P&O Pacific Jewel

NOT kid-safe a cruise. NOT SAFE. STAY AWAY from P&O Cruises – Cleaned my documents to find the so called "Passenger Statement of Accident" forced by P & O Cruises in March 2018. It was for the injury of my then-2-year-old son Raymond being stumbled by a bad-installed & not-customer-safe semi-hidden door barrier at the entrance of the P&O Cruise's children room "Turtle Cove". My son got bad injury to his nose… Read more

by the door barrier but there was no follow up from the cruise side back to us. What made the case worse was that a so-called onboard female doctor who had claimed no charge to check my son's nose injury, cheated me to sign a paper claimed "as a permit for her to do a medical check", but she used my signature to charge me for the cruise-caused kid safety accident. And eventually we were cheated to leave the ship by a false promise of "someone from the cruise company will come back to you" but we have heard nothing from it in the past 3 and half years - now it's a kid safety nightware for 5 and half years created by P&O cruises :(

Great holiday – This was our 2nd cruise and we travelled in January 2019. Hubby and I booked the romance package which is well worth the $200 it costs. Trip was great, service was always impeccable and couldnt fault at all. Room was great, perfect room location with great service in the room. Show details

Amazing – My family and i had the best time ever!! Staff were 5 star, food could have been better sometimes but was always another option to try other food. The entertainment staff blew us away! what talent!! have now been on 2 p&o cruises and have booked our 3rd! best way to travel. Show details

1st Cruise with P&O and most impressed! – This was my first cruise with P&O,it was on the Pacific Jewel. Besides the fact the ship is rather old and worn I was blown away the by the hard work and attention to detail of the entire staff with whom I came in contact Our cruise was 6 nights on Pacific Jewel leaving from Melbourne to Adelaide, Kangaroo Island and Port Lincoln, returning to… Read more

Melbourne. In particular our Cabin Steward named "Saleh" kept our room spotless and kept it well stocked looking after us beautifully. It was a pleasure to meet such a lovely friendly man as Saleh, his advice and eagerness to help us in any manner was brilliant. We loved our 3 ashore days making the most of it on a fabulous day tour around Kangaroo Island with a local woman named "Roz". Roz had extensive knowledge of the island and in no time, we were all laughing like old friends. Highlight of the day seeing Sea Lions sunbathing and sleepily resting on the sand besides the cold spray of the surf. Then to Port Lincoln, it was absolutely heaven on earth, and the seafood, OMG! We are all moving to Port Lincoln!!! LOL :)

Never again – Booked through an agent and was okay but the experience on the Jewel wasn't good. Crew was good but food and entertainment was nothing to boast about. It was about money. Won't go on P&O ever again Show details

Never Again – Our first cruise was with Princess Cruises. This next one was with P&O cruises. Massive differences. P&O- Horrible food, rubbery eggs, every chicken dish was so tough, I think it was cooked the night before. Half of the activities ran late causing us to miss the next one. Staff member on the Laser Tag (10-2-19) was extremely rude to us. Huge… Read more

lack of seating. Also, we all (15 of us) dressed up for the Gatsby Night, only to have them play only ONE song from that era. Also, we went to the PG rated comedy night with the kids and had to leave due to the content inappropriate for children. We asked for a feedback from to make a complaint and was handed a blank piece of paper. This P&O cruise was rubbish and poor quality. Will go with Princess Cruises next time.

Never again P&O not even if it was free – Where to start . Well we thought it might have been nice t have a welcoming drink and a little meet and greet. Nope , your rooms are ready go that way. Rooms very clean and small but that was expected. Shower was very rusty but we knew history and that this ship was tired but the paint splashes all over balcony and balcony furniture were a… Read more

unexpected hidden extra. Make sure you take soap and shampoo ect because the only thing supplied is ... well weak dishwashing liquid. The cocktails and I use the term loosely were devoid of alcohol and I actually asked if I could have a scotch from an unopened bottle and was told there was no more scotch on the ship. This was 3days in. Know..... The Waterfont Restuarant (again loosely used discription) By far the

Continually the worst food served to me in my 66 years. The best entertainment on cruise was waiting every

night to get menu to see what combination of rubbish we would be served and the worst was the embarrassment on the waiters faces as they served it. The pantry was a carb fest and so reperticous. The

desserts defy discription. Same every night just different colours. HOW!!! Much fruit salad can you eat ...... three meals a day. No cream no ice cream just massive chunks of same fruit 3 meals a day . Never enough tables anywhere on the ship .

