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P&O Cruises

MV Pacific Sky

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Reviewed by: Barry Roberts
# previous cruises: 10+
Date of Trip: May 14, 2001
Itinerary: South Pacific

Our first cruise experience was with P&O ,on their then flagship Canberra on a voyage from Southampton to Auckland in 1984.Since then we have sailed on Oriana,Arcadia,Regal Princess,Aurora,Vision of the Seas,Superstar Gemini and Norwegian Star.When Pacific Sky commenced its year round cruising from Sydney we were keen to book ,finally deciding on an 11 night cruise to Vanuatu,Lifou,Isle of Pines, and Noumea.We set sail from Sydney's Darling Harbour at 5pm 14 May under the command of Captain Pickford,with 1388 passengers and 960 crew aboard.

Embarkation was timed to commence at 1 pm. By then long queues had formed in the outer reception area ,but once through the security doors, processing was done very quickly, with passports checked and ships passes issued .By 2.30 pm our luggage had been delivered to the suite and unpacked.All very smooth.By this time we were expecting a late lunch or afternoon tea to be available,but the only food on offer was hamburgers and fries on the aft prom deck at $5.00 each,for which a long queue rapidly developed ,or the pizzeria selling pizzas and salad .The lack of food,through, in our case to 8.30 pm,second sitting dinner, did not provide a good "welcome aboard" feeling.

Built 1984 by Chantres du Nord et de la Mediterraee (C.N.M) in France as FairSky,subsequently Sky Princess. GT 46,087 .Reputedly the last steam turbine ship built $10 million dollar refurbishment October 2000,including the innovative idea of extending the formerly tiered aft prom deck back flush with the deck below. Despite its size ,it is very easy to find ones way around.There are two main stairwells-colour coded gold (forward) and silver (aft) featuring "speaking lifts which announce the deck arrived at.The main deck,Promenade deck 8,has the main Show lounge and bar forward.There are 10 pillars in the theatre can obstruct views of the stage.Further aft on this deck are the Pizzeria,Promenade Lounge,a sports bar named "Legends" with sports memorabilia and a huge screen for live sports forecasts, and a large veranda bar and lounge opening onto the outside aft promenade area. The sound and lighting just fantastic.

The Island night party on this deck was mind blowing, - some 800 people dancing the night away. The shops on this deck offer the usual souvenirs,jewellery,and boutique items. Our favourite area was the Horizon Lounge on deck 9, overlooking the bow,always a pleasant place to be ,especially for pre dinner drinks listening to the very talented pianist. Adjoining this is the Casino and the Rainbow Bar, a smaller more intimate smoking area. The wide passage to these rooms has a very impressive collection of oil paintings of earlier P&O ships including the Orontes,Malwa, Stratheden and Chusan.There is also a very large model of the 1770 French frigate La Flore encased in glass

The Regency Room on Deck 7 midships off the silver stairs, and the Savoy Room forward off the gold stairs are the two dining rooms. Lunch and dinner had two sittings. There were no tables for 2 or 4, most tables had 8 or 10 places. Our oval table for 10 in the Regency Room made it difficult to talk to anyone opposite, let alone hear what they were trying to say back..This situation got worse as the cruise progressed and the noise level increased. Most nights were themed affairs, French, Italian, Island, International, Gala Night, even an Australian Night, and of course the Captains Farewell Dinner, all with extremely varied and appropriate menus with the restaurant decorated to match the theme. The dishes were well presented, of generous portions, and always piping hot,a must for this reviewer. This was especially impressive as our waiter had three tables with 26 people to cover. As a result, there were times when he and the wine waiter seemed under pressure. We thought they still coped well, the Bomb Alaska Parade and the Pavlova Procession being especially memorable.

The dress regulations stated that no singlets, bare feet, hats or baseball caps were allowed in the restaurants at any time. We shared a lunch table one day with a group who openly flouted these rules, yet no action appeared to be taken, making the setting of these requirements without enforcement seem pretty pointless. Most days there was a very popular buffet lunch on the aft promenade deck with a wide choice of dishes. In addition, the Pizzeria, open 24 hours, had pizzas available from $6 each. Harry's Cafe de Waves, served a wide variety of pies at $2.75 each (mashed potatoes and peas extra!!). Ice Creams in cones cost $3.50 to $4.50 each. With even a traditional P&O afternoon tea of sandwiches and pastries served in the restaurants by tuxedoed white gloved waiters we never felt the need to use the cafes

Our suite; L25 on Lido deck was spacious, light and very accessible to all the ships amenities. A very large window was the centerpiece for the lounge which featured a rolled arm three seater settee, masses of cushions, two smaller armchairs, a large marble topped enclosed side coffee table with fresh fruit basket, and a floor to ceiling wall fixture of cocktail cabinet, refrigerator and very wide mirror backed writing bureau with sets of drawers below. There were three spacious wardrobes with plenty of shaped wooden hangers. Separating the bedroom was an oriental style blackwood full height screen wall with central mirrored section. The tiled bathroom with huge shower was equally impressive. Our cabin stewards Irman, Toton, Rinaldo and Singal maintained the impeccable standard

