Iona Thoughts

[Britboys]

On 8/18/2021 at 2:30 PM, wowzz said:

We have a two 16 day cruises next year,  one on Arcadia, one on Spirit of Adventure, in similar balcony cabins. Saga is costing us about £70  pppd more. However,  as there are no parking fees, hotel costs, petrol costs etc with Saga the differential reduces to about £60 pppd.

For that extra £60 we get unlimited drinks, no charge speciality dining, free shore excursions  (OK, unsure about those) and most important of all,  get to cruise on a ship with less than 1000 passengers.

Is it worth paying £60 per day extra (in effect £40 pd due to not having to pay for drinks) ? We think so, but others may view £40 as too much of a premium. 

As I and others have said previously, if you normally cruise in a balcony cabin and are an average imbiber of alcohol, Saga probably compare favourably. On the other hand, if you sail in an inside cabin and/or don't really drink, they are significantly more expensive. Saga are undoubtedly a quality product but not particularly affordable to those of us who usually book an inside cabin on P&O.

[Britboys]

5 hours ago, BouncingWheel said:

I disagree and think they will keep at least 1 small ship in the fleet for the world cruises and Panama Canal Transit. Maybe they will lose one of Arcadia or Aurora but I don't think both and over time they will still need a small ship as a replacement.

With the new wider Panama Canal locks, a smaller ship won't be particularly necessary. I think it is questionable how much P&O wish to retain a World Cruise. Cunard will continue providing one and it depends exactly how profitable the Worldies are. If they are not especially profitable, Carnival Corp may decide to stop providing them from P&O. I fully expect Aurora to go once Our Vera(Arvia) comes into service. Arcadia likely to maybe do a few more years but who knows? I don't think another smaller ship will be introduced as bigger, more casual ships definitely seem to be the way P&O have set their course.

[wowzz]

32 minutes ago, Britboys said:

As I and others have said previously, if you normally cruise in a balcony cabin and are an average imbiber of alcohol, Saga probably compare favourably. On the other hand, if you sail in an inside cabin and/or don't really drink, they are significantly more expensive. Saga are undoubtedly a quality product but not particularly affordable to those of us who usually book an inside cabin on P&O.

I totally agree with you.

What I find disingenuous is when someone quotes a P&O fare, and promptly trots out the "Saga is expensive " cliche,  without making it clear that the price quoted is for just about the lowest possible grade of cabin.   

[Presto2]

3 hours ago, Glitterati said:

I don’t know which RCI ships you have been on; but the Symphony of the Seas was outstanding. On par with any Celebrity cruise I’ve taken in terms of food, service and ship design/features. 
 

I tried P&O after sailing RCI/Princess/Celebrity, and although it was a different product due to the British being the target audience, we felt it was not that bad. Free drinks on formal night with everyone dressed very smartly, very good entertainment. 
 

However since my first P&O cruise in 2017 I have seen little things slipping. Only one free drink on formal night (fizz, no choice of anything else), no more miniature White Company toiletries, sweets in cabin. I know they are little things, but they are appreciated! Whereas Celebrity have only got better. I guess P&O are trying to attract a wider audience, whereas Celebrity are trying to keep their loyal customers. 

 

Hi we did a short 4 night cruise on Independence of the Seas and really did not like all the 'bells and whistles' stuff or the long promenade area where they held shows and where all the shops were etc.

If you check out our signature you'll see the various ships we've sailed in.

I do always think of RCI as the busier, family orientated activities while Celebrity is more for adults and quieter. If this makes sense.

I feel like P&O is being developed as the family friendly brand and less so your adults and quieter no activities on board line ---- if this makes sense. I may be wrong and probably am not putting it over very well.

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

I totally agree with you.

What I find disingenuous is when someone quotes a P&O fare, and promptly trots out the "Saga is expensive " cliche,  without making it clear that the price quoted is for just about the lowest possible grade of cabin.   

The Saga ships are now balcony only, so those seeking cheap inside cabin cruises will not be considering  them. But there are a significant number of traditional P&O passengers who like their regular cruises, and prefer smaller ships.

[LondonLad60]

14 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

The Saga ships are now balcony only, so those seeking cheap inside cabin cruises will not be considering  them. But there are a significant number of traditional P&O passengers who like their regular cruises, and prefer smaller ships.

Very true, and my wife and I are such passengers. Unfortunately our choice of such ships has been reduced from five in 2017 to just two today, and in effect we are now limited to just one, because Arcadia no longer meets our requirements or expectations. We tried Saga last year, and enjoyed that cruise so much that Saga is now the way forward for us.

 

Bob

Edited August 19, 2021 by LondonLad60

[Britboys]

48 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

The Saga ships are now balcony only, so those seeking cheap inside cabin cruises will not be considering  them. But there are a significant number of traditional P&O passengers who like their regular cruises, and prefer smaller ships.

Of course, everyone's idea of "cheap" is different, but as someone who mainly sails solo with P&O and only on Aurora or Arcadia, I would probably argue that I don't get a cheap deal on that.

