Pacific Explorer
By Kerry & John Treacy
This issue a quick tour of the ship with
a deck by deck description of where
the main facilities are to be found. A
deck plan is on page 39 along with the
description.
Always on a cruise ship is the question
of which excursion at the ports visited
do we select. This time with only one
port visited – Mooloolaba – Kerry’s
selection was easy when she saw the
excursions on offer.
At last I had the opportunity to board
a boat and go “Humpback Whale
Watching”. P&O's Pacific Explorer
offered this tour at Mooloolaba as one
of the many excursions available and
the vessel was full. The day was perfect
in all aspects and as we ventured
further and further out from shore I
wondered if we were going to be lucky
(or not). After close to an hour travelling
out to sea on Whale One all that doubt
faded after an announcement was
made.
These huge, beautiful, graceful
creatures arrived and played with us
for an hour. Play with us they certainly
did. Five whales comprised the group
and they would appear on either-side,
front or back of the boat. Everyone
was racing to the point of appearance
and the venture was all very exciting
– we were all sharing news with one
another as to what we had seen. I
was fortunate enough to have three
whales rise up about one metre from
me. I was surprised to see they were full
of barnacles. The crew were all racing
for their cameras and we were told
when that happens it’s a good day.
The date was 2 August 2017 and the
captain said it was the best day since 8
December 2016. We were very happy
with ourselves with many stories to tell
and photos to show.
The depth of the water was 40 metres
and the tracking equipment showed
the whales were rubbing their bellies
on the sand on the bottom of the sea
before coming to the surface. In the
end because of time restraints we
sadly had to leave these magnificent
creatures and I for one was reluctant to
do so. Thank You P&O for this marvellous
opportunity.
Other excursions available were
Swimming with Humpback Whales,
a visit to Australia Zoo or Underwater
World, a seven hour tour of the Sunshine
Coast including a visit to the Buderim
Ginger Factory, a 45 minute Ocean
Jet Boat thrill ride, Stand Up Paddle
Boarding, Kayaking on the Mooloolaba
river and a visit to the Eumundi Markets
or the Hinterland exploring Montville. Or
wander around Mooloolaba shopping
or spending time on the beautiful sandy
beach.
world,” said Brett Annabel, P&O Cruises’
director of entertainment. We spoke
with Brett on board Pacific Explorer and
had done our homework regarding
the show earlier. Performances can be
enjoyed two ways, a modest $10.00
entry which includes a cocktail or a
$29.00 ticket which gives you a set
dinner menu prior to the show in a
special section of the restaurant and
priority seating in the front of the Black
Circus Lounge. The stars of the show
escort the latter guests through the
ship with megaphones and all the
bells and whistles (it is very loud) to the
performance. The costumes are bright,
very high stiletto heels and PVC features
greatly. The group is extremely talented
performing in varying stages of dress
and undress with amazing juggling and
aerobatic feats in this choreographed
event featuring cheeky humour. I would
like to discover what happened to a
very long balloon swallowed by a pink
clad lady. We all had our mouths open
and wondering!
Also last issue we mentioned Love Riot
– here is Kerry’s thoughts – “Love Riot” will not be to everyone’s
taste, but the performances were well
attended and covered all ages. P&O
have certainly stretched the boundaries
and all credit must go to them. I am
sure many passengers will be securing
their tickets for many cruises to come.
“Love Riot is like no other entertainment
at sea and is more in keeping with
the spectacular aerial circus artistry
found at a major festival around the Pacific Explorer is a great ship providing
excellent facilities, incredible food,
enjoyable entertainment and enticing
shopping opportunities.
www.worldwidecruisecentres.com.au
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