Keep to P&O!!!

[daiB]

Hi All

We have sailed on Sun Princess and found it a very nice ship and the standards are every bit as good as P&O, we are now booked on Sea Princess for the first cruise of this year and looking forwards to it, as a rule of thumb it seems to me the larger the ship the poorer the experience whoever the ship belongs to, we found that out last November when we sailed on Arcadia which was very disappointing, the only big ship that I have sailed on that I can recommend is Celebrity's Millenium which is first class.

 

 

Hi Fellowcraft,

 

I have followed this thread for a while but I find you last comment odd. You portray Arcadia as a 'big' ship. I see you have been on Sun Princess and are going on Sea Princess, well Arcadia is only 6000 tons bigger than both of these ships and indeed its capacity is less. Sea Princess (Adonia) will take over 2000 whilst Arcadia has a capacity of only 1950.

 

Having been on both ships, the Sea when she was Adonia, they are certainly different but very enjoyable in their own ways.

 

My wife and I trying Oceana in the summer and Oriana in November, we reckon that the best P & O ship is the one you are on at the time.

 

Happy Cruising

[daiB]

Hi All

We have sailed on Sun Princess and found it a very nice ship and the standards are every bit as good as P&O, we are now booked on Sea Princess for the first cruise of this year and looking forwards to it, as a rule of thumb it seems to me the larger the ship the poorer the experience whoever the ship belongs to, we found that out last November when we sailed on Arcadia which was very disappointing, the only big ship that I have sailed on that I can recommend is Celebrity's Millenium which is first class.

 

 

Hi Fellowcraft,

 

I have followed this thread for a while but I find you last comment odd. You portray Arcadia as a 'big' ship. I see you have been on Sun Princess and are going on Sea Princess, well Arcadia is only 6000 tons bigger than both of these ships and indeed its capacity is less. Sea Princess (Adonia) will take over 2000 whilst Arcadia has a capacity of only 1950.

 

Having been on both ships, the Sea when she was Adonia, they are certainly different but very enjoyable in their own ways.

 

My wife and I trying Oceana in the summer and Oriana in November, we reckon that the best P & O ship is the one you are on at the time.

 

Happy Cruising

[daiB]

Hi All

We have sailed on Sun Princess and found it a very nice ship and the standards are every bit as good as P&O, we are now booked on Sea Princess for the first cruise of this year and looking forwards to it, as a rule of thumb it seems to me the larger the ship the poorer the experience whoever the ship belongs to, we found that out last November when we sailed on Arcadia which was very disappointing, the only big ship that I have sailed on that I can recommend is Celebrity's Millenium which is first class.

 

 

Hi Fellowcraft,

 

I have followed this thread for a while but I find you last comment odd. You portray Arcadia as a 'big' ship. I see you have been on Sun Princess and are going on Sea Princess, well Arcadia is only 6000 tons bigger than both of these ships and indeed its capacity is less. Sea Princess (Adonia) will take over 2000 whilst Arcadia has a capacity of only 1950.

 

Having been on both ships, the Sea when she was Adonia, they are certainly different but very enjoyable in their own ways.

 

My wife and I trying Oceana in the summer and Oriana in November, we reckon that the best P & O ship is the one you are on at the time.

 

Happy Cruising

[Globaliser]

I have followed this thread for a while but I find you last comment odd. You portray Arcadia as a 'big' ship. I see you have been on Sun Princess and are going on Sea Princess, well Arcadia is only 6000 tons bigger than both of these ships and indeed its capacity is less. Sea Princess (Adonia) will take over 2000 whilst Arcadia has a capacity of only 1950.

I'm afraid this is the wrong way around. On any measure, the passenger capacity of Oceana or Sea Princess is smaller than Arcadia's, although not by much. And to take the very crude measure of PSR, Arcadia can be more or less spacious, depending on how many extra berths are used.

 

Arcadia: 82,972 tons

Passengers (lower beds/all berths): 1,996/2,556

Passenger Space Ratio (lower beds/all berths): 41.5/32.4

 

Oceana: 77,499 tons

Passengers (lower beds/all berths): 1,950/2,272

Passenger Space Ratio (lower beds/all berths): 39.7/34.1

[daiB]

:confused: Sorry for the Extra posts!!!!!!:(

[daiB]

I'm afraid this is the wrong way around. On any measure, the passenger capacity of Oceana or Sea Princess is smaller than Arcadia's, although not by much. And to take the very crude measure of PSR, Arcadia can be more or less spacious, depending on how many extra berths are used.

