Aurora and Arcadia to take children on some cruises

[CaroleF]

Maybe Poole boy means Oceana. I've often seen Oceana written as Oceania.

[oldbluefox]

I honestly don't see the logic behind P&O's decision. They already have 5 family friendly ships which are set up and cater for children. They have 2 adult only ships and a loyal following for both. So why would you turn over your only adult ships with no facilities for children and insodoing alienate others? It doesn't make sense.
Good news for Ambassador and Fred though. Ambassador are already going in the opposite direction and cutting out their multi generational cruises. Interesting times ahead.

[Pam + Neil]

We are about to cancel our May’27 bookings for Arcadia. We had booked aft suites for my significant birthday. This has totally ruined our expectation and will they further move the goal posts. The ambiance of the cruise has been threaten by this change.

[david63]

I honestly don't see the logic behind P&O's decision.

The logic is that some bean counter has realised that Arcadia and Aurora have a number of three/four berth cabins that are almost exclusively occupied by two passengers therefore there is a loss of revenue both on fares and onboard spend. Also adult only is not the direction that P&O are going in moving forward.

I would say that it is 99.9% certain that once these two ships leave the fleet then P&O will become totally family orientated.

[Pam + Neil]

These ships may go sooner rather than later so better to explore alternatives now. We do have a plan B. We experienced and were affected by the sale or remove from service of both Oceana and the Oriana. Sad after 27 years of cruising with P & 0. .

[Mervyn and Trish]

I honestly don't see the logic behind P&O's decision.

The logic is that some bean counter has realised that Arcadia and Aurora have a number of three/four berth cabins that are almost exclusively occupied by two passengers therefore there is a loss of revenue both on fares and onboard spend. Also adult only is not the direction that P&O are going in moving forward.

I would say that it is 99.9% certain that once these two ships leave the fleet then P&O will become totally family orientated.

I think you're right. Aurora, and probably Arcadia too, usually sails with most if not all cabins occupied. But as you say not all beds. That's the objective.

[CaroleF]

I was hoping to have one last cruise on Aurora but as I'm now on my own and need an evac chair as I would be taking a power wheelchair and only want an adult only cruise, I think the possibility of me being able to book one is unlikely. I would have to book far in advance to get both those things and I wouldn't be surprised if by then Aurora has been sold. She'd be a good ship for Saga but she's probably too old. So I think I've probably had my last cruise on Aurora and maybe it's as well as the first time I sailed on her is so amazingly different from what things are like now. Our first cruise was during school term so there were very few children on board, a few very young ones from what I remember so it was almost like an adult only ship, but all the extras that made the cruise special have now gone. So it'll probably be either Saga or Cunard in future.

[Meg 50]

what people don't seem to realise is that if they cancel it frees up cabins for families. If they stayed put there'd be no room since apparently the 2 ships usually sail full!

[jacksparrow]

I’ve cancelled mine on Arcadia as it’s a long one in August. The refund is on its way. Ironically the lady at Bolsover recommended Ambassador. Can anyone recommend the best ship to go on? The way things have changed over the years with PandO I’m now considering cancelling next years cruise, fortunately I will only loose the deposit.

[Onelife]

Call me narcistic but I’m pleased to hear you are all cancelling your P&O cruises …come April 2027 P&O will have learnt that you can’t treat long standing customers with utter contempt.

So, thanks all for sacrificing so much for my enjoyment.

[Pam + Neil]

After hesitation we have placed our cancellation and our reasons for doing so. We know nothing will alter as a result of this, but we did have to give our reasons for cancelling not that anyone will take any notice. Instead we have booked and confirmed SAGA January 2027 Canaries. Summers in UK do give us light evenings even if weather is not great,

[Stephen]

After hesitation we have placed our cancellation and our reasons for doing so. We know nothing will alter as a result of this, but we did have to give our reasons for cancelling not that anyone will take any notice. Instead we have booked and confirmed SAGA January 2027 Canaries. Summers in UK do give us light evenings even if weather is not great,

Good choice

[Whynd1]

I have just paid my balance for a Saga January cruise to the Canaries, just hoping the crossing isn't too bad.

I have also cancelled the only P and O booking I had remaining, booked 18months ago which was on Arcadia.
The agent at Bolsover gave a deep sigh and commented that they had had many requests for cancellation due to the new family friendly policy.

Lindsey

[oldbluefox]

It's a great shame. Aurora and Arcadia have a strong following of passengers who enjoy the ships and what they offer, in particular the fact them. Besides there are no facilities on either of these ships to accommodate them and the fact there are five other ships in the fleet all catering for families I do wonder at the logic behind the decision. Of course P&O are not the only company providing family friendly holidays so it's not as if you are restricted in finding a holiday with your children. On the contrary there are fewer cruise lines offering adult only (excluding the more exclusive lines). I can now only think of Ambassador and Saga so I suppose the decision made by P&O makes for good news for them. I can't help thinking P&O are shooting themselves in the foot but obviously the bean counters will have done their sums and come up with their decision. Whether that is good in the long term for the company remains to be seen but I have sympathy for those who are loyal to the brand at those times of the year.
As for P&O they have changed the brand so much over the years that it is now nothing like the P&O we enjoyed so we have already 'jumped ship'.

[Stephen]

At the end of the day P&O couldn’t care less and the loyal customers will vote with their feet.

[towny44]

At the end of the day P&O couldn’t care less and the loyal customers will vote with their feet.

I'm reasonably certain that they do care, but I do agree that this is a strange move. Not at all sure what they expect to achieve with this change.

[david63]

None of us on here will ever know the reasoning behind this decision as we are not in possession of the relevant data.

The one thing that we can be certain of is that it will be aimed at trying to improve revenue coupled with the direction that Carnival what P&O to go in the future. It has already been stated that there will be no new adult ships in the P&O fleet so perhaps this is preparing P&O passengers for the future.

There is also the point that something like 75% of all cruises take place during term time meaning that there will, or should, be very few, if any, children on board those cruises so it could be reasonable to assume that there is insufficient capacity during the school holidays and that the families are the cruisers of the future.