If you went into Connexions after 7.30 you sat on floor.

Entertainment guys tried so hard but how much trivia can you take. All in all we did relax ... not much choice

really .We would have loved to sit out around pool more but you had to be there at sparrows to get a sun lounge or table. The food in the three places that you had to pay for was good and believe me we ate there a lot. I begrudged having to pay that and for decent coffee . Final word Shame on you P&O!!

Iii

Awesome cruise with P&O – Just came back from a 12 night Pacific Islands cruise with P&O, this is my fourth cruise with P&O, fantastic cruise, as always, the entertainment team was brilliant every night, food was awesome, great choice in the pantry and also in the Waterfront Restaurant. The rooms were spotless clean, as always, they were cleaned twice a day, with fresh… Read more

towels supplied every day, and the staff were lovely, courteous and smiling and happy. The booking experience was smooth and straightforward, looking forward to my next cruise with P&O!

very disappointed. never again P & O – P&O is cheap for a reason. The staff was unbelievable rude. We were treated like animal. No one in waterfront restaurant answers anything. we were left on table for one hour without given a menu. One of the waiters even refuse to serve us. They pretty much throw food to us like they are feeding their dogs. I have reported to P & O after forced to… Read more

answer their long lists of mandatory questions, and I received no feedback at all. I was totally ignored just like its done on the cruise.

Spend the little extra for a different cruise line – I was on this cruise for 12 days. Many guests felt the same way as I did. This was my first cruise and I was utterly disappointed. The food is disgusting, and you can only eat at certain times throughout the day. If you're hungry after 9pm, good luck. You'll have to fork out money for expensive low quality food out of the venue that stays open… Read more

past those hours. The hot tubs are a mere or so in diameter. If you sit in there you'll touch knees with another guest. The pools were shut most days. There's nothing special about them. Activities were bland. Staff were rude. There's only one restaurant you can eat at that's included in your fair. If not, you're paying over $60pp for their other restaurants. Don't buy the edge pass. You'll have activities canceled every day without compensation. Every activity besides the flying fox and walk the plank is of poor quality and home made. Not worth the nearly $200. Don't buy the internet package. It's a waste. Literally every guest I ran into that brought it couldn't even load an email. The best you cN do is load a Google page without pictures. The alcohol package isn't 'unlimited' as it states. You're limited to 15 drinks of anything a day. After that, which they don't inform you, they will charge the drinks money to your onboard account. I confirmed with p&o before my cruise that it was unlimited however once on the ship, the rules changed. Venues shut after 7pm and 9pm. There's about 1 or 2 bars open after that if your lucky. Every sea day is boring. Every time we ported we ate out because the food is sickening. The same food or something slightly different was used every day. No variety. The nicest staff were the cleaners. Everyone else was snotty and entitled. No one was happy to be there and you can tell that the staff were sick of it all. What I'm getting at is that nothing is included in your fare. Prepare to pay extra for literally everything.

Ripped off – This is my second Pacific Jewel NYE cruise - my first being NYE 2013 - and I honestly feel so ripped off. Food was bland, over-cooked and repeated. The included coffee needed a thorough machine clean. There should have been more interactive entertainment throughout the cruise as it was boring for 3-4 hours at a time. There was a ridiculous amount… Read more

of trivia to cater for ages 35+ and this is a cheaper, easier option than earlier years. The Dome was empty, boring and music should have been better; only Miguel did it justice. The port docking times - especially shortened hours on public holidays - were stupid and didn’t allow enough time for exploration. My debit card continually had a credit card surcharge applied and it took THREE days for it to be rectified. Some crew in the Waterfront and bars throughout the ship were rude and arrogant. The Big Screen on Deck 14 had an expanding number of black squares impacting movie visibility. There was a lack of communication about gastro outbreaks which had occurred. Given all of these reasons, P&O, you’ve lost a passenger.

