Why Cruise?

[Selbourne]

4 minutes ago, Denarius said:

I find myself in a similar situation.

I started cruising in the early 1990s with my late partner, initially with Cunard but then predominently with P&O. I carried on after their passing, and over the years ocean cruises became a habit; my total is probably about 50, two thirds of which have been with P&O. Lockdown however, deprived me of my regular cruises and I did not miss them as much as I thought I would. Asking myself why, I realised that as ships had got bigger my enjoyment of sailing on them had reduced; there was no longer the camaraderie you got on a smaller ship. And standards on P&O had gone down to such a extent that it no longer felt like an up market experience. Also, I was running out of new ports to visit. I had got in a rut.

So instead of booking a future ocean cruise with P&O I booked with Saga instead, plus a river cruise with Riviera. I found both to my liking and my love of cruises has been revived. Currently I have more ocean cruises booked with Saga, plus river cruises with Riviera and Saga. OK, it will costs me considerably more than had I continued to sail with P&O but I am fortunate enough to be able to afford it. And as a single man in his mid 70s who has never had children, I see no reason to deprive myself now so that my wider family can inherit a few more pounds on my eventual demise - that is, after the government has taken 40% in Inheritence Tax!

In your situation I would do exactly the same. Like some others, although we were cruising around 3 times a year prior to Covid, we didn’t really miss it at all during the shutdown. Staycation cruises didn’t remotely appeal, as we cruise for the ports not sea days, and we couldn’t be doing with all the on board restrictions.
 

Also, like you and others, we were noticing the drop off in quality with P&O pre Covid. I grow rather tired of the constant jibes from a couple of posters that those of us who haven’t cruised since Covid shouldn’t comment on this, as if we have no experience. This is of course nonsense, as the changes were happening in the years leading up to Covid and, from all the reviews I have read since, the cutbacks have worsened, not improved. 

 

We have put our money where our mouth is and have booked our first Cunard cruise and we are pre registered with Saga and are keen to try them. What we have decided, however, is that we will still use P&O as ‘filler’ holidays, as long as the price reflects the revised quality of the experience. In a similar manner, we use Premier Inn quite happily for short breaks and are happy to do so, but if it was a special holiday we would use somewhere more luxurious. 
 

Having used suites with P&O on the bigger ships and balcony cabins on the more expensive cruises (mostly on Aurora), we have now set a notional cap of £200 per night per couple for a balcony cabin with P&O, as we feel that the lower quality experience will still represent good value at those prices. This price cap also reflects the fact that we will be using speciality restaurants more than we would have done previously. Our Iona cruise in August is more expensive, but was booked some years ago. Our October Ventura cruise was well below our cap and in fact I booked a Britannia cruise yesterday that was also below our price cap. Hopefully, with 3 ‘post Covid’ P&O cruises on 3 different ships this year we will have a very clear idea as to whether or not we have made the right decision. 

[AndyMichelle]

2 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

 

 

What we have decided, however, is that we will still use P&O as ‘filler’ holidays, as long as the price reflects the revised quality of the experience. In a similar manner, we use Premier Inn quite happily for short breaks and are happy to do so, but if it was a special holiday we would use somewhere more luxurious. 
 

Good summary Selbourne. 

We accepted pre covid that standards were dropping, but still found it suited us to have 3-4 cruises a year on P&O that we thoroughly enjoyed. 

We are on Britannia soon and are hoping this is still the case as some of the prices advertised are just too tempting. 

However, if the offering doesn't suit us, we will look at alternatives. 

Andy 

 

[Sheila127]

To be perfectly honest I am just grateful that I can!  Coming through a pandemic relatively unscathed I am not going to worry about the minutiae that others seem to worry about! I have been on two P and O cruises this year, Iona and Azura, and had a fabulous time on both! 

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, Denarius said:

I find myself in a similar situation.

I started cruising in the early 1990s with my late partner, initially with Cunard but then predominently with P&O. I carried on after their passing, and over the years ocean cruises became a habit; my total is probably about 50, two thirds of which have been with P&O. Lockdown however, deprived me of my regular cruises and I did not miss them as much as I thought I would. Asking myself why, I realised that as ships had got bigger my enjoyment of sailing on them had reduced; there was no longer the camaraderie you got on a smaller ship. And standards on P&O had gone down to such a extent that it no longer felt like an up market experience. Also, I was running out of new ports to visit. I had got in a rut.

So instead of booking a future ocean cruise with P&O I booked with Saga instead, plus a river cruise with Riviera. I found both to my liking and my love of cruises has been revived. Currently I have more ocean cruises booked with Saga, plus river cruises with Riviera and Saga. OK, it will costs me considerably more than had I continued to sail with P&O but I am fortunate enough to be able to afford it. And as a single man in his mid 70s who has never had children, I see no reason to deprive myself now so that my wider family can inherit a few more pounds on my eventual demise - that is, after the government has taken 40% in Inheritence Tax!

