I want to share with you my experience cruising on the P&O Adventure as a family of three (2 adults and a toddler) which includes a detailed price breakdown.

*We booked ourselves and didn’t use a travel agent.

Broken into categories:

1. Insurance

2. Internet packages

3. What we packed (including a pram)

4. What you must do before boarding

5. Accommodation

6. Drink packages

7. Onboard dining

8. Tour bookings (and how we saved $$)

9. Laundry (#mumlife)

10. Honest review

11. Would we cruise again?

12. Price breakdown

Cruise ship- P&O Adventure
Cruise name- Discover Vanuatu
Itinerary- Sydney, Noumea, Mystery Island, Port Vila, Santo, Sydney
COST: $1354 (accommodation and food)
We used the P&O deal where kids were FREE and it saved us about $600.

A tip from us- We spoke to a lot of people on the ship who were happy to share what they spent on their rooms and we were shocked in the variance of prices for the same type of room. Make sure you wait for a deal to come up or sign up to the mailing list to get a cheap room. People paid hundreds of dollars more for interior rooms where others had the balcony room for a fraction of the price!!

1. INSURANCE:
Insure and Go – $87 for the three of us. I used the compare the market website. This was just basic coverage with unlimited medical….

BUT!! I later found out via email that we needed COVID coverage which bumped the insurance to $311. It was called “Silver Coverage”.

There were a fair few people at the terminal who didn’t have the right insurance so they had to change their insurance over before boarding.

2. INTERNET PACKAGES:

• I got the $150 for premium internet plan which was all inclusive.
• Shaun got the $90 for internet package. This included: Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, SnapChat, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Viber.

3. WHAT WE PACKED:
Large suitcase, carry on suitcase, nappy bag and pram:

LARGE SUITCASE:
1 big packet of nappies, 2x wipes, rice cakes, sultanas, musli bars, pretzels, hats, swimmers, all our clothes, snorkel and goggles, medical (see below breakdown), 4x swim nappies (we recycle, dry them out then reuse them), arm floaties, a colour in book and pencils, magnetic stacking blocks (we wish we brought more toys due to the lack of activities for Max’s age group).

MEDICAL:
Seasick tablets, panadol, Max’s puffer, sunscreen, mozzie repellent, Baby panadol & Nurofen, stingos (for itchy bites), moo goo insect repellent, ear drops (to prevent ear infections after swimming in the pool. The pharmacist said to use them everyday for Max), antibacterial spray.

CARRY ON SUITCASE:
A bottle of captain Morgan (which soon got confiscated 😂😂), Camera, go pro, chargers, joggers, sandals, 3x children’s books, iPad, 2x books, cot sheet, snoozeshade (for over the cot to keep it dark), games: Monopoly Deal & Phase 10.

I read that you can take 1 litre of alcohol per person on the ship and the plan was when Max went to sleep we could have a couple of drinks instead of be couped in the room with nothing to do but it got confiscated upon boarding 😓 Lucky we got it back upon disembarking!

On that note you can by a bottle of wine for about $40 and take it back to your room which is what we ended up doing.

PRAM:
We bought our yo-yo pram which once again was a lifesaver to travel with and made naps on the go easy.

Since we opted for an interior room (no windows) it meant we could put Max to sleep in the pram instead of have to sit in the room and stare at 4 walls until he woke up and allowed us to stay out later to watch a show.

The yo-yo is a travel pram that folds down to fit in the overhead compartment on the plane or behind the passenger seat in the car.

We brought ours second hand off Facebook marketplace for $400 which was a bargain compared to new.

NAPPY BAG/ BACKPACK:
3x drink bottles, nappy bags, 1/2 packet of nappies, wipes, drink bottles x3, tickets, passports, Max’s stuffed toys.

4. THE FOLLOWING WAS REQUIRED FOR BOARDING:
To board you needed proof of the following;

• as of March 2023 Shaun and I needed to be double vaxed and Max didn’t require vaccination (he is 1.5 yr old)
• the travel insurance needed to include covid coverage which bumped it from $87 to $311 for the three of us
• proof of a negative PCR test in the past 24 hours to boarding
• “VeriFLY” app. This was to register your covid vaccination details and fast track boarding.
• Luggage tags and tickets (these are sent to you by P&O a few days before boarding and you are required to print them off and secure them to your checked in luggage)
• 6 months validity from your RETURN date on your passport.

P&O APP:
You need to download this before you board the ship. You can register your credit card and it gives you all the details you need prior to boarding.

It also includes things like your daily itinerary aboard the ship and a free messaging service so you can keep in touch with your friends and family who are also on the ship.

