Review - NZ cruise Pacific Sun, 31st January

[Publicans]

Hi Evon, Lorraine and Shiona,

Glad to here that you all had a great time.

We leave for New Zealand on the Sun Princess this Wed. 18th so we are really hanging out to read any reviews about the ports you went to. :D

[hisees]

hi evon.

also enjoyed the nz cruise.But would like to put record straight, we were at the champagne water fall and as I recall the champagne flowed freely ??

 

great cruise

 

jim,

[Ela 2]

For our visit to Dunedin we docked at Port Chalmers, on the Northern side of Otago Harbour, 12km from Dunedin. We had pre-booked an eight-seater van from Jackies Rental Cars and they were waiting for us when we came off the wharf. I had checked prices of hire cars and vans with twelve companies in Dunedin, and Jackies was the best.

 

After leaving Dunedin we drove to Taiaroa Head at the end of the Otago Peninsula. We were interested in going to the Royal Albatross Centre but decided against it. A combined Albatross Centre tour and Fort Taiaroa tour costs NZ$45.

Below the cliffs of Taiaroa Head there were New Zealand fur seals frolicking in the sea and lazing on the rocks. We stopped at a beach below Taiaroa Head where there were a couple of fur seals lying on the rocks. It was amazing to get so close to them. We also watched another couple of seals swimming in the water quite close by.

We had driven out to Taiaroa Head following the coastal road, so took the high road from Portobello back to Dunedin. The views were sensational.

In Dunedin our first stop was at the Cadbury Factory where I had booked a tour for 2pm. Tours went every 15 minutes and I noticed that people were walking in off the street and getting on the next tour. The cost was NZ$18 for adults and NZ$16 for seniors. The tour was well worth the price. We overheard passengers from the ship being told that if they couldn’t manage 200 steps they shouldn’t take the tour. This sounds much more strenuous than it is. From memory, the most number of steps in one go would be one long flight. The factory is open from 9am to 3.15pm and the tour takes 75 minutes. We parked in Cumberland Street outside the factory on a four hour meter, and noticed that there is a supermarket parking area over the road. A sign stated that the parking time limit is one hour, but we do not know if that is enforced.

 

We stopped at a couple of the most famous sights in Dunedin, the railway station, First Church and Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world. We thought we had a steep street, but this one is amazing.

Other attractions in Dunedin are: Speight’s Brewery where tours are available; Olveston House, a 35-room home built in 1907; Lanarch Castle on the Otago Peninsula built in 1871; Penguin Place near the Albatross Centre where visitors can see yellow-eyed penguins. A tour costs NZ$35pp, runs every half hour and takes 90 minutes.

 

Evon.

[Ela 2]

hi evon.

also enjoyed the nz cruise.But would like to put record straight, we were at the champagne water fall and as I recall the champagne flowed freely ?? great cruise

 

jim,

Hi Jim,

I must have left too early. :( Serves me right!

Evon.

[Ela 2]

We decided that we would not book a hire car to see Christchurch because most of our sightseeing would be in the middle of the city.

 

We docked at the Port of Lyttleton, a town perched on the edge of an ancient volcanic caldera that has been flooded with seawater. Passengers can take a shuttle bus from the wharf into Christchurch for $7pp each way. I found a taxi driver at the information booth beside the ship and negotiated a price of NZ$140 for two hours sightseeing. This price worked out well for four people. The driver gave me his card – his name is Jim of Gold Band Taxis email ja.mcm@hotmail.com or mobile phone 021-0267-3068.

 

Jim gave us a great tour, stopping at a couple of lookouts and then taking us to the beautiful Mona Vale gardens where we saw silver ferns in the fernhouse.

Jim left us in the middle of Christchurch and we arranged that he would pick us up to go back to the ship (all included in the price).

 

We took the sightseeing tram around the middle of Christchurch (NZ$15 pp). The other options were a combined tram and gondola ticket for NZ$35 or tram/gondola/punt for NZ$50. We decided not to bother with the gondola because we had been to a similar lookout by taxi. The sightseeing tram was excellent.

Features of the centre of the city: Christchurch Cathedral in Cathedral Square; markets in Cathedral Square; punts on the Avon River; Arts Centre; Canterbury Museum; Canterbury Art Gallery.

