Jump to content

UK staycation cruise details launched


Adam Coulter
 Share

Recommended Posts

27 minutes ago, ann141 said:

Princess will also be releasing some mini cruises to replace some of the cruises they have cancelled.

Thank you. We will have to keep an eye out. We have only ever cruised with P&O but I have looked at Princess’s ships for a while and thought how nice they look.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

56 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Bacon or sausage sarnies, really you can't go wrong with white baps, but you could have a few brown ones tucked away just in case you get an awkward beggar.

Absolutely has to be white for bacon or sausage. I prefer a sarnie to a roll/bap.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, Rupert2251 said:

Wow, just had an email from P&O saying they have refunded the shore excursions back to the card for our July cruise on Iona. It was only cancelled yesterday! Well impressed. Only the deposit now but that will come by cheque.

I cancelled our June cruise yesterday morning too, but only need the deposit refunding back into our account.

Day 1 and counting😁

Avril

Edited by Adawn47
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, funinhounslow said:


Where has that figure come from? I only ask because when I’ve compared P&O tour prices with local operators’ the premium has been modest and worth it for peace of mind in case of a delay getting back to the ship...

 

Much like drink prices, slightly more expensive but they certainly aren’t extracting the proverbial. A breath of fresh air after getting my pants pulled down on Cunard...

Hi, the 100% figure is not an exact one - it was from an article I read in the Telegraph a few years ago which gave a number of examples of where the independent touring cost was half that of an organised excursion provided by a cruise ship company. 

 

An example of where I saved that in practice came with a mountain train excursion in Norway where I did exactly the same as did P&O with no fuss and saved a lot.

 

There are a few companies delivering cruise ship excursions who claim to be 60% cheaper than the cruise ship alternative.  Clearly that's a marketing line but to be taken with a pinch of salt of course.

 

My view is that the P&O excursions vary significantly in terms of value for money.  I have never quite worked out how a short bus ride to a city centre, followed by a guided walk in a group of 20 (or so) reaches £50-65 per head.  On other occasions, particularly for the higher volume excursions, they are expensive but not taking the proverbial I would agree.

 

The issue is going round the coast, there is no mark up able to be made, so this money will need to be found elsewhere.

 

Hope that this helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, No pager thank you said:

An example of where I saved that in practice came with a mountain train excursion in Norway where I did exactly the same as did P&O with no fuss and saved a lot.

 

Hope that this helps.


It does 

 

If you’re referring to the Flåm train, if there’s more than one cruise ship in port you’re risking a lengthy wait for the train if you haven’t pre booked. We did the Norway in a Nutshell tour which would be a bit of a faff to do off your own back - too many connections to mess up...
 

I compared the cost of a Mt Teide (Tenerife) trip booked on ship vs tourist office and also the Stavanger RHIB. I don’t recall the price differences but it did strike me that the saving didn’t make it worth booking independently. Especially if you’re going to be some distance from the ship. And if the ship doesn’t make the port, you get your money back...
 

I don’t often do excursions but when I have I’ve found the P&O prices to be “fair” and certainly don’t think the 100% markup figure is credible...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

56 minutes ago, crazy cat lady 83 said:

Thank you. We will have to keep an eye out. We have only ever cruised with P&O but I have looked at Princess’s ships for a while and thought how nice they look.

We have cruised with P and O and Princess and like both. Princess prices tend to be more expensive onboard and there is a more of a mix of  nationalities. They have free ice cream which is a big plus in my book!!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, tring said:

 

Fred will have to follow and as we are only 20 mins from Liverpool, would make it easy and could also make sure we keep well away from other people for about a week before, hence highly unlikely to be confined to a cabin onboard.

 

Fred's prices have not been cheap, but as we are much more likely to find space on deck I would consider a non balcony cabin.  No travel, parking or hotel costs needed for us from Liverpool, which makes a big difference, especially for a short cruise.  Also Fred is used to scenic cruising in Scotland, so will find something to view, and in the summer there are likely to be lots of birds around in those locations.  We would take the binoculars though.

