We travelled on P&O’s ‘Pacific Explorer’ Christmas cruise ship with our 11 year-old Kidsetter on route to Kangaroo Island, South Australia.
After boarding the ship, locating our cabin, attending the safety induction, it was time to kick back and relax !
We joined the party on Deck 12 – ‘P&O’s Anchors Aweigh Sailaway Party’. A terrific way to get our cruise started !
Our Kidsetter loves cruise kid’s clubs. He was able to check himself into the HQ Kids Club each day which is for ages 10 – 13. Open from 10am to 12pm, closed between 12 – 2pm, open 2pm – 5pm., closed between 5 – 7pm and reopens at 7pm – 11:30pm They have busy schedules of activities set out for the day;
PS4 Galore; UNO and Spot It Card Challenges; Christmas Wordsearch; Human Bingo; Foosball Tournament; Stop the Bus; Jenga Challenge; Movie Time; Mindful Coloring; Scavenger Hunt; Teen’s Tug-of-War Challenge; Christmas Crafts; Christmas Guess That Tune; Time to Shine Talent Show; Bingo; Big Screen Monopoly; Teen’s Table Tennis Tournament; Connect4 Bounce; Just Dance Challenge; Wii Games & Lego; Wii Just Dance for Kids; Board Games; Teen’s Giant Yahtzee, Staff vs Teens Football Challenge; Karaoke; Food Party; Driveclub Time Trials; Paper Airplane Toss; Poinsettia and Lights Quilling; Chess Challenge; Speed Sudoku; Over/Under Trivia; Drawing Contest.
There is always plenty of activities for us too, however we tend to use the time to relax, swim, enjoy the live music and excellent dining experiences.
The restaurants and dining facilities are excellent. Various options are available; The Pantry, Angelo’s, Waterfront Restaurant, Dragon Lady and 400 Gradi.
P&O are renowned for hosting themed nights. On the Pacific Explorer we dressed in Gatsby outfits and entered into the roaring twenties era. A fun night of live music, dancing and sparkling drinks.
As this cruise was specifically sailing over Christmas, there were many Christmas activities you could participate in if you desired such as Christmas Movies, Christmas Crafts, Family Christmas Party, Christmas Carols, Christmas Service, Christmas Dinner, Santa’s Arrival and Gift Giving.
We enjoyed a lovely Christmas Dinner with great friends. A special Christmas indeed !
We love taking our Kidsetter to live theatre and find cruise shows a fabulous way to expose him to the artform. They are included in the cost of your cruise fare, usually short in duration and easily accessible making it ideal for Kidsetters. We watched Pacific Explorer’s productions starring the P&O’s Singers and Dancers in “Welcome Aboard Show”, “Let’s Misbehave”, “Seven”, and “The Christmas Show”.
A Christmas Cruise is a lovely way to gather your friends and family together without the hassle and drama of having to host Christmas Dinner. An excellent option to spend quality family time as everything is taken care for you.
