Oriana going...
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Topic author - Senior First Officer
- Posts: 3364
- Joined: January 2013
- Location: Gower Peninsula, South Wales
Oriana going...
So she goes in August 2019.
Last edited by GillD46 on 29 Jun 2018, 09:34, edited 1 time in total.
Gill
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- First Officer
- Posts: 1857
- Joined: January 2013
- Location: Hampshire
Oriana to leave P&O
Just had an email from P&O saying that Oriana is to leave the fleet in August 2019! I suppose now we know why Aurora was made Adults only.
Carole
Carole
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- First Officer
- Posts: 1857
- Joined: January 2013
- Location: Hampshire
Re: Oriana going...
Sorry Gill, didn't see your post. Yes, the rumour has been going round for so long, now it seems it's going to happen, wonder where she's going.
Carole
Carole
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- First Officer
- Posts: 1832
- Joined: February 2013
- Location: Gower, Swansea
Re: Oriana going...
I have a cruise booked on her for June that year, so not sure now wether to go ahead with ignore swop to something else. They will be running the ship down so it may affect your expectation of the cruise.
Lindsey
Lindsey
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Topic author - Senior First Officer
- Posts: 3364
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- Location: Gower Peninsula, South Wales
Re: Oriana going...
Lindsey that happened to us on Adonia in 2005. We were booked on the very last cruise and were advised - by P&O via our TA - to swap, so we did. But you are far enough ahead to possibly be ok.
Gill
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- Senior Second Officer
- Posts: 666
- Joined: February 2013
- Location: North East
Re: Oriana going...
I suspect cruises next summer on her will fill up very quickly with people wanting to say good bye.
A sad day.
At least we got our two cruises in this year.
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- Cadet
- Posts: 61
- Joined: January 2013
- Location: Near Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire
Re: Oriana going...
Lots of upset people commenting on Facebook. Someone asked where Oriana was going. P&O replied that she was going to a company operating in the Chinese market.
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- First Officer
- Posts: 1419
- Joined: March 2015
Re: Oriana going...
It was a two night City IT event on Oriana that first attracted me to cruising.
Sorry to see her go but last time we were on she was feeling her age.
Sadly all the new ships are these huge megasized monstrositys.
Sorry to see her go but last time we were on she was feeling her age.
Sadly all the new ships are these huge megasized monstrositys.
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- First Officer
- Posts: 1832
- Joined: February 2013
- Location: Gower, Swansea
Re: Oriana going...
That's the problem isn't it, these extra large ships can only dock in major ports. You don't seem to visit so many nice places or if you are a regular cruiser you have done them anyway.
I loved the Adonia last year we docked at Bordeaux and Honfleur really nice .
Lindsey
I loved the Adonia last year we docked at Bordeaux and Honfleur really nice .
Lindsey
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- Senior First Officer
- Posts: 2406
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- Location: South Wales
Re: Oriana going...
Fond memories of Oriana - first P&O ship my late husband and I sailed on and I have been on her several times since but as I now usually cruise with my son and family the bigger ships do have more for them. Incidentally when my son heard that Aurora was becoming adult only he was upset because the family really loved the ship and by the time the girls are old enough to sail on her again will they want to - I think not.
I agree with Lindsey about the restrictions on big ships docking and let's face it tendering in with 5000+ passengers sounds a nightmare however I must admit I won't be saying no to trying out Iona - I personally like Britannia and we will be spending Christmas and New Year on her again this year in the Caribbean
I agree with Lindsey about the restrictions on big ships docking and let's face it tendering in with 5000+ passengers sounds a nightmare however I must admit I won't be saying no to trying out Iona - I personally like Britannia and we will be spending Christmas and New Year on her again this year in the Caribbean
Janis
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- Site Admin
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Re: Oriana going...
The biggest problem that Oriana has is a lack of balconies resulting in the ones that she has being in short supply and expensive. Since Oriana was commissioned the style of cruising has changed but I have to admit that there are some things on Oriana that would work well on other ships - such as Andersons (probably the best bar in the fleet), Harlequins and Chaplins, however the vibration will not be missed.
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Topic author - Senior First Officer
- Posts: 3364
- Joined: January 2013
- Location: Gower Peninsula, South Wales
Re: Oriana going...
It was partly that awful vibration that made us dislike Oriana so much. Ever the Captain said it was bad - though part of her character! Character maybe, but it made me constantly sick!david63 wrote: ↑29 Jun 2018, 11:57The biggest problem that Oriana has is a lack of balconies resulting in the ones that she has being in short supply and expensive. Since Oriana was commissioned the style of cruising has changed but I have to admit that there are some things on Oriana that would work well on other ships - such as Andersons (probably the best bar in the fleet), Harlequins and Chaplins, however the vibration will not be missed.
I am really sorry for those affected, but would never have booked on her myself.
Gill
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- First Officer
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Re: Oriana going...
I agree Gill,we last cruised on Oriana in 2014 and vowed never to cruise on her again mainly down to the vibration. I know people will miss Oriana and the main worry is that eventually only the huge massive ships will be available and they don't appeal to us at all.GillD46 wrote: ↑29 Jun 2018, 12:17
It was partly that awful vibration that made us dislike Oriana so much. Ever the Captain said it was bad - though part of her character! Character maybe, but it made me constantly sick!
