P&O 80s Music Cruise

What's a Music Cruise All About?

Having recently returned from a P&O Cruises "Short Break" 80s Music Cruise, I wanted to share some experiences with you.

Talk about non-stop music and celebration! At every turn, you'll find music playing and people swaying, and dancin' in the street!

These cruises are perfect for events such as bridal showers, birthday celebrations, girls' weekends away, reunions, family gatherings, or a general get-together with friends.

From the moment you step on board, the neon, leggings and wigs will astound you! Not to mention the amazing music!

Our sailaway party on the pool deck was filled with songs that took me back to my teenage years (yes, showing my age, right?). Here's a taster to get you groovin'! Spot the person on the flying fox?

Entertainment

While the music forms a major part of P&O's 80s Music Cruise, there are other fun activities to keep you entertained, such as trivia shows like:

1. Name the 80s song and the original artist.
This was a lot of fun! The cruise director would play a few seconds of a song, give a little hint, and leave the rest up to your imagination. Without giving too much away, one of those 80s tunes starts with almost the exact same beat as another. Beware!

2. Famous Face of 80s.
In this game, the host would show a picture of a very young version of a person who became popular in the 80s, either TV, singer, stage, or movie star. Some were easy to pick, even in their childhood, while others were much harder. The clues didn't really help much!

3. Name the TV show or movie this 80s tune is from.
We had a lot of fun with this one and were pleasantly surprised by how many we knew! Some invoked memories of great TV and movie themes. The host would play the song right up until the title was almost revealed and then cut it off. Some of the audience would continue singing the song, which gave away the answer to those who hadn't already guessed it!

There were also live shows around the ship playing all those familiar 80s tunes.

For example, Andrew De Silva's Dedication to Prince was on stage at the Marquee. A multi-platinum ARIA award winner, Andrew delivered an electrifying musical journey through the life of Prince.

We saw I'm So Excited in the Marquee featuring Alyson Joyce (AJ) and Brooke Supple singing songs by well-known female artists, including Cher, ONJ, the Pointer Sisters, Whitney Houston, Annie Lennox, Donna Summer, Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner.

AJ and Brooke were superb at belting out the tunes and getting us all singing along!

More entertainment was to be had in the Lobby every night, where performers would sing and people would gather across 3 levels to watch, sing and dance.

Accommodation

There are also plenty of opportunities for downtime, especially if you have a balcony cabin!

And what would a cruise be without the obligatory towel-animal?

Food

If the entertainment isn't enough, I'm sure you'll find time to eat!

We were pleasantly surprised with the food at the Pantry. There were even a number of vegan choices, which made one of our travelling party very happy. We also ate at the Waterfront. The 1st night was superb as we were served by the lovely Miriam, who recognised me from a previous sailing on the Encounter! Sadly, the next night, we sat elsewhere and didn't receive the same level of service, and the food was very disappointing. In fact, we sent 2 of our meals back! So, our choice was the Pantry from then on.

A warning to those who like a sleep-in. Breakfast is only served until 9:30am in the restaurant and Pantry. Otherwise, you might find something at the Deli on deck 5 when you get your coffee, but they also stop serving breakfast-type food around 10:30am.

Other restaurants included in your cruise fare are Angelo's (Italian) and Dragon Lady (Asian Fusion). We didn't partake this cruise, as we never quite got around to visiting the booking desk and letting them know of our dietary requirements.

On the previous cruise I mentioned earlier, we ate at Luke's Bar and Grill. It was an amazing dining experience and well worth the specialty surcharge.