Arcadia Jottings

[Selbourne]

2 minutes ago, PRINCESSTHE BEST said:

Wowzz changing the subject slightly, did you get an invite to an exclusive cocktail party? I didn’t. I wondered whether that was something else they’ve now cancelled. Being a sado I normally save the cruise log at the end of the cruise but that’s gone too.

If you are sad, I’m even sadder 😂 Not only do I have every cruise log from every cruise we have been on, I have every Horizon, port leaflet, invitations and (when they used to hand them out) MDR menus from every P&O cruise we have been on since 1997! That’s a real shame if the cruise log is no more. Surely they can’t be using Covid as an excuse for that? 🙄

[Selbourne]

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

My own recent experience on Princess has been that their launch prices are significantly higher than P&O. Their prices do tend to reduce later in the cycle, but as we need an accessible cabin these tend to sell out on launch, so we can't wait for a late bargain.  

We did one back in 2013 where we were able to get a price match, two in actual fact, and made a saving of 40%, but you are never sure that this facility will always be available.

John - how would you say Princess compared to P&O, particularly for wheelchair users? Friends of ours have done both and said that overall they thought that Princess was better, but they don’t have any accessibility issues to consider. 

[Megabear2]

The Enchanted Princess cruises are indeed bargains but it must be remembered they are last minute fill in jobs.  When they first went on sale the two add on Aurora cruises just passed were sold at bargain prices too, and also the Cunard cruises on QM2 which replaced her world cruise.  

 

Looking at pricing going forward there will most likely not be any more of these bargains unless world events unleash more surprises and cancellation.

 

As Terrierjohn says Princess launch prices were higher in much the same way as normal. 

[wowzz]

25 minutes ago, PRINCESSTHE BEST said:

Wowzz changing the subject slightly, did you get an invite to an exclusive cocktail party? I didn’t. I wondered whether that was something else they’ve now cancelled. Being a sado I normally save the cruise log at the end of the cruise but that’s gone too.

No, but I've only just reached the heady heights of the Atlantic tier !

[tring]

We have only been on one Princess cruise and it was during covid, so I may not have a clear idea of the differences.  However for us we found that a quiet bar, with something like a pianist was very sadly missing, but the noisier venues were clearly available.  Also no speakers at all and that is the only daytime "entertainment" we have an interest in, especially during bad weather sailing between the UK and the med.  There was seating in the atrium, though that was a bit like a market hall imo and entertainers who were playing were not really audible due to the general hubub.  Even the main pool deck was constantly very noisy due to the big screen, by both day and night.

 

Admittedly the Princess ship was bigger than others we have been on as well, so that may account for part of the difference.  Yes, as others have said prices were excellent, especially for the cabin we had.  A very different experience though.  There was a lovely quiet area to sit by (and especially above) a quiet pool if the weather was good.  Not sure it would be easy to find space there on a good weather sea day though - we used it when we decided not to go ashore in some ports, when the weather was good.

 

In good weather area (fly cruise) and an interesting itinerary, we may just try them again, but not otherwise.  Purely my opinion and I realise others will have their own views.

 

Edited April 16, 2022 by tring

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, tring said:

We have only been on one Princess cruise and it was during covid, so I may not have a clear idea of the differences.  However for us we found that a quiet bar, with something like a pianist was very sadly missing, but the noisier venues were clearly available.  Also no speakers at all and that is the only daytime "entertainment" we have an interest in, especially during bad weather sailing between the UK and the med.  There was seating in the atrium, though that was a bit like a market hall imo and entertainers who were playing were not really audible due to the general hubub.  Even the pool deck was constantly very noisy due to the big screen.

 

Admittedly the Princess ship was bigger than others we have been on as well, so that may account for part of that difference.  Yes, as others have said prices were excellent, especially for the cabin we had.  A very different experience though.  There was a lovely quiet area to sit by and above a quiet pool if the weather was good.  In good weather area (fly cruise) and an interesting itinerary, we may just try them again, but not otherwise.

 

Purely my opinion and I realise others will have their own views.

Two speakers on our Arcadia cruise, but both on pretty specialised subjects: one talking about the cosmos, the other about 1930 composers. Hardly mainstream !

And why do P&O schedule the talks at 10 am?  Far too early !

[Eglesbrech]

48 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I think the demographic for any UK cruise in March will be quite old.

Wozz it was 28 March (around the same time as you) so the start of the Scottish school holidays in some areas.
 

I agree that early March / November etc are usually quieter for younger folks.

[tring]

10 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Two speakers on our Arcadia cruise, but both on pretty specialised subjects: one talking about the cosmos, the other about 1930 composers. Hardly mainstream !

And why do P&O schedule the talks at 10 am?  Far too early !

 

If the only speakers on P&O are now scheduled at 10am, I would not be happy either, but we have been used to different speakers at different times of day.  I feel those topics could be if interest, especially the cosmos and other astronomy topics, though the crunch imo is always the quality of the speaker since a good speaker can make any topic very interesting, whilst a bad speaker will make anything sound mundane. 

