Few questions about Pacific Adventure or Encounter

[korky1]

Just a few questions,  hopefully some of you have sailed on Adventure recently,  or if on Encounter I imagine the answers will be the same 

- is the buffet open for dinner?

- how many charging outlets for phones etc in a balcony cabin?

- do they still sell 300ml bottles of Schweppes dry ginger and if so do you know what they charge?

- what was your experience with booking dining venues for the 3 complimentary restaurants for dinner?

- your experience in each of the complimentary restaurants? 

 

Sailing on Adventure on Monday.  A bit nervous as have read some shocking reviews about the ship (after I booked the cruise LOL)..  We have  about 45 cruises under our belt across most of the cruise lines which sail here and can honestly say to a greater or lesser extent we have enjoyed every one of them.  Hoping this cruise on Adventure doesn't end our winning streak!!!!

[Aus Traveller]

The buffet is open for dinner. From memory it closes at 11pm.

In the Pacific Encounter balcony cabins, there is one 240 volt Aussie socket. We use a double adaptor to give us two points.

We had bookings for the Waterfront Restaurant as well as Angelos and Dragon Lady. Food in the MDR is quite good. Angelos was superb both in decor and food/service, but the menu doesn't change every night. It changes half-way through a seven night cruise. We didn't go to Dragon Lady as we aren't very fond of Asian food. I have heard the comment that it is very dark and when people can't read the menu, they are given a torch!

 

We bought a bottle of wine every evening and were pleased that it was more than $10 a bottle cheaper than a similar wine on Princess. Of course, you probably know that you can't take your own wine onto P&O ships.

[Ozwoody]

2 hours ago, korky1 said:

Just a few questions,  hopefully some of you have sailed on Adventure recently,  or if on Encounter I imagine the answers will be the same 

- is the buffet open for dinner?  

- how many charging outlets for phones etc in a balcony cabin?

- do they still sell 300ml bottles of Schweppes dry ginger and if so do you know what they charge?

- what was your experience with booking dining venues for the 3 complimentary restaurants for dinner?

- your experience in each of the complimentary restaurants? 

 

Sailing on Adventure on Monday.  A bit nervous as have read some shocking reviews about the ship (after I booked the cruise LOL)..  We have  about 45 cruises under our belt across most of the cruise lines which sail here and can honestly say to a greater or lesser extent we have enjoyed every one of them.  Hoping this cruise on Adventure doesn't end our winning streak!!!!

Buffer - As Aus Traveller said yes

Balcony power points - Our Balcony had a double 240v wall plug under the tv

Plus a usb outlet on each bedside light

Bottles - No idea on the 300ml bottles of Schweppes dry ginger but all soft drinks were in bottles or cans.

Dinning Booking - First thing you do on boarding is check your dinning assignments, then go straight to the dinning area indicated if you need to change what was allocated, do not delay, can be a bit difficult a bit latter.

Dinning experience MDRs - We tried all three free dinning venues and they were all good, the Dragon Lady was dark at first but got brighter, it was a bit of fun actually.

Cruising experience P&O - Don't worry relax it will be fine, it may be different to what you normally sail, but that's the fun of trying a new line. You will either like it or not, but enjoy it for what it's is.

 

Regards

 

[korky1]

1 hour ago, Ozwoody said:

Buffer - As Aus Traveller said yes

Balcony power points - Our Balcony had a double 240v wall plug under the tv

Plus a usb outlet on each bedside light

Bottles - No idea on the 300ml bottles of Schweppes dry ginger but all soft drinks were in bottles or cans.

Dinning Booking - First thing you do on boarding is check your dinning assignments, then go straight to the dinning area indicated if you need to change what was allocated, do not delay, can be a bit difficult a bit latter.

Dinning experience MDRs - We tried all three free dinning venues and they were all good, the Dragon Lady was dark at first but got brighter, it was a bit of fun actually.

