Christmas on the Pearl - Review

[Sandielle]

All ships appear to overcharge for wines, unfortunately. The wine we usually pay $12-$15 for, is $34 on the P Dawn. You either pay up or don't drink. In the long run, it's cheaper to buy the bottle than a glass.

 

On the Princess ships you can take one bottle on at each port, but P&O don't allow it any more. Lots of things became stricter after the sad Brimble case.

[Riffraff]

Booked the Pacific Pearl for May, but the more I read the more I am struggling with should we cancel!

Are you telling me that you have to pay at least $A40 for a bottle of wine to have with your dinner? Don't even want to convert that into NZD, my goodness we don't even pay that on shore here in Auckland!

To cancel, or not to cancel. ????????

 

I think the best thing to do is stop reading.. :D

Seriously though, there will always be vastly different reports on any one cruise. Most of the things I've read about Pearl have been positive, it's only on here that I've seen negative comments about things which will hopefully get fixed as time goes on.

I would still go - we're going in March and I'm looking forward to it a lot. From what I've seen the ship looks great, and there is lots of time between now and then for issues to get sorted out.

 

In answer to the wine question, I imagine Pearl's pricing is the same as the other P&O ships, in which case you'll probably pay at least $A30 for a bottle of wine. The one we were buying was $34. Yes, there is a big mark-up on the price of a bottle, but generally the other alcohol prices aren't too bad. It is a shame that the NZ exchange rate isn't good at the moment - hope that improves for you between now and May! :)