Review of Pac.Sun N833 20th Sept...40th B'day cruise

ok guys here is my attempt at a review....

Friday 19th Sept...

After counting down the last week before the much awaited cruise, Friday the 19th rolled around and Lisa ( one of my best friends) and I packed up the car and headed off to Brisbane to spend the night before boarding the Sun the next morning. We never shut up the whole way about how much fun we were going to have, we were so excited we kept talking over each other and then laughing..it was a fun drive...until we hit the city at peak hour!! We managed to do a huge loop 3 times through the city centre trying to find our hotel (which had camofagued itself better than a chameleon could ever do) before we finally spotted it... mental note to mention to the desk clerk that maybe some better signage might help us poor country folk find their fine establishment...but continuing...

Another 2 loops of the city centre before we found the parking area and finally made it to the reception desk looking rather flustered but very relieved, much to the amusement of the desk clerk Gabriel who just laughed and shrugged his shoulders... (thanks gabriel your sarcasm was noted and then forgotten :) )Follow this by almost getting stuck in the lift and then opening the door to our room to find that it was smaller than our cabin on the ship...Oh my..

We looked at each other and just burst out laughing until we almost cried then txt Penne ( my favourite cousin in the whole world :) who was cruising with us) to let her know we had arrived and would meet her in the morning at the wharf. Penne was also staying over night in Brisbane.

We had tea with a friend and explored the Queen Street Mall before finally climbing into bed in our cupboard, oh sorry did I say cupboard, I mean our hotel room to try to get some sleep.

Speaking of sleep I am going to get some now and will continue this tomorrow

cheers

wakee wakee time to get up and get started on the next part. Sorry I didnt bring you your early morning cuppa though.

Great start can't wait to hear more.

All these people cruising for their birthdays. Now, when is my birthday again??

Yes ... no excuses now --- we're waiting by out computers for the next installment!!!:):):)

More please :) :) :)

excellent review so far!!!!!!!!

Looking forward to more! So which hotel was the camoflagued cupboards?

ok after a nice day at the beach Im back...

Sept 20th saturday

Surprisingly we slept really well in the cupboard and I will say that the beds were fantastic and almost felt like we were sleeping on clouds so all was forgiven with Gabriel when we left in the morning...

up and ready by 7am which wasnt too bright because our friend wasnt picking us up until after 8.30 anyway so the next hour and a bit dragged like no other time I can think of...oh except childbirth of course but thats another story that I wont go into :)

anyway our friend arrived and we headed off to the wharf with our trusty google map and step-by-step directions on how to get to the wharf and 2 minutes later we were lost and headed in the wrong direction and our 15 minute trip to the wharf took us on a scenic drive through the city and surrounding suburbs and up over the Gateway bridge that went for about 35 minutes but I will say that it was totally worth it when the Pacific Sun came into view as we came up over the bridge. Lisa and I both screamed and started clapping much to the amusement of our friend driving who then admitted he SO wished he was coming with us...

we found parking really easily and headed off to check our bags in and get our boarding passes and then set off to get some much needed bacon and eggs. We looked for other ccrs but couldnt find any so then we started exchanging txt messages with Penne so that we could meet up and all board together..

We found her about 5 mins before boarding and after hugs and smiles from ear to ear , 3 very happy but a little nervous ladies set off to board our very first cruise ship. We were wide eyed and laughing and exclaiming "oh my God" all the way whichj was met with smiles and laughter and "Oh first time cruisers" from almost everyone we saw

We found our cabin and were happy to find that it was much more roomy than we expected and we could see that we would be comfortable living here for the next week together...then it was off to explore and try to find a our way around this wonderful ship

penne and lisa cabin u164

http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-snc1/v348/128/74/635845123/s635845123_1322739_9153.jpg

so Im back from a day at the beach to continue my review

Sept 20th Saturday

Surprisingly we slept really well in the cupboard and I will tell you that the beds were simply fantastic almost like sleeping on a cloud if that were possible so all was fogiven with Gabriel when we checked out :)

Our friend arrived just after 8.30 am and we headed off for our 15 minute drive to the wharf with our trusty google map and step-by-step directions in hand. By step 2 we were lost and headed in the wrong direction so our 15 min trip took about 40 minutes and included a scenic drive through the city and surrounding suburbs and up over the Gateway Bridge!!

