Question: Planned Excursions vs Own thing

[steandkass]

Appart from the obvious expense of a planned cruise excursion, does anyone think that going it alone is better than the routine?

 

I like the idea of being able to wander and do my own thing but cant help think the scheduled approach is easier.

 

 

Your thoughts!

 

 

And if you read this please reply, lets get a few more responses on the P&O cruise board... This is a community board after all!!!!:D

[KarenR_UK]

I'm going with the P+O excursions

 

I like the idea of it all being planned - I don't have to work out how to get to places its all done.

I like the idea of (probably) not missing the ship should the tour run late.

I like the idea of going with other people (until my brother agreed to come, I was looking at cruising solo)

 

That said we have only booked the 1/2 day excursions to give us a change to look around on our own should we want to.

 

Last year of the 4 ports we (other first time cruisers & myself) did 2 excursions & 2 on our own (both 'do our own thing' days were 1/2 days only, one of which was cancelled due to bad weather & being a tender port)

We wanted to shop, but everywhere was closed due to it being sunday - a nice cheap holiday!!! :D

 

Karen

[steandkass]

I think thats the way i am heading. Keep with the planned excursions and then you al least know that your due back on ship before sailing!

[Globaliser]

No, I virtually never take a ship's excursion, on any line. The prices they charge are largely ripoffs, and I get very frustrated with being told what to do and where to go next.

 

Last August in Guernsey, four of us had the best day out - just rented a car for the day and pootled about the island on our own, seeing what we wanted to see and stopping and eating and drinking wherever looked good.

 

I'll do ship's excursions when there's some activity that looks really good, but ship(s) tend to block book the operator's entire capacity for the day when they're in - the 12-metre sailing in St Maarten, for example. Then I'll just take a deep breath and hand over the credit card.

[annieuk]

On our first cruise on Fred Olsen's Braemar to the Caribbean we stuck to the official excursions and were very pleased with them. Often we did different excursions as my husband likes to snorkel and I don't. Yes they were probably more expensive but as someone says you have the assurance that if there's any delay the ship will wait for you. I think I'd be worried about this and it would spoil my trip. Also some of the guides we had were first class and we got lots of information about the places we wouldn't have had otherwise.

It's great to see postings on this page. I usually end up looking on the Princess pages as there is information there from people who have travelled on Adonia and Oceana when they were Sea and Ocean Princess. I even got to see some pics of the cabin we'll have on Adonia when we travel on her next Jan.:)

[thames_side]

It all depends on the port. If it is an interesting place we just get off and walk around. Perhaps find a nice restaurant for lunch and then go back to the ship for a snooze. However if the port is just a dropping of point for the main attraction inland we'll take the tour. Mind you sometimes we just stay aboard and enjoy having the ship to ourselves!

[steandkass]

AnnieUK

 

As I will be travelling on Oceana next year, so I was happy to read reviews of Ocean Princess so I can at least reflect some of the views and pics i have seen on Oceana at the P&O website, and from the DVD i purchased from P&O. But there must be alot of ppl who have travelled on Oceana as a P&O ship so it would be great to read more about Oceana and not Ocean Princess!

[annieuk]

I agree, where are all those cruisers who have travelled on Adonia and Oceana? They must have some information that us newbies would love to read. Some of them might even have some pics!:)

[cruisebore]

I agree, where are all those cruisers who have travelled on Adonia and Oceana? They must have some information that us newbies would love to read. Some of them might even have some pics!:)

 

 

Have you read the reviews at:

http://www.ship-happens.co.uk/cgi/reviews.pl

 

Regards

Ray

[Globaliser]

I agree, where are all those cruisers who have travelled on Adonia and Oceana?

Here! As far as Adonia is concerned, anyway. Only a short cruise on her last August though - and I have to admit to having been asleep for a large proportion of it. But ask away!

[annieuk]

Hello Globaliser. I could ask loads of questions about Adonia but for starters, which cabin did you have, what size of table did you choose in the restaurant and what did you think of the food and wine in the restaurant? Would you choose to go back on Adonia again, or perhaps one of the newer ships seeing as she's going back to Princess?

I have used the Ship Happens site but there is not much about P&O, apart from lots about Ocean Village, which isn't my sort of cruise, and lots about Thomson, Seawing and Island Cruises.:)

[Globaliser]

The funniest thing is that I am going back to Adonia - but after she goes back to Princess next year. It will be quite interesting to see what changes there are, although I suspect that after two years I won't remember very much about it.

 

Even after a year I am rather hazy. Four of us went, and we had two inside cabins (I think) on A deck. They were perfectly good - no problems with them at all although equally nothing memorable about them either. It was only a short cruise of 4 nights. We called at Amsterdam (an overnight stop) and St Peter Port.

 

When I say that I slept, I meant it. My partner and I didn't even get off in Amsterdam. (We had been to the city quite recently before then, anyway, and she goes reasonably frequently for work, so it wasn't like we were missing much.) As I remember it, I slept on deck for most of the first afternoon, in glorious sunshine.

 

We were put on a table for 6 in the restaurant. The maitre d' (or whatever P&O mainline call him - the "restaurant manager"?) had carefully selected tablemates for us - a couple of similar ages. We had no problems with the food, although it was in general more English than I'm used to on ships (I'm normally on "American" lines). And the wine was, well, cruise ship wine. We had lunch in the buffet (the Pavilion?) each day. Again, no complaints, and the P&O curries were very welcome (if fattening). We also did the bistro dinner up there one evening, at which the service was on the slow side - although it came with a bonus in the form of the team trivia which set up in the dance floor section of the room towards the end of our dinner. While it would have rather spoiled a romantic dinner, the four of us actually had a very entertaining time doing the trivia along with all the others while lingering over our coffees.

 

One of the interesting things about the ship was the way the casino had a lot of wasted space. Because half the casino had been removed, an enlarged casino bar area had been put in - and none of the those extra cafe tables seemed ever to be used by anyone. The other interesting thing was the conversion of the children's area into a chill-out lounge called Easy Like a Sunday - which was again used by few people.

 

I'm trying to see if I can rustle up some more friends to do another short cruise next year, but I might be all cruised out because my annual week-long jazz cruise has been brought forward from late October to mid September next year, which really cuts out most of the short cruise season.

[annieuk]

Thanks very much, lovely to hear from someone who has actually been on Adonia. Any more cruisers out there?:)