Diary/Review of Pacific Jewel J008 Tasmanian Treasures

We just got back from the 8 night cruise to Tasmania on Pacific Jewel. This was the 'surprise' cruise. My mother and her friends had booked it a while ago, and by sheer coincidence my partners parents also booked on it! We decided they were bragging too much about going on a ship we hadn't been on, so we booked on it as well a few months ago, but didn't say anything and planned to surprise them on board. The plan worked, up to a point. We surprised my mother and her 2 friends on board, but Kym's father rang his work to say goodbye and was told he wasn't there, he was on a cruise! The game was up, he rang us as we were making our way to the wharf!

They were still very surprised though, and all 7 of us had a great cruise. So now we're back, here's my diary and review of the trip.

After reading a lot of negative things on the Jewel blog and on here I was a bit apprehensive..but I can only assume that since they went on their cruise things have improved... or we were on a completely different Pacific Jewel..one where smoking was only permitted on the port side open decks, not all over the ship, where the service in the Waterfront restaurant was great, where the chocolate cafe did sell coffee and hot chocolate, where there was no hard sell for the spa or the Oasis, where the drink prices were reasonable and the same at every bar, where if the Casbah didn't make a drink they would happily get you one from Connexions, where there were seats in the buffet and the food was good, where the shows were on at good times and where our cabin steward did a great job of looking after us.

it certainly sounds like a different ship to what I'd heard about from some comments, and I believe that's a result of things being improved over these last few cruises. It's a shame they don't seem to have been that way from the start, but hopefully things will continue to improve. And it's hard to resist comparing her to Pacific Dawn, but she is a different ship so really it's just the same as comparing her to Pacific Sun. For me she is my second-favourite, after Pacific Dawn but better than Dawn Princess and Pacific Sun.

According to the captain at the Captains Club, there are 1858 passengers on board, 565 of those are past passengers. So there's only a minority whinging about the fact theyve 'removed' The Dome. They haven't removed it, it was never there, Dawn has that advantage and Jewel has it's own good features.:)

Anyway, on with the diary. Sorry it's a bit long and detailed, might pay to put the kettle on...

Tuesday March 2

After getting up really early and flying down to Sydney, we get through the doors into the baggage area, and who are the first people we see waiting by the baggage carousel for the P&O bus, but Kym’s Mum & Dad! Luckily we saw them from above and they didn’t see us, so we stood there for a while working out how to go down and get our bags without being seen. While they were sitting next to Carousel 3, our bags were happily going around on Carousel 2 with no-one to pick them up! Eventually we figured out a way we could get down there without being seen, and we picked them up and hurried out to get the train to the city. Luckily airport security didn’t seem concerned by two people hiding by the lift looking out every now and then to see if two other people were still there or not!

We got the train to Central, and got some food there while we waited for the all the people we were surprising to get to the wharf and check in. Through the use of text messages and cryptic questions we could keep track of who was where, and we decided when it was safe to head on a train to Circular Quay to have a look at Aurora which was berthed there, before we headed around to Wynyard and walked down to Darling Harbour.

Plans changed at Circular Quay though, when we got a call from Kym’s Dad and the game was up. He had phoned Kym’s work and they had told him Kym was away on a cruise – so suspicions were aroused! We rushed around to Darling Harbour and were able to confirm their suspicions when we walked in on them having a coffee.

Fortunately we survived the surprise intact, and set off to check in and get our boarding passes. They were not too many people in the queue by this stage, and after getting our cruise cards we went through and boarded the ship. No dinging on – our photo was taken at check in by webcam and loaded into the system, and when we got on board it was just scanned with a beep, not a ding!

As we stepped on board Pacific Jewel on the outside of deck 7 it felt so familiar, exactly like stepping on board Pacific Dawn. But once we were inside we could see it was quite different. The carpet is very red, at first I wasn’t sure about it but I got used to it and actually like it. Our cabin, 9133, is roughly in the same place as our cabin on Pacific Dawn had been so we knew where to go to get there, and we were pleased to see that it was the same spacious cabin as our Dawn one had been. It is identical, apart from the nicer carpet and decor.

We were glad to get into the cabin. Organising a surprise and hiding from people while trying to check in is exhausting!

No sooner had we put our bags down and relaxed than our cabin steward Anish arrived to introduce himself. Cabin stewards, in fact all the P&O staff and crew, have new uniforms. Finally, they look different from Princess. I can see that they are trying to create more of a sense of separation with the look of the brands. The cabin stewards uniform is blue and beige, and looks very smart.

Anish showed us all the cabin features like the hair dryer, fridge, and everything else that we already knew but it was helpful of him. He’s great, always friendly.

We checked out the new look Pacific Daily – colour photographs and a new layout of when & where the events are on. It took a bit of getting used to. We checked the list of crew – Lorenzo Paoletti was captain, Paul Hancox is CD, and no other names on the list were familiar at all.

Muster station wasn’t till 3.30 so we went to check out the buffet and have some food. Walking up the stairs it felt like we were back on Dawn (except for the much brighter carpet!) As we were making our way up the decks we heard the first of the many calls to “mind the doors”as the lifts closed. The first time was a novelty – but it soon became annoying, and a real talking point. Apparently she’s the same woman who does the voice in the London Underground advising people to “mind the gap”. She must be quite a belligerent woman in real life, she sounds bossy in the lifts!

We sat in the buffet while Kym’s parents got over the surprise that we were actually there with them, and as we were there my mother and her friends arrived, and we did the whole surprise thing all over again! It was fun, and it was so good to hear them say that they would enjoy the cruise even more now that we were on board too!

So once we’d sat and chatted for a while Kym & I went off to get some food from the buffet. I like Pacific Jewel’s buffet, it reminded me a bit of the buffet on Dawn Princess, but in the same location as Pacific Dawn’s of course. We got some lunch and a coffee from the coffee machines – it’s a much better coffee set up than on Dawn or Sun. Real cups, and two machines on each side, with a good selection of tea as well.

After food Kym & I went off and explored the ship a bit while the others sat and talked about how wicked we’d been to surprise them. Our luggage had arrived, after we’d gone down to the pursers desk to get his suitcase – it didn’t get delivered because the handle & label had come off – it had come off once before and this time it was totally gone.

We unpacked and got ready for the muster drill, in the showlounge. Our first time in Jewel’s showlounge and it’s nice – basically the same as Dawn's except for the staircase so you can go up inside, which is good. Also we noticed for some reason the lifejackets were different- much more comfortable to put on, and also they were a history of the ship – they had both Crown Princess, Aida Blu and Ocean Village Two written in them!

After muster drill we organised dinner – we phoned and made a reservation for 6.30 for 7 of us in the Waterfront, no problem at all.

Exploring the ship a bit more (mind the doors) we felt it was a bit strange – so familiar because everything was in the same place as Dawn and it had the same atmosphere, but also very different because of the different colours. Our party was divided on the colours – some of them liked the red check-pattern carpet but not the red & yellow stripey carpet, others the other way around and I liked both of them. And I really like the red & black pattern lights besides the lifts.

Sailaway came around and we headed off to deck 12 to watch ourselves sail out. Deck 12 looks much different on Jewel, the top walking track area on deck 14 is wider which is good, and there is of course the strange circus thing for the swinging people in the middle. Just before we started to move the Pacific Cirque performers started, leaping and tumbling around to music from the scaffold.