The Antarctic Centre near the airport has a combined indoor/outdoor penguin viewing area where visitors see Little Blue Penguins (known in Australia as Fairy Penguins or Little Penguins). Visitors can also ride on a Haglund all terrain vehicle used in the Antarctic. The centre is open from 9am to 7pm and the cost is NZ$48 (adults) NZ$46 (seniors). We didn’t go to the Antarctic Centre, but friends who went felt that, even though it was expensive, riding in the Haglund was a great experience. If you would like to see penguins, refer to my comments on the Kelly Tarlton Centre in Auckland.

 

Suggestion: Take the shuttle bus into Christchurch (NZ$14 pp return) and buy the combined tram/gondola/punt ticket (NZ$50pp). Walk to Mona Vale gardens (free entry). The tram conductor will explain which bus to catch to get to the gondola and also point the directions to walk to Mona Vale through the Botanic Gardens. Otherwise get a taxi to Mona Vale – the taxi can drive through the gardens but buses cannot.

 

Christchurch is a beautiful city with a lot to offer visitors.

 

Evon.

[Publicans]

Evon,

Thanks for the great review......really enjoying it and can't wait to get to N.Z myself. :)

[Skyrules]

Hi Marg,

No evening buffet on the Pacific Sun.:( I felt the portion sizes were fairly small, but an advantage of that is that the pax won't put on too much weight. People who want more food can order a baked potato or fries with their main course. They can also order two main courses.

Evon.

 

Anytime dining started on the cruise that left on Saturday Evon, you were a cruise too early :)

[bazzaw]

On this cruise, something was definitely "not right" in regards to food service. There were LONG waits for all meals in the Burgundy Dining room - especially for lunch and breakfast( I mean up to an hour and sometimes more) . Most passemgers that I spoke to about it thought that the staff levels had been cut back - perhaps in the kitchen. However, after returning home, I compared some literature that is handed out at the cooking demonstration with the same literature from a Pac Sun cruise 14 months ago - according to this literature, the staff numbers were the same. -

 

I am starting to wonder now whether, as this cruise was the last one before anytime dining is introduced, there had been some backroom management changes already made to accomodate the new method of dining - and perhaps this was impacting on the old method of dining. A problem with this theory however is that the biggest difficulties with food service seemed to be at Breakfast and Lunch. Extraordinarily slow service at breakfast, in particular.

 

Barry

[Ruste]

On this cruise, something was definitely "not right" in regards to food service. There were LONG waits for all meals in the Burgundy Dining room - especially for lunch and breakfast( I mean up to an hour and sometimes more) . Most passemgers that I spoke to about it thought that the staff levels had been cut back - perhaps in the kitchen. However, after returning home, I compared some literature that is handed out at the cooking demonstration with the same literature from a Pac Sun cruise 14 months ago - according to this literature, the staff numbers were the same. -

 

I am starting to wonder now whether, as this cruise was the last one before anytime dining is introduced, there had been some backroom management changes already made to accomodate the new method of dining - and perhaps this was impacting on the old method of dining. A problem with this theory however is that the biggest difficulties with food service seemed to be at Breakfast and Lunch. Extraordinarily slow service at breakfast, in particular.

 

Barry

 

Barry, we found exactly the same on the New Year cruise but at dinner. Our waiter keep apologising and said it was because they had a new chef and he had changed the system. I think he said they were cooking as the orders came in but some of the food definitely wasn't up to the standard we had experienced on previous cruises. We came to the conclusion that they were trying to put the systems in place for any time dinning.

 

We also noticed that we were asking for drinks rather than them asking us. I think the staff are just trying to work differently rather than there are less of them.

[Ela 2]

I didn't find that service was any different at dinner than on previous cruises, except that our waiters were not particularly good. One of their skills was serving food to the wrong person!

 

Breakfast and lunch were another matter. Several times we sat for over an hour before being served. With such a delay, we noticed that only one or two tables were finished early enough to be re-set for another group of diners. This meant that if you didn't arrive at the dining room in the first 30 minutes it was open, it was very unlikely you would be able to get a place. Other passengers worked this out also because there was always a big queue waiting for the doors to open.

 

For people who haven't cruised yet I mention that if you miss out on the dining room for breakfast or lunch, you can go to the buffet. You don't go hungry!!

