P&O in Summer?

[bazzaw]

Why does P&O go north in summer - eg PNG mid February - middle of summer, middle of cyclone season. What am I missing??

[MMDown Under]

10 minutes ago, bazzaw said:

Why does P&O go north in summer - eg PNG mid February - middle of summer, middle of cyclone season. What am I missing??

Because it is the northern winter.

Australians aren’t the priority for Australian cruises.  If you want to go north in winter, you have to fly. I fly to Darwin in peak season in winter.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, bazzaw said:

Why does P&O go north in summer - eg PNG mid February - middle of summer, middle of cyclone season. What am I missing??

Because that's the peak tourist season when there are lots of overseas tourists cruising here. 

 

Back when Princess had a second ship wintering over here they did Top End cruises and PNG cruises right through our winter. 

 

 

[Kiwi_cruiser]

P&O Australia are going to PNG in the winter as well.

 

A few weeks back all 3 P&O Australia ships where up in PNG, they where about 3 - 4 days behind each other.

[arxcards]

26 minutes ago, Kiwi_cruiser said:

P&O Australia are going to PNG in the winter as well.

 

A few weeks back all 3 P&O Australia ships where up in PNG, they where about 3 - 4 days behind each other.

And today, Pacific Encounter is at Kiriwina Island, while Pacific Explorer is returning to Cairns from PNG & Solomon Islands. 

 

Yes, February is too hot to be going there, not only for potential cyclones and high sea temperatures that aren't good for the ship, but heat & humidity at the top of the season. Only 1 each year, so I wonder if it fits with an anniversary or festival.

[valantine80]

2 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

Because it is the northern winter.

Australians aren’t the priority for Australian cruises.  If you want to go north in winter, you have to fly. I fly to Darwin in peak season in winter.

 

Edited June 13, 2023 by valantine80
Incorrect response

[ceeceeDee]

Yes, we've done the South Pacific with P&O in winter.

[valantine80]

P&O have been doing some PNG cruises out of Cairns in winter. They also have one from Brisbane in August and October.

[SinbadThePorter]

40 minutes ago, valantine80 said:

P&O have been doing some PNG cruises out of Cairns in winter. They also have one from Brisbane in August and October.

 

They also went across the Top from Fremantle to Cairns last month.

[valantine80]

3 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

They also went across the Top from Fremantle to Cairns last month.

Yes and they then did a PNG cruise out of Cairns

[MMDown Under]

13 hours ago, valantine80 said:

Yes and they then did a PNG cruise out of Cairns

Pity those interesting cruises are only done on P&O.  Surely they would have a bigger following on a quality medium size ship!

[arxcards]

12 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Pity those interesting cruises are only done on P&O.  Surely they would have a bigger following on a quality medium size ship!

That is difficult. There is only 4 contemporary ships here atm - 3 are P&O.

Bigger following, no. P&O has run short seasons out of Cairns for quite a few years trying to get a toehold but for much of the country, a return flight to Cairns is a deterrent. We did one a couple of years B.C. on Pacific Eden, and it was wonderful. Usually once P&O have established a new market, others will follow, but it is well short of that. Coral Explorer and the like only need a small audience.

 

For most passengers though, they will just settle for doing a slightly longer cruise out of Sydney or Brisbane, where they also have the option of cruising to PNG with Princess or Carnival.

[SinbadThePorter]

26 minutes ago, arxcards said:

P&O has run short seasons out of Cairns for quite a few years trying to get a toehold but for much of the country, a return flight to Cairns is a deterrent.

 

I've always thought P&O should sell the Cairns cruises as a fly/cruise packages. Perhaps P&O could block book some seats and save some of the inevitable price gouging the airlines get up to whenever a cruise ship hits town.

 

Same could apply to Darwin.

Edited June 14, 2023 by SinbadThePorter

[MMDown Under]

31 minutes ago, arxcards said:

That is difficult. There is only 4 contemporary ships here atm - 3 are P&O.

