Summer 2024

[Britboys]

33 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

 

 

It is correct that the Baltic's cruises have not gone on sale. They are broadly every third cruise, with the other two being 7 night x Norway. Ports and local planning teams have been too busy reorganising summer 2022 due to the war that summer 2024 had to wait. Brochures were already printed anyway!

 

Britannia provides a more traditional offering compared to Iona up to the Fjords. Also Norway is very popular with guests and it provides a very accessible price point for new cruisers.

 

Most large cruise lines now allocate ships to broad routes. There are however tweaks from cruise to cruise. This is true for P&O's family ships. There is also a smaller number of ports that can accept the larger ships.

 

Obviously P&O's adult ships are smaller, can access more ports and have to cover a full variety of destinations. That said, there are only a finite number of ports. Therefore original calls are very difficult.

 

One final thought with a corporate hat on. The company wants to make as much money as possible. Therefore, the company is going to call at the ports that their data tells them passengers want. This is what attracts people to one cruise over another.

 

Fully accept what you are saying but feel that with the two adult-only ships they are missing opportunities of revisiting some smaller ports used in the past. I do feel that the company is concentrating on the ports that are popular with those sailing on the larger ships. The canaries could be combined with Cape Verde, Iceland with Greenland etc.

Lines such as Fred Olsen and Ambassador offer much more interesting itineraries on smaller ships and for those who normally opt for a balcony, Saga are also in the running (but their 2023 itineraries could be more inspired too).

I do think that the more long-term (and de-facto older) pax are increasingly looking for some variety on Aurora and Arcadia, which P&O are not providing. From this site and others, it is increasingly obvious that a reasonable number of pax are already looking elsewhere.

[Cathygh]

We will only book P&O for 2024 as an infill holiday, in other words I need a break, it's too long till my next one and the cruise price is right. There's a big world out there but P&O sadly don't go where I want to go. I have 3 cruises for 2023 booked- Celebrity which is new to us to Japan, Iona for a family holiday, the Arcadia for Iceland as she is going when we want to to go. 

I really want to keep Med cruises till I'm older and do the fly cruise stuff now so my plan is to tour and cruise India, North America, South America, Panama and Vietnam/Thailand. May be Australia if I can persuade DH to fly that far. We shall see. 

[paulatsea]

4 hours ago, Cathygh said:

We will only book P&O for 2024 as an infill holiday, in other words I need a break, it's too long till my next one and the cruise price is right. There's a big world out there but P&O sadly don't go where I want to go. I have 3 cruises for 2023 booked- Celebrity which is new to us to Japan, Iona for a family holiday, the Arcadia for Iceland as she is going when we want to to go. 

I really want to keep Med cruises till I'm older and do the fly cruise stuff now so my plan is to tour and cruise India, North America, South America, Panama and Vietnam/Thailand. May be Australia if I can persuade DH to fly that far. We shall see. 

Great plan !

[Leomins]

On 3/23/2022 at 10:16 AM, terrierjohn said:

The Baltic still figures in our TA brochure for P&O 2024, Britannia is doing mainly Baltic cruises. SPB is still showing but I assume that's because the brochures and itineraries were fixed long before the current crisis, but will be changed unless sanctions are reduced.

This was in the brochure left in our cabin yesterday, no decision about the Baltic for 24 yet.

[Sussexboy]

On 3/23/2022 at 1:39 PM, yorkshirephil said:

After checking out the brochure I like the look of some of the longer cruises to the Med and Canaries in 24. It will be interesting to check out the prices.

We have just booked K410 as it goes to places we have not been to. Gone all out this time with an aft suite. Now we just have to sell the kids!!

[yorkshirephil]

21 minutes ago, Sussexboy said:

We have just booked K410 as it goes to places we have not been to. Gone all out this time with an aft suite. Now we just have to sell the kids!!

Nice one, we went for A410C, which is to replace our 2023 Canaries place holder. 

[pennib]

Unfortunately we won’t be doing any of the 2024 summer cruises as having to get to Southampton would do our heads in. Plenty of alternatives though that don’t involve doing that. We recently went on Marella and we’re extremely impressed. And this is from folk who have been wedded to P&O for years. 