[Britboys]

36 minutes ago, LondonLad60 said:

Very true, and my wife and I are such passengers. Unfortunately our choice of such ships has been reduced from five in 2017 to just two today, and in effect we are now limited to just one, because Arcadia no longer meets our requirements or expectations. We tried Saga last year, and enjoyed that cruise so much that Saga is now the way forward for us.

 

Bob

Purely out of interest, I am wondering why Arcadia no longer meets your requirements or expectations?

[LondonLad60]

2 hours ago, Britboys said:

Purely out of interest, I am wondering why Arcadia no longer meets your requirements or expectations?

Happy to respond Britboys. To begin with, Arcadia has for a number of years been exhibiting a large amount of rust and corrosion around its windows and doors ,both internally and externally. On our last two cruises with them our balcony had severe corrosion in evidence. I believe this problem has been mentioned elsewhere. As far am I'm aware, nothing has been done to address this. Not to mention the fact that balcony dividing doors tend to rattle and bang in anything other than flat calm seas.

 

I have also reported to P&O  (again several times) the plumbing problem whereby buckets have to be placed at several locations around the ship to catch water dripping from the ceilings, not to mention corridors and WC''s being flooded. This is not a recent issue; this has been evident for several years. Again, no satisfactory reply - in fact, no reply at all.

 

On one of our Arcadia cruises back in 2019 (remember those halcyon days?) freedom dining was an absolute fiasco. Freedom dining was oversubscribed, and to make matters worse, we were told that the ship was short of nineteen waiters. Obviously the early sitting had to take priority so that the tables could be cleared and reset for the second sitting, but freedom diners suffered the brunt of this. A wait of 40 minutes even for a sharing table was nothing unusual. There were plenty of tables available, but insufficient waiters to service them. 

 

Arcadia has two select restaurants - Sindhu and the Ocean Grill. I feel that two such restaurants are insufficient for two ships carrying 2000+ passengers. Even Aurora, which carries fewer passengers, has three such restaurants. Plus, having cruised on Arcadia since 2014 the Ocean Grill and Sindhu menus have only changed once.

 

On evenings when my wife and I didn't fancy the main dining room menu we chose to eat in the buffet. However, one side of the buffet was closed off, because it was designated as an officers dining area. However, there was only one servery open, which was on the passenger side. This led to long queues and somewhat frayed tempers. 

 

The last time we disembarked from Arcadia was chaotic to say the least. If you would like me to expand on this I will be happy to do so.

 

I will also add that I disagree with creeping extras, such as charging for room service and including gratuities in the cruise price, which is passed on by increasing cruise prices.

 

And now, my pet peeve. When boarding the ship, the first thing passengers encounter is the big sell. Actually, and this has only just re-occurred to me, on our last two P&O cruises in 2019, the spa girls and select restaurant crew couldn't wait until passengers boarded - they were plying their trades in the cruise terminal! Now I may be wrong, but I would hazard a guess that the majority of passengers on the adult only ships are seasoned cruisers, and they know how to book the select restaurants, or how to buy a drinks package, or where the spa is and how to book it, or where the casino is, and so on. Many passengers will have had long, tiring and possibly stressful journeys to Southampton, and all they want to do once they board is to find somewhere to relax and have something to eat and drink, instead of having a camera pointed at them and being subjected to multiple sales pitches.

 

I'm happy to expand on my comments or to defend them should the need arise!

 

Bob

Edited August 19, 2021 by LondonLad60
updated

[Adawn47]

3 hours ago, Presto2 said:

Hi we did a short 4 night cruise on Independence of the Seas and really did not like all the 'bells and whistles' stuff or the long promenade area where they held shows and where all the shops were etc.

I totally agree with you about Indy😵. We did a 19 nighter on her🥴 

Avril

[Presto2]

4 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

I totally agree with you about Indy😵. We did a 19 nighter on her🥴 

Avril

Have to say the Italian restaurant was amazing and it is still one of the best meals we have ever had on a ship ... the rest of the ship . Mmmm, not too keen

PS Hi Avril, hope you are well 🙂 

[wowzz]

14 minutes ago, LondonLad60 said:

However, one side of the buffet was closed off, because it was designated as an officers dining area.

Are you sure you are not confusing this with the Beach House restaurant, which uses part of the buffet at night?

[Presto2]

Just read another review and it notes that there is no turn down service.

Is this a new P&O thing or linked to Covid?

Or will Covid be used as an excuse to phase it out ... if so we may be out with it

[jake 26]

6 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Are you sure you are not confusing this with the Beach House restaurant, which uses part of the buffet at night?

I didn't think there was  Beach House on Arcadia?

 

We've sailed on a few long voyages over the years on Arcadia and noticed that the buffet area was often sub divided for officers use.

[Adawn47]

3 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Have to say the Italian restaurant was amazing and it is still one of the best meals we have ever had on a ship ... the rest of the ship . Mmmm, not too keen

PS Hi Avril, hope you are well 🙂 

The best thing for me was the bed. It was the most comfortable cruise ship bed I have ever slept on.  

I'm very well Presto thank you. I hope things are okay with you now.

Avril

[Presto2]

2 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

The best thing for me was the bed. It was the most comfortable cruise ship bed I have ever slept on.  

