Will P&O now delay announcements for future cruise pauses?

[joeecco]

Just now, Glitterati said:

It’s a good point, and I guess there has to be diversity! I plan to sail on the new ships, but I also enjoy the American ships as well. Sometimes it’s refreshing to have normal drink prices and polite fellow British passengers!! 

Hahaha love that last line. Least you’ve got the best of both worlds when you choose which line. We will try RCI at some point just to see if we are right or wrong, but we’ll be nervous in doing so haha! I love the ‘what shall we do now’ vibe on P&O, whereas the ‘what have we got booked now’ RCI vibe is a little off for us (I know you Don’t have to do everything but we would get FOMO if we didn’t and I’m happy to admit that 😂)

[ann141]

We find that as we do more cruises, we sometimes do more P and O excursions because we have exhausted the explore on your own options which we prefer. If there is somewhere we want to visit  from a port and it is difficult to get to by train or bus independantly we often will take an excursion rather than stay in port as we like to visit new places.

[Selbourne]

6 minutes ago, Glitterati said:

If P&O were trying to appeal to the younger market you would think they would add more activities on board to appeal to younger audiences

That’s a very good point. We are in our 50’s yet feel that the majority of the ‘entertainment’ on P&O is targeted at our parents generation 😂 In fact, with the exception of the occasional guest speaker on a subject that appeals, the daytime activities are what I would expect to find in a nursing home (and the evening ones are only marginally better)!

[jeanlyon]

Looking at the first information about easing lockdown, certainly doesn't look like there will be cruises going on 24th April.  They are not expecting hospitality to open until May at least!  and that's just pubs and hotels.

Edited February 22, 2021 by jeanlyon

[Selbourne]

2 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Looking at the first information about easing lockdown, certainly doesn't look like there will be cruises going on 24th April.  They are not expecting hospitality to open until May at least!  and that's just pubs and hotels.

I have felt for some time Jean that those waiting in anticipation for today’s announcement to help inform when cruising will recommence are going to be disappointed. P&O may link it to their next batch of cancellations but, as we know, the expiry date of the next batch of cancellations is far from certain to be the re-commencement date. 

[jeanlyon]

Yes agree.  I would think 6 months is more sensible!

[bobstheboy]

Still hoping for August, but not looking promising. Very hopeful for my Iona, February 22, Canaries cruise, If that doesn't sail, cruise lines will not survive.

[jeanlyon]

Mine is October this year, but won't be going if the restrictions are still in place.

[Adawn47]

17 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

At least we can say we tried Azura.  Disliked her.  Accommodation was fine, but found it very odd to be walking inside on the Prom Deck and not able to see the sea.  

I'm confused Jean. I thought that Azura and/or Ventura had an outside Prom deck.

Avril

[funinhounslow]

15 minutes ago, ann141 said:

We find that as we do more cruises, we sometimes do more P and O excursions because we have exhausted the explore on your own options which we prefer. If there is somewhere we want to visit  from a port and it is difficult to get to by train or bus independantly we often will take an excursion rather than stay in port as we like to visit new places.

My experience too - plus I’m a little nervous straying too far from the ship in case something goes wrong 😃

 

In Tenerife and Norway I compared the cost of P&O excursions vs doing the same thing independently and the price differential such that it wasn’t worth the bother - plus you remove the “hassle factor” and anxiety about missing the ship.,,

[jeanlyon]

Yes it does Avril, but if you are inside the ship, there are no windows out to sea on that deck.  Very strange layout.

[joeecco]

11 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Yes it does Avril, but if you are inside the ship, there are no windows out to sea on that deck.  Very strange layout.

That’s not true, there’s a whole corridor inside with windows out to prom deck. The Malabar is on that route as is the photo gallery. 

[Captain_Morgan]

The reality of Carn Corp is that over the last several years their business model appears to be driven towards a 'bigger is better' mentality where each new ship launched for every brand has either been as big or bigger than the last.  

We cruised with Princess in the beginning and enjoyed their diverse options of size of ship but after the 'divorce' from P&O we noticed a steady decline in their product with a shift towards the American 'cheap and cheerful' crowd.  We also sailed a few times with Seabourn and noticed a similar trend with their new ships being built 'bigger' but fares not necessarily cheaper although it should go without saying that sending a ship with 5000+ passengers on 7 day trips will always be more profitable than sending a ship with 400 passengers on a 30+ day trip, especially if the smaller ship has an 'all inclusive' environment.