Speaking of stay in touch, I saw people with walkie talkies which is a great idea to keep in touch on the boat!!!

5. ACCOMODATION:
I booked the interior room online and called the P&O hotline to request a double bed and cot configuration. This means they join the two single beds and fold the bunks to the side walls.

We set up Max’s cot in the closet area where there was plenty of room.

I bought his cot sheet from home to put on his bed.

I did however speak to another mother who said she spoke to P&O and they told her they don’t provide cots (and same for her sister with a young child as well) so unfortunately she had to bring her own.

6. DRINK PACKAGES:
We didn’t end up getting a drink package as you need to spend a minimum of $90pp a day ($900pp for 10 days) to make it worth your while and you can’t “sneak” two drinks at a time like what some people say.

You can drink the water from the taps in your room so it makes it easy to refill your drink bottle each day otherwise it’s $5 per 1.5 litre bottle of water.

7. ON BOARD DINING:
I elected for dinner at 5:15pm every night on the P&O app prior to boarding, this meant that our bookings were automatically generated for the 3 included restaurants (Asian, Italian and western cuisines) on rotation. If choosing not to go there you can go to the pantry which is a buffet style or one of the two paid restaurants.

Kids dinner is from 4:30-5:15pm at The Pantry (buffet style).

8. TOUR BOOKINGS:
We didn’t book any tours on the ship. Once you get to the island, the locals are standing by their stalls waiting to sell you the exact same tours but for a cheaper price.

1. Our first stop was Noumea and we went on a short boat ride to signal (turtle) island for $70 pp and kids go free. The 30 minute boat ride was rough but a lot of fun and the island was beautiful.
2. Our second stop to Mystery Island was cancelled at the last minute due to the weather and rough seas.
3. The third stop to Port Villa was also cancelled due to cyclone damage within two weeks of us arriving.
4. This meant we spent two days at Lunganville (Santo). Again we booked a tour once we arrived on the island. There was a legitimate tour company in the customs building who we booked through to go to Champaign Beach and one of the blue holes. This cost $80 pp and again children went free.
   Champaign beach was another $15pp and the blue hole was $10pp for entry.

9. LAUNDRY:
You know you’re a mum when you’ve included laundry in your holiday breakdown 😂
$3 for the washer and $3 for the dryer. We did two loads over the 10 days so it cost $12.
They sell sachets of washing powder at reception.
They do offer a laundry service which was $20 for 5 items.

10. HONEST REVIEW:
Overall the cruise was very relaxing and we made the most of our time on board.

The bed was comfy, staff were really friendly and the food was pretty good!

At dinner each night the staff would give Max pencils and paper to draw on and made him little figurines from paper to play with.

It was nice not having to plan anything and have everything you need at your fingertips.

The sea day activities included things like trivia, bingo, karaoke, scavenger hunts ect and were a lot of fun even just to watch and not participate in.

It was Shaun’s 30th and the main reason for our cruise holiday. I did some research before getting on the ship and it was something like $60 for a cake so I didn’t worry about ordering him one, instead we went to Luke’s Bar and Grill (paid restaurant) for dinner and I asked the staff sneakily if they could bring out dessert for his birthday. They came out with a little cake, wrote happy birthday on the plate and all sang happy birthday to him 🥰🥰

To be completely honest, I was a bit disappointed with the lack of activities for children Max’s age (I’d say from 0-2 is non inclusive on this ship in particular). We could take him to the kids club but one of us had to stay with him.

There are no change tables on the ship so if you need to change your little ones nappy you have to go all the way back to your room or face dirty looks from fellow cruisers as you make shift your own change table.

Someone told us if your toddler or baby isn’t toilet trained they can’t go in the pool but we just put a swim nappy on Max and no one said anything. A stupid rule if you ask me…I can just imagine all the oldies peeing in the pool worse than a toddler 😅😂

The paid internet on the ship was very hit and miss. YouTube would work but Facebook and Instagram were nearly non existent.

11. WOULD WE CRUISE AGAIN?
Our answer is YES!… although we would look into a different cruise company that is more accomodating to younger children so Maxy boy has more to do.

12. COST BREAKDOWN
Total: $3419
(This works out to be $341 per day)
Cruise: $1354
Drinks inc coffee and soft drink: $1167
Dinner at specialty restaurants: $97
Laundry: $12
Internet packages:$240
Activities and experiences: $370
Snacks: $179

Head over to our Instagram page if you want to see more pictures and a Q&A from our holiday – @roam_n_round

If you have any questions, reach out but I hope this helps with planning your next cruise holiday with a toddler or little one!!

💛 Britt

For more travel photos and inspo, check out our Instagram page

Roam_N_Round