ULTIMATE REVIEW: Pacific Explorer | What's it like on P&O's Oldest Ship?
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- čas přidán 4. 09. 2024
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Join me for my post cruise Pacific Explorer and P&O Australia cruise review. I'll breakdown the cruise experience and discuss the things that worked, and some of the things that could use some improvement.
The video is split between the following categories:
Boarding
At the terminal, I chose to use the digital boarding pass in the P&O app, which was available closer to the date of departure and only after I had completed my check in on the P&O cruise control website. While it was straightforward to open the app and access the boarding pass, I found that, at the time especially, the app had a tendency to crash and had to be restarted several times during the boarding process. Relaunching the app forced me to pull down my mask so I could log in with Face ID, since there was no way I was remembering my password under pressure, and that happened at least twice in the terminal.
Accommodation
Pacific Explorer’s internal, oceanview and balcony cabins are definitely on the smaller side compared to more modern ships. I found the layout of the balcony room to be rather cramped, and a little short on storage. The balcony itself is set inside the hull of the ship, and so there’s more protection from the elements but on the downside, the view is a little restricted by the structure and in place of glass railings which you’ll find on newer ships, Explorer has metal. The balcony door was hard to slide, I can only imagine it hadn’t seen a lot of use over the past couple of years so I’m sure that didn’t help.
Dining & Drinks
Food is such a central feature of cruising that of course it attracts the most conversation and the most critiquing of any cruise. Overall, I just found the dining experience to have a bit of a split personality. Some of the best food I’ve ever eaten on a cruise was available at a cost, but some of the included options were lacking in one way or another, whether that was taste, variety or availability. The biggest issue that was continually raised by other cruisers was just the lack of dining options after hours. I have to say though, I’ve never had such consistently well poached eggs in my life - like my local cafe can’t poach an egg as well as P&O’s chefs managed to.
Onboard Activities
Next to food, entertainment and onboard activities are two of the most important aspects of the cruise experience. P&O has always excelled in this area and this time it was no different. The entertainment crew onboard are really top notch, from cruise director Julie McEwen down, the team that lead the events are really personable and fun. A typical day offered a range of activities from lawn bowls to dance classes, bingo, trivia and game shows. As well, the big screen on the pool deck was set up to play movies, and even rugby league. There’s also a video game arcade to occupy the kids, and parents are able to set a spending limit which is a handy feature. The ship has several pools and hot tubs, with some reserved for adults only in the aft-located Oasis.
There were a number of theatrical productions and standup comedy shows available too, and these were all complimentary. Additionally, P&O offers its adults only show called The Purple Rabbit. The cost of admission on our cruise was $20 per person, and the show was a vibrant spectacle with a variety of performances from comedy to dance and beat boxing to magic. It’s not common for cruise lines to charge extra for a show, but it was definitely a unique event and based on the number of people that went, it seems like most people are willing to pay.
P&O also hold a number of themed nights throughout most cruises, the most famous being Bianco night, which is as the name suggests, a ship-wide white party, and the Gatsby night which is all about donning your prohibition-era best.
Masks
Ultimately, it didn’t negatively affect my cruise experience.
App & Internet Package and Quality
Though it still left something to be desired, I found the connection to be very stable and even on the social talk plan, it was fast enough to make wifi phone calls or upload photos. The top tier streaming option was less successful. Though it promises streaming quality internet, the reality is a little different. I found it lead to videos buffering and short video uploads to social media were definitely prone to failure. Overall though, the internet worked quite well for a ship in the middle of the sea and if you plan to use it mostly for texting, voice calls or sharing images, I recommend you opt for the social talk plan.
Thanks for watching!
This was our first P&O cruise and unfortunately we didn't like it. I found the food and service ordinary. Couldn't believe there was no drink service in The Pantry. The Waterfront lunch and dinner was bland and every breakfast was luke warm, however you are right about the poached eggs. The only decent meal was at Lukes, but $42 for a steak was to high. No soft serve ice-cream or pizza by the slice was disappointing.