Disappointed first time cruisers – So excited to book our first cruise. What an excellent way to see in the new year! Booking process was easy and lead up was excellent.. cruiseling website great. Arrived at terminal and things disintegrated quickly from there. Herded like cattle in long exhausting lines. Finally on ship and happy enough with balcony cabin and crew who looked… Read more

after our room.

Food in all areas very disappointing. Waiting in queues for tasteless, uninspired and warm food. Only had 1 cup of the free machine coffee.. tasted like poison.. orange juice not much better. A handful of staff were delightful, friendly and accommodating.. the rest were rude, condescending and impatient. Seated in the beautiful Orient bar one evening and had to literally wave like an idiot 5 times at the bar to get someone to come serve us!? Then when we finished our drink, waitress whisked away our glasses without asking if we'd like another?

Shore trips were very welcome relief off the ship. All destinations we visited were happy to have us and a nice change from the rudeness onboard. Getting back on at port of Akaroa was a debacle.. told to be on pier at 4pm sharp. After 45 min of standing in lines of tired and grumpy passengers in the hot sun with no water, watching as only 1 tender ferried people to ship, we finally got crammed into the tenders with no word of explanation or apology from crew.

The entertainment.. mediocre. Magic show was funny but dance shows were embarrassing. My husband complained about how bad they were.. my response was "well it's free!"

First day on board we had lunch at Salt. Was a lovely experience, and food was better than the pantry. Before our dining experience we were informed of strict dress code.. scramble to find acceptable attire.. only to see several other diners had not done so, but been allowed in?

Second trip to salt and I was experiencing sea sickness and could not finish my meal. Staff very kindly offered to send dessert to our cabin.. we're still waiting!

Lastly, disembarkation.. no direction or assistance from crew who let us line up the wrong way (standing with suitcases for 30 minutes).. then allowed the later passengers to skip the queue and line up in the opposite direction leaving all of us scratching our heads trying to find our place in line.

We are not sure if we will ever cruise again, P&O have ruined the experience for us.

Xmas cruise – I took my four daughters various ages on this cruise for Xmas. I have completed many cruises on my own but I have to say this cruise was a disappointment. Food was awful in all areas. Particularly Xmas day. Many many families with children on this cruise and P &O did not cater for children regarding food. I spent hundreds of dollars on take away.… Read more

Kids club was well below par. Little communication between staff and me. Trying to get staff to take on board my advice regarding my girls fell on deaf ears in the end they did not go. I felt sad to think that this lovely old ship has ended up with very poor rating. Let's up when replacement comes for her P &O will do something about quality of food child care etc. I will be watching!!

Never Again – We too have just returned from Xmas Cruise on the Jewel. Never again..what we experienced left me speechless!! The food was awful in both the pantry (which I could not stomach) and the restaurant. We ordered the lobster one evening actually Xmas Eve (nothing special being served!!) we both left the lobster..words cannot describe just how tough… Read more

and inedible that dish was and we paid $60!!

You pay for pizza/hamburgers/chips..never ever experienced that on board any ship.

If you have never cruised before maybe....but I for one never again!!!

Never cruise with P&O – We have just returned from the eight day Xmas cruise on the Jewel, very disappointing to say the least, the staff were rude the food was so terrible in both the pantry and the restaurant we counted down the days to each port so we could eat decent food. I paid for the prawn risotto one night to be told very rudely it will take 20mins for that to… Read more

be cooked!!! I then didnt eat the risotto as it was awful, only to be rudely questioned you only ate the prawn!!!! Thought we would try breakfast in the dining room one morning, ordered really soft poached eggs, i sent them back because they were that hard i could of bounced them off the wall!! so the next ones came and they were worse, i then was told by the waitress that the chef would yell at her if she took them back again!! So i didnt bother getting up for breakfast again! Its really not hard to make soft eggs???

Some of the bar staff in the connections bar were so grumpy i was sometimes frightened to ask for a drink! that bar was supposed to be open until 12pm but quite often shut by 11.15pm and we were told quite rudely on a few occasions the only bar that is now open is the Dome! I went to the Dome one night and went to the bar with my empty glass a asked for a gin and tonic only to be asked if they could use the same glass??? that was hilarious because it looked like they had loads of glasses?? at the end of one night i asked for an expesso martini and a bottle of water, i had a drinks package so it should of been all included but they told me i if i wanted 2 drinks they would charge me $12 for the espresso martini and i could have the water on my drinks package, i have never heard anything so ridiculous in my life!! The bar staff also wouldn't let me purchase a drink on my drinks package at the same time as wanting to pay for drink for my mum??? crazy!!

there are no bins anywhere on the ship to put your rubbish?? and im not sure who decided to put a smoking area outside the healthy day spa??

