I am a cruiser. There, I’ve said it. I absolutely love being on a cruise ship in the middle of an ocean, with nothing to do but stare at the sea. I can sit on a balcony for hours just watching the water – occasionally, as on this trip, I’ll be rewarded with a pod of dolphins swimming past, or a pod of whales, which I saw off the coast of Iceland on another trip.
So the opportunity to spend eight nights on the Pacific Pearl heading up to Fiji and back was not to be turned down.
At its best, a cruise ship is a massive floating hotel which has ever-changing views and stops off to visit places of interest. For someone like me, who often needs a big rest, you unpack once and settle into a world where no dishes are done, beds made or meals cooked – well, not by you anyway.
From then on you can be an active cruiser, filling each day with any number of activities provided on-board and off, or you can be a cruisy cruiser like myself, who will most often be found on a deckchair reading a book, pausing briefly to sip a cocktail and leaving only to enjoy a sumptuous meal in one of the restaurants.
Either way, both types of cruiser will love the Pacific Pearl.
I hadn’t been on a P&O cruise for 10 years and was delighted to see that our ship had been recently refurbished and also lost some of the old-world stuffiness that is often associated with cruising.
Gone are the strict dining times, the necessity to share a table with strangers at each meal, and the cast of thousands serving you, including a sommelier who sniffs and fusses over your wine.
On the Pacific Pearl, if you want a table just for two, you can have it. But if you want to meet people, then you can also join strangers for dinner if it pleases you.
There are two main dining options. The Plantation Restaurant offers a buffet providing more than enough options to tempt everyone from the healthy salad eater to the roast-and-three-veg devotee. But you can also have a sit-down meal in the main Waterfront dining room, where you will be waited on and can choose from an ever-changing and very delicious menu.
The whole dining experience is so much more modern than it had been a decade ago, and added to these main options are other specialty restaurants where you can pay a little extra for something a bit different. Celebrity chef Luke Mangan’s Salt Grill will set you back an extra $49 per person for dinner, but it is well worth it to sample some of the best cuisine on offer, and the Luna restaurant will provide amazing Asian fusion food for $29 extra per person.
For the first part of our cruise my husband Paul and I did what we always do – dined well, relaxed and had early nights until we felt recharged enough to sample some of the entertainment on offer on the ship.
For night owls and those who love a party there is never a dull moment. With the Dome nightclub and themed party nights, such as the Black party, the White party and the Gatsby party, you don’t have to look far to find somewhere to dance the night away with likeminded souls. I loved walking past the Gatsby party and seeing hundreds of happy people dancing like mad around the band, having a wonderful time.
There are also regular shows in the theatre to watch before or after dinner, but Paul and I loved bar-hopping after dinner to listen to the many fantastic musicians – mainly Kiwis – playing in the various bars on the ship.
A highlight for us was one of the three nights when all the musicians on the ship got together in the Atrium to have a jam session with an R&B theme.
The trip to Fiji takes two days, so this is a perfect time to wind down and get to know the ship. For me it was straight to the Aqua Spa. I am a sucker for a good massage, but I rarely find a good one on cruise ships.
Too often I lie on the table feeling like a prize pig being rubbed with oil in preparation for the agricultural show. But not on the Pacific Pearl. I loved the massages on this trip so much I ended up having three, and each time JoBeth and Rujeko knew exactly what they were doing, getting straight to the point and giving my poor old back some wonderful relief.
I also had a facial and my hair done and found both of those experiences just as terrific.
When we hit Fiji the weather was hot and sunny and everything you would expect from a tropical island. Our first stop was Suva, which is a fairly typical island town. A quick look at the shops and market was on my agenda before returning to the rather empty ship for lunch and a lie-down.
Meanwhile, others caught taxis to local resorts and spent the day swimming and sunbathing on the resort beaches, or you could choose from nine tours organised by the ship, including a village tour, a longboat trip down a river and a forest flying fox adventure.
Next was Port Denarau, which is basically an island of resorts. Many people opted to catch the local bus and then walk through some of the resorts, where they were welcome to spend time dining at the restaurants and swimming in the pools. Others chose from 14 organised tours to go snorkelling or sailing, but we opted to go to a cooking school.