I know they’re obviously talented but you can clearly see it’d be difficult to fall off because of all the wires holding them up, and once you’ve seen one leaping spinning person you’ve seen them all. I found them a bit of a distraction from sailaway – I enjoyed my cocktail, and watched the buildings move further away. Their show was timed to finish just in time to sail under the bridge, and Captain Paoletti was happy to sound the horn lots while we sailed under the bridge. It’s a great feeling! It was also nice because we could see Aurora berthed at Circular Quay.

As we went past the Opera House we left the top deck and went out the front on Deck 10 – not many people had found that yet so the 4 of us stayed out there for a while as we sailed out the harbour, before going back to the cabins and getting ready for dinner.

I was looking forward to seeing the Waterfront restaurant because I’d seen some photos and heard that it was nice. But ‘nice’ doesn’t do it justice – it’s stunning. Completely unlike any other ship restaurant I’ve ever been in or seen. Lovely colours, purple walls and pale blue lights shining on white curtains, and brown planters with nice looking fake grass. It is very impressive!

We were shown our table and met the waiters, Rogelio and Dave. They were both fun, Rogelio told us to call him Roger. Dinner was really nice, same menu as on Dawn. Dave brought around bread rolls which were lovely and fresh, and we ordered our meals. No sign of the bad service that I’d read about in some reviews, the food didn’t take long at all to arrive, and it was lovely. I had the chocolate dessert – I can’t remember the main course but I do remember the dessert – funny that! The whole meal, conversation and service was lovely. After we finished as we left we booked again for the following night, although half our party wanted to eat a bit later so we booked for 4, and on the same table.

After dinner we went to the Casbah (Promenade Bar on P Dawn) which is lovely, and had after dinner Martinis, and then we went to the 9.30 welcome aboard show with the Entertainers, a sample of guest entertainer Mark Kristian, and meeting the senior officers. It was a good show but I wasn’t sure about Mark Kristian. He was a singer-comedian, but he really should have decided which one it was – preferably not the singing part.

After the show we were all tired – it’s been a long day. We’d been up since 4 am and it’s tiring surprising people! So off to bed it was....

Had my coffee in hand and have read it now. It was interesting to hear your point of view. I have chatted to a work colleague who was onboard too and she was really unimpressed with the ship and the activities.

Hi Riffraff,

I enjoyed the read very much. Lovely to see the Pac Jewel through your eyes. I love the idea of surprising friend or family on a cruise. We did this last cruise and kept it a secret for 10 months. It was a bonza surprise for our friends.

Keen to hear about Tassie as we'd like to cruise there one day.

Cheers,

Anna

I'm so excited I think I'm going to bust !!! My girls (11&12yo) will love the circus, one is into gymnastics & the other dancing

Loved your review. Thank you. If was very interesting to read your impressions - I know you have been on several cruises so have something to compare it to.

We were on the inaugural cruise of Pacific Jewel and saw some organisational problems, and service in the dining room needed improvement. When I read some of the reviews I wondered what ship and what cruise the people had been on because it didn't sound like the same one we were on.

After the inaugural cruise I said (on this forum) that everything would be running smoothly in a couple of months. Great to see it is. The Jewel is a lovely ship and the staff all do their best.

Thanks for your review and I'm glad you and Kym had a great cruise.

Ok, here are the next instalments... glad you're enjoying it so far. I'd agree that things seem to be smoothing themselves out as time goes on. Talking to the staff a lot of the original Ocean Village Two staff are coming to the end of their 10 month contracts shortly, they would have been through a lot. The last OV2 cruise, the dry dock in Singapore and then things not going well at the start, they copped a fair bit of abuse from passengers I think. So with some fresh crew, and the ones from Dawn & Sun that are already on there, things will only get better I reckon.

Wednesday March 3

Had breakfast in the buffet this morning, and worked out how the buffet works. Hot food against the wall, cold food in the middle section and the important stuff, the desserts and sweets, around the outside. I really like the coffee stations, with real mugs. The buffet feels a bit more spacious with more room around the tables, but there are actually less tables than on Pacific Dawn. But we never had too much trouble with queueing or with finding a table. During the day the space that is the La Luna restaurant is opened up and the tables can be used by the buffet, so there was usually tables available somewhere. After breakfast we joined up with the others in our group and headed off to the Marquee showlounge for Captain Paoletti’s Virtual Bridge Tour. He is so entertaining and such a good talker that we went again, despite having already seen it on Pacific Dawn. In fact he used the same slide show because both ships are the same.

He talked for 2 hours, or slightly less because he had to get away back to the bridge by 12 to do his noon announcements. He did give us some interesting figures about Pacific Jewel. She is licensed to carry 2653 people (that is the total, passengers and crew). On this cruise on board we have 2601 people, made up of 1848 passengers and 753 crew. Of the 1848 passengers, there are 75 children on board. We hardly saw any kids..but then we hardly saw anyone younger than us. I think I can say without a doubt this is the cruise with the most passengers over 60 I’ve even been on. In fact Kym & I feel like the youngest people here, which is great! I think it’s because of the itinerary, very popular with the ‘oldies’. Last night in the show Paul the CD was joking that the average age of passengers on the recent 13 night cruise to NZ was ‘deceased’. He said that he could tell we were a party crowd – but he’s clearly joking!!

After the captains talk we headed off to the lovely Waterfront for lunch. We sat on the other side this time at a different table. I noticed that the curtains which had been blue-lit last night were now red-lit. At breakfast they are green-lit. Whoever designed the decor did a good job with the lighting effects, it looks great with the curtains and the way the ornaments on the walls are lit. Anyway I could rave on for ages about how fabulous it is, but you probably get the point. It’s nice, I like it.

I ordered the shepherds pie for lunch, I was pleased to see it’s the same lunch menu as on Pacific Sun in December, so I knew I like the shepherds pie. Once we’d ordered we didn’t have long to wait before the meal arrived. One of the complaints I’d read about earlier cruises on Jewel was bad or slow service in the Waterfront, but I’m pleased to say that if there was any, we never experienced it and no-one we spoke to had either.

And of course I had a dessert, the bitter chocolate brownie.

We’d had a full morning what with the Captains talk, so we relaxed a bit in the afternoon and enjoyed our only sea day before the first port. I had a look in the new look Daily, figured out how to read it. I think I preferred the old style, but I do like the fact it’s colour and I got used to it. The daily told us that there was quite a bit on – the Art Auction, the Culinary Demonstration hosted by the Maitre’D Arnold, Bingo, Martini Demonstration, Piano Classics in the Casbah, Passenger Talent Show, Line Dance Class, Ballroom Dance class, Quilling, Ballroom Dancing, Golf, Deck Quoits, Table Tennis, Battle of the Sexes, Wine Tasting Presentation, and of course Trivia. And all before 6pm! But we decided to have an easy afternoon, so after a look at the photo shop (Deck 7 down either side, near the restaurant, where the art gallery is on Dawn) we bought our embarkation photo, and went to the chocolate Cafe to get coffee. I noticed that the menu in the Cafe doesn’t list them, but that’s because they only list the specialty things – you can get a nice latte and hot chocolate in the Cafe, so that’s what we did. And of course we had to try something from the menu. I can recommend the giant marshmallows with white & dark chocolate sauce, they were really good.

Of course the coffee and marshmallows didn’t stop us from going to afternoon tea in the Waterfront restaurant a bit later on. There was the usual sandwiches and cakes, scones and cream. After afternoon tea we checked out that nights menu which is posted in the foyer of the restaurant. While we were there some people were looking timidly in at the restaurant. We started talking to them and discovered they didn’t know you could go there for breakfast, and thought that you had to pay to eat in there. We assured them that they could have breakfast lunch or dinner in there and there was no extra charge. We told them that all the info regarding the dining is in the (new) information folios in the cabin. They did seem confused, probably with more dining options than in the past some people have got confused. I think they didn’t even realise the Waterfront restaurant was there!