Cruising experience P&O - Don't worry relax it will be fine, it may be different to what you normally sail, but that's the fun of trying a new line. You will either like it or not, but enjoy it for what it's is.

 

Regards

 

 

[korky1]

Just now, korky1 said:

 

Thanks for this reply.  We have done quite a few P&O cruises.  Our first ever cruise was a 28 night cruise on Pacific Dawn in 2009 which got us hooked on cruising.   We have also sailed on Pacific Pearl, Jewel, Eden, Aria and Explorer.  Haven't been on P&O for about 5 years and I guess I just let myself get spooked by the bad reviews I have been reading on CC about Adventure and Encounter.   Thank you for allaying some of those fears. We will get on-board with our usual positive attitude and I'm sure we will have a great time.

 

We were on Carnival Splendour in November,  Majestic Princess in December and February,  will be on the Adventure on 20th March and back on Carnival Splendour end of May.  Gotta make up for all those lost cruises during covid ! 

 

I will let you know how our cruise goes when we get back.

[Ozwoody]

4 minutes ago, korky1 said:

Thanks for this reply.  We have done quite a few P&O cruises.  Our first ever cruise was a 28 night cruise on Pacific Dawn in 2009 which got us hooked on cruising.   We have also sailed on Pacific Pearl, Jewel, Eden, Aria and Explorer.  Haven't been on P&O for about 5 years and I guess I just let myself get spooked by the bad reviews I have been reading on CC about Adventure and Encounter.   Thank you for allaying some of those fears. We will get on-board with our usual positive attitude and I'm sure we will have a great time.

 

We were on Carnival Splendour in November,  Majestic Princess in December and February,  will be on the Adventure on 20th March and back on Carnival Splendour end of May.  Gotta make up for all those lost cruises during covid ! 

 

I will let you know how our cruise goes when we get back.

Do let us know when you get back, its always good to hear of others experiences.

We were on the Encounter last November, we had a few hiccups, but nothing to truly spoil a cruise.

We are doing the same ship this October 13th, and we're looking forward to it, staying in a similar balcony, directly over the last one.

Have a great cruise.

[Aus Traveller]

10 hours ago, korky1 said:

Thanks for this reply.  We have done quite a few P&O cruises.  Our first ever cruise was a 28 night cruise on Pacific Dawn in 2009 which got us hooked on cruising.   We have also sailed on Pacific Pearl, Jewel, Eden, Aria and Explorer.  Haven't been on P&O for about 5 years and I guess I just let myself get spooked by the bad reviews I have been reading on CC about Adventure and Encounter.   Thank you for allaying some of those fears. We will get on-board with our usual positive attitude and I'm sure we will have a great time.

 

We were on Carnival Splendour in November,  Majestic Princess in December and February,  will be on the Adventure on 20th March and back on Carnival Splendour end of May.  Gotta make up for all those lost cruises during covid ! 

 

I will let you know how our cruise goes when we get back.

Our last P&O cruise pre-COVID was January 2020 and the first one post-COVID was August 2022. We both felt that P&O has moved a bit up-market since they re-started cruising.

[arxcards]

They launched Angelos and Dragon Lady when Eden & Aria arrived all those years ago. When added to Waterfront, it all seemed very familiar when we were on Explorer last year. The menus had changed very little, and I suspect you will notice the same for Adventure.

 

Reviews can be fickle. You know what to expect on a P&O ship, so I am interested if P&O meets your expectations in 2023.

[korky1]

4 hours ago, arxcards said:

They launched Angelos and Dragon Lady when Eden & Aria arrived all those years ago. When added to Waterfront, it all seemed very familiar when we were on Explorer last year. The menus had changed very little, and I suspect you will notice the same for Adventure.

 

Reviews can be fickle. You know what to expect on a P&O ship, so I am interested if P&O meets your expectations in 2023.