 

Kym - I realise that anytime dining started the day we got off the Pac Sun. When I read Ann Sherry's announcement many months ago, I wondered why they couldn't start it a couple of weeks earlier!!:):) Frank and Mary who are going on the next cruise will be able to enjoy and benefits of more flexibility in dining.

 

By the way, Ann Sherry visited the Pac Sun when we were in Auckland. We passed her on the dock as she was leaving the ship, dressed in a bright pink suit with black braid trim. Following the Bambi principle, the least said about the suit the better. I couldn't help noticing the outfit as I worked for many years as a fashion designer/manufacturer.

 

Evon.

[Ela 2]

Before leaving home, we checked on various tours of Wellington that were available. With a group of eight we decided that we could do a better tour for a fraction of the price by travelling independently. We booked an 8-seat van through Pegasus Car Hire and ended up with a 12 seater.

 

We bought a Discover New Zealand guidebook and atlas published by Hema Maps before we left home. I had already used the internet to research what we wanted to do, but I found the maps to be invaluable. When we tour independently, we always go to the ‘further away’ places first and finish off with the city. That way we are close to the ship for the last part of the day, and if we encounter major problems with the car, we can phone the hire company, tell them where to pick up their car and catch a taxi to the ship. To date, we haven’t had problems with a hire car.

 

After leaving central Wellington we followed the coastal drive, around several bays and past the airport to Red Rock. The coastal views were lovely, and it was very interesting looking at the quaint timber houses jostling for space in the narrow strip of land between the sea and the steep hills. Some houses were built into hillsides so steep that a small cable car was needed for residents to get from their garage at street level to their house perched precariously above.

The last section of the road to the seal colony at Red Rock was 4WD only and the seals are only in residence between May and October.

 

We wanted to see some of the countryside so drove to Makara Beach. This was a rather desolate stretch of coastline with a grey rocky beach and hills that were described by the owner of the local café as “worthless useless land”. We then drove north on the Takarau Gorge Road to Porirua City and Titahi Bay. At the beach there were dozens of colourful boathouses lined up along the shore. The ones that were open had a fridge, kitchen cupboards and chairs, BBQs and assorted holiday equipment that even included an occasional dinghy. Several families relaxed on the sand in front of their boathouse or fished off nearby rocks.

If anyone is thinking of doing a similar trip I suggest missing out Makara Beach and going north from Wellington on the motorway as far as Titahi Bay, then loop around via Lower Hutt to return to Wellington.

 

When we returned to Wellington we drove up Mt. Victoria from where there were expansive 360 degree views.

Our next stop was the Te Papa Museum, a magnificent museum of world class where naturally the main focus is on the Maori culture. It is open from 10am to 6pm and entry is free. I suggest parking on a meter rather than the parking lot in front of the museum where the charge for up to two hours is $7. We were there on a weekend so parking on a metered space was at no charge, but the pay booth for the Te Papa parking lot was still operating.

Our day in Wellington coincided with a big football game and crowds of young people dressed in fancy dress costume streamed through the streets. They were dressed in any costume that caught their imagination, not anything specific to their football team, and groups of young people were dressed identically. Spirits were high.

 

Other highlights of Wellington: A cable car runs from Lambton Quay to the top entrance to the Botanic Gardens. Cars depart every 10 minutes. The Wellington Cable Car Museum is near the Kelburn Terminus of the cable car. Features of the 26hectare Botanic Gardens are the Lady Norwood rose Garden and the Begonia House.

 

Note for internet users – There is an internet café in the terminal on the wharf.

 

Evon.

[bazzaw]

I agree Evon - the slooow food service mostly affected the breakfasts and lunches. The queues at the door of the Burgundy at lunchtime were quite big - took me a little while to realise that you could wait just a bit longer until after the initial rush subsided, but not too long, else your lunch would turn into a REALLY slow wait. OK for those on late dinner I suppose - but not for early diners. I did notice the Matre D make announcements a number of times ,recommending that since people were on holiday, they should not rise so early and come to breakfast later. I wondered if there was a real purpose in his making these announcements - which I thought had a slight "desperate" note to them.

 

But anyway - it matters not now as anytime dining has arrived. One passenger told me that his table waitor had told him that the staff are "NOT HAPPY, Jan!" about the change.