A lazy afternoon followed, wandering the ship, looking at the shops. I bought some souvenirs. The shops were well stocked, no more generic things labelled with Princess logos or images of Princess ships, it was all either P&O or Pacific Jewel.

Tonight is formal night, or I should say Cocktail night, so after we got dressed up in shirt & tie, we had our photos taken against some new backdrops before heading off to Waterfront for dinner. We went back to table 247 and Rogelio & Dave were pleased to see us. Even though it was a table for 8, we had the table to ourselves.

I like the new uniforms of the waiters, black shirts & pants with a dark blue waistcoat.

After dinner we had some time before the show – shows were usually 7.30 and 9.30, and by eating at 6.30 we had time after dinner to relax with pre-show cocktails! We went to Casbah for them tonight. I like Casbah, it’s more closed in than the Promenade bar on Dawn. When the doors are open there is a bit of noise travel from Connexions, because unlike the Bengal Bar there are no walls, this bar is open right across the ship. It reminds me of the South Seas Lounge on Fair Princess which was also like that. It makes it feel quite spacious, although when there is something popular on in Connexions it can get a bit crowded there. But the walls and doors on Casbah keep out the noise, which is probably why the put them in – they’re new, added in the refit.

Casbah has a nice feel to it, warm and relaxed, and the booths that you can sit in (we were lucky enough to score one on a couple of nights) are comfy and spacious.

While we were there we remembered that we hadn’t booked dinner for the next night yet. I went off to the Restaurant to see if I could book in, and Samuel at the door said the earliest would be 8pm. That was a bit late for the others so we decided that tomorrow would be the night we give la Luna a try. I went off and booked in there no problem.

We headed off to the showlounge to see the show. Tonight it is Run Away to the Circus.

I think there was some misunderstanding here by some people on earlier cruises. I’d read comments on the Pacific Jewel blog of people complaining that “the Circus show is on too late, that’s no good for kids!” Butl it’s not a kids show, it’s just a normal production show , which is mainly about the idea of running away to the circus. Kids would love it, but it’s not a full-on circus show. We really enjoyed it. The two lead singers in the entertainers are quite good, especially the girl. Don’t ask me what their names were though, our cruise director didn’t introduce them. But the real stars of the show are the elephants , they are so well done and move quite realistically. They’re controlled by the entertainers, I don’t think there’s anyone inside them like pantomime ones, they’re controlled remotely.

The show was great, and afterwards they called for anyone who wants a photo with Dubbo, the small elephant, to stay back – Dubbo then came back on stage and people went up to get their photos taken. I think the idea is for any children in the audience to go up, but Kym and I were the second people up there! Mind you, on this cruise with so many over 65’s on board, we feel like the children!

After the show we wandered around to the Atrium and sat at the tables, because the Vizion laser show was on at 11.00pm. I forgot to mention it was on last night as well, I went to it but Kym was tired and went to bed, along with most of the other passengers who’d had a long day travelling and boarding. That show was good, because there were only about 30 people watching it! Tonight’s was more popular but we still managed to get a good view on Deck 6.

The Sit Down Comedy club star Paul Brasch was on for the second time – he’d been on last night as well, but we didn’t go to that, bed called instead.

Loved reading your review.

By the way, on our cruise we had lunch with a couple whose son made (or worked on) the elephants. There are people inside the elephants' bodies controlling them. I think they said that the man inside the small elephant actually has to walk on his knees with his lower legs doubled up. We asked the couple how they managed to store these large props backstage and were they deflated for storage. They confirmed that they are, and said they actually have to start deflating the large elephant before it goes off stage so it can fit through the door. We really enjoyed the show.

We also agreed with your other comments about the acrobatic show before sailaway. Half the time would have still been too long. We noticed people wandering away from the rails while the show was on, so they probably felt the same way.

thanks for the great read riffraff! Tell me does P&O offer a behind the scene and real bridge tours like Princess?

Would love to do this cruise also, but now I'm being greedy! :rolleyes: Thanks for the wonderful read Riffraff!

thanks for the great read riffraff! Tell me does P&O offer a behind the scene and real bridge tours like Princess?

Unfortuntately they don't yet...... But we have heard whispers that it might be coming.

Loved reading your review.

 

By the way, on our cruise we had lunch with a couple whose son made (or worked on) the elephants. There are people inside the elephants' bodies controlling them. I think they said that the man inside the small elephant actually has to walk on his knees with his lower legs doubled up. We asked the couple how they managed to store these large props backstage and were they deflated for storage. They confirmed that they are, and said they actually have to start deflating the large elephant before it goes off stage so it can fit through the door. We really enjoyed the show.

 

We also agreed with your other comments about the acrobatic show before sailaway. Half the time would have still been too long. We noticed people wandering away from the rails while the show was on, so they probably felt the same way.

I wondered about how the elephants moved, thanks for the info - very clever and I think it would be difficult to be on your knees in that small one for too long!

About the acrobatic show, we were telling our TA about the cruise and they said that P&O are re-scheduling them so they don't clash with sailaway, and also becuase it can be too windy. On South Pacific cruises they'll do the outside one as they leave Port Vila.

Thursday March 4

Port Arthur.

We woke up as we were stopping in the bay, and soon after I heard the anchor dropping - we were here! It was a nice clear morning, and after we got ready we went off for breakfast at the buffet. While there they started calling the first few tender groups. After that we met up with Kym's folks and went to get the tender tickets to go ashore.

There was a strange thing though. This morning when Kym's folks woke up they found under their door an envelope with two "Priority Tender Tickets'in it - basically allowing them to get off whenever they wanted, without having to collect tender tickets from upstairs. The tickets had their cabin numbers on them, but they had no idea why they had got them. They waited with us and went in the same tender group we did, but it was odd that they'd got them. When we collected ours from Alun in the Connexions bar (does he ever smile when he's not on stage?) he'd confirmed they could go off whenever they liked. Maybe their cabin steward had recommended they get them. Anyway, after we collected our tickets it was only a short wait at the side watching the tenders come and go and Port Arthur drift around as the ship turned on her anchor.

Jewel has the same tenders as Dawn except for one which looks new, a catamaran which I was hoping we would get, but we didn't.

A smooth and short tender trip to the Port Arthur wharf, where we were met by a guide and handed an information map. In case anyone is wondering, entry to the historic site is included, you don't need to pay. We descended on the site, and cruise passengers spread out all over the place. The other 3 in our group had gone off for a shore tour, to look at the surrounds and countryside aroud Port Arthur, but we 4 were more than content to spend the day exploring the Port Arthur site itself.

The first place we came to was for me the most creepy. The old historic prison part had an amazing atmosphere and was so interesting, but it felt like it was from another world compared to the creepy feeling of the more recent history. I definitely had two feelings - sadness and creepiness at the cafe and memorial site, and awe and fascintation at the historic site. The walls of the Cafe are still there, and the fireplace.. it was a strange feeling to walk in there, I didn't like to stay too long. The memorial lake out the back and the wooden memorial itself was nice though.

We wandered on to the info centre, up the hill to the church which was huge, and looked around the historic homes and the prisons. Early afternoon came, and when we came out of the Separate Prison and found a nice cafe there. We had lunch, and then spent the afternoon wandering aroudn the hospital, the Penitentiary, the Commondants House, and it was a great opportunity to get some really nice shots of the ship in the bay through the ruins. It was a beautiful sunny day but not too hot.