 

It is mainly in bad weather, that we enjoy speakers, otherwise would prefer to be outdoors.  We have no interest in any other things, such as game shows which seemed popular on princess.

 

Edited April 16, 2022 by tring

[Bazrat]

When we was looking at Princess cruises they was more expensive than P&O, but the itinerary suited us plus timing also, but alas my wife as taken a turn for the worse and we had to reschedule it.

[Eglesbrech]

6 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

When we was looking at Princess cruises they was more expensive than P&O, but the itinerary suited us plus timing also, but alas my wife as taken a turn for the worse and we had to reschedule it.

I hope your wife is improving now Bazrat.

[Eglesbrech]

47 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

My own recent experience on Princess has been that their launch prices are significantly higher than P&O. Their prices do tend to reduce later in the cycle, but as we need an accessible cabin these tend to sell out on launch, so we can't wait for a late bargain.  

We did one back in 2013 where we were able to get a price match, two in actual fact, and made a saving of 40%, but you are never sure that this facility will always be available.

If as you do you really need to book on launch then I take your point entirely.

 

I can fortunately suit myself timing wise. 

[doog442]

2 hours ago, PRINCESSTHE BEST said:

That looks really nice. We are sailing on the Enchanted Princess in July,  which is a brand new ship, at a fraction of the cost of our Arcadia trip. 

 

We're on the Enchanted Princess on 1/7 . I booked a mini suite with their premium plus package. I couldn't believe the price for an all inclusive 14 day Med cruise. We're paying about the same as we did on Britannia in 2017 without the drinks, wifi and gratuities plus we have the larger cabin. 

 

I actually cancelled our usual all inclusive land based holiday when I saw this price and booked the cruise. I appreciate these are unusual times, its also a hastily arranged cruise but terrific value for money.   

[snaefell]

We too can now choose our travel dates,one of the retirement perks,in my last job I had 3 fixed weeks in the Summer,a nightmare which saw us on Britannia in her first year 'enjoying' the school holiday cruise...not!

On the subject of vessels being maintaned,even though Britannia had only been in service for a few months we found wallpaper hanging off,tarnished chrome & painted areas where the paint was patchy,a ship ahead of it's time!

In contrast we sailed on RCI's Quantum Of The Seas in 2019,disembarked in Singapore where she was scheduled for dry docking for her 5 year refurb,hard to believe as she was Damon near immaculate!

With regard to Premier Inns maintenance,IME they are updated quite frequently,usually making them even more basic,we have stayed in one particular PI a number of times since 2004,usually in the same room,& have seen it gradually getting emptier over the years,on our last stay there were hardly any sockets left in the room!

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, tring said:

We have only been on one Princess cruise and it was during covid, so I may not have a clear idea of the differences.  However for us we found that a quiet bar, with something like a pianist was very sadly missing, but the noisier venues were clearly available.  Also no speakers at all and that is the only daytime "entertainment" we have an interest in, especially during bad weather sailing between the UK and the med.  There was seating in the atrium, though that was a bit like a market hall imo and entertainers who were playing were not really audible due to the general hubub.  Even the main pool deck was constantly very noisy due to the big screen, by both day and night.

 

Admittedly the Princess ship was bigger than others we have been on as well, so that may account for part of the difference.  Yes, as others have said prices were excellent, especially for the cabin we had.  A very different experience though.  There was a lovely quiet area to sit by (and especially above) a quiet pool if the weather was good.  Not sure it would be easy to find space there on a good weather sea day though - we used it when we decided not to go ashore in some ports, when the weather was good.

 

In good weather area (fly cruise) and an interesting itinerary, we may just try them again, but not otherwise.  Purely my opinion and I realise others will have their own views.

 

We chose the Regal Princess last year for a four day staycation with friends who were very anti cruising in the hope they would be won over.  It backfired terribly as they were bored all day due to lack of entertainment apart from the antics round the very crowded main pool and the game shows you mentioned.  Unfortunately they will not cruise again as a result.

 

We chose Princess because of the all inclusive option but truthfully our earlier Britannia staycation was far superior.

[Megabear2]

56 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

When we was looking at Princess cruises they was more expensive than P&O, but the itinerary suited us plus timing also, but alas my wife as taken a turn for the worse and we had to reschedule it.

I hope your wife has a speedy recovery and is well soon.

[wowzz]

28 minutes ago, doog442 said:

 

We're on the Enchanted Princess on 1/7 . I booked a mini suite with their premium plus package. I couldn't believe the price for an all inclusive 14 day Med cruise. We're paying about the same as we did on Britannia in 2017 without the drinks, wifi and gratuities plus we have the larger cabin. 

 

I actually cancelled our usual all inclusive land based holiday when I saw this price and booked the cruise. I appreciate these are unusual times, its also a hastily arranged cruise but terrific value for money.   

I'm sure you'll enjoy it. 

The problem is that you will never want a standard balcony cabin on P&O again !

[Josy1953]

3 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

I’m not in the target market for either line being a bit older than they are probably looking for.
 

We looked at both P&O and Princess for a cruise in March and selected Princess as the cost was so much less for a higher grade cabin and Princess plus. There was just no competition and they were both doing the same port selections.

