Summer 2024

[Harry Peterson]

£143 pppn on our last Azura cruise in 2019 - and that was for a suite.  Very early booking, of course, and Saga, even with early booking would have been getting on for twice that. 
 

Saga is definitely a better product, though, and if you’re able to use the ‘free’ extras it changes the economics.

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, Amyracecar said:

 

For comparison I costed up my May Fjords cruise on Saga, going same time of year, 7 nights, 4 ports. Saga came out at £4398 for two people in their lowest grade balcony cabin. We're paying £2458 on P&O, and that's in a slightly higher grade balcony and with the select price so could have got it about £300-£400 cheaper. £315pn versus £176pn. I'm sure there are itineraries that are much cheaper and better times to book, but if you want something specific it's not coming out very competitive. (Even factoring in drinks, speciality restaurants, travel and excursions I doubt we'd spend an extra £2k over the week) 

I'm no defender of Saga's prices but I don't really think a comparison between Saga and Iona really works. The Saga ships carry less than 1000 pax whereas Iona carries 5200+. Comparing Saga with Aurora or Arcadia works better.

[wowzz]

18 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

£143 pppn on our last Azura cruise in 2019 - and that was for a suite.  Very early booking, of course, and Saga, even with early booking would have been getting on for twice that. 
 

Saga is definitely a better product, though, and if you’re able to use the ‘free’ extras it changes the economics.

As a matter of interest Harry, do you have any idea what the price would have been on the last brochure launch ?

[Amyracecar]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

I'm no defender of Saga's prices but I don't really think a comparison between Saga and Iona really works. The Saga ships carry less than 1000 pax whereas Iona carries 5200+. Comparing Saga with Aurora or Arcadia works better.

Oh for sure, I'm not comparing the experience, just that I wouldn't be able to afford (or at least unwilling to pay) the rates that Saga offer. I paid less for 2 weeks in the far east on Celebrity than that itinerary I just priced up for the Fjords and that was fabulous. Princess and some of the other lines were much closer to the P&O price on smaller ships, Saga were at the higher end. The original comment I replied to was that Saga cruises weren't usually £300pn plus, and I was finding the opposite. 

I'm sure it's brilliant for service and food etc, as you generally get what you pay for. If it's better then I'm not surprised at what i'd be paying. I don't expect luxury on Iona (or Aurora/Arcadia for that matter), just something nice and I'm happy. 

[Bazrat]

5 minutes ago, Amyracecar said:

Oh for sure, I'm not comparing the experience, just that I wouldn't be able to afford (or at least unwilling to pay) the rates that Saga offer. I paid less for 2 weeks in the far east on Celebrity than that itinerary I just priced up for the Fjords and that was fabulous. Princess and some of the other lines were much closer to the P&O price on smaller ships, Saga were at the higher end. The original comment I replied to was that Saga cruises weren't usually £300pn plus, and I was finding the opposite. 

I'm sure it's brilliant for service and food etc, as you generally get what you pay for. If it's better then I'm not surprised at what i'd be paying. I don't expect luxury on Iona (or Aurora/Arcadia for that matter), just something nice and I'm happy. 

My feelings as well as long as we have a great time good food and decent entertainment we are happy, so we don't feel the need to splash the cash on things which would not be more enjoyable than what we experience already.

[Eglesbrech]

14 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

My feelings as well as long as we have a great time good food and decent entertainment we are happy, so we don't feel the need to splash the cash on things which would not be more enjoyable than what we experience already.

Absolutely, I temper my expectations to how much I pay to an extent.

 

On P&O in a standard balcony I expect a clean cabin, decent food, reasonable entertainment etc for a fair price. I get that, so I’m happy.

 

If I pay for suite class on Celebrity, I expect (and get)  expedited embarkation, chilled champagne, first class food, attentive service,  reserved seats in the theatre and excellent wine included with every meal. I get that, so I’m happy.

 

Other lines vary along a scale or price to product. Basically you get what you pay for and I’m happy to enjoy a broad spectrum.

 

A holiday is about having a good time. That means something different to us all but personally I’m adaptable 😀.

 

 

 

 

[wowzz]

23 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

Absolutely, I temper my expectations to how much I pay to an extent.

 

On P&O in a standard balcony I expect a clean cabin, decent food, reasonable entertainment etc for a fair price. I get that, so I’m happy.

 

If I pay for suite class on Celebrity, I expect (and get)  expedited embarkation, chilled champagne, first class food, attentive service,  reserved seats in the theatre and excellent wine included with every meal. I get that, so I’m happy.

 

Other lines vary along a scale or price to product. Basically you get what you pay for and I’m happy to enjoy a broad spectrum.