I will say though the public toilets although there were not many of them, no toilets near the restaurant?? The cleaners did an amazing job and kept them exceptionally clean!!

I would never go on a P&O again it was terrible!!!

Focusing on factual .. Christmas cruise December 19th to 27th .. Melbourne , KI, Tassie return Melb – Pacific Jewel Our FIRST cruise ship July 10 to the Pacific Islands , what a memory, food 10 stars, crew 10 stars, night performances 10 stars,Everything 10 stars ,did I mention the Waterfront restaurant ? 20 stars , those chefs deserved a gold medal for that absolutely stunning looking and exceptional taste, I could go on . Fast forward 8 years… Read more

and 9 cruises in between , Celebrity , Carnival, more P&O , NOTHING compared to the overall experience on that Jewel. Mind you, the ships were stunning and some lovely food and entertainment . Just goes to show, food and entertainment and great crew make a cruise everything, because the Jewel didn't offer the activities or state of the arc décor the others offered but it delivered in every other aspect possible. Eight years later , we returned to where it all started, on our favourite ship , our Jewel and our very first xmas cruise seemed to be a dream come true , with all the bells and whistles right? WRONG , I have never been on a cruise that I was counting the days when I could get off. We were devastated to say the least, ok , lets get rid of the buffe and make a thing called "the pantry" , imagine the food we will save because people wont go back for more as they couldn't bare the line up once again AND 2) we can keep viruses to a limit as everyone wont be handling the same food servers. 3) we wont need a big food selection, from fresh cream cakes to food selections … more money saved on food and 4) less chefs required AND we can basically recycle majority of the pantry food for the restaurant ! One problem P&O you've axed all the very things that your CUSTOMERS came back for! Thank goodness for choices in life hey? we don't have to risk traveling on ANY P&O ship again! Nine out of ten passengers all saying the same things , poor food services ETC & WHO has cold pudding on xmas day in Australia? We are business people , we work 6 days a week and long physical 9 hour days, we have 8 days holiday only every 2 years and we chose the Jewel for XMAS , South Australia, THE seafood capital of the world, for what? some imported rubbery cooked prawns in that pantry on Christmas day , wake me up, am I dreaming? Waterfront restaurant Christmas day delivered everything we expected zero , although we did get a bon bon ! That's ok, my review will fall on deaf ears but you can NOT silence word of mouth, it can make or break you. The Jewel may retire , bless her, she didn't deserve to end on such a sad note, she leaves us with special July 10 memories, she went from our best cruise to our worst and its not her fault. No more P&O cruises for us, the next one , we are taking 25 family members on a xmas cruise and we will be doing our homework before we outlay such expense. sadly not with P&O.

Tracey Helmers

Best Christmas eva – My partner and I just returned from the Christmas cruise 2018 on the jewel 8 nights, and I would have to say it was the best experience ever. The crew were great friendly, helpful and always smiling, a few that stood out from the rest was our room stuards Edward and Cipi always went above and beyond with their service, Noel and Michael at the… Read more

oaias bar, and Casey, jenny and the restaurant manager forgot his name but starts with R at the pantry, all these people always greeted us by name always made time for a chat and made us feel like part of the family on p and o.

The only thing I could fault on this cruise was our dinning experience at the waterfront we had lunch once their and it wasn't the best service wasn't friendly and the food was cold and no variety, we decided to try dinner one night their and it was worse the food was again cold and the meat so tough and dry we couldn't eat it.

So for the rest of the time we always are at the pantry, more variety, friendly and food was excellent, loved we could get as much as we wanted and being able to go back for more at times their wasn't much seating but a quick walk out to the pool deck with our food was sometime a better option when busy.

This was our first cruise and we loved it that much we booked another cruise while on board.