😞 Thanks for sharing your experience and feedback - it’s a shame to read that you didn’t enjoy it. I think if you’re coming to P&O from another major cruise line like Princess or RCI, most people would be in for a bit of an “adjustment”. Some of those little inclusions like soft serve or pizza are sorely missed on P&O - and as minor as they might seem, their inclusion would add to the experience of a holiday at sea for a family, or anyone really.
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy I agree Adrian. It was only 4 nights and there were many people that thought it was fantastic. Hopefully the Ovation of the Seas will be all aboard in December for Hobart and Adelaide. Keep doing your thing, we love it. Regards - Warren Aspinall
@@asplumb thanks as always for the support 😄
I agree with these sentiments. We were on Explorer a few weeks ago. We last sailed on her in late 2017 just after she arrived into the P&O fleet. My first cruise ever was Carnival Legend in early 2017 so Carnival set my expectations. I wasn't entirely impressed back then with Explorer but absolutely loved Legend. Being the only game in town this time, we thought we'd try P&O again on another 3-night cruise. I think my experience this time was better because I had a better idea of how P&O operate going into it.
I think the food was about the same. This time I did try some of the rolls, and yeah, they're amazing. The fish and chips were nice. The Waterfront for lunch was OK but I found the menu similar from the first sea day to the second.
The first night we went to Luke's. I liked that it's now enclosed. I have no problem with speciality dining by I don't like a la carte pricing; I don't like being given a menu with pricing for each item on it. I prefer a modest cover charge like Nouveau on Spirit and Legend. With Luke's, you could pay for a set 3-course meal sort of like a cover charge. The food was so delicious and was in contrast to the complimentary options. We then did Dragon Lady and whilst not great, not too bad. Angelo's I found was better.
There was no free poolside burger or hotdogs, no soft serve ice-cream. The Pantry breakfast was inconsistent. Scrambled eggs on one day were rubbery and the next, perfect. Poached eggs were usually spot-on but one was essentially hard-boiled.
Our room had a new wardrobe thing added in the entry way for additional storage. We were not able to fit our suitcases under the bed for some reason.
My P&O app never seemed to work onboard and I gave up using it.
Contrast this experience with Coral Princess on a 3-night cruise a couple of days later. For only a modest premium in the cruise fare over P&O, we got a drinks package and internet included. Dining was sensational and we didn't really feel the need to go to the speciality dining (nor did we have the time). Free room service is included. I even got a nice steak sandwich delivered at midnight at the Wheelhouse by ordering via the app. Free poolside soft serve and hot dogs... Wow, so many options. The Bordeaux dining was fantastic so we wen there each night. The breakfast and lunch in Horizon food court was spot-on each time.
In 2022, do yourself a favour and save up a little more for a Princess cruise. Coral Princess doesn't have all the waterslides and so on, so P&O might be a better fit for families but if that's what your looking for, go Carnival. Carnival has great food, lots of free options poolside, and the activities and the prices are sometimes much better than P&O.
Personally, I prefer the atmosphere, dining options and prices of Carnival; Princess is second. Would I sail P&O? Probably not on Explorer but maybe if friends were organising a cruise on Encounter and the price was right, I'd go.
Thanks so much for the great write up and review.
I myself feel the same way. P&O are the no frills cruise line. If you want quality all round with a cruise do save up a little more to go on other lines.
Big thing I do not like about P&O is no Loyalty Program this is a big part of why we have stopped cruising P&O.
@@glenedenborough1385 Hey man just wondering, which cruise lines have loyalty programs?
lol carnival suck and are by far the worst cruise line to go on, would do a p and o any day over carnival.
when the pantry was first introduced, they had the hot food right near the doors so the food got cold really quickly, this was on the pacific dawn so its a while ago, we actually put in a suggestion about it, and they actually contacted us and apologised, we told them we weren't complaining, but suggested the put a partition or something up to stop the wind blowing on the hot food, anyway, my point is tell them, if they don't get told they don't fix it, don't wait till you get the survey email, tell them while you are on board,
That’s very good feedback. Great to read that they responded to your recommendation onboard.
Yes 🙌
While my cruise, and first cruise, aboard this ship isn't until 2024 departing Fremantle you've given me a great overview of what to expect. A great channel to stay tuned to. Thanks Adrian.