 

Barry

[qld cruiser]

Hi Evon and Bazzaw, I agree totally about the long waits for meals.

we experienced it most days, up to 2 hours ...even for dinner.

but never complained because they are cooking for a lot of people, not a small restaurant. they are having a few glitches in the kitchen.

Why they changed breakfast and lunch to the Burgundy restaurant is beyond me, it was always in the larger Bordeaux.

I liked the new lunch menu..I had flathead fish a few days, it was great.

some people complained their meal was not hot, but I never found that myself.

one thing that irked me was disembarkation.:eek::eek::eek:

we were to get off at 8.35 am. we got off ship at 9.35 am, but our group of passengers with flights after 1pm. were left sitting in the waiting hall until 11.20am to get a ship shuttle bus to the airport. by the time we left, they were calling G and beyond to get on ship.

 

Overall, I enjoyed the cruise, and would cruise again on the Pacific Sun, but prefer the Pacific Dawn.

 

kind regards, Lorraine:):)

[bazzaw]

Hi Lorraine

 

I have only been on Pac Sun once before- and honestly cant remember which restaurant I used to go to for lunch and breakfast. I know that I have commented in the past that I couldn't understand why more people didn't go to the restaurant for lunch and dinner - as I consider the experience (and the food) there to be far superior than that in the buffet. You may be right that using the Burgundy instead of the Bordeaux contributed to the delays. Cant remember how big the Bordeaux is.

 

Our group were not too happy with the warmth of the food in the Steakhouse - but we were told that it improved as the cruise went on. I suspect that the staff in the Steakhouse may have to compete for kitchen resources with the much larger demand coming from the restaurants.

 

Like you, I did not/do not complain to the staff - I understand the many difficulties of feeding such a large group. You win some and lose some! :)Just making comment here really.

 

Barry

[Guest012]

Morning everyone.... enjoying the review Evon.... and hello to Barry and Lorraine...... i think the worst part of lining up to lunch in the Burgundy was the queue hopping and pushing and shoving ... omg we have never ever anywhere in world witnessed such continual bad behaviour... on 4 occasions we shielded frail pax .....very disappointing....

We won't be cruising again on the Pacific Sun she is just a little too small for the amount of pax onboard.......and we didn't have a full house.........cheers Shiona

 

 

ps: Lorraine and Ray hope its not too wet up your way......found a little foto for you.....:D

 

 

[Ela 2]

Peter and I were in the group of 8 with Barry and Christine in the steakhouse during our recent cruise. We felt the selections for entree and also for dessert were not very good, but the main problems were with the service. It is supposed to be a premium dining experience. Not so for us.

 

The soup was barely lukewarm, Peter's puff pastry was icy cold and my calamari was so tough I couldn't cut it no matter how hard I tried. I was offered a steakknife but declined and asked for anything else. When replacement soup was brought it was piping hot and very tasty.

 

When the main course came, we were given the steak and it was probably five to seven minutes before veges were brought to the table. I felt my steak wasn't any larger than I have at home (150gr). The quality of the food was good and it was hot.

 

At the end of the meal we were not offered tea or coffee so we asked. We were told we could have it if we paid on our cruise card. All we wanted was restaurant coffee, but the answer was still "no". After one of our group argued and argued, finally the waiter in charge said he would make an exception and we could have the same coffee that is served in the restaurant complimentary.

 

Our meal took two and a half hours (6pm to 8.30pm).

 

Later I spoke to Max, the Maitre d' and nicely explained the problems we encountered. Others in the steakhouse the same night had the same problems we did. Hopefully Max took note of what I said, because people I spoke to later in the cruise said their food was hot and they were offered tea and coffee.

 

The price has gone up from $20pp to $25pp. When we have gone to the steakhouse previously on the Pac Sun I would rate it as 8 out of 10. Our experience in the steakhouse on the Sun Princess would be better than 10 out of 10. Unfortunately on this occasion on the Pac Sun I would only give it 4 out of 10. Max tried to talk us into trying it again, but we declined to spend another $50 to see if they had improved. :):)

 

This was the only negative on a fantastic cruise. :):)

 

Evon.

