World Cruise Questions

[ToxM]

After a frank conversation with my husband about doing a world cruise while we still can, we will probably be in a position to do this sometime after 2023. Having narrowed the choices down from embarkation points, duration and a few other bits and pieces, we are left with P&O in a suite. 

 

I have a few questions for the experts on the board 🙂

 

Is it normally Aurora that is used for the WC? 2020 I see it is Arcadia... do they switch them around? I like Aurora, but have not cruised on Arcadia at all. 

 

Suites - I am aware of The Piano and Library suites on Aurora and they look ridiculously lovely, what are the other suites like compared to those? I am aware that there is a small number on Aurora... 6 I think? What about Arcadia? 

 

There is I believe a full bar setup in suites, and a soft drink minibar, are either of these refilled free of charge?  

 

I know in suite dining is available from MDR for all meals as well as free room service if booked through the Butler, and that there is a separate area for Breakfast, but if we say booked a suite on a saver basis and asked for freedom dining, would it be likely that as we were in a suite we would be given preference to our request?

 

I’d love to know people’s experiences of a suite on a WC, would you book it again, do you feel you got your money’s worth? 

 

Any suggestions for a good possible suite to book would also be welcome. 

 

I’ve spent the last few days going through the whole board looking at threads so I have gained a lot of info but I feel like I need first hand info in order to be able to present my findings to the husband in order to play my best hand for this 🙂

 

As an addendum, we aren’t interested in a mini suite as the MDR in suite dining and sep breakfast venue would not be included. Husband is not a good mixer at mealtimes, and sometimes after a long day on a tour we just want to eat our dinner with our jimjams on, and also we don’t really like formal nights so we’d likely eat in our suite on those days as well. 

 

Any experiences/info anyone can share would be great - thank you 🙂 

 

 

 

 

[Lesanne]

we are on Arcadia in 2020 for the world. Aurora has just become adult only so has not done the world before, as far as i know. Do not stay in suites so cannot help more

[daiB]

17 hours ago, ToxM said:

After a frank conversation with my husband about doing a world cruise while we still can, we will probably be in a position to do this sometime after 2023. Having narrowed the choices down from embarkation points, duration and a few other bits and pieces, we are left with P&O in a suite. 

 

I have a few questions for the experts on the board 🙂

 

Is it normally Aurora that is used for the WC? 2020 I see it is Arcadia... do they switch them around? I like Aurora, but have not cruised on Arcadia at all. 

 

Suites - I am aware of The Piano and Library suites on Aurora and they look ridiculously lovely, what are the other suites like compared to those? I am aware that there is a small number on Aurora... 6 I think? What about Arcadia? 

 

There is I believe a full bar setup in suites, and a soft drink minibar, are either of these refilled free of charge?  

 

I know in suite dining is available from MDR for all meals as well as free room service if booked through the Butler, and that there is a separate area for Breakfast, but if we say booked a suite on a saver basis and asked for freedom dining, would it be likely that as we were in a suite we would be given preference to our request?

 

I’d love to know people’s experiences of a suite on a WC, would you book it again, do you feel you got your money’s worth? 

 

Any suggestions for a good possible suite to book would also be welcome. 

 

I’ve spent the last few days going through the whole board looking at threads so I have gained a lot of info but I feel like I need first hand info in order to be able to present my findings to the husband in order to play my best hand for this 🙂

 

As an addendum, we aren’t interested in a mini suite as the MDR in suite dining and sep breakfast venue would not be included. Husband is not a good mixer at mealtimes, and sometimes after a long day on a tour we just want to eat our dinner with our jimjams on, and also we don’t really like formal nights so we’d likely eat in our suite on those days as well. 

 

Any experiences/info anyone can share would be great - thank you 🙂 

 

 

 

 

Aurora has not done a WC for a couple of years. At this point it is most likely to be Arcadia. Arcadia has a lot of suites around 36. 
 

Number of points :-

No priority for dining in a suite.

No free mini bar set up n P&O. So no full bar set up either.

 

We have not done a WC but have had a suite a number of times. However we have never eaten in the suite in the evening. We must be the opposite to you as a table for 2, on a cruise, is the last thing we would have.

[ToxM]

59 minutes ago, daiB said:

Aurora has not done a WC for a couple of years. At this point it is most likely to be Arcadia. Arcadia has a lot of suites around 36. 
 