 

I would say that the majority on that cruise were my age or indeed older. Those in their 20s, 30s or even 40s were few and far between. Princess does not have a lot of obvious things  to offer to younger passengers (unlike say RCI with flumes, bumper cars etc) and the understated elegance of the ship almost feels more designed to appeal to my age group.
 

While I have always thought P&O give a fair product for a fair price (not quite what it used to be but as I say that is reflected in the price) what Princess offered was even better value imo.

 

I can actually see Princes being more attractive to the “oldies” who like good food and wine and quieter pass times and P&O to the young if they add in some things to attract younger families as they are trying to do.
 

Perhaps Carnival know exactly what they are doing. Time will tell.

 

 

I agree totally.  I don't know your age but I had my 69th birthday on the Sky Princess in March and I definitely felt that it was more suited to people in my sort of age range rather than younger people.  We have become disillusioned with P&O in recent years and feel that they are aiming at a slightly different market than Princess.  the

When we worked we sometimes cruised during school holidays and I it is a different experience on Princess during the school summer holidays with more families on board than when we cruised in March.

 

[Bazrat]

43 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I hope your wife has a speedy recovery and is well soon.

Thankyou she/we are now waiting for an appointment for the operation 

Edited April 16, 2022 by Bazrat

[Josy1953]

2 hours ago, tring said:

Also no speakers at all and that is the only daytime "entertainment" we have an interest in, especially during bad weather sailing between the UK and the med.  There was seating in the atrium, though that was a bit like a market hall

On our recent Princess cruise there was only one speaker but he was a naval historian and his talks about the British Navy were very good.

I agree about the atrium, it is a poor site for the coffee shop, we found it too noisy and we were rarely able to get a seat when we wanted a coffee.  Some peop!e seemed to consider it an ideal place to spend the whole day, to the point of leaving their belongings in the chairs and tables there while they went off to do some other activity ( perhaps they are the same people who hog the sun beds around the pools in warmer times 😇 )

[Eglesbrech]

24 minutes ago, Josy1953 said:

On our recent Princess cruise there was only one speaker but he was a naval historian and his talks about the British Navy were very good.

I agree about the atrium, it is a poor site for the coffee shop, we found it too noisy and we were rarely able to get a seat when we wanted a coffee.  Some peop!e seemed to consider it an ideal place to spend the whole day, to the point of leaving their belongings in the chairs and tables there while they went off to do some other activity ( perhaps they are the same people who hog the sun beds around the pools in warmer times 😇 )

I enjoyed the port experts commentary when we left Lisbon too.

 

Yes some did seem to take up roots in the Atrium. We preferred to stay outside as much as possible.

[terrierjohn]

4 hours ago, Selbourne said:

John - how would you say Princess compared to P&O, particularly for wheelchair users? Friends of ours have done both and said that overall they thought that Princess was better, but they don’t have any accessibility issues to consider. 

They are about the same Selbourne, although Princess do use shoreside tenders which do allow roll on/off, but they don't advertise this, so we didn't book to go ashore, but watched other wheelchairs do this.  However RCI on Indy with their ramped access to the  tender platform was the best wheelchair experience we have ever had. But the onboard Princess experience was identical to P&O, mainly as the ships are identical Grand Princess class types in our case, and their Royal class is like Britannia.

[Selbourne]

2 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

They are about the same Selbourne, although Princess do use shoreside tenders which do allow roll on/off, but they don't advertise this, so we didn't book to go ashore, but watched other wheelchairs do this.  However RCI on Indy with their ramped access to the  tender platform was the best wheelchair experience we have ever had. But the onboard Princess experience was identical to P&O, mainly as the ships are identical Grand Princess class types in our case, and their Royal class is like Britannia.

Thanks John. That’s useful info. I was rather hoping that P&O would find a wheelchair accessible option for tenders on their new ships, but I’m guessing that hasn’t happened. Itineraries including the smaller tender ports tend to be more interesting, but I always feel guilty having to leave my wife on the ship. 

[Peanut006]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

They are about the same Selbourne, although Princess do use shoreside tenders which do allow roll on/off, but they don't advertise this, so we didn't book to go ashore, but watched other wheelchairs do this.  However RCI on Indy with their ramped access to the  tender platform was the best wheelchair experience we have ever had. But the onboard Princess experience was identical to P&O, mainly as the ships are identical Grand Princess class types in our case, and their Royal class is like Britannia.

This is interesting information for me. I need either a wheelchair or scooter to get about and we are on Enchanted Princess May 2023 Rome to Athens. Thanks again it is good to know.

Michelle

[zap99]

14 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

Submitted my online application to renew my Driving Licence today as I reach 70 in a few months, saying goodbye to old paper licence which I need to cut in half and send back to them, new licence should arrive within 2 weeks. 
 

 

Accidently forgot to send my old one back.🤔

[PRINCESSTHE BEST]

6 hours ago, wowzz said:

No, but I've only just reached the heady heights of the Atlantic tier !

Sorry, I didn’t realise. As you can see from the leaflet you’re not missing much.