[Harry Peterson]

Do I really need to cruise with P&O any more? 

 

Used to feel very strongly in the early Covid days that I did - desperate to return. But now?  I've got used to not cruising and there seem to be far more minuses than pluses.

 

Just me, or is that a shared view?

[Presto2]

14 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Do I really need to cruise with P&O any more? 

 

Used to feel very strongly in the early Covid days that I did - desperate to return. But now?  I've got used to not cruising and there seem to be far more minuses than pluses.

 

Just me, or is that a shared view?

I get that --- I don't seem to get the buzz re cruising I used to get. Am trying to conjure up the excitement and am struggling. This goes for cruising generally ... or is it foreign holidays? Hubby says I will probably feel better once we actually know it is going to happen !!!

[Selbourne]

8 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Do I really need to cruise with P&O any more? 

 

Used to feel very strongly in the early Covid days that I did - desperate to return. But now?  I've got used to not cruising and there seem to be far more minuses than pluses.

 

Just me, or is that a shared view?

It’s not just you Harry. We did 3 or 4 cruises a year in the two years before we retired in 2019 and had planned to do at least that when we hung up our boots. Strangely, we didn’t miss cruising as much as we thought we would during the shut down. The staycation cruises didn’t remotely appeal to us and the current rigmarole with testing, on-board restrictions (even after the latest relaxation) and risk of quarantine or disembarkation all add hassle, worry and stress that we don’t have with the other holidays that we are now enjoying. 
 

We have booked two cruises for next year, one on Iona (with our daughters and their partners) and another on Ventura (with friends). In all honesty, I’m already wondering if we’ve done the right thing, especially as we have since discovered that the deluxe balcony cabins that we booked on Iona are currently in the quarantine zone! Hopefully these cruises will both go ahead as planned, we will enjoy them and rediscover our love of cruising. However, if we don’t, we know that we can enjoy life without them. I should stress that this view is about cruising in general and not a P&O specific thing.

[paulatsea]

39 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Do I really need to cruise with P&O any more? 

 

Used to feel very strongly in the early Covid days that I did - desperate to return. But now?  I've got used to not cruising and there seem to be far more minuses than pluses.

 

Just me, or is that a shared view?

I feel the same - I used to love the booking and the anticipation- now I’m just worried that it will be cancelled / fail testing / quarantine on board/ offloading/not being able to get off at stops  and just the sheer hassle of it all - seriously questioning whether it’s all worth it.

 

PS also being moved from booked cabin/downgraded …..

 

 

 

 

Edited March 24, 2022 by paulatsea

[paulatsea]

48 minutes ago, pennib said:

Unfortunately we won’t be doing any of the 2024 summer cruises as having to get to Southampton would do our heads in. Plenty of alternatives though that don’t involve doing that. We recently went on Marella and we’re extremely impressed. And this is from folk who have been wedded to P&O for years. 

We were really impressed with marella as well - great service and staff - ai drinks were good quality - everything worked - this was Newcastle to Shetland cruise last year - one of the first to be let back into Scotland - I wish they did cruises from the uk again - as we hate flying.

excursions were excellent  

Edited March 24, 2022 by paulatsea

[Ardennais]

1 hour ago, Harry Peterson said:

Do I really need to cruise with P&O any more? 

 

Used to feel very strongly in the early Covid days that I did - desperate to return. But now?  I've got used to not cruising and there seem to be far more minuses than pluses.

 

Just me, or is that a shared view?

I’m the same, regarding cruising in general. We did 3 almost every year, and I really haven’t missed it at all. In fact, we’ve had some great breaks here in Wales and been to some new places for us in England. We might, just might, book a 7 nighter after the summer school hols, possibly up to the Fjords. But I can’t say I’m very enthusiastic, not at the moment anyway. 

[Megabear2]

Perhaps our waning enthusiasm is why P&O are looking for new punters!