I also had a phone call to make as we walked around - I had to ring our TA and thank them! The night before room service had delivered a cake and two bottles of champagne, from our TA. That was a nice surrpise!

After wandering around a bit more we could see the queue to get back to the ship so decided to join it, and got the second to last tender back to the ship. The last one left at 3.30pm.

We got back on board and went up to the top deck to watch ourselves sail out of the port. I had suggested to the other 3 in our group, who haven't been on Dawn, that we go out the front to watch the small islands pass by as we sail out of the bay. They didn't know you could get out the front. On the first day they had gone up to the spa to check out the hairdresser, and they asked there if you could get out the front. They were told no, but they thought that meant you couldn't get out at all, not just on deck 14. So with a certain amount of smugness we lead them down to Deck 10, went along the starboard side, and out the front door onto the front deck. They were surprised, and hadn't known it was there. And neither it seemed did anyone else. Most of the time it was almost our own private deck! Except when we cruised around Wineglass Bay, but I'm jumping ahead of myself.

But soon it got cold standing out there so we headed off inside and got ready for dinner. For the 4 of us, that meant trying La Luna for the first time.

La Luna is great. During the day, it's just part of the buffet with different tables and decor. But at night when they close the dividing door, it becomes a great place to eat if you like Asian food - real Asian food, not just western-style takeaway!

When we went in the first thing we noticed was the lovely smell. All the plates on the tables have spices sitting on them which gives the whole place a beautiful smell.

We'd taken one of the bottles of champagne, and while they were opening it we looked at the menu. Since there were 4 of us, the waitress suggested the banquet style where she would bring a selection of the options for each course, which we thought was a good idea. The first course was pickles, then soups, entree, mains and dessert. Each course involved a selection of different dishes, something for most tastes which was good. Both desserts were very nice.

There is a $20 cover charge, but for something very different, tasty food and a great atmosphere it was well worth it. If you like Asian food, do try it.

There are 2 menus, we had Menu A, and they change to Menu B halfway through the cruise.

While we're talking food and restaurants, Salt Grill and La Luna can be booked for any night of the cruise at any time. the Waterfront can only be booked for one night ahead.

We picked the right night to go there. Sailing up the Derwent river to Hobart, seeing land pass by, and watching a pod of dolphins following us up the river was wonderful!

As dinner progressed, the Country night entertainment started out on the open deck. Tonight's show was the guest entertainer Trevor Knight, who was going country singing at 7.30 and 9.30 on the open deck. He was ok, not paticularly stunning, I heard a bit of John Denver wafting in to La Luna now and then, and I thought the idea of a country road taking him home was a damn good one!

After his first show, at 8.30 was the Country Hoe Down. Despite the best efforts of the entertainers and the smoke machines on deck to create a bit of excitement and country atmosphere, they obviously couldn't compete with the cold wind and the thought of a hot cocoa and bedtime, because there were hardly any passengers there taking part. Kym left the table in La Luna to go back to the cabin as they were explaining the rules of the Bang Game. By the time he came back 5 minutes later it was just finishing! I guess the oldies had no interest in banging when it was so cold out on deck. :D

I will admit that is where we noticed the absence of the Dome - they use the showlounge and the stage by the pool, under the circus scaffold, for a lot of things that would be in The Dome on Dawn or Terraces on Sun. They worked OK in these places though, except for the cold wind on the open deck tonight.

After dinner came our arrival in Hobart, we arrived around 8.30 and were tied up and could go ashore by 9.00pm. Tomorrow there would be shuttle buses put on, from 8.30am, but it really isn't that far from where we were docked at Macquarie Wharf into town. As we docked someone pointed out that another P&O ship was in port. I was momentarily confused (makes a change for it to be momentarily) and then saw that it wasn't a cruise ship, but the Aurora Australis, the Antarctic research ship which is bright red, with a white P&O on the side. It was bought and is run by P&O Maritime Services, and was donated for Antarctic research, just as they donated the Oceanic Viking to Customs.

Once we were alongside we were free to come and go as much as we liked overnight, as long as we were back on board by 11.30pm the following night. So we grabbed the camera to go and take some night shots of the ship, and to wander around Hobart on a Friday night.

Hmmm... not entirely successful. Hobart on a Thursday night is not exactly, um....open. A few places were, and the strange thing was there were plenty of parked cars on the streets, but there were no people! I have no idea where they were, unless they have self-driving cars there's something strange going on.

Our mission to take photos wasn't all that successful either. We took one photo, and the batteries died. And we discovered that the new batteries were back in the cabin, with our wallets..so we had no money on us. We couldn't be bothered going back for them, so after a pleasant wander around town window shopping (there's some nice arty shops near the wharf) and wandering around Constitution Dock, we headed back to the ship.

Hobart has 4 hoons, and they share 2 cars. Well, that was all there seemed to be anyway. The two cars were parked near the entrance to the wharf shed where we headed, and the hoons were inspecting the engine of one of them. As we walked towards the shed a small group of the crew, I recognised some of the waiters, were walking ashore to have a look around. I cringed and got so annoyed when they were verbally abused as they walked past the young guys leaning on their cars. Didn't catch what they said but I heard the word 'asians' yelled out, probably followed by some directions... Welcome to Australia, I thought. Thankfully, I saw the two security guards who were standing by the shed entrance, suddenly jump up and move towards them to chase them off. Pesonally I would have liked to see them get thrown in the tide, but even that wouldn't have any lasting effect.

We got back on board, and went to get a coffee from the buffet. We sat out the back and drank it, then decided to head off to bed and look forward to exploring Hobart tomorrow, when it and we wake up.

2nd,3rd,4th March Cant wait to hear the rest...........

Really enjoying reading your review :rolleyes: Vicki :)

Loved reading your review.

 

By the way, on our cruise we had lunch with a couple whose son made (or worked on) the elephants. There are people inside the elephants' bodies controlling them. I think they said that the man inside the small elephant actually has to walk on his knees with his lower legs doubled up. We asked the couple how they managed to store these large props backstage and were they deflated for storage. They confirmed that they are, and said they actually have to start deflating the large elephant before it goes off stage so it can fit through the door. We really enjoyed the show.

 

We also agreed with your other comments about the acrobatic show before sailaway. Half the time would have still been too long. We noticed people wandering away from the rails while the show was on, so they probably felt the same way.

How sad, just when I thought the elephants were real. ;)

Friday March 5 - Day in Hobart.

We woke up after a quiet night's sleep. Where's the fun in being asleep on a ship when it doesn't rock you to sleep?? So strange to not feel any movement. Our cabin is very quiet, weve noticed that from day 1. There was a slightly annoying sound like cables banging or something moving but that has been fixed now, because we haven't heard it anymore.

After breakfast in the buffet we got ready to wander ashore with Kym's folks. The others in our group were off on a shore tour to a wildlife place and sightseeing. We were just going to wander around town. After getting off the ship we found the shuttle buses were right in the shed and there was one there waiting so we jumped in and headed off the 2 minute drive to town, where they dropped us off at the visitor centre.

As we were deciding what to do, around the corner we found a double decker bus parked, doing hop-on hop-off tours of the city and out to the Cascade Brewery, the Botanic Gardens and back. We decided to go on it up to the Cascade Brewey and get off and have lunch there, and then catch the next one back. The whole tour takes 90 minutes, and the buses run hourly.

