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P&O Pacific Explorer
Reviewer Photos & Videos
Thana P.Sydney, NSW
Very poor business Practices
Booked a cruise paid deposit cancelled 3 of March over 10 phone calls and messages over Facebook. Operator said 10 days from cancellation date I was to get my refund still waiting
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PamDyers Crossing, New South Wales
- 3 reviews
Very disappointed
Booked a cruise with 15 other friends
Should have been awesome trip but far from it
We would book a table so we could all sit together get to restaurant and be 2 tables for us but not together. They didn’t get that we wanted to sit together
It was only 3 port cruise but we only went to 1 port because they wouldn’t put the tenders in at one port so went on to the next port no had to turn back to the first port as there was a medical emergency
That’s fine but the attitude was too bad so sad, we got $56 compensation
Very disappointed with P&O will not travel with them again
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MrsBrimsSouth East Queensland, QLD
Disappointed and Frustrated
Extremely disappointed by how our booking has been handled by P&0 Cruises. Known to be supposedly "Family Friendly", this cruise line has made this booking process a nightmare. I booked a Balcony double room last September for my husband and I on a 6night cruise Brisbane through Arlie beach return for my Aunties wedding. Approximately 70 of us have booked. I then found out I was pregnant and have just had a new born and contacted them to add him onto our booking. Our baby will be 8months old so will either be in bed with us or I'll take a porta...Read more
cot. Assuming this would be an easy add on, but NO!. At only 8months old they want to charge us for a whole third person and not only that but put us in a triple room which only configuration was bunks! They also wanted to charge us more to downgrade us to a window only room and bunk beds only. They would not just add him to our double balcony room even when I was still happy to pay the 3 person price tag!! They say cruises are "family friendly" but for me starting a new family they have made this whole thing upsetting and undesirable. Forcing a young couple to have to pay more to sleep on single bunk beds with an 8month old. Its disgusting really and would have cancelled my trip but unfortunately I dont have a choice because I wont miss my Aunties wedding. Supposedly they say that this is what happens when families have babies, the ONLY option is to book a room with bunks unless I wanted to pay the huge price tag for a suite! Then so much for a affordable family friendly holiday!! So young families... please save yourself the stress, money and disappointment and find another cruise line that's accommodating to you and willing to put the comfort of their customers first cause P&O cruises sure DON'T do that!!Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
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Sarah M.Sydney, NSW
will never use p & o again !
on 1st December rang to cancel a booking. was told to wait 7 to 1o business days and money will be in my account. by 16th December still no money so i ring again. was told, no it will be sent by cheque and to wait 2o business days. 13th of January still no money so i ring again, was told that it hasn't been sent yet because i didn't confirm my e-mail address (which i did at the beginning of the call). so i verify my e-mail address and was told to wait another 20 business days. i ring 2 weeks later and ask for the status of the cheque. was told ...Read more
they cant view it right now and to ring back in 8 hours. 10th of February i ring again (another 20 business days) and was told by the fist lady i spoke to that the issue had already been resolved. asked to speak to manager and was told by him the cheque was only sent on the 23rd of January 2020. will never use these guys again.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
emdemeNewcastle
- 49 reviews
- 1 like
First time cruisers
We both had low expectations as we had not cruised before, and did not know if cruising was for us. After our 8 night Pacific cruise on Pacific Explorer from Sydney, we are so impressed we have booked again. There was a place for everyone on the ship - we found quiet no children areas to relax, and a late night live music venue (Blue Room) to listen to the excellent band. The Bonded Store bar was quiet and intimate, with knowledgeable bar staff capable of making some great cocktails. We only visited The Pantry for hot water for drinks, and f...Read more
ound it very noisy and crowded although the food looked ok, preferring to eat at the excellent Waterfront and Dragon Lady (included in the fare). We also ate at Angelos (included) but thought it average. We did the Taste of Salt degustation with wine which was one of the best meals we have eaten anywhere, and great value, although a lot of quite large servings meant there was too much food! We also ate at Lukes, & Shell and Bones, but felt they were not up to the standard of the free Dragon lady and Waterfront. Our cabin was comfortable and had lots of storage spaces, and was better than we had expected. The staff through the whole ship were wonderful and friendly, nothing was too much trouble and they were always smiling. We spent about $900 extra onboard for 8 days but that included $80 internet, $238 for the degustation, $58 for a Dragon Lady High Tea which was sensational. So it was about $60 per day each for the added paid meals and all drinks. Still cheap by comparison to other forms of holiday entertainment. Speaking of entertainment, the onboard shows are fantastic. All in all we loved it and we were hard markers, expecting to find fault in things and not be happy, but we were won over by the cheerfulness of the staff and the relaxing life onboard. Well done P & O. I have taken off one star for the fairly small pools which did not give enough access for everyone, the main pool being always overcrowded with kids and the 2 very small adults only pools were not nearly big enough. Not enough lounges near the pools either, though that was mainly due to lounge hogs reserving seats by putting towels etc on them early in the day then not coming back. We saw many 'reserved' seats that no-one came near for hours and the attendants could take note of that and remove towels after a certain period of time. A fairly small complaint though.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
ZanaHCanberra Central 2602, ACT
P&O Explorer Comedy Cruise
In This Review: Kids Club, Dining, On Board Credit, Pools, Comedy Shows, Shopping, Cabins, Service, WiFi and Drinks.