Unhappy – The booking process and embarkation and disembarkation was efficient. I found the staff in cabins and around the ship very good, Pleasant and helpful. The excursion cost was very high and did not appear worth the cost. The greatest disappointment was the food,! The food was generally tasteless. There was never enough seating in the food court… Read more

were the main variety was to be found. The fish and seafood restaurant was terrible. The fish terribly over cooked, it was not busy so no excuse. The high tea was very average. I felt that at times the wait staff were embarrassed to serve it!

Cabins old fashioned but fine. Not enough seating in the atrium.

Pantry Food – Traveled from Melbourne to Tasmania and Kangaroo Island, the Pantry what can I say the food was disgusting, cold, bland, the fish was tasteless, Water front restaurant overcrowded, you had to share a table with others, no captain to be seen on the cruise at all, very disappointed. The staff on board were brilliant actually felt sorry for them working in the conditions that they did. Overall would never go on a P & O Cruise again.

Don't go with P&O - first cruise nightmare ----- New Guinea Island Encounter 10 days – We planned our cruise (Departing Sunday 28th October) as a celebration for three out of the four of us, turning the big 70 this year and to visit the Australian War museum on the island of Rabaul. We booked through an agent and the booking process went very smoothly, we arrived at the P&O Cruise terminal on the Brisbane borded the ship and were… Read more

ready for the adventure. Sadly, from there it all went wrong, our departure was delayed because of strong winds in the river area - we finally departed 14hours late - travelling up the east coast we were informed by the captain that due to our late departure, he had decided to rearrange the planned trip and he had cancelled our visit to Rabaul - the jewel island of the trip "cancelled " The late departure Monday morning rather than Sunday evening, should not have caused the cancellation of the Rabaul schedule which was for the Thursday, other guest's had planned the Rabaul trip as a final reunion and memorial to the soldiers who died during the conflict on Rabaul.

A second island was also cancelled due to high tide swells - the Pacific Jewel is on its last legs, the ship is aged and very low tech, the rooms were a good size however the decor and furnishings were pas their use by date. We purchased an internet package to send pics to our friends ($75) for ten days only to find it wouldn't work - we spoke to the IT manager and he told us that it wasn't very good and also could not work in our room??? We received an immediate refund without question - bottled water was provided in our room ($5.00 a bottle) drinks were $7.50 for a beer and mixed drinks (vodka and soda) were $12.50 The entertainment was very low budget and the only shinning light of the trip were the staff - magnificent

We could not believe the captain cancelled Rabaul and yet kept the Conflict Islands schedule - the Conflict Islands are privately owned and has no permanent inhabitants, all of the people on the island are staff and everything is brought in and sold to the tourists at ridiculous prices the conflict islands ------- a conflict of interest!!!!!!!

Upon our return to Brisbane, we disembarked at the Fisherman's Wharf and not at the river terminal, and caught busses back to the terminal for our final (YES final goodbyes to P&0)

We met many seasoned cruisers and they all told us not to judge cruising by this trip - they all agreed it was the worst trip they had experienced and recommended other cruise lines over P&O.

Never again – I paid $2000 for a 7 days Cruise Today is day 3 of my holiday. For this money I got meals 3 times a day and a small cabin. All facilities are for extra cost and twice expensive than in land. A glass of wine $9 , beer $7.5 - $12 , massage $200 . Never again, the worst holiday in my life. I left my son in baby group and all what I can say is… Read more

don't do my mistake. They don't now how to look after kids. I had completed for the situation which happened and the manager black listed him from baby group.

The worst holiday in my life.

Lies from Captain, Missed Ports, Extremely Disappointed – We saved hard and paid good money for this Cruise J846 from Brisbane to PNG. We were really looking forward to this much earned break and were excited to explore PNG especially Rabaul. The weather was beautiful, warm, sunny, and no wind. Perfect for our cruise. Apparently, that was NOT how the Captain saw it. We left Brisbane 14 hours… Read more

late. No sail away party. It took 3 days to get to PNG. Rabaul was CANCELLED. Kitava was CANCELLED. It took 2 days to sail back to Brisbane even with a diversion to Willis Island for a Medical Evacuation. Then to disembark at Fisherman's Island was the last straw.

The entertainment was minimal and shoddy. The food was medioca. The beds were hard. We wasted our money and time off, going on this cruise.

