Adonia - Yes or No

[Denarius]

I am sailing on one of her sister ships, Nautica, next week so it will be interesting to compare the ships and experience.

I would be interested to read how you rate her. I am considering Oceania (and Azamara) as alternatives to P&O, my impression is that they are more laid back and informal.

[dollyhouse]

We were on Adonia for a Xmas/New year cruise with our friends.

Too small for us - just not enough going on.

Loved the ship as she was like a country hotel at sea. Our obstructed view outside cabin was very nice and spacious.It was just the lack of variety for bars and entertainment....

I love a ship with a big theatre too.

 

Caryl

 

Hallo, was your cabin on C deck? any noises from creaking lifeboats?? we are thinking of booking that category on a cruise next year. cheers

[gillianrose]

We have sailed on the ship twice, once as Adonia and once as Minerva II which was a totally different experience.

 

Adonia we would not want to sail on again. Yes, it can get into smaller ports and you will find that you dock near to the destinations, rather than some port or container base which needs a shuttle bus to the destination, although P&O tend to still do the same old ports most of the time anyway. Apart from that it is thumbs down entirely.

 

The main drawback is fixed sitting meals and NO buffet option on most nights (we had about 3 or 4 nights when the buffet was available out of 17 nights). We tried the Italian restaurant a couple of nights, but were fed a small amount of mediocre food with extremely very slow service. We also like to have a quiet drink in the evenings with some background music and a chance for some dancing if possible (not ballroom), without all the 'Butlin's' style entertainments - quizzes etc. There was nowhwere for that, as P&O insist on scheduling quizzes and things in different venues in a rotation as the evening progressed and also had the PA systems burting out the commentary over a full venue - even if there were only a few people partaking of the event in one corner of the bar used!!! Hence we spent much time wondering round the ship, drinks in hand, looking for somehwere reasonable to sit. So I would no so much say that Adonia does not have enough to do, but has 'entertainments' which cannot easily be avoided. We were not alone in this view as many other people sailed fro the ports, like us.

 

Our favorite ship was undoubtedly the same ship, but under the guise of Minerva II. Open dining + buffet which was well used. Very interesting ports and excellent speakers on relevant topics to the cruise venue. There was also the beautiful observation lounge, (which as Adonia was unusable as that because of the PA and various activities there - by day and night). Artemis comes a close second as our favorite ship.

 

Our experience on Adonia has more or less put us off P&O and we find other cruise companies offer better experiences on smaller ships, which is more our sort of thing, as we sail for the ports, not the 'Butlin's' style entertainments on P&O.

 

It is all personal taste though, the important thing is to choose the cruise line which provides your preferred style of cruising. There are some differences in P&O ships, but not that much really, compared to the different experience you can get elsewhere.

 

That's a very interesting commentary. Personally, I don't care for fixed dining, either; however, there is nothing to prevent P&O from switching to open dining, since those R-ships in other fleets (Oceania, Azamara) mostly DO have open seating dining, with the exception of Princess.

[gillianrose]

I cruised on Adonia in May 2012 and had a wonderful time. I am not bothered by the lack of a theatre and really enjoyed the "radio" play put on by some of the ship's crew one evening. She is more of a boutique ship and IMO the service etc was a * up on the other P&O ships. My only issue with her was the limited open deck space. There was nowhere to sit and look out to sea other than the promenade deck, which with our many tender ports, was often closed to pax. I finally took to heaving a teak reclining chair from the prom deck up to a corner of the running track as the sunbeds are too low for me with arthritic knees - there were no chairs at all on the sundecks. For this reason I am not convinced she is suited to the Caribbean at all.

 

I am sailing on one of her sister ships, Nautica, next week so it will be interesting to compare the ships and experience.

 

I am really interested in reading your comparison of the two.

[simonpjd]

Well it certainly seems that Adonia gets very mixed reactions from the forumites. More diverse opinions than any other vessel. The long rant complaining about the buffet and quizzes but liked the bars to be filled with music for dancing made me shudder. I cannot think of anything worse - but each to their own I guess.

Well we have bitten on the bullet and an Adonia cruise has been booked. Well we greatly enjoyed small ships like the Van Gogh and Athena and Artemis so I hope we will be very happy on board Adonia.

[BORDER REIVER]

We cruise for the locations rather than the ship, so our favourite ship is always the one we're on at the time. We've been on Q.V., Q.E. Aurora & Boudicca and never had a bad cruise or a one we found boring, so we'd be happy to sail on Adonia to somewhere we wanted to visit. The adults only part appeals too and we'll happily take whatever dress codes we have to. Our next trip is on Nordnorge and so long as it isn't too stormy, I'm sure we'll enjoy that experience too, even in February.

