Pacific Explorer Freo To Freo

[fishtaco]

Pacific Explorer 3rd April-15th April

 

Ships getting very old and tired but was good to cruise on a smaller ship for a change. The main Pro to this cruise was Freo -Freo and the fantastic weather this trip always offers.

 

The Cons were plenty though lol

The sheets and quilt in our balcony cabin had blood stains first day and we requested them changed but linen throughout the cruise had stains that obviously could not be washed out and should be replaced.

 

The food was well Just OK and got a bit boring towards the end of the cruise with menus never seeming to change much.

Quite a lot of the food is frozen pre packaged microwave or oven ready even the pastries which are in no way were Danish Pastries of old! Truffle Parmesan Fries in Lukes at Dinner which were frozen shoestring chips double fried. The rest of Lukes was good and worth the extra cost though.

 

Dragon lady, tried it 3 times and the only Asian food in this place was Rice lol everything ordered was just covered in Oyster or Hosin sauce squirted on top! 3rd visit we requested no sauce on a few dishes and it took a bit of time as it had to be cooked fresh.

 

Angelos Had a few good meals but when an Italian restaurant has Mac&Cheese as a main dish every night you have to question its. authenticity.

Have not cruised P&O for 12 years and the food was always the strong point for us but sadly like everything else it has taken a deep dive. If they did offer a Gally tour it would have been of freezers and microwaves with cooks and no Chefs lol

 

We got charged for visas onboard even though we had visas already but after a few calls to Guest services the $50pp was refunded. (do people not realize you can just call Guest Services from your cabin and save lining up in long ques)?

 

The free comedy shows were laughable "in my opinion" and less than 2nd rate but I don't like shows anyway so wasn't about to pay $30pp to see any of the others!

 

No real complaints about anything just my opinions and past comparisons of P&O! Most complaints and there were many were from cruisers who could not get off the ship Early in Broome and Early in Bali for booked drivers and self tours which should be expected by all but "new cruisers" given docking or anchoring in port is not an exact timetable to follow and ships tours always take priority especially when late in port.!

 

Arrived in Lombok to Ramadan and the complaints were flying everywhere because almost everything was closed, I am sure if P&O would have announced it was Ramadan most would have cancelled their shore tours so bit sneaky of P&O as they would have known way ahead when arranging ships tours.

We expected late shore disembarkations so just adjusted our time ashore accordingly and let the scramblers fight for early positions and get nowhere in a hurry!

 

we are booked again on Explorer in Feb out of Freo so know what to expect and will adjust our tastebuds accordingly lol

Overall it was a great cruise, kids never seemed to be a problem even though it was school holidays but I do believe The Sanctuary should be adults only again because once discovered it became a toddler paddling pool area, this I believe because P&O no longer have pool attendants.

 

 

[MicCanberra]

thanks for your review.

[2022cruisey]

On the same cruise and it was our first P&O experience.  
 

We thought the food was really good, better than Princess and Carnival.  We ate in Angelo’s, Dragon Lady, Waterfront and the Pantry.  I really liked the Pantry set up, much better than the Princess and Carnival buffets.  Although it was often busy, we didn’t have to find a table outside like we have had to do on other cruises.

 

They did have a galley tour and it looked very much the same as other cruise lines.  Also impressed by their chef show - the only one I have seen where they give out the food they have cooked during the show.  
Hung Le was funny, he was the only comedian we saw and the shows were the same standard as other cruises.

 

 The tendering did seem to take much longer, they were only using 4 tenders, whereas the other lines use many more.  I got into line at 640am to get tender tickets for Bali and we got off the boat on tender  14 at 1030 - long time to wait, when they started at 7.

In Broome we got shuttle bus 31 and arrived in town at 430 on a Saturday afternoon when nearly everything was closed. However we went to the pub for dinner and then to the Sun Pictures for a movie, which was an awesome experience.  Cable Beach the next day which was also great.

 

Ship was clean, lots of activities, over 18s area always had plenty of loungers, great weather.  Very positive experience and I would definitely go on P&O again.

My absolute favourite thing was that there was none of the fake crew/passenger interaction that comes along with trying to get tips.  This really annoys me on Princess and Carnival.

 

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for your review as well.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, fishtaco said:

 

Overall it was a great cruise, kids never seemed to be a problem even though it was school holidays but I do believe The Sanctuary should be adults only again because once discovered it became a toddler paddling pool area, this I believe because P&O no longer have pool attendants.

