uninspiring cruises choice for2019

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daib GC
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Re: uninspiring cruises choice for2019

#26

Post by daib GC »

towny44 wrote: 20 Apr 2018, 08:52
daib GC wrote: 20 Apr 2018, 01:08
Manoverboard wrote: 19 Apr 2018, 16:14
Absolutely Dai but not so many years ago the middle sized P&O ships visited a far greater number of Ports :wave:
Not in my experience first Cruise on Aurora 2001 2 week Cruise and 6 ports, 2004 Aurora Canaries exactly the same 6 ports in 2 weeks. Now that may have been 7 ports.

It the Geography which dictates the number of ports not the size of the ships.

The only port I am aware of that Oriana could get into that the big ones could not is La Gomera
You have made this point before Dai but its just not true, our 14 night Canaries & N Africa cruise on RCI last year had 8 ports, as does our 14 nt Med Beaches one we have booked for next year. And if you check back more carefully you will find that most 14 nt P&O cruises from Southampton used to have 7 ports, but over the last 2 years nearly all of these have been reduced to 6. Strangely our 13 night Canaries cruise on Azura in September has 7 ports, so clearly geography and distance travelled has little to do with the number of ports, what is the determining factor is the cruising speed which has been chopped by 10% in recent years according to a comment from an engineering officer on a recent cruise.
As you know I do not believe in your premis at all. The number of ports is down to Geography. Last year we went to the Greek isles on Azura A728. 17 nights and 7 ports. 4 of them new to us. Going there and back Azura kept up a constant 20 to 21 knots. So no slow down at all he geography of the cruise determined this. They could not have put in another port. However this suited us fine 7 was ideal. Plenty of sea days, in very good weather.

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towny44
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Re: uninspiring cruises choice for2019

#27

Post by towny44 »

daib GC wrote: 20 Apr 2018, 11:56
towny44 wrote: 20 Apr 2018, 08:52

You have made this point before Dai but its just not true, our 14 night Canaries & N Africa cruise on RCI last year had 8 ports, as does our 14 nt Med Beaches one we have booked for next year. And if you check back more carefully you will find that most 14 nt P&O cruises from Southampton used to have 7 ports, but over the last 2 years nearly all of these have been reduced to 6. Strangely our 13 night Canaries cruise on Azura in September has 7 ports, so clearly geography and distance travelled has little to do with the number of ports, what is the determining factor is the cruising speed which has been chopped by 10% in recent years according to a comment from an engineering officer on a recent cruise.
As you know I do not believe in your premis at all. The number of ports is down to Geography. Last year we went to the Greek isles on Azura A728. 17 nights and 7 ports. 4 of them new to us. Going there and back Azura kept up a constant 20 to 21 knots. So no slow down at all he geography of the cruise determined this. They could not have put in another port. However this suited us fine 7 was ideal. Plenty of sea days, in very good weather.
You may not believe it Dai but the facts are there if you open your eyes to them.
I don't really understand why you get so irate when someone offers this sort of opinion, most ports on nearly every cruise are fairly familiar, if not downright boringly predictable with new ports being the exception, but that's just how things are with cruising. However P&O and Princess do top the list for repetition and fewer ports of call, and while we also enjoy sea days we do like to have the choice to go ashore, and even if staying on board in port it is generally hotter, less windy and there is more to see.?
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Re: uninspiring cruises choice for2019

#28

Post by Manoverboard »

daib GC wrote: 20 Apr 2018, 10:40
I must say I did not read into your post that you were referring to before 2001. However I have not said that P&O have the ability to go to the very small ports which are up rivers etc. And if you want to visit them then clearly you have to use other lines with smaller ships. What bugs me as I have said is people claiming that there are no new ports every time a new brochure comes out. Which I have proved is untrue time after time. With regard to how long ships stay in port I have not seen any great difference between P&O and the other ships in port with us. And over the past 4/5 years I have paid particular notice to see if people’s claims were true.

Saying all of that we are not port intensive people we much prefer sea days and plenty of them which is why we now do the long Caribbean cruises of 23/28 and now 35 nights.
I wasn't ... one example ... Adonia, 2011, sailed for 2 overnights in the heart of Seville rather than going via Cadiz.

ps .... when we cruised the Greek Islands, 2007(?) we visited 11 ports / Islands in 14 days, ex Crete of course.