[Guest012]

Steakhouse on the Sun Princess is showing as $20pp in the package we got yesterday..... hey Evon i found a good use for your calamari....... SLING SHOT FOR THE SCONES.....:D:D;) cheers Shiona

[Ela 2]

hey Evon i found a good use for your calamari....... SLING SHOT FOR THE SCONES.....:D:D;) cheers Shiona

Love it!! We both had a hearty laugh. :):)

Evon.

[Twosox]

Hi Evon

 

Glad you had a lovely time on your cruise.

 

Hey we were in Wellington on the day Pacific Sun arrived and we were at the football game is the Wellington Rugby Sevens. We had travelled down from Auckland especially for that. These sevens tournaments are played all over the world and the Wellington one is a great big dress up party.

 

Anyway, there we were watching the Rugby and generally enjoying ourselves when I said to my husband "hey that's a ship funnell above the outside of the stadium" (opposite where we were seated) so we went rushing around the other side to have alook and sure enough it was the Sun, a great treat for us as we are going on her in July, our first cruise on P & O.

 

Did you manage to get to Waiotapu Thermal wonderland or only Te Puia??

 

Have enjoyed reading your review and your photos.

 

Cheers Linda

[Ruste]

Evon, you arrived in Wellington on the weekend of the rugby 7's. A big annual event which is part of the International 7's and it is attended by people from all over NZ and overseas. Some of the people you saw would have been planning their costume all year and they even import costumes from overseas. It's all about dressing up, having fun and watching a bit of rugby. The atmosphere is obviously improved if we make the final.

Ruth

[Twosox]

Hi Shiona

 

Now you have got me a little worried. As first time cruisers on P & O I have been a little concerned about crowding on the size of the Pacific Sun ...We are going on 5 July to Port Vila Noumea etc.

 

I posted a thread asking about crowding and received very few replies, which got me more worried, however one person said that they had not had a problem with seating in bars, on the decks etc.

 

We have cruised on Celebrity and Princess and have not noticed an obvious crowiding problem but the ships are basically twice as big with similar numbers.

 

Now that I have read this post I am very thankful as we will adjust accordingly and maybe eat brekky and/or lunch a little later if there seems to be a problem.

 

We are just so thrilled that we will have family and friends with us for the first time and we LOVE to be on the sea so all will be great regardless.

 

Cheers Linda

[Hot Chilli]

Evon,

Have enjoyed reading about your cruise very much :o Wonderful job!

[Ruste]

When were we on at New Year lunch was in two sittings and it depended on your dinner sitting as to which one you went to. Breakfast was the usual time and open sittings. Both were in the Burgundy restaurant. Obviously there have been a few changes since then.

[Ela 2]

On our recent cruise Lorraine was presented with a bottle of champagne for being the third-most travelled cruiser on board. Congratulations Lorraine.

[Guest012]

Hi Shiona

 

Now you have got me a little worried. As first time cruisers on P & O I have been a little concerned about crowding on the size of the Pacific Sun ...We are going on 5 July to Port Vila Noumea etc.

 

We have cruised on Celebrity and Princess and have not noticed an obvious crowiding problem but the ships are basically twice as big with similar numbers.

 

Now that I have read this post I am very thankful as we will adjust accordingly and maybe eat brekky and/or lunch a little later if there seems to be a problem.

 

We are just so thrilled that we will have family and friends with us for the first time and we LOVE to be on the sea so all will be great regardless.

 

Cheers Linda

 

Hi Linda..... as the average pax age on this cruise was quite advanced....:D they mostly stayed indoors waiting eagle-eyed like birds of prey for any window chair to be vacated....the cane chairs in Park Lane:rolleyes: on Promenade Deck were in high demand occasioning a scout being sent out before 0630hrs to ensure, if you were lucky, a vacant seat........a sentry would then guard this treasure, if you were lucky enough to get one, until night time.....:eek: .... John and I on a port day found a pair of these treasures vacant and sat for around an hour luxuriating like cheshire cats. When we did vacate the seats we did a countdown till the next pair of bots took over.........8 SECS.....:D;):p......out on deck the deckchairs sat silently vacant......a rare sight....................

Don't worry too much yours is a South Pacific cruise and i am sure the pax will be a mixed crowd.... Bit of advice don't compare this ship to your Celebrity and Princess cruises she is only a 3* and delivers just that .....relax and enjoy.....you will have a ball....... cheers Shiona