Positive outlook

[wowzz]

28 minutes ago, Britboys said:

One of the other little nuggets to come out of the report is that apart from the 4 ships that are currently on order, there will be no further new ships ordered before 2026 at the earliest and maybe beyond that. Also, that growth in the fleet will be much slower after 26/27. 

This suggests that it is very unlikely that P&O will get another ship for a few years yet. Of course that doesn't 100% rule out a change of plan or the possibility of a ship being transferred between brands but certainly looks unlikely.

There is speculation on other threads that more Costa ships will be transferred to the Carnival brand over the next few years. 

[Britboys]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

There is speculation on other threads that more Costa ships will be transferred to the Carnival brand over the next few years. 

Costa seems to be a brand that is struggling..

[terrierjohn]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

There is speculation on other threads that more Costa ships will be transferred to the Carnival brand over the next few years. 

Have Carnival said why they appear to be winding down the Costa brand?

[wowzz]

This from the financial,statement:

Our investment in advertising and sales support is clearly paying dividends. For example, we've been upsizing our UK TV presence for P&O Cruises, the brand synonymous with cruising in the UK. Not only has P&O Cruise has been enjoying a measurable increase in brand awareness as a result, but the brand has also experienced record bookings over the last three months. This is not surprising given the high correlation between TV advertising awareness and propensity to book in the UK.

[majortom10]

10 hours ago, Yorkypete said:

Some holiday companies may. Most hotels I stay in you can pay on arrival, having paid a 10% deposit.

 

Perhaps so if booking direct but when you book a package holiday with majority of tour operators they operate the same way as cruise lines in wanting a deposit when bookings and balance 12+ weeks before cruise.

[jh1809]

45 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Have Carnival said why they appear to be winding down the Costa brand?

Perhaps they're finding that memories of the Costa Concordia disaster are continuing to make cruises on Costa ships difficult to sell?

[tring]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

Have Carnival said why they appear to be winding down the Costa brand?

 

Molecrochip explained that a couple of months ago, I think on the thread were we were dicussing the three ships which were going and only two had been named. 

 

I cannot remember the full details (not much was given either), but from what I remember, yes the brand will be transferring some more ships over and Costa it is under some sort of linkage with somewhere in the East (? China).  He said he did not expect the Costa brand name to be used going forward.

 

[david63]

I think one interesting part is

31 minutes ago, wowzz said:

The absolute onboard spending on our European brands is less than that on our North American brands. Our European brand guests tend to drink a little bit more but gamble a lot less.

Does this suggest that P&O's ships will getting bigger casinos when they have a refit?

 

Incidentally shares are still falling!

[Britboys]

4 minutes ago, david63 said:

I think one interesting part is

Does this suggest that P&O's ships will getting bigger casinos when they have a refit?

 

Incidentally shares are still falling!

If European guests gamble less, it would be counterproductive to make the casinos bigger.

[tring]

11 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

I think when it comes to cruising you are in a minority. If you really want to immerse yourself in culture somewhere interesting, then you are much better doing a land based holiday, and IMO the majority of new cruisers  do want a floating resort.

I have already expressed my doubts that environmental issues are likely to significantly impact the cruise industry. Will check back with you in 10 years time, if I am still here.

 

I totally disagree, though as P&O are continuing to stick to the same ports, maney of which are becoming very touristy (e.g. The Caribbean), the company is becoming less suitable for real travel theses days, which was the point made originally by Yorkypete.  There are still some itineraries which can be very valuable for real tourism though on the longer cruises and even places in the Med/Baltic can be useful if you seek out the areas frequented by locals. or places a bit further away from the cruise dock.

