & 5.5 (they hate kids clubs so will be our little traveling companions).

I hope the kids try the P&O kids club, it will be different to Carnival.

Also tell the kids they might get to see an elephant on stage ;) :D

(Hopefully they will do the show "Run Away to the Circus").

Also go with a open mind about the Pearl :)

From the other thread.......... at the prices being offered now on this cruise, I am expecting a sudden rush of Cruise Critics to the Pacific Pearl on 8 May. I went on the same cruise last year after a break of 9 years from cruising, now I'm hooked again!

Also go with a open mind about the Pearl :)

Oh I ALWAYS travel with an open mind :) Especially since we had children, our accommodation options are not as 5* as they once were! Cruising offers excellent value for money, and it'll be lovely to leave from Auckland. Flying is fun but I imagine it'd be a bit less stressful going onboard to our cabin.

I don't think I have a snowballs chance in hell of getting my 5 year old to a kid's club :( Maybe the 4 year old but not without her sister. The trouble with the Carnival one was parents weren't allowed to stay (or even go in to drop off, the kids got pushed through a gate). And I understand why but it makes it hard. They also had a crying kids room, if kids were upset they got separated from the rest in there to watch a movie, and cry (both our girls were in there when we picked them up from their one & only visit).

Do they do dinner entertainment on the Pearl? On the Spirit the wait staff put on a little show each night (like, dancing gangnam style or singing). I loved that. Do you know if it is flexible dining? As in you get a different table/wait staff each night? Thanks!!

Just a second hand observation....

A friend of ours is just back from the first cruise. She has cruised many times in the Med on luxury ships , so we thought ...Oh dear....Wonder if she knows what she is in for ?

However she went with an open mind, thrilled at the bargain price she had paid and was pleasantly surprised . She thouroughly enjoyed the whole cruise . Food was great and embarkation , without the hassle of Customs and Immigration was a breeze.

We just did ten days on the pearl to the islands from Auckland.

No entertainment at dinner.

Anytime dining so long as you book at 5.30 the night before ( when bookings open) or they will tell you when there is space on the day .

Buffet anytime, but we liked the waterfront.

No dining time needed for breakfast or lunch there just dinner, and yes they had the circus show with the two elephants on

We had a new pacific entertainment crew start on the second last night, not as good as the week we had had, but they had been doing it for 6 mths and they could really sing. Like being in the east end.

We missed noumea cos of bad weather and headed back to Auckland over three days, but saw the other four islands,

Not as bad as carnival stuck out of Sydney heads today in 9 met swells and not being able to get in!

We were lucky!!

I'm going on spirit in July, just noumea and Isle of pines, hopefully noumea will be doable this time .

Enjoy your May cruise, prices are crazy low! Twin $620

13 days to go :eek:

Perhaps we won't be seeing the land diving on Pentecost after all?

http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/272240/chiefs-take-action-over-right-to-vanuatu-land-diving

9 days to go!

2 days to go :eek:

Leaving tomorrow to fly to Auckland, and overnight in a cheap, and cheerful hotel nearby.

Check in time 11.30am, and straight up to Plantation for a coffee!

Have a nice time, jealous..much.

When you see pascal, the French / Canadian guitarist can you tell him the guy who sang summer of 69 on his guitar says hi.

Thanks

Hope you guys have a great cruise :)

Look forward to hearing all about it! :D

We might bump in to each other at some point.

Your ships arrived..

BON VOYAGE

Thank You Kiwi Kruzer :D

How was it? Warm weather?

No one came back......

Ha! Sorry, missed your other message :) Weather was nice, made all our ports but had to leave Mystery Island a few hours early due to expected swells. It was very lumpy for a day or 2! My other half did the access all areas tour & was told they had 7 metre swells. The restaurants were deserted but there were still room service meals going put. No circus or elephants for us 😢 I heard they'd had an 'incident'...

Oops, wonder what that was!?? We had three circus shows but the third show at 9 cancelled due to swells.

Lucky we saw it at 6, people were a little peed they couldn't see the show at 9

We couldn't do mystery island as the wharf was busted, glad they have fixed it. We did maré instead.

We had 6 met swells, but only during the night for about 15 hrs, so the restaurants in the morning and the rest of the day were still busy. He had slowed down to 10 knots Which helped

The boat is old so stabilisers aren't as good as say carnival or MSC, I hear.

Hence slowing right down.

Glad you saw all the ports, wish we had seen noumea but thems the breaks...

Any more cruises planned ?

Have a nice time, jealous..much.

When you see pascal, the French / Canadian guitarist can you tell him the guy who sang summer of 69 on his guitar says hi.

Thanks

I did remember you to him, Kiwimills, on the first night. He sends his regards!

Watched and listened to him several times, he was really good, but probably not appreciated by his audience.

We had a wonderful cruise, not quite as hot as the one last year to the same ports. Trivia-ed ourselves silly!

Thank you ms Belmont , appreciate that.

Yes, he is very good...On the last night in the atrium for the farewell party, people who hadn't heard him, realised then he was brilliant !!

Hubby won us a bag, a drink bottle and a wrist band from the games! ( plus a free cruise on name that tune show) so we too are all trivia out. Told him to let others win!!

Glad you had a good time.

Going on the spirit in July from Sydney. Can't wait. Getting a bit cruise addicted!!! When is your next one ?