Will P&O attract enough new customers

[Delboy]

I was under the impression that the original OP, was about this poster equating her own experiences, with what she had observed from others, on her cruises with P&O, not from what she had read.

[JohnTheDog]

I think all lines have good parts & less good parts...maybe it was just a change but we thought the entertainment on Eclipse was superb, in fact that martini bar was an entertainment in itself.

[JohnTheDog]

I was under the impression that the original OP, was about this poster equating her own experiences, with what she had observed from others, on her cruises with P&O, not from what she had read.

Sorry have read this several times & can't understand what you mean.

[Delboy]

I quite like the P&O offering but since i am 69 today, and if P&O do only cater for the over 60's, then I guess I am not really in a postion to know what will attract a younger clientele.
On the points raised by the OP.
We enjoyed the food on our last 2 cruises, although we did think that the food on our Celebrity cruise was better.
But we also thought that the P&O entertainment was better than X.
The service on both was excellent, but possibly our vote would go with Celebrity. It is a while since we sailed with Princess, but I would categorise them as very similar to P&O and X.
However for those of a younger age there is RCCL or Carnival both of which cater for people wanting lots of activities and with young families, and both also sail from the UK. But having sailed with our son and young grandson I have to say that P&O offer a very good childrens club and creche facilities for families.
So to sum up, yes I think P&O will continue to attract new customers, because the golden age of pensions still has a few more years to run; and most of these pensioners have younger families who they will introduce to cruising.
I doubt that they will make any step changes from their current format, but I expect that there will be evolutionary changes to ensure they maintain reasonably full ships.

Happy birthday towny44

[Dancing Queen]

A belated Happy Birthday from me too Towny

[Kendhni]

P&o probably has a more difficult job than some of the American lines ... simply because the British are more inclined to moan and grumble. When P&O tries something new then there will be a vociferous minority that will start complaining simply because they can not adopt to change and moan that 'it ain't like the old days'. They often hide behind a claim of 'diminishing standards' whereas the younger generation may see it as an improvement or an evolution that focuses on things more relevant to the next generation.

This affects things like dress code, the food, the entertainment, the ports, ship facilities, select dining etc. ... as soon as anything changes the moaning will start.

We have been on cruises where we considered the entertainment to be poor ... my grandmother would have loved it but it was not for us ... on the other hand, our last trip on Azura had entertainment that was 'right up our street' so we had a fantastic time (we still talk about the deck party with the Bee Gees tribute band) ... however I talked to one person who did not enjoy the entertainment and she made comments about how poor the cruise director was etc. etc. Part of the problem is that you can never please all of the people all of the time.

Overall I believe P&O (like all cruise lines) is trying to evolve but an older core of passengers are fighting them every inch of the way .. those passengers fear change, they rely on false nostalgia etc. The problem is P&O either evolves or dies with their old passenger base ... and, to me, that would be a great shame!

[towny44]

Overall I believe P&O (like all cruise lines) is trying to evolve but an older core of passengers are fighting them every inch of the way .. those passengers fear change, they rely on false nostalgia etc. The problem is P&O either evolves or dies with their old passenger base ... and, to me, that would be a great shame!

Ken, I think you over estimate the pace at which the age demographic of cruise passengers in the UK will change, as I commented earlier I think the golden age of pensions still has some time to go before new pension incomes begin to decline. In consequence the age profile may in fact increase, especially as people are now living longer, so P&O will need to ensure that they continue to cater for us oldies for a good few years to come. However we are increasingly becoming pensioners from the Rock n' Roll age (or at least the 60's), so I would hope we will be flexible enough to accept new changes which also encourage younger cruisers to join in this great holiday experience.

[JohnTheDog]

I am never sure where "moaning" starts & just passing a comment about something stops. Mind you the BEST MOAN I ever heard was a woman on Arcadia who said words to the effect of ''this ship is terrible I have never liked it... FIVE TIMES I have been on her & I still don't like it.''

[Silver_Shiney]

I am never sure where "moaning" starts & just passing a comment about something stops. Mind you the BEST MOAN I ever heard was a woman on Arcadia who said words to the effect of ''this ship is terrible I have never liked it... FIVE TIMES I have been on her & I still don't like it.''

Priceless!

[Dark Knight]

like any activity, cruising needs to evolve to stay current, otherwise it stagnates and people move on
I don't think that slashing prices however is a good more as it looks like they are desperate to get new blood, better they concentrated on making it a true luxury holiday at a reasonable price

[AngieT]

I'm 55 & hubby reaches 65 in a weeks time. We have only been cruising for the last 3 years & all have been on P & O (Oceana, Azura, Adonia, Arcadia & two forthcoming cruises on Oriana). So far we have loved our experience on the different ships & unless we have a 'terrible' cruise in the future we will continue to sail with P & O. However, good fortune has brought us the chance to cruise with 2 other cruise lines this year so we will be able to make a comparison between them & P & O and we are looking forward to this opportunity - we are always open to trying new things.