Fred has some excellent itineraries if you look for them.  There is a really excellent 93 night around Africa cruise going out on 19th November, that is too long for us, but we are keeping an eye on it to see if he splits it into segments, which he often does late on.  He also has other long itineraries calling at much more unusual ports than P&O.  His Arctic cruises can be very good as well, we have just booked a 27 nighter  going to very remote places in Canada and Greenland in June 2024, which has loads of unusual ports not visited by the mainstream cruise lines.  What we often prefer to do though is to take a land holiday to a particular region (e.g. going East) and travel around a bit there, but have combined that with a cruise, that can take in a lot more over a distance.  That is where we have used Kuoni to do a tailor made itinerary land based (e.g. Sri Lanka) to combine with a cruise.  They and other agents will combine a whole tailor made itinerary to form a full package, thus getting that protection that gives, which is what we will be doing in the future as our insurance does not now cover disruption, if one element crashes (e.g. cruise cancelled).  We have even used the cruise and explore model in the Med with Azamara, just having a relatively short time to explore somewhere, hotel based, then taking a short cruise to another destination where we explored some more, with some less visited ports in between - doing all that in different hotels would be a nightmare.

 

 

There is scope for both choices and many families, as well as older people whose health and mobility is declining, will be happy with a resort style ship, but lots of retired people have a good number of years when they can and often want to experience real travel and they are not likely to be P&O fans long term once the mid sized ships go.  We are approaching our mid seventies and are not being grounded yet, though have decided to make the most of what P&O itineraries we can benefit from whilst it is still offered at P&O's competitive prices, whilst also going on "specials" to other places.

 

 

[david63]

20 minutes ago, Britboys said:

it would be counterproductive to make the casinos bigger.

But it might encourage greater use/spending.

 

On American ships the casinos are, generally, main attractions and are prominent whilst on P&O ships they are small, unappealing and hidden away.

[majortom10]

I was amazed on my recent cruise on Iona how busy the casino was in the evenings. Not just machines but the tables as well, we passed through either on our way to the theatre or on leaving. Never seen a casino as busy on a P&O ship in over 23yrs. Before anyone says it is the younger market P&O are aiming for majority on both machines and tables were 50/60s and older.

 

[yorkshirephil]

6 minutes ago, tring said:

 

I totally disagree, though as P&O are continuing to stick to the same ports, maney of which are becoming very touristy (e.g. The Caribbean), the company is becoming less suitable for real travel theses days, which was the point made originally by Yorkypete.  There are still some itineraries which can be very valuable for real tourism though on the longer cruises and even places in the Med/Baltic can be useful if you seek out the areas frequented by locals. or places a bit further away from the cruise dock.

Fred has some excellent itineraries if you look for them.  There is a really excellent 93 night around Africa cruise going out on 19th November, that is too long for us, but we are keeping an eye on it to see if he splits it into segments, which he often does late on.  He also has other long itineraries calling at much more unusual ports than P&O.  His Arctic cruises can be very good as well, we have just booked a 27 nighter  going to very remote places in Canada and Greenland in June 2024, which has loads of unusual ports not visited by the mainstream cruise lines.  What we often prefer to do though is to take a land holiday to a particular region (e.g. going East) and travel around a bit there, but have combined that with a cruise, that can take in a lot more over a distance.  That is where we have used Kuoni to do a tailor made itinerary land based (e.g. Sri Lanka) to combine with a cruise.  They and other agents will combine a whole tailor made itinerary to form a full package, thus getting that protection that gives, which is what we will be doing in the future as our insurance does not now cover disruption, if one element crashes (e.g. cruise cancelled).  We have even used the cruise and explore model in the Med with Azamara, just having a relatively short time to explore somewhere, hotel based, then taking a short cruise to another destination where we explored some more, with some less visited ports in between - doing all that in different hotels would be a nightmare.

 

 

There is scope for both choices and many families, as well as older people whose health and mobility is declining, will be happy with a resort style ship, but lots of retired people have a good number of years when they can and often want to experience real travel and they are not likely to be P&O fans long term once the mid sized ships go.  We are approaching our mid seventies and are not being grounded yet, though have decided to make the most of what P&O itineraries we can benefit from whilst it is still offered at P&O's competitive prices, whilst also going on "specials" to other places.

