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P&O Cruises

MV Pacific Sun

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Brad J.
# previous cruises: 2
Date of Trip: January 18, 2006
Itinerary: Australia

Having previously cruised on the Sky 18 months ago we were excited about taking another cruise with P&O.

P&O Australia's ships are targeted very much as fun ships and this is reflected in the whole cruise.

This was a 10 day South Pacific itinerary.

Compared with Sky, this was the biggest downer of Sun. When Carnival transferred Jubilee to P&O, P&O increased the berth capacity of the ship from 1500 to 1900 and the public areas are cramped as a result particularly on a cruise such as ours which was 100% full.

This meant that Decks 9 & 10 which are the main public decks were often crowded, the worst area being the Outback Buffet which was often an overcrowded zoo.

Compared with Sky the boutiques were also smaller.

There were plenty of bars throughout the ship though I was surprised about how open the casino was with no virtually separation between the kids' video arcade and the pokies.

Sun has no real outdoor promenade decks. Promenade Deck (Deck 9) is entirely enlcosed and is often so crowded promenading is impossible.

There is a portion of Deck 10 (Lido) where it is possible to walk along outside though it not the full length of the ship. In addition there is a forward observation deck on Deck 11 (Verandah) which can be accessed from Deck 10 or from a corridor bast the Deck 11 suites.

Food was generally good. We had first sitting in the Burgundy dining room which was fine but it was a bit of a rush getting the kids fed at their sitting in the Bourdeaux room, then packing them off to Shark Shack and being back ready for eating by 6PM. Eventually we swapped with the other family who had dinner with our kids as to who would supervise and transfer them off to Kids Club.

We had dinner one night in the Outback Steakhouse. The food is great but unfortunately the dining area is just part of the lunch buffet area and has no ambience at all. P&O should consider moving this outside onto the rear of Lido deck whenever weather permits.

The dinners were all very good with great service from the dining room staff.

We alternated between breakfast on the Lido deck near the buffet and the dining room. The dining room was a quieter experience though the kids preferred the deck.

Lunch in the Outback Buffet was a nightmare. As I said above this place is a zoo. It is badly designed with queues everywhere often queuing past people sitting trying to eat. This area needs an urgent redesign properly separating the service areas from the eating areas.

Compared with Sky's dedicated Pizzeria, the tiny corner dedicated to pizzas on Sun is a joke.

We had a 4 berth outside cabin on Empress Deck. The cabin was spacious with plenty of storage areas. The only issue is that the bunks do not retract into the roof during the day which makes it awkward to find a place to comfortably sit without ducking your head.

As there is no cinema on Sun, in-cabin movies are free.

The bathroom was bright and more spacious than Sky.

We only heard any noise on the final night where a number of people chose to stay up all night. Apparently there were some issues with noise on the lower decks early in the cruise with security having to regularly visit to sort out some disputes.

We went to a few of the shows. We didn't do the sailaway show as there was only one performance and apparently you couldn't get in the showlounge.

The other shows performed by the crew entertainers were well done though we had seen G'day G'day on Sky 18 months ago.

The guest entertainers comprised a hypnotist/magician and a singer. The hypnotist was OK but I'm not really into that sort of thing. The singer, Adam Scicluna, was excellent with a beautiful voice, a great range from opera to pop as well as a great sense of humour. Though Australian, it was only Adam's 3rd P&O cruise as he has spent the past few years in Europe and US and has performed for HAL and Carnival.

Onboard activities were pretty standard stuff, beer quoits, quilling, bingo, art auctions etc. I was amazed how many of the art pieces actually sold.

The itinerary took us from Sydney to Isle of Pines, then Mystery Island, Vila, Ouvea, Noumea then back to Sydney.

I've been to Isle of Pines twice now and remain non-plussed. Admittedly the weather was pretty average on both occassins but apart from the beach and snorkelling there isn't much there.

Mystery Island remains a charming place with a good local market, nice beaches and a really laid-back feel.

Vila is great for duty-free shopping with alcohol and smokes much less than available onboard the ship or in Australia. Fragrances aren't that cheap however. We did a sail and snorkel tour on an old fishing yacht out of Vila and had a great morning in a quiet bay with a colorful reef.

Ouvea is an unspolit paradise. P&O has only recently started visiting this island and it retains nearly all of its isolated charm. In addition the beach is pure soft sand which is quite rare on coral atolls.

Noumea remains expensive and apart from a morning wandering through the city, we spent the rest of the afternoon at a nearby beach.

This was the last cruise before school returns so of the 1900 pax onboard 500 were under 18. The cruise was almost exclusively Australian and represented a broad cross-section of ages.

Due to its funship nature, the ship is for people who want a fun holiday. Whilst there are always quiet spots available, if you want peace and seclusion you probably should be booking on Pacific Princess.