With Reuben Goossens
Cruise’n’Travel Journalist / Cruise Reviewer
MV
Pacific Jewel
MV Pacific Jewel
Photograph provided by Carnival
Pacific Jewel and the Pacific Dawn are
externally identical ships as they were twin sisters built as the Crown and
Regal Princess respectively. However, The Regal Princess became the P&O
Pacific Dawn and thus she retains all the magnificent original Princess
features such as the superb the “Dome” forward atop of the ship.
This is known on other ships as the “Crow’s Nest” a large
lounge with a bar that has sweeping views of the ocean and is a great place
during the day and an entertainment venue at night. However, the Crown Princess
was transferred to one of Carnivals German interests, sever ones in fact, and
they ripped out the dome and place a huge (money making) Spa in there. Thus the
ship lost one of its main lounges and the best venue of the ship. Later the
ship went to the
Reuben Goossens.
Cruise and ship
reviewer & Maritime Historian.
60
years in the Passenger Shipping Industry.
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Dear Mr. Goossens.
Recently we undertook a cruise on the P&O Pacific Jewel and although we, my wife and two children, enjoyed our holiday I must say that sadly I was not greatly impressed with the ship itself. It is not that I am a first time cruiser and a “complainer” for I have been very happy with all my past cruises. Let me cover some of these before I mention the Pacific Jewel, for I have also sailed in recent time on Pacific Sun, and she was simply great, yet she seems to get the bad rap in the media for some reason?
I have cruised six times on classic cruise
ships, with the
first being the Shota Rustavelli,
and was followed by a number of cruises on Shaw Savill Lines Ocean Monarch, and
the on Sitmar Lines wonderful Fairstar some three times with my parents, and
then a time on my own in 1988 and later twice with my wife after I was married.
But my personal favourite was the Ocean Monarch. I remember the wide central
corridors down the center of each cabin deck and
plenty of open deck space. In my mind she was a true classic cruise ship!
My recent cruise experiences – Pacific Sun:
Having
waited until my children were at least 7 years of age, I chose to go on our
next cruise and we decided on the Pacific Sun as it
was good value. We loved the ship and we still do. The only thing we
didn’t like was 2,000 people on a ship her size, BUT, we could always
find a nice quiet spot to sit and relax while staring out to the ocean, whether
it be aft of the ship at the Out-back Bar overlooking the pool on Lido deck, or
the delightful Speak Easy Bar that has those quaint window shutters that are
open whilst arriving and leaving port. Yes she did feel a little old and we
experienced some minor problems with toilets etc. but you can walk on open
decks from front to back (very nautical!) and she has a good maritime feel!
Sun Princess:
Because
of the large passenger numbers we decided on our next cruise to go on to the
Princess Cruises Sun Princess, which still felt like P&O, but we did like
her design with a great deal of open deck areas, a wrap around Promenade Deck,
as well as three open outdoor viewing decks overlooking the bow. She has an easy
flowing internal layout and also a good feel! Many times we felt as if we had
the ship to ourselves as there was so much space.
Pacific Jewel:
For
our next cruise we chose the Pacific Jewel because after cruising on the
Pacific Sun I thought well, it it is a new ship for
P&O and she is roughly the same size as the Sun Princess so the crowd
problem would be overcome! But, somehow she seemed like a very overcrowded ship
Let
me start with the good part of our cruise and that was that I was away from my
phone and work. For reasons that will become obvious below, we did spend a lot
of time in our Stateroom as it had a balcony where we could enjoying ocean
views, something we really love and why we love cruising. In addition, I must
to say that the crew was simply excellent and they did their very best. The
entertainment was really great such as the production shows in the show lounge
and the guest artists.
My
wife and I booked one night at the “Salt Grill,” and I can honestly
say that it is the best Restaurant at sea we have ever experienced by far! It
certainly is worth the small fee that is charged.
Now, what we did not like about the Pacific Jewel is this:
The only nice lounge we found onboard was the “Club Lounge” a lounge that overlooked the bow. However, we had to become “Club members,” which meant signing up for the entire cruise at a cost of $25.00 per person per day. Considering that we had paid $8,000 for my Stateroom, I believe that all lounges on the ship should be included! Since when did you have to pay to enter a lounge on a ship, this is madness and a good reason to dump the Pacific Jewel and any ship with such idiocy!
The “Club Lounge” far forward on Aloha Deck (11)
You also had to pay extra just to sit at the aft end of the ship and enjoy a quiet beer at the “Oasis Deck/Bar. The “NO Children” rule at the “Oasis” is understandable. Whilst my 15 year old son does his own thing, my 12 year old daughter likes to be with us and she would normally sit and read a book or engage in conversation with us. So most of the time we were forced to sit around the mid-ship pool with the crowd, for there are no quiet places anywhere. The only quiet spot onboard for my wife and I was where you had to pay!
Of the three main bars on Promenade Deck the only ocean views that were available was if you sat in the corridor area and looked out the window onto the outer deck. The Connexions Bar amidships was open to the corridors and it was usually very crowded making it difficult for people to walk though, be it forward or aft of the ship.
The superb optional “Salt Grill
Photograph provided by Carnival
On the top deck, Lido Deck, you could not go any further forward than the mid-ship pool area, the “Salt Grill” and the Café. Then you are inside the ship at the forward stairwell, the very expensive Lotus Spa (two levels) and the Gym.
With almost 2,000 passengers you are forced to spend most of your time at the Lido Deck (12), being the mid-ship pool area or at the Bars on Promenade Deck (7). I feel that there was much less passenger space on the Pacific Jewel than there is on the Pacific Sun, and to be honest I enjoyed her far more, even though she is a much older ship!
Scott McMillan.
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Note: Cruise-Australia is a non-commercial
and privately owned cruise site. The author has been in the passenger shipping industry
since 1960 and is currently semi-retired, but continues to write cruise and
ship reviews and articles in order to better to inform cruise and ship
enthusiasts and provide information for those intending a cruise in the future.
However, if you are interested in a cruise, I
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