[Host Sharon]

I can't wait to get back cruising. When you are on your own it's the best holiday. A hotel somewhere just doesn't do it for me and I am not a beach person. But P&O itineraries are not what I want. There isn't even a good Adriatic cruise which I would have booked. The only one is a fly cruise on Azura. I have a couple booked on Aurora but otherwise I have moved to Fred Olsen (whose Braemar can navigate the Corinth Canal), Oceania (because Riviera and Marina are bigger versions of Adonia) and Saga because they were offering the Baltic without St Petes (long before the war), and a circumnavigation of South America including a small part of the Amazon.

 

 

[Dermotsgirl]

2 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

Do I really need to cruise with P&O any more? 

 

Used to feel very strongly in the early Covid days that I did - desperate to return. But now?  I've got used to not cruising and there seem to be far more minuses than pluses.

 

Just me, or is that a shared view?

I feel much the same.

 

Prior to the pandemic we generally did 2, sometimes 3 cruises a year, and in recent years since retirement some of our cruises were longer ones, visiting places that we had always dreamed of.

 

I loved all of our cruises, and have some great memories.

 

However, our attitude had started to change. As we no longer work, everyday is a holiday, so it was becoming less important to go away for holidays. Also, as we had done most of the P&O Cruises, we were moving towards other cruise lines.

 

It’s  now two and a half years since my last cruise. At the start of the pandemic I had five cruises booked. I’ve now had my money back on all but one of them, moved to Iona next March. I would like to see what the ship is like,  but feel no great enthusiasm about it, and  feel no interest in booking anything new.

 

I’m not even sure I’m a cruiser anymore 

[Angel57]

I feel the same as the above posts. Two cruises a year and a couple of full world cruises on P&O (and cruising with them since 1991) I am now wondering if I’ll ever cruise again.

When the new brochures came out I used to go through with a marker pen and highlight all that I liked and would narrow them down by date, ship and price. Now, there is no need for that marker pen with the repetitive itineraries.

However, I do agree with Sharon that as an often solo traveller, a cruise is / was much more sociable experience than a hotel and I have made such wonderful friends over the years, plus I have been to places I would never have felt brave enough to fly to alone.

 

[Windsurfboy]

Ithink we will become multiple cruise line cruisers, intinerary dominated, not a fly cruise fan so look for Southampton cruises

 

Haven't cruised p&O for 5 years , 2020 cancelled.  Just registered for Ariva in 2024 med. Way the biggest ship we've been on. But the rear suites have massive balconies,  for peace and quiet, then have all facilities and entertainment of big ship,  Thought wed give it a go. 

 

P&O are very reasonable,  6k for a suite which makes Cunard QG look like a slum, much less than half the price. Even if we eat in Epicurean every night a bargin

Edited March 25, 2022 by Windsurfboy

[Selbourne]

3 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

Ithink we will become multiple cruise line cruisers, intinerary dominated, not a fly cruise fan so look for Southampton cruises

 

Haven't cruised p&O for 5 years , 2020 cancelled.  Just registered for Ariva in 2024 med. Way the biggest ship we've been on. But the rear suites have massive balconies,  for peace and quiet, then have all facilities and entertainment of big ship,  Thought wed give it a go. 

 

P&O are very reasonable,  6k for a suite which makes Cunard QG look like a slum, much less than half the price. Even if we eat in Epicurean every night a bargin

We like aft suites as well, for the same reasons as you, but we were deterred from booking the one aft accessible suite on Iona for two reasons (same applies on Arvia). Firstly, the aft suites are set back from the rear of the ship by some distance compared to the other ships, as there is a much wider outdoor public area underneath them compared to the other ships. Secondly, as well as being an area where people would congregate, the sunset bar is marketed as having ‘music’, presumably played through speakers. The only suite we could have booked was just two decks up from this, so we decided it would be problematic as we don’t like noise outside our cabin. It may be less of an issue higher up, but then the balconies are set even further back. You may of course have considered all of this and decided it’s not an issue for you. We tend to go to bed earlier than many and like peace and quiet!

[Denarius]

On 3/24/2022 at 8:09 PM, Harry Peterson said:

Do I really need to cruise with P&O any more? 

 

Used to feel very strongly in the early Covid days that I did - desperate to return. But now?  I've got used to not cruising and there seem to be far more minuses than pluses.

