Selbourne

My comments were assuming a solo occupying a double balcony cabin. I hadn’t appreciated that there were single balcony cabins. Apologies. I can see why you’d be upset in that instance.

I realise that this won’t be a popular view, but I can understand the logic of solo cruisers having to pay double the upgrade cost. Think of it another way. P&O are setting an upgrade premium per cabin. This makes sense in order to maximise revenue which, after all, is the whole point of the exercise. So, regardless of whether the cabin is occupied by one or two passengers, they ‘sell’ the upgrade on a per cabin price. The other option would be to allow solos to bid lower prices, but they would almost always be unsuccessful. This system gives solo passengers the same chance. Also, keep in mind that this is an upgrade cost only. As solo passengers will already be paying a lower fare than a couple (hopefully), they will still be paying a lower total price for their upgraded cabin than a couple who have also been upgraded. To take a made up example. Couple pays £1,000 for an inside cabin, solo pays 75% of that, so £750. Upgrade options come in at £250 per person for a balcony. The couple end up paying £1,500 (£1,000 plus £500). The solo pays £1,250 (£750 plus the same £500). The solo still ends up paying less than the couple (albeit the % discount has dropped from 25% to 17%). It’s not very often that I spring to P&Os defence on things but, on this one, I think it seems fair.

Thanks. Yes I can now see why that wouldn’t be attractive. The price difference would be about that anyway, so it seems a bit pointless.

It would help enormously if those who are kind enough to post the minimum bid prices could also state how many nights their cruise is. It’s completely impossible to know whether these minimum bids are a rip off or an absolute bargain without this critical piece of information!

If you could get to the bottom of this it would be much appreciated. The balance due date for the 3 cabins that I’ve booked on Iona comes up in around 6 weeks time, and the last time that the ship had a quarantine zone these cabins were affected. I am not prepared to pay the balance if the risk of us being moved after balance due date has returned.

DaiB may provide a different viewpoint. He uses accessible suites.

Yes, the suites were when my wife was in a wheelchair and struggling, but could manage with shower stools etc. We were conscious at the time that others were more in need of accessible cabins, so we would have felt guilty depriving those who could only cruise in one. Now we have no option. We have had suites on Britannia (3 times - 2 forward, one aft), Ventura and Arcadia (both aft corner wrap). We had several problems with the aft suite on Britannia (soot on balcony, vibration, plumbing noises from other cabins due to, unbelievably, a mechanical plant room being in the suite, and noise from the Live Lounge two decks below) but all the other suites were fine. Since we have had to use accessible cabins, in all honesty a suite becomes somewhat pointless. With accessible balcony cabins being 50% bigger, the space difference becomes marginal. We had a bad experience with breakfast in the Epicurean on our last cruise as there was a very noisy family and also a screaming baby. Hardly the relaxing start to the day that it’s intended to be! We also get priority boarding now being Caribbean tier, so the suite perks become negligible. We would also be reluctant to pay suite prices on P&O these days as we don’t feel that the overall product is worth it TBH. We have never had a mid-ships suite and, even if we were still prepared to pay suite prices, we wouldn’t book one. You get none of the advantages of the forward or aft suites and you have far more people passing in the corridor at night and some are also below pool decks where you can be disturbed by staff cleaning decks early morning and dragging chairs around (happened to friends of ours and it put them off suites completely). Many book them as they feel that they are more stable in bad weather, but when we were last on Britannia in very high seas I deliberately walked around all of the ship to see how different it felt in different places. I couldn’t detect much difference at all forward, aft or midships on the main suite decks. The only place where it was calmer was very low down in the ship, midships, where, of course, there are no suites!

🙄

Ah ok. For any foodies going on Britannia, Epicurean is a must.

Per couple. I think it’s possible occasionally, if you can get the max 35% discount. Would go to £500 ish if the itinerary was really special. The cheapest that we were quoted for the 4 summer 2024 cruises that might have been of interest was £524 (so practically the same as yours) but it was only 2 weeks after our first Cunard cruise, so we decided to try again with summer 2025.

Did you try Epicurean? That was always the best dining on Britannia by a mile and our favourite restaurant in the P&O fleet. It would be a great shame if it’s gone downhill.

Nothing in the summer 2025 itineraries is jumping off the page at me. We are keen to go to Iceland, but the number of tender ports (or possible tender ports) is a major negative as my wife is unable to get off the ship. If we didn’t need an accessible balcony cabin we wouldn’t dream of booking 2 years out anymore. I am sure that on all but the most popular cruises (particularly those with unusual itineraries - which is a stretch with P&O these days), the days of the cheapest prices being at launch are over. However, as last minute bookings for accessible cabins are nigh on impossible, if we can find some cruises of interest with a daily price (for the two of us) of £200 per night maximum (balcony cabin) then we might take a punt.

