Can we get a relaxed couples cruise out of P&O Adventure, or should we cancel for something else?

[ozziepost]

On 2/20/2023 at 7:56 PM, cheznandy said:

Pacific Adventure is ex Golden Princess, Grand class, Pacific Explorer is ex Dawn Princess Sun Class, very different ships.

Apologies I did get the two ships mixed up. It was the Pac Explorer thar our daughter and hubby did their cruise on. I have sailed on the Pac Adventure when she was the Golden Princess as well as the ex-Dawn Princess.  I'd be happy to do a cruise on either ship under the P&O flag.

[cheznandy]

34 minutes ago, ozziepost said:

Apologies I did get the two ships mixed up. It was the Pac Explorer thar our daughter and hubby did their cruise on. I have sailed on the Pac Adventure when she was the Golden Princess as well as the ex-Dawn Princess.  I'd be happy to do a cruise on either ship under the P&O flag.

No need to apologise, easily mixed up as P&O take on Princess ships and rename them, it was more confusing when when there was Pacific Sun, Sun Princess, Pacific Dawn and Dawn Princess all sailing here, only two the same were Sun and Dawn Princess.

 

[arxcards]

7 hours ago, thebaehrs said:

Does anyone know if the waterslides will even be open in the winter?

Also, is it possible to bid for an upgrade?

The waterslides are open year round, excepting rough weather.

 

P&O doesn't do upgrade bidding, well not yet at least. You may get a complimentary upgrade, but some of these can be to a less convenient location on a higher deck.

[MicCanberra]

The water is not heated either.

[colourbird]

We were on Adventure for 7 nights out of school holidays. We found many places onboard to relax. There are deck chairs almost all around the ship on the upper decks, many not near to pools. They are very quiet and you have ocean views!

 

We found bookings were available at any restaurant we felt like eating at on the night at any time and even spare seats available at all of them.

 

You can even grab food from the Pantry and take it outside and eat it in the adjacent seating area near the paid pizza and paid burger outlets which are always very quiet.

 

[thebaehrs]

If you had the option of Celebrity Eclipse instead… which would you do?

[colourbird]

14 minutes ago, thebaehrs said:

If you had the option of Celebrity Eclipse instead… which would you do?

 

Isn't cost an issue? We are booked on Celebrity Edge to New Zealand later this year and it is much more expensive than a P&O cruise.

 

P&O is cheap and we only sailed on the Adventure for the itinerary and dates being suitable for us at the time. We still had a good time on Adventure but wouldn't sail on P&O again. If you can afford to pay more, it is best to try other cruise lines. They are all a bit different and have good and bad points. In my experience, being on a cruise ship is always good, so anything bad is just another experience. If you don't let any negatives bother you, you will have a great time on any cruise line.

[MicCanberra]

3 hours ago, thebaehrs said:

If you had the option of Celebrity Eclipse instead… which would you do?

X will be triple the price but I would take X for a more relaxing time if price isn't the issue.

[thebaehrs]

@colourbird , @MicCanberra - if we swapped to a shorter cruise at the present sale fare, it would be the same price for actually a better cabin.
 

The real issue is that it’s not a good time of year for us. We’d have to carve time off work, and go from work to cruise right back to work. And surely be thinking about work the whole trip. So my wife has talked me out of it. 
 

I just really love what I’m seeing from the Celebrity ships. Hopefully in a few years. On the plus side, this week I managed to get 2% knocked off my home loan by doing the Barefoot and ringing the bank. Should help with the cruise fund. At least till we get the next ten rate hikes. 
 

Are there any savvy folks out there talking about how to make cruising happen on a tight budget?

Edited February 25, 2023 by thebaehrs

[MicCanberra]

Celebrity  is my favourite line, although I like to cruise . I tend to enjoy all lines but that is for what they are and what they can do for me. Obviously some operate at a higher standard to others, but you also get what you pay for.

[colourbird]

1 hour ago, thebaehrs said:

@colourbird , @MicCanberra - if we swapped to a shorter cruise at the present sale fare, it would be the same price for actually a better cabin.
 

The real issue is that it’s not a good time of year for us. We’d have to carve time off work, and go from work to cruise right back to work. And surely be thinking about work the whole trip. So my wife has talked me out of it. 
 

I just really love what I’m seeing from the Celebrity ships. Hopefully in a few years. On the plus side, this week I managed to get 2% knocked off my home loan by doing the Barefoot and ringing the bank. Should help with the cruise fund. At least till we get the next ten rate hikes. 
 

Are there any savvy folks out there talking about how to make cruising happen on a tight budget?

 

Great job on lowering your loan rate!

 

Instead of choosing a Celebrity cruise, consider looking into Princess and Royal Caribbean as they offer great value for the price, especially the beautiful Ovation of the Seas.

 

For us, a balcony cabin is sufficient since we spend most of our time out and about. By saving money on the cabin, we can afford to extend our cruise duration.

