Adonia - Live..well more or less!

I am on Adonia's first cruise on her return to P &O, and will try to report daily on here. Will post some photos but only know how to get thumbnails up !

Embarkation Day Queen Elizabeth II terminal

What a breeze! We arrived three quarters of an hour early, and handed the car over to CPS. Walked into the terminal building, straight to a check in desk, followed by up stairs to security. Straight through this and on board. Cabin was ready ...total time just over 10 minutes from start to finish.

We have a B deck midships balcony cabin. Plenty of wardrobe hanging space, 4 drawers, sofa, dressing table with stool under, fridge stocked with minibar items which we removed, two bedside cabinets. Huge mirror on wall opposite the bed! Small flat screen TV, safe of useable size....unlike Orianas! The balcony is not huge but is big enough to sit on and face the sea...so probably deeper than Britannia balconies which I havent been on! The balcony area in our cabin needs a bit of tlc though...rust and poor condition of the flooring evident. (Not a moan...just an observation...and wont spoil our holiday!) The bathroom is compact, but good storage area. The dreaded shower curtain , but the shower area is fine..slightly elongated shape so should be big enough for most.

We havent explored all of the ship yet, but decided to avoid the buffet for lunch yesterday and headed for the absolutely delightful Glass house which was open. Had 3 sharing plates and a glass of wine each. The Glass house is a lovely area on Adonia, at the top of the ship on deck 10 and unlike on Azura, is not in a "through" area. It is light and airy...lovely.

The library is huge...again, near the top of the ship and over looks the central pool area. Please, P &O, do not even think about changing this! The pool itself is fairly small, but agequate for cooling off in....dont expect to do a 40 length power swim though!

We ventured into the buffet after sailaway as OH was peckish, and were pleasantly surprised by the look and feel of this. Well laid out, had a spacious feel to it, and didn't have that "canteen" look and feel as it does on some of the other ships. Dont know how crowded it will get, will report back more later.

A bit of a wait to get in to second sitting in the MDR which is not unusual on the first night, but we were taken to our table of 8 by the window, but only 6 of us turned up. We will see whether the other 2 appear tonight. Food was very nice, our waiters very friendly and efficient (arent they always..). A bit late finishing dinner, meant we missed the first 10 minutes of the singer in the show lounge ( no proper theatre on Adonia), so havent really got a feel tor that. The Adonia Theatre company are performing tonight...not sure whether all seats will have a good view...we will see.

Day 2 is a sea day, so will explore more....watch this space, but for now, the ship has a friendly, intimate feel to it...everything is slightly scaled down...even the stairs are narrower!

Thank you Mysticalmother for your post, we are on Adonia on 14th July for the first time. Looking forward to more information and some pictures. Have a great cruise.

Phil & Liz.

You are whetting my appetite re my cruise on 7 July

I love Adonia and have had her 4 cruises on her - IMHO she is P&O at her best

Glad your embarkation was so smooth - we have Mayflower though and I am not impressed by that terminal so we will have to see

Thats good to hear the Glass House was open for lunch - I think thats what we'll be doing on the first day. Our embarkation time is 2pm so we should have time for lunch! My last two P&O cruises the embarkation has been so poor we have not been on board until late afternoon so there was no possibility of lunch

I love Adonia's library - best of any on any cruise ship I have been on

Am familiar with the balconies and other than the shower curtain they are fine. Annoying that now it is routine of P&O to fill the fridge with drink we don't want. More work for the stewards and us in filling/emptying it. One of the things I don't like about my favourite cruise line Celebrity and I am sorry that P&O are doing this

Thanks for reporting back - can't wait for 7th July now!

We are also on board on the 7th July. Looking forward to your updates

Thank you

Thanks for this. Looking forward to future postings

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For a wheelchair user can you please advise how well wheelchair users cope on board, and please include the number of tender ports there are on your cruise, as well as non wheelchair accessible gangways.

We have sailed Adonia's sister ship Tahitian Princess before, but that was well before the need for an accessible cabin, and I don't recall seeing a wc user on that trip.

