Iona and Geiranger

[Host Sharon]

1 hour ago, Fionboard said:

The new mega ships are basically floating resorts. Great if you want to sit on your balcony and look at a load of cranes and containers!

I can't help feeling that is the point. They don't actually want anyone to get off. They would rather have you spending money in the spa and bars on board.

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

I never understood the massive number of cruises on all lines going to Norway in the first place. Can see some of the specialist ones like Northern Lights and Arctic circle as special cases but these backwards and forwards straight rail like ones that all the lines are adopting offer little variety and I cannot see how all these new cruisers they are all chasing will want to keep going there.  Variety is the spice of life and all that ... I recall this area being called a cold weather cruise by Cunard when I first started cruising and at that point there were nowhere near the number of cruises in that area than there are now.

I think there are a number of factors. It is relatively close so less fuel being used. Fjord cruising is done at a slow speed thereby saving more fuel. Only one overseas country to deal with possibly making life easier in times of Covid.

Sadly, the modus operandi of P&O these days is to largely repeat the same 7 and 14 day itineraries over and over again. The two smallest ships are slightly different but still sail very repetitive itineraries.

[gsmt47471015]

9 hours ago, Britboys said:

I think there are a number of factors. It is relatively close so less fuel being used. Fjord cruising is done at a slow speed thereby saving more fuel. Only one overseas country to deal with possibly making life easier in times of Covid.

Sadly, the modus operandi of P&O these days is to largely repeat the same 7 and 14 day itineraries over and over again. The two smallest ships are slightly different but still sail very repetitive itineraries.

Quite agree about the repetitive itineraries, even the longer 35,65,and world cruise are similar year in year out, its one of the factors which have made us book with other lines for "a change of scenery"

[molecrochip]

On 7/14/2022 at 11:59 PM, Britboys said:

I think there are a number of factors. It is relatively close so less fuel being used. Fjord cruising is done at a slow speed thereby saving more fuel. Only one overseas country to deal with possibly making life easier in times of Covid.

Sadly, the modus operandi of P&O these days is to largely repeat the same 7 and 14 day itineraries over and over again. The two smallest ships are slightly different but still sail very repetitive itineraries.

No different to RCI, Celebrity, Carnival, Princess, HAL,

 

Unless you are offering only one ship in a region, generally, you stick to repetitive itineraries. Logistically its easier and visiting the same ports allows a better selection of excursions to be created.

[Host Sharon]

26 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

No different to RCI, Celebrity, Carnival, Princess, HAL,

 

Unless you are offering only one ship in a region, generally, you stick to repetitive itineraries. Logistically its easier and visiting the same ports allows a better selection of excursions to be created.

Maybe, but sadly you are losing those of us who like(d) P&O but still want to see new places. I have  cruises booked of 74 and 93 nights - but with Fred Olsen and Saga, because they are offering so many ports new to me.

[Angel57]

35 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

No different to RCI, Celebrity, Carnival, Princess, HAL,

 

Unless you are offering only one ship in a region, generally, you stick to repetitive itineraries. Logistically its easier and visiting the same ports allows a better selection of excursions to be created.

Sadly, that is boring and short-sighted IMO, and it is not going to tempt repeat passengers.
I’ve done around 40 cruises with P&O - the majority having been on Aurora (altho also been on Oriana, Azura and Victoria) because I love that style of ship and because she went to many different ports over the years.
If she and the other ships in the fleet had stuck to the same itineraries, I doubt I would definitely not have done more than one cruise a year with them and would certainly not have taken the number of cruises over the decades with P&O…..

[Britboys]

3 hours ago, molecrochip said:

No different to RCI, Celebrity, Carnival, Princess, HAL,

 

Unless you are offering only one ship in a region, generally, you stick to repetitive itineraries. Logistically its easier and visiting the same ports allows a better selection of excursions to be created.

I understand that it is commercially beneficial for P&O but it is boring for a sizeable minority of us pax. Fred Olsen and Ambassador are now much more on my radar than P&O. They try to market Aurora & Arcadia as going to more unusual places but invariably they are the same 'unusual' places every year. All part if the gradual shift of emphasis in the brand.

[Snow Hill]

A lot is said of the itineraries that P&O offer, so which new places in Europe for example would you wish to go that P&O don’t currently offer? 
 

This assumes:
 

1. There is a port nearby with the capacity to handle cruise ships

2. There is shire and excursion capacity for the volumes of passengers 

[Britboys]

33 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

A lot is said of the itineraries that P&O offer, so which new places in Europe for example would you wish to go that P&O don’t currently offer? 
 

This assumes:
 

1. There is a port nearby with the capacity to handle cruise ships

2. There is shire and excursion capacity for the volumes of passengers 

I do understand the inherent difficulties the larger ships bring but there is much scope for the two smaller ones. There are many ports used by Oriana in the now distant past that are never used these days. Aurora and Arcadia sail plenty of 19 night itineraries but only a few call in to Malta for instance, whilst many call at Sicily. Many lines are now calling at Istanbul, Haifa and Alexandria again but P&O seem reluctant to return.

In the Canaries, what about La Gomera and El Hierro? Cape Verde Islands?