 

 

I believe those "Sanctuary" pools were originally kids paddling pools but when Princess added the Sanctuary to the Sun Class ships they chose to put it there, presumably because it's a quiet spot, so the kids lost their pool.

[SinbadThePorter]

We're onboard Explorer in two and a bit weeks. It's good to know the old girl is still floating. 😁

 

Last time on was in 2017, just after the move from Princess. So my expectations are being very well managed.

 

That pool in the "Sanctuary" is only ankle deep. I'm not sure it's deep enough for the kiddies.

[OzKiwiJJ]

9 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

We're onboard Explorer in two and a bit weeks. It's good to know the old girl is still floating. 😁

 

Last time on was in 2017, just after the move from Princess. So my expectations are being very well managed.

 

That pool in the "Sanctuary" is only ankle deep. I'm not sure it's deep enough for the kiddies.

It's a good paddling pool for toddlers.

 

It wasn't much use for adults. I used to lie flat in it and, with a bit of luck, I could get wet enough to cool off.

[arxcards]

3 hours ago, fishtaco said:

Pacific Explorer 3rd April-15th April

 

Ships getting very old and tired but was good to cruise on a smaller ship for a change. The main Pro to this cruise was Freo -Freo and the fantastic weather this trip always offers.

 

The Cons were plenty though lol

The sheets and quilt in our balcony cabin had blood stains first day and we requested them changed but linen throughout the cruise had stains that obviously could not be washed out and should be replaced.

 

The food was well Just OK and got a bit boring towards the end of the cruise with menus never seeming to change much.

Quite a lot of the food is frozen pre packaged microwave or oven ready even the pastries which are in no way were Danish Pastries of old! Truffle Parmesan Fries in Lukes at Dinner which were frozen shoestring chips double fried. The rest of Lukes was good and worth the extra cost though.

 

Dragon lady, tried it 3 times and the only Asian food in this place was Rice lol everything ordered was just covered in Oyster or Hosin sauce squirted on top! 3rd visit we requested no sauce on a few dishes and it took a bit of time as it had to be cooked fresh.

 

Angelos Had a few good meals but when an Italian restaurant has Mac&Cheese as a main dish every night you have to question its. authenticity.

Have not cruised P&O for 12 years and the food was always the strong point for us but sadly like everything else it has taken a deep dive. If they did offer a Gally tour it would have been of freezers and microwaves with cooks and no Chefs lol

 

We got charged for visas onboard even though we had visas already but after a few calls to Guest services the $50pp was refunded. (do people not realize you can just call Guest Services from your cabin and save lining up in long ques)?

 

The free comedy shows were laughable "in my opinion" and less than 2nd rate but I don't like shows anyway so wasn't about to pay $30pp to see any of the others!

 

No real complaints about anything just my opinions and past comparisons of P&O! Most complaints and there were many were from cruisers who could not get off the ship Early in Broome and Early in Bali for booked drivers and self tours which should be expected by all but "new cruisers" given docking or anchoring in port is not an exact timetable to follow and ships tours always take priority especially when late in port.!

 

Arrived in Lombok to Ramadan and the complaints were flying everywhere because almost everything was closed, I am sure if P&O would have announced it was Ramadan most would have cancelled their shore tours so bit sneaky of P&O as they would have known way ahead when arranging ships tours.

We expected late shore disembarkations so just adjusted our time ashore accordingly and let the scramblers fight for early positions and get nowhere in a hurry!

 

we are booked again on Explorer in Feb out of Freo so know what to expect and will adjust our tastebuds accordingly lol

Overall it was a great cruise, kids never seemed to be a problem even though it was school holidays but I do believe The Sanctuary should be adults only again because once discovered it became a toddler paddling pool area, this I believe because P&O no longer have pool attendants.

Thanks Den,

Thanks for your thoughts. I hope you both had a nice relaxing break. I can relate to most of your comments, especially with the dining. We have done somewhere around 20 P&O cruises, and lament what they used to be. The main reason we no longer cruise with them is food, both quality & variety. I never did gain a love of cruising by dining out on cafeteria meals.

 

Given that soon they will be the only ship in town for you, at least they are more committed to WA than their competitors, and I quite like those Sun class ships. In many ways, P&O made the public spaces feel fresher and much more contemporary than the faux timber from her previous life as Dawn Princess.

