Dear Chibi,

Jacky and I embarked on a 7 day cruise with P&O Cruises on the Pacific Pearl for a week of the Chinese New Year/Valentines. This is both our first time going on a cruise, so our main concern was getting motion sickness. We prepared ourselves by bringing along ginger lollies and motion sickness tablets and were fine for most of the trip. Unfortunately the cruise ship got really rocky on the third day and we both fell ill XD We spent the entire day in bed without any foodie… Thankfully on day 4 we arrived on land in Nouméa and all was good again ^^ A day was spent at Nouméa and the other at Isle of Pines, New Caledonia. The rest of the days were spent at sea, with all-you-can-eat foodies and plenty of activities throughout the day.

Our cabin on Deck 5 :) Very clean and spacious.

The Atrium surrounded by shops and cafes~ it also leads to the Casino (Nothing too fancy in the Casino ;D)

Top Deck during the “Sail Away Party” on the first night, very lively atmosphere! Also some cool performances by the Pacific Cirque.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner meals were a choice between the ‘Water Front Restaurant’ (sit-down style) and the ‘Plantation Restaurant’ (buffet style) There were a ton of choices on the menu and most of the stuff tasted quite nice. It’s still a hit or miss though. For some reason, I had a crazy pineapple and soup craving..I had a lot of both on the trip ^^; hehehe

Dinner at the Water Front Restaurant~ Dessert time!

..and lunch at the Plantation

Outside the Marquee, where we would frequent every night to watch musical acts by the Pacific Entertainers. I thought they were really good, the lead singers had such powerful vocals and were lots of fun to watch. Always gotta go a bit earlier to bag the front seats though!

The Orient Bar/Connexions, where you can sit down for a drink or attend the err… wonderful seminars… XDD We attended a few and eventually gave up on them when we realised all they ever wanted to do was to sell you things :P I attended “How to Increase Your Metabolism” (they advertised detox..), “How to get rid of wrinkles in 15 minutes” (Injections…) and “How to Relieve Neck, Back Pains” (they tried to sell foot padding O_o) XDD

Top Deck with a little pool and for those who like to Sunbathe ;D I didn’t come up here very much since it was always super windy and I didn’t want to get burnt.

There were also free dance classes among the various activities, and I attended Hip Hop, Ballet, Hot Rhythms (Mix of Zumba and Salsa) and Ballroom Dancing (Waltz). These were a lot of fun, though ballet left me crippling for the last few days ^^;; Jacky dodged the bullet by watching instead  :P

Nouméa, New Caledonia

We went on a Shore Tour when we arrived in Nouméa which took us around the city before leaving us at Anse Vata Beach.

Can watch the sunset every night.. so lovely *_*

Isle of Pines, New Caledonia

The following day we arrived at Isle of Pines. This place is GORGEOUS. I loved the beaches and lagoons..the sand so white, the water so blue..ah… Just a day of fun in the sun ^_^

And back in Circular Quay, Sydney :) I thought the overall experience was quite interesting, and all the staff and passengers were really friendly. Being on a cruise kind of feels like you’re on a plane except it’s more bumpy and sways side to side. After being on a ship for so many days, I keep imagining that the land is still swaying side to side ^^;

Oh oh, here’s a pro-tip for those who want to prevent motion sickness.  Take a bit of white tack (can probably use Blu Tack, not sure of the difference apart from colour..) and mold it into a little ball.  Stick it into one of your ears to block out all the sound. Apparently this will make sure your sense of balance won’t get thrown off ;D  An elderly lady gave me some after I had told her about my day 3 misfortune and I didn’t feel sick since. Wish I had known earlier :)

See Jacky’s Blog Entry

Posted on Monday, February 18th, 2013 at 1:39 am under outing & occasions. Tags: cruise, holiday, new caledonia