This was all totally worth it when the lovely Pacific Sun came into view as we came up over the bridge..Lisa and I started screaming and clapping, much to the amusement of our friend driving who then admitted that he SO wished he was coming with us:)

We found parking really easy and headed off to check our bags in and get our boarding passes and then sat down to some much needed bacon and eggs.

We looked for fellow CCrs but didnt see any so we bagan exchanging txt messages with Penne so we could meet up and board together. We found her about 5 mins before we were called to board and after hugs and smiles from ear to ear , 3 very excited ladies headed off to board our very first cruise ship!

we were wide eyed and laughing and squealing "OH MY GOD" the whole ways..this was met with many smiles and the comment of "oh...first time cruisers.." classic.

Finding our cabin was easy and were pleased to find that it was more roomy than we had expected and could see us being comfortable for the next week living together in here...we were also very pleased to discover that the lift was right outside our door and Penne and I found this very handy in the night s to follow as the lift right outside the Oz nightclub was the very same lift that opened at our door...oh how we loved that lift!!!

lisa and penne in cabn U164

Great review so far Michelle, I am smiling so much and re-living it, can't wait for the next bit :D

sorry everyone about the double posting I ve had nothing but trouble on here this arvo...when i posted the first one it said error and then just disappeared so i retyped it all from memory (which is why its a little different) and then posted and suddenly both posts appeared ?? so then i tried to edit and delete the 2nd post but it wouldnt let me grrr....so sorry if Im rambling and wish me luck with the next part of my review

cheers xo

ok here goes...continuing...

we then headed up to the pool deck to grab our first of many cocktails in our bright yellow P&O glasses and set off to explore.

We headed up to the Atlantis Lounge which was much larger than we had thought from the pictures we had seen. We loved it and ended up spending alot of time in here over the next week which I will talk about later on...then we headed back for some more cocktails and we discovered that Gemma the bar attendant at the outback bar makes THE best Pina Coladas on the whole ship...GO GEMMA!!

More exploring and more cocktails then we met up with the other 4 people travelling in our group, Dan, Bec, Sam and Bernie who looked as excited as us.

We were supposed to meet the other CCrs at the front of the ship under the cruise cam so we headed up there because I had also organised with my kids to be on the home computer at a certain time so that they could see us waving goodbye...this was a great time because I phoned them while they could see us on the cam and they were just as excited as me...it was great.

We missed the other CCrs but did spot Glenda at the outback bar with her cruise critic tshirt for all to see although we didnt end up speaking to her until dinner that night.

The video guy was walking around looking for the "not so shy" people to be a part of the reflections video that can be purchased on the last night of the cruise so we flagged him down and said we wanted to be on it and so now, for those of you who have it , I can be seen front and centre standing between Lisa and Dan while they yell loudly HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHELLE...I also appear a few other times but in a more discreet manner :)

Ok back to the pool deck and the Sun Dancers were performing and the conga line started and so had the party atmosphere and then it was time to get ready for dinner. We wondered who our other dinner guests would be sharing our table and hoped that they would be fun and also be able to put up with us for a week!!

We were at Table 31 and our waiters were Tutuk and Allan who we immediately called "Big Al" and this stuck the whole cruise. We could not have asked for greater guys than these two and they joined in our laughter and fun the whole week long ..they were fantastic and we love you Big Al and Tutuk xoxo.

Our 3 other table guests were Kyle, Loree and Carmen and they were just the best people to be seated with and after the first night we were all getting along as though we had always known each other forever. We all became friends and looked forward to our dinners each night. We didnt realise at first that they were cruise critics too!

We introduced ourselves to Glenda before heading off to the Atlantis lounge for our first show with the Sun Entertainers.

The shows were a highlight for myself and Penne and we didnt miss a single one we just loved them..Adam the cruise director was a very funny man and very good at his job, we discovered later that he was a man of many talents which I will talk about later.

