Pacific Pearl

       FOOD & WINE CRUISE - 27 /30 JANUARY 2011

Thursday  27th  January                           
Chris and I woke at the usual time and were ready and waiting for our long weekend when the taxi arrived at 8.15a.m.  We had a smooth flight to Auckland then grabbed a shuttle straight to the wharf where the Pacific Pearl was waiting for us.  It was a beautiful, hot day and we had about 3/4 hour wait in the sun before going through security and boarding the ship just after 12p.m.                

The Pacific Pearl is an 1980's ship but was refurbished last year and had her maiden voyage in December.  We were the 4th cruise as her being called Pacific Pearl.  * cruise P104.   Chris and I were on the 10th deck (2nd to top cabin deck) and we quickly found a lift to take us close to our room, which was in the middle of the deck with an outside window. We were thrilled with the size and layout of our room but as our luggage hadn't arrived we decided to explorer the massive areas of the ship.  The corridor on our deck was at least 500m long with lifts at the front, middle and back.  It is a huge ship but maybe not quite as bit as the one docked along side at Princes Wharf, but it is hard to tell.                                 

              

Being on the Pacific Pearl so early meant there were not a lot of people around at that stage, more staff than passengers actually.  We went up to the 12th deck where there were several pools, a swim-up bar and lots of deck space to laze around on and watch the huge outdoor screen.  We enjoyed a cold beer and wine before setting off to explore the fun things we had to do over the next 3 days.  Chris has a great sense of direction thank goodness as there were so many lifts and stairs ending up in different parts of the ship.  We returned to the 'Grill' for lunch -burgers, rolls, salads etc all inclusive in the cruise price.  We enjoyed sitting in the sun and relaxing, away from all the normal stresses!

We returned to our cabin and our luggage had arrived so we were able to unpack and make our cabin ours for the 3 days.  At 3.30p.m. 7 short whistles and 1 long blast sounded and we all had to grab our life jackets and meet in the Marquee area for a practice emergency drill. All formalities done, we then went back to the outdoor entertainment area for the 'Welcome Aboard' party.  Cocktails were served in bright coloured P&O cups, there was a great band playing, dancing and everyone was smiling and having fun.

Finally we left Auckland just over an hour late.  What a feeling cruising off in the sun with nothing to worry about. We enjoyed watching the crew preparing the front of the Pacific Pearl for departure. Hauling in the  heavy ropes looked like a mission in the heat but it was quickly done, deck washed and scrubbed down and

off we sailed.

There were so many bars, cafes and restaurants on the Pacific Pearl that options for places to eat and drink were huge.  Every bar had a different theme and entertainment to suit passengers tastes.  Chris and I decided to go to the Plantation restaurant for dinner.  This was a buffet style place with lots of choices of food  and a lovely outdoor area at the back of the ship to eat out on.  We watched Auckland slowly fade into the distance as we passed by Waiheke Island then out to the open ocean while passengers swam, danced, drank cocktails and enjoyed the 'swim-up bar'..

After dinner Chris and I explored more of the ship, visiting a few bars and listening to the entertainment.  Had a champagne cocktail at one bar.  It was nice but very strong!  After an early start in the morning, Chris and I were rather tired so headed to out cabin and slept well.

 Friday 28th January
Chris woke at his usual time so we were up and ready for the day early.  We went to the Waterfront restaurant for breakfast and were seated with a family from Auckland, who were very friendly and nice to sit with.  This restaurant is a more formal eating area and we chose from a menu.  Chris had a light breakfast but I decided to do bacon and eggs but can't finish it.

Already thinking we would pack on the weight over the next 3 days, we decided to walk around the ship, while the weather was still reasonable.  The sea had become more choppy and white caps were starting to appear.  We could see there would be a change in the weather and by mid morning it was becoming chilly.  There was a cooking demonstration on at 10a.m. done by Anne Thorp, the celebrity chef for the cruise.  We watched most of it before I went to a Vertical wine tasting session in the Waterfront restaurant. 
It was hosted by a wine maker from the Hunter Valley in Australia.  I was seated at a table with 7 other people and we had lots of fun, laughs and nice wine.

Chris had had time-out and rest while I was at the tasting session and was relaxed when I returned to our cabin.  We then went to an Art auction in the Atrium and registered so we got our glass of champagne. Some of the art was nice but the reserve prices were very high so we have come home with no new pieces for the walls! We enjoyed a drink at Mixes cocktail bar, me having a lovely pina colada then I tried my luck at the casino but didn't even get enough to buy Chris a beer.