 

Arcadia: 82,972 tons

Passengers (lower beds/all berths): 1,996/2,556

Passenger Space Ratio (lower beds/all berths): 41.5/32.4

 

Oceana: 77,499 tons

Passengers (lower beds/all berths): 1,950/2,272

Passenger Space Ratio (lower beds/all berths): 39.7/34.1

 

However because Arcadia is adult only she will generally sail with fewer passengers. Having sailed on both on cruises, said to be full, we have never felt that they were crowded.

 

My point still holds as there is little difference in size between Arcadia, Sea Princess or Aurora. I suppose that we should call them mid size ships rather than large.

 

We have sailed only with P&O so far and have not got around to trying other lines yet as there are a number of P&O cruises we have our eyes on. I find it so much easier to sail from Southampton and not have to fly.

 

Happy Cruising

[Globaliser]

My point still holds as there is little difference in size between Arcadia, Sea Princess or Aurora.

That I would certainly agree with. I just wanted to correct, pedantically, the impression that Arcadia's capacity was lower than Sea Princess'.

[Shogun]

Hi Folks,

 

The new P&O Ventura, anyone one seen a pic of what she will look like, was told she will look like the Princess Grand class ships, is this true.

 

 

yours Shogun

[Pemcorgimum]

Shogun

here's the website

 

http://www.virtualventura.co.uk/home.html

 

Laura

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

 

Thanks for link,

 

So she is a Princess Grand Class ship,

 

so is this to get P & O folk used to the design ,

 

so that they will go on more Princess cruises,

 

so that Princess can pass there old ships onto P &O as sister ships to the Ventura.

 

or so that the Ventura can join Princess in a year or twos time.

 

youurs Shogun

[haggis]

No, I dont think so. Another ship, same class, was ordered for PandO last week. No name yet.

Nice to see you enjoyed your last trip, four weeks Friday we're off again.

Jimmy

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

I see the Ventura will be based on the Princess Crown layout, the other new ship for 2010 is also being built to the same layout.

 

If P & O ships in future look like Princess will we see a day when instead of being sisters P & 0 and Princess will become one.

 

yours Shogun

[triple7tahoe]

Well, I am sorry to hear of your bad experience on a Princess ship. We have found it quite the opposite. As you can see by our signature, we have travelled extensively on P&O. But our last few experiences on a P&O cruise and comparing it to a Princess cruise, we decided that we will be traveling on Princess from now on. Quite the opposite of what you have.

 

We love the British experience. We loved the assigned dining and have made so many friends of our dinner partners on the British ships. So we agree that the anytime dining isn't quite as nice. P&O wins here However, we found the staff on Princess ships so much nicer and friendlier to us. Princess wins.

 

The main thing for us is that all of our trips on P&O ships are honored on Princess. Therefore, we are Elite members and receive free internet, the discount in the shops, the goodies delivered to the cabin before formal nights, the free bar in our cabin, the invitations to specials parties, etc. etc. We gained those privledges by all of our P&O cruises.

 

However, P&O doesn't honor all the P&O cruises. When they amended their Portunus Club plan, we were no longer considered frequent cruisers. We pay for internet use on their ships and believe me at the current exchange rate, it is expensive. $30 to send one email!

 

Big win for Princess here.

 

The good things for me for having the British experience is the assigned dining, the more formal experience. The ladies seem to dress up more on the British ships. And everyone below the top deck is DRESSED on formal nights. You won't run into someone in shorts. On the American ships, people dress in their finery for dinner but quickly go back to their cabins and change for the rest of the evening. I don't care for that. P&O wins here.

 

The bad things about having the British experience on cruises is folks seem to shove their way into lines (queues), even lovely little old ladies will jump in front of you if you leave a hand-space of room between you and the person in front of you. They tend to speak condescendingly to the staff - the bartenders, barmaids, the waiters, etc. Hey, they have feelings, folks! I have seen women who look to be lovely nice elegant ladies speak loudly about a bartender because he had to change a tap and it took longer than 15 seconds to serve them their drinks. Also the British ships seem to have more lounge chair hogs, for lack of a better word. I am not a sun worshiper so this doesn't bother me but one heard about the problem a lot on P&O.

 

We have had bad experiences with P&O at times. In one port on a P&O cruise, they had locked away all the non-British passports and all the British were allowed to get off the ship before anyone would look for the non-British passports that would allow the rest of the passengers off the ship. That didn't make my husband too happy. Another time, an Aussie friend had a P&O staff member state to him that P&O does not want Americans on board. This rather hurt our feelings after the many P&O cruises we have taken and we wrote P&O about this after a cruise. We received a lovely letter of apology and we assured that the officer did not speak for P&O when he made that comment. Still.... we found P&O less and less welcoming for Americans to book on.