Being that it was our first time doing a cruise, we decided to do a weekend cruise for a feel.
What better way to do it than a comedy cruise which also advertised that it is kid-friendly and suitable...
It is not kid-friendly unfortunately.
Yes, they have an onboard kids club and the Edge Adventures but it is very poorly set out.
The adults flocked the Edge Adventures and the kids club centred around kids being in a designated ...Read more
room for most of their time within the club surrounded by electronics (times: 9am-12pm & 2pm-6pm & 7pm-1am > between 9am-10pm children are free to sign themselves out and roam the ship unsupervised - which is fine for the teenagers but not OK for the younger kids). What makes this even more worrying is that the older kids clubs are directly below the casino (with only a set of stairs dividing them) and next to the onboard nightclub.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
DeniseSydney, NSW
- 2 reviews
Horrible experience
Great comedy cruise but had a terrible experience on my first day was travelling with my 11 year old daughter we got a refreshment drink package for her and I got the upgraded one for me, while waiting near with my group talking my daughter went straight to the closest bar got a drink her drink which was mostly ice which wasnt a problem but she finished it and wanting another after she downed the first one quick the bar maid said she just had a drink 5 minutes ago which made her feel bad and ashamed with other people around the bar so my daught...Read more
er said to the bar staff that it was for her mum trying to have a reason, then she was told that its not allowed and against the policy to share a drink package etc and refused to give her a drink when my daughter come back with no drink and told me what happened I went to the bar with her and asked for her to immediately give her a drink which she did after explaining the policy etc The biggest problem was now my daughter refused to go and get a drink too scared of being told off didnt want to go out of the cabin for the rest of the cruise without me Only drinking water for the rest of the cruise as a mother it made me feel sick and we didnt enjoy the cruise just waiting for the ship to come back home, it sadness me as staff need to understand some people are more sensitive and different anxieties also we have a big cruise booked for April now she doesnt want to go to.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
DraganotzSydney, NSW
- 15 reviews
Once was enough
Firstly, I have to admit up front we normally sail with Royal Caribbean. Found ourselves on this ship due to an invitation for a 60th birthday. It was in fact a good cruise to confirm why we (rather thankfully it seems) regularly sail with RC. The Pros: embarkation and disembarkation was done very efficiently. The Cons: things that are normally included on a RC cruise incur an extra cost with P&O. The food was generally uninteresting or unappetising in the Waterfront (main) dining room. Waterfront restaurant deserts were on the whole rat...Read more
her tasteless and disappointing. I won't even mention the dreadful Pantry free for all. One would expect that most activities on a cruise ship would be included....ah no, try $24 just for a 15 second zipline ride and you get the picture. Even some of the (better) entertainment came at an extra cost. The ship has obvious signs of aging and has already seen it's best days. However, I must admit most public areas, bars and restaurants are nicely presented in a modern decor. The balcony stateroom we stayed in were rather tiny and claustrophobic. The balcony itself is just a token space to catch a little fresh air. The crew friendliness and enthusiasm was somewhat patchy. And quite frankly (perhaps because of how they market their cruises) the clientele was rather sub-par compared to what we are used to. I don't wish to discourage anyone from sailing P&O, not at all. However, we won't be changing from our usual cruise line to P&O for any price!Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Brian FPearce 2607, ACT
- 2 reviews
Like no place on earth, like hell!
