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Pacific Jewel cabin with balcony. |
The Pacific Jewel enters Sydney Harbour. |
POSTED: 18 SEPTEMBER 2011 Destination: P&O Food and Wine Experience MIKE SMITH loosens his belt for a three-night culinary indulgence on board the Pacific Jewel. Talk about sheer indulgence. Three nights on cruise ship Pacific Jewel lapping up the delights of a few culinary and premium wine surprises — without the worry of driving home. Then there’s the evening entertainment, the fun activities such as a trivia contest, the casino for a splurge, and an hour or so of pampering in the lavish day spa, water views included. The people responsible for organising such an enticing weekend break, P&O Cruises, know how to win over the hearts of seafaring guests without actually calling into a port. To book a cabin for the short cruise from Sydney is rewarded with a number of benefits. For those who have not before holidayed on a cruise ship, the weekend break is a perfect introduction to what could later lead to the booking of a South Pacific voyage — and beyond. It also introduces passengers to the fruits of some of the Hunter Valley’s premium winemakers, and the culinary creations of renowned chefs such as Australia’s Luke Mangan. Not forgetting the morning coffee-appreciation courses, the beer and whisky tastings, the martini courses, the creation of colourful cocktails and, what would normally cost a king’s ransom, the caviar and bubbles experiences. In preparing for the Friday afternoon departure we are urged to bring along casual clothing with a sensible pair of shoes for walking the decks, and a cocktail dress/lounge suit for the evening dining experiences. We are also advised to bring along a hearty appetite as the temptations around the dinner tables are many through the cruise and difficult to ignore. Because of atrocious weather and choppy seas, our recent weekend on the Pacific Jewel didn’t leave Sydney until the Saturday morning. But that was of little concern to a majority of the passengers who enjoyed a calming Friday evening berthed near Darling Harbour – the ideal conditions for everyone to explore the restaurants and enjoy the jazz and other forms of evening entertainment. It’s a cruise into the open seas that usually heads north along the NSW coast to the Queensland border but on this occasion, because of the delay in departure, headed south for the protected waters of Jervis Bay in the Shoalhaven area. With a gross tonnage of about 70,000 tonnes, and a capacity to cater for more than 1900 guests in 198 staterooms and suites (some with balconies), Pacific Jewel isn’t a small ship. The same can be said about the size of the food order to cater for such an indulgent weekend. Pacific Jewel is one of P&O Cruises’ Sydney-based vessels, its normal program pitched at whisking seafaring holidaymakers to such tropical delights as New Caledonia and the islands of Vanuatu and Fiji. In addition, there are the cruises across the Tasman to New Zealand, while short-break cruises such as the Food and Wine Experience are limited, although increasing under the weight of popularity. The crew of Pacific Jewel is a virtual United Nations. Captain Lorenzo Paoletti hails from Italy, the deputy captain, Alan Nixon, is from England, while Angus MacDonald, the ship’s chief engineer, is Scottish born. The ever-present and popular hotel director, Roland Ringwald, is German, the cruise director, Sandy Cadwallader, from the USA. And the man responsible for satisfying the hearty appetites, executive chef Patrice Mick, hails from France. However, a majority of the crew — the waiters, cabin stewards and ship hands — are from such countries as India and the Philippines as well as Vanuatu, our friendly Indian cabin steward, Moizecio (Moses), quick to showcase his skills in entertaining and surprising guests by creating animal figures with the bed towels — a rabbit one day, an elephant the next. “I have plenty of animals to make up,” he informs us on the final evening of the cruise. “Pity you are only on a three-night cruise.” Invited guests for the Food and Wine Cruise tastings and culinary demonstrations include Bruce Tyrrell from Tyrrell's Wines, Glandore Estate owner Duane Roy, Phil Ryan from McWilliam's Wines and Josh Rea, caviar