P&O now seem to be pairing Iceland with Norway. What about Iceland and Greenland?

[Snow Hill]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

I do understand the inherent difficulties the larger ships bring but there is much scope for the two smaller ones. There are many ports used by Oriana in the now distant past that are never used these days. Aurora and Arcadia sail plenty of 19 night itineraries but only a few call in to Malta for instance, whilst many call at Sicily. Many lines are now calling at Istanbul, Haifa and Alexandria again but P&O seem reluctant to return.

In the Canaries, what about La Gomera and El Hierro? Cape Verde Islands?

P&O now seem to be pairing Iceland with Norway. What about Iceland and Greenland?

We should have called ar La Gomera on our Christmas Cruise in 2012, but was too windy to get in, plus the one docking position was occupied by a Saga ship that couldn’t get out, we hung around for an hour them moved in to next port of call of call Funchal.

 

Not sure P&O could call at El Herrio as I think ship size is limited to either 1000 or 1500 passengers.

 

The distance from Tenerife to the main island in Cape Verde is 1200 nautical miles, so it would take almost 3 days to get there, so unlikely to be included on a Europe based cruise, possible for a RoW or Caribbean cruise.

 

Like the idea of Alexandria, not interested in visiting Israel, Istanbul is on list to visit at some point, my son has been there a few times and says you need at least a minimum of 3 days to do it justice.

 

I would add Corsica, Sardinia and Cyprus to the list of ports. 

 

 

[scifimonkey]

On 7/12/2022 at 1:32 PM, Ardennais said:

That’s what I would like to know too! 

It didn't tender as it has to unload over 5000 passengers and it would take forever……………………

what is more questionable is how does a ship supposedly designed specifically for the Fiords seem incapable of docking at Gerainger one of the primary Fiord ports, cannot dock at Flaam because it is too big and continually seem to have handling problems in a light breeze. Expect to see Arvia and Iona shipped off to sail the Med and the Caribbean before too long.

[Gettingwarmer]

Arvia is meant for the Caribbean as she has an opening roof. 

[Host Sharon]

You ask about new to P&O ports. Last month, I cruised with another line to Kefalonia, Bodrum, Antalya, Canakkale, Paphos, Palermo, Syracuse and Tunis among others. Of these I have only known P&O visit Palermo and maybe Kefalonia, and Palermo seems to have been a one-off. Meanwhile, since I like the Med, I have been to Lisbon 11 times and Cadiz 10 times. How about Motril and Ceuta? 

[Ardennais]

1 hour ago, scifimonkey said:

It didn't tender as it has to unload over 5000 passengers and it would take forever……………………

what is more questionable is how does a ship supposedly designed specifically for the Fiords seem incapable of docking at Gerainger one of the primary Fiord ports, cannot dock at Flaam because it is too big and continually seem to have handling problems in a light breeze. Expect to see Arvia and Iona shipped off to sail the Med and the Caribbean before too long.

I know that it would take forever - it takes ages with Azura or Ventura for instance with far fewer passengers. I just wanted to know whether Iona would be tendering at all in future - the numbers are the same wherever. And the general feeling I get is that Iona and Arvia will be avoiding tender ports - and I well understand the reason for that. But it just reinforces the fact that these mega ships will have fewer possible ports and if that’s the way things are going, then many small tender ports will sadly disappear from the itineraries.

 

 

[Ardennais]

Do P&O go to Monte Carlo or Villefranche? We tendered to both with Princess and RCI. 

[molecrochip]

12 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

Do P&O go to Monte Carlo or Villefranche? We tendered to both with Princess and RCI. 

Yes to both however, the bigger ships have to tender in to Monaco and there have been issues. Azura/Ventura can just fit depending upon what else is in port.

 

One ship actually had to abandon its tender operation at Monaco due to bad weather. Passengers were taken to a sports hall and then bused to Villefranche the next day where the ship had managed to dock.

 

Because of the way the weather suddenly appears from over the hills, the weather and sea state can change rapidly,

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by molecrochip

[Ardennais]

2 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

Yes to both however, the bigger ships have to tender in to Monaco and there have been issues. Azura/Ventura can just fit depending upon what else is in port.

 

One ship actually had to abandon its tender operation at Monaco due to bad weather. Passengers were taken to a sports hall and then bused to Villefranche the next day where the ship had managed to dock.

 

Because of the way the weather suddenly appears from over the hills, the weather and sea state can change rapidly,

 

I seem to remember reading about that incident. We tendered wt Monaco with Grand Princess in 2012 and Villefranche with Adventure of the Sea in 2014. They were both lovely places and I would like to revisit! 

[terrierjohn]

25 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

Do P&O go to Monte Carlo or Villefranche? We tendered to both with Princess and RCI. 

If Arvia is unlikely to tender then I do hope P&O put Monte Carlo on some of its itineraries, since my wife can't use a P&O tender.

[Yorkypete]

2 hours ago, scifimonkey said:

It didn't tender as it has to unload over 5000 passengers and it would take forever……………………

what is more questionable is how does a ship supposedly designed specifically for the Fiords seem incapable of docking at Gerainger one of the primary Fiord ports, cannot dock at Flaam because it is too big and continually seem to have handling problems in a light breeze. Expect to see Arvia and Iona shipped off to sail the Med and the Caribbean before too long.