Now ...I will tell you that this was the one and only time that I felt a little queasy throughout my week at sea... being right at the front of the ship the Atlantis lounge can be a little rocky and about half way through the show I got the dreaded feeling like I was going to throw up so I excused myself and headed for the very back of the ship and stood out in the fresh air near the outback bar for about 5 mins. It was very very windy and I was the only one there at that time so feeling a little worried that no one would know if I got blown overboard I headed back to lounge and caught the rest of the show.

as I said this was the only time i felt sick.. I had taken the advice of my chemist and taken an Avomine tablet the night before in the motel and I took One every night before i got into bed while I was on the ship and I was fine.

Penne on the other hand get very seasick the next morning and I had to take her down to the doctors and get her a shot that made her stop spewing and she slept for a couple of hours and then she was ok. Her and I partied that night in the Oz nightclub so the shot certainly works!!

ok Im trying to add some pics before I write anymore then I will continue with my first full day on the cruise

penne and lisa cabin U164

under the cruise cam...lisa penne me

no explanation needed

]ok Sunday 21st Sept[/u]

We woke up early and headed up to the buffet for breakfast, which was delicious and we may have over indulged slightly.. we sat with a lovely couple and their kids and discovered that the guy, Brad was also celebrating his birthday and it was the same day as me!! so ...everytime we saw these guys we would stop and have a quick chat about what we had been doing, its so easy to make friends I just loved it..

this is where Penne got sick and spent the next few or more hours sleeping in the cabin so Lisa and I looked through the daily newspaper and decided to head off to our very first Ballroom Dancing lessons which were held onstage in the Atlantis Lounge. you didnt need a partner so it was great we climbed up on stage which proved to be a little unsteady at times and ended up having the best time ever...when it came time to partner up I saw a handsome young man headed my way and snatched him out of the crowd. His name was Andrew and he was travelling with his boyfriend and a group of other friends as well. One of his friends Mark, became Lisas partner and the four of us had so much fun trying to master the steps and the turns and how to hold our "frame" in the right position. We quickly became friends and often found these guys on the dance floor in the night clubs in the nights to follow and boogied into the wee hours with them and others.

it was alsmost lunch time so we headed back to the buffet for some more yummy food and made up a plate of cheese crackers and fruit and took it down to Penne who was looking and feeling a little better.

We headed up to the photo area to check out our embarkation pic from the day before and ended up buying the scrapbooking album along with the pics...then off to the shops and then we headed up to the meeting place for the CCrs meet and greet.

It was great to put faces to the people I had been talking to on the forum and we all introduced ourselves, everyone was very nice and easy to talk too and we got some great hints and info from those who had cruised before and this was where I first met Crystal and her cousin Trent who I came to adore in a very short time. I just loved these guys and ended up partying with them alot and really enjoyed their company immensely...unfortuantely I had to leave the meeting early as I had booked a Pedicure as the beginning of my week of indulgence for my 40th birthday so I rushed off promising to catch up with everyone later ...

The pedicure was absolute bliss and for anyone who hasnt had one I recommend that you pamper yourself onboard and sit back and relax and enjoy...my feet and toes so looked so damn fine that I refused to wear closed in shoes for the rest of the cruise!!:)

Our first formal night tonight so we headed down to get ready, pretty ourselves up, put on our dresses and heels and head off to table 31 for some good food and good fun and then off to the show which was again fantastic then it was off to the Oz to see a guest appearance by the "village people" courtesy of the sun dancers and cruise director Adam...remember I said he had many talents, well leading the village people in his black leather hotpants and vest was clearly one of them!!

It was fantastic and I kicked myself for leaving my camera in my cabin and from that moment I always had it hanging from my wrist from then on. Penne and I danced the night away after we made a quick trip down to the cabin in that favourite lift to change into jeans and flat shoes and then we took up our spot on the dance floor and got down to business :) Found Trent and Crystal again...man can Trent move it move it on the dance floor did I already say I love this guy??