We went up to the top deck and enjoyed the sights of Hobart as we wound our way out to Cascade. Hobart is a lovely place, I really liked it. Everyone had said to me that Tasmania is like New Zealand, and so far that's true. Hobart reminded me of a cross between Wellington and Picton.

I also noticed lots of older cars - did everyone in Hobart own a Triumph 2500 at one time?? :).

Out at the Cascade Brewery we got off and went for a really nice lunch at the cafe there. Beautiful gardens and nice grounds of the Brewery. We didn't do a tour of the Brewery, but we did sample their wares over lunch, of course.

We walked through the nice gardens and by the creek, and when we reached the end of the gardens to turn back we noticed the new temporary sign which had only recently been put up by the look of it, which said "Snakes have recently been sighted in this park. Please take care and report any sightings' Glad there wasn't a sign at the start of the park or we might not have gone in!

In the afternoon we got the bus back into the city, out to the Gardens and back to the city again. Kym's folks went back to the ship for a relax, and Kym and I walked around and explored the city.

Back on board in the late afternoon to relax, check emails and then get ready for dinner. In the Waterfront tonight, all 7 of us this time. We had booked for 4, but then the other 3 had booked themselves on with us later once they worked out what they were doing.

When we got to the table there were 2 people sitting there with their bread rolls. So we had company and a full table tonight! Turns out that last night with us at La Luna and the others eating later, this couple had been put here and liked the waiters so much they decided to come back! The table seated 9 anyway so it was not a problem at all.

Our table in the restaurant is close to the Wine Room. This is a separate table, surrounded by walls of wine bottles on racks behind glass, and is a private table which can be booked for special celebrations. We noticed on this cruise there were a couple of large family groups, an Italian one and a Russian one. The Russians had the table in the Wine Room one night, and although they were rowdy having it behind walls made it much less noisy than if they'd been in the open restaurant. It was one of the Russian's 70th birthday, according to Rogelio. They seemed to be having a good night!

After dinner the other 3 annouced they were heading back into town to Wrest Point Casino. They hadn't seen it on their wandering around after the shore tour, so they weer going to have a quick look at it. I had visions of them losing all track of time and watching Jewel sail out past them, but they didn't have to be back on board till 11.30pm so there was time.

We went back ashore briefly too, to have another go at taking night photos of the ship. This time we had new batteries, and the photos came out really well.

Strangely enough, tonight was island night. The Island Night deck party was going to feel strange, on a stationary ship about as far south from the islands as you can go - but we dressed up in our island shirts and had a look at the Deck Party. There were a few passengers dancing around and having a good time, but not too many.

After the show, and cocktails, we were back in the cabin when I looked out the window and saw Mum and friends return. We went down to see them come back on, and went up to the back deck for a coffee and sat out there while we reversed out of the dock, turned around and headed off down the river. It was very nice up the back, it had turned into a nice still night and not too cold, so we sat up there for a while and chatted about things while Hobart slipped away behind us.

Wed been chatting for ages when we realised it was nearly 1.00 am, so we headed off for bed.

one of the photos we got of Jewel at Hobart -

Saturday March 6 – Scenic cruising

Breakfast in the buffet again this morning. I like the buffet, but I notice they don’t have the cutlery wrapped in the cloth napkins anymore, just paper napkins and the cutlery in bins that you grab what you want from. I think the cloth ones are better, but I guess we can live without them. I started the cruise by having scrambled eggs and toast and yoghurt, but by this stage I was fooling myself that I wouldn’t put on weight if I just had toast & jam. Going without the scrambled eggs would surely more than make up for having big lunches and nice dinners with bread rolls & lots of butter, chocolate things from the Cafe, afternoon teas and lots of cocktails. That was my diet plan, anyway.

One thing with the buffet, the butter was a bit hard to get to – it was behind the jam (It’s Monbulk jam used in the buffet, if anyone is wondering.) But for those without the benefit of long arms like me, it was also available on the side bench with the water and juice. I also noticed on this cruise much more use of real, proper, actual fresh milk. The coffees (at least the ones at Balcony Bar, probably the others too) were made with fresh milk not UHT milk.

After breakfast we went outside to watch the coast of Tasmania pass by, and we sailed into Great Oyster Bay. We went up the front deck, a few more people had found it by this stage but there was still only about a dozen people there. The weather at this stage wasn’t the best. Very low cloud, not much visibility and it had been raining earlier in the morning. As we sailed around Great Oyster Bay we noticed it was starting to clear.

Earlier Captain Paoletti had said we would be in Wineglass Bay about 11.30, but at this time we were just turning around in Great Oyster Bay. I suspect he slowed down because the weather was going to clear, and even if that wasn’t his intention it is what happened. As we sailed out of Schouten Passage on the Freycinet Peninsula, the cloud started to lift revealing huge rocky cliffs which were very impressive. It got increasingly sunny, and by the time we got to Wineglass Bay the weather was lovely. We sailed up the coast to the entrance and turned and headed for the cliffs, sailing through the entrance to the bay.

What a wonderful place. So quiet, unspoilt and secluded. We could see a couple of people on the beach who probably got the fright of their lives and panicked when they saw Pacific Jewel hove into view in their quiet bay! I bet they thought they were going to be invaded by 2000 people, so they must have been relieved when we started to turn and head out to sea again.

It was beautiful in the bay, and so quiet out the front deck. The only sound now and then was the bow thrusters turning the ship around. Such a lovely spot. We took lots of photos and video. I noticed after we’d been there a while there were a lot more people on the beach. Apparently yuo can only get there over land by hiking, so there must have been several keen hikers around. A lovely spot.

After the captain had made another announcement (there had been a few as we came up the coast, pointing out all the scenic features ) we finished turning and headed off out to sea again. By this time it was lunchtime.

After lunch we looked at the shops, and the photo shop. The photo shop is spilt over the two sides of the ship, one side has photos and the Heritage stuff, and the other side has photos and the tech stuff like cameras etc. They put the embarkation photos up on the wall, but if you get photos done against a backdrop they take a photo of your cruise card and they are put in envelopes in a bin, so you can flick through and find your envelope and they will all be in there. It worked well, it means you don’t have to scan the walls for all your photos, just the ones taken at the ports and around the decks. We also noticed that ones you look through are smaller, but they are still 29.95 each. We thought that was a bit of a rip off, until I checked with Sarah at the photo shop (nice lady, she reminded me of comedian Cal Wilson) and she explained they print them smaller so you can flick through them easier and get your fingerprints all over them while deciding what you want, and then when you buy them they reprint them full size, the same size they've always been. And if you buy 4 you get one free.

Sitting in the fridge in our cabin we have a large chocolate sponge layer cake. We decided that despite my best efforts we wouldn’t get through it on our own, so we decided to ‘host’ an afternoon tea in the cabin for the other 5 in our group. We’d arranged with them to ‘come over to our place’ at 3.30. So when we’d finished lunch in the buffet I took some small plates and forks back to the cabin, and at 3.15 Kym and I went to organise coffee. We were going to go to the Balcony Bar and get proper ones, but there were a few people there and we thought it would take a while to make 7 coffees, so we just went up to the buffet and got them. We also got a cup of milk and hot water for the one tea drinker. I was surprised how organised we were! It was fun, a little crowded with 7 in the cabin but not too bad, Kym’s folks brought their chairs from their cabin. We had a good time chatting until about 4.30 when some had to go and do trivia.