 

We typically reserve our preferred cabin a couple of years in advance when the cruise comes on the market. During the two years leading up to our cruise, our travel agent and I keep an eye out for sales. If we find a genuine sale, we can apply the new fare to our booking as many times as we want. However, be cautious of tricks where cruise prices increase when extras or on-board credit are thrown in.
 

[OzKiwiJJ]

52 minutes ago, colourbird said:

 

Great job on lowering your loan rate!

 

Instead of choosing a Celebrity cruise, consider looking into Princess and Royal Caribbean as they offer great value for the price, especially the beautiful Ovation of the Seas.

 

For us, a balcony cabin is sufficient since we spend most of our time out and about. By saving money on the cabin, we can afford to extend our cruise duration.

 

We typically reserve our preferred cabin a couple of years in advance when the cruise comes on the market. During the two years leading up to our cruise, our travel agent and I keep an eye out for sales. If we find a genuine sale, we can apply the new fare to our booking as many times as we want. However, be cautious of tricks where cruise prices increase when extras or on-board credit are thrown in.
 

I'm not sure Princess is offering great value for the price any more judging by what I'm seeing on forums elsewhere. The new drinks prices are kicking in and people aren't happy. Apparently if you don't drink alcohol you can no longer buy soda packages or coffee packages, just a combined soda/coffee package at $65pp per day. There is plenty of confusion over the new inclusions in the Plus fare - the speciality desserts appear to be huge ice cream sundaes and you'd need to have two of those a day to get your money's worth. I wouldn't even have one per cruise - my idea of a nice ice cream treat is a single scoop in a cone, I can't handle any more that that at one time.

[colourbird]

16 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I'm not sure Princess is offering great value for the price any more judging by what I'm seeing on forums elsewhere. The new drinks prices are kicking in and people aren't happy. Apparently if you don't drink alcohol you can no longer buy soda packages or coffee packages, just a combined soda/coffee package at $65pp per day. There is plenty of confusion over the new inclusions in the Plus fare - the speciality desserts appear to be huge ice cream sundaes and you'd need to have two of those a day to get your money's worth. I wouldn't even have one per cruise - my idea of a nice ice cream treat is a single scoop in a cone, I can't handle any more that that at one time.

 

I've never bought any packages on a cruise so haven't noticed those changes.

[Aus Traveller]

3 hours ago, thebaehrs said:

@colourbird , @MicCanberra - if we swapped to a shorter cruise at the present sale fare, it would be the same price for actually a better cabin.
 

The real issue is that it’s not a good time of year for us. We’d have to carve time off work, and go from work to cruise right back to work. And surely be thinking about work the whole trip. So my wife has talked me out of it. 
 

I just really love what I’m seeing from the Celebrity ships. Hopefully in a few years. On the plus side, this week I managed to get 2% knocked off my home loan by doing the Barefoot and ringing the bank. Should help with the cruise fund. At least till we get the next ten rate hikes. 
 

Are there any savvy folks out there talking about how to make cruising happen on a tight budget?

One key point when considering a cruise, is to look at what is included and whether you are paying extra in the fare for things you don't really need. On our recent Princess cruise there were a lot of people who proudly said they had the drinks package and it was "free", or "included" or that their "Travel Agent had arranged it for them". They hadn't looked at Princess' fare structure carefully enough to see that they were paying a lot of money per day for drinks and a few other perks that they might not use anyway. Unless you are a keen drinker, it would usually be more cost-effective to not take a drinks package, but pay as you go. With Princess, there is the added benefit of being able to take you own wind on board and pay corkage.

[joejoe 59]

20 hours ago, thebaehrs said:

@colourbird , @MicCanberra - if we swapped to a shorter cruise at the present sale fare, it would be the same price for actually a better cabin.
 

The real issue is that it’s not a good time of year for us. We’d have to carve time off work, and go from work to cruise right back to work. And surely be thinking about work the whole trip. So my wife has talked me out of it. 
 

I just really love what I’m seeing from the Celebrity ships. Hopefully in a few years. On the plus side, this week I managed to get 2% knocked off my home loan by doing the Barefoot and ringing the bank. Should help with the cruise fund. At least till we get the next ten rate hikes. 
 

Are there any savvy folks out there talking about how to make cruising happen on a tight budget?

We always take on the Moccona cappuccino satchels as the coffee out of the machines is horrible, plenty of hot water to be had. There is iced water & glasses at every bar to help yourself. You are allowed to take on cans of soft drink or non alcohol beer. I take on a Brita water bottle to fill in my cabin, the water is drinkable I just don't like to. If you like chips, nuts or lollies take them with you as why pay ship prices for them unless you have to.

 

[thebaehrs]

Yay! I just got an upgrade on our cruise to a much nicer room for the same price!

[arxcards]

On 2/25/2023 at 9:11 PM, Aus Traveller said:

With Princess, there is the added benefit of being able to take you own wind on board and pay corkage.

If you are taking your own wind on board, I will be happy to pay for the corks. 😉😂

[Aus Traveller]

1 minute ago, arxcards said:

If you are taking your own wind on board, I will be happy to pay for the corks. 😉😂

Maybe I take my own wine as well as my own wind, but I don't get charged corkage on the wind. 🤣