 

We have found Fred's crew far better than P&O and food a lot better in recent years, but not sure we will do a lot more if his prices remain high.  His cruise prices have always been high at launch though, yet we have had some good reduced Freedom Fares within a year of the cruise date. We intend to try one of the larger P&O ships for about a week but would only consider a balcony for that.  The destinations are what we cruise for and sadly that is what P&O are very poor with.  Will be interesting to try that Princess cruise as they seem to have some good itineraries.  HAL looks promising as well.  

 

Generally we are becoming resigned to the occasional expedition cruise being of any big appeal to us, though our land holidays have also been very good in recent years as I have planned the destinations carefully and included a few in one holiday.  All our travel this year is dependent upon decent priced insurance, which we will need to explore due to health issues.

 

Hope to meet you in October on Sky Princess,

 

Barbara

 

 

We have done 2 mini cruises with Fred on Balmoral which were ok but I wasn't keen on fixed dining and thought the cabins were rather tired(We did have the cheapest inside cabin!).However they do have some good itineraries and the newer ships sound good so I would like to try a cruise if the price was right.Sailing from Liverpool is a big plus for us too as it is only 2 hours on the train and gives us a chance to visit my Mum and Sister who live in Southport and Formby.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, ann141 said:

We have done 2 mini cruises with Fred on Balmoral which were ok but I wasn't keen on fixed dining and thought the cabins were rather tired(We did have the cheapest inside cabin!).However they do have some good itineraries and the newer ships sound good so I would like to try a cruise if the price was right.Sailing from Liverpool is a big plus for us too as it is only 2 hours on the train and gives us a chance to visit my Mum and Sister who live in Southport and Formby.

The two new ships will also have more flexible mdr options, so I believe they will have the equivalent of Freedom Dining.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, funinhounslow said:


It does 

 

If you’re referring to the Flåm train, if there’s more than one cruise ship in port you’re risking a lengthy wait for the train if you haven’t pre booked. We did the Norway in a Nutshell tour which would be a bit of a faff to do off your own back - too many connections to mess up...
 

I compared the cost of a Mt Teide (Tenerife) trip booked on ship vs tourist office and also the Stavanger RHIB. I don’t recall the price differences but it did strike me that the saving didn’t make it worth booking independently. Especially if you’re going to be some distance from the ship. And if the ship doesn’t make the port, you get your money back...
 

I don’t often do excursions but when I have I’ve found the P&O prices to be “fair” and certainly don’t think the 100% markup figure is credible...

We always try and do a private tour (booked in advance) or grab a taxi at the dock gates. Inevitably the price is less than the P&O price, and we often pay for two people the same as P&O charge for one person.

Not only that, but the quality of the independent tours is so much better than an organised P&O tour. Instead of being in a coach or minibus, with a strict time table, there is just the two of you, with the ability to spend as long or as little time as you want at each attraction. And it's cheaper as well!

And the old "missing the boat" worry is just a scare story put out by all the cruise companies. Use a reputable independent tour company, or if hiring a taxi, use your common sense, and you will be fine.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, ann141 said:

We have cruised with P and O and Princess and like both. Princess prices tend to be more expensive onboard and there is a more of a mix of  nationalities. They have free ice cream which is a big plus in my book!!

The Drinks, Wifi and Grats package @ £35 pppd is excellent value on Princess. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, crazy cat lady 83 said:

Thank you. We will have to keep an eye out. We have only ever cruised with P&O but I have looked at Princess’s ships for a while and thought how nice they look.

IMHO Princess are a step up in quality from P&O,  but you need to factor in the autotips and higher drinks prices. The £35  Princess Plus Package is well worthwhile if you like the odd drink or three!

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, Adawn47 said:

I've just checked the total cost of our 19 night cruise in October.  It has increased from our booked cost of £2,702 to the princely sum of £5,558.😲 Time for a brandy me thinks.

Avril

Avril,the only time your going to really enjoy that brandy is when your cruise has actually begun,having said that,it's a hell of an increase.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, ann141 said:

We have done 2 mini cruises with Fred on Balmoral which were ok but I wasn't keen on fixed dining and thought the cabins were rather tired(We did have the cheapest inside cabin!).However they do have some good itineraries and the newer ships sound good so I would like to try a cruise if the price was right.Sailing from Liverpool is a big plus for us too as it is only 2 hours on the train and gives us a chance to visit my Mum and Sister who live in Southport and Formby.