[Adawn47]

13 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Yes it does Avril, but if you are inside the ship, there are no windows out to sea on that deck.  Very strange layout.

Thanks Jean. If I'd have read the remaining posts first before asking I would have realised what you meant😄

Avril

[joeecco]

Just now, Adawn47 said:

Thanks Jean. If I'd have read the remaining posts first before asking I would have realised what you meant😄

Avril

There are windows out to see on the prom deck. You can sit against them in the Malabar and the Glass house and walk along side them. 

[jeanlyon]

Maybe they changed it - it's some years since we sailed on her - maybe about 9?!!

 

I think Norway and places like that it is probably better to do excursions, not that I have done one of those cruises, but I know it's really expensive there.  But most places in the Med are lovely to do on your own.  I remember getting the train to Taormina for 8 Euros.  We had a marvellous day, super lunch and then back a good 2 hours before the ship excursions.

[Adawn47]

6 minutes ago, joeecco said:

That’s not true, there’s a whole corridor inside with windows out to prom deck. The Malabar is on that route as is the photo gallery. 

I think the first time on any new ship always takes time to find your way around. It took us until our third time on Arcadia to find our way around easily, and she's much smaller than Azura. Mind you, I'm useless at reading road maps too😏

Avril

[joeecco]

Just now, jeanlyon said:

Maybe they changed it - it's some years since we sailed on her - maybe about 9?!!

 

 

Nope, Ventura is the same and she is 2 years older. 

[jeanlyon]

I obviously didn't go in the Malabar!  We found her huge and not enjoyable.  But then we like smaller ships.  The first cruise we did had 500 passengers.  It was delightful, personal, friendly.  We also did the Caribbean on the Athena out of Falmouth.  About 800 passengers from memory.  We were moored behind Independence of the Seas in St Lucia and we looked like one of the tenders!!

[joeecco]

Just now, jeanlyon said:

I obviously didn't go in the Malabar!  We found her huge and not enjoyable.  But then we like smaller ships.  The first cruise we did had 500 passengers.  It was delightful, personal, friendly.  We also did the Caribbean on the Athena out of Falmouth.  About 800 passengers from memory.  We were moored behind Independence of the Seas in St Lucia and we looked like one of the tenders!!

Or the glass house or walked along the prom inside. 
 

which is why I’m not sure why you

would suggest what you did. 
 

not everyone will like every ship, but I’m not a fan of wrongfully badmouthing a ship on something that’s not true. 

[WECRUISEUK]

1 minute ago, joeecco said:

Or the glass house or walked along the prom inside. 
 

which is why I’m not sure why you

would suggest what you did. 
 

not everyone will like every ship, but I’m not a fan of wrongfully badmouthing a ship on something that’s not true. 

Not nice.

[jeanlyon]

2 minutes ago, joeecco said:

Or the glass house or walked along the prom inside. 
 

which is why I’m not sure why you

would suggest what you did. 
 

not everyone will like every ship, but I’m not a fan of wrongfully badmouthing a ship on something that’s not true. 

All I can say is what we noticed when walking through the Prom deck, the walkways were across the ship and you could not see the sea at all.  It was something we commented on and so did others.  I'm not badmouthing at all.  It certainly put me off large ships.  Also, there was supposed to be an adults only pool at the stern, but the kids club arrived one day jumped in that pool, one kid had an accident in the pool so that was out of order for 2 days!!  The sunbeds were so close together as well.  

Edited February 22, 2021 by jeanlyon

[kalos]

35 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

I'm confused Jean. I thought that Azura and/or Ventura had an outside Prom deck.

Avril

 

It does with the chairs outside 

 

 

[joeecco]

6 minutes ago, WECRUISEUK said:

Not nice.

It’s correcting false information when someone isn’t admitting that it’s false. 

[Angel57]

6 minutes ago, joeecco said:

Or the glass house or walked along the prom inside. 
 

which is why I’m not sure why you

would suggest what you did. 
 

not everyone will like every ship, but I’m not a fan of wrongfully badmouthing a ship on something that’s not true. 

I really don’t think Jean was bad mouthing - just voicing her own opinion which we can agree or disagree with.