Last year we enjoyed our first cruise, which was on P&O, on Pacific Eden, and it was a great introduction. Therefore, we thought it reasonable to expect that any subsequent P&O cruise would be of a similar standard, but the New Caledonia cruise from 6 to 14 September 2022 was very disappointing. So disappointing that if our family ever goes on another cruise it won't be on P&O.
Comparing accommodation over the two cruises, the rooms on Pacific Explorer were very claustrophobic compared to those on Pacific Eden (last year's cruise). In both ...Read more
cases we had interior rooms. In addition to the food quality being poor compared to last year's cruise, there appeared to be a significant hygiene issue in the Pantry on Pacific Explorer. Unlike the layout on Pacific Eden where all food was served from behind counters, it was a different story on Pacific Explorer where salads, soups, bread and rolls were self-serve. On more than one occasion I observed parents lifting young children up so that they could help themselves at grabbing bread rolls and other food that was meant to be picked up with the provided tongs! If food is going to be presented in such a way, then it is imperative to have a much higher level of vigilance with supervision of the area. It's not the fault of young children but it seems that their parents need to be supervised. It was great that there were staff constantly cleaning handrails on the stairs but what a waste of resources if the same level of hygiene is not maintained in the food areas! Therefore, it was not surprising that the medical centre was stretched to the limit with sick passengers, many with flu-like symptoms. My wife visited the medical centre (with flu-like symptoms) during the advertised open hours, but there was a sign on the door to say that it was closed due to a medical emergency, and to dial 000 if you had a serious problem. So much for that idea as she was in bother, but not so much so as to need to dial 000. There were several times over the duration of the cruise when there were announcements made about medical emergencies. There was a serious overcrowding problem in the Pantry as it was quite a battle most of the time to find a vacant table, likewise with getting a deckchair in the pool areas!Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
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Smelly, Bad Food, Tiny Coffin Like Rooms, Inappropriate Entertainment & Super Expensive On Board!
Travelling from Sydney to New Caledonia.
The trip was suppose to make multiple stops from Sydney to Noumea. We first encountered rough seas and many people where sick and unable to move about the boat, not a P&O issue obviously. But when the water stopped working and the toilets were overflowing, that was definitely a P&O issue!
The food was ok, but mostly terrible, we even had to miss dinner one night due to the "pre-ordered" menu not being available, we were only told about this at 10pm after waiting a few hours and seeing everyone else ...Read more
in our group eat. We had a specific diet that we had to fight to get each and every meal, mostly this was steam vegetables, white rice and zero flavour, we had the same meal for dinner 3 times. The on board activities were not great, apart from some quizzes (free), entertainment claimed to be child friendly had people swallowing razor blades and swearing. The drinks are so expensive and we couldn't have the "drinks package" for just one day, we had to buy it for the whole trip which borders on irresponsible, it wasn't a Contiki tour! I wouldn't recommend cruising for anyone considering it. And insurance does not cover missed ports, nor bad cruise experiences, only if you had booked a sight seeing excursion would you get to claim, but you'd get your money back anyhow. If after this review you are still going, make sure you book excursions with the locals, not on the boat, you'll save money and give money back to the economy you are visiting, apparently the staff are very poorly paid and live in tough conditions on the boat, be kind to them as they will be kind to you.
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MercyfenHunter Region, NSW
Boring Cruise
My sister told me how wonderful cruises were but had never been on a PNO. The weather wasn't great so we had to look for other things to do on board. In the 10 days only one movie was shown in the theatre in the afternoon. No games room. Had a trolley that was only available from 9-10 with all the same games. No afternoon tea. Thought we would go to high tea for something to do but they were charging $29 each where on other cruises its included. Gatsby night was around the stairs with no where to sit or put drinks and only played one song from that era. If u didn't want to sit and drink all day there was nothing to do. Spoke to heaps of people and 9 out of 10 felt the same way and would never cruise PNO again.
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TanyaPeel, WA
- 4 reviews
- 9 likes
Enjoyed through and through!