I'm not going to bother addressing the points regarding 'older cruisers' and their food & entertainment preferences as I have no wish to get into any dialogue with the OP after I have already been subject to their rude replies on a previous post. Having read their other posts I believe the OP is male & they make a point of being arguementative & derogatory to other posters so it's not worth trying to put forward a reasoned debate to their questions on the forum (& don't quote them - they take it as an insult when it's not intended to be one).

Angie

[Kendhni]

Towny, I don't disagree with you, I think there is a lot of money tied up in the older generation ... but for how long. Any cruise line that panders purely to the older generation will be short lived ... all the other lines will have attracted the next generation ... BTW, if some of the economic figures become true many people who think they have provided for their retirement are going to be very disappointed ... the next generation will not be able to fund pensions that have not been funded by those that expect to benefit from them.

There is a balancing act and while that balancing act is being performed there will always be those that moan about 'the good old days' and those that make stupid comments about Butlins at sea etc.

[Gill W]

Why do people seem to think that older people are a different species, they don't suddenly turn into someone else at some point in life, they still think the same, feel the same person inside, suddenly feel the need to listen to palm court orchestra music or go to tea dances...The fact we cruise now has nothing to do with age, it was something we always fancied doing but were unsure of.

That's very true. I remember a few years ago a certain 'Magical' poster asserting that 'the over 50's like to have a card room'.

Well I've reached that milestone without a sudden craving for a card room, and I don't think I'll ever need one. I'll carry on liking what I've always liked, I hope to see P & O reflect the things that people in my age group generally like.

[Kendhni]

I'll carry on liking what I've always liked

Only if you remember what it was you liked when you liked it

[Gill W]

I'll carry on liking what I've always liked

Only if you remember what it was you liked when you liked it

Can you remind me what we were talking about ...

[Silver_Shiney]

I remember a few years ago a certain 'Magical' poster asserting that 'the over 50's like to have a card room'.

Well I've reached that milestone without a sudden craving for a card room, and I don't think I'll ever need one. I'll carry on liking what I've always liked, I hope to see P & O reflect the things that people in my age group generally like.

I'm given to understand that Oceana's refit included changing the Cyb@study into a card room...

[AngieT]

Does it also have a lounge where we can all sit dribbling into our tea & biscuits?

[Silver_Shiney]

Yes, it's called your cabin.......

[AngieT]

Have you been peeping through my balcony window SS?

[oldbluefox]

I never quite understand why anybody travels with a particular cruise line and then complains it caters too much for this group, or too much for that group, the food's all wrong, the entertainment's poor, too many formal nights, too many old people, etc etc.
Out there there are loads of different cruise lines all catering for a different clientele which they all achieve to a greater or lesser extent. To me it is a matter of looking at the options and choosing a line which caters best for your needs.It's as simple as that. The only comment I would make about P&O is that over the past few years they have diluted the product to keep the prices down and consequently some of the 'niceties' have disappeared, 'niceties' which separated P&O from the rest and make them distinct. However we have stayed with them but there may come a day when they go a step too far and we will look at other brands.

[JohnTheDog]

.....as I say these days, OK I know who you are....but...who am I?

[Ray B]

There are still a lot of people out there looking to try their first cruise adding to those already cruising and over the pond Carnival broke a record for bookings.
Carnival Cruise Lines set a one-week reservations record, taking gross bookings for 187,283 guests between Jan. 28-Feb. 3, 2013.
They do have 24 ships to fill, but that is some going for one week.

Ray

[Kendhni]

I read thast Ray .. looks like some believe the end of this recession is in sight ... or they have sacrificed enough holidays and thought 'to heck with it..we are going'.

[Kendhni]

Another thought is that there may be a degree of 'familiarity breeding contempt'.
Seasoned cruisers have seen it before , they have seen most of the shows, many of the other acts, used to the ports ... and may be starting to feel a bit bored with it. If you do the same cruise out of Southampton every year then it will always become a little bit 'stale'.

Whereas to someone who has never cruised before it is still and amazing spectacle the first time you set foot on board a cruise ship and visit the ports for the first time. They say your first cruise is your most memorable ... I would add that your first visit on a new class of ship, or your first cruise on a different itinerary will also be equally as memorable.

[Jan Rosser]

Does it also have a lounge where we can all sit dribbling into our tea & biscuits?

Ooh don't want to think about getting to that stage of my life Angie! I am an "official" OAP now (65) but am lucky enough not to feel it or act it yet - long may it continue!