Carnival Cruise Line to Absorb P&O Australia

[arxcards]

I know I have said previously we would never book P&O again. My greatest criticism is that they have become groundhog day cruises, with menus and amenities that have barely changed since the current format was introduced in 2015. The new $10 charge for eggs benny was the last straw.

 

But I am about to book our 14th P&O cruise on our 8th P&O ship. Forever will be a long time. This week's news might give some context to why P&O haven't been evolving. They have been treading water since 2017, stagnating as if they knew they had no future.

 

We arrive into Sydney on Diamond Princess on 21st Feb, so a bit of brunch followed by a cab over to White Bay to spend the following weekend on Pacific Adventure. I am even planning to spend a couple of hundred more on a Byron mini so that we can get free eggs benny. 😉

[ceeceeDee]

5 minutes ago, arxcards said:

I know I have said previously we would never book P&O again. My greatest criticism is that they have become groundhog day cruises, with menus and amenities that have barely changed since the current format was introduced in 2015. The new $10 charge for eggs benny was the last straw.

 

But I am about to book our 14th P&O cruise on our 8th P&O ship. Forever will be a long time. This week's news might give some context to why P&O haven't been evolving. They have been treading water since 2017, stagnating as if they knew they had no future.

 

We arrive into Sydney on Diamond Princess on 21st Feb, so a bit of brunch followed by a cab over to White Bay to spend the following weekend on Pacific Adventure. I am even planning to spend a couple of hundred more on a Byron mini so that we can get free eggs benny. 😉

Enjoy your Byron mini, Geoff. That was the highlight of our last cruise on Encounter. Breakfast at Angelos was very good (as were the eggs benny, btw). However, the coffee was beyond undrinkable. I'd recommend buying a barista coffee from the cafe on the way to breakfast if you need a decent caffeine fix.

[MicCanberra]

23 minutes ago, arxcards said:

I know I have said previously we would never book P&O again. My greatest criticism is that they have become groundhog day cruises, with menus and amenities that have barely changed since the current format was introduced in 2015. The new $10 charge for eggs benny was the last straw.

 

But I am about to book our 14th P&O cruise on our 8th P&O ship. Forever will be a long time. This week's news might give some context to why P&O haven't been evolving. They have been treading water since 2017, stagnating as if they knew they had no future.

 

We arrive into Sydney on Diamond Princess on 21st Feb, so a bit of brunch followed by a cab over to White Bay to spend the following weekend on Pacific Adventure. I am even planning to spend a couple of hundred more on a Byron mini so that we can get free eggs benny. 😉

Don't forget brunch with Blackduck.

[arxcards]

19 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Don't forget brunch with Blackduck.

Yes, that is in the plans. It fits perfectly. Last embark would still have us over at White Bay too early. We also have the benefit of being able to drop or swap bags in Newcastle the day before.

[Mycruiseobsession]

59 minutes ago, arxcards said:

But I am about to book our 14th P&O cruise on our 8th P&O ship.

I Love it!

 

Why not?! I mean it's a last bit of history.

 

I am glad we just got off as they made the announcement, it made our last cruise ever with P&O Au feel just a little more special.

 

P&O Au will eventually be remembered as the good old days nostalgia of the Fairstar Funships 

 

I predict  more cut backs are coming to Carnival Au - it won't  be long before it becomes the cheapened Ground Hog day line with eggs benny considered a luxury extra.

Edited June 7 by Mycruiseobsession
I always have typos.

[SinbadThePorter]

2 hours ago, reeves35 said:

If you are going to do the bucket-list trip all the way from US to AU, chances are you'll make it special and therefore more likely to be heading towards a more premium offering such as Princess, HAL, Cunard or Celebrity.

 

 

When I was on Luminosa last year there were a number of American passengers onboard. I have also noticed that over on the Carnival CC board that there are people posting who do intend to fly 17 hours to get here and board Carnival.