Number of points :-

No priority for dining in a suite.

No free mini bar set up n P&O. So no full bar set up either.

 

We have not done a WC but have had a suite a number of times. However we have never eaten in the suite in the evening. We must be the opposite to you as a table for 2, on a cruise, is the last thing we would have.

 

Thanks Dai. 

 

So Aurora is due to do the WC in 2022 - at the moment on the site you can book B101 (Piano Suite) as Select or Saver - the difference being 5k (!) as far as I can tell it’s the only suite left, so you are essentially paying an extra 5k on the saver fare to be guaranteed Whatever dining you want - hmm... 

 

I understand the logistics of it and fully agree with saver vs select normally, but when there is just one cabin of that type left.. 

 

As for dining - husband is not into shared tables, and the prospect of sharing a new table every night with people or sharing the same table with people for 99 nights are equally horrendous - he just about manages dining with me 🙂

 

 

[ToxM]

1 hour ago, Lesanne said:

we are on Arcadia in 2020 for the world. Aurora has just become adult only so has not done the world before, as far as i know. Do not stay in suites so cannot help more

 

 

Have a fabulous time!

[jeanlyon]

Have you checked with a good cruise travel agent, because P&O never put all their available cabins on the website, whereas a TA gets to see them all.  Also, you should get a nice discount.

[ToxM]

2 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Have you checked with a good cruise travel agent, because P&O never put all their available cabins on the website, whereas a TA gets to see them all.  Also, you should get a nice discount.

 

 

A good idea when the time comes for certain, just in extreme prep mode at the moment. 

[jeanlyon]

I would never book direct with P&O, simply because I trust my lovely TA and also for the discount - 3-5% not to be sneezed at.

[Host Sharon]

Having done one world cruise on Aurora, I much prefer her to Arcadia for cruises of any length. Have you considered having a lower grade suite and eating in the select restaurants in lieu of the MDR? With club dining it is unlikely you would have the same companions for the whole cruise - ours changed every sector.

[ToxM]

4 hours ago, Host Sharon said:

Having done one world cruise on Aurora, I much prefer her to Arcadia for cruises of any length. Have you considered having a lower grade suite and eating in the select restaurants in lieu of the MDR? With club dining it is unlikely you would have the same companions for the whole cruise - ours changed every sector.

Thank you for the advice re Aurora, I think she is probably at the upper limit of size that I would enjoy cruising on these days. 

 

Not a fan of specialities every day, whilst I love the Glasshouse and Sindhu, Beach House isn’t really my bag. I do enjoy the food in the dining room, just would want to make sure that hubby is comfy for such an extended period of time. 

[Mrsvemb]

I cannot comment on a world cruise, but I have travelled in suites on both Aurora and Arcadia on many occasions. 

The Piano and Library suites I cannot comment on, but the standard suites on Aurora are, in my opinion, much better than Arcadia. 

The suites on Arcadia are really just a double sized cabin, with a few extras. They are all one room and in suite dining either has to be at a table on the balcony or at the coffee table using the sofa to sit on. The loo and bathroom are combined. 

Aurora suites are larger and have a heavy curtain that seperates the bedroom area from the lounge area. There is also a dining table and chairs which is very nice for in suite dining. The loo is separate from the bathroom. The shower has a proper shower door as opposed to the awful plastic curtains that cling to you on Arcadia.

My preference would definitely be Aurora and the piano or library suite would just be the icing on the cake.

Val

[ToxM]

4 hours ago, Mrsvemb said:

I cannot comment on a world cruise, but I have travelled in suites on both Aurora and Arcadia on many occasions. 

The Piano and Library suites I cannot comment on, but the standard suites on Aurora are, in my opinion, much better than Arcadia. 

The suites on Arcadia are really just a double sized cabin, with a few extras. They are all one room and in suite dining either has to be at a table on the balcony or at the coffee table using the sofa to sit on. The loo and bathroom are combined. 

Aurora suites are larger and have a heavy curtain that seperates the bedroom area from the lounge area. There is also a dining table and chairs which is very nice for in suite dining. The loo is separate from the bathroom. The shower has a proper shower door as opposed to the awful plastic curtains that cling to you on Arcadia.

My preference would definitely be Aurora and the piano or library suite would just be the icing on the cake.

Val

Thanks Val, this is very useful 🙂