A First Time Cruise Experience - By: Bob Lord

We finally took the plunge and went on a cruise. Because we had heard all the negative concerns of other people we decided that we'll start with a 8 day cruise rather than a longer one - just in case. We decided on a South Sea Island cruise on the Pacific Sun departing from New Zealand for no other reason than that it represented good value. It cost just under $AUD1000.00 each for a room with a view.

The positives were immediately obvious before we even boarded. All entertainment and food were included, there would be no need to drive anywhere, it was an unpack once and forget scenario and our room was cleaned and tidied every day. The extra cost would be for the drinks, shore tours and of course the obligatory souvenirs. The reality is that no one forced you to drink or go on a shore tour or buy photos or souvenirs.

The long awaited day of departure came and as we walked towards the terminal the ship came into view and all I could say was "How big is that!" Actually the Pacific Sun is only small by today's cruise ship standards but she sure looked huge to me. Boarding was an uncomplicated process, the usual documents to be sighted by the officials and the bags magically made their way to the cabin. On the way to the cabin we noticed a huge line-up at the purser's office and I was informed that they were people who were canceling their daily tips that would automatically be added to their bill each day if it weren't canceled. We figured that the approximately $7.00 charge was worth it, after all there were 770 crew all working to make the voyage enjoyable so why not tip them all rather than just picking one or two out.

Other people told us that a cruise was great because all you did was nothing but" laze around, eat great food and drink". The "eat great food and drink" was correct but the laze around? There is no time to do nothing, as the entertainment on board is ongoing on all days that we were at sea. On days we were in port it was a little quieter but then we were ashore anyway. For about 12 hours a day there was a selection of activities to go to. There were around 4 or 5 different activities set out each hour to pick and choose from and we did as many as possible.

We chose to do things we hadn't done before from dancing classes to art auctions to bingo to just sitting and listening to various artists in one of the five bars on board. At night there was always at least 3 shows to go to and we tried to make them all. Somehow we had to fit in eating and there were multiple choices available from the deluxe dining experience to the pizza bar. There were bars with loud dance music and bars with relaxing solo guitarists or piano players. There were rude comedians, dance hall shows and country and western singers. There were wine tastings, cooking classes and origami sessions and they were all done in good humor by the staff.

We were blessed with fairly good weather with seas being described as slight. Some people did manage to get a little queasy but all they had to do was either bring aboard some cheap tablets from the chemist or pay through the nose for the same pills from the ship's doctor and they were normal again. It was fun to actually walk down the aisles like walking in a conga line, swaying from side to side. Little old ladies with walking sticks managed OK so it wasn't too bad. The swaying of course gave you sea legs and you gradually got used to it. When back on land it was hard to stand still because you were still swaying. We found it a pleasant experience.

I can't find anything negative to say about our South Pacific Cruise except to say, "Did we really drink all that!"

About the Author

A keen traveler Bob manages a Travel Directory but when he is home he manages his dog and his Woofahs Pet Directory and his Deepyalla Free General Directory.

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