Cruising to New Caledonia on the Pacific Pearl

I had always been curious about what life is like on a cruise ship since I was a kid. Those grand majestic floating machines were the closest things to Gundam battlecruisers that life has to offer. I had many questions such as how stable will it be at sea? is it even possible to rock such an enormous object? What does the interior feel like? How do they squeeze 2500 people on board? how fast does it go? and the list goes on. Well after my trip with Chibi to New Caledonia on board the Pacific Pearl, many questions were answered.

I’ll start off with a bit about the motion:

I was extremely excited as I boarded the Pacific Pearl. It was unlike anything I’ve ever ‘been on’ and it was hard to believe this thing could actually move. In the port it was as stable as an island, you could not feel any sort of rocking or listing. Our cabin was quiet, so quiet I thought I was inside an apartment complex with double glazed windows. However as the ship engaged it’s thrusters and propellers, things started to change. The Pacific Pearl departed Barangaroo and made it’s crossing slowing under the Harbour Bridge and out into the open waters. I could start to feel minor motions and vibrations as the ship picked up speed but nonetheless very very steady. Then came day 3 where we encounter 6 meter swells! the rocking can be described as PRETTY BAD. Try to imagine yourself inside an elevator that continuously movies up a floor, back down, then up again and repeats itself for most of the day, yeap that’s how bad it was. The motion was so bad that Chibi and I had to skip 3 meals and stay in bed the entire day. Luckily the rest of the days were pretty smooth with swells of 1-2 meters. The sea really is an amazing place and to be able to pound our ship like it did in day 3, it can truly be a monster.

Now onto the cruise adventure!

The Atrium spans 3 whole decks. Not as grand as modern ships but it was still quite nice and spacious. It was also the most stable part of the ship as it was right in the middle.

There’s a whole range of bars around the ship, each has a different style. The Orient was very…oriental

The top deck was very very windy due to the height (47 meters up) and travelling at 40km/hr. We avoided the top deck most of the time at sea but I would always pop out to get a nice view during port days!

No shortages of food here! We enjoyed a buffet styled restaurant at Plantation and sit down dining restaurant at the Waterfront. It was a hit or miss, you’ll find average steaks (bottom right) but great fish n chips (bottom left). The Tandoori chicken was yummy (top right).

A great variety of desserts with a special menu every day! great for the sweet tooth!

The Dome (pronounced as ‘Doo-mey’) was a frequently visited place where they held the awesome dance lessons. There was Hip-hop, Ballet, Hot Rhythms and ballroom.

The Pacific Entertainers were one of the highlights of the cruise. With only 8 people in the cast, they managed to pull off some engaging musical performances at a really high level every night. Hats off to these guys.

And we finally arrived at Noumea! Yay back on land! Noumea seems like a nice place but felt like a dead city as we arrived on a Sunday where all the shops were closed.

Anse Vata beach was ok. The tour guide pointed out to us where the sewage water enters the sea which was a bit of a turnoff. The water was still really nice but the beach was below average as there were shells and pebbles everywhere.

We spent only 15 minutes at Lemon beach. Apparently the water here is warm (27 degrees) all year round with little to no waves, making it one of the calmest beaches ever.

Here’s a full shot of our ship. Considered a medium size cruise ship today.

The currency New Caledonia uses. We weren’t able to spend a franc as the shops were closed…

We arrive at Isle of Pines! known to be the place closest to paradise! We hopped onto the tender boats to be transported to shore as the ship’s keel was too deep.

This place is simply breathtaking. I thought Australian beaches were amazing but this place was out of this world.

It was lots of fun but I wouldn’t say this is for everyone. It’s was a relaxing getaway minus the motion sickness but I wish there was more to do on board. I still had the sea legs by day 2 back on land so a cruise ship isn’t really as stable as I hoped would be. Highlights of this trip would be Isle of Pines, food, Pacific Entertainers and the dance classes were pretty cool too. Hoping for more awesome trips in the future =)