importer and distributor from Waimea Trading. Cheese tastings are headed by the Hunter Valley Cheese Factory’s Rosalia Lambert while tastings of the Bluetongue beer range are presented by Kevin Hardman. Each presentation carries a nominal fee of between $14 and $40 (caviar and bubbles), but worth the price considering the entertaining and informative presentations and, of course, the generous samplings. Now 20 years old, Pacific Jewel began its cruise ship career as Ocean Village 2 before making its way to Australia to take up residency with P&O Cruises’ growing fleet of year-round and seasonal vessels. As with any cruise, each day presents an inviting entertainment and activities program, primarily for those who want to be kept busy. Mornings are often started with a “walk or run a mile”, just to keep the waistline in check. There are also the golf putting or chipping contests, the traditional seafarer's game of deck quoits, lively music or sports trivia competitions and even a scavenger hunt or pool volleyball challenge. Then again, you can learn how to dance the cha cha, or buy something special at an art auction. And, of course, each day rounds off with a snowball jackpot bingo before guests return to the staterooms to dress for the evening meal and entertainment in the ship’s Marquee, The Atrium, Connexions bar or the Casbah. Pacific Jewel is renowned for its Pacific Cirque shows, as well as an outdoor large screen which has a program of blockbuster films throughout the day and after dark. One of the great pleasures of cruising 2011-style is the offer of alternative dining experiences, where passengers pay a minimal surcharge to dine in an exclusive restaurant instead of the main dining areas. It’s an area in which Pacific Jewel thrives, as in addition to the main Waterfront Restaurant (all meals are included in the price of the cruise), there’s Salt Grill and a menu created by leading Australian chef Luke Mangan (the large steaks and the side dish of truffle and cheese flavoured chips a tasty match). Diners pay a cover charge of $40 for a meal that would cost three times the price in a restaurant of similar standard in the cities. La Luna, which offers a degustation of contemporary Asian fusion dishes, is another restaurant worth a booking ($20 a guest). And for an alternative to fine dining, there’s the giant buffet in the Plantation restaurant (included in the cruise price). What would have previously been opened for breakfast and lunch only now offers evening meals, designed for passengers preferring to dine in a more casual surrounds than to dress up for the main restaurant. And the produce at all sittings is fresh. The highlight on the final night of the Food and Wine Cruise is the Waterfront Restaurant’s Degustation Menu — crisp pork belly followed by grilled Moreton Bay Bugs with shellfish soup, ocean trout, quail breast, an Amaretto crème brulee and Hunter Valley washed rind. And the good news is that such a seven-course experience is presented at no additional charge to the price of the cruise. That alone is food for thought when booking the next Food and Wine Cruise. |
Caviar importer Josh Rea.
Hotel director Roland Ringwald.
Winemaker Duane Roy.
Winemaker Bruce Tyrrell.
Pacific Jewel's pool and outdoor screen. FACT FILE: THE SHIP: Sydney-based Pacific Jewel, built in 1991, 70,000 tonnes, 198 staterooms catering for up to 1956 passengers with crew of 744. FOOD AND WINE CRUISE: Three-night return weekend cruise (Fri-Mon) from Sydney (no other ports), priced from $499 per person, quad share, from $649 per person, twin share. Next Food and Wine Cruise from Sydney are on 4 November and 11 February 11. Sister ship Pacific Sun has a Food and Wine Cruise from Sydney on 1 December, prices starting at $409 per person, quad share, from $649 per person, twin share. Limited number of Food and Wine Cruises also embark from Brisbane. GENERAL CRUISING: Pacific Jewel also has a program of Pacific Island cruises from Sydney, ranging from eight nights to 16 nights as well as a 13-night cruise from Sydney to New Zealand departing 17 November. DETAILS: P&O Cruises, phone 132 494 or www.pocruises.com.au. |
Cabin steward Moizecio (Moses) ... a rabbit one day, an elephant the next. |
The Pacific Jewel ... a capacity to cater for more than 1900 guests. |