I may have forgotten to mention our beverage stops along the way but we had discovered a taste for the mudslide cocktail and I will not mention how many we managed to down throughout the cruise for fear that you all may think that we have a drinking problem :)

I think we came whispering into the cabin around 1.30 trying not to wake Lisa and climbed into bed...was rather funny watching Penne try to climb the ladder to the top bunk and went to sleep not knowing if it was the cocktails making me sway in bed or if it was actually my bed swaying with the rise and fall of the sea...

thats all for now and I will add a couple more pics then say goodnight

cheers xo

heading to the night club...taken by lisa who was already in bed :)

best ballroom dancers..me and andrew

Hi Chelle & belated Happy Birthday!

What a fabulous way to celebrate. Am loving your review, it's making me laugh and wishing you guys were all on when we go at Xmas.

We are also on Upper Deck so pleased to read you were happy with the position and that you though it roomy although there are 4 of us in our cabin.

Looking forward to more.

Lesley:)

Monday 22nd September

up quite early considering the late night and we decided to have breakfast in the dining room...when you arrive you are just seated at the next available table and it is a great way to meet other passengers...we did this every morning from then on and the food was fantastic. Ordering from ther menu and having the food brought to the table was so much nicer than lining up and helping yourself at the buffet. We met some lovely people doing this each morning and also sometimes at lunch time as and we would alsways stop and chat with them whenever we saw them in other areas on the ship.

Penne and I purchased our Bingo tickets and headed off to try our luck. The bingo dobbers had been delivered to our cabin and although we had lots of fun at Bingo we were not winners.

After Bingo it was lunch time again...one thing you dont have to worry about is being hungry on the cruise and then after lunch Lisa and I went off to ballroom dancing to meet up with our dance partners again and another fun time was had by all..the dance had a few trickier steps in it today and lisa and mark both managed to kick each other in the shins...I think more laughing went on than dancing but we wouldnt have had it any other way :)

We spent a bit of time in the shops again trying on perfume and oooing and ahhing over the jewellery and then we had a bit of a lay around on the deck lounges and just soaked up some sun before we docked at Noumea.

Getting off the ship in Noumea was a little hectic and didnt seem all that organised as everyone was trying to get off at the same time and we were all crowded in the stairs and had to wait for ages. people who werent doing organised tours were supposed to wait until those that were had gotten off the ship but it wasnt working that way and was rather frustrating at times but we managed to get off ok and take acouple of photos before jumping on the little yellow tchou tchou train for our first adventure in Noumea.

Our tour guide was Michel...best name ever,,,and he was fantastic. Some people had told us that some of the tour guides do not speak very much and that sometimes your tour is in silence for most of the time but Michel was just great, I think he could talk under water if he tried too. He was funny and very informative and it was interesting to see all the different aspects of Noumea. Noumea was a bit of a surprise as it was quite dirty and some of the areas looked like the kind of place s you would not go to even in broad daylight but the people were very friendly all waving and smiling as we went past. We drove past a school and they had all the kids out yelling and waving to us..it was great!I also didnt realise that it would be so big and citylike. After the tour we were given the option of getting off in town or going back to the boat and as it was getting dark we decided to just go back to the ship. We had a look around the little shops at the wharf and got our passport stamped, bought a few souvenirs then headed back on board to get ready for another lovely dinner.

It was country and western night tonight so we donned our jeans and checked shirts and headed off to the hoedown.

It was lots of fun and if you get the chance to join in the games do it. we didnt but they played this hilarios game called the bang game and I think everyones sides were hurting by the time it was over.

After this was winding down we headed back to the OZ and met up with trent and crystal for some more dancefloor action. Penne and I really clicked with these two and we just loved spending our time with them...Midnight rolled around and the pair of them came over to wish me a happy birthday as it was officially my birthday and handed me a Beverly Hills Iced Tea...well I dont know what was in it but I had a thought that I may have been able to breathe fire like a dragon after I had my first swallow...mental note to self no more of these for me!!

we ended up having a great time and again crawled into bed around 1.30-2am hoping we would be able to rise early and feeling fine the next morning as we would be at the beautiful Lifou..

Loving your review ... keep it going!!!:)

loving this....

Trent and Crystal are just wonderful, I looked forward to seeing them every day!