 

He does not publicise it madly, but he does now offer a flexible dining option as an alternative to fixed dining on the new ships, which we have booked on for July, but still fixed for the other ships (not sure how that will work with covid restrictions as he will need to spread people out and may be shorter on dining space).  Not sure when you travelled, but his ships had become pretty run done five or so years ago, though a lot was done since then.  They were still the same old ships so we were very careful not to be low down, towards the back as there was a lot of vibration.  The new ships are reputed to have a fair bit of space pp on average with bigger cabins, but none the less are still twice the size of what we are used to and the itinerary for our July cruise had 3 port changes out of five when Borealis replaced Black Watch,  since the ports were not accessible.  I do think it may change in the future due to passenger pressure, but to date Fred has also stuck by his policy of allowing smoking on balconies (unless I have missed something in the last few months), so we would not book one at any price.  It is possibly a USP of his by allowing the smoking though of course.

 

 So a bit swings and roundabouts I suggest and of course likewise with the newer P&O ships, which while remaining cheap, are not to the taste of all and the itineraries seem to be getting more samey than ever IMO.

 

Cheers,

 

Barbara 

Edited by tring
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

IMHO Princess are a step up in quality from P&O,  but you need to factor in the autotips and higher drinks prices. The £35  Princess Plus Package is well worthwhile if you like the odd drink or three!

Thank you. I have just seen your link on the Princess pages and I am pretty sold by the fact that if we don’t dock anywhere it’ll be nice to have a new ship to explore!

I’ll just have to wait and see what their vaccination policy is as I may have only had my first vaccination by then so I’ll just have to keep my fingers 🤞

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/3/2021 at 3:19 PM, Adawn47 said:

I've just checked the total cost of our 19 night cruise in October.  It has increased from our booked cost of £2,702 to the princely sum of £5,558.😲 Time for a brandy me thinks.

Avril


We have been on a few cruises of that duration on Aurora, all booked at launch and they have all risen to around double the price we paid when within 6 months or so of sailing. That was obviously before P&O was having to restrict the number of cabins that they could sell and when there wasn’t any doubt about whether the cruise was going to operate or not, so I’m not at all surprised with those figures. I’d be amazed if anyone pays those prices, but I guess if they are down to the last few a available cabins then, from P&O’s perspective, nothing ventured.... Also, for reasons that I don’t understand, a lot of people seem to be in a panic to use FCC and are undoubtedly paying over the odds, thinking that they have some ‘bonus’ money, not realising that the inflated prices wipe out that supposed benefit!

 

We have almost always booked at launch, partly because we need an accessible balcony cabin and also because launch prices have never been beaten in recent years. However, I fully expect that situation to change over the next few years until the market returns to pre pandemic levels of demand. Once all passenger restrictions end and there is significant extra capacity to fill with the new ships, I feel that there will be some bargains to be had. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, WECRUISEUK said:

Avril,the only time your going to really enjoy that brandy is when your cruise has actually begun,having said that,it's a hell of an increase.

We booked in October 2019 and thought it was a good price at the time. Just not that good😁 I'd been keeping an  occasional eye on the price, and it had been steadily climbing, but there was a significant increase after yesterdays announcement.

Avril

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

And the old "missing the boat" worry is just a scare story put out by all the cruise companies. Use a reputable independent tour company, or if hiring a taxi, use your common sense, and you will be fine.

 

One tour company told me that they do everything they can to get you back in time as they are liable for the accommodation and onward travel costs of the pax. And I'm sure we've a been on cruises where people have been late back, or been left behind. So far I've never seen that happen to anyone on a coach trip, P&O or otherwise

Cathy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

And the old "missing the boat" worry is just a scare story put out by all the cruise companies. Use a reputable independent tour company, or if hiring a taxi, use your common sense, and you will be fine.


