Selbourne

Interesting. As a number of us how now worked out, the days of launch prices never being beaten are long gone. I’ve looked through all the itineraries for Aurora, Arcadia, Ventura and Britannia. We aren’t interested in Iona or Arvia and Azura is fly cruises only. There are a few cruises that we’d be interested in but, with the exception of a couple of cruises on Britannia, they are well over our maximum price that we will now pay for P&O (£100 pppn balcony cabin). We shall wait until balance due date and see if we can snap up a bargain for well below launch prices, as we did twice last year.

That would be my question too. I wouldn’t have thought that regional departures compensate for all of that. Frankly, neither line appeals to us at present. Fred Olsen due to their relaxed attitude to smoking and vaping and Saga as we wouldn’t get our moneys worth from the considerable extra cost of the ‘included’ extras. On our last few P&O cruises we have been struck by the number of passengers talking very positively about Ambassador Cruises and comparing them very favourably to P&O. We haven’t looked at them seriously as they have very few accessible balcony cabins (I think that some are just suites) and I find their pricing structure to be off putting (everything seems to offers rather than straightforward transparent pricing).

Well I’ve had the email from our specialist TA (the one that many of us use) and none of the links work 😡 In reality, I think we will struggle to convince ourselves to book 2 years in advance. Chances are that my wife’s disability will have worsened by then, and also we made 2 late bookings last year that were cheaper than launch prices - and that was for accessible balcony cabins - so I’m struggling to see the benefit of booking this far in advance.

We went on Britannia last summer (4th time on her) and aside from some problems with Freedom Dining, we enjoyed the cruise and the ship. The lack of promenade deck is an issue if you don’t have a balcony (which we always have). Having recently returned from the Caribbean, I would always pick the ship that visits the most ports. Arvia and Iona cruises tend to be somewhat ‘port lite’ compared to the other ships, and as we aren’t as keen on sea days we would always book the smaller ships over them (not that Britannia is small)!

I said that these cruises “aren’t popular with everyone” which is factually correct. A repositioning cruise wouldn’t remotely appeal to us as we try to avoid long runs of sea days. For this reason, these cruises are usually keenly priced to start with. I also said that prices will be adjusted to get the numbers up if needed, as is the case with every cruise, which is why most cruises always run at, or close to, the quoted capacity. It’s also worth bearing in mind that ‘sold out’ on Iona and Arvia can mean around 5,000 - 5,200 passengers, as all cabins may be sold. However, these ships can, and do, accommodate 6.200 passengers in school holidays, which is a world of difference in terms of on board experience, which was the specific question that the OP had. So no porkies here!

5,000 is about the minimum that Arvia will ever sail with, as P&O will heavily discount prices in the 3 months before departure if numbers are still below that level. We haven’t been on Arvia but we’ve been on sister ship Iona with 5,750 others and it felt extremely busy, but these ships can go up to around 6,200 I believe if all upper berths are occupied. Those who have been on these ships with around 5,000 to 5,200 passengers have reported that it’s been OK. I should think that the repositioning cruise would be OK as there will be hardly any kids and those cruises aren’t popular with everyone, hence the lower prices.

Arvia is supposed to be 100% Freedom Dining, yet it is possible for people to book a table at a fixed time for the entire duration of their cruise, if they are prepared to dine early. On other P&O ships, in consultation with waiters or restaurant managers, it is now sometimes possible to arrange the same once on board (same table, same time, every night) again, in Freedom dining restaurants. Having the same table at the same time every night is, in my opinion (and I’m sure most others), fixed dining, yet this is happening in Freedom dining restaurants, resulting in issues for those who wish to use Freedom dining as originally intended. This is nothing to do with Club dining, which is fixed because it’s meant to be. I cannot explain it any clearer than that, so won’t engage any further.

Yes I did say that, because it’s true. By allowing bookings within Freedom Dining restaurants, you have Freedom and Fixed operating in the same MDR.

I’m fully aware of that, but I was referring to the mess that P&O have now made to Freedom Dining. What was a simple system of first come, first served (that we loved and always worked well for us) has now morphed in to a mix of fixed dining (on some ships, people can reserve tables at early times in the Freedom Dining restaurants), bookings made via the app that isn’t an app, pagers and walk-ins. Having tried the new system and experiencing the chaos that can ensue, like many others, we have ditched it and reverted to fixed (Club) dining which, having enjoyed proper Freedom Dining for many years previously, I never thought we would do.