There was also Liars Club and a Wine Tasting on this afternoon which we didn’t go to, but the afternoon tea was a success, only a small bit of cake left which I can easily polish off.

Earlier in the cruise the 4 of us had decided we’d try Salt Grill one night, so we booked on the second day of the cruise for dinner tonight. We didn’t know then it was going to be cocktail night, that was just a lucky chance. So we cleaned up the cabin, took the dirty plates and cups back to the buffet area to save Anish having to do it, and got ready for dinner.

To anyone going on Pacific Jewel - and Pacific Dawn from June onwards when it’s being installed on there – I would definitely recommend Salt Grill. The waiters were very attentive and professional, and we were very impressed with the service and the food. We had taken the other bottle of champagne with us to have with dinner as well which was nice. We started with bread and dukkah, and ordered our entree – the others all had lobster soup with tortellini, and I had potato gnocci. The gnocci was lovely, but we had a laugh with the serving of the soup. When the waiters put the soup bowls in front of the others, they all got a look of surprised puzzlement on their faces, like they think they’ve got the wrong thing but aren’t sure what to say. In the bowls was only two small pieces of tortellini and some decoration. But all was well – the waiters then picked up the white jug of hot soup and poured it into the bowls. The momentary look of confusion on our faces was priceless though :D

For mains I had the Wagyu steak – beautiful. Kym had the flounder, and the others had the Salmon and the Barramundi, and all said the meals were great.

Now I have a problem. I had heard that the chocolate dessert was beautiful, but I also wanted to try the Liquorice Parfait. (Dessert is often the toughest choice for me). But since we’re going on Pacific Dawn in December, I told myself I’d have the liquorice parfait tonight, and the chocolate one next time we’re at Salt Grill. The only trouble is that the Liquorice one was so nice I want to have that again in December, so I’m going to have to make the same decision then and we’re back at square one!! (Is it too ridiculous to book another cruise just to have a dessert?? I think it might be, sadly.) The easiest thing is just to go there twice next cruise..and it is worth it. The whole experience was a definite highlight for us.

I know some people object to paying extra to eat when the food in the main restaurant is included (that’s why there was only 4 of us at Salt not the whole 7 :) ) but I think it’s a great opportunity to experience something different. On shore we would have spent our $30 before we’d finished the entree, so I think it’s very good value for what you get. We were impressed anyway, as was everyone we talked to about it.

After dinner we had some black & white photos taken against a new backdrop. The girl taking them was great. Some people assume Kym & I are brothers and pose us accordingly when we get photos done. She took the chance and asked us if we were partners, so she posed us really well and when we saw them the next day they came out great. She also got Kym’s folks to laugh just before she took the photos, so they all came out well.

Tonight’s show was the guest entertainer Mark Kristian, which we didn’t bother going to but the other 3 of our group did and said he was good. We went to the Balcony Bar (Bacchus Bar on Dawn) and had a coffee, and then did a bit of shopping before going back to the cabin and having an early night. Have to get up early in the morning to go on our first shore tour for the cruise, at Burnie.

Thoroughly enjoying your review, it's refreshing not to read negatives all the time. Can you please tell me who the cruise director is, hopefully not that dreadful woman Z!

We are looking forward to our cruise, the Jewel looks fantastic.

Thoroughly enjoying your review, it's refreshing not to read negatives all the time. Can you please tell me who the cruise director is, hopefully not that dreadful woman Z!

We are looking forward to our cruise, the Jewel looks fantastic.

Glad your enjoying the review! The Jewel is great, and luckily we didn't have the dreadful Z woman :), we'd had her once before, but no this time we had a cruise director who didn't want all the attention to be on them..

Paul Hancox was the CD, an English guy. He was ok, he wasn't annoying, he could possibly have been a bit more visible but he wasn't too bad.

Thanks for posting such a great ( and interesting) review. Great to hear you had such a good time. I would love to do this cruise, just wish it were a bit longer, as we haven't been to Tassie yet.

Sound like you had a good time riffraff. I was on this cruise to but me being 23, could of done with a few more people around my age. So many old people on there they ran out of wheelchairs. Enjoyed seeing Australia instead of the south pacific islands.

hi riffraf, good reveiw and glad you enjoyed yourself

Sound like you had a good time riffraff. I was on this cruise to but me being 23, could of done with a few more people around my age. So many old people on there they ran out of wheelchairs. Enjoyed seeing Australia instead of the south pacific islands.

I know what you mean, there weren't many people around your age on board. At least it made us feel like the youngsters for a change! (We're late 30's... :))

Sunday March 7

The Captain had advised us that the call into Burnie is a difficult one for large ships, and he also advised that there would be a lot of traffic. Burnie is the main cargo port of Tasmania so I figured it would look more industrial than Hobart, which it did. We looked out the cabin window to see another ship nearby, and we were nearly stationary, but still a way from the port. We went up to the buffet and had breakfast while watching the manouver. I could see it would be tricky - we turned around and reversed in, into a not very wide area a bit like backing into a dry-dock. Eventually we were alongside and clearance was given to go ashore. Disembarkation tickets were needed to make the process a bit more orderly and prevent huge queues at the gangway, but we had shore tours so we met in the showlounge. After a short wait we were the second group called off, and we went on our tour, Rivers and Railways - exploring the Don River Railway and then a cruise on the Tamar river to Cataract Gorge.

There were two gangways in operation, one for shore tours and one for people doing their own thing. We stepped off the ship and into the bus, and were soon on our way with the very happy and chatty driver John and tour guide Jerry. Leaving the port we drive through Burnie and out into the country. Somehow we passed through a portal and found ourselves driving in rural NZ. With less sheep though. I know I'm asking for jokes there but I'm moving on and leaving that alone.

Traveling through Devonport and bypassing the small town of Penguin on the highway we arrived at the town of Don. We were going on a short trip on the historic Don River Railway, which was a nice trip in old restored carriages from the 30's and 60's. We also got a tour of the workshop with the old steam engines.

We left Don and headed to the next stop, Launceston. I liked Launceston, we had lunch there and a whort walk around town before going down to the Tamar River and boarding the boat for our Harbour cruise on the Lady Launceston.

Someone had pulled the plug on the river - there's low tide and then there's mud, which is basically all that was left. We'd arrived right at the peak of the lowest of low tides! The skipper said that he would have to go very slow because we only had one or two feet below the keel. We could see as we cruised past the marina with all the flash boats sitting on the mud, that it was a very low tide! Apparently the boats in the marina rise and fall 12 metres a day as the tides come and go.

It was a nice pleasant river cruise, the captain started by showing us where the life jackets were, but in reality if anything happened we could just step out and walk ashore!

The gorge was nice but unfortunately we couldn't go very far into it because of the tide, however it was still a very enjoyable trip. A warm day too with the sun beating down, about 28 deg, so quite pleasant!

After the cruise we were back in the bus back to Burnie. The driver told stories of Burnie and how the town is building on it's tourism potential and getting more cruise ship visits.

We arrived back at the wharf. At the gates the first of many security checks happened. My mother had mentioned their bus had been searched when they got back from their tour in Hobart, including mirrors under the bus, and sure enough, while one port security guy came on and asked us all to hold up our cruise cards (not a really throrough security check) another one was walking around the bus with a mirror on a long pole checking under the bus.

We drove through the gates and alongside the ship, where a second security guard got on the bus and checked our cruise cards again. It's crazy, but it's the port rules, people can't be on a working wharf without special clearance. He sarcastically said when conducting the second check 'a lot can happen between here and the gates you know!"