Very similar to how I am feeling at the moment although I haven't taken the step of booking Saga due to the prices compared to a standard outside cabin on Aurora or Arcadia. I'm investigating  Ambassador Cruises who operate smallish ships by today's standards. Fortunately, I still find that camaraderie aboard Aurora and whilst things are not what they were some 15 to 20 years ago, I'm okay with what they offer for the price.

I am keen to do a European River cruise mind and have looked at Riviera. I don't have anything booked for next year so far, so who knows...

[yorkshirephil]

25 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Very similar to how I am feeling at the moment although I haven't taken the step of booking Saga due to the prices compared to a standard outside cabin on Aurora or Arcadia. I'm investigating  Ambassador Cruises who operate smallish ships by today's standards. Fortunately, I still find that camaraderie aboard Aurora and whilst things are not what they were some 15 to 20 years ago, I'm okay with what they offer for the price.

I am keen to do a European River cruise mind and have looked at Riviera. I don't have anything booked for next year so far, so who knows...

We did our first river cruise last summer, (Danube with tui) something we had been mulling over as there are so many places still to visit that cannot be done through a sea cruise. We had a great time visiting fantastic places, the food was probably the best we have had over a two week period. Fresh food was brought on each day and local dishes were made. There wasn't a big choice but the quality was spot on. The boat was 2/3 full and very friendly. We will take more river cruises in the future. The only down side was the poor entertainment, we didn't expect cruise ship style but we now appreciate the cruise entertainment. The two week river cruise was slightly more expensive than our 40 night Caribbean cruise on Arcadia.

[Selbourne]

4 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

We did our first river cruise last summer, (Danube with tui) something we had been mulling over as there are so many places still to visit that cannot be done through a sea cruise. We had a great time visiting fantastic places, the food was probably the best we have had over a two week period. Fresh food was brought on each day and local dishes were made. There wasn't a big choice but the quality was spot on. The boat was 2/3 full and very friendly. We will take more river cruises in the future. The only down side was the poor entertainment, we didn't expect cruise ship style but we now appreciate the cruise entertainment. The two week river cruise was slightly more expensive than our 40 night Caribbean cruise on Arcadia.

We would love to do river cruises. The constantly changing scenery and the fact that there are no sea days would be perfect for us! Sadly, they cannot accommodate wheelchair users. I have heard others say that the entertainment isn’t great and, of course, dining and bar options are very limited. However, I guess that’s no different to a boutique hotel versus a resort, which is essentially  the difference between a river cruise boat and a cruise ship. 

[Denarius]

42 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Very similar to how I am feeling at the moment although I haven't taken the step of booking Saga due to the prices compared to a standard outside cabin on Aurora or Arcadia. I'm investigating  Ambassador Cruises who operate smallish ships by today's standards. Fortunately, I still find that camaraderie aboard Aurora and whilst things are not what they were some 15 to 20 years ago, I'm okay with what they offer for the price.

I am keen to do a European River cruise mind and have looked at Riviera. I don't have anything booked for next year so far, so who knows...

Riviera are very good and (unlike Viking) single friendly as regards pricing. Their standard single supplement is 50% and they offer a limited number of cabins on the lower deck at no single supplement.

[Denarius]

12 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

We would love to do river cruises. The constantly changing scenery and the fact that there are no sea days would be perfect for us! Sadly, they cannot accommodate wheelchair users. I have heard others say that the entertainment isn’t great and, of course, dining and bar options are very limited. However, I guess that’s no different to a boutique hotel versus a resort, which is essentially  the difference between a river cruise boat and a cruise ship. 

Entertainment on a river cruise is minimal. Usually a pianist or guitarist who plays and maybe also sings in the lounge after dinner, plus the occasional outside entertainer(s) from onshore if the ship is tied up overnight. But its relative absence means that passengers mingle and actually talk with one another after dinner instead of rushing off to see a show. Similar to Star Clippers in fact.

[Selbourne]

3 minutes ago, Denarius said:

Entertainment on a river cruise is minimal. Usually a pianist or guitarist who plays and maybe also sings in the lounge after dinner, plus the occasional outside entertainer(s) from onshore if the ship is tied up overnight. But its relative absence means that passengers mingle and actually talk with one another after dinner instead of rushing off to see a show. Similar to Star Clippers in fact.

Sounds great. 

[Britboys]

32 minutes ago, Denarius said:

Riviera are very good and (unlike Viking) single friendly as regards pricing. Their standard single supplement is 50% and they offer a limited number of cabins on the lower deck at no single supplement.

Have you sailed in a lower deck cabin at all? Always wondered if there is any noise from the water flowing down the hull...