Came back from a New Caledonia cruise, fantastic! The food, comfort, entertainment - everything was top notch! It is true we did not visit the two scheduled islands due to weather and a medical emergency (drunken passenger's fall), but it was beyond the crew's control.
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DisappointedThe Mallee, VIC
Hop on hop off bus
Booking out first cruise was easy 2 years planning saving family of 4 kids 13/11
Travelled from Mildura Victoria to Sydney for cruise arrived early for luggage drop off but was aloud to board, so far so good. Expectations looking forward to noumea, Mare and isle of pines! Snorkelling swimming cultural tours foods
What we go was a nightmare 11 emergency evacuations and 2 deaths! We landed at noumea twice as weather and was too rough to tender to Mare island even though we were right there waited 30 mins then just loaded up and returned to no...Read more
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Tony SSydney, NSW
- 2 reviews
Best Short Cruise Ever
At the last minute we were asked if we would like to pay extra for a cabin upgrade from Balcony to Sateroom. Being my husbands 60th birthday I paid and let him get the surprize.
The State room was fantastice and Grisella and Robert were the best stewards ever, taking care of our every need.
We ate at the Waterfront and Angelo's each night and on the last night we paid for the indulgence meal at the waterfront - well worth every cent of $8.00 entree of Risotto and 2 jumbo prawns.
Pantry was great also, no problem getting a beautiful meal with lo...Read more
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Anonymous
- 2 reviews
- 2 likes
Worst cruise
Just came back from 8 night cruise to New Caledonia. Missed two ports due to weather and medical emergency. Disorganised stuck on a ship with nothing to do. Booked a queen bed and got two single beds stuck together to make it a queen. Absolute joke. Went to New Caledonia on Monday where most shops were closed and other tourist attractions. The ship stunk. The staff were nice but the ship was so old and bad. They only offered to give us 75 dollars for compensation of not seeing the two ports the whole reason we booked this holiday was to see New...Read more
Caledonia and the islands. Very poor experience has put me of cruising forever. Everything was a rip off. It’s really not what you make it when there was drama after drama. I was lucky to keep sane being stuck on a ship. Never booking with pno againSimilar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
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Christine RAU
- 5 reviews
Probably not a good idea to show me an offer on MY FACEBOOK that I can't have
Booked a few weeks ago and now they're showing me that my cruise now comes with a drinks package. You might no want to show this in MY FACEBOOK FEED if I am not eligible because I already booked. Thanks for nothing guys!
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PennieIllawarra, NSW
- P&O Pacific Explorer
- Verified customer
First n last cruise
We only made 1 out of 3 stops nothing to do on board staff in spa are to busy to even serve u really disappointed in this cruise cost me a small fortune for nothing
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NexusunprofessionalMetropolitan Adelaide, SA
- 2 reviews
Don't give credit card authority.
Cruised with them to Loyalty Islands. Didn't get to the last Island. Apparently it happens often. 3 days of repeat nothingness. After returning and all room accounts settled, 4 days later debited accounr $49, nothing purchased and the customer line don't know why, "said take it up with your bank". Unprofessional stealing!
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RueSouth East Queensland, QLD
- 2 reviews
Paying for water
Upon looking into booking a cruise with p&o I discovered that you have to have a drinks package even for water.
I think this is disgraceful and wrong to charge for this, and for this reason I would never book with this company before even looking into any thing else.
Why don’t they add this to the cost of the cruise instead of making an essential item an extra.
Disgraceful
I have cruised with Carnival, water and soft drink was included in the booking price, alcohol obviously extra.
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PissedoffIllawarra, NSW
cruise to hell
Staff Great, Food total crap pig food, Over crowded, Totally RUDE passengers . Children very polite and well mannered, Drunks boat I mean drunks cruising . never will we cruise again finished.
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Questions & Answers
Vivasked
what are drink packages prices please
1 answer
you can get that info from their web site we took out the package for coffee water and soft drink and mococktails found it to be great value included ice chocolate iced coffee, coffee large are 4.50 small 4.00.
Mary D.asked
Can we book for the black circus before sailing at all, i think it would be a great evening for my husbands birthday?
No answers
Mami H.asked
Do they offer dinner package ? If so how much ? Please
No answers
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