Bigger following, no. P&O has run short seasons out of Cairns for quite a few years trying to get a toehold but for much of the country, a return flight to Cairns is a deterrent. We did one a couple of years B.C. on Pacific Eden, and it was wonderful. Usually once P&O have established a new market, others will follow, but it is well short of that. Coral Explorer and the like only need a small audience.

 

For most passengers though, they will just settle for doing a slightly longer cruise out of Sydney or Brisbane, where they also have the option of cruising to PNG with Princess or Carnival.

If they can organise longer cruises to South Pacific Islands, Hawaii, Around the Pacific, Around Australia, why can't they organise a cruise around Half of PNG on a quality medium sized ship?  We take PNG for granted because it is close, but many people travel across the world to visit PNG. 

[arxcards]

9 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

If they can organise longer cruises to South Pacific Islands, Hawaii, Around the Pacific, Around Australia, why can't they organise a cruise around Half of PNG on a quality medium sized ship?  We take PNG for granted because it is close, but many people travel across the world to visit PNG. 

It isn't about the length of cruise. It is about establishing a base of cruisers that will cruise out of Cairns.

[ceeceeDee]

Hi Marion. The way P&O has been performing lately to almost capacity, there is probably a market for a larger ship but they tend to be at the mercy of parent company Carnival and what ships Carnival want to discard. I guess it comes down to their number crunchers and what is most profitable. P&O will always be the poor relation, which is a pity.

Totally off topic, but I note from your signature block, Marion, that you sailed on Luminosa last year. We have been eyeing her off and would appreciate your feedback and what you thought of her.

[arxcards]

27 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

I've always thought P&O should sell the Cairns cruises as a fly/cruise packages. Perhaps P&O could block book some seats and save some of the inevitable price gouging the airlines get up to whenever a cruise ship hits town.

 

Same could apply to Darwin.

Yes, they could, but there is the complexity that a cruise is available a year before the flights and accommodation. It would rely on an agreement with those 3rd parties to assure something was available.

 

It is also what a good T/A would promote, and I am aware of a couple that offered fly - stay - cruise packages before the pandemic. Even then, if aligned to Virgin some want to use Qantas points and vice versa.

[MMDown Under]

5 minutes ago, ceeceeDee said:

Hi Marion. The way P&O has been performing lately to almost capacity, there is probably a market for a larger ship but they tend to be at the mercy of parent company Carnival and what ships Carnival want to discard. I guess it comes down to their number crunchers and what is most profitable. P&O will always be the poor relation, which is a pity.

Totally off topic, but I note from your signature block, Marion, that you sailed on Luminosa last year. We have been eyeing her off and would appreciate your feedback and what you thought of her.

I was pleasantly surprised by Luminosa and thought she was a beautiful medium renovated ship.  I would recommend this ship.  Food was good.   Omelette was made fresh to order each day (no charge).   Indian and Asian food was excellent.  Freshly made pizza was made in front of you until early morning every day.  I would cruise on her again, even on the same itinerary, if times suited me.  I wish Carnival would be more adventurous with their cruises, eg PNG, further afield South Pacific islands, etc.

[ceeceeDee]

That's great to hear, thanks Marion. A lot of times I distrust reviews since most people who post have an axe to grind and are far from subjective. What category of room did you have and what did you think of it?

I agree, I wish Carnival would have slightly longer cruises. Even if it is the South Pacific, visit a couple of extra ports to stretch it out to 10 days for a Brisbane round trip. We find 7 days is never long enough. I'm open to correction, but from my research it would appear only P&O offers a 10 days South Pacific cruise. No big deal, we always enjoy P&O, but it would be nice to have the option of trying another cruise line.

[SinbadThePorter]

21 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

I wish Carnival would be more adventurous with their cruises, eg PNG

 

Nov 19 this year, Luminosa is going to PNG. Not only that, but she visits Conflict Island twice on that cruise.