Cannot dock in Bergen either. One of my favourite ports in Norway. I cannot believe that Iona and Arvia were designed for Norway. What would be the point when they are severley limited  for the ports? They are too big and the continual building of larger and larger ships will be the eventual downfall of the cruise industry.

Edited July 16, 2022 by Yorkypete

[Snow Hill]

45 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

Do P&O go to Monte Carlo or Villefranche? We tendered to both with Princess and RCI. 

 

20 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

If Arvia is unlikely to tender then I do hope P&O put Monte Carlo on some of its itineraries, since my wife can't use a P&O tender.

We were due to visit Monte Carlo on our cruise that never was in 2020 on the Oceana, which was cancelled due to pandemic, if I recall correctly the transfer to Monte Carlo was by tender, it might have had some to do with the Monaco Grand Prix being on whilst we were there. The port at Monte Carlo appears to be able to accommodate cruise ships up to 300m , however from this year it is limiting length up to 250m and passenger capacity up to 1250, which will exclude all the P&O fleet on size and passenger numbers from docking.

 

http://www.ports-monaco.com/en/cruises.html

 

Having been to VilleFranche whilst on a city break to Nice around 9 years ago, there is not a lot of room in port and I saw one cruise ship at tender.

 

 

 

[Snow Hill]

11 minutes ago, Yorkypete said:

Cannot dock in Bergen either. One of my favourite ports in Norway. I cannot believe that Iona and Arvia were designed for Norway. What would be the point when they are severley limited  for the ports? They are too big and the continual building of larger and larger ships will be the eventual downfall of the cruise industry.

Arvia is designed for sunnier climates, primarily the Caribbean.

Edited July 16, 2022 by Snow Hill

[davecttr]

8 hours ago, Snow Hill said:

Arvia is designed for sunnier climates, primarily the Caribbean.

Probably Iona is too, except for the skydome. As for Norway it may be that in a few years NO cruise ships will be allowed in the fjords except those using batteries or fuel cells. I presume fuel cells emitting only pure water would be OK

[Megabear2]

15 hours ago, molecrochip said:

Yes to both however, the bigger ships have to tender in to Monaco and there have been issues. Azura/Ventura can just fit depending upon what else is in port.

 

One ship actually had to abandon its tender operation at Monaco due to bad weather. Passengers were taken to a sports hall and then bused to Villefranche the next day where the ship had managed to dock.

 

Because of the way the weather suddenly appears from over the hills, the weather and sea state can change rapidly,

 

I've just tendered Cannes with Celebrity, that was nice and very easy but then the tenders on the Edge were out of this world.  We also tendered Portofino on her.  Thinking about it the ports were very varied on that cruise and not a container in sight.  The Princess one on the other hand had Regal in ports where those staying onboard could enjoy a good view of nice Hapag Lloyd orange containers all day!

 

I'd welcome Cyprus, Israel and some different ports in Sicily.  Messina is not interesting as it's a rebuild after WW2.

[Britboys]

19 hours ago, Snow Hill said:

We should have called ar La Gomera on our Christmas Cruise in 2012, but was too windy to get in, plus the one docking position was occupied by a Saga ship that couldn’t get out, we hung around for an hour them moved in to next port of call of call Funchal.

 

Not sure P&O could call at El Herrio as I think ship size is limited to either 1000 or 1500 passengers.

 

The distance from Tenerife to the main island in Cape Verde is 1200 nautical miles, so it would take almost 3 days to get there, so unlikely to be included on a Europe based cruise, possible for a RoW or Caribbean cruise.

 

Like the idea of Alexandria, not interested in visiting Israel, Istanbul is on list to visit at some point, my son has been there a few times and says you need at least a minimum of 3 days to do it justice.

 

I would add Corsica, Sardinia and Cyprus to the list of ports. 

 

 

Ambassador offer a 21 night itinerary calling at the Canaries and Cape Verde among other ports. No reason P&O couldn't do something similar with Aurora or Arcadia.

Re Istanbul, many ports need two or three days to really explore. Rome, Barcelona, Lisbon, Copenhagen, Stockholm - and others.

Cyprus would I am sure be popular. I worked there years ago so doesn't hold much appeal to me but as I say, it would be popular.

Corsica and Sardinia feature fairly regularly on either the fly-cruises or longer Med Itineraries.

[Britboys]

16 hours ago, Host Sharon said:

You ask about new to P&O ports. Last month, I cruised with another line to Kefalonia, Bodrum, Antalya, Canakkale, Paphos, Palermo, Syracuse and Tunis among others. Of these I have only known P&O visit Palermo and maybe Kefalonia, and Palermo seems to have been a one-off. Meanwhile, since I like the Med, I have been to Lisbon 11 times and Cadiz 10 times. How about Motril and Ceuta? 

I have called into Tunis (La Goulette) with P&O Sharon. Did an enjoyable excursion to Carthage and Sidi Bou Said. Not somewhere they visit much though.