I would have booked Saga also. We haven’t cruised with them (yet) but we have had 3 cruises on Britannia, all in suites (one was an aft corner wrap). Unless we change our mind following our two P&O cruises this year (Iona and Ventura), we would take a standard cabin on Saga over a Suite with P&O. I have nothing against mass market brands. We use Premier Inn and rate them. However, we tend to only book them when we can get very low prices. With what we started noticing about P&O over the 5 years or so pre Covid, and also based on what I have read has happened since, we are still happy to book with P&O but will no longer pay suite prices as we don’t feel that the overall product is worth that sort of price any more. As I say, we might change our mind following our two cruises this year (our first since Covid), but until then I would be reluctant to make any new booking with P&O with a cost (for the two of us) of more than £200 per night (balcony cabin). Saga appears to be aimed at an entirely different market segment and sounds as though it would be far more to our liking. On that basis, and as we definitely favour quality over quantity, I’d happily chance as much as £450 a night to try them, especially as they are fully all-inclusive. However, although my expectations of the ‘new’ P&O will be low, I will be paying a price that reflects those low expectations, so I may well be pleasantly surprised. Equally, paying £450 a night with Saga, my expectations would be high, so they could well fall short. Only time will tell.

Do you know if that was a requirement wherever the ship is? Obviously no such requirement exists in the U.K. I mistakenly thought that the days of cruise lines treating Covid like the Bubonic Plague had ended!

Sincere condolences on the loss of your wife Mark. Whilst I haven’t been on a cruise as a solo passenger, I would have no hesitation whatsoever in doing so. We have met loads of solo passengers on our cruises and have always thought that it’s the ideal holiday for somebody travelling on their own. It’s easy to keep yourself to yourself if you want to, but equally the option to join a shared table in the MDR provides the opportunity for some company and conversation when you want it. People seem to be far more sociable on cruises than they are ashore! There are plenty of solo cruisers on this forum who will give you some really good advice and tips, but can I suggest a further option to consider as well as cruising? My wife is disabled and cannot fly. I had always wanted to go to Aushwitz so I did an organised tour with Riviera Travel on my own. They do countless tours specifically for solos, but I actually went on a regular tour and there were a number of us travelling alone. I got on really well with some of the other solo passengers and indeed a number of the couples. There was plenty of time for me to do things on my own as well as the organised bits. If I suddenly found myself on my own, I would have no hesitation in cruising and doing other forms of holiday. It sounds as though you deserve one. I wish you well.

As you say, nobody knows for sure, but my hunch is that prices won’t go any lower this close to sailing. The two itineraries and ships are so different that I’d pick the cruise you prefer, book it, and stop looking!

Would this facility only be open to those booking a Select fare (as an additional benefit of paying the premium) or available to those booking Saver fares as well? It’s an interesting (and sensible) concept and if only available to those booking direct with P&O could well pull some business away from TAs, especially as discounts are very low these days.

Same here, but I would be more than pi**ed off if our booked cabin was removed from us for those who would, especially as, in our case, it would mean that our cruise was cancelled. There’s only one other accessible cabin of the same or higher grade than we have booked, and that’s the sole accessible suite, which will be booked.

How much would you have to bid to make sure that you weren’t ‘upgraded’ to a Conservatory Min-Suite on the Promenade deck? 🤔

I’m sure that many of us who are now worrying again about an issue that we thought was long gone (quarantine zones resulting in cabins booked via Select fares being changed after balance due date) would appreciate you clarifying what this is all about. An issue on one ship could maybe be attributed to a maintenance issue, but 3 ships and “health and well-being” being quoted as the reason is raising major concerns once again.

Most of the outside cabins on Aurora are in the forward section of the lower decks. Some are above and below the theatre (which will be a source of noise at certain times during shows, rehearsals and when props are being moved around) and some are under the promenade deck. I don’t think any of that should be particularly troublesome, but those booking Select are more likely to have booked the cabins away from these areas. Upgrades will always be given as a priority to those booking a Select fare so, whilst it’s not out of the question, you should always book a Saver on the assumption that you will not be upgraded. I don’t think that there are any nightmare cabins on Aurora though, so if the saving is significant I wouldn’t be too worried. Aurora is a lovely ship and does far more interesting itineraries than the bigger ships, so I’m sure that you won’t regret your decision.

As it’s not a peak school holidays cruise, ‘full’ will refer to lower berths which, from memory is 5,200. With upper berths occupied I believe that this number rises to 6,000 😱. I am reassured by your post though. Iona seems to cope far better than Arvia, thanks to the two additional MDRs. Having been reassured about dining, another thread has just been opened which suggests that the dreaded ‘quarantine zones’ are making a comeback. If it’s not one thing it’s another! Enjoy Gary!

So would I, but they always do this after balance due date and will hide behind T’s and C’s to avoid a refund.

Why? If someone with Covid chooses to quarantine they can do so in their booked cabin.

@molecrochip Please can you reassure me that the daft quarantine zones aren’t making a comeback? I had assumed that these were a thing of the past and long consigned to history. Informing people of these changes after balance due date, with a take it or leave it attitude, leaves a very bad taste in people’s mouths.