Thanks for watching, Ian! Glad you enjoyed the video.
Nice Review.
I'm a bit of a tight arse don't really like paying extra to get a good meal.
I hope I won't be to disappointed with the complementary food opinions.
I read were some people would go the grab a couple of rolls before 4:00pm
And leave them in the room fridge for after dark food...
As you say there really needs to be food available after 9pm
Thanks for the video Mate 👍
Thanks Robert. I think overall the food is quite good - it wasn’t impossible to find tasty food options but it was just a bit hit and miss. Not a bad idea to grab a few things for later if you enjoy a late snack 😁
Thank you, Adrian, a comprehensive and intelligent review. It beggars belief that cruise passengers are required to jump through the covid test hoops to
get on board when Australia is now open to unvaccinated overseas air passengers. I think that bureaucrats from various departments need to talk to each other.
Thanks for watching, Ross. Glad you enjoyed the video. I think cruising will eventually get to the same place as air travel etc… but it will take some time 🙄
Thank you for your honesty about the food, we have been on a lot of cruises and went on the explorer in June for what was to be 10 days, cut back to 8. We found the Pantry bland, normally we eat in buffet a lot, food was on the poor side for a roastand the vegies were very undercooked. shell and bones a crayfish mornay should not be filled up with broccoli and cauliflower to make it look good not the best.. on the first night we also got a Pizza from the restaurand, this was pretty poor and I only ate half of the topping, could not eat the base. Staff on the ship were fantastic could not fault them....I felt that they had made many cutbacks in the food area, many things missing.
Also you should not pay for entertainment as it is supposed to be included....the included productions were old, we had seen them 2-3 years ago. I did put all of the above in the survey to P and O after our cruise.....hope they read
Thanks for watching and for providing feedback on your experience too, Deanna. Sounds like the same sort of overall take aways that I had too. Great of you to give that feedback to P&O too - maybe things will improve over time as they begin to resume service at full capacity 🤞🏼
I agree with your assessment. Unfortunately I got covid from my 3 day comedy cruise despite being as carefully as I could. Doesn't help when people walk past you coughing without covering their mouth. Not P&O's fault. Otherwise it was fine.
Well done Adrian. I enjoyed your comprehensive review on Pacific Explorer. After we disembarked this ship on February 10th, your review is most accurate & very helpful.
Thank you Brian! Glad you enjoyed the review.
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy we had Shell n Bones, closed, with Luke's & 400 Gradi only doing takeaways. Was most disappointing. Staffing shortages we suspected.
Despite P&Os best efforts to manage covid risk onboard 3 of our family members returned from a recent cruise covid positive. Plenty of people ignore the onboard mask mandate so my best advise is to always wear a high quality mask outside your room.
I’m sorry to read that and wish them all a speedy recovery!
i am glad to see that your opinoin is the same as mine, as sailing twice before on the pacific explorer, i also found this to be a let down from past cruising on the pacific explorer.
Hopefully things improve over time as they get going again. Thanks for watching!
Excellent stuff Adrian. Although she is showing her age in various ways she still looks good to me. I agree that a free food option after 10pm would help a lot but really do we need it. I put on weight every cruise so a little forced abstinence wouldn't hurt.
Thanks Ray 😁
Haha 😆 that’s a very valid point! I just think it seems like an omission in the face of their competitor’s offerings. Certainly no one will starve onboard though (and I’m still dreaming about their almond croissants 🤤)
Great informative video. THanks
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the video and reminding me that it has been 1027 days since cruising. It has been a while since being on board the Explorer (2018) but would have to agree with comments on food although found Dragon Lady to quite good. Having travelled on Dawn Princes for a longer cruise (50 days) we found the balcony cabin to be ok but enjoyed the mini suite on Explorer for the space. Overall I found the experience good and enjoyed the décor on board. I am sure things will improve as all settle into cruising again.
Thanks for watching, Brad. Glad to read of your experience and I agree, I think things will improve over time.
Thankyou my friend and I are going in August my very first cruise !
Awesome! You’ll love it, I’m sure. Happy cruising.
