Semi formal nights to be dropped on Ventura and Oceana!

[cruisebore]

Its alright you lot moaning but spare a thought for the poor guy with inside cabin who after booking, found out he can't smoke and now a few months before his cruise is having to put his demob suit back into the wardrobe.

BTW will they soon be stopping me wearing my cloth cap and braces around the pool, I have already had a few disparaging remarks about the tied hanky, but the sun is b*****dy hot in the Karrybeen.

 

Cb

[mann overboard]

Sorry to intervene in sqabbles. I would have thought the important point here is getting what you book. If I know what I can or can't do on a ship when I book, then I can make my choice. When the company changes policies, it should give more notice.

 

This would not encourage anybody to do what the companies want, i.e. book well in advance.

 

If, by April, they have banned eating and drinking, I may have to smuggle beer and meat pies aboard.

 

Be nice to each other - you may meet on a desert island.

[Gerrym]

its alright you lot moaning but spare a thought for the poor guy with inside cabin who after booking, found out he can't smoke and now a few months before his cruise is having to put his demob suit back into the wardrobe.

Btw will they soon be stopping me wearing my cloth cap and braces around the pool, i have already had a few disparaging remarks about the tied hanky, but the sun is b*****dy hot in the karrybeen.

 

Cb

 

 

 

:d :d :d

[MattyBarlow]

We have to accept that different things have different levels of importance to different poeple whether it be with dress policy or smoking. Personally i have no problem with what P&O have done. I didnt mind the old policy and personally think that having only two dress codes should help people in the long run. I do however think that P&O need to be stricter on the formal nights.

 

We are all entitled to our own opinion and as long as it creates a decent debate then there is nothing wrong with it. Afterall how can you have a forum of debate if we all think along the same lines:D

[KarenR_UK]

Sorry to intervene in sqabbles.

This place seems to survive on squabbles;), & as MattyBarlow says in another post, debate is healthy as long as it stays respectful:).

 

I would have thought the important point here is getting what you book. If I know what I can or can't do on a ship when I book, then I can make my choice. When the company changes policies, it should give more notice.

 

This would not encourage anybody to do what the companies want, i.e. book well in advance.

 

I agree entirely - IMO these sorts of changes should only be made at the launch of a new brochure - so April (?) for the 2010 season.

I still wouldn't agree with the change itself - but at least I would know when booking what I was getting & have reasonable confidence it wouldn't change.

 

It IS going to make me cautious about booking P+O this year (Aurora for example) in case they decide change things elsewhere in the fleet.

Even more of an issue, is that the other half would prefer us to try the other Cunard ships & he does like dressing up:) (& likes to see me dress up too)

 

If, by April, they have banned eating and drinking, I may have to smuggle beer and meat pies aboard.

 

Be nice to each other - you may meet on a desert island.

:)

 

Can you bring some champagne & Caviar for me;):D

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[LibraLass41]

A HAPPY HEALTHY AND WEALTHY NEW YEAR TO ALL ON CRUISE CRITIC.

 

Tomorrow is another day, another year and a New Start....

 

Yes??:)

[MattyBarlow]

An so say all of us!

[Sow There]

Hear hear.

 

I'm a Californian who has been on several HAL and Princess cruises but we've been thinking about trying something new, like a P&O cruise. Friends in Rotterdam (Netherlands) have urged us to try cruising the British style where the port intensive itineraries make way for a nicer at sea experience.

 

So I've been checking the P&O UK forum just to get a flavor of what P&O cruising is like and what our future fellow passengers have to say.

 

Thanks to you all for giving me a good notion of how special a P&O cruise will be. While I prefer the tradition of a "Formal Night" (tux, not tails) just because to most of us Americans that's really the only occasion left to get "gussied up" in a truly wonderful setting, it's not the be all and end all of a cruise.

 

Candidly, I really have enjoyed what you all have to say and how the Brits view cruising, which is closer to what I prefer than the Orlando Theme Park concepts being offered on US cruise ships.

