Bugs on Pacific Encounter

[ceeceeDee]

Just read media reports that there is/was a plague of soldier beetles on the Pacific Encounter during the Melbourne Cup cruise. The bugs were apparently picked up whilst the ship was docked in Melbourne. Pax were, understandably, not happy. However, the problem was not P&O's fault and hopefully they have managed to eradicate the pesky critters prior to Encounter's return to Brisbane (what happens in Melbourne stays in Melbourne?😉).

 

Wish the media would do their research, however. They alluded to the 'fact' that Encounter is the former Golden Princess. Sorry, guys, that's Adventure. Encounter is the former Star Princess. Journalists are a sloppy lot these days. My late father in law was a top ranking journalist and he'd be turning in his grave at this rookie mistake.

[arxcards]

Accuracy has never been a strong point, with some not being able to tell the difference between Pacific Sun & Sun Princess; Pacific Dawn & Dawn Princess etc. They do well just to avoid calling them boats.

 

And fair to say that if Royal Caribbean can have trouble with rhino beetles in Port Vila, it is only fair that P&O can have some home grown bugs of their own. To be fair, it is the joy of being in port overnight that heightens the possibilities of this happening.

[ceeceeDee]

Totally agree, Geoff. It just gasts my flabber, that all these reporters have to do is google Pacific Encounter (or whatever ship is the subject) to get her entire history (year built, by which shipyard. former names et al) and that is too much of a hassle for them. Aside from anything else, why bother to even mention Encounter's former name? It's hardly relevant to the bug story.

 

As I said previously, I hope P&O managed to deal with the critters before docking in Brisbane. Frankly we have enough pesky wildlife in Queensland, without importing the little wretches.

[arxcards]

I am disappointed it ghasted your flabber. 😂

 

Lucky some of these were down in the bilges, leftover from Star (or is that Golden) Princess days.

 

[ceeceeDee]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

I am disappointed it ghasted your flabber. 😂

 

Lucky some of these were down in the bilges, leftover from Star (or is that Golden) Princess days.

 

You know the sad thing is, I vividly recall my mother using one of these Mortein contraptions! Makes me feel like the Ancient of Days!😯

[MicCanberra]

Perhaps the soldier beetles embarked for Armistice day.?

[pully8]

What are these swarming beetles in my garden? - Museums Victoria Harmless to humans. How did they get on board? Had to look them up never heard of them. 

[arxcards]

3 hours ago, pully8 said:

What are these swarming beetles in my garden? - Museums Victoria Harmless to humans. How did they get on board? Had to look them up never heard of them. 

I see the occasional beetle like this, or pretty similar. They do travel in numbers, but nothing like that picture.

 

I would think that through the night, they fly like moths and ships that are well lit would be a popular target.

[arxcards]

Less of an issue than the bugs on Grand Princess 😉

 

[Gwendy]

Also on Encounter for Melbourne cup cruise.  Never saw any bugs.  The only bugbears for me were the very loud groups in the dining rooms and some women who were laughing like very loud hyenas all through the meal.

[aussienellie]

15 minutes ago, Gwendy said:

Also on Encounter for Melbourne cup cruise.  Never saw any bugs.  The only bugbears for me were the very loud groups in the dining rooms and some women who were laughing like very loud hyenas all through the meal.

I disembarked Pacific Encounter yesterday and didn't see any beetles for the entire cruise.

 

[arxcards]

It could well be they have got the wrong ship entirely, as other reports were saying the beetles were in cabins, pools, and even food.

 

Encounter is currently at anchor off Bundaberg during a cruise to nowhere - to rid the hull of a different type of bug.

[ceeceeDee]

It's a bit of a conundrum, but I think it must have actually been Encounter (Adventure being the only other contender due to the mention of Byron Beach Club) because the article specifically mentioned a 7 day cruise Brisbane to Brisbane. Adventure did do a Melbourne Cup gig, but that was 6 days Sydney to Sydney.

Either way, it is interesting that aussienellie and Gwendy were both on Encounter and didn't encounter (sorry) any bugs. Typical sensational journalism, it would seem, fueled by some keyboard warriors on social media. I'm not denying the bugs were swarming in numbers (photographic evidence), but it would seem that intimating they were all over the ship in vast numbers may be a slight exaggeration given the comments of nellie and Gwendy, both of whom I'm sure did not spend the cruise with their eyes wide shut.

 

Some comments on social media speculated on the cleanliness of the ship. Not a factor.

 

Quote from CSIRO website:

It is still something of a mystery why the Plague soldier beetle (Chauliognathus lugubris), a native species found in temperate southeastern Australia, occasionally builds up to massive numbers. Its grubs live in the soil, feeding on other small creatures. The adult beetles don’t seem to eat the plants they settle on, although the sheer weight of a mass of them may break weaker twigs What they are more interested in is sucking nectar from flowering trees, and copulating.

 

There's your answer, the beetles were there for a rip roarin' good time!🤣 It was the Melbourne Cup after all.

 

 

[lyndarra]

A beetle honeymoon cruise?😄

[MicCanberra]

I am now wondering if if was a joint publicity stunt by Paul McCartney, the RSL and P&O for remembrance day.

[ceeceeDee]

Very droll, Mic.😂 I did consider intentionally misspelling beetles.😉

 

On a side note, out of curiosity I went to the Product Review site to see what showed up on Encounter reviews. Several about the Cup cruise, but not ONE mention of the beetles infestation, just the usual gripes about food, rude crew and lining up at guest services. Makes one wonder how extensive the infestation really was. (BTW, I'm heartily sick of hearing about ALL the crew were rude. Since when does any passenger have interaction with ALL the crew for starters?! And I'm either easily pleased or totally delusional as I can confidently state that I have NEVER come across a rude cruise member on any cruise regardless of cruise line. Again, I wonder if the complaining passenger had an attitude of their own to start with).