Thanks Adrian for a great video..September is our first cruise (yahoo)....We are going to love it I'm sure..Looking forward to gatsby night..
You’ll definitely have a fantastic time! Thanks for watching and enjoy your cruise come September.
I board tomorrow and had no issues with the Verifly app when I went back in to update the Health survey and negative covid test. It looks like any issues you might have had are resolved.
Oh good! Thanks for letting us know. Enjoy your cruise!
Loving it so much except for internet plan I don’t buy to save money 😅😅
The internet is definitely on the pricey side. Thanks for watching.
Done over 30 cruises..most on po..food can be hit and miss but luckily I'm not a fussy eater
Thanks for watching John, totally agree.
It’s not that long! It’s been 22 years since our last one!😄 first one in 22 years on Friday..
Haha I suppose it's all relative 😂 Hope you have a fantastic cruise on Friday!
Do P&) have soft drink & ice cream bars for childre seperate to dining araes
Hi Geoffrey, no P&O don't have separate drink/ice cream bars for kids.
I got off today with over 200 positive cases after a 9 day cruise the experience was awesome but masks suck over all very good cruise
Thanks for your comment, glad to hear you enjoyed the cruise!
I could not successfully download the app I cruise on Explorer next week I have all the paper copies not everyone has the latest phone. The verify app is hopeless.
I see it’s still a bit hit and miss! Not to worry, they’ll be able to sort you out at check in with all of your documents.
My first ever cruise is in November on Pacific Encounter the embankment process is giving me anxiety already my elderly mother is travelling with me and the whole trying yo upload negative covid test is confusing me
Hi Sylvia. Not to worry, if you have trouble with the app, you just supply paper copies of your vaccination certificates at check in and they’ll take of everything there. Hope you enjoy your first cruise 😄
Does the Encounter and the Explorer have a gym?
Thanks
Hi Kath, yep each of the ships have well equipped gyms with cardio equipment, free weights and weighted machines.
I did a cruise 27th June Had a great time even got an upgrade had a few miner problems with Verifly but I give it an 8 out 10 ... the food was great at the Waterfont and Dragon Lady but missed out on Angelo's Italian... As for the pantry I did not notice much of a change and also like to say I ask for a Banana a couple of times because I only had half the number of blood pressure ( I must have pick up the wrong packet 😊and was given 1 every time I asked) the only main problem was that the humidity seam it was set to Zero (again necessary to stop the spread of Covid and to counteract the mmmmm Humans who would not wear a mask ... over all I give it about 9 out of 10
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback. Glad to read that you had a wonderful cruise and enjoyed your time onboard
Nearly had an aneurysm sorting out Princess's Medallion app so not looking forward to wrestling with the P&O version. And Verifly is impossible for the technically challenged. I upgraded my phone after initially downloading it & though the app transferred to the new phone it won't let me log on. I'll persevere, but good customer software should be idiot proof & these cruising apps aint.
That’s a very fair point! I hope that these systems become simpler to use over time as they’re definitely not intuitive.
I was on the ship last weekend Nov 22. Only staff wore masks.
Thanks Deanna. Happy cruising.
Please forgive this possibly dumb question, so to use the app, I need to buy an internet package?
So I'm forced to buy something to use the app I have to use while onboard??
I dont want to use social media or do anything. I want a tech break.
Hi Tracey. The app is free to use. You connect to the ship’s wifi and open the app, and it works. You only need to purchase an internet package if you want to access the internet - that is, external websites and apps.
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy perfect, thank you so much.
2 weeks to go until we board!! P&O Explorer.
Sorry, another question. And its only out of curiousity.
The cruise we are on has had boarding pushed back. Our departure was originally at 7pm but will now be 11pm.
What would a possible reason be for this?
@@traceymoore6679 hope you have a fantastic cruise!
The delayed departure is because the cruise prior to yours won’t be arriving in port until the early afternoon. So guests on that cruise won’t be disembarking until quite late in the day, so the whole process has been delayed unfortunately.
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy
Well that makes more sense.