What a sensible idea. Far better than the crazy situation that P&O have got themselves in by having fixed dining, reservations, pagers and walk ins all operating in the same dining room, because they are too bloody minded to acknowledge that the original Freedom Dining system that they had before worked far better 🤔😂

I bought a couple of individual 24 hour periods of the basic essentials plan at the end of last year on Ventura. It was absolutely fine. It even let me do voice calls and video calls via WhatsApp.

I could fancy a round Ireland cruise, but tender ports would be problematic for us as my wife cannot use them.

I’ve now had the revised booking confirmation from our TA showing the $250 OBC (Cunard) has been added. Interesting that you get more OBC with Cunard than P&O. In my case, using Stockperks was a much slower and more frustrating experience than applying to Carnival directly, but at least it’s done now. I reckon that the OBC that I’ve been credited with in the first year that I’ve owned the shares is now over 150% of the total cost of the shares, and the shares themselves have increased in value by over 50% so, in total, I’ve trebled my investment in 12 months. I wish that all my other shares in the past had been as lucrative 😂

Thanks for the review. Very interesting. If anything, the food sounds far worse than when we were on board. I had hoped that things might improve with 40% of the crew changing after our 65 nighter. I’m pleased to hear that you enjoyed the cruise in spite of everything. As I was reading your review, I thought that you were going to end with “so that will be our last cruise with P&O” 😂

Even though their stance on smoking and vaping will ensure that we never book a Fred Olsen cruise, it’s interesting to see the price comparisons. I have no doubt that the MDR food may be better, but Jean is paying double what we have been paying lately for a balcony cabin on P&O for an inside on Fred Olsen, even after allowing for the OBC.

We have been on Aurora, Iona, Britannia and Ventura over the last year and the MDR in 3 of them was very good - the sole exception being Aurora.

We haven’t been to Visby, but there’s not a lot to see at Skagen. It’s quite pleasant, but the town has the look of a designer outlet village! I love Baltic cruises, and suspect that the next cruise that we book with P&O will be one, but it’s a shame that since St Petersburg has been dropped they still do a 2 day stop somewhere. I’d rather do an additional port, as nowhere else holds enough interest for me to warrant 2 days. We’ve also done Copenhagen to death (a bit like Lisbon).

With respect, I bet I could smell it.

Well I’m staggered. Even those that don’t emit the smoke clouds still smell, and imagine walking in to a cabin on embarkation day to find that the previous occupant has vaped in it 🤢. As we all know, give people an inch and they’ll take a mile, so you can bet your bottom dollar that this already relaxed rule will be stretched. I’m grateful to you for flagging this.

Yes, the same thought crossed my mind. They probably see it as a unique selling point as it’s the polar opposite stance that all the other lines take. Great if you are a smoker / vaper, but not for me I’m afraid.

Many thanks for the info. I have as much of an issue with e-cigarettes as I do normal cigarettes, so the fact that they will still allow them on balconies (and in cabins???, surely not?) continues to rule them out for me. I find the smell of both to be revolting, even when I’m some distance from them and not directly getting ‘smoke’, so it’s a risk that I just wouldn’t take - even if they were half the price of P&O! As the only cruise line that allows this sort of thing, their liberal attitude will attract a higher percentage of those who smoke or vape, which would compound the issue.

I’ve always said that I wouldn’t walk around the ship with a part used bottle of wine as it looks naff, but you’ve got me thinking now 😂. All joking aside, I bet that plenty of people have wised up to that cunning ruse. Just one of the unintended consequences of the policy change, another being that we find that we now spend much less on wine than when we could always have a white and red on the go and have them within minutes of sitting down 🤔

Thanks. They shall remain off our list until at least that time!

I’d be staggered if they wouldn’t do this for you.

I would also be interested in the price comparisons, but as Jean usually books an inside cabin on P&O I can’t imagine that she’s booked a cruise at anything approaching some of the prices suggested. I’ve never considered Fred Olsen as on the two occasions I have asked they still allowed smoking on balconies. I remember the days when our use of the balcony was ruined by smelling cigarette smoke, and nowadays you have the added issue of vapes as well. Does anyone know if they’ve moved with the times and banned smoking and vaping on balconies yet?