There was a pipe band playing as we walked up the gangway back on board, and spotted some of our group on deck 7 outside so we went up to join them, and then saw Kym's folks come back on board as well. Shortly after they called us and they had the latte's already ordered in the chocolate cafe, so we went up to join them and talked about the day. They'd been to Cradle Mountain, and really enjoyed it.

We also talked about a growing complaint that was becoming more common - we'd heard it, and they'd heard it from some on their tour. The general feeling is that on this cruise, the Pacific Entertainers are on holiday. We are now at day 5 of the cruise, and they have done 1 show, Run Away to the Circus, as well as one dance in the welcoming show. Also, there are no announcements from the cruise director during the day about what's happening. Only one annoying one that usually interrupts lunch, from the art director. Some people are saying they won't cruise on Jewel again because of the lack of shows - that's a mistake because it's not the ships fault, that's the cruise director's role to organise that.

As it turned out things improved markedly over the next few nights, and the complaints stopped, but it was a bit odd to have a huge gap in the middle of the cruise with no shows. I suspect it was because of the demographic though. The cruise director may have scheduled the shows for nights other than the sea days, figuring passengers would be too exhausted after a day ashore to enjoy them. We did have guest entertainer shows though, and tonights one was James Bustar the juggler, and then the late night Sit Down Comedy with Demo.

Sitting in the chocolate cafe enjoying our coffee as we sailed from Burnie, the captain announced that there were 6 metre swells expected and quite strong winds forecast for Bass Strait, so we could be in for a rough night! I was very happy, so far it had been very calm and un-exciting. But as it turned out Pacific Jewel, like Pacific Dawn, handles the rough seas very well and we didn't really notice it that rough at all.

After the coffee and sailaway from Tasmania we got ready for dinner. The 4 of us at the table tonight, plus another group of 4 - one couple who have cruised before and are enjoying themselves, and a couple of first timers who are so impressed with the ability of the waiters and bar staff to remember everyones names. He was amazed earlier in the evening when he'd gone in to Connexions and got a drink, to be told by the waiter that his friends were also in the bar and pointed them out. "They even know who your friends are on board, it's amazing". We surprised them even more by saying that the staff can remember past passengers from other cruises, and told him about Kym's folks being recognised on Pacific Sun by the cabin steward from their previous Pacific Star cruise. They were very impressed, and said that they had wonderful service from everyone on board.

After dinner we checked out the photo shop and looked at the black & white portraits, which had come out well, and then had a cocktail, of course. There is a kind of a show on tonight, it's Rock n Roll night and the entertainers are hosting a rock and roll dance in the showlounge, which we had a quick look in on. We also went to the casino, Kym had a small win of $30 on the pokies. Once we got used to the new machines which use the cruise card, it works quite well. You set up an áccount' on your card and as you put it in the machine it records any wins against the card. At the end of the cruise you need to cash any remaining balance out. It worked well, but hardened pokie players do miss the sound of the coins tinkling into the tray.

After the casino and cocktails, it was again time for bed.. and another good nights sleep. It could have been a bit more rocky, but considering it was around midnight by this time and we were expected to enter Port Philip Bay around 3.15am, there were only a few hours of slight movement. Oh well, people say Bass Strait is rough and now I've sailed on it twice and it's been boringly smooth both times. Maybe I should go on the Sydney to Hobart race..

Monday 8 March - Melbourne.

I got up early and ventured out on the front deck, deck 10 forward.(or as I was calling it, our deck - no-one else knew it was there!) I'd looked out the window earlier and seen a buoy go past the window (or am I getting confused with a dream I'd had earlier..?) and knew we were getting close to Station Pier. Sure enough I was in time to see us get closer and closer - it was a lovely calm morning and very still and quiet, neither the ship or the wind were making much noise. It felt like we just drifted up to the wharf, and started our turn. After we were pulling alongside I went back to the cabin to wake someone who'd slept through it! It was early though, to be fair.

Breakfast at the buffet with a great view of Melbourne because we'd turned around and were reversed in. Because we were in the same position on Pacific Sun just 3 months before, the first thing we noticed was how much higher up we were. That's great with me being scared of heights! But only when the ship is docked - I could happily hang over the side while we're at sea, just not while there's solid land below us! Not that I do hang over the side, of course, in case you're wondering.

After breakfast we met up in the showlounge with my mother and her friends. Kym and his folks were about to do something they hadn't done before - a shore tour, in their home town. Kym's folks decided to resist the temptation to just go home and do washing, or more importantly check to see how the place had survived the wild rainstorm that hit Melbourne a few days earlier (it was all ok) and to treat Melbourne like any other port and do something they hadn't done before. Kym and I were joining my mother and her friends on the shore tour to Puffing Billy & the Yarra Valley Wineries.

We boarded the bus, and after waiting for 2 late-comers who never showed, we set off to our first stop, Puffing Billy. On the way we drove through parts of the city and you could see the mess left by the flooding after the rainstorm. We got out to Puffing Billy. it's a great steam train ride and well worth doing if you're in Melbourne, very scenic. We also did a a bit of celebrity spotting - we saw Michael Klim the swimmer in the shop buying his tickets for the train. It's a long train, and there were two carriages reserved for us. Luckily there were open sides ones, so we could sit on the edge with our legs hanging out over the side.

We were only on the train until it's first stop, and then back in the bus out to the first winery - Domaine Chandon. It's the only winery in Australia owned by Moet & Chandon, which the fast-talking guide was quick to point out is NOT pronounced 'mo-ay' but it is mo-ett. Mr Chandon was French, but Mr Moet was Dutch. You learn something new every day on a cruise.

Ir was a very quick tour of the winery - "Here's the vines, here's the factory, lets go tasting." Which we did. Nice tables set up and they poured full wine glasses with 3 different types, and also had cheese platters. We only got to try 3 wines, but at least we got a whole glass of whichever one we tried.

After we were feeling very relaxed on a warm day with a glass of wine....mmmmmmmmmmmm.....zzzzzzzzzz.....:) it was time to head off to the next winery, Rochford. They'd had an open-air concert the previous night, featuring Sir Tom Jones. I expected to see the ground littered with women's underwear, but (thankfully) there was none in sight. While we had samples there they were doing sound checks for that nights concert, Diana Krall.

We liked their wines, in paticular their Moscato. We wanted to get some bottles but we knew they'd be surrendered at the wharf, and we had to get it home, so we convinced ourselves with not much difficulty that we needed to get a case so we could get it sent home to Brisbane!

On to Fergussons Winery for a lovely lunch, and a downpour - first real rain of the cruise - but it didn't last long. Long enough to soak us from the winery to the bus.

Back to Melbourne on the bus. A warm day, a train ride, 3 wineries with wine tasting and a nice lunch.... no wonder nearly the whole bus fell asleep as soon as we were on the way back! The guide let them sleep until we were in Melbourne, when she woke them by pointing out a scenic wonder. (Probably a cathedral, I think).

Back to the wharf, and back through security - again with the mirrors on a stick, and this time with a sniffer dog sniffing the bus as well. The tour guide mentioned the hassle a few weeks earlier, when a passenger on Sun Princess who was a Army reservist had had traces of explosives on this bag which the dog had found. Station Pier security kicked in and closed the wharf. She was on a tour bus returning to the ship and was told to circle the wharf, but not tell the passengers about the suspicious explosive package. Sounds like that was a fun time, heavy traffic and concerned passengers getting driven around in circles!

