Everything you need to know about cruising now: https://youtu.be/yN2_DwAyWEc Join my private Facebook group for cruise deals, tips and advice - the more members we have, the better we’ll get! www.facebook.com/groups/CTGdeals Follow me on Facebook and Instagram: www.facebook.com/thecruiseandtravelguy www.instragram.com/thecruiseandtravelguy Head to my website for great cruise and travel deals: www.thecruiseandtravelguy.com.au 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!