 

We have found the P&O entertainment staff to be friendlier and funnier than most of the Princess entertainment staff. Not all, but most. P&O wins. We have found the entertainment crew - shows, dancers and singers - to be a bit better on the Princess ships. Princess wins.

 

While the P&O ships are lovely - my favorite is the Oriana - the Princess ships are plush - the public areas are magnificent. Princess wins.

 

That said, I like the P&O cabins better. I like the enclosed closets for your clothing, on Princess there is a long pole outside the bathroom and all your clothing is out in the open. Causing that area to look cluttered. In the bath itself, P&O has the corner cabinets with shelves for all your cosmetics, etc. Again on Princess there is just a shelf underneath and all your items are out on view. P&O wins here. The showers are smaller on the Princess ships - except for mini-suites on up. P&O wins.

 

The food? It's an even draw. Although the curry is better on P&O.

 

I guess I am straying from your question of the British experience. We really really love traveling on P&O and having that British experience. It is like an extra benefit on your vacation. I feel like the ship alone is a different country. We have made many many friends during our dinners there. We love dressing up. My husband loves the quoits and deck tennis, not offered on American ships - and deck tennis not offered the last few years on P&O either. We preferred traveling on P&O. Of course, our dollars do not go as far and excursions pretty much cost us double of what you pay.

 

However, the fact P&O no longer honors all the cruises in Portunus and in general we are treated so magnificently by Princess, we have changed our allegence to Princess.

 

I think you should give Princess another try. Sometimes things just go wrong on a cruise, we had that on a P&O cruise once. If you end up burned twice, then I wouldn't try it again. I just hate to hear you write off Princess when they have been so lovely. Don't lose money, please give them another try.

 

Marni

 

 

Hi all

It's interesting hearing all the various comments, both positive and negative of course.

I wish we could be brave and not cancel our three weeker on Sea Princess in the summer as we are set to lose a substantial amount on deposits (still working out the least painful option, but, I know, our fault!). We felt so sure we would have liked Princess to the point of booking two at the same time, but as many of you know we just felt like fish out of water on our December cruise onboard the Crown, and it put us off to the point of cancelling our July one. Hence the loss in deposits.. I know many many of us on here and on P&O's CC site really enjoy Princess, and that the Sea maybe far more geared up for us Brits, but somehow just can't bring ourselves to part with a large amount of dosh when we are not in the right frame of mind! Sounds daft I know!

I would be really interested in what other people interpretations are of what makes "British" cruising. I have been trying to explain this on the boards (and yes, I know I leave myself wide open for some extreme comments back in return, but, hey, I like a lively discussion!). So what makes a British cruise, British?

Maybe the decor? food? ambience? itinery (days at sea)? day time activities? babysitting night nurse? adults only?

Come on! let's define what we mean by a British cruise, then maybe our American cousins can begin to understand us (not sure about that though!). Cheers:)

[UK family]

Well, I am sorry to hear of your bad experience on a Princess ship. We have found it quite the opposite. As you can see by our signature, we have travelled extensively on P&O. But our last few experiences on a P&O cruise and comparing it to a Princess cruise, we decided that we will be traveling on Princess from now on. Quite the opposite of what you have.

 

We love the British experience. We loved the assigned dining and have made so many friends of our dinner partners on the British ships. So we agree that the anytime dining isn't quite as nice. P&O wins here However, we found the staff on Princess ships so much nicer and friendlier to us. Princess wins.

 

The main thing for us is that all of our trips on P&O ships are honored on Princess. Therefore, we are Elite members and receive free internet, the discount in the shops, the goodies delivered to the cabin before formal nights, the free bar in our cabin, the invitations to specials parties, etc. etc. We gained those privledges by all of our P&O cruises.

 

However, P&O doesn't honor all the P&O cruises. When they amended their Portunus Club plan, we were no longer considered frequent cruisers. We pay for internet use on their ships and believe me at the current exchange rate, it is expensive. $30 to send one email!

 

Big win for Princess here.

 

The good things for me for having the British experience is the assigned dining, the more formal experience. The ladies seem to dress up more on the British ships. And everyone below the top deck is DRESSED on formal nights. You won't run into someone in shorts. On the American ships, people dress in their finery for dinner but quickly go back to their cabins and change for the rest of the evening. I don't care for that. P&O wins here.