For a wheelchair user can you please advise how well wheelchair users cope on board, and please include the number of tender ports there are on your cruise, as well as non wheelchair accessible gangways.

We have sailed Adonia's sister ship Tahitian Princess before, but that was well before the need for an accessible cabin, and I don't recall seeing a wc user on that trip.

Although its a smaller ship its not that small. I don't know how many accessible cabins etc but I have definitely seen wheelchair users on Adonia

We were on the Adonia for her first season of Caribbean Fly cruises back in 2015 and the balconies were rusty then, with flooring issues. The excuse given was that the surface had been removed as it was a fire hazard and they had yet to find a suitable replacement. It seems that nothing has changed in the past two years. Have the soft cabin furnishing been replaced ? In 2015 they were the same carpets curtains and sofa that were in the ship when I first travelled on her in about 2005 when she was with Swan Hellinic under the name of Minerva II

I'm following thank you [emoji4]

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Great reporting, very interested as we have 34 nights (B2B) on Adonia mid next year.

Have done 30 nights on a sister ship Pacific Princess, so I know the R Class ships.:cool:

Thanks Mysticalmother, enjoy your adventure.

Will be following along.

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Couple of questions that you could answer:-

1. Are there still piano's in the Atrium and in Anderson's?

2. Have they got any bar stools in Raffles?

Thanks for posting this, we are considering Adonia to Iceland next August, have only done big ships and never adult only, so it will be something different for us

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Thank you for posting. December before we board

Interesting to hear that The Glass House was open for lunch of the day of embarkation. We have always found it to be closed on the other ships on day 1 until the evening, including Aurora just a few weeks ago. I do hope that P&O extends that option for those of us who dislike the buffet. Although we sometimes go to the priority boarders lunch in the main dining room, it is usually underwhelming and the free fizz and white wine are both revolting IMO. A nice lunch in the Glass House with a glass of Ice Cuvee - now that's my idea of a great start to a cruise!

I'm also going solo on Adonia 1st December. Will be interested to know your experience/thoughts. Hope you are enjoying it so far :)

Thank you Mysticalmother for your post, we are on Adonia on 14th July for the first time. Looking forward to more information and some pictures. Have a great cruise.

Phil & Liz.

My friend and I are also on board for that cruise - my third on Adonia!

Here I am again....sorry for delay!

Have been exploring a bit more....we have a "sea screen" ...although smaller than on Azura....but more than adequate. Have been films every night so far, but then the weather has been very kind to us...a mere 37-38 in Bordeaux the last couple of days...!

The ship pootled along at a healthy(!) 11-14 knots through a very calm Bay of Biscay on Saturday. Not quite sure why we are going so slowly as I am used to hurtling through the Bay on Brittany Ferries doing around the 23 knot mark! I am sure it is nothing to do with stringing out the cruise with sea days so we spend money....:D

Then a fascinating few hours drifting down the Garonne to Bordeaux...river cruising on an Ocean going ship. Well worth it, really. Bordeaux is a lovely place and we had an overnight stop here...from approx 4pm Sunday through till 2 pm today. We didnt do any trips, partly becuase we have done the Chateau and wine tasting more than once...but also because we met up for lunch with some friends who are holidaying down here. P &O cruisers no less who sobbed when we left them on the quayside this afternoon...thye were not used to seeing a ship sail without them!

The Crows nest is quite large for a small ship and we havent seen it full yet, but busy in the evenings. There is still a piano in...the Glass House, Andersons, the Crows nest...will check in the Atrium but I am pretty sure someone was playing in there on embarkation.

For those that need them, fried bread doorstop sized triangles feature on the breakfast menu.....

The toiletires we have in our cabin are yukky american things, no sign of White Company usual ones...but when I mentioned this on faceache, someone else on board said they had both.....I have set my cabin steward on a mission but he hasnt accomplished a good outcome yet...