A van took us to an industrial unit where we were taught how to cook three Fijian dishes and four Indian dishes. Among the ingredients were local island spinach and cabbage, which in no way resemble the greens we eat in New Zealand.
We cooked fish in coconut milk, island spinach, tapioca, okra, chicken and potato curry, roti, and fresh coconut crumble, and ate the lot – mildly surprised in my case that I had cooked it all.
We also learned how to crack open a coconut and grate the flesh properly. I can’t recommend this three-hour course highly enough. Have a look at flavoursoffiji.com and next time you are in Fiji take a break from the sun lounger and have some food fun.
Back in Auckland I happily scoured the island markets for tapioca root and island spinach and cooked those meals again for my family.
Our third and last stop in Fiji was to be Dravuni Island. The 200 inhabitants of this beautiful place hand it over for the day to the cruise ship passengers, who can swim or snorkel off the white-sand beaches, buy a few locally made crafts, or go for a long bush-walk. Unfortunately, bad weather meant we couldn’t land, but I had been there before and really enjoyed the chance to just wander around a tropical island and get in some great snorkelling.
Then we headed for home.
Active cruisers who may fear they would be a bit bored by now need not worry. The ship has a number of activities at the Edge Adventure Park that will challenge you. On offer is the flying fox where you soar above the ship and ocean, plus rock climbing, a bungy tramp, surfboard and bull simulators, a highline challenge and walking the plank, among others. You do pay extra for these but everyone I saw doing them had a great time.
The wonderful thing about being on board was that we didn’t feel crowded. The Pacific Pearl holds 1800 passengers but I never had to search for an empty sun lounger or a seat at the bar – as I have on other cruise ships – and there is an adults-only area called Oasis out the back of the ship where you can laze on luxurious loungers over three floors and gaze at the ocean. We spent a lot of time there.
And then there are the kids. The ship has four kids’ clubs, which cater for children and teens aged from two to 17 years. Several parents I spoke to said their children were having such a great time, they didn’t want to leave the clubs. By the end of the cruise it was clear the kids had made new friends.
As had the adults. The ship becomes a village, where many people make new friends. One day I even overheard old friends finding each other after 30 years, immediately making plans to have dinner together.
You soon know where to get your coffee every morning, you know where to find the best outside seat for lunch and you look forward to having a cocktail in your favourite bar, listening to your favourite musicians before dinner.
You recognise your neighbours around the ship, know your barman’s name and say hi to people you met on a tour. You really feel as if you are part of a comfortable, safe, happy little community where all your needs are taken care of.
And then it is over.
Paul and I walked off the Pacific Pearl having reduced our stress levels from 10 down to one, we had read seven books between us, eaten some of the best food we have ever experienced on a cruise ship (and this was our 10th cruise) and, thanks to the spa, my body was rejuvenated and ready to head back to work. Which I did as soon as we docked at Queen’s Wharf in Auckland. Paul headed home with the luggage and I simply walked to work, completely revived.
And as I walked I decided that a cruise on the Pacific Pearl was possibly the best stress reliever I had ever experienced, and made a mental note to make cruising the Pacific with P&O an annual event for the good of my health!
Cruise Tips:
By all means make your own plans when in port, but remember that the ship will not wait for you if you get held up. So if timekeeping is a problem, go with one of the ship’s organised tours.
If you’re a bit bad with money, keep an eye on your ship account. Some people like to get a daily total at the reception desk to see how much they have spent – those cocktails do add up!
To save a few dollars, look at some of the beverage packages available on board.
Do tip if you can. Many of the people working on the ship are on long contracts (up to nine months) and are working to send money home to their families. If you appreciate their work, leave them a tip at the end of the cruise.
WiFi is relatively new to cruise ships, but it is available at a cost. If you just want to check in for a few emails, look for internet cafés onshore – follow the crew, they usually know where to go.
Keep active. A buffet-balloon is hard to avoid when there is such delicious food on offer every day. Make use of the gym or exercise classes offered on board or simply walk around the decks to get the body moving.