 

A holiday is about having a good time. That means something different to us all but personally I’m adaptable 😀.

 

 

 

 

I think that's a pretty good summary. P&O offer a service commensurate with their prices (or did - looking at their latest prices I am not so sure) and we are happy with what we receive.

On more expensive cruises,  we pay more, and expect more.

No different to most things in life really.  

[Harry Peterson]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

As a matter of interest Harry, do you have any idea what the price would have been on the last brochure launch ?

Not sure about brochure prices, because they became irrelevant years ago and we never look at them, but the £1700 or so that we paid per person for that suite increased online to £2900 pp nearer to the departure date.

Edited March 11, 2022 by Harry Peterson
Added ‘online’

[paulatsea]

Just had a reply from Fred about adults only :

 

 

I can confirm that we are currently not offering any Adult Only cruises.

 

We are accepting youths on every sailing (12-17yrs). Children can only be accepted on cruises with less than 72 hours days at sea, please note that this may change anytime. 

 

I am sorry for the confusion on ROL’s advertisement, the cruises they are advertising for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines are not specifically classed as ‘for adults only’. I have brought this to the attention of the relevant department, thank you for mentioning this to us.

 

 

[tring]

5 minutes ago, paulatsea said:

Just had a reply from Fred about adults only :

 

 

I can confirm that we are currently not offering any Adult Only cruises.

 

We are accepting youths on every sailing (12-17yrs). Children can only be accepted on cruises with less than 72 hours days at sea, please note that this may change anytime. 

 

I am sorry for the confusion on ROL’s advertisement, the cruises they are advertising for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines are not specifically classed as ‘for adults only’. I have brought this to the attention of the relevant department, thank you for mentioning this to us.

 

 

 

That is how I understand it for Fred, though still does not affect the fact that you are unlikely to come across any children on non school holiday cruises with him at any time.

 

I have had noise on all cruise lines at times though, either from a bad cabin locations or a noisy next door neighbour.  Fred will happily change a cabin if a quieter one is available, and I would hope other lines would as well.

 

[Bazrat]

12 hours ago, tring said:

 

That is how I understand it for Fred, though still does not affect the fact that you are unlikely to come across any children on non school holiday cruises with him at any time.

 

I have had noise on all cruise lines at times though, either from a bad cabin locations or a noisy next door neighbour.  Fred will happily change a cabin if a quieter one is available, and I would hope other lines would as well.

 

To be realistic it would be easier to move people on a small cruise ship rather than a larger one, otherwise you would have a constant stream of people swapping cabins.

[tring]

Regards noise on ships, we went on a Sky Princess cruise last October and we had pretty constant TV noise from our next door neighbour.  It was not particularly loud, but did go on when we were still asleep in the morning and was a constant niggle during much of the rest of our time in the cabin, so, imo, was the worst noise problem overall that we had encountered on any ship.

 

I was constantly considering knocking and asking if they would turn the tv down, but was wary of doing so as not incredibly loud.  Eventually I spoke to reception and someone came up to listen and offered to knock and speak to our neighbours, which he did. They did turn their TV down after that but it seems the man was hard of hearing, so in some respects I felt that I possibly spoilt his holiday.  On reflection, we may have made far more use of our cabin, (which as a mini suite, one of the best cabins we have ever had on a ship), though was something we never did, even after that.  It has taught me to mention cabin problems to reception on all cruise lines.

 

I had heard newer ships had better sound insulation, but it was not our experience.

 

Edited March 16, 2022 by tring

[CRUISENSNOOZE]

On 3/7/2022 at 1:14 PM, lilyafloat said:

Britannia probably appeals a bit more, but never having done this I'm open to almost anything. Not keen on lots of people around but I suppose it depends on how they flow around the ship, 2000ish sounds ok, 4000 to me personally sounds like a nightmare!

 

We may be able to push the dates to June and all of September depending on my son's university term dates. I really appreciate your help x

Hi, We have just got off a cruise on Iona today. When I booked, I was a bit worried due to the amount of passengers it takes....5200. Also I didn't tell my husband just how large Iona is... 185,000 tonnes!!, as he likes small ships. Anyway the day dawned and we went to Southampton with husband muttering "it's a bloody container ship/block of flats" etc etc. We found out due to covid measures there would be 3800 passengers on board..............   14 days later.

My husband is a total convert to the large ship now. I know there were only 3800 on board but the ship always felt so spacious and this was without the decks being used as it was too cold and windy. Getting on and off her on Port days seemed to be much quicker and most times there were 2 gangways open. The buffet areas worked much better and at no time was it hard to find a seat and I can't see it being a problem when she is full. The promenade deck is so wide there are seating areas around most of it with Alfresco dining. Freedom dining is in all the 4 MDR's plus all the other various dining outlets.