 

The bad things about having the British experience on cruises is folks seem to shove their way into lines (queues), even lovely little old ladies will jump in front of you if you leave a hand-space of room between you and the person in front of you. They tend to speak condescendingly to the staff - the bartenders, barmaids, the waiters, etc. Hey, they have feelings, folks! I have seen women who look to be lovely nice elegant ladies speak loudly about a bartender because he had to change a tap and it took longer than 15 seconds to serve them their drinks. Also the British ships seem to have more lounge chair hogs, for lack of a better word. I am not a sun worshiper so this doesn't bother me but one heard about the problem a lot on P&O.

 

We have had bad experiences with P&O at times. In one port on a P&O cruise, they had locked away all the non-British passports and all the British were allowed to get off the ship before anyone would look for the non-British passports that would allow the rest of the passengers off the ship. That didn't make my husband too happy. Another time, an Aussie friend had a P&O staff member state to him that P&O does not want Americans on board. This rather hurt our feelings after the many P&O cruises we have taken and we wrote P&O about this after a cruise. We received a lovely letter of apology and we assured that the officer did not speak for P&O when he made that comment. Still.... we found P&O less and less welcoming for Americans to book on.

 

We have found the P&O entertainment staff to be friendlier and funnier than most of the Princess entertainment staff. Not all, but most. P&O wins. We have found the entertainment crew - shows, dancers and singers - to be a bit better on the Princess ships. Princess wins.

 

While the P&O ships are lovely - my favorite is the Oriana - the Princess ships are plush - the public areas are magnificent. Princess wins.

 

That said, I like the P&O cabins better. I like the enclosed closets for your clothing, on Princess there is a long pole outside the bathroom and all your clothing is out in the open. Causing that area to look cluttered. In the bath itself, P&O has the corner cabinets with shelves for all your cosmetics, etc. Again on Princess there is just a shelf underneath and all your items are out on view. P&O wins here. The showers are smaller on the Princess ships - except for mini-suites on up. P&O wins.

 

The food? It's an even draw. Although the curry is better on P&O.

 

I guess I am straying from your question of the British experience. We really really love traveling on P&O and having that British experience. It is like an extra benefit on your vacation. I feel like the ship alone is a different country. We have made many many friends during our dinners there. We love dressing up. My husband loves the quoits and deck tennis, not offered on American ships - and deck tennis not offered the last few years on P&O either. We preferred traveling on P&O. Of course, our dollars do not go as far and excursions pretty much cost us double of what you pay.

 

However, the fact P&O no longer honors all the cruises in Portunus and in general we are treated so magnificently by Princess, we have changed our allegence to Princess.

 

I think you should give Princess another try. Sometimes things just go wrong on a cruise, we had that on a P&O cruise once. If you end up burned twice, then I wouldn't try it again. I just hate to hear you write off Princess when they have been so lovely. Don't lose money, please give them another try.

 

Marni

 

Hi Marni

It is great to read your comments regarding P&O and Princess. I appreciate they both have both positive and negative attributes.

I understand when you say to try and give Princess anther try..but just don't feel brave enough!! I know that may sound stupid!! It may be when we finally get around to cancelling the cruise we have booked that it may be a cheaper option to, say, try a weekender on Princess rather than go the full hog of three weeks as originally planned!! I know lots of kind people have said for us to try again, but to be honest I don't think I would be going in the right frame of mind. I am yearning for our wonderful cruises with P&O - including all the small things that maybe we used to take for granted (such as the different curry each day...dressing up for the entire evening and passengers likewise, deck games etc) - call us daft eh?!

Like you with your experience with the passport situation - we had similar situtations on Crown, and really felt that the Brits were not welcomed, and I think this actually has gone a long way in influencing how we perceive Princess. It really shocked us (obviously, considering that prior to that cruise we felt so very sure that we would like Princess that we booked our three week cruise for next summer also!! - :eek: )

As for the "moaning minnies" - hmmm... it's a worldwide problem isn't it! - It's at moments like that you want to disown your own nationality - touble is us Brits tend to get involved in some pretty daft things on holidays...:eek:

In hindsight, thinking of our last cruise (in Dec on Crown) I think it has so put us off of visiting American ports (no offence to you, ) but it was just such a pain in the neck. I feel maybe we will return to cruising out of Southampton, band playing etc!! Only thing is one needs that much more holiday to be able to take into account the journey out and back and the bit in the middle!! Oh well! I suppose I could go for that!!

It was really interesting to hear your comments though - and interestingly enough, we are now on "Elite" level with Princess even though having just had the one cruise with them- seems daft doesn't it!

PS - Are you anywhere near Lake Tahoe??? Oh such memories for us! We just so adored our very short time there . Very lucky to live in such a lovely area!:)

kind regards

[cruisebore]

Marni

Having extensively cruised with both Princess (elite)

and P&O (nearly gold) I must congratulate you on a very accurate

representation of the characteristics of the two cruise lines.