I am really sorry for those affected, but would never have booked on her myself.
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- Second Officer
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Re: Oriana going...
I will be sorry to see her go having done more than a dozen cruises on her, two this year. I notice comments that it may be running down next year but I for one will try to be on her farewell voyage. One of the best cruises we have ever done was the farewell voyage on Artemis. Superb well known entertainers and also a music festival. Christine Noble was CD and at the end of the cruise she said not to leave anything for the Germans. We had the binoculars, atlas, bath robes added to our home going luggage!
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- First Officer
- Posts: 1963
- Joined: January 2013
Re: Oriana going...
So far this year we have done 3 cruises on Oriana and loved every one but on the most recent one the Captain spoke to my husband and at the end of the conversation he said I must go an catch up with my boss. We later saw him showing a group of people around. After all the rumours which were circulating including one saying that it was being sold to the Chinese as it would be too expensive to convert the fuel system, we immediately said it looks like the rumours are true. The next thing we said was that we hoped it was going to be after our cruise booked for July 2019 to Longyearbyen. Phew !!! Mind you, I've just made the same remark to my husband that Lindsey has made about the risk of Oriana being a bit run down by then.
I feel so sorry for those who have had their cruises cancelled - I would be really cheesed off.
Maureen
I feel so sorry for those who have had their cruises cancelled - I would be really cheesed off.
Maureen
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- Site Admin
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Re: Oriana going...
Off Topic
Not heard anything about Christine Noble for a while - has she retired?
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- Second Officer
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- Location: Mold
Re: Oriana going...
Yes. She now does the occasional guest appearance as a speaker about her time cruising. I first came across her over 20 years ago when she was a deputy to Ross Howard.
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- Senior First Officer
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- Location: Kent
Re: Oriana going...
Well this is not a complete surprise, but many people are going to be very disappointed by this news.
I've only been on Oriana twice, in 2007 on a very nice 18 days cruise that included Port Said, Limmasol and Rhodes, and in 2016 Round Britain. She's not my favourite ship, but she does the type of itineraries that now interest me - longer cruises to ports that don't appear on the more standard itineraries.
We've already been on Fred Olsen this year and have booked with Fred for March 2020. Fred does the sort of itineraries that we want, so I think our general drift toward Fred will continue. It makes me sad, because some of my most precious memories happened on P&O. But nothing stays the same for ever.
I fully expect Aurora to leave the fleet within the next 4 -5 years, if not sooner. I will be disappointed when that happens,, as Aurora is my favourite ship. We've sailed on her more times than any other ship, including our first cruise, two legs of a world cruise last year, and coming up in September this year, the cruise we've wanted to do since we started - the 24 night USA and Canada cruise.
I've only been on Oriana twice, in 2007 on a very nice 18 days cruise that included Port Said, Limmasol and Rhodes, and in 2016 Round Britain. She's not my favourite ship, but she does the type of itineraries that now interest me - longer cruises to ports that don't appear on the more standard itineraries.
We've already been on Fred Olsen this year and have booked with Fred for March 2020. Fred does the sort of itineraries that we want, so I think our general drift toward Fred will continue. It makes me sad, because some of my most precious memories happened on P&O. But nothing stays the same for ever.
I fully expect Aurora to leave the fleet within the next 4 -5 years, if not sooner. I will be disappointed when that happens,, as Aurora is my favourite ship. We've sailed on her more times than any other ship, including our first cruise, two legs of a world cruise last year, and coming up in September this year, the cruise we've wanted to do since we started - the 24 night USA and Canada cruise.
Gill
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- First Officer
- Posts: 1963
- Joined: January 2013
Re: Oriana going...
I think we may well be looking elsewhere for future cruises (if we continue cruising) because I think the prices on Aurora and Arcadia will increase due to a lot of the current older cruisers on Oriana switching over to them.
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- Deputy Captain
- Posts: 5607
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- Location: Instow Devon
Re: Oriana going...
Bit of a shame. We've done three on oriana and enjoyed all of them . Things move on though. I do feel for the folk that had already booked. I'd guess the P&O took bookings that they knew they couldn't complete for commercially sensitive reasons.
Empty vessels .. and all that
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- Senior Second Officer
- Posts: 666
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- Location: North East
Re: Oriana going...
That’s the problem with releasing your cruises two years in advance. I am sure the company did not know that they would get the sale of the ship rough when the cruises for 19/20 we’re leased or when the arrangements were made for the cruises a year or so before that.
Ideally of course the ship would be handed over the week after the last booked cruise. No doubt the buyer would not want to wait that long. If they could do it that way they they could do a big sell on the last cruises of a much loved ship.
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- Deputy Captain
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Re: Oriana going...
I'm not talking about cruises booked two years ago , I'm talking about a month ago. They would have known some time ago that the sale was going through but continued to take deposits. Dodgy at best.
Empty vessels .. and all that
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- Commodore
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Re: Oriana going...
Oriana will always be special to us as our first cruise was on her. But in recent years we've outgrown her. We wouldn't book less than a balcony cabin these days and we like the choice of venues offered by the bigger ships.
Last edited by Mervyn and Trish on 30 Jun 2018, 16:18, edited 2 times in total.