Windsurfboy

I think there are three separate points. Ships have got bigger to keep costs down Hence perhaps the desire for own balcony , so every new ship looks like a block of flats. Even the small (1000 passengers ) Saga ship looked like this. However I completely agree that never mind the size or look of ship you don't need water slides and kitsch, hi de hi sailors and rock stars Just need as you say so very well "serenity, nice food and drink, a good laugh and joke with fellow passengers whilst sometimes putting right the wrongs of the world. Good entertainment in the form of shows, singers, comedians and a sprinkling of Classical musicians. A good book and see some new and interesting places. " to make a great ship

That's why bar was in " " commas

Thanks for a considered reply, I suppose Cunard can and do simply look at takings from Queens room "bar" as a proxy for how many people enjoy the entertainment as a whole whether participating or watching. Great idea an indoor water slide and swim up bar, good excuse to don swimwear indoors, or a wet tuxedo competition

Ballroom dancing is one of great traditions on Cunard. However one wonders how long before Cunard notice the very small numbers on dance floor. Expect they already have. There must be an internal debate between those that believe that the PR value outweighs the lack of participation. Versus those that say we need something that appeals to more people.

There are two questions 1)Did P&O get size right. Presumably the economies of scale are massive, but only P&O know that, but if they fill ships expect very profitable. 2) Is there too little to do on ships compared to rival lines. As megabear said above , UK cruisers very different to US cousins. Who take short mainly one week or less for holidays, not constrained about children's school and like to spend and party on board . Contrast UK market, For 2/3rds of time outside school holidays mainly adult British. A ship will always be a 3rd rate theme/ water park, An expensive and small shopping mall. If you want a casino go to Vegas. So sticking to what has been tried and tested for the UK market isn't that daft. The simple design with no water slides and climbing walls etc , maximises outside space . Brits like to sunbathe. Gives more space for more restaurants and bars more revenue, also allows for maximum number of cabins.

Fantastic picture, the corner balconies on suites at back look huge. Can't wait

This shows what good value P&O is.

That's a good idea but in reverse , as the "chef" in our house and hence in charge of shopping, I can keep giving myself housekeeping when I'm away and buy myself a new sail whenever I get back from holiday. I wonder if I can get away with that.

're the library , PHE advice was clear the risk of transmission from a book with a normal paper cover after 24hrs is negligible. So simple ask peopke to sanitize hands before touching books and quarantine books for 24hrs after return Public Health England statement on the safe handling of library books During the COVID-19 emergency every person, including librarians, is being encouraged to wash their hands more frequently to protect themselves from any contaminated surfaces. The risk from books covered in a plastic cover handled by someone who is a possible COVID-19 case is negligible after 72 hours. The risk from books with a cardboard/paper cover is negligible after 24 hours. A

I doubt if all the things mentioned in posts above will return to cruising with P&O. People have happily accepted P&O's lower real prices, we must realise something must give. I can live with clean towels once a day. There are not that many even 5 star hotel that change towels twice a day. We just hang them up in bathroom till morning . Always make sure we have spare clean towels Paying £450 a night for a full suite on P&O I don't mind if we don't get all the services mentiooned abou that you used to get in the golden days of cruising. However paying over £1000 a night with other lines, I certainly expect everything mentioned .

Sorry ,thanks for correction, should check what I type. they are going to Canada from UK , so I meant to say going west bound starboard is north and port is South. If they want sun on balcony then answer is still the Port side.

On East bound starboard (right) is north , so it's Port that faces South and gets the sun

Think we've both made our thoughts clear, subject closed. ☺

If you spend all your time indoors (but not your cabin) then it does change the balance. Not something I've contemplated, but never gone north in winter, even then would go outside. However if you are worried about covid 4 hours a day with in no mask environment, is not to be ignored.

Silver plated is the key, fish knives and forks evolved because silver supossedly absorbed taste of fish. Stainless steel changed everything.

Of course if you dine in your suite and therefore don't spend the 4 hours a day in public rooms unmasked together with people with no masks, that completely changes the equation. You can then be masked for all the little time you spend with others. A very safe option. However I think this option is really only for those in QG with a Butler and access to full menu in their suite. Everyone else will need to spend the 3 or 4 hours in public rooms with no mask together hundreds of people with no masks to eat. For them masks for the rest of the time is as I said symbolic.

Breathing spreads the virus.

Yes , I agree , we also had very good cruise on Saga, and on Cunard QG, both cost much more than P&O. However P&O has much to offer in that last time we sailed on P&O had best evening entertainment, which should be better on bigger ship. So rather than bemoaning P&O 's direction of travel thought we'd see it as an opportunity. Full aft Suite for 43% of the price of lines I mentioned. Satisfy hunger for better food using speciality restaurants, peace and quiet on huge balcony plus the entertainment at night. An experiment, I was pointing out that there might be some benefits in P&O pricing and direction of travel to be exploited. Lack of turndown service not withstanding, as long as we have clean towels and bed made once a day it will not ruin cruise.

If you want sun on balcony going east then go on the Port side

Yes but you missed my point, in a typical day , one can legitimately spend 4 hours or more in an enclosed space with hundreds of other people without a mask, for breakfast, morning coffee, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner , a drink at bar. Given that it is an air born virus and you and others have taken the risk of sitting in a room with a 100 or many more people without a mask for a hour or more . Why worry about the insignificant risk of a couple of minutes in a lift. Risk is 100% related to exposure time It's like burning pound notes , then thinking picking up the odd penny will make up the difference.

I'm glad to hear the OP's husband is well However whilst 500 plus people are allowed to gather 3 times a day in an enclosed space without masks, at breakfast, lunch and dinner for half an hour to one and a half hours. Never mind in bars and coffee shops without masks as well. Then wearing masks at other times is just tokenism, and gives a false sense of security . With so many places where masks can be taken off , the protocols are just PR. If you are vunerable you must accept there is a higher risk on a cruise ship, the protocols do almost absolutely nothing to reduce this. It's a personal choice. Vaccination on the other hand is essential.

Neither can I, which is strange that being unvaccinated doesn't result in a higher premium.

Except for the youngest children hope not. Perhaps the answer will lie in insurance, will insurance companies be willing to insure unvaccinated passengers who are more likely to get seriously ill But on other hand, if they relax that rule then it must mean then end to all covid restrictions on ships, quarantine etc. Cruise ships will be treated like hotels on land. You won't have to quarantine yourself in your room unless you are ill, and bed is best place for you

I hope that speciality restaurants are open by June 2024.🤔 If not we will move our very small 5% deposit to a later cruise. You are right, we also wouldn't experiment with a big ship if it was our only/main holiday, but we are lucky its one of many. You will never know if you don't try something and we're not the type to let little things spoil our enjoyment, or to waste energy constantly saying it's not as good as X , or as good it used to be. Always look on the bright side 😎😎

We are embracing the here and now, and P&O bargins. Treating the big P&O ships as an opportunity to be experimented with. We have booked 2 weeks in a suite on Arvia in 2024 , giving it time to settle in. It will cost precisely 43% yes 43% of our Saga cruise in June or our upcoming Cunard QG. Full Suite on P&O marginally cheaper than standard balcony on Cunard. So we obviously won't be expecting same service throughout ship. Àlthough our last P&O trip on Aurora the room and butler service was as good as anywhere. But for the £8k saved, can and will eat every night in Epicurean, Sindhu, ... and hardly touch savings. If we want peace and quiet get a huge balcony, at bargin price