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Lack of 2020 Mediterranean cruise has forced me onto P&O, 9 grand saving


Windsurfboy
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Wanted a med cruise in early summer out of Southampton ,  no Cunard ,  P&O Had good itinerary 19 days some new port for us. Cunard didn't have similiar cruise till Autumn. P&O suite 9 grand cheaper,  half price of Cunard. P&O suite similiar to Q3 midship. Suite just as nice but not QG dinning or QG deck. On other hand hand can eat in speciality restaurants every night, drink champagne and still be £1000s quids in, lets see?

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Well good on you. I certainly agree that Cunard's bewildering and almost complete abandonment of traditional Mediterranean cruises is both annoying and headscratching. We are already booked on QV for next September on her 14-day "Voyage du Vin" mainly because it was pretty much "it" at a desirable time of year .

But I looked at P&O alternatives and came away thinking it was no bargain compared to Princess Grill on every level with no separate dining room, decks or much else except a larger cabin. They even charge for standard room service it appears!

We used to be real P&O "regulars" back in the day of CANBERRA (indeed my wife and I first met aboard her) but after a very disappointing cruising in VICTORIA back in 2001, never went back. We probably wouldn't recognise the line now. 

But with that savings, why not give it a try. Cunard is going to lose regular customers aplenty with this "No Med No Way" policy. 

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17 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

Wanted a med cruise in early summer out of Southampton ,  no Cunard ,  P&O Had good itinerary 19 days some new port for us. Cunard didn't have similiar cruise till Autumn. P&O suite 9 grand cheaper,  half price of Cunard. P&O suite similiar to Q3 midship. Suite just as nice but not QG dinning or QG deck. On other hand hand can eat in speciality restaurants every night, drink champagne and still be £1000s quids in, lets see?

We've always cruised with P&O in a suite but really never felt we were getting our monies worth. All you really get is a larger cabin and a butler. This year we tried the Queen's grill on Cunard for the first time. We found the attitude of both the passengers and the staff far better than on P&O. Of course the food and service in the Queen's grill was way above anything we've experienced on P&O even in the speciality restaurants.Yes the price was double the amount we would have paid on P&O but at least we felt we were getting value for the money paid. While £9000 isn't to be sneezed at I only hope you won't be too disappointed.

 

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But would you want to go on a repeat Baltic cruise, when you really wanted to get some early summer sun, just to be on QG?  If Cunard had been going to med in spring wouldn't have looked else where. Never go away during school holidays, and have other plans for Autumn. 

P&O was was good itinerary with plenty of sea days as well as new ports for us. We like extra space of suite whatever line. I will see, what it is like, will make good use of speciality restaurants, but not every night. Will indulge in some pre dinner vintage champange and a very good bottle of wine with dinner, that normally makes most things look better.

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Not sure whether you've booked already? I've only done 1 short Cunard cruise, we tried it as an alternative to P&O after a bad experience on the Adonia - although we do tend to cruise with anyone who is going where we want to go, at the right time and price! We had a really fantastic Med cruise with Oceania a few years ago - the food and service was great. Not sure about entertainment as that isn't really our interest, but the ship was beautiful too. HTH

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We went with Celebrity this summer and have booked them again next summer for a Dalmatian coast and Italy cruise. I prefer Cunard (booked Baltic cruise for 2020 on Queen Victoria) but as I’m limited to July and early August,  Cunard has little or nothing to offer in Southern Europe. 

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22 hours ago, majortom10 said:

Comparing Queens Grill to P&O, even speciality restaurant, leaves it open to disappointment as IMO there is no comparison would never book a suite on P&O. 

How I agree, having had suites on P&O, Royal Caribbean  and Cunard, there is no comparison to the Cunard suites, We used to cruise 2 or 3 times a year, but now would rather do one a year in a Cunard suite.   We off again in a months time, a guaranteed P2, the cruise  is sold out and we haven't got a cabin yet.....

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Whilst Arcadia's suites may not be quite up to the standard of the Grills in Cunard, she is still lovely ship - excellent speciality restaurants and very smart bars. Pub & pool area are great too! We have done two very long cruises on her and enjoyed every minute - well done on saving all that money! 

We have travelled on both Cunard and P & O and enjoy both (next one on Cunard.) Depends on costs, itineraries and what you are looking for. It is a shame about the lack of Med cruises but P & O do them very well indeed.

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On 10/17/2018 at 5:05 PM, Windsurfboy said:

If you want a no fly from Southampton for med between April and July 2020 then the choice is P&O or P&O

 

Is that because other cruiselines haven't published their 2020 cruises yet ?

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Could be , in 2019 the only other line doing no fly from Southampton was royal Caribbean,  14 night western med, they haven't released yet.  Could have waited , but midship suites on P&O have go up by 2k since release, and only ones left are by the lift. But this is another topic when to book, so far my limited experience early wins 3 out of 4. 

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