fred bare

No obvious updates on the website as of today, unless I'm missing something?

I would have thought if the next tranche was coming next month they would have been pushing the fact by now?

Irrespective of where we are with Covid, can anyone tell me when PO will announce the next tranche of cruises. Those starting November 2022 onwards?

Does anyone know what kind of prices balcony cabins sold for when at their cheapest,  on this years adventure?

Got you.

So in the case of the Ventura cruise we board tomorrow , the equation would be our cabin over the total number on Ventura (circa 1500?).

I'm not sure how you arrive at that fraction but I'll leave that thought alone.

Thanks.

Actually I'm responsible for kick starting this thread today after a two month barren period with my question asking if stewards and MDR waiters are made aware mid cruise if a passenger they are responsible for has opted out of the auto tips system.

Any further thoughts anyone?

Interesting.

So if I bung my cabin steward 50 quid as we arrive, if he adheres to PO employee rules he then has to hand this over to be put into a pot shared by all?

We've been on Adonia up to Tromso and the Lofoton Islands. It was the end of August/beginning of September and we were, to be honest, extremely lucky with the weather. She is able to go in to areas and to dock where large ships cannot. For instance we docked in the Lofoton's when most ships anchor, and we docked right next to the centre of town in Tromso. She also takes routes that large ships can't. We went up through the islands to Tromso instead of around the coast.

 

 

Adonia is a lovely lovely ship (thank God she's back this year!) and does actually take the weather quite well, but she is obviously going to move more than a larger ship. She does have a show lounge, but that is all. There is no casino (thank God) and no theatre. Her pool area is lovely and the outside eatery is extremely good. The Crow's Nest and Andersons are lovely bars, and she now has a Glass House where Sorrento used to be which we are really looking forward to. Her atrium is stunning and the MDR is, in our opinion, a very nice restaurant.

 

 

We're already booked on her on a trip in August that includes Sevilla and Bordeaux and can't wait.

 

We're sure you and your wife would love her. :)

 

PS. Anyone that says she's full of old people is slightly wrong - we're only 48!

Thanks for your reply guys, much appreciated.

Well I've tried to read the entirety of this thread but have failed.

So, having only cruised twice before and being new to this forum, what I'd like to know is this.

If we choose to have the auto tip removed from our bill on the first morning of our next cruise in order to individually tip our cabin stewards and MDR waiters a greater amount, will they be informed of our decision to opt out or is this confidential and at our discretion as to who we inform, be that PO employees or other passengers?

(We are aware of the differing pay structures of customer facing employees, bar staff and behind the scenes staff).

Thanks for the advice John,

I've really no idea what to expect by way of sea conditions on a trip like that, or how to sell it to Ms Bare but it very much appeals to me.

Entertainment or lack of it, would not be a problem for me, I don't bore easily.

Regards.

I did that in June 2005 when she was Swan Hellenic's Minerva II. Went via the North Sea though rather than Ireland and the North Sea was a bit bumpy the first night. Other than that, the only other slight problem was having to leave Tromso early to avoid icebergs on our way to Svalbard. Great sights especially if it is clear as you pass Bear Island.

We are not polar bears Dr John, we are not interested in icebergs. However we are looking for a second home so this Bear island you speak of interests us.:)

I have previously crossed the channel on that hovercraft car ferry and have crossed the bay of Biscay several times with Brittany ferries some of which were rough.

So you think we could consider a trip to the top on Adonia?

(I have also looked at going with Mr Olsen on Balmoral and would ask for your thoughts but won't as this is a PO thread and don't want to get frozen out by the mods)

I should perhaps add in light of the previous reply, that the PO St Petersburg weekender that we did was also by minibus with the usual numbers, and we also had the headphone link with our guide throughout. Indeed they proved so useful that at no point did even the American family in our group get lost or detached from her :)

better news, hope we get a couple of rough days through the cruise, always livens things up a bit :) good to have different experiences.

Wouldn't you be better off booking your hols on smaller boats in future then Mr Panda?

I'm not a nautically experienced guy myself but I imagine the smaller the boat the better the chance of scrapping your head on your cabin ceiling in rough seas.....(correct me someone).

I'm considering Adonia's trip to Spitsbergen next Jun, I reckon that could be a bit of a fun roller coaster.

We did the two day PO organised tour in 2015 on our maiden cruise.

Didn't think to compare prices with local tour guides as we were happy to pay PO prices which then stood at 256.. It was a very full on trip which had our local guide cursing the number of sites she had to get us through!

The internet/alternate excursions might be cheaper even post brexit, but I doubt they are any better

Interesting stuff. Thanks.

I'm booked on the Ventura, Spain Portugal and Morocco cruise which departs March 7th, and have received an upgrade from HC grade balcony cabin to HA grade balcony cabin.

It will be our third PO cruise, we went on our first summer 2015.

So that's it upgrade wise for us for the next twenty years!