Will definitely share my views on here when we come home.  One thing we have always enjoyed on ouir P&O cruises is the night time live music.  Every person or couple will have different views on cruise lines and that is exactly as it should be.  We are Elite on Princess and therefore Celebrity,  diamond on RCI and platinum on Carnival.  We love the priority shuttle on all those lines.  We also love our free mini bar set-up on Princess and our free laundry  and dry cleaning.  We also have free laundry on Carnival.  We love our 4 free drinks each per day on RCI as we do enjoy having a couple of wines and a couple of scotch each evening on a cruise.  Of course, we have no perks on P&O as they don't have a loyalty program.  This has never stopped us from sailing on P&O.  The perks are great but they do not influence which line we sail on.  We believe that variety is the spice of life and all cruise lines have their pros and cons .  These below are purely our experience and personal opinions and I totally accept it could be completely the opposite of others-

P&O - best night time live music going on around the ship 

RCI - best perks for us as 4 drinks each per night means very               little if any bill at end of the cruise

Carnival - best food

Princess - beautiful decor on ships, table linens etc

 

One thing they all have in common is their genuine desire to ensure we all have a wonderful cruise which I'm sure we will have on the Adventure, 

 

[Ozwoody]

Hi korky1

How is the cruise going, smooth sailing we hope.

 

regards

[SinbadThePorter]

On 3/16/2023 at 9:53 AM, korky1 said:

Of course, we have no perks on P&O as they don't have a loyalty program.

 

P&O do have a loyalty program, it's just that it's a Princess loyalty program. 😁

[Ozwoody]

1 hour ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

P&O do have a loyalty program, it's just that it's a Princess loyalty program. 😁

Not quite, you get cruise credit benefits with Princess for sailing on P&O, you don't get any benefits with P&O😄

[SinbadThePorter]

10 hours ago, Ozwoody said:

Not quite, you get cruise credit benefits with Princess for sailing on P&O, you don't get any benefits with P&O😄

 

Yes, the incentive is to sail with Princess.

[Ozwoody]

17 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

Yes, the incentive is to sail with Princess.

And quite frankly I'm happy to go along with that. 🤣

Even though we will be sailing with them again in Oct.🤔

[SuitesRbest]

18 hours ago, Ozwoody said:

Not quite, you get cruise credit benefits with Princess for sailing on P&O, you don't get any benefits with P&O😄

Cruise credit benefits? Do tell, been on 10 P&O cruise's and would love to know how we could benefit from Princess from this?

[Ozwoody]

27 minutes ago, SuitesRbest said:

Cruise credit benefits? Do tell, been on 10 P&O cruise's and would love to know how we could benefit from Princess from this?

Probably should have been more specific, if you cruise on P&O Australia you get cruise/cruise day credits as if you sailed on a Princess cruise ship.

They count towards your loyalty level, (gold-ruby-platnum-elite).

Are you aware of the Princess cruise benefits tiers?

 

Note it does not apply to P&O UK cruises, Evidently they cut them out some time back.

 

Regards

[Ozwoody]

Just looking at your cruise history, I think, if I got it right you would be possibly able to claim Platinum Level with princess. Well worth a check I would think.😃

 

Gold - After your first cruise1,2,3
Ruby - After completing 3 cruises or 30 cruise days
Platinum - After completing 5 cruises or 50 cruise days
Elite - After completing 15 cruises or 150 cruise days

 

[SinbadThePorter]

58 minutes ago, SuitesRbest said:

Cruise credit benefits? Do tell, been on 10 P&O cruise's and would love to know how we could benefit from Princess from this?

 

I can't remember how this was arranged for me, but your P&O Cruisling number and your Princess Captain's Circle number need to be the same. Then when you cruise on P&O, it automatically updates your Captain's Circle level.

 

I think it might take a call to Princess to sort out.

[Ozwoody]

1 hour ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

I can't remember how this was arranged for me, but your P&O Cruisling number and your Princess Captain's Circle number need to be the same. Then when you cruise on P&O, it automatically updates your Captain's Circle level.

 

I think it might take a call to Princess to sort out.