I am inclined to agree with this. I have lost count of how many times we have been late departing ports due to waiting for passengers who are late returning to the ship. I would say that as many, if not most, of the late returners have been independents rather than on official P&O tours. It seems to be that the stated departure time is often around 30 mins before they actually plan to depart, so if everyone is back on time they get away earlier than they had hoped so that they can cruise at slower speed (saves fuel). If passengers are running late and have contacted the ship with an ETA, the Captain has always waited for them (within reason). One of the things that I enjoy (sad, I know 😂) is watching the tail end Charlie’s rushing to get on board at or after the scheduled departure time. It also amazes me how some people just saunter along without a care in the world, even though they are late and hundreds of pairs of eyes are on them! I can recall a couple of times when we left passengers behind, but they were well over an hour late and hadn’t contacted the ship. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Selbourne said:


I am inclined to agree with this. I have lost count of how many times we have been late departing ports due to waiting for passengers who are late returning to the ship. I would say that as many, if not most, of the late returners have been independents rather than on official P&O tours. It seems to be that the stated departure time is often around 30 mins before they actually plan to depart, so if everyone is back on time they get away earlier than they had hoped so that they can cruise at slower speed (saves fuel). If passengers are running late and have contacted the ship with an ETA, the Captain has always waited for them (within reason). One of the things that I enjoy (sad, I know 😂) is watching the tail end Charlie’s rushing to get on board at or after the scheduled departure time. It also amazes me how some people just saunter along without a care in the world, even though they are late and hundreds of pairs of eyes are on them! I can recall a couple of times when we left passengers behind, but they were well over an hour late and hadn’t contacted the ship. 

I've seen a few "pier runners" in my time, and there are lots of anecdotes on the US boards as well. It appears that a large number of these individuals have lost track of time in nearby bars, rather than being late back from private excursions. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, Cathygh said:

One tour company told me that they do everything they can to get you back in time as they are liable for the accommodation and onward travel costs of the pax.

Exactly - an independent tour company is just the same as one booked through P&O when it comes to getting cruisers back to the ship on time.

Edited by wowzz
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I've seen a few "pier runners" in my time, and there are lots of anecdotes on the US boards as well. It appears that a large number of these individuals have lost track of time in nearby bars, rather than being late back from private excursions. 


There are actually some amusing YouTube videos on this very subject!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, funinhounslow said:


It does 

 

If you’re referring to the Flåm train, if there’s more than one cruise ship in port you’re risking a lengthy wait for the train if you haven’t pre booked. We did the Norway in a Nutshell tour which would be a bit of a faff to do off your own back - too many connections to mess up...
 

I compared the cost of a Mt Teide (Tenerife) trip booked on ship vs tourist office and also the Stavanger RHIB. I don’t recall the price differences but it did strike me that the saving didn’t make it worth booking independently. Especially if you’re going to be some distance from the ship. And if the ship doesn’t make the port, you get your money back...
 

I don’t often do excursions but when I have I’ve found the P&O prices to be “fair” and certainly don’t think the 100% markup figure is credible...

Yes, it was the Flam train.  We pre- booked and also got a discounted fare, therefore saving a lot!   In that scenario, it was walkable to and from the port, so no risk, and we were on the same train as the P&O passengers anyway.

 

Remembering now, the other classic example was Tivoli Gardens.  We worked out that we could do the "red bus" tour of Copenhagen, get in to Tivoli (and spend all day there), and have lunch - for cheaper than a two to three hour direct shuttle and admission with P&O.

 

Certainly, I'd agree if you go to Civitavecchia for Rome, or if you are venturing a distance from the ship them the attractiveness of DIY is less.  With all these things, just about being savvy and leaving plenty of time.  Same in Russia because of visas.

 

Usually, also a good idea to think independently when on day one of an overnight call I think as you are not stuck on time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, No pager thank you said:

In   Same in Russia because of visas.

 

No problem  with  Visas in Russia  just need to book and authorised Russian tour company and you don't need a visa, they sort it out they just need your details a week before you get there,  they email confirmation and that's that.. We did this ,  had a personal driver and guide for not much more than ship wanted for coach tour.

 

The cruise lines  lie , when they say you must come with them or get a visa 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...