I'm very well Presto thank you. I hope things are okay with you now.

Avril

Can't remember the beds being comfy to be honest but it was my 50th birthday so I was probably in shock ! 

We are fine thanks - it is good to be chatting cruising again but it seems so far away and a bit surreal. This time 2 years ago was the first day of our last cruise for our 25th anniversary. It seems an eternity now and has made us realise how much we miss it.

Edited August 19, 2021 by Presto2

[Denarius]

3 hours ago, Presto2 said:

 

Hi we did a short 4 night cruise on Independence of the Seas and really did not like all the 'bells and whistles' stuff or the long promenade area where they held shows and where all the shops were etc.

If you check out our signature you'll see the various ships we've sailed in.

I do always think of RCI as the busier, family orientated activities while Celebrity is more for adults and quieter. If this makes sense.

I feel like P&O is being developed as the family friendly brand and less so your adults and quieter no activities on board line ---- if this makes sense. I may be wrong and probably am not putting it over very well.

I see where you are coming from.

I believe that when Carnival made a hostile takeover bid for P&O/Princess to baulk their planned friendly merger with Royal Caribbean/Celebrity their principal target was Princess. They did not know what to do with P&O as they already had a UK orientated brand in Cunard. Eventually they decided to concentrate on small or midsize ships with Cunard - even the Queen Mary 2 only carries 2700 passengers - and to accentuate their nautical heritage - voyages not cruises! P&O meanwhile was developed as a family friendly line with ever larger ships offering a resort hotel at sea, plus an adults only niche market. I am not however convinced that the latter will survive the retirement of Aurora and Arcadia and suspect that P&O will be aimed fairly and squarely at the mass family market with those wanting a more sedate cruise being steered towards Cunard.

[Adawn47]

4 minutes ago, jake 26 said:

didn't think there was  Beach House on Arcadia?

You're  correct, there isn't. 

Neptune Grill, Ocean Grill and Sindhu if I remember correctly.

Avril

[wowzz]

10 minutes ago, jake 26 said:

I didn't think there was  Beach House on Arcadia?

 

We've sailed on a few long voyages over the years on Arcadia and noticed that the buffet area was often sub divided for officers use.

Whoops - I think I'm getting my ships mixed up. Old age strikes again !

[Presto2]

1 minute ago, Denarius said:

I see where you are coming from.

I believe that when Carnival made a hostile takeover bid for P&O/Princess to baulk their planned friendly merger with Royal Caribbean/Celebrity their principal target was Princess. They did not know what to do with P&O as they already had a UK orientated brand in Cunard. Eventually they decided to concentrate on small or midsize ships with Cunard - even the Queen Mary 2 only carries 2700 passengers - and to accentuate their nautical heritage - voyages not cruises! P&O meanwhile was developed as a family friendly line with ever larger ships offering a resort hotel at sea, plus an adults only niche market. I am not however convinced that the latter will survive the retirement of Aurora and Arcadia and suspect that P&O will be aimed fairly and squarely at the mass family market with those wanting a more sedate cruise being steered towards Cunard.

You've put it much better than I did.

Have to say have been looking at Saga cruises this evening and price wise for what you get it seems to suit what we want better than where P&O seems to be heading. Similarly, Celebrity seems great but very pricey.

Having said that, so far we have only been able to cruise in the school holidays so have no idea what it is like when it is quieter !

[Presto2]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

Whoops - I think I'm getting my ships mixed up. Old age strikes again !

Makes me feel better when you make mistakes 🙂😉

[wowzz]

3 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Makes me feel better when you make mistakes 🙂😉

Believe me, I make plenty, or so my wife keeps telling me.

[wowzz]

29 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Just read another review and it notes that there is no turn down service.

Is this a new P&O thing or linked to Covid?

Or will Covid be used as an excuse to phase it out ... if so we may be out with it

At the risk of being wrong again tonight, I seem to remember reading on the Princess forum that the turn down service was no longer being offered there either.

I guess a CV19 precaution,  so as to avoid stewards being exposed unnecessarily,  but as we all know, once changes are made, they don't always change back. 

(The Covid protocol, IIRC, is that stewards have to wait for a cabin to be empty for 15 minutes before they can enter it. )

[Adawn47]

7 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Can't remember the beds being comfy to be honest but it was my 50th birthday so I was probably in shock ! 

We are fine thanks - it is good to be chatting cruising again but it seems so far away and a bit surreal. This time 2 years ago was the first day of our last cruise for our 25th anniversary. It seems an eternity now and has made us realise how much we miss it.

I was glad to crawl into bed each night for some peace and quiet and to escape  all the ruckus, so that could be why they were so memorable😉

Our last cruise was November 2019 and the next is hopefully, October 2022, two very long years later. We've really missed our cruises and I can't wait to feel the movement and hear the sound of being at sea again.

Avril

[Selbourne]

3 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

Our last cruise was November 2019 and the next is hopefully, October 2022, two very long years later. 

Avril - your time in the top tier of the maths class (on another thread) was very short lived. It’s 3 very long years, not 2 😉