 

February is a fair way off. At this stage, we are waiting that long for our next one too. Hopefully P&O can give their food & menus a bit of a rebirth for you between now & then.

[Elorac123]

On 4/17/2024 at 12:20 PM, fishtaco said:

We got charged for visas onboard even though we had visas already but after a few calls to Guest services the $50pp was refunded. (do people not realize you can just call Guest Services from your cabin and save lining up in long ques)?

Shush,don’t tell everyone 

Cheers Carole

[2022cruisey]

One thing that did annoy me is the location of the smoking areas.  On the pool deck and in the 18 plus area.  

[MicCanberra]

They should have smoking areas outside of the ship.

[fishtaco]

3 hours ago, Elorac123 said:

Shush,don’t tell everyone 

Cheers Carole

Lol

[fishtaco]

On 4/17/2024 at 11:18 AM, 2022cruisey said:

On the same cruise and it was our first P&O experience.  
 

We thought the food was really good, better than Princess and Carnival.  We ate in Angelo’s, Dragon Lady, Waterfront and the Pantry.  I really liked the Pantry set up, much better than the Princess and Carnival buffets.  Although it was often busy, we didn’t have to find a table outside like we have had to do on other cruises.

 

They did have a galley tour and it looked very much the same as other cruise lines.  Also impressed by their chef show - the only one I have seen where they give out the food they have cooked during the show.  
Hung Le was funny, he was the only comedian we saw and the shows were the same standard as other cruises.

 

 The tendering did seem to take much longer, they were only using 4 tenders, whereas the other lines use many more.  I got into line at 640am to get tender tickets for Bali and we got off the boat on tender  14 at 1030 - long time to wait, when they started at 7.

In Broome we got shuttle bus 31 and arrived in town at 430 on a Saturday afternoon when nearly everything was closed. However we went to the pub for dinner and then to the Sun Pictures for a movie, which was an awesome experience.  Cable Beach the next day which was also great.

 

Ship was clean, lots of activities, over 18s area always had plenty of loungers, great weather.  Very positive experience and I would definitely go on P&O again.

My absolute favourite thing was that there was none of the fake crew/passenger interaction that comes along with trying to get tips.  This really annoys me on Princess and Carnival.

 

If you ate In Lukes or any of the other paid for restaurants as well as the Bonded Bar you were presented with a receipt to sign with added "Tip Line" even though the meal charge was added to your account before Receipt sign! And the Gally tour I believe was for those spending an absorbent amount on Lukes Degustation! I believe over $200 pp?

[2022cruisey]

The Galley tour happened immediately after the food presentation show for anyone and was free.  We didn’t eat in any of the paid restaurants so didn’t see any tipping requests.

[MicCanberra]

Asking for tips is standard nowadays, it is easy enough to ignore.

[fishtaco]

Seems I have been banned from P&O FB pages for telling the Truth about my recent P&O12 night cruise experience? I was neither scaving nor over critical! and am on the same ship again in 9 months, I really wanted to compare "Now and Then" Which is obviously no longer allowed in this Social media world of "Mac Donalds" dining accepting millennial moderators??? This is why CC "Cruise Critic" Is the place to assess! Way too many first Time Cruisers rave about a cruise with Zero experience of how it was, so their experience always out ways your own! No cruise is a bad cruise because you are cruising but when new cruiser "Flamers" out weigh experience then its time to stop posting genuine experience!

 

Cheers

[MicCanberra]

Yes, some people cannot realise that another person on the same cruise can have a different experience purely because they have different expectations.

[arxcards]

13 hours ago, fishtaco said:

Seems I have been banned from P&O FB pages for telling the Truth about my recent P&O12 night cruise experience? I was neither scaving nor over critical! and am on the same ship again in 9 months, I really wanted to compare "Now and Then" Which is obviously no longer allowed in this Social media world of "Mac Donalds" dining accepting millennial moderators??? This is why CC "Cruise Critic" Is the place to assess! Way too many first Time Cruisers rave about a cruise with Zero experience of how it was, so their experience always out ways your own! No cruise is a bad cruise because you are cruising but when new cruiser "Flamers" out weigh experience then its time to stop posting genuine experience!

 

Cheers

You say pages.

P&O has one page, and I have not known them to ban anyone. If tagged, they will try to engage you with a "Sorry you are disappointed, please direct message us the details" kind of effort.