 

I don't understand it myself. I wouldn't fly all the way to the Caribbean, the Med or Alaska to get on a budget cruise line. I suppose you go with what you know. 🤔

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

When I was on Luminosa last year there were a number of American passengers onboard. I have also noticed that over on the Carnival CC board that there are people posting who do intend to fly 17 hours to get here and board Carnival.

 

I don't understand it myself. I wouldn't fly all the way to the Caribbean, the Med or Alaska to get on a budget cruise line. I suppose you go with what you know. 🤔

Flying all that distance, I am more concerned about quantity than quality. If flying to the Caribbean, there would be a week on land combined with at least two cruises. Yes, I would probably like free laundry & minibar, but I would be more inclined to pick the best itinerary. Someone else might fly all that way just to add a different pin to their vest.

Edited June 7 by arxcards

[MicCanberra]

We will always combine something along with the cruise if it involves flying more than 10 hours.

[joejoe 59]

20 hours ago, arxcards said:

Yes, I am sure they will have something for Encounter & Adventure, as well as Pacific Explorer departing Fremantle.

 

Then they have much fanfare again a couple of weeks later when Encounter & Adventure get a red stripe.

Any excuse for a party🥳

[cruiser3775]

22 hours ago, ceeceeDee said:

When's your December cruise, Cruiser?

I'm on the Dec 2 sailing from Sydney to Hobart to Kangaroo Island. It's my birthday present to myself - will be on Kangaroo Island for my birthday.  It's also my first P & O Australia sailing, and now it will be my last.

[arxcards]

Decision made last August, with everything being pieced together till the announcement this week? P&O have been without a CEO since then.

CW breaking news – Carnival Australia chief Marguerite Fitzgerald resigns | (cruiseweekly.com.au)

[MicCanberra]

So the signs were always there, perhaps we just didn't care enough to see them.

[ceeceeDee]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

We will always combine something along with the cruise if it involves flying more than 10 hours.

Absolutely. We 'did' Disneyland and Universal studios the last time we flew over to 'do' the Caribbean

[ceeceeDee]

1 hour ago, cruiser3775 said:

I'm on the Dec 2 sailing from Sydney to Hobart to Kangaroo Island. It's my birthday present to myself - will be on Kangaroo Island for my birthday.  It's also my first P & O Australia sailing, and now it will be my last.

It's my birthday cruise too (birthday month, actually, as my actual birthday is before we embark). We're doing the Islands on Encounter.

[arxcards]

On 6/7/2024 at 10:04 AM, ceeceeDee said:

Enjoy your Byron mini, Geoff. That was the highlight of our last cruise on Encounter. Breakfast at Angelos was very good (as were the eggs benny, btw). However, the coffee was beyond undrinkable. I'd recommend buying a barista coffee from the cafe on the way to breakfast if you need a decent caffeine fix.

All booked now. 

Ship coffee is usually rather shippy coffee, and not a P&O exclusive. Charlie's Bar coffee is a more consistent quality than some of their competitors.

Edited June 8 by arxcards

[geoff2802]

Currently on Encounter in PNG.  Staff don’t seem to be upset by the change.  Service is pretty good.  Coffee at Avalon is good.  

[sewgood]

55 minutes ago, geoff2802 said:

Staff don’t seem to be upset by the change

That's good to know, I was a little worried about them.

Hopefully they will have more opportunities under Carnival and maybe even go to work in different places in the world.

Edited June 8 by sewgood

[Mycruiseobsession]

Just for interests sake when you book on P&O Au now they have the little Operated by Carnival logo much like when you search flights on Qantas and they offer Jetstar flights.

 

[MicCanberra]

Yes, I suppose no one can claim they booked with one line's ship and got anothers.

[Dididi]

We live in Washington DC and flew 18 hours to Auckland in August (5 hours to San Francisco and another 13 to AKL) to spend a few days in NZ and then board the Pacific Explorer. I've previously posted about our wish to visit Tonga and Fiji on a cruise during DD's (our) summer vacation because her Christmas break is extremely short (plus December airfare prices to AUS and NZ from the US are eye-watering high). Yes, we tempered our expectations and our cabin looked like we'd entered a time machine and gone back to the '90s, but we had a fantastic time. DD still texts with a group of Kiwis who have done her homework for her more than once -- "maths" is not her thing.

