New P&O ship names

[Gnomey]

"Interesting choices, but not fresh, vibrant nor contemporary.

 

I can see Aussies having lots of fun with these names. Reminds me of some of those strange names overseas suppliers give to foreign cars to be sold in Australia.:)"

 

Indeed, I guess we're fortunate not to have "Pacific Cedric"! :D

 

Steve.

Edited July 11, 2014 by Gnomey

[dizzy1948]

I reckon it's a cost cutting exercise - saving on paint and labour - keep the names short :rolleyes: I just feel in that type of mood - silly :D

Edited July 11, 2014 by dizzy1948

[gbenjo]

I think the reason for the new names could lie in the name of the cruise line

P&O........Plain & Ordinary

[wildweston]

I like the new names :)

[MicCanberra]

I think the reason for the new names could lie in the name of the cruise line

P&O........Plain & Ordinary

 

I am going to try them next week on a 4 night comedy cruise. I will report back on the experience.

My expectations of the ship and service is low, but I will enjoy myself fully and hope to be surprised.:D

[Wyuna1]

Apparently the names will be announced in the sand at Bondi Beach tomorrow morning at 11:30am. I have it on good authority though, that "Pacific" won't be part of the names and apparently the new ships will be keeping their dark blue hulls. There has also been talk about hull livery for the other ships in the fleet (not sure to what extent). Have to wait and see, I guess. :)

 

With the announcement now made your "good authority is perhaps not as reliable as first thought".

It can be dangerous,industry contacts are not necessarily accurate, might be better to wait and see I guess.

I have edited this because on reflection it sounded like a smart alec comment and a little offensive, it was not meant this way simply to say it is best not to rely on other peoples so called insider knowledge

Edited July 12, 2014 by Wyuna1
Just to clarify

[MicCanberra]

With the announcement now made your "good authority is perhaps not as reliable as first thought".

It can be dangerous,industry contacts are not necessarily accurate, might be better to wait and see I guess.

I have edited this because on reflection it sounded like a smart alec comment and a little offensive, it was not meant this way simply to say it is best not to rely on other peoples so called insider knowledge

 

Oh, but some of these threads only exist due to speculation and heresay.:rolleyes:

[The_Big_M]

I am going to try them next week on a 4 night comedy cruise. I will report back on the experience.

My expectations of the ship and service is low, but I will enjoy myself fully and hope to be surprised.:D

 

I think you may well be. They're not incredible standouts, but I find they've upped their standards the past few years, while the US lines have cut theirs...

 

There's still a difference, but not like chalk and cheese.

[MicCanberra]

I think you may well be. They're not incredible standouts, but I find they've upped their standards the past few years, while the US lines have cut theirs...

 

There's still a difference, but not like chalk and cheese.

 

Good to hear but I refuse to raise my expectations just yet. I do not want to be disappointed but would rather be surprised that it was better than expected.:p

Edited July 12, 2014 by MicCanberra

[The_Big_M]

Of course. If you go in expecting things to be worse though, that can also be a trap!

[MicCanberra]

Of course. If you go in expecting things to be worse though, that can also be a trap!

 

I am not expecting bad service, just average to good service. The cruise itself is what you make of it, and I intend to have a great cruise no matter how the ship or the service may be.:D

[Royalty X]

With the announcement now made your "good authority is perhaps not as reliable as first thought".

It can be dangerous,industry contacts are not necessarily accurate, might be better to wait and see I guess.

I have edited this because on reflection it sounded like a smart alec comment and a little offensive, it was not meant this way simply to say it is best not to rely on other peoples so called insider knowledge

She's a business development manager for P&O so I trust what she says. She mentioned the name Aria to me and said they were talking about seriously losing the Pacific from the names. So we almost had ships just named Eden and Aria. The reasoning behind that is because they've spent a lot of time and money repositioning the brand from where it was ten years ago (Pacific Star, Sky, Sun, etc) and much like when they changed from Fair Sky, Fair Star Fair Princess, etc, (which were mostly remnants of Sitmar) they see this as the next step in their brand development. As I said, at the eleventh hour, someone has decided that the Pacific part of the name is an important brand distinction like Princess, Carnival, of the Seas, etc.

[icat2000]

Well judging by the feedback on PO Australia facebook page they got it totally wrong with the names. Personally, I can't see how the names tie in with the brand or even to resposition it. If anything, they don't relate at all. There not symbolic of NZ or Australia. At a stretch I could say Eden is Eden Park the place where the All Blacks have had many victories. So Aria must be the Aussie one lol cause the only thing it relates to is the ARIA awards.

 

This is the second competition run by a cruiseline that has fallen flat.

Edited July 12, 2014 by icat2000

[OzKiwiJJ]

They don't mean anything to Aus/NZ locals, and will mean even less to international visitors. What a lost opportunity! :rolleyes:

[The_Big_M]

She's a business development manager for P&O so I trust what she says. She mentioned the name Aria to me and said they were talking about seriously losing the Pacific from the names. So we almost had ships just named Eden and Aria. The reasoning behind that is because they've spent a lot of time and money repositioning the brand from where it was ten years ago (Pacific Star, Sky, Sun, etc) and much like when they changed from Fair Sky, Fair Star Fair Princess, etc, (which were mostly remnants of Sitmar) they see this as the next step in their brand development. As I said, at the eleventh hour, someone has decided that the Pacific part of the name is an important brand distinction like Princess, Carnival, of the Seas, etc.

 

I have to agree with that. With their positioning in the market, and the amount of competition, it would be a significant risk to just have a one word name and lose that part of the brand identity.

 

However, it would explain how you get the poorly sounding Pacific Eden.

 

Had they been just one word names, they would have worked a lot better as names.

Edited July 12, 2014 by The_Big_M

[Kiwi_cruiser]

She's a business development manager for P&O so I trust what she says.

 

I know her as well :), and I trust her as well.

[Royalty X]

I know her as well :), and I trust her as well.

Actually, I noticed that on Facebook Stu. :)

[woodscruise]

Personally I do not like the names myself. Eden I could understand as besides Eden Park in New Zealand P&O have a new destination on the NSW south coast called Eden. Aria to me is the music awards held each year, and that is was I associate it with. The other thing is the ship going to be based in Asia, by dropping the r and adding an s = Asia.

 

One thing I hope is P&O will be lifting there game. Besides been expensive (by this I mean not just looking at the cruise fare but the all inclusive package that is what you have to buy on board) and the service levels are a complete let down. I recently went on a weekend trip on Pacific Jewel, and did notice the hugh amount of cost cutting that is currently going on. Maybe these ex HAL ships is going to be marketed to a different segment of the market.

[mcd1966]

Carnival need to dump p&o and just have carnival ships based here. Time to move on.

 

 

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[By The Bay]

Carnival need to dump p&o and just have carnival ships based here. Time to move on.

 

 

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Cannot see that happening anytime soon, when they are about to increase their fleet to 5 ships.

[The_Big_M]

Someone's just venting. :-)

[MicCanberra]

An unhappy camper who dislikes P&O, possibly just had a bad cruise.

[icat2000]

There on my list to give them a go. If they start doing some 15-20 day type itineraries with runs up and back to Tahiti they will come on my radar list.

[awesome girl]

I would also consider P&O if they had longer cruises, we need to do the

longer ones to make it worth our while crossing Bass Strait to go anywhere

North.:D

[Aus Traveller]

P&O used to do a 28 night cruise to Tahiti, but a few years ago they re-positioned themselves in the market by not doing long cruises. We were told they are aiming at 'first-time' cruisers by having short itineraries.