I have to confess though, we both have a fondness for Aurora, although we're not sure why.

[gillianrose]

I like the fact that there is no casino on the Adonia, but what is in that location?

[Somerset Cruiser]

I like the fact that there is no casino on the Adonia, but what is in that location?

 

How strange, if there was one but you didn't use it would you have a better cruise.

[Sal1946]

We went on Adonia last year to the North Cape. It was our first cruise and we couldn't fault it at all.

I believe in reading as much info as possible before booking any holiday.

Everything on Adonia was as expected from the fixed dining, limited buffet in the evening, small entertainment venue, and the dress code.

Everything you need to know is there if you do enough research.

Adonia for us lived up to what P&O advertise it as. A small friendly little ship with a most wonderful crew who looked after us very well.

In fact we enjoyed the experience so much that we are off to the Baltic on Friday..on little Adonia of course. Can't wait!

We are off for the first time on Adonia Baltic 15th Sep we always enjoyed the Artemis so are hoping this maybe similar, enjoy your trip

[Oliversgrandma]

Well done Simon! We also have booked Adonia in January 2015, the Amazon and Caribbean cruise. You will have a wonderful time - Adonia is like a friendly country house hotel, much nicer in my opinion than the bigger ships. No casino, no rock climbing wall, not much canned entertainment. We are already counting down the days!

[sagaris]

Hi Olivers Grandma,

 

We have also booked the same cruise. I was a bit unsure at first as we have been on the Oceana, Ventura and Azura which are all larger ships, but the itinery really appealed to us.

It is nice to read positive comments about the Adonia from someone who has already been:-). I did try the community forum on the P&O website but did not realise it was no longer working!

We are really looking forward to this cruise and hopefully making new friends.

[simonpjd]

They are a bit cheeky calling it an Amazon cruise. It is going to a small port right at the entrance but will not be going up the thing. The delta is so big you wouldn't know you were in a river except for the fact that the water is a muddy brown! If you really want the Amazon experience look for one that goes to Manaus. Then you will really see the river.

[Blodwyn]

We are booked on D502.

Adonia is sailing 500 miles up the Amazon to Santaran.We did an Amazon cruise on the old Arcadia in 2003 and can recommend this port.

[sagaris]

Hi Blodwyn and Simonpjd,

 

We are booked on the D502 also. I would love to go further down the amazon but we cannot afford more time. Hopefully this taster will be enough to satisfy us for the present:)

[Terry Fiederwater]

Hi SAL1946

 

We have just returned from Baltic trip D311 - 16 nights on Adonia, and had a wonderful time. She may be small in size, but she has a BIG attitude (and very loud whistle), and does get into places others can't. Passing larger vessels at a non-descript out-of-town port, and sailing right into the heart of St.Petersburg was wonderful. And our day spent transiting the Kiel Canal was amazing. She only gets in by folding down the tips of the mast head, as she exceeds the 40mtr height restriction.

 

Reading the other messages on here shows just how different people want different things from a cruise. To us Adonia is ideal. Comfortable, clean, good food, great service etc.

 

Whilst the pool is small you could always find somewhere to sit or lay in the sun and chill-out.

 

The buffet dining in The Conservatory was never overly crowded at breakfast or lunch, and was open on 6 evenings for casual dining between 6 - 9 pm. The Indian / Asian nights were very popular as evidenced by the number of ships officers eating there - including the captain.

 

We found plenty to do to amuse around the ship with lectures, films, cards, quiz etc. or simply watching the world go by.

Like some other comments, were were not after the 'Butlins at Sea' experience - but each to their own.

 

I talked to a number of people who were on Adonia for the 1st time, and none of them had a bad word to say.

The Baltic trip was terrific, so go enjoy.

[Freya1]

I too was on D311 to the Baltic and I agree with everything that has been reported. It was a brilliant cruise.

Just another couple of points - we never had to queue when getting on or off the ship. It was all done most efficiently. There were usually two security stations open each time. The one time that we used the tenders was also managed efficiently.

As for the captain,David Box, what a lovely man. A true ambassador for P&O.

Adonia might not be for everyone but she is perfect for us. We will definitely sail on her again.

[Sal1946]

Hi SAL1946

 

We have just returned from Baltic trip D311 - 16 nights on Adonia, and had a wonderful time. She may be small in size, but she has a BIG attitude (and very loud whistle), and does get into places others can't. Passing larger vessels at a non-descript out-of-town port, and sailing right into the heart of St.Petersburg was wonderful. And our day spent transiting the Kiel Canal was amazing. She only gets in by folding down the tips of the mast head, as she exceeds the 40mtr height restriction.