I am gob-smacked at the lies relayed to passengers regarding the bad weather. It was flat calm throughout. The general feeling from most passengers onboard was disappointment and disbelief. It was boring. There has been NO COMPENSATION or NO APOLOGIES from P&O.

I believe in giving credit where credit is due. The room Stewards were marvelous, one solo male singer was amazing, the people at Kiriwina were lovely, Conflict Island was beautiful. The glass-bottom boat Marine Biologist was awesome.

I have travelled on P&O previously and raved about my last cruise. This cruise was terrible.

I am unlikely to sail on P&O again.

Come on P&O .... you could still get some of your customers back..... you know what you need to do !!!

Would never recommend P&O again – Both my husband and I work hard all year round to save for our holiday it is something to look forward to after struggling with everything that happens during the year. The trip on the jewel to PNG on the 28 th of October was a cruise that I am embarrassed to say I was on the food was very disappointing and the entertainment was WHAT… Read more

entertainment? The service on the top deck to get a drink well yeah that was a big hit and miss, half the time we had to go and get our drinks. There was a big screen and they didn’t even have some music playing while everyone was up there trying to make the best of a horrible time. The captain on this cruise was a liar and had no reason to depart on the Monday morning instead of the departure which was to be Sunday afternoon. The smaller ship the Aria left port last year in a huge storm no problems at all.

I feel P & O should be held responsible and give the passengers on this cruise a refund or some sort of compensation. The cruise number for this horrible holiday that I want to forget and feel like I haven’t had a holiday is J846.

Had been warned about P&O – We were on our 1st cruise with P&O and had been warned by parents in law (seasoned cruises) not to. But we didn’t listen! Our trip to PNG was booked through Flight Centre and we were rewarded with no extras. Booked a mini suite only because we wanted to ensure we had a balcony rail we could see through. Embarking was easy as we had priority… Read more

boarding but were greeted with nobody! Had no idea where to go or what to do but worked out that we were to make our way to our suite. Room was brilliant with no complaints.

The cruise was late leaving, the Captain made ridiculous excuses and this just set the mood for the rest of the cruise. Missed ports, reduced speed (fuel saving?), no Captain’s Cocktail party (which we were promised), mediocre food and poor entertainment were just some of the disappointments. Don’t misunderstand. There were highlights. The 3 ports we stopped at were great, the people of PNG absolutely beautiful, the bands who provided the nightly entertainment fabulous, the Degustation dinner superb, and many of the staff helpful. Would I sail to PNG again? Absolutely. Would I go with P&O? Not likely. A Captain who was never seen and lied about why things happened the way they did does not inspire confidence in a Cruise line.

Worse cruise experience ever – Having cruised with P&O numerous times I was looking forward to cruising to PNG. Unfortunately this cruise was unsatisfactory & well below expectations. It was delayed 16 hours, there was no sail away party. The ship has been sold and the new owners were on board with paint samples, carpet samples, tape measures wandering around measuring things.… Read more

2 ports were missed, the main one being Rabual. The captain took 3 days to sail to PNG but only 2 to get back to Brisbane. We could have easily made it to Rabual. Entertainment was lacking. Food quality hit & miss. A huge disappointment in many ways. At the end we were herded into buses for a half hour trip back to the terminal. Not one passenger received a feedback survey to fill in. I guess P&O only like to receive positive feedback and knew there would be none from this unsatisfactory cruise. Would I recommend P&0. NO.

Prior to this cruise I would have said yes.

The cruise J846 to PNG was so unsatisfactory that a petition was started. Close to 300 signatures.

You don't always get what you pay for – As per the previous previews: The cruise was a disappointment; hopefully providing P&O with many examples for procedural improvement. Yes, things can go wrong, but the Captain should be a visible presence onboard. Where was the Welcome Presentation? On cancellation of the main attraction, an opportunity for address would have been welcome.… Read more

Visitors to Kitava were left to feel like cattle waiting to board, and then to reboard the return tenders; made to line up on the jetty in the scorching sun with too few tenders operating. This was rectified at the only other island to visit, yet all walking impaired passengers once again missed out, having 'enjoyed' just one chance (of the expected 5 destinations) to disembark at Alotau. Conflict Island, while picturesque, is foreign owned, and prices are inflated enormously! The customs Hall in Brisbane has to be made to provide returning passengers access and shelter (!!) and enable shuttle bus transport, which does not (!) have to be booked in advance at the beginning of the cruise. What a ridiculous system; leaving passengers out in the sun & left feeling discarded at the end of what should be a joyous experience.