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Quizzical Bob
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Re: uninspiring cruises choice for2019

#29

Post by Quizzical Bob »

oldbluefox wrote: 19 Apr 2018, 17:02
Pity they don't do more cruises for the Baltic without St Petersburg, The Med without Rome or fewer Venice cruises. Much as I love Venice there are so many lovely ports down the Croatian coast it seems a pity there isn't a cruise visiting more of these. There are only so many times you can visit the touristy honey pots.
We agree. We don't want to goto St Petersburg again but would love to visit the other Baltic ports, Gdansk, Warnemünde, Skagen, Kiel, Oslo, Bornholm. I'd also like to do the Kiel Canal but the modern ships are too fat for it.

We've had enough of Barcelona, and Rome or Venice are best visited by other means.
Last edited by Quizzical Bob on 20 Apr 2018, 14:06, edited 1 time in total.

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Gill W
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Re: uninspiring cruises choice for2019

#30

Post by Gill W »

poole boy wrote: 19 Apr 2018, 08:07
does anybody else find the 2019 cruises uninspiring there are very few 14 night cruises this is the maximum time wife can have of work at a time also owing to health problems I am not allowed to fly so with those two things most of the cruise program is out of reach with those that are left we have done them all in some cases several times.
so we are having to forget P&O for2019 and are looking at cmv and fred olsen.
cmv does have a nice looking cruise from Poole to the baltics using the smaller ports none of which we have visited before :thumbdown:
and as Poole port is only 1 mile from home could be a good choice
I do tend to agree. If I was still at work, I'd be really struggling to find cruises from the 2019 P & O schedule that appeal to me.

We've booked a 10 day cruise on CMV Columbus next year, going round Britain, but I noticed the cruise after ours was a Baltic one with several ports that don't appear on the P&O schedules. It's something I'd consider in future.

When I was working, we managed a couple of 17 night cruises to Venice, as they were Saturday sailings and it meant I just needed an extra day or so off work in the third week. I've noticed the Venice cruises now tend to be 19 nights, so even that avenue is closed off for many workers.

My experiences with both CMV and Fred have been postive, so I think they are worth considering.
colin parry wrote: 19 Apr 2018, 17:04
The problem now is the fact that so many ports we used to go to are regarded as unsafe. Istanbul and other Turkish ports, The Black Sea to Crimea and Ukraine ( which was my favourite and were able to do it twice) North African ports. This has greatly reduced choice.
I agree, the choice of ports has decreased, due to political instability. Back in 2007, we did a fab 18 night cruise on Oriana that went to Rhodes, Cyprus, Port Said and Tunis. That itinerary has long since disappeared. In 2013 I was working part time, and we were able to do the 24 night cruise to the Crimea and Ukraine, as it fitted in with my working pattern. I was so glad to be able to do this, as the cruise disappeared the following year due to Russian annexing the Crimea.

I remember Oceana used to do a 3 week cruise to the Holy Land, usually leaving in early December. This was high on my list of cruises to do, but has long since disappeared.

I also think P & O themselves marking their itineraries less interesting. In September we are doing the classic 24 night cruise to USA and Canada. In 2019 that cruise is to Canada only - the USA ports have been dropped. For 2019 I fancied Greece. In recent years, there have been a number of nice cruises to Greek Island and the mainland, usually about 19 days, so I eagerly scanned the 2019 brochure to pick the best one. I was surprised to see there was only one sailing of that itinerary - in September 2019 on Azura. Fortunately, that suited us and we have booked, but it seems the more 'interesting' itineraries are disappearing.

I suspect I will be looking more to CMV and Fred in future.
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Gill W
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Re: uninspiring cruises choice for2019

#31

Post by Gill W »

daib GC wrote: 20 Apr 2018, 11:56
towny44 wrote: 20 Apr 2018, 08:52
daib GC wrote: 20 Apr 2018, 01:08
Manoverboard wrote: 19 Apr 2018, 16:14
Absolutely Dai but not so many years ago the middle sized P&O ships visited a far greater number of Ports :wave:
Not in my experience first Cruise on Aurora 2001 2 week Cruise and 6 ports, 2004 Aurora Canaries exactly the same 6 ports in 2 weeks. Now that may have been 7 ports.

It the Geography which dictates the number of ports not the size of the ships.

