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 of the Pacific Pearl
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