 

Thanks and Happy New Year!

[CASPALL]

This is really disappointing news. We certainly would not have booked Oceana in April if we knew this was happening.

[MattyBarlow]

Having sat down and thought about this i suspect that little will actually change. Having experienced Ocean Village and NCL, those that enjoy dressing up will do so regardless of the dress policy or what other pax are doing. It wouldnt suprise me if the casual nights still maintain the former level of dress the semi-formal offered (well from regular P&O pax).

As i have always suspected, Ventura and Oceana are effectively going to become a slightly more upmarket Ocean Village 3 and 4. If one of these ships is Med based in 2010 then this confirms the suspicions. As a user of Ocean Village i have no problem with dressing formally for some nights, infact i enjoyed it on Oceana last year (God is it 2009 already!).

However....as was stated in the first post, these changes are based on feedback from the ships. I guess this is a case of majority rules?

[Single Cruiser]

Totally agree Matty. Having dressed up in suits at work for most of the year the last thing I want to do is dress up just to have a meal!

 

Maybe we can carry on cruising post 2010... ;)

[muddyw]

There has been much comment on this topic on P&Os own site, with many regulars up in arms. What they do not seem to realise, however, is that they represent but a small proportion of those who now sail with P&O, and that their views may not represent the majority thereof.

Carnival Group is a hard nosed, profit driven company, and such companies do not make changes lightly. You can bet your bottom dollar that the changes will have been thoroughly market researched before being announced. No amount of huffing and puffing is going to make any difference.

I suspect that the comments re. Ocean village are, however, wide of the mark. I suspect that P&Os real targets are Royal Carib, Celebriy etc, companies in direct competition on P&Os traditional Southampton sailings.

 

PS

P&O 2009 brochure, description of Ventura (pg 180)

"evenings are mainly casual and informal, with the odd formal night added for a special sense of occasion". No mention of semi-formal there.

[Beckyfaye-2008]

Muddy W

 

I also suggest you turn to page 231 of the P&O 2009/10 brochure, under the heading your questions answered, sub heading packing for your holiday, where it clearly states their are Formal, Semi-Formal and Smart Casual nights, it goes on to state, as a guide there are normally four formal evenings, four semi-formal evenings and six smart casual evenings on a two week cruise. However in extremely hot temperatures these suggested dress codes may be relaxed. For example, for Artemis, Arcadia, Oceana and Ventura's Caribbean seasons, there will be 4 Formal and ten smart casual nights. In the evenings all restuarants and bars comply with the dress code of the evening.:rolleyes:

[MattyBarlow]

I suspect that the comments re. Ocean village are, however, wide of the mark. I suspect that P&Os real targets are Royal Carib, Celebriy etc, companies in direct competition on P&Os traditional Southampton sailings.

 

 

I am not so sure. P&O will not want to loose the OV pax so offering a form of compromise may keep them loyal to P&O. Remember that each week Ocean Villages two ships fill around 3000 berths. Thats a lot of customers to loose.

[Stinkerbelle]

I agree that P&O would not have taken such a decision without testing the water; there has to be an optimum time to make these changes though, so as not to disappoint a lot of passengers. I agree with the poster who suggested any changes be implemented at the issue of a new brochure. It's hardly fair to move the dress code goalposts for those who have already booked and expecting certain things.:(

[LibraLass41]

pANDo have replied to people who emailed the MD to say they were unhappy, and confirm that this will only affect Ventura and Oceana and that Formal nights won't be reduced.... so thats it, lots of casual nights and a couple of formals.....no need for the suits and jackets then lads...:(

[LibraLass41]

Matty

I wonder why Ocean Village are stopping cruising, is it because fly-cruises aren't so viable these days? Why are pando so desperate to copy a company that are going bust?

[Gerrym]

Matty

I wonder why Ocean Village are stopping cruising, is it because fly-cruises aren't so viable these days? Why are pando so desperate to copy a company that are going bust?

