Pacific Jewel

My Hubby and I are travelling on the Pacific Jewel in July I have never cruised with them here but have several times in UK I am wondering first what people overall think and is anyone travelling on the 12th July :o :o

Having been on P and O UK recently (Aurora) found them far superior to P and O Australia in terms of food, service, facilities, condition of ship etc.

My boyfriend and I are cruising on the Pacific Jewel at the end of June- haven't cruised with P&O before so I'm curious to see what people think as well!

My dad, step mother, brother and sister in law are currently on the Pacific Eden- they return Friday I think - I'll be sure to get the run down from them as I don't think the ships would be all that different :) Watch this space!

I went on jewl in dec afterabout 10 princess cruises

ship is high desity id say its a little worn out

foods ok except forvpantry thats like a food court

you will never see prawns lobster etc

pizza chips burgers you pay for

still its clean and if you like to party this ship is for you

and you will see more tattoos on p&o

I posted a review on my cruise on the Jewel a couple of weeks back that you can read for more detail but a few things I can share quickly.

First thing, you are going to have a fantastic time so long as you allow yourself to, P&O is quite a down market cruise line, kind of like comparing tiger to Qantas, P&O is definitely the Tiger airlines of Australian cruising, the basics are included in your standard fare but extras mount up quickly and things other lines have included P&O do not.

The good part of this is that if you are happy do do without some things the others offer for free you can make substantial savings over other lines and the way I look at it is it means I can cruise more often for the same money.

Food

After 9pm if you want food you need to pay and its basic corner store stuff at best, a pizza, hamburger pie, hot dog or chips

Before 9pm you have the restaurant or the pantry, avoid the pantry, its average bistro quality at best and not much variety, we had most of our meals in the "waterfront Restaurant" which was OK, service was quite good most of the time and the food was OK, the food itself is not particularly expensive food but its cooked and presented well. the menu can get a bit tired though, we had a 12 day cruise and by the end I was over it.

The food was edible though and so long as you either stocked up or got in before 9 at the pantry there was plenty to eat.

Entertainment,

normally the entertainment is good but my last cruise I was a little disappointed, I like the adults comedy type shows but they only had 2 over 12 nights, I missed the first one but the second was Steady Eddie which was very good, the other stuff not so much

The ship itself,

Showing plenty of signs of its age but its comfortable and spacious and handles the seas well

If you dont mind paying for it the thermal rooms in the spa are reasonably priced if you want to watch the waves go by from the comfort of a sauna or relaxation room

The atmosphere

Probably something a lot of people overlook when choosing which line to cruise with but I think its important, certainly different cruise lines attract different types of cruisers, I cruised once with Celebrity, food was fantastic, service was the best I have had but the atmosphere was perhaps best suited to some retirees wanting some peace and quiet from the grand kids for a week or 2, Carnival which I also cruised with is on the other side of the spectrum and overrun with kids (that was school holiday period though) and P&O which seems to be more a younger party going scene, its not to say that cruisers from all walks of life dont go on and enjoy all of the different cruise lines but generally speaking a younger couple, with or without the kids who likes to party a bit more will love the atmosphere on P&O while the older couple that just wants some peace and quiet to read a book or watch a cabaret show with great food and service is sadly going to struggle to find it on a P&O ship and especially the Jewel.

Shore tours are filthy dear through the ship, do some research beforehand and have some faith in your own ability to find your way around, to me that's half the fun, I have never done a ships shore tour but I have saved a lot of money and seen and done things the shore tours cant show you.

I dont drink coffee myself but a tip from my wife, take some coffee with you, even the paid for coffee on the ship was apparently not much good and free make your own coffee from all accounts was pretty bad.

Also, a drink bottle or 2 with large size opening is going to be a good idea as well, fill it with ice and water and leave it in the fridge in your cabin, for those times you want a cold drink of water

I just read your post and found it very informative Thank You.

My husband and i are sailing on the P&O Jewel in May and never sailed before on a P&O cruise ship i had heard it wasn't as good as the other cruise ships, but we got the trip at a very good price.

Thank you about the coffee as we are real coffee drinkers i will bring my own.

Funnystuff.

I too second the thanks I am going to be cruising next month with my sister. I have seen they now have drinks packages but the alcohol seems terribly expensive for a light drinker. Looks like the soft drink one for me I don't drink coffee but my sister does so a bottle of nescafe on the cards.

I was on Azamara in Feb it is very small and all inclusive so I will have been spoilt could eat and drink all day and night with no extra cost but hey it was expensive to begin with. Was on Royal Caribbean in 2014 they had a good soft pack that included mocktails pity P&O didn't do that I liked it at lot.

I'll be happy if they have good entertainment and plenty of it Azamara does not got a bit boring after 14nts. I will also be happy as I doubt we will have many kids as its not school holidays and it not a popular time of year.

Do they have any kind of drinks etc around the snack bar area like Royal Carribbean they had tea coffee and a flavoured water like cordial for free all day that helps to keep costs down during the day then just have a couple of drinks at night. Both Royal and Azamara also had Mr Whippy kind of icecream for free or is that asking to much also.