UK family, from our experiences with Princess, I think you should 'bite the bullet' and give them one more chance, you could be pleasantly surprised.

The character of even the same ship can change dramatically from sailing to sailing, a different crowd, different crew members.:)

 

Regards

Cb

[UK family]

Marni

Having extensively cruised with both Princess (elite)

and P&O (nearly gold) I must congratulate you on a very accurate

representation of the characteristics of the two cruise lines.

UK family, from our experiences with Princess, I think you should 'bite the bullet' and give them one more chance, you could be pleasantly surprised.

The character of even the same ship can change dramatically from sailing to sailing, a different crowd, different crew members.:)

 

Regards

Cb

 

...Your'e trying to tempt me Cb!! Hmmm, methinks it's a lotta lotta dosh for three weeks for the four of us, if I'm in one of my g.o.w moods (grumpy old woman...)...I'll maybe just think about it , not promising anything though! Thanks for the words of encouragement!!

PS I'm not a GOW all of the time by the way..:D

[DarrenT]

So we agree that the anytime dining isn't quite as nice. I do like the flexibility of Anytime, especially on port days, and the ability to get a table for 2!

 

However, we found the staff on Princess ships so much nicer and friendlier to us. Never really had courteous crew members on any Princess cruise, except once for an English Asst Purser, and generally always the Cabin Steward's.

 

The main thing for us is that all of our trips on P&O ships are honored on Princess. Therefore, we are Elite members and receive free internet, the discount in the shops, the goodies delivered to the cabin before formal nights, the free bar in our cabin, the invitations to specials parties, etc. etc. We gained those privledges by all of our P&O cruises. Unless you are a UK citizen with a UK Captains Circle number. When you book through the US you get absolutely no benefits whatsoever.

 

On the American ships, people dress in their finery for dinner but quickly go back to their cabins and change for the rest of the evening. I don't care for that. Nor me!

 

The bad things about having the British experience on cruises is folks seem to shove their way into lines (queues), even lovely little old ladies will jump in front of you if you leave a hand-space of room between you and the person in front of you. It doesn't seem as bad as it does on US ships I have to say. Let alone when they push in front of you, then expect you to push the button for them... and they are only going one floor.

 

They tend to speak condescendingly to the staff - the bartenders, barmaids, the waiters, etc. Hey, they have feelings, folks! I don't think that is so much a British thing, just rude people which ALL nationalities have.

 

We have had bad experiences with P&O at times. In one port on a P&O cruise, they had locked away all the non-British passports. Princess do that on EVERY cruise to non-US citizens. They are taken away at check-in.

 

We have found the P&O entertainment staff to be friendlier and funnier than most of the Princess entertainment staff. Not all, but most. P&O wins. We have found the entertainment crew - shows, dancers and singers - to be a bit better on the Princess ships. Princess wins. Well, the Caribbean Princess, for example, has had exactly the same shows for the past 2+ years... and we have experienced some atrocious singers and dancers on most cruise lines.

 

While the P&O ships are lovely - my favorite is the Oriana - the Princess ships are plush - the public areas are magnificent. As in LARGE. Do like the smaller rooms I have to say, rather than grand rooms with thousands of people in it.

 

The food? It's an even draw. I'm not the only one that thinks food on Princess is rather tasteless. Although the curry is better on P&O. Absolutely... yum yum.

 

I guess I am straying from your question of the British experience. We really really love traveling on P&O and having that British experience. It is like an extra benefit on your vacation. I feel like the ship alone is a different country. For us I feel it is a bit like a moving home from home... it never feels like that on other cruise lines sadly.

 

Of course, our dollars do not go as far and excursions pretty much cost us double of what you pay. It does make it a bit more of a bargain for us though. :)

 

However, the fact P&O no longer honors all the cruises in Portunus and in general we are treated so magnificently by Princess, we have changed our allegence to Princess. And as Princess don't recognise our status when booking in the US... we're on our way back to P&O... probably.

 

My dilema is though... is the lovely english home from home worth paying more than double the price for? Even if we don't get any Captains Circle benefits... :rolleyes:

[UK family]

So we agree that the anytime dining isn't quite as nice. I do like the flexibility of Anytime, especially on port days, and the ability to get a table for 2!

 

However, we found the staff on Princess ships so much nicer and friendlier to us. Never really had courteous crew members on any Princess cruise, except once for an English Asst Purser, and generally always the Cabin Steward's.

