Wow, that was fun!!! Just got off our P&O Adventure 80's themed cruise.
I saw this end of financial year P&O cruises promo on its last day on 30 June. It was so cheap so I thought it'd be silly to miss it, since we've been waiting to go on another Cruise anyway. Our last one was in 2018.
This sailing was for a 4-day/3-night Out-to-Sea only cruise, which costed the four of us a total of only $1,076 for a Balcony room. The timing was perfect - Saturday evening departure and Tuesday arrival - which meant we didn't have to miss church. We also invited our friends but unfortunately, they already had other trips booked.
19 Aug, Saturday
After performing our duties at church, we were driven by Gelo to the White Bay Cruise Terminal. If there's one glaring back thing about this trip, this was probably it - the drive to the terminal. Google Maps had guided us to enter the terminal through Robert St. At the gate, we were turned back by the guards saying we should enter via Craig St, the entrance to which was about 2kms away, through the very busy Victoria Rd intersection. After going the long route, we'd find ourselves merging back into Robert St and only about 50meters ways from the gate where we were turned down. I hope the terminal management would at least inform Google Maps to give uses the right direction. It was so bad that on our arrival, our Uber drivers (note, plural) got lost too. The first driver got lost at Craig St that he cancelled the booking. Then the next driver coming in also had to do the turn. Anyways...
We arrived at the terminal at around 12:30pm. We were scheduled for 1pm boarding so it was just perfect timing. On the counters, they asked for etickets, vaccination certificates, proof of negative covid tests, and our IDs. We were given back our cruise IDs, which serves as our room keys, payment card for any transactions onboard, and also allows us to order unlimited sodas (Ethan and I bought soft drinks package). Then we headed to the security gates which took a while because of the queue. We finally got to the gangway and onto the ship at around 1:20pm.
As soon as we're in we headed to the Pantry at Deck 14 for lunch. They have about 6 or 7 stalls serving different types of food - Indian, Mexican, Asian, Western, Pasta, Salads, Fruits, and Desserts.
After eating, we headed to our room which was just 1 floor down and right near the lifts/stairs lobby. After a bit of rest, we headed out to the roof desks to explore, play, and enjoy the sail-away party as the ship passes Harbour Bridge. There were plenty of things to enjoy on the roof decks (Decks 14-18). There were 4 different pools, 4 separate spa baths, a room with games tables like table tennis, fuzzball, tic tack toe, etc, a basketball court (half court), a gym, a shuffleboard game, plenty of pool lounges and sitting areas. The ship started sailing at 4pm and the 80s-theme party got going.
We then headed down to the "mall" area in Decks 5-7 where they had all the indoor lounges where they have either bands playing, people doing karaoke, or having trivia and quiz games. They were some specialty shops like Guess, Pandora, Invicta (watches), Clifton (Jewelries), and convenience stores. This was also where the Youth Centres were. Ethan an Erin would spend most of their trip in these centres enjoying the non-stop day-long activities. The entrances to the restaurants are also around this area, as well as the Marquee theatre where they hold concerts and big shows.
We had our dinner at 7:15pm at Angelo's (Italian). Ethan and Lani liked it, but I didn't enjoy it as much so I went for another bite at the Pantry after dinner. Then at 9pm we went to watch the 80s Rock Show at the Marquee. After a long day, we went back to the room to rest for the night.
20 Aug, Sunday
Woke up early at 6am to watch the sunrise from our room's balcony. Such a lovely and relaxing this to do. Then at 7am Lani and I proceeded upstairs for some exercise at the gym. I went to the basketball court but it was still closed (opens at 8am), so I just decided to go back to the room to wake the kids up. We met with Lani downstairs for breakfast at Waterfront. Ethan loved the breakfast there.
At 9am, we dropped Erin of at HQ - the Youth centre for kids aged 10-13. It was a big room with plenty of stuff to do - PS5, airhockey, game boards, karaoke, and a lot more. They have 3 staff manning the place and they run organised activities every hour. Things like scavenger hunts (Erin's favourite), board games, arts and crafts, and other workshops. Erin loved it so much she was asking if she could stay there till 1am.
Ethan's 14-17 called HQ+ opens up at 12pm, so he tagged along as Lani and I went around the ship. At Right at noon, we went to the centre but didn't enjoy the atmosphere initially, so he just joined me and Lani at Adventure Hotel (one of the lounges) for a trivia game. After that, we went for basketball at the top deck. He went back to HQ+ at 4pm to join the scheduled Mafia game. Turned out, it was actually fun. He found new friends and enjoyed it so much that he decided to stay there for the rest of the day.
Meanwhile, Lani and I roamed around doing some window shopping and staying in lounges, ate a bit, and pretty much just sat and relax. We watched the sunset at the balcony in Deck 7, just outside the mall. We managed to see a whale, too.
The youth centres closed at 6pm for the staff's dinner break, so the kids went back to us and joined us for our booked dinner at Dragonlady. At 8pm, the kids went to their HQ/HQ+ Teens party at the Altitude lounge in Deck 18, the lounge at the very back and very top of the ship. It had great views of the wake of the ship. They had games and Ethan won the most energetic dance awards. Hahahaha. After their party, all the kids headed back to the youth centres at deck 6 where they chilled, played more games, and watched a movie. Ethan enjoyed it so much that we went to us at 12midnight and asked if he could hangout with his friends more.
Lani and I went to watch the 9pm concert at Marquee. The headliners were two Australian singers who were popular in the 80s. One of them was the guy Reall Life, the band who sang "Send me an Angel".
After the show, we hang out at the top deck to watch the 80's party with live music from the house band - Forever 80s. We stayed to finish their first set, then went down to Adventure Hotel relax and watch people do karaoke while we waited for the kids.
21 Aug, Monday
Woke up at 7am for morning exercise, but ended up eating breakfast in the Pantry. We met with sis Rowena and her mom-in-law. After an hour, the kids joined us too for breakfast, then we headed to the pool so Erin and I could go for a dip. Ethan are New Zealand Ice Cream with his new-found friends, while Lani went to the gym. After a bit, we headed back down to the room and got Erin ready for HQ, while Ethan stayed on with his friends at the Lido Deck until 12nn when it was time for their HQ+ activities. Lani and I roamed around a bit more before heading to the Pantry again for lunch with ka Rowena and ka Angela.
We spent most of our day relaxing while the kids play at HQ. We watched the sunset on the top deck near the adult-only lounge at the back of the boat.
At 6pm, we met with the kids again for our Waterfront dinner. Then they headed back to HQ for their last party. Both kids won prices from the raffle. Lani and I watched the 9pm Tina Turner Unleashed concert at the Marquee, featuring Prinnie Stevens, one of the finalists on Australia's The Voice.
We retired back to the room at around 10:30pm. The kids got off HQ at 1am.
20 Aug, Sunday
And just like that, it was time to go. We woke up 6:30am to get ourselve ready to disembark. Headed to Pantry for our last breakfast on board. Then left the cruise at around 8:30am. After waiting for our Uber(s), we safely got home at around 10:30am.
Ethan and Erin said this probably was the most fun they had. Their days were filled with activities and they enjoyed all of them. Lani and I also enjoyed this a bit more than our previous cruises, maybe because we didn't have to look after the kids too much and that we had a bit more time for ourselves. It made the trip more relaxed, which is what we both wanted.
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