There was, literally, something for everybody, all day and night long. The shows in the Show Lounge by the Pacific Sky Entertainers were top class, quite breathtaking, incredibly fast and thoroughly professional. The enthusiasm of the group, particularly since they were concluding their six month contract was very commendable. We gave them full marks. Cabaret nights with ventriloquist/comedian Darren Carr were likewise hugely popular. All the cruise staff seemed to do their utmost to ensure a wide variety of activities were able to be enjoyed

There were only two sunny clear days when the temperature reached over 26 degrees, therefore the opportunity to be sitting around the pools or swimming were very limited. However, the activities were almost endless.....always something to do if you wanted. The Captain hosted a cocktail party for all previous P&O cruisers to which a surprising several hundred attended. The "most cruised" passenger with a score of 64 cruises was suitably recognised and toasted, there were several who had notched up more than 30. Likewise the "Welcome Aboard" cocktail party was well attended. Both these functions were held in the Show Lounge theatre which, due to the fixed tiered seating did not allow for much mingling. There was, however, no shortage of champagne, fruit juices or soft drinks on offer from the waiters.

One aspect that was hard to understand was the need to deposit funds in advance to all cruise accounts. At embarkation we were given the usual cruise card to be used for all purchases aboard. However, with an initial $100 credited to the account it was necessary within 48 hours to repay any of that amount spent plus add further funds. All purchase dockets showed the remaining credit balance. Since this "cash up front" was invariably paid for by credit card it was hard to see the need for this system, especially since everyone had to collect their unspent balances in cash from the Pursers office on the last night. Maybe it might have helped some people overspending, but seemed an unduly complex system compared with the usual "settle account at conclusion of cruise" method.

Through the afternoon of our third day out of Sydney we passed through the Boulari Havannah Passage, at times very narrow with high peaks and many reefs. We thought that Port Vila was more a place to do things rather than sightsee, an activities stop. From the ship wharf to the town is a $2 bus or $6 taxi ride. Most of the places in the town are easily reached by foot. Popular activities, for which there were organised ships tours, included horse riding, golf, snorkeling, kayaking, sailing, even a pub crawl.

Many passengers bought duty free goods in Port Vila which were placed under bond on the ship and collected on the last day of the cruise. There is a local market in the main street with colourful clothes, fruit, vegetables and seashells. Signs written in Bislama (Pidgin English) can be amusing at times. Coconut shell brassieres, for example, are "titi baskets"...We hired a taxi from the wharf gates at $25 for an hour which was ample time to see everything. A free ferry from the main street runs continuously to the very pleasant Iririki Island Resort where there are good swimming and snorkeling facilities. A walk to the end of Wharf Road from the ship can provide an interesting walk past local houses.

At Lifou the ships tenders were used to take us ashore. We anchored in Santal Bay, off the village of Easo where the locals had set up a few stalls which did a brisk trade in selling sarongs, t shirts, postcards and cold drinks. The ship provided a basic barbecue lunch ashore, in a large thatched hut. The locals all spoke French, but a smile or simple gesture helped communication. Jinek Bay, a short walk from the jetty, was popular for snorkeling and many, including ourselves, walked the steep path up the headland to the seemingly now disused Notre Dame church from where there were spectacular views of the whole bay. Our day on the Isle of Pines was a highlight of the cruise. Here indeed was the classic tropical island..fine white sand, turquoise and emerald sea, swaying coconut palms galore. Once again the ship's tenders ran an excellent service to and from the island jetty from where it was only a short walk to the beaches. Here, under the trees, locals in native costume offered traditional festive food....chicken and fish, covered in coconut milk, wrapped in banana leaves, and then cooked on hot stones in the ground. There were many cruisers who thought our stay here could have been longer.

Our final port was Noumea, capital city of New Caledonia. We took the Le Petit Train tour which took about 1 ½ hours touring the city and suburbs, including a stop at a high point overlooking the island where we enjoyed early morning champagne and pastries. The train is a motorised three carriage wheeled articulated vehicle, the first two carriages reasonably stable, but the back carriage, where we sat, swayed sideways alarmingly at times, so much so that several times we thought we would hit other traffic around us....Car drivers and pedestrians all waved or tooted their horns as we passed. It was a good way to obtain an overview of the city, costing $42 pp. Other passengers agreed that, by comparison with other ports, Noumea was very expensive

This was a cruise offering good value to a mainly Australian market, many of whom had never cruised before. It therefore fills a long empty niche in the Australian cruise sector. By all accounts future bookings are solid, and they deserve to be. Although it was not school holidays, there were many children on board, family groups, teens, middle aged and elderly, the vast majority were Australian. The ships officers, mainly Italian, and crew, Filipino, were singularly attentive, courteous and helpful. Perhaps our most telling observation is to recount that we did not overhear a single negative comment about the whole cruise, somewhat unusual these days.