Need help choosing between two "identical" cruises

I have never sailed with P&O Australia before so forgive me for inquiring about what appear to be two identical cruises. But whereas to me they might look the same, maybe the experienced folk here can help confirm this or point out something that I missed.

Cruise #1:

- Date: July 4 from Brisbane

- Ship: Pacific Dawn

- Route: Pacific islands

Cruise #2:

- Date: one day later

- Ship: Pacific Jewel

- Route: only one port of call is different, Mare instead of Lifou

It is literally "take your pick" of the two, or is one of the ships better than the other, or maybe one of the places along the way (Lifou vs Mare) is a better choice?

There are slight differences between the ships and ports, but none so major that I would say a significant difference exists.

Some prefer the Dome nightclub on the Dawn, but the ships are from the same base build so very similar.

Equally, the ports are different but both are on islands with the same sort of features, so again nothing stands out on either.

Go with whichever suits your dates or price better. :-)

Many thanks for your reply.

I forgot to add that we will be sailing with our two young daughters - is any of the ships going to be a better choice from the kids' POV?

I probably won't have the opportunity to visit the nightclub at late hours, but does any of the ships have better pubs/bars during the afternoon/evening hours? Or is it all pretty much the same?

Many thanks for your reply.

 

I forgot to add that we will be sailing with our two young daughters - is any of the ships going to be a better choice from the kids' POV?

 

I probably won't have the opportunity to visit the nightclub at late hours, but does any of the ships have better pubs/bars during the afternoon/evening hours? Or is it all pretty much the same?

If absolutely everything else is equal, I'd choose Dawn because of the Dome, and that the Edge refit was more recent, so may have optimisations (but I haven't heard of any). Kids clubs arrangements are the same between the ships.

In terms of bars, Dawn has the Promenade whereas Jewel has Connexions so again no real difference.

The only other possible difference is Jewel is being refurbed from its buffet to "The Pantry" around June I believe (if it's on time). That will be different stations based on themes/cooking styles. But even if on time, sometimes being the first means there are still things to be ironed out...? Dawn will keep its buffet for now.

Astera, one thing to be aware of. At Lifou you can swim right near the jetty where you land from the tender, but I believe on Mare you have to catch the shuttle bus to the swimming beach. I have read what the price for the bus is, but cannot remember. Haven't been to Mare but I believe the beach is nice, but then so is Lifou and the markets are also near the jetty.

The only other possible difference is Jewel is being refurbed from its buffet to "The Pantry" around June I believe (if it's on time).

The Pacific Jewel should be in Dry Dock from May 24th to June 5th.

The beach at Mare is much nicer than the one at Lifou. However, you do have to pay for shuttle tickets to get there & back.

The snorkelling is good at Mare, but better at Lifou. Once again though, you do have to pay to access the snorkelling area at Lifou.

As for the ship itself, I prefer the Dawn because of the Dome. Other than that they're pretty much equivalent in terms of bars & activities.

Many thanks guys for pitching in and helping out.

Just to give a little bit more background our kids are only 5 & 7 and we are only regulars with Royal Caribbean, so this will be our first "deviation" into unknown territory with P&O (I might have cruised with them years ago, but this would have been on the Portsmouth-Bilbao/Santander route in Europe).

Are the Promenade and Connexions just different names for the same type of thing, or is this a different setup altogether?

With kids I would prefer a buffet-type arrangement for meals, so the Dawn seems like a good choice. Question is, why is the Jewel in dry-dock next month? Is it a major revamp including cabins, or just the restaurants getting an upgrade?

You guys really make the Dome seem like a great place so that is once again a plus for the Dawn. What time does it get busy there, is it mostly a late-night option?

Think it's &15.00 return each for the bus , so $60.00 to get to the swimming beach at Mare, I prefer Lifou there is an area you have to pay for snorkelling but it wouldn't be suitable for your girls. But the main beach is right where you tender and we did some reasonable swimming and snorkelling there , Also the girls can get their hair braided if they wish and there's lots of island women giving massages for $10 or $15.00 and a few market stalls ..but you will need reef shoes or lightweight runners when swimming as the beach has lots of Coral . Can't compare the boats as have only been on the Jewel and the Pearl ..(I liked the Pearl better but would go on both again)

We have been to both ports. Lifou much more than Mare. I just heard last time on Lifou that if you get off the tender and go to the right there is a lovely little beach. Safe for kids. Also talking to parents, P&O have the best kids club on the high seas. Hope you have a great time. PS Much prefer the Dawn. My preference.

I've been on both, and after being on the Dawn, felt a bit flat about the Jewel, both in layout and the deconstructed (we felt spoiled) Dome on the Jewel, as well as generally the service was just not as good. That's only our perception. The Dome is admittedly a bit nightclubby but the kids club also used it for their Island night, and it's a lovely place to be in the daytime.

We've never been to Mare, but I loved Lifou, but obviously can't compare. Either way, I think you'd love it all - good luck if you haven't already made a decision :)

I Have been on Both

I would recommend the Dawn over the Jewel

The kids club on Dawn is larger and in the middle of the ship near the atrium.

On the Jewel it is right up the top of the ship, and when you are picking kids up late at night 8-9pm and have to take them out on the windy deck and down steps my kids were wide awake by the time we go back to the cabins.

The Edge activities are for older kids, my 6yr old only did the trampoline jumping. I just paid for this 1 activity rather than get her a pass for the week.

In regards to food, Both ships do a "kids dinner" at 4.30 up in Plantations, with coloring in pages, drink and dessert, we even had the kids mascots show up for photo opportunities.

Looks like I'll finally get to check out P&O and will most likely end up on the Dawn, which seems like the better choice for families due to the kids club being larger and better-located.

We are looking at the 'Barrier Reef Discovery' cruise - does anyone know the day-to-day plan for this cruise? I can't seem to find it in the brochure and the website isn't any better either.

Basically I need to know how long the last stretch takes from Port Douglas back to Brisbane (passing by Willis Island on the way) as I don't want to be cut off from Telstra cell-tower range for more than 3 days.