 

 

You are right there is still scope for real tourism, I loved the Greenland cruise in the summer albeit I would have liked to explore a bit more, we need to pace ourselves these days. We are going on the Cunard Japan and Alaska cruise in May and seriously considering the South America tour in 2025 with Cunard. We are now trying to mix it up a bit and fit a bucket list cruise in and amongst the we want a bit of sun cruises.

[tring]

1 hour ago, yorkshirephil said:

You are right there is still scope for real tourism, I loved the Greenland cruise in the summer albeit I would have liked to explore a bit more, we need to pace ourselves these days. We are going on the Cunard Japan and Alaska cruise in May and seriously considering the South America tour in 2025 with Cunard. We are now trying to mix it up a bit and fit a bucket list cruise in and amongst the we want a bit of sun cruises.

 

Sounds good, yes that was a great itinerary we both did last summer.  I had not looked at Cunard, but yes other options do exist, though need some sort of warm relaxation holiday as well.  We were looking at a Princess itinerary a number of years back which went from China to Alaska, spending a bit of time each end, but I think they stopped that regular translocation and the pound went down a lot - anyway we never got around to it.  Have looked at some HAL itineraries in the past as well, but do not know what they are doing now - problem is we are a bit older and a health issue has caused a bit of a setback this winter, so will have to prioritise what we do.  Enjoy your travels while you can.

 

Barbara

[Bill Y]

2 hours ago, david63 said:

But it might encourage greater use/spending.

 

On American ships the casinos are, generally, main attractions and are prominent whilst on P&O ships they are small, unappealing and hidden away.

It would appear to be cultural thing, Americans appear to be proud of their casino spend bragging that they are entitled customers as they “drop” a thousand dollars plus in the casino. Apparently they are hailed as high rollers, whereas over here we would just think what a loser and fool and there money etc. 

 

Having watched early 007 films in my youth I thought casinos were glamorous places with people dressed up to the nines and beautiful young women everywhere. The reality I found to be very different, somewhat seedy, no glamour, smaller tables and quite depressing, when walking through the casino on the way to breakfast on an American ship seeing the night shift hard at it on the slots, reminded me of what it must have been like in the press shop  of an old washer factory, they appeared to be dressed for it.

 

Still each to their own.

[Yorkypete]

5 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Going for a stroll around somewhere you have been before, which is what we .mainly do, isn't really the same as seeking out the local culture and visiting different places.

I love the history of different places and it would be hell just sitting around on a beach or balcony all day. I like to see different places and learn about the culture and history. If people like sunbathing then it is cheaper to get a hotel with a sea view balcony on the south coast and they will be happy.. Cruising is a way, IMO, to see the world and reach places at a cheaper price than flying just to one area. Disney and Butlins are wonderful places for families with kids so why spend thousands for the same thing at sea? As there are many countries and areas which we have never been to (unlike some on here who seem to have been everywhere) I would like to reach them in a comfortable  and relaxed way. To me, that is cruising..

[davecttr]

1 hour ago, Bill Y said:

. No wonder american ships have hige casinosIt would appear to be cultural thing, Americans appear to be proud of their casino spend bragging that they are entitled customers as they “drop” a thousand dollars plus in the casino. Apparently they are hailed as high rollers,

It is more than that, apparently a $20,000 spend will get you a complimentary inside cabin for your next cruise, and a lot of people do that on a 7 night cruise. No wonder american based ships have huge casinos, I remember the high roller pit on NCL Epic, the blackjack minimum bet was $100, om P&O it is £5

[david63]

6 minutes ago, davecttr said:

a $20,000 spend will get you a complimentary inside cabin for your next cruise

Perhaps I am missing something here but wouldn't it be cheaper to just pay for the cruise?

[crompton21]

For quite a while now, Costa cruises appear to have been marketed with a low headline price whilst anything that could be charged for was. The focus being to upsell or charge for everything other than a very poor basic experience.
For some strange reason the brand now appears to have failed (unconnected I am sure). 

 

[davecttr]

1 hour ago, david63 said:

Perhaps I am missing something here but wouldn't it be cheaper to just pay for the cruise?

I think it is calculated on your casino spend not winnings or losses