 

Reading the other messages on here shows just how different people want different things from a cruise. To us Adonia is ideal. Comfortable, clean, good food, great service etc.

 

Whilst the pool is small you could always find somewhere to sit or lay in the sun and chill-out.

 

The buffet dining in The Conservatory was never overly crowded at breakfast or lunch, and was open on 6 evenings for casual dining between 6 - 9 pm. The Indian / Asian nights were very popular as evidenced by the number of ships officers eating there - including the captain.

 

We found plenty to do to amuse around the ship with lectures, films, cards, quiz etc. or simply watching the world go by.

Like some other comments, were were not after the 'Butlins at Sea' experience - but each to their own.

 

I talked to a number of people who were on Adonia for the 1st time, and none of them had a bad word to say.

The Baltic trip was terrific, so go enjoy.

 

Thank you so much for your report, we used to cruise on the Artemis a lot and like smaller ships too. So looking forward to our Baltic trip on the 15th Sept more so since reading your blog. I hope we find the Balmoral as good as we have now booked a Fred Olsen it's about the same size as Artemis, also I have not read a bad review of Fred's ships but we have always sailed P&O!

[Sal1946]

I too was on D311 to the Baltic and I agree with everything that has been reported. It was a brilliant cruise.

Just another couple of points - we never had to queue when getting on or off the ship. It was all done most efficiently. There were usually two security stations open each time. The one time that we used the tenders was also managed efficiently.

As for the captain,David Box, what a lovely man. A true ambassador for P&O.

Adonia might not be for everyone but she is perfect for us. We will definitely sail on her again.

All good news for us who in 2 weeks will be ready to go!

Ps can't you sleep your blogg was 2 in the morning!:D

[Freya1]

Timing must be wrong as I posted the reply about 8.00 am !!

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did.

Make sure that you are out on deck if possible for the sail out of Stockholm. It is magnificent. Beautiful scenery on both sides of the ship. We were outside for about two and a half hours.....then had a mad rush to get ready for dinner (2nd sitting).

 

Bon Voyage!!

[Sal1946]

Timing must be wrong as I posted the reply about 8.00 am !!

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did.

Make sure that you are out on deck if possible for the sail out of Stockholm. It is magnificent. Beautiful scenery on both sides of the ship. We were outside for about two and a half hours.....then had a mad rush to get ready for dinner (2nd sitting).

 

Bon Voyage!!

 

I have made a note about Stockholm so we don't miss out, thanks for the info

[Terry Fiederwater]

I have made a note about Stockholm so we don't miss out, thanks for the info

 

Good point made there about Stockholm. As luck would have it we had booked to go to the Sorrento restaurant that night, so had magnificent views aft through floor to ceiling windows, with a wonderful sunset - got some great pictures. Food was pretty decent as well.

 

If you aren't on 2nd sitting for I'd recommend going to one of the other restaurants on the nights of sailing from Stockholm, St.Petersburg and Kiel Canal, as they are too good to miss.

 

regards

gary

[gillianrose]

How strange, if there was one but you didn't use it would you have a better cruise.

 

Yes, because there would be more public space, perhaps another lounge or dining venue, I could use! (I never use casinos.)

[Somerset Cruiser]

Yes, because there would be more public space, perhaps another lounge or dining venue, I could use! (I never use casinos.)

 

I see, although in fact the casino was taken out to make one of the bars bigger. So in reality a facility removed to create more of what there was plenty anyway, which didn't help much when they are all closed at 11.30 pm as was often the case in our experience.

[gillianrose]

I see, although in fact the casino was taken out to make one of the bars bigger. So in reality a facility removed to create more of what there was plenty anyway, which didn't help much when they are all closed at 11.30 pm as was often the case in our experience.

 

Sorry, I have not been on the Adonia yet, and was unaware there is no casino. I must have misread the post. I only want to say I find casinos to be wasted space and would like almost anything else put in their space.

[Host Sharon]

I would be interested to read how you rate her. I am considering Oceania (and Azamara) as alternatives to P&O, my impression is that they are more laid back and informal.

 

 

Back now and I have to say returning to P&O will be a little like "slumming it" I fear!

 

The ship itself was virtually identical to Adonia with the exception that they have kept the casino. All the decks (except the running track) were floored with teak rather than composite. The food I can honestly say was the best I have ever eaten anywhere in my life and all the additional restaurants were included - ie no supplements. Given the right itinerary and price we will be back.

 

I have written a full review here: http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=226344