 

Just me, or is that a shared view?

It's not just you Harry.

I have been cruising regularly since the mid 1990s, initially with my late partner and more recently on my own. I have found ocean cruises to be an ideal holiday for a solo traveller. But the recent enforced hiatus due to covid has caused me to recognise that I had got into a rut. After the initial withdrawal symptoms subsided I began to realise that there is more to holidays than ocean cruising and that I do not miss it as much as I thought that I would. I will still do it, but will take other types of holiday more frequently than I have done in recent years. Coastal cruises, river cruises and land tours are likely to replace them for 2023.

Edited March 25, 2022 by Denarius

[Selbourne]

14 minutes ago, Denarius said:

It's not just you Harry.

I have been cruising regularly since the mid 1990s, initially with my late partner and more recently on my own. I have found ocean cruises to be an ideal holiday for a solo traveller. But the recent enforced hiatus due to covid has caused me to recognise that I had got into a rut. After the initial withdrawal symptoms subsided I began to realise that there is more to holidays than ocean cruising and that I do not miss it as much as I thought that I would. I will still do it, but will take other types of holiday more frequently than I have done in recent years. Coastal cruises, river cruises and land tours are likely to replace them for 2023.

As my wife is disabled and no longer able to fly, I did a solo passengers tour with Riviera Travel to Krakow, which comprised a tour of the city, the salt mines and (the main reason that I went) Aushwitz and Birkenau. I was really impressed with them and the other guests were like minded people who were very easy to get on with. I can recommend them. 

[Megabear2]

Bit of excitement for me today! Sorting out my cancelled Aurora 1 April situation P&O informed me I had some found money!  Apparently I had £600 in compensation OBC listed from my January 2020 cruise and last year's staycation which had to be used by 31 December 2022.  As a result I've had lots of moving around to sort dates and have now found myself with a new booking today for Arvia Christmas/New Year cruise 2023 to complement the one on Britannia for this Christmas. 

 

I've booked a "hump" cabin on deck 12 front (although it's only two cabins forward of the line on the plan).  I'm told it has a big balcony but overlooked from the sides. .  No idea what that means but the price was okay - less than my Britannia 2022 Christmas - and a nice sum of OBC.  Considering I'd no plans to book anything this is a huge diversion! Interestingly the agent told me he'd ticked the no upgrade before I asked him as he stated no one would want an upgrade to deck 8!

 

I understand that Arvia cabin will be identical to Iona one - 12255.  Has anyone any experience of this cabin type on Iona?

[SarahHben]

5 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Bit of excitement for me today! Sorting out my cancelled Aurora 1 April situation P&O informed me I had some found money!  Apparently I had £600 in compensation OBC listed from my January 2020 cruise and last year's staycation which had to be used by 31 December 2022.  As a result I've had lots of moving around to sort dates and have now found myself with a new booking today for Arvia Christmas/New Year cruise 2023 to complement the one on Britannia for this Christmas. 

 

I've booked a "hump" cabin on deck 12 front (although it's only two cabins forward of the line on the plan).  I'm told it has a big balcony but overlooked from the sides. .  No idea what that means but the price was okay - less than my Britannia 2022 Christmas - and a nice sum of OBC.  Considering I'd no plans to book anything this is a huge diversion! Interestingly the agent told me he'd ticked the no upgrade before I asked him as he stated no one would want an upgrade to deck 8!

 

I understand that Arvia cabin will be identical to Iona one - 12255.  Has anyone any experience of this cabin type on Iona?

Here's a video of Iona cabin 12.255 on YouTube

 

[Megabear2]

Thank you Sarah. Well the balcony is a nice surprise, I'm so used to knocking knees on Britannia.  This is going to be a whole new experience, looking forward to comparing Arvia with Celebrity Edge and Norwegian Prima which come later this year.  These ultra modern ships certainly are totally different to my previous choices.

[zap99]

We are as keen as ever on cruising, despite the opinion of some on here. If there are only a few of us still cruising the experience could be a happy one. We holiday in lots of different ways and enjoy them all. We try and ignore miserable folk on holiday.