 

We're flying to Brisbane to join the Pacific Encounter's August PNG cruise. All those childhood nightmares about cannibals and quick sand in the jungle won't come true but it'll be a fascinating journey nonetheless. Our snorkeling masks w/ prescription lenses are ready for the reef in the Conflict Islands. I've learned we have to take the boat tour that goes to the pontoon. We've been gathering school and art supplies to donate to the school in Kiriwina. I'm making a list of meat pie places. We're ready!

 

I'm very sad about P&O Australia's demise because some of the smaller ports, such as Adelaide, Cairns and even Auckland will lose out. To see Tongan families disembark in Nuku'alofa with dozens of bags of gifts for family members they hadn't seen in years because of COVID was touching, as was having a conversation at dawn (unlike the rest of my family, my internal clock never fully synched with the time zone) with a couple who was returning to Fiji after ten years away.  Our South Pacific cruise was a family reunification instrument. That might be lost now that Carnival's bean counters are firmly in charge.

 

I would like to thank everyone in this forum for their advice and good humor. Next time we plan a trip to your neck of the woods, it'll be a land and air trip. I won't do Carnival. I won't fly two hours to Florida to board their many (20+) behemoth booze cruises to nowhere let alone fly 13-14 time zones away.

[Jean C]

Princess is a popular cruise line Down Under, they could be worth considering.  Call me cynical, and many have, but although Carnival will no longer home port (and for P&O it was for very brief seasons) in places such as Adelaide, Melbourne and Auckland citing one of the reasons as being "operational and regulatory costs", I'm sure the popular around Australia and around NZ cruises by other cruise lines will still continue, with those cities being ports of call.

 

P&O isn't my favourite but offered some cheap'ish and cheerful cruises from Auckland return to the Pacific Islands, and I was seriously considering one of those for a convenient and easy break. Ah well, back to the drawing board I guess. 

[MicCanberra]

Carnival here in Australia is a slightly different beast to her operations in the US, we do get the short cruises occasionally but generally the cruises are longer than 3 or 4 days, due to the distances needed to get to ports in the South Pacific.

Time will tell if that changes here and or the 2 P&O ships culture and crew will change totally or just be diluted, or even if some of the culture goes across and dilutes Carnival here.

I am hopeful that it will be somewhat of a merging.

[Mycruiseobsession]

3 hours ago, Jean C said:

Princess is a popular cruise line Down Under

I would go as far to say Princess is a bit like what P&O Au was back before water slides and add on gimmicks  (But at a higher standard) Or should I say the old P&O Au was a bit like Princess!! 

 

As I have said before, travelling with kids I preferred P&O so will probably transition to Carnival however travelling without Kids - It's  Princess without  hesitation.

 

And I think that could be a good thing for Princess  to collect more past P&O Au  passengers looking for a similar feel and not just think Carnival is the only option. 

 

Who knows, maybe we will see an increase in Princess voyages on offer?! 🤞

[ceeceeDee]

2 minutes ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

I would go as far to say Princess is a bit like what P&O Au was back before water slides and add on gimmicks  (But at a higher standard) Or should I say the old P&O Au was a bit like Princess!! 

 

As I have said before, travelling with kids I preferred P&O so will probably transition to Carnival however travelling without Kids - It's  Princess without  hesitation.

 

And I think that could be a good thing for Princess  to collect more past P&O Au  passengers looking for a similar feel and not just think Carnival is the only option. 

 

Who knows, maybe we will see an increase in Princess voyages on offer?! 🤞

Yes, I think Princess will be our 'go to'. Not a fan of Carnival.

[Sparky74]

9 hours ago, Dididi said:

…We're flying to Brisbane to join the Pacific Encounter's August PNG cruise…

DW & I will also be on that cruise! 😁