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P&O Pacific Jewel
Shirley B.North Queensland, QLD
- 7 reviews
- P&O Pacific Jewel
- Verified customer
Great holiday
This was our 2nd cruise and we travelled in January 2022. 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.
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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.
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mariacGreater Melbourne (Metropolitan), VIC
- 3 reviews
- 2 likes
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
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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 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 du...Read more
e 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.
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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 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 ...Read more
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 :)Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Great Cruise
The twelve night cruise was just awesome. Really enjoyed it. This was the first cruise I have ever taken in my life
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Sandra
- 2 reviews
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 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!
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Helen SlaterVictoria
- 2 reviews
- 2 likes
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 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 ac...Read more
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johnccAU
- 3 reviews
- 7 likes
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 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.
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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 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 b...Read more
land. 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.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
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 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...Read more
- 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.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
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 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 muc...Read more
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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. 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!!
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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 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!!!
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emmadelaide
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 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 poac...Read more
hed 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!!!Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
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TraceyPort Pirie South Australia
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 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...Read more
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 HelmersSimilar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
- P&O Pacific Jewel
- Verified customer
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 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 ...Read more
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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 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.
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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.
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BruceVIC, 3561
- 2 reviews
- 5 likes
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 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 we...Read more
re 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.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Questions & Answers
Ajwasked
Can you buy alcoholic drinks to take to your room (6 pack beer/ bottle of wine)?
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Mick Fasked
Do they have KFC Or Macdonalds food on the pacific jewel
Easyasked
Are collarless shirts allowed in the evening
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