What a way to spend your birthday. Sounds like if you had a blast!!!!:D

Wow, really enjoying reading your review. What a fabulous time you had. Can't wait to read the rest. Also love the photos.

kerri

thanks for the responses everyone...will try getting on tonight some time to add some more

cheers

Tues 23rd Sept My Birthday

Woke up this morning and headed straight up to the back deck so we could see the pretty island of Lifou and take some photos before we headed down to line up to get onto the tender boats...I wasnt too sure about these but they were great and Penne I and Daniel climbed aboard for the bumpy ride into the island. we had chosen the Cliffs of Jokin tour and there were about 5 mini buses lined up to take us. We ended up in the oldest dodgy looking bus there but our driver was great and our tour guide was fantastic and she talked to us about the island and their culture all the way to the Vanilla plantation which was our first stop. We learnt from others who had rushed to get on the "nice" buses that their drive was one of silence so sometimes it pays to not worry about trying to get in first and be possessive about which bus you were on...doesnt it all you rude people who were pushing and shoving and claiming that "this bus is ours"....ok now that that is off my chest I weill continue. We walked around the plantation learning how the vanailla plant grows and is harvested etc. There wasnt really much to see there but the scenery itself was beautiful. This part of the tour ended in a sampling of Vanilla coffee or tea and then back into the buses to continue up to the cliffs. When everyone realised we were getting back on the buses there werer a few fearful faces as people starting upping their pace to ensure they got back on "their" bus...(sorry people but I dont really like people like this) anyway we happily got back on our bus and enjoyed the drive. School kids were running along waving and yelling out to us as we passed and then we arrived. We all gathered around while a lady chopped the top off a coconut with a machete and handed it to us to drink and then we were all given a hand woven hat decorated with flowers and told we had an hour to explore before heading back down the beach where our tour would end.

The view from here is stunning, the water is so crystal clear and such a pretty colour we walked around and took lots of photos and then just sat in the shade and admired the view. Penne and I made friends with a cute little girl who was on the bus with us and her name was Zoe. She became quite attached to penne and would always come give her a cuddle in the days to follow on the ship.

When the tour was over and we were back down at the beach we looked around a little at the small markets they had there, watched a lady weave a hat and then headed back to the ship for some lunch. We passed Brad ( the guy who was sharing his birthday on the same day as mine) and cooeed out HAPPY BIRTHDASY BRAD to him...this happened several times today :)

After lunch we headed down to the cabin and found lisa having a bit of a rest. We all talked about the tour we had just done, Lisa had done one called Melanasian Encounter and said sha had really enjoyed it. Due to mine and Pennes late night last night we pulled the shades for a bit of a Nanna nap and woke up about 4-5 hours later and started getting ready for our show tonight which was "love the nightlife" It was fantastic again and I cannot explain how great these shows were and reccommend them to everyone. The sun entertainers are fantastic and we just loved them and often found ourselves up dancing with them in the nightclubs later on in the nights.

Off to dinner to catch up with our friends and Big Al and Tutuk who both gave me a hug and a kiss for my birthday. Dinner was yummy again and then after the waiters came out with this scrumptios looking chocolate cake and all sang happy birthday. All the other CCrs from the next 2 tables gathered around and I got presents which was a real surprise. Trent and Crystal had organised and handed me a gorgeous silver keyring with my name on it and it icing on the cake was reading the lovely card that everyone had signed and then opening the gift that Glenda had organised...BOAT SLIPPERS!!!! yes people thats right boat slippers. ..if people had been reading the threads that we were all talking on before we went on our cruise then you will know what I am talking about. I had asked Glenda what boat slippers were and when she described them I said that I must have a pair!! and there they were and I had to put them on and wear them for the rest of the night...it was such a fun time and lots of laughs and photos were happening. Another massively huge thankyou goes out to Glends again for making my birthday one I will always remember and treasure...and those boat slippers, well they certainly raised a few eyebrows and lots of questions about where they could get some and apparantly (Glenda told me at the end of the cruise) they sold out of all stock and that has never happened before!!

When the celebrations quitened down in the dining room we headed off the Oz nightclub for a bit of a dance and enede up going off to bed about 12.30..I know I know this was our only early night...but we had had so much fun last night and all day today that we were exhausted and also wanted to be fresh for the morning when we arrived in Port Vila Vanuatu which we were really looking forward too..

penne and me under the Blessed Mary at noumea