 We could see the weather starting to pack in and it was not nice enough to be outside as it had started to rain so we went to Connexions bar for a drink before heading back to our cabin to get dressed up for the cocktail evening.  Our room had been tidied up and one of the white bath towels had been made into the shape of a   swan wearing Chris's sunglasses and the miniature bath Pacific Pearl ship, Chris had bought, was in front of it.  So cool!

Dinner for us was at the more casual Plantation restaurant then we had several sessions of portrait photos taken before getting good seats in the Atrium for one of the evenings entertainments. On the last cruise there was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling of the Atrium but at 2.30a.m. on Tuesday 25 January it crashed to the floor.  It had been lowered considerably for cleaning so the impact was not too great and luckily no one was hurt. It was such a shame as this part of the ship is a central point and very beautiful. It was a great band playing that night and the singer could do impersonations of many well known singers.
                                                             There was a Captains announcement to say that the Pacific Pearl was the in the path of Wilma cyclone so he had decided to change directions and shelter in a cove away from it's centre.  So we set off sailing with a bit of 'rocking n rolling' and some nervous people but Chris and I weren't worried.  We went up to the top deck to have a look but the rain was coming down in heavy sheets and was being blown by 125+ knot winds so we could not get past the lookout window.  The water and toilets were not able to be used for quite some time but most people were tolerant, after all when we booked we all should have known it is the Pacific cyclone season.           

The late night adults entertainment was held in the Dome so we went there early to get good seats.  By the time it started at 11.30p.m,the Dome was packed.

 

It was a comedy show and one needed a broad sense of humour to enjoy some of the 'take-offs' and sarcasm.  We were back in our cabin quite late to find the room had been made up again.  A swimming towel (blue & white striped) had been made into the shape of a heart on the end of our bed and two red hearts were placed on each side of it. The sheets were folded back and the lights dimmed.
 

 Very romantic, like being on the 'Love Boat'.

Saturday 29thJanuary

It was a fairly rough night on the Pacific Pearl with winds up to 130 knots and very heavy rain from Cyclone Wilma.  Chris and I slept fairly well and were not bothered by the storm, like some people who were not so happy.The ship was anchored during the night, sheltered as much as possible from the weather and we didn't start sailing again until the worst of the cyclone had passed in the mid afternoon.

Chris and I spent the day relaxing by the pool when the sun came out but it was quite windy on the upper decks. We did lots of walking around the different areas, a bit of shopping, watched some line dancing and a cocktail mixing demonstration.  I tried my luck at the casino for a few minutes but, NO luck!!!  I almost got blown away at one stage and had to be careful of my balance due to the infection in my left foot, but I coped well even with going up and down flights of stairs when the lifts were too slow or full!

About 5 o'clock we went down to the Atrium bar for the cocktail hour.  We were lucky we get there early as there was a great piano man playing and by 6 o'clock it was getting very full.  The cocktails were very yummy and I tried a Bling Sling at this session - slightly a take-off of the Singapore Sling I had at the Raffles Hotel.

The entertainment for the cocktail session was a very well done act of trapeze performers which included rope dances and a stage show.  There were lots of flashing lights, sensuous music and a polished group of show people.  
                          

Following the performance we went back to our cabin and got dressed up for the degustation dinner prepared by New Zealand Maori Chef, Anne Thorp.  Our sitting was for 8.15p.m and we were seated with 4 other people.  We all got on well and had a few laughs, particularly at the tiny portions of food we got for the seven courses.  It was presented well and all included in the price of the cruise.

After the degustation meal Chris and I went to the Marquee for another comedy show which we thought was possibily better presented than the previous night's entertainment.  It was getting late and we were tired so went back to our cabin,  knowing it would be an early start for our disembarkation, but it was quite noisy and we didn't sleep well.

Sunday 30 January

We woke early and I had a peek look out our window to see where we were and saw we were in the Hauraki Gulf, cruising our way slowly back into Auckland.  It was very cloudy and a dull morning, no beautiful sunrise so decided there was no rush to get early morning photos.

When organised, Chris and I went to Plantation buffet for our final breakfast and managed to get window seats to watch the tugboat easing us into Princes Wharf.  By half past eight we farewelled the beautiful Pacific Pearl and were quickly in a taxi heading for the airport. 

 Our luxury, relaxed cruise was all over and after a short flight on Jet Star airlines we were back in Wellington to the reality of being back to work.

 CRUISE 'PACIFIC PEARL' - what a way to have a holiday!