Worst Cruise Ever – Booked the PNG cruise to to leave from Brisbane so 4 of us left Sydney Saturday 27/10/2018 only to have the Jewel sail 16hrs late because of the wind- no sail away party nothing. Then told no visit to Rabual which was most disappointing as it was the reason we booked this particular cruise my husband being a Returned Serviceman was most… Read more

interested in, also missed Kitiva, with a short visit to Kiriwana with the tender situation terrible staff actually handed out wet flannels as the wait on the jetty was long and hot.

Cabin service was reasonable - Shows poor as not much to them, Pantry and Waterfront left a lot to be desired.

Most disappointed and feel we should have been offered a refund

My family of 20 have booked again for a birthday cruise and feel we may have made a mistake selecting P & O a big letdown to what the numerous cruises we have done before were.

THE Kents Disaster – 28/10/18 6 of us went to see rabaul for its war history we sailed 16 hours late said it was because of the current in the Brisbane river (lie) then to be told by the captain no rabual then another stop was cancelled to rough for the tenders then again could not dock at hamilton tide again so it was fishmanwhalf and buses to hamilton apart from… Read more

this the crew was good, food very average, charged for just about everything only liquid soap none of the other items you get on other cruise lines, very small cabins and balcony out of 14 cruise this was a disaster never again P&O.

P&O "Like no Place on Earth" – ...well, that's what the slogan says! How unfortunate to be on the vessel named "Pacific Jewel" cruising to PNG from Brisbane's Portside on October 28th for 10 nights. The ship was 14 hours late leaving Brisbane - wind & unfavourable conditions were the reason given. However, it was rumoured the ship had engine problems; it appeared that the wind… Read more

had abated by 4.30pm, but the ship still couldn't depart because tugs and pilot were unavailable. Be that as it may, we eventually made it out of Brisbane a day late. We moved ever so slowly North though the Coral Sea, at what seemed to us, a snails pace. Five ports were included on this cruise, we made three of the five. It was very disappointing. From the outset there were medical emergencies on board, all expertly handled, with little impact on the cruise. However, one emergency meant we arrived a little later to the scheduled port of Kitava, but not too late we thought, to launch the tenders for the guests wishing to go ashore. Unfortunately, it was deemed conditions unfavourable. We failed to see the risk from our balcony cabin. We saw not one, but two tenders launched on what looked like calm/pleasant waters. We also saw hundreds and hundreds of keen passengers lined up to go ashore at Kitava. The the later it got the more passengers turned up to go ashore. Finally at 1.30pm the dreaded announcement came, the swell was too high. Surely, this never happens, we thought? 1600 passengers had now missed out on Rabaul, and now Kitava. All that was left was Panasea, a large island in the Conflicts, before returning to Brisbane. We were first time ocean liner cruisers, so, for us this was nothing short of disappointment. If we were cruising for the sake of cruising we wouldn't take issue with the failure to make ports of call, but our reason for the cruise was to get a glimpse into a nearby but very different world. Lesson learned - far too many "what ifs" that we had not anticipated when it comes to cruising to your destination. As for the P&O vessel, aside from engine trouble (we believe) & rust...more on that later, for us it was nothing short of a floating RSL. We are convinced a balcony cabin works on those big liners - it's a perfect spot for reading quietly. The food in all outlets was ok, but really, pretty poor, and let's just say, sponge cake done 1000 different ways over the course of 10 nights was appallingly cheap. Luke Mangans Salt Grill was pleasing, but it is at an additional cost on top of what you have already shelled out. Entertainment is hit and miss. Two bands stood out for us, one playing cool jazz, the other some soul groove. Note to anyone packing best clothing to wear on board, don't! We came away with rust marks on many garments - our fault for leaning against railings while looking out to sea.

Visits to three out of five ports No cover over the swimming pools so so disappointing – One positive the staff were amazing. The ship windows were so dirty unable to see out of them. Food in the pantry was very poor.