[Britboys]

47 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

We did our first river cruise last summer, (Danube with tui) something we had been mulling over as there are so many places still to visit that cannot be done through a sea cruise. We had a great time visiting fantastic places, the food was probably the best we have had over a two week period. Fresh food was brought on each day and local dishes were made. There wasn't a big choice but the quality was spot on. The boat was 2/3 full and very friendly. We will take more river cruises in the future. The only down side was the poor entertainment, we didn't expect cruise ship style but we now appreciate the cruise entertainment. The two week river cruise was slightly more expensive than our 40 night Caribbean cruise on Arcadia.

I have done one river cruise - on the Nile, so wouldn't have any expectations with regard to entertainment. Germany in particular is a country I have seen very little of, so that region appeals.

[Interestedcruisefan]

45 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

We would love to do river cruises. The constantly changing scenery and the fact that there are no sea days would be perfect for us! Sadly, they cannot accommodate wheelchair users. I have heard others say that the entertainment isn’t great and, of course, dining and bar options are very limited. However, I guess that’s no different to a boutique hotel versus a resort, which is essentially  the difference between a river cruise boat and a cruise ship. 

What is the entertainment?

 

Ignore that I've seen the answer above now

Edited April 16, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Britboys]

1 minute ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

What is the entertainment?

See post #108 by Denarius above...

[yorkshirephil]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

Have you sailed in a lower deck cabin at all? Always wondered if there is any noise from the water flowing down the hull...

We cruised in a lower deck cabin on the Danube, the windows were just above the waterline, we never noticed any noise from the water but we did get the odd bump if we hit a log, we were at the very front of the boat as well as low down. 

[yorkshirephil]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

I have done one river cruise - on the Nile, so wouldn't have any expectations with regard to entertainment. Germany in particular is a country I have seen very little of, so that region appeals.

We are planning on cruising the Rhine next year for Mrs YP's big birthday, the scenery looks stunning with some great towns to visit. One thing to watch on some of the German rivers, especially the Main is that when the river is high some of the older boats don't have electric fold down side rails so when the rails are manually lowered for the bridges they stay lowered for several days thus making the upper observation deck sealed off which isn't ideal when you want to watch the world go by. Tui had quite a few disgruntled passengers last year.

[Deeliteful]

I still enjoy my cruises but not all with P&O, though I am doing my 3rd Norwegian Fjords cruise in June on Iona. I will report back. I usually travel solo but this cruise I am with a friend. Balcony cabin booked which for me is a must on the Fjords. Very much looking forward to it.

The cruise after that is with RCI , Transatlantic in October on the Symphony. Bit worried about the size of that ship but will see whether it floats my boat or not!

 

As another poster stated, I saw very little difference between Cunard and P&O but I wasn’t in the Queens grill!

 

The only line I wouldn’t sail again is Fred Olsen. 

[Host Sharon]

2 hours ago, Britboys said:

Have you sailed in a lower deck cabin at all? Always wondered if there is any noise from the water flowing down the hull...

Not in my experience. They don't travel fast enough! Might be woken up by ducks outside though 🙂

[Denarius]

2 hours ago, Britboys said:

Have you sailed in a lower deck cabin at all? Always wondered if there is any noise from the water flowing down the hull...

Yes to the first question, no to the second. The cruise I booked during lockdown and took last year was in a lower deck cabin. They are the same size as those on the deck above but only have a fixed window highish up rather than a french balcony; sometimes referred to as aquarium class! But as a solo cruiser I do not spend a lot of time in my cabin and they can work out as little as half the price of those on the deck above if you get them with no supplement. If you are flexible as to dates it pays to look at several as on some the no supplement ones may have been sold. I did not notice any unacceptable noise and was not conscious of sound of water flowing down the hull. I have three more aquarium class cabins booked for this year and next all of which I got without supplement. Paid £1699 for 7 nights on Rhine and Moselle, £3679 for 14 nights Cologne to Budapest. Excursions included but drinks and gratuities extra.

Edited April 16, 2023 by Denarius

[jeanlyon]

Did one river cruise a few years ago.  Would not recommend it.   We smelt the bilges.  Dinner seemed to be at 6pm, not to our taste.  We like a drink about 7 and then dinner after that.  The duck who put his nose through the window was a highlight though.

[Denarius]

16 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

Did one river cruise a few years ago.  Would not recommend it.   We smelt the bilges.  Dinner seemed to be at 6pm, not to our taste.  We like a drink about 7 and then dinner after that.  The duck who put his nose through the window was a highlight though.

On my cruise dinner was served from 7:00 or 7:30.

[Merry25]

On 4/16/2023 at 10:54 AM, kruzseeka said:

I understand the claim re visitors not spending much/anything in port but that is surely compensated for by those who do.....even a coffee and cake/beer/icecream sundae/souvenir - whatever - helps keep some businesses afloat. 