 

They have Ventura now <ducks>

[Elaine0138]

Carnival Corporation are moving OV to Australia to expand the cruising industry there.

[Single Cruiser]

Matty

I wonder why Ocean Village are stopping cruising, is it because fly-cruises aren't so viable these days? Why are pando so desperate to copy a company that are going bust?

 

OV was a brand launched by Carnival UK/P&O to expand the market to the wider population, families and middle earners in their 30s-50s. It worked to the point it was Carnivals fastest growing line however the ships were old, we're talking late 80s so the engine plant on these ships are very inefficient plus the general upkeep is very expensive. Also the target market wasn't what they expected, many people who I have met on OV have previously sailed on P&O but wanted the same UK-orientated line but without the traditional ceremony and regiment on those vessels, thus P&O were losing passengers to OV!!

 

P&O had to either spend more money updating the ships, get another modern ship, or offload the ships (which they have done to P&O Australia).

 

In the statement made on the demise of OV by the end of 2010 it was mentioned how P&O had a new Ventura class ship etc..

 

"Ocean Village has done much to change the face of British cruising, and all our UK brands have benefited from this. The arrival of new ships for P&O Cruises and Cunard in 2010 and the continuing development of Princess Cruises in Britain will ensure that Carnival UK continues its growth despite the redeployment of the Ocean Village vessels.”

 

Ocean Village will operate a single ship in the Caribbean in Winter 2009-10 and the previously published programme will be adjusted, with existing bookings amended accordingly. A European programme will be operated in 2010. P&O Cruises will take delivery of the 3,100 bed Azura in March 2010 and the new 2,100 bed Queen Elizabeth will join the Cunard fleet in October 2010. "

 

 

As Matt has said the two ships have a pax capacity of 3,200 lower berths - 3,800 all berths which are still being filled each week.

 

Unless P&O wish to lose that many each week to RCL/NCL they would have to adapt. I would imagine that this is the first step, after all Cunard will also have QE coming along to handle the traditionalists.

[MattyBarlow]

Why are pando so desperate to copy a company that are going bust?

 

Ocean Village are not going bust! This is a redeployment of ships within the Carnival brand.

[MattyBarlow]

They have Ventura now <ducks>

 

 

You say that with jest Gerry but you are spot on. With the introduction of Ventura and the way things may possibly pan out, you would basically have two brands within the P&O stable competing against each other. With the introduction of Azura; Ventura and Oceana seemingly following the OV model a little more than the rest of the fleet, P&O can get rid of there older ships and hope to keep the OV pax.

[Janey]

Don't know where the idea that OV is going "bust" came from. It is a very profitable organisation and is being replaced by 3 larger newer ships, Ventura, Oceana and Azura so Carnival will be making even more money. Most of the comments re OV come from people who have never been on an OV cruise. I have and really liked it but only on OV1, a smaller ship. No way would I ever go on one of the newer ones with 3000 people, no thanks! I was on the Oriana in November and when the captain (at his "cocktail party") announced that OV was going and his announcement was given loud cheers and clapping. Very poor taste I thought, but then that cruise did have some of the most bad mannered and miserable people I have ever encountered on a cruise ship.

[LibraLass41]

Don't know where the idea that OV is going "bust" came from. It is a very profitable organisation and is being replaced by 3 larger newer ships, Ventura, Oceana and Azura so Carnival will be making even more money. Most of the comments re OV come from people who have never been on an OV cruise. I have and really liked it but only on OV1, a smaller ship. No way would I ever go on one of the newer ones with 3000 people, no thanks! I was on the Oriana in November and when the captain (at his "cocktail party") announced that OV was going and his announcement was given loud cheers and clapping. Very poor taste I thought, but then that cruise did have some 'redeploying 'to Ventura and Oceana (not so sure Azura?) As seems the plan now with the freedom dining and lack of semi formal nights. 'Bust' maybe the wrong word ok, disappearing maybe a better one?

The brand 'Ocean Village' is disappearing isn't it Matty?