 

The main thing for us is that all of our trips on P&O ships are honored on Princess. Therefore, we are Elite members and receive free internet, the discount in the shops, the goodies delivered to the cabin before formal nights, the free bar in our cabin, the invitations to specials parties, etc. etc. We gained those privledges by all of our P&O cruises. Unless you are a UK citizen with a UK Captains Circle number. When you book through the US you get absolutely no benefits whatsoever.

 

On the American ships, people dress in their finery for dinner but quickly go back to their cabins and change for the rest of the evening. I don't care for that. Nor me!

 

The bad things about having the British experience on cruises is folks seem to shove their way into lines (queues), even lovely little old ladies will jump in front of you if you leave a hand-space of room between you and the person in front of you. It doesn't seem as bad as it does on US ships I have to say. Let alone when they push in front of you, then expect you to push the button for them... and they are only going one floor.

 

They tend to speak condescendingly to the staff - the bartenders, barmaids, the waiters, etc. Hey, they have feelings, folks! I don't think that is so much a British thing, just rude people which ALL nationalities have.

 

We have had bad experiences with P&O at times. In one port on a P&O cruise, they had locked away all the non-British passports. Princess do that on EVERY cruise to non-US citizens. They are taken away at check-in.

 

We have found the P&O entertainment staff to be friendlier and funnier than most of the Princess entertainment staff. Not all, but most. P&O wins. We have found the entertainment crew - shows, dancers and singers - to be a bit better on the Princess ships. Princess wins. Well, the Caribbean Princess, for example, has had exactly the same shows for the past 2+ years... and we have experienced some atrocious singers and dancers on most cruise lines.

 

While the P&O ships are lovely - my favorite is the Oriana - the Princess ships are plush - the public areas are magnificent. As in LARGE. Do like the smaller rooms I have to say, rather than grand rooms with thousands of people in it.

 

The food? It's an even draw. I'm not the only one that thinks food on Princess is rather tasteless. Although the curry is better on P&O. Absolutely... yum yum.

 

I guess I am straying from your question of the British experience. We really really love traveling on P&O and having that British experience. It is like an extra benefit on your vacation. I feel like the ship alone is a different country. For us I feel it is a bit like a moving home from home... it never feels like that on other cruise lines sadly.

 

Of course, our dollars do not go as far and excursions pretty much cost us double of what you pay. It does make it a bit more of a bargain for us though. :)

 

However, the fact P&O no longer honors all the cruises in Portunus and in general we are treated so magnificently by Princess, we have changed our allegence to Princess. And as Princess don't recognise our status when booking in the US... we're on our way back to P&O... probably.

 

My dilema is though... is the lovely english home from home worth paying more than double the price for? Even if we don't get any Captains Circle benefits... :rolleyes:

 

Good points DarrenT - ...You must be even nearer to Southampton than us for easy getaways - another good reason for sailing P&O!:)

[tom_uk]

I'll pop my head above the parapet here and say 'hello'. We haven't cruised with P&O yet but are thinking about the fjords for 2008, and the choice would seem to be between P&O and Fred Olsen. (We've already booked for this year: a second cruise on Galaxy in June, and a 4-night cruise on Fred Olsen's Braemar in September.)

 

We've been *on* a P&O ship, though - we did a ship visit to Oceana on 1 July last year at Southampton, and we liked what we saw. But looking at the deck plans, etc, I can't help thinking that it's Oriana and (especially) Aurora that I'm attracted to, with those beautiful cascading open decks at the stern. (One of the reasons I'm looking forward to Braemar is that she has a similar fantail stern, albeit smaller of course.) So if anyone has any advice regarding sailing on Aurora to the fjords, please offer it.

 

As regards the 'Britishness' aspect, I'll be honest and say that that almost puts me off. I do enjoy going abroad, and trying (to some extent) to experience some genuine contact with the locals. I recognise that this will be pretty trivial, but even so I value it. Our first cruise was on an MSC ship, and we were almost the only Brits aboard - surrounded by loads of mad Italians, polite Spaniards, and earnest Germans. It was an interesting trip, and good fun. And on Galaxy we enjoyed meeting the american passengers (about 80% of the total): we shared a table with a quartet of very down-to-earth retired italian-americans from New Jersey who were great company.

 

So that's us. We enjoy the more formal approach, not because it's 'right' but because it's fun to dress up. (We found Celebrity was good for this.) And we enjoy being sociable. Have we come to the right place with P&O?

[daiB]

I'll pop my head above the parapet here and say 'hello'. We haven't cruised with P&O yet but are thinking about the fjords for 2008, and the choice would seem to be between P&O and Fred Olsen. (We've already booked for this year: a second cruise on Galaxy in June, and a 4-night cruise on Fred Olsen's Braemar in September.)