We ate in the Ocean Grill tonight and the food was gorgeous...I had the softshell crab followed by salt marsh lamb, and a trio of creme brulee. OH had the portobello mushroom, lamb and tarte tatin. Yummy...and well worth the cover charge ( that we didnt actually have to pay, but thats another story. Thank you P&O)

MDR food....absolutely fine. Not haute cuisine, but perfectly acceptable. My skate wing last night was overcooked but still tasted lovely. OH said his salmon was too. Our table companions (6 of them) havent moaned once about the food. I have only seen green beans once so far....apart from tonight when we ordered them as an additional side dish. I like green beans!

The buffet does not inspire me, but then it never has. But we have now eaten breakfast in there 2 days running ...had freshly cooked ommelettes, no scrum for seats, lots of fresh fruit. All good.

Now someone asked about wheelchairs...tbh I havent seen many and only one mobility scooter so far. If you had gone ashore in a wheelchair today, well the only way back on would have been with a crane....even I struggled to get up the gangway...quite steep. Did not see any other way on....Wednesday we are in Guernsey which is of course a tender port....taking bets on whether we get in or not.....? And then Thirsday is Honfleur, been there twice before ...but not via cruise ship.

Soft furnishings seem pretty new theohghout the ship..certainly not worn, cabin carpet looks almost brand new. Havent noticed any shabby areas at all...but then tbh I dont go looking for them..

I will check out bar stools in raffles tomorrow.

Anything else you want to know....just shout.

And yes...we are having a lovely time on this small but very friendly ship. Definately will be on my list for future cruises.

PS. I havent been in a lift yet! :cool::eek:

PPS...sorry....cant get photos to load

MM I did a ship visit a few years ago on Adonia and felt she was too small, yet the lure of being able to get into smaller ports and rivers has always been there. Now you tell me she has an Ocean Grill and a Glass House.... I'm off to check out the website now! Have an amazing time x

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Mysticalmother

Thank you for your kindness, please enjoy the rest of your cruise

MM I did a ship visit a few years ago on Adonia and felt she was too small, yet the lure of being able to get into smaller ports and rivers has always been there. Now you tell me she has an Ocean Grill and a Glass House.... I'm off to check out the website now! Have an amazing time x

 

 

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This is my feeling too Florry but her itineries do look good, I love the idea of sailing up the river to Bordeaux!

Having a Glasshouse could override my dislike of club dining!

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This is my feeling too Florry but her itineries do look good, I love the idea of sailing up the river to Bordeaux!

Having a Glasshouse could override my dislike of club dining!

 

 

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We go up the river on Adonia in Bordeaux next year, with overnighter. Cruises D812/813 B2B, same cabin. Way to go.

Thanks again Mysticalmother, enjoy.

Anyway the updates indicate Adonia is going well, even a calm Bay of Biscay to welcome her back to Europe !! :halo:

Another interesting report - thank you. We haven't cruised on Adonia but we did a ships visit just before she was dispatched to Fathom and thought she was a fabulous ship - very upmarket in appearance.

Well done for not using the lifts. I try to do the same, unless I am with my wife, who is in a wheelchair. It always amuses me how many able bodied people use the lifts, even for very short distances. The distance between each floor is negligible and it is often far quicker to use the stairs, as well as helping to keep off a few of those cruise calories. On our recent cruise on Aurora, we had several examples of where we stopped at a floor for passengers who had called a lift to go up (or even down) just one floor. Unbelievable. I am no youngster, am overweight and was limping with a painful heel, yet still managed to use the stairs for up 6 floors in one go with no difficulty whatsoever. I may chicken out a few times out on Britannia though!

MM I did a ship visit a few years ago on Adonia and felt she was too small, yet the lure of being able to get into smaller ports and rivers has always been there. Now you tell me she has an Ocean Grill and a Glass House.... I'm off to check out the website now! Have an amazing time x

 

 

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Florry...the glass house is one of the nicest areas on the ship and decorated in relaxing cream tones. It is high up at the back and runs down one side of the ship- Ocean Grill being on the other side. We shall be there for lunch today...:D