A few months ago my wife scuttled home from work with a very suspicious look on her face. Me being me, my first impression was that she spent money on something. Turns out I was right because after we played a silly game of close your eyes and you'll get a surprise, I held two tickets to the P&O LOL cruise. Pretty exciting stuff considering that it was going to be a nice weekend alone together and that it was also on the Pacific Dawn, the ship which we cruised on last October through various islands.
To give you a quick idea of the cruise itinerary , the ship was going to depart Brisbane on Saturday the 25th and travel to International waters. It would then do some maneuvers, stay out there for two days and then head back to be at port on Tuesday the 28th. While they ship does its things those onboard were going to be treated to the usual daily trivia, movies, music and have comedians have us LOL at the night events.
So the week before we had our bags packed, everything ready and then we got a text message saying the ship had been delayed. Sadly instead of boarding in the morning now it would be 7pm which meant we pretty much would lose the whole first day.
So once the time came we boarded our weekend home and had a sneaky peek of Brisbane Portside, waved to the people over watching from their apartments and then got ready for the mandatory safety brief. After surviving that brief the passengers that had already been drinking ran back to the nearest bar and we proceeded to the spa area to get the tour and pay for our weekend usage. At $59 per person we got access to the thermal room which has thermal beds, a sauna and a steam room. Which over the next few days we used as we chilled out watching Netflix. Apart from the random groups of people walking in for a tour, it was money well spent.
Cruises can be very busy and since the Pacific Dawn had just been refurbished we were unaware of the new eating format provided in The Pantry. It was a bit unusual and actually in my opinion had made getting a meal longer meanwhile providing a better variety. Last trip it was one line that progressed from start to finish while you self served. The new set up allows you to visit each individual outlet which provided served food of a specific nationality, including French, Indian, Mexican and Asian dishes. The slow down in this process was because you had to wander between stations and get separate plates for each visit, which meant that you could end up with 2-3 plates of food with some only having one item on them. The food was very nice though, which made up for the extra effort required.
Our favorite hangout apart from the spa was the Oasis. Situated at the aft of the boat and over three decks. A 18+ zone which gave us space from the drinkers, smokers and noise of the main open deck. It's a great space to catch up on tanning, read a book, listen to some lounge style music and have a beer with friends and loved ones. We had a bit of a lay down and tried to tan this ghost white body of mine before heading to the small spa pools for a bit of warmth and bubbles. The spas are only really big enough for 2-3 people but since they are situated on the highest level of the oasis you get a great view of what your leaving behind as the boat powers through the waves leaving massive wake behind.
Cruises usually have a destination but this one just plodded a course in the water, avoiding the northern parts of Australia due to the tropical cyclone that was developing. At first I thought, how bored am I really going to get if I can't get of this ship. P&O provide various activities throughout the day for all ages and most of them are free. Trivia, movies, scavenger hunts and a variety of booze testing are a few of your day choices, while the night had comedy, production shows and themed parties.
On the second night after having a delicious meal at the Waterfront restaurant and meeting our two new friends, we all decided to go watch the comedy gala and have a laugh out loud. The gala itself was a little bit of a let down as the format was 3 comedians who get 5mins each and then the lead show which was a 30 min sing and dance. The short time that the stand ups got was only really enough to warm you up and then they were gone, which left me wanting more but instead all I got was well known songs being sung with a few jokes. Not very laugh out loud and only slightly amusing. We did have an option to see the 18+ adult comedy at 11pm but the comedian seemed way to over the top with swearing so we decided not too and the next day we received feedback saying it was that great.
My experience with this cruise was really relaxing even though it was a bit of let down across the comedy cruise aspect. I did enjoy myself, my back didn't due to the bed feeling like a plank of wood. I think personally if you go with friends or family as a small group it would definitely be more enjoyable as you could add entertainment among yourselves. Confinement to the ship over the few days may be a deterrent to some but they still offer a lot of fun to help you get through the slow times.