[MMDown Under]

21 minutes ago, ceeceeDee said:

That's great to hear, thanks Marion. A lot of times I distrust reviews since most people who post have an axe to grind and are far from subjective. What category of room did you have and what did you think of it?

I agree, I wish Carnival would have slightly longer cruises. Even if it is the South Pacific, visit a couple of extra ports to stretch it out to 10 days for a Brisbane round trip. We find 7 days is never long enough. I'm open to correction, but from my research it would appear only P&O offers a 10 days South Pacific cruise. No big deal, we always enjoy P&O, but it would be nice to have the option of trying another cruise line.

I chose a verandah cabin because I know the scenery is beautiful. I used to sit outside in the half light watching the break of day.  Such a peaceful way to start the day.  I loved it and wouldn't cruise in an inside cabin.  

Yes 7 days never seems long enough, 10 days is better.

[reeves35]

1 hour ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

I've always thought P&O should sell the Cairns cruises as a fly/cruise packages. Perhaps P&O could block book some seats and save some of the inevitable price gouging the airlines get up to whenever a cruise ship hits town.

 

Same could apply to Darwin.

P&O do offer flight packages and sometimes they are quite reasonable but that doesn't mean cheap.  It is not like Europe where TUI etc can sell flight packages from UK to Spain for very little.  Europe has many flights to ports in Spain, France, Italy etc and a significant number of charter airlines. 

 

Cairns and Darwin will only ever have a limited number of flights and charters don't work because for them to be economical for airlines and cruise-lines you basically need a ship turning around every day or so.

[reeves35]

28 minutes ago, ceeceeDee said:

That's great to hear, thanks Marion. A lot of times I distrust reviews since most people who post have an axe to grind and are far from subjective. What category of room did you have and what did you think of it?

I agree, I wish Carnival would have slightly longer cruises. Even if it is the South Pacific, visit a couple of extra ports to stretch it out to 10 days for a Brisbane round trip. We find 7 days is never long enough. I'm open to correction, but from my research it would appear only P&O offers a 10 days South Pacific cruise. No big deal, we always enjoy P&O, but it would be nice to have the option of trying another cruise line.

Carnival and P&O do run a number of 10 day cruises into the South Pacific.  They tend not to go much above that as longer cruises tend to be harder to sell and the per diem they get from passengers drop off.  That is why short cruises are so popular right now; the daily fare tends to work out higher and the onboard spend per passenger per day is much greater.

 

Unfortunately, the tyranny of distance means a 10 day cruise from Sydney will not go past Vanuatu and, even then, probably have 5 sea days.  A cruise that includes Fiji would typically be at least 12 days and Samoa etc even more.  

 

With Australia's population heavily weighted in the south, it is difficult to see a regular year-round cruise port ever being established anywhere north of Brisbane.

[ceeceeDee]

Thanks, Marion. I agree, I would never opt for interior. Up until our last cruise we have opted for ocean view or equivalent. I like natural light and often if I get up during the night, I like to watch the waves. Our last cruise we opted for a mini suite and the balcony really did get some serious use. So from here on in, we're spoilt. Nothing less than a balcony for us.

[MMDown Under]

1 minute ago, reeves35 said:

Carnival and P&O do run a number of 10 day cruises into the South Pacific.  They tend not to go much above that as longer cruises tend to be harder to sell and the per diem they get from passengers drop off.  That is why short cruises are so popular right now; the daily fare tends to work out higher and the onboard spend per passenger per day is much greater.

 

Unfortunately, the tyranny of distance means a 10 day cruise from Sydney will not go past Vanuatu and, even then, probably have 5 sea days.  A cruise that includes Fiji would typically be at least 12 days and Samoa etc even more.  

 

With Australia's population heavily weighted in the south, it is difficult to see a regular year-round cruise port ever being established anywhere north of Brisbane.

Good point. 

Would cruises out of Auckland NZ to South Pacific islands, with connecting flights to Australia, be able to cruise further afield and thus be more popular.  I see Jetstar is flying to the Cook Islands now (my favourite islands)