And then there are those who do spend quite a lot - meals/local taxis/local tours/beach furniture/admission fees for sites of interest etc.  

It all adds up and that doesn't take into account what the cruise line contribute through excursions - and berthing fees which are significant.  It all adds to the income and employment potential for ports.  Add we should't ignore the visitor taxes which are becoming more common.  

It's all a matter of choice but blanket statements about cruise passengers not spending a lot on shore is surely compensated for by those who do and the other income streams. 

My guess is that a lot of places would suffer dramatically should cruise ships cease visiting and there would be soon be a reversal of attitudes.  However, keeping visits to reasonable numbers does seem sensible both for the locals and for visitors too. 

Whilst I agree fully with your comments, I thibnk you have totally misunderstood my remarks.

I was merely saying that P & O will probably not be pleased with us or making much more money, because we won't be drinking a lot on board, nor booking excursions with them.  We will of course go ashore and spend in the local businesses (I love shopping too!). 

[kruzseeka]

49 minutes ago, Merry25 said:

Whilst I agree fully with your comments, I thibnk you have totally misunderstood my remarks.

I was merely saying that P & O will probably not be pleased with us or making much more money, because we won't be drinking a lot on board, nor booking excursions with them.  We will of course go ashore and spend in the local businesses (I love shopping too!). 

Sorry, there was no intention to be critical or personal and I can see that your comment I quoted had a different context to my response. 

I just picked up your comment (probably the wrong one to quote in hindsight) in defence of those who choose not to spend much on shore (following earlier discussions about whether or not folk eat lunch on or off the ship) which is often quoted in the context of the value (or not) of cruise passengers to the local economy.  I think that criticism is unfair in that it is personal choice and in any event, having bought a cruise all passengers are contributing through port fees and tourist taxes. For reasons I expressed, even if some passengers spend little, overall there is significant financial benefit to the local infrastructure.  

[Merry25]

1 hour ago, kruzseeka said:

Sorry, there was no intention to be critical or personal and I can see that your comment I quoted had a different context to my response. 

I just picked up your comment (probably the wrong one to quote in hindsight) in defence of those who choose not to spend much on shore (following earlier discussions about whether or not folk eat lunch on or off the ship) which is often quoted in the context of the value (or not) of cruise passengers to the local economy. 

No offence taken,  and I'm all for supporting local business and economies.  I was just commenting on someone else's post, agreeing that P & O probably prefers passengers who buy many  drinks and excursions - which isn't going to be us. 😁

Edited April 17, 2023 by Merry25
extra comment added

[Solent Richard]

On 4/16/2023 at 10:41 AM, Denarius said:

I find myself in a similar situation.

I started cruising in the early 1990s with my late partner, initially with Cunard but then predominently with P&O. I carried on after their passing, and over the years ocean cruises became a habit; my total is probably about 50, two thirds of which have been with P&O. Lockdown however, deprived me of my regular cruises and I did not miss them as much as I thought I would. Asking myself why, I realised that as ships had got bigger my enjoyment of sailing on them had reduced; there was no longer the camaraderie you got on a smaller ship. And standards on P&O had gone down to such a extent that it no longer felt like an up market experience. Also, I was running out of new ports to visit. I had got in a rut.

So instead of booking a future ocean cruise with P&O I booked with Saga instead, plus a river cruise with Riviera. I found both to my liking and my love of cruises has been revived. Currently I have more ocean cruises booked with Saga, plus river cruises with Riviera and Saga. OK, it will costs me considerably more than had I continued to sail with P&O but I am fortunate enough to be able to afford it. And as a single man in his mid 70s who has never had children, I see no reason to deprive myself now so that my wider family can inherit a few more pounds on my eventual demise - that is, after the government has taken 40% in Inheritence Tax!

Well put and I fully empathise with your remarks.

 

We too kicked off our cruising life with Cunard and moved across to P&O (Caribbean) while also continuing with Cunard(Diamond). For us it was the urge to seek new adventures, visit new ports and not continue with the same old, same old onboard routines. That drove us towards numerous other cruise lines in search of more varied itineraries and river cruising. Next up is a first time with Azamara and three new ports in the Eastern Mediterranean ( to add to our 248 port count)

 

And like you, our most enjoyable cruise experiences were on ships somewhat short in size than those currently  sailing under the P&O flag.

 

Happy continued cruising.

[jeanlyon]

16 hours ago, Merry25 said:

No offence taken,  and I'm all for supporting local business and economies.  I was just commenting on someone else's post, agreeing that P & O probably prefers passengers who buy many  drinks and excursions - which isn't going to be us. 😁

Have to agree.  We don't do excursions, or specialty restaurants.  We don't take a drinks package either.   So they are not making much out of us.  We DIY ashore, but love to have a local lunch and buy the odd thing.

Edited April 18, 2023 by jeanlyon