Interesting, as far as I know I never advised P&O or Princess I was travelling with the other, but my P&O cruise are showing on my Captains circle list.

 

But Sinbad's right, you would need to contact Princess to see if your cruises qualify.

[arxcards]

10 hours ago, Ozwoody said:

Interesting, as far as I know I never advised P&O or Princess I was travelling with the other, but my P&O cruise are showing on my Captains circle list.

 

But Sinbad's right, you would need to contact Princess to see if your cruises qualify.

The cruise history has a Sun Princess cruise, so all this will have automatically happened. As long as P&O and Princess have worked out they are the same people, they share the same PPN's. Presuming they have only done the one Princess cruise, the benefits aren't visible until the 2nd one.

[Rassa]

On 3/14/2023 at 7:55 PM, Ozwoody said:

 

Dinning Booking - First thing you do on boarding is check your dinning assignments, then go straight to the dinning area indicated if you need to change what was allocated, do not delay, can be a bit difficult a bit latter.

Dinning experience MDRs - We tried all three free dinning venues and they were all good, the Dragon Lady was dark at first but got brighter, it was a bit of fun actually.

 

 

Regards

 

Done all my checking in for P&O June cruise except for dining.   

So:

Check your (free) dining assignments - so time and where - is this done by P&O or us (haven't worked out where).

If done by P&O - I guess I need to check and change, may-be.

Where (if done or changed by us) do we go on board to book in, or change and I note you said do it straight away when boarding.

 

Of course, I do intend to go to the three free ones.

 

And thanks for the tips.

[Ozwoody]

1 hour ago, Rassa said:

Done all my checking in for P&O June cruise except for dining.   

So:

Check your (free) dining assignments - so time and where - is this done by P&O or us (haven't worked out where).

If done by P&O - I guess I need to check and change, may-be.

Where (if done or changed by us) do we go on board to book in, or change and I note you said do it straight away when boarding.

 

Of course, I do intend to go to the three free ones.

 

And thanks for the tips.

Hi Rassa

When you arrive at your cabin, there will be an envelope with info re your cruise.

One of the sheets will be your dinning arrangements allocated by P&O.

If you are not happy with what they have assigned, it will advise which dinning room you need to go to to change it. For us it was the Dragon Lady, but for others it was the Waterfront.

Go to it asap if you need to change times or venues, the longer you wait the more difficult to get what you want.

Does that make sense? Let me know if your still unsure,

 

For us they completely messed it up, they had our party at different times and in different venues.

But fixed up quickly when we went to the nominated restaurant.

As the menus only change every three days at each venue, we found it was good circulating between all three mdr's. But if you don't like say the Asian one or what ever, you can pick a different meal in the one you repeat, with in the three days.

 

Regards

 

[Ozwoody]

Oh also Rassa

If you go to a restaurant you liked and/or the waitering staff you can request that table and staff for subsequent nights at that dinning rooms management desk. That way you get the same staff each time and they get to know your preferences.

 

[Rassa]

1 minute ago, Ozwoody said:

Oh also Rassa

If you go to a restaurant you liked and/or the waitering staff you can request that table and staff for subsequent nights at that dinning rooms management desk. That way you get the same staff each time and they get to know your preferences.

 

Thanks for the info, very much appreciated.  I will go and book early as you indicated.   I am not too fussy about same staff but we do like the 'Princess' way, for instance sharing a table with other diners - can one request that? Thanks for the advice, it's great knowing what to do in advance.

[Ozwoody]

10 minutes ago, Rassa said:

Thanks for the info, very much appreciated.  I will go and book early as you indicated.   I am not too fussy about same staff but we do like the 'Princess' way, for instance sharing a table with other diners - can one request that? Thanks for the advice, it's great knowing what to do in advance.

Same as for requesting table or waiters, if you go with another couple or meet up with someone you wish to share with, let the dinning management know what you would like to do and if its possible, they will be more than happy to accommodate your request. Can't imagine why it would not be possible.🤔