 

We've been *on* a P&O ship, though - we did a ship visit to Oceana on 1 July last year at Southampton, and we liked what we saw. But looking at the deck plans, etc, I can't help thinking that it's Oriana and (especially) Aurora that I'm attracted to, with those beautiful cascading open decks at the stern. (One of the reasons I'm looking forward to Braemar is that she has a similar fantail stern, albeit smaller of course.) So if anyone has any advice regarding sailing on Aurora to the fjords, please offer it.

 

As regards the 'Britishness' aspect, I'll be honest and say that that almost puts me off. I do enjoy going abroad, and trying (to some extent) to experience some genuine contact with the locals. I recognise that this will be pretty trivial, but even so I value it. Our first cruise was on an MSC ship, and we were almost the only Brits aboard - surrounded by loads of mad Italians, polite Spaniards, and earnest Germans. It was an interesting trip, and good fun. And on Galaxy we enjoyed meeting the american passengers (about 80% of the total): we shared a table with a quartet of very down-to-earth retired italian-americans from New Jersey who were great company.

 

So that's us. We enjoy the more formal approach, not because it's 'right' but because it's fun to dress up. (We found Celebrity was good for this.) And we enjoy being sociable. Have we come to the right place with P&O?

 

 

I would have thought that you must give P&O a go. I certainly fits the bill regarding dressing up and being sociable. However if meeting cruisers from other countries is important to you then you will be out of luck. For summer cruises from Southampton there will be less than 5% of non UK passengers.

 

Aurora would be a good choice to start as it seams to come high in most peoples list of favourite ships.

 

As to Britishness, what exactly does this mean, not so much glitz? I am not sure.

 

Whatever you decide enjoy your cruise.

[Esprit]

"As regards the 'Britishness' aspect, I'll be honest and say that that almost puts me off.

We enjoy the more formal approach, not because it's 'right' but because it's fun to dress up. "

 

 

My kids preferred mixing with other nationalities and have maitained friendships via the internet in the USA.

 

I really find the sail out of Southampton and back a pain. I'm really looking forward to flying out to Barcelona and starting the holiday up on the open deck in shorts and T short rather than a fleece and rain proof top watching a band play us off in dreary Southampton.

 

Princess also definitely have a younger age profile. Not that I'm against the coffin dodgers but I just don't want to be on a floating nursing home.

[UK family]

"As regards the 'Britishness' aspect, I'll be honest and say that that almost puts me off.

We enjoy the more formal approach, not because it's 'right' but because it's fun to dress up. "

 

 

My kids preferred mixing with other nationalities and have maitained friendships via the internet in the USA.

 

I really find the sail out of Southampton and back a pain. I'm really looking forward to flying out to Barcelona and starting the holiday up on the open deck in shorts and T short rather than a fleece and rain proof top watching a band play us off in dreary Southampton.

 

Princess also definitely have a younger age profile. Not that I'm against the coffin dodgers but I just don't want to be on a floating nursing home.

 

Hi there -it's good to know there is a cruise line for every taste!

I, along with thousands of others all agree that part of the cruising experience for us with P&O is the wonderful sendoff at SH - and it's certainly not dreary! - Even if we have been played away during the most terrible weather, there is always that excitement of your lovely cruise ahead! Like you, I used to find the "Bay bit" a bit tedious as I suffer terribly with sea sickness (would you believe, even after dozens and dozens of cruises!!) - I tend to opt for taking sea sickness tablets at this point, if necessary, then using those few days in which to totally relax, so that by the time you reach the first port one feels nice and refreshed. Having now tried several fly cruises -there is no way for us that we would start and end our holiday waiting around at airports - the only exception to that would be a fly/cruise to Barbados with P&O where they have, got the whole process down to a fine art (usually....although there are exceptions I know!). I certainly wouldn't relish the thought of having to endure the realms of the Spanish at the start and end to my British cruise:eek:

Great to know your children enjoy making friends from all around the world. This can actually be achieved here in the UK too you know!

 

But, as I say, each to our own, and thank goodness there is such a wonderful choice of cruiselines. Happy cruising.:)

PS I don';t think you will find many "coffin dodgers" as you so charmingly put it on the summer cruises.:( Let's hope you remain young, fit and healthy for many years to come eh?!

[daiB]

"As regards the 'Britishness' aspect, I'll be honest and say that that almost puts me off.

We enjoy the more formal approach, not because it's 'right' but because it's fun to dress up. "

 

 

My kids preferred mixing with other nationalities and have maitained friendships via the internet in the USA.

 

I really find the sail out of Southampton and back a pain. I'm really looking forward to flying out to Barcelona and starting the holiday up on the open deck in shorts and T short rather than a fleece and rain proof top watching a band play us off in dreary Southampton.