The only port I am aware of that Oriana could get into that the big ones could not is La Gomera
You have made this point before Dai but its just not true, our 14 night Canaries & N Africa cruise on RCI last year had 8 ports, as does our 14 nt Med Beaches one we have booked for next year. And if you check back more carefully you will find that most 14 nt P&O cruises from Southampton used to have 7 ports, but over the last 2 years nearly all of these have been reduced to 6. Strangely our 13 night Canaries cruise on Azura in September has 7 ports, so clearly geography and distance travelled has little to do with the number of ports, what is the determining factor is the cruising speed which has been chopped by 10% in recent years according to a comment from an engineering officer on a recent cruise.
As you know I do not believe in your premis at all. The number of ports is down to Geography. Last year we went to the Greek isles on Azura A728. 17 nights and 7 ports. 4 of them new to us. Going there and back Azura kept up a constant 20 to 21 knots. So no slow down at all he geography of the cruise determined this. They could not have put in another port. However this suited us fine 7 was ideal. Plenty of sea days, in very good weather.
I'm doing the 2019 version of this cruise. 7 ports in 19 nights, so they are almost certainly going to be sailing slower.
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Gill W
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Re: uninspiring cruises choice for2019

#32

Post by Gill W »

barney wrote: 20 Apr 2018, 09:18
It really all depends on your perspective.

My dear old Mum always considered the 'cruise' the holiday and the ports were incidental.
She was happy to be on the ship (pretty much any ship) and where it went didn't concern het too much.

Others see the ship and the vehicle to transport them to their destination and ports of call are very important.

I sit somewhere in the middle. I enjoy sea days very much and I'm releuctant to fly out to start my holiday, so leaving from the UK suits.
The sea days down to the sun are our time to unwind.
I don't think that I fancy anything too port intensive but do tend to agree with the cry of 'same old ports'
It must be very difficult for cruise companies to find the balance.
What pleases one would discourage another.

Over the years, we've been to a few new unestablished ports that clearly were not geared up for tourism.
We did a cruise on Oriana which was described a a 'Cruise of Discovery'
At a few of the places, it was apparant that they were not used to having cruise ships visit and outside the P&O tours, there was little of interest in the towns.

So, like everything else, it's horses for courses.
Holiday firms make their decisions and you have the option as to whether to book with them or not.
Yes, I agree with what you are saying. It's a balance between the right ship and the right ports. I like seeing new places, so the itinerary is important to me. However, when the new P & O ship comes out in 2020, it'll be the ship that will be the most important factor, so the itinerary will have less weight. We will probably book a standard Med 14 day cruise, as it'll be more about the ship than the ports.
Gill


daib GC
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Re: uninspiring cruises choice for2019

#33

Post by daib GC »

Gill W wrote: 20 Apr 2018, 16:30
daib GC wrote: 20 Apr 2018, 11:56
towny44 wrote: 20 Apr 2018, 08:52
daib GC wrote: 20 Apr 2018, 01:08


Not in my experience first Cruise on Aurora 2001 2 week Cruise and 6 ports, 2004 Aurora Canaries exactly the same 6 ports in 2 weeks. Now that may have been 7 ports.

It the Geography which dictates the number of ports not the size of the ships.

The only port I am aware of that Oriana could get into that the big ones could not is La Gomera
You have made this point before Dai but its just not true, our 14 night Canaries & N Africa cruise on RCI last year had 8 ports, as does our 14 nt Med Beaches one we have booked for next year. And if you check back more carefully you will find that most 14 nt P&O cruises from Southampton used to have 7 ports, but over the last 2 years nearly all of these have been reduced to 6. Strangely our 13 night Canaries cruise on Azura in September has 7 ports, so clearly geography and distance travelled has little to do with the number of ports, what is the determining factor is the cruising speed which has been chopped by 10% in recent years according to a comment from an engineering officer on a recent cruise.
As you know I do not believe in your premis at all. The number of ports is down to Geography. Last year we went to the Greek isles on Azura A728. 17 nights and 7 ports. 4 of them new to us. Going there and back Azura kept up a constant 20 to 21 knots. So no slow down at all he geography of the cruise determined this. They could not have put in another port. However this suited us fine 7 was ideal. Plenty of sea days, in very good weather.
I'm doing the 2019 version of this cruise. 7 ports in 19 nights, so they are almost certainly going to be sailing slower.
Excellent that sounds even better to me. Cruising is about cruising.

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Happydays
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Re: uninspiring cruises choice for2019

#34

Post by Happydays »

We are thinking of trying out "Fred" my husband likes the look of one next September sailing from Liverpaol which would be closer for us. I have looked before then booked with P&O. We have sailed with other companies but overall P&O usually suit us. Although we didn't think Azura's (in February) service or food was as good as the two previous cruises on Arcadia and Ventura last year. We have two cruises booked with P&O at the moment on Oceana.

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