 

These other pages have nothing to do with P&O, and are run by cruisers for a group of like minded passengers - a fan club. There is a varying degree of over-moderation by page admins with a hive mentality who just want agreeable members. Those pages are not a great place for rocking the boat.

 

I agree, I don't partake in FB cruise passenger groups for those and other reasons. I learn more here, and enjoy contrary discussion, but at times I miss out on connecting with groups of fans on our cruises. This is much more than just about cruising.

[ceeceeDee]

3 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Yes, some people cannot realise that another person on the same cruise can have a different experience purely because they have different expectations.

Absolutely. I've often read reviews of a particular cruise we took and couldn't believe we were on the same ship at the same time as the reviewer. I have to admit that the reviews were mainly a negative whinge about certain aspects. Whilst some had valid points, others made sweeping statements, such as 'All the crew were rude!'. Seriously? You interacted with ALL the crew? And without fail they were rude to you? In that case, I would question the reviewers' attitude and expectations towards the crew.

I can confidently say that over our years of cruising on various cruise lines we have never been confronted by a rude crew member (slightly distracted, maybe, but never rude). Are we just lucky or do we (shock, horror) treat crew with respect?

[OzKiwiJJ]

16 minutes ago, ceeceeDee said:

Absolutely. I've often read reviews of a particular cruise we took and couldn't believe we were on the same ship at the same time as the reviewer. I have to admit that the reviews were mainly a negative whinge about certain aspects. Whilst some had valid points, others made sweeping statements, such as 'All the crew were rude!'. Seriously? You interacted with ALL the crew? And without fail they were rude to you? In that case, I would question the reviewers' attitude and expectations towards the crew.

I can confidently say that over our years of cruising on various cruise lines we have never been confronted by a rude crew member (slightly distracted, maybe, but never rude). Are we just lucky or do we (shock, horror) treat crew with respect?

They sound like the type of people who are so self-entitled that unless the crew are running around after them giving them priority service over all other passengers 24/7 they will say the crew is rude. 🙄

[MicCanberra]

I have met some rude people on cruise ships but they have tended to be passengers. And as for people complaing of bad service when staff are clicked at is just disrespectful.

 

[ceeceeDee]

Agree, I've seen plenty of rude passengers. Wish they would take their superior attitude and air of condescension somewhere other than the cruise I happen to be on. I find them incredibly embarrassing to be around. Misery might crave company, but they won't be having mine!

[arxcards]

In a balanced world, everyone is entitled to an opinion, but those pages are far from balanced or democratic. Sadly these non-affiliated social media pages are just a fan club, often moderated by people that will prevent contrary opinion. In the case of most unofficial P&O pages, it is only OK to negatively critique other cruise lines. To become part of the collective, resistance is futile.

 

So, a contrary opinion is shouted down. Even facts are dismissed if they don't fit the agenda of the group, and once again, everyone nods in agreement.

[MicCanberra]

Even some of the specific cruise groups/ rolllcalls are just platforms for some to advertise themselves or cruise products.

[dazadelaide]

We were on the Explorer cruise just prior to the Freo - Freo cruise.

Found not much has changed since our last P&O cruise last year.

Crew were friendly and yes they don't have that fake interactions to gain tips like some other lines.

Some passengers make me cringe with some of the things they say to crew especially later at night when too much booze has been had.

Food has not got any better or worse in my opinion just like a pub meal from our local.

Still really like Dragon Lady over Angelos but I always take my own chilli no matter where I dine in pubs or on cruise ships as I like really hot food as much as possible.

,The entertainment was the same as the last 6 P&O cruises we have taken ( 7, rock anthems and let's misbehave ) hope they will have some new ones coming up before our next cruise in Dec.

But we did strike the worst party band this time around. I don't think the singer could speak english as the lyrics he was singing to most songs have very little resemblance to what the actual lyrics were. It did make for some hearty laughs though.

The other music around the ship was fine and about the same standards we have had before.

Didn't attend any of the comedy shows on this cruise this time around just didn't get around to it.

First time we have been to Freo and spent 4 days after the cruise before flying back home to Adelaide.

I know that some people like to bag P&O especially when they have cruised other lines bur really we have been on 5 different lines over the years and over 20 cruises now and yes some are better than others but we have enjoyed them all.

P&O are definately at the lower end of the cruising experience but it still is very good value for money so we will keep on using them as well as other lines into the future.

Daz

Edited April 22 by dazadelaide
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