 

Princess also definitely have a younger age profile. Not that I'm against the coffin dodgers but I just don't want to be on a floating nursing home.

 

 

We like a number of others like cruising for cruising. we like sea days. There is so much do do and you get to know your ship. I think that is one of the reasons we have stayed with P&O because we can guarantee more sea days than with other lines. When we did J625 we had a whole week crossing the Atlantic which was absolutely great. We are good sailors so bad weather does not put us off.

 

We intend to do the September cruise to the USA and Canada and the Christmas cruise to the Caribbean, both of which are three weeks long and have lots of sea days with a double Atlantic crossing.

 

Neither of us would relish a flight to the Med. and then a cruise with six ports in seven days or eight in ten. This is not our idea of a cruise. When do you get the pleasure of enjoying the ship or sitting relaxing watching the ocean go by.

 

But each to his/her own and it would be a bit crowded if we all wanted to to the same cruise at the same time.

[UK family]

We like a number of others like cruising for cruising. we like sea days. There is so much do do and you get to know your ship. I think that is one of the reasons we have stayed with P&O because we can guarantee more sea days than with other lines. When we did J625 we had a whole week crossing the Atlantic which was absolutely great. We are good sailors so bad weather does not put us off.

 

We intend to do the September cruise to the USA and Canada and the Christmas cruise to the Caribbean, both of which are three weeks long and have lots of sea days with a double Atlantic crossing.

 

Neither of us would relish a flight to the Med. and then a cruise with six ports in seven days or eight in ten. This is not our idea of a cruise. When do you get the pleasure of enjoying the ship or sitting relaxing watching the ocean go by.

 

But each to his/her own and it would be a bit crowded if we all wanted to to the same cruise at the same time.

Hi Dai - You put it so much better than me!:)

[KarenR_UK]

I'll pop my head above the parapet here and say 'hello'. We haven't cruised with P&O yet but are thinking about the fjords for 2008, and the choice would seem to be between P&O and Fred Olsen. (We've already booked for this year: a second cruise on Galaxy in June, and a 4-night cruise on Fred Olsen's Braemar in September.)

 

We've been *on* a P&O ship, though - we did a ship visit to Oceana on 1 July last year at Southampton, and we liked what we saw. But looking at the deck plans, etc, I can't help thinking that it's Oriana and (especially) Aurora that I'm attracted to, with those beautiful cascading open decks at the stern. (One of the reasons I'm looking forward to Braemar is that she has a similar fantail stern, albeit smaller of course.) So if anyone has any advice regarding sailing on Aurora to the fjords, please offer it.

 

As regards the 'Britishness' aspect, I'll be honest and say that that almost puts me off. I do enjoy going abroad, and trying (to some extent) to experience some genuine contact with the locals. I recognise that this will be pretty trivial, but even so I value it. Our first cruise was on an MSC ship, and we were almost the only Brits aboard - surrounded by loads of mad Italians, polite Spaniards, and earnest Germans. It was an interesting trip, and good fun. And on Galaxy we enjoyed meeting the american passengers (about 80% of the total): we shared a table with a quartet of very down-to-earth retired italian-americans from New Jersey who were great company.

 

So that's us. We enjoy the more formal approach, not because it's 'right' but because it's fun to dress up. (We found Celebrity was good for this.) And we enjoy being sociable. Have we come to the right place with P&O?

 

 

With regard to the multi national aspect, have you considered Cunard? Both QE2 and QM2 go to the fjords - I am going (Via Iceland:D ) on the QE2 in June 2007. I travelled on QE2 last year to Greece and Italy in August and there were a number of nationalities, including American and German (although it did seem the majority (that I came into contact with) were British) - If this is of interest, perhaps you could post on the Cunard Board to see if anyone who has done these routes in the past can let you know what the mix of nationalities was.

 

I have been on Oceana and enjoyed her, but they have changed the way she operates (freedom dining etc which as a late booking (usually) solo traveller is not very attractive), so it will probably be Aurora or Oriana next time (next year hopefully) - Not been on Fred Olsen, but have considered it.

 

Re the flying - not flying 'debate' - I vote for sailing out of Southampton - 2 or 3 days to get into the mood before the first port, then the intensive port activity, then 2 or 3 days to recover before going back to work, perfect:D. Even at the end of October were still sitting on deck during the sail up the English Channel (Ok so it was a freak weather week:D). There is of course a major problem (:D) with QE2, she goes so much faster, there are fewer of these sea days! Only getting 1 day in June on the return leg :(

 

Karen