Back on board the ship, and a nice chance to rest and relax after a great day. We caught up with Kym's folks in the chocolate cafe (that was our routine meeting place after shore days, as it turned out. Whoever was there first ordered the coffee.. The staff there got to know us very well. The belgian waffles smell lovely while they're cooking too!)

I knew that it wasn't that long until dinner, but I figured we might run out of time to try things if I didn't seize the opportunity, so Kym and I both ordered a warm chocolate volcano to have with our coffee. Yum... very nice.

After that we freshened up and headed off to dinner. There was only the 4 of us tonight, and not many people in the restaurant. Dinner was nice as usual, and after dinner we chatted with Rogelio. We told him we were going on Dawn in December. He said he had come from Dawn, and was hoping to go back there next contract. He gave us a bit of insight into behind the scenes. Having read about some bad reviews and comments on slow service in earlier cruises, it was interesting to get his perspective.

He was one of the crew moved onto Jewel in early January.

When P&O took over Ocean Village Two a lot of things in the galley needed working on, and behind the scenes technicians have been working hard to fix things and bring them up to scratch. He said it was getting better all the time, but it did mean a few problems earlier on. It was for this reason he prefered Dawn - things worked much smoother. But as he said, things are being fixed, and most of the Ocean Village staff contracts are finishing up very soon. With fresh and experienced staff things will soon settle down. He did say he thought Jewel was a beautiful ship, and that as he understood it, the plans are to revamp Dawn's restaurant in the refurb to make it look the same. He wasn't sure though - but it would be good because it looks stunning I think. And it's good and reassuring to hear that improvements are constantly being made.

Anyway, after the lovely chat with Rogelio we went off to have a drink before the show. Yes, day 6 of the cruise and we are having our second show! Tonight it's Pirates of the Pacific. A great show, saw it before on Dawn and liked it just as much the second time.

After the show was a first for us, on my 12 previous cruises we have never had the champagne waterfall on a non-formal night. But it is the second to last night of the cruise, so that is as usual. We went to the atrium and it was already nearly completely built. Not so much fanfare in the building of it, but the Lazer show started and the laser lights shining on it looked great. the Maitre'D is Arnold, an enormously tall man from Trinidad & Tobago. He's great, he started it off with a generous pour and the line of passengers to have photos taken soon formed. It was the first time I'd seen the laser show and champagne waterfall combined, and it works really well.

After the champagne waterfall we carried on the tradition of a late-night coffee on the back deck, and then off to bed.

And the last instalment -

Tuesday March 9

Last sea day.

It feels a bit odd to just have one sea day at the end..but we'll make the most of it.

After breakfast we met up with Kym's folks and headed to the showlounge for the second of two culinary demonstrations on this cruise. The first one was mostly from the chocolate cafe, I think, we didn't go to it, but we did go to this one which was followed by the galley tour. (We'd done the tour on Dawn and I knew they'd be the same, but I still enjoy it). The culinary demonstration was great - the Maitre'D and the executive chef, the CD and the head of food and beverage, the good looking Italian, Gabi. Gabi and the executive chef had a cook-off which was lots of fun, and as usual the passengers tried it. The highlight was when they were cooking the steak. They got 5 members of the audience from each side of the room to try the two 'contestants' meals. One of the woman was chewing the steak when she confessed to Gabi that she was actually a vegetarian! He asked her what the heck she was doing trying steak and she said she thought they were up to the dessert, the creme brulee! She spat the steak out - but then went and tried the other one as well! When Paul the CD asked each person their opinion and she said she preferred the chefs'steak to Gabi's, he commented "Oh and you're such a steak conissuer, aren't you!" The audience were in hysterics.

After that we filed out and went into the galley. Not surprisingly, it looked exactly like Dawn's! Escalators down to the galley which is beneath the restaurant. Lots of nice fruit and vegetable carvings on display, and we had a photo with the chefs in the background.

After that we went up to the chocolate cafe for coffee to meet up with Kym's Dad who didn't bother with the galley tour. We had a coffee there, and then after a while we went down to the restaurant for lunch. We sat in just the right place - I was looking straight out the window on the starboard side, and another ship came into view - a large one, sleek lines, black hull, red funnel... it was the Queen Mary 2, on her way to Adelaide from Sydney.

We had suspected we might pass her, she left Sydney the day we left Melbourne, but we weren't sure when. Luckily we had the camera with us, Kym raced outside to take photos, and luckily he was also recording a video when the Officer of the Watch came on with an announcement that she was passing us. She was approximately 5 miles away. it was a wonderful bit of excitement. It's not often you pass another passenger ship at sea, even less often that it's one like the Queen Mary 2!

Some people in the restaurant were saying there should have been an announcement - there was, but not to the public rooms and cabins, only the open decks.

After lunch we slowly tried to find enthusiasm for packing. We went back to the cabin and started, and soon had all the bags packed. We managed to fit in most things we bought!

Bags out between 5.00 and 8.00 tonight.

We got our bags out, and went off to dinner. It was quite sad to leave our 2 great waiters in the restaurant. Rogelio and Dave had been great, and after we had photos taken we said goodbye. Hope they are on Dawn in December!

Tonight at 6.30 and 8.360 in the Atrium, the acrobats put on their Pacific Cirque show. I've said before I'm not a huge fan of the acrobatics on deck- but I was impressed with their show in the Atrium and it seemed the best place to have it. They were really good and amazingly strong! I'd like to think I could do that but I know I'd just end up a heap on the floor! Very impressive.

Keeping with the idea of catching up on the entertainment, tonight, the last night, there is another production show - Girt by Sea. It was a good show, really clever. And finally, at the end of it, Paul the CD introdced the entertainers! Well, we knew who Alun and Adam where, we'd seen them quite a bit around the ship, usually together.

After the show we had our last cocktail. Oh, that reminds me - a piece of advice from our experience of cocktails last night.

We were commenting on the lack of a few cocktails from the menu. Kym's mother and I really like Strawberry Clouds, but they're not on any of the menus. We went into Casbah and sat in one of the booths, and the waitress came over. I decided to try and see if we could get them - I asked her if we could have one. She was very helpful -she said that they don't make blended drinks there (it's the Martini bar), but she would happily go through to the other bar (Connexions) and get them. So we ordered 4 - and they came back very quickly.

So the advice is, if it's not on the menu that doesn't mean it's not available. The chocolate cafe doesn't have hot chocolate or coffee on the menu - but they do make them!

And after our cocktails, we went to the last thing - the final of the Passengers Pop Stars. What a hilarious show. 6 contestants, and judged by one of the guest musicians, Ashley from the dubiously-named Ashley & the Family Jewels, Scott one of the dancers, and the guest entertainer Mark Kristian. I was very impressed with him tonight too, he made good comments and the banter between him and Paul the CD was great too.

The highlights were the guy who we thought would win as soon as he came out - literally - onto the stage. The guy we'd seen around the ship a lot with the blonde, um...hair. He sang really well, ironically singing "She Wears My Ring". Mark Kristian wins for the best comment of the night, when Paul started making fun of the guys hair, Mark leapt to his defence by saying "Yes but remember in poker, two queens beats a straight". From then on the night was a whole lot of innuendo and jokes about 'coming out' on stage.

The other highlight was for a different reason, and very moving. The last contestant was an 89 year old man, who will be 90 in a few months he told us. He walked on stage slowly with his cane, and after a bit of a false start he sang What a Wonderful World. He had a very powerful voice for an 89 year old, and his performance had most of the audience on their feet.

It was a great show, and a great way to end a wonderful cruise! Soon after that we went to bed.