Thank you 🛳
Going on a Elvis cruise next week
Awesome! Have a fantastic cruise 🕺🏻
Hi Adrian,
About to board next week on my first cruise ever on pacific explorer, just wondering should I purchase soft drinks package beforehand? Does it allow anyone to board without any drinks package, is there any complimentary drinks included in the fare? Thanks!!!
Hi Andy,
I think the soft drinks package is good value, so if you enjoy sodas I would suggest you purchase it before hand. Some people have reported that you can't purchase the package once onboard, so best to do it beforehand.
Complimentary drinks are very limited. You can have ice water from all of the restaurants, as well as black coffee (with milk and sugar provided) from The Pantry. Tea bags are available in The Pantry so you can make a black tea. In the morning there is also some juice available for self service, orange and apple from memory.
Hope that info helps, and have a great cruise!
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy Cheers! That's all i need to know. :)
Thank you.. Thank you... Thank you... This is just what I was wanting to hear. But not recording with your microphone 11 minutes in was not what I wanted to hear. Nor you I expect. lol
🤦🏻♂️🤣
Thanks Les, glad you found the video informative 😁
if no buying the wifi packages, ppl cant use internet with pno app?
You can use the app onboard, but only for booking restaurants and checking your onboard spending account, or messaging people that are also onboard the ship. If you want to use any external internet/apps/messaging apps you'll need to purchase the internet.
As long as I can get a good steak, I'm happy!
Definitely can at Luke’s! 🥩
is there a way you can call people on board the ship through wifi example can wife call husband saying where are you now so people can communicate whenever they wish if wanted to
If you’re both connected to the internet, then two people can definitely use wifi calling (Skype, FaceTime audio etc) to contact each other onboard
thanks but internet not good on boat in Middle of nowhere I thought there would be a connection service I'm going in January I hope food gets better by then as explorer only one from Melbourne
@@dcstealth11111 no, not internet from land but the ship’s wifi. You can either purchase the internet package onboard or pre cruise, and provided you can both connect to the ship’s wifi you’ll be able to use wifi calling/FaceTime audio etc. if you’d prefer not to purchase internet onboard, you can still use the ship’s wifi and the P&O app messenger service to chat to each other for free.
Some of the more recent food reviews look positive so hopefully things continue to improve but there was still a lot available that was good. Hope you have a great cruise.
If you are in a suite with priority restaurant bookings how does this work? how do you book?
Hi Ian. Priority reservations allows you to call the reservations line once onboard and book in your dining slots. I found it easier to just use the app as soon as I got on the ship, as there was lots of availability and I could book in for every night of the cruise.
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy Hi, just wondering did the app work perfectly for you? After reading some other reviews there were lots of complaints on the app not working, something my family is afraid of as we're going on our first cruise next month.
Thanks!
Hi @@Jack-mg1br the app worked pretty well for me. Trick is to make sure you connect to the wifi, and let the screen load that lets you choose whether you’re connecting to use (and pay for) the internet or just to use the app. Then it should work fine.
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy Ahh okay, thanks! Didn't expect such a quick reply ;-)
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy Hey just a follow up question, I recently downloaded the app and it keeps crashing, does it fix itself once we get on the cruise?
Thanks!
Cruise food should be all inclusive
P&O Aus are quite unique in offering as many paid-for dining venues as they do. Where on lines like Princess or Royal Caribbean, you can access complimentary dining 24x7, P&O doesn't have this option and I agree that they should.
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy Disappointed P&O dining seems to be cafeteria style now and food options in the dinning room looked no better than the buffet., I preferred the traditional dinning style they used to have where all the food was premium. on my next P&O cruises, I will just have work the menus harder. Hoping I can just book 8.30 sitting for each night in one go, they let us do this when they introduced My time dinning in favour of Traditional dinning. Maybe my return to P&O might be a mistake.
Noice
Boring'
Lol ok cool 👌🏼
So... do they still require jabs to sail? Not interested in cruising unless they drop all the covid facism.
Yes, for the the vaccination is a requirement, unless a person has a medical exemption in which case they can apply to be part of the 5% of unvaccinated guests onboard. Rules will likely change next year, but nothing has been confirmed as yet.
@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy thanks. Will wait and see next year.