Would we go on Iona again?....yes and we have already booked 2 further cruises on her.

 

Chris

[cruisefan2012]

Nice to read a positive review of the "big ships"...........

 

 

 

 

[Billish]

20 minutes ago, cruisefan2012 said:

Nice to read a positive review of the "big ships"...........

 

 

 

 

It's not so much the size of the ship, but the impact that 5000+ people have on the port stops. 

That number of people absolutely destroy the ambience of any of the smaller ports.

[zap99]

2 minutes ago, Billish said:

It's not so much the size of the ship, but the impact that 5000+ people have on the port stops. 

That number of people absolutely destroy the ambience of any of the smaller ports.

What if a number of small ships go into a smaller port at the same time ?.

[Billish]

29 minutes ago, zap99 said:

What if a number of small ships go into a smaller port at the same time ?.

Same issue !

It is one if the curses of cruising.  In the likes of Barcelona or Valencia,  6,000 cruisers can be absorbed.  However,  somewhere like Cartagena just gets swamped. 

[Denarius]

On 3/11/2022 at 8:07 AM, wowzz said:

Not sure where you get £300 pppn from. Our forthcoming Saga 16 night cruise works out at £204pppn.

Given that the price includes drinks and speciality dining, in a larger cabin than a standard P&O balcony cabin, I would say that it is far better value than a P&O cruise costing £150 pppn.

My forthcoming 15 night cruise on Spirit of Adventure cost me £330 per night for a single balcony cabin. As single cabins on Saga ships are priced at an efffective single supplement of some 40% to 50% above the equivalent twin that is roughly consistent with the figure of £204 above. Saga have good discounts available if you book early.

[zap99]

25 minutes ago, Denarius said:

My forthcoming 15 night cruise on Spirit of Adventure cost me £330 per night for a single balcony cabin. As single cabins on Saga ships are priced at an efffective single supplement of some 40% to 50% above the equivalent twin that is roughly consistent with the figure of £204 above. Saga have good discounts available if you book early.

Our Iona Canaries cruise ,14 nights, select balcony is £103pppn. Just about half the cost of Sagas offering, or Saga are twice as expensive.🤔

[Billish]

10 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Our Iona Canaries cruise ,14 nights, select balcony is £103pppn. Just about half the cost of Sagas offering, or Saga are twice as expensive.🤔

Yes, but you are on Iona with 5000 others, rather than with 998 others !

The thought of cruising with 5000 other people is too awful for me to contemplate,  even at £50pppn ! 

[zap99]

Just now, Billish said:

Yes, but you are on Iona with 5000 others, rather than with 998 others !

The thought of cruising with 5000 other people is too awful for me to contemplate,  even at £50pppn ! 

Ok. We are all different, but I wonder why folk sing the virtues of Saga on a P&O board. They are expensive and Iona/Britannia et al are popular with us masses.

[Billish]

3 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Ok. We are all different, but I wonder why folk sing the virtues of Saga on a P&O board. They are expensive and Iona/Britannia et al are popular with us masses.

Many of us cruise with various cruise lines. We still cruise with P&O,  and they offer a good value for money option, but sometimes it is nice to enjoy the finer things in life !

[zap99]

2 minutes ago, Billish said:

Many of us cruise with various cruise lines. We still cruise with P&O,  and they offer a good value for money option, but sometimes it is nice to enjoy the finer things in life !

Yes we do. Many of us cruise with various lines. They all have their strong points and weak points. Saga are expensive. I wonder why there are only 3 posts  today on the Saga boards, perhaps they are out enjoying the finer things in life . Perhaps Some of us enjoy P&O.  

 

[Host Sharon]

11 hours ago, zap99 said:

Ok. We are all different, but I wonder why folk sing the virtues of Saga on a P&O board. They are expensive and Iona/Britannia et al are popular with us masses.

Possibly because some (many?) of us are becoming disillusioned with P&O selling off their smaller ships. Physically I'd need a mobility scooter on Iona to get from one end to the other. I still love Aurora though and have three cruises booked on her. My others are with Saga, Fred Olsen and Oceania - all with under 1000 pax. Yes, it is a P&O board, but that doesn't preclude comparisons with other lines. People often ask about Princess or Celebrity and no one complains. 

[cruisefan2012]

And back to P&O Cruises - They are launching Summer 2024 this week !!

 

I`m tempted to sail to the med on Arvia - Depending on the price of course...........

 

I want to go to Barcelona