D522 23rd October trans-Atlantic

[SueandPhil]

Looking like there will be no rush for the sunbeds on this one as not much uptake on other forums roll calls. We are really looking forward to this as Adonia comes highly recommended. A bit of a change for us as it is such a small ship but with a really friendly feel we are told. The itinerary rally sold it to us with a combination of several sea days and a visit to some US ports that are new to us

[Sequencedancer31]

My husband Frank and I are also booked on this cruise, looks like we will have plenty of room on the sun decks and pool!

[Quizzical Bob]

Trooper17 is on this cruise and so am I and Mrs. QB. We are not pleased about the change of ports

[SueandPhil]

We were looking forward to Charleston as it came highly recommended (by BIL who lives out there )But hey when near Orlando there is one thing you must do, avoid Disneyland at all costs so instead we have booked Universal studios with the proviso that it can be cancelled if we change our mind . Looks like there mind be a mad rush for sunbeds now with so many now boarding( I make it about 10 now) One month tomorrow

[Quizzical Bob]

Sadly there was no official meeting amongst us but in the end it turned out to be a great cruise once the first week's grey and lumpy weather was left behind. I even managed to win a few syndicate quizzes, on my own of course .

We got home at 08:30 this morning after a sleepless and uncomfortable flight. Dreamliner my ****.

[Suekersh]

Welcome home to this lovely weather.

Sue

[Jan Rosser]

Sadly there was no official meeting amongst us but in the end it turned out to be a great cruise once the first week's grey and lumpy weather was left behind. I even managed to win a few syndicate quizzes, on my own of course .

We got home at 08:30 this morning after a sleepless and uncomfortable flight. Dreamliner my ****.

Oh dear welcome home but what happened with the flight - I found it okay back in January to Barbados

[CaroleF]

Bob, can I ask what changes, if any, have taken place on Adonia in preparation for her going to "fathom"? I have heard someone say about re-installing a casino. Have they chopped the lovely Anderson's in half? I think that was where the casino was when Adonia was with Princess. We are on her in February - they having cancelled our cruise in March - yes still seething!

Carole

[Manoverboard]

... Have they chopped the lovely Anderson's in half? I think that was where the casino was when Adonia was with Princess. ... Carole

That was indeed the case just prior to Adonia being switched from being Royal Princess in 2011.

[Quizzical Bob]

Sadly there was no official meeting amongst us but in the end it turned out to be a great cruise once the first week's grey and lumpy weather was left behind. I even managed to win a few syndicate quizzes, on my own of course .

We got home at 08:30 this morning after a sleepless and uncomfortable flight. Dreamliner my ****.

Oh dear welcome home but what happened with the flight - I found it okay back in January to Barbados

Thanks for the welcome.

As for the flight (Thomson TOM035) I found the seats really uncomfortable and I am only 5ft 9" tall. They were too low for me which meant that even though the spacing was generous my legs were at an awkward angle and I felt as though I was sliding forwards all the time. They could easily have been a few inches higher as there was plenty of headroom and you had to stand up to reach the lights and air vents. The air was very dry and almost everybody had developed a cough after an hour. The cabin stayed too bright all night and although the crew worked flat out during the first few hours we still had to wait over three hours for our minuscule meal, which meant over eight hours since lunch on the ship. I had bought some wine to go with the meal but the ice in the glass had melted by the time it arrived. No refills of tea or coffee, no water offered. Choice of films was reasonable but the screen was very slow and unresponsive which meant that the person behind kept jabbing at theirs with their finger which thumps you in the back of the head. The 'flight map' was nothing of the sort, just a few lines of information. They should go on Emirates to see how it should be done. Every time that the crew thumped up and down the aisles my seat bounced, I think there must have been a loose floorboard.

Not entirely the worst flight that I have been on but nothing special, no quieter or smoother than many I have taken in the last few years. The service was very perfunctory. I shall try to avoid in future.

[Quizzical Bob]

Bob, can I ask what changes, if any, have taken place on Adonia in preparation for her going to "fathom"? I have heard someone say about re-installing a casino. Have they chopped the lovely Anderson's in half? I think that was where the casino was when Adonia was with Princess. We are on her in February - they having cancelled our cruise in March - yes still seething!

Carole

No changes yet Carole, still the same as it was last October. There will be a refit in May 2016 after the winter Caribbean schedule and before doing the Fathom thing. They did tell me where the refit will be done but I've forgotten, Bahamas I think. The current intention is for Adonia to return to P&O in October 2016 but who knows what will happen. There is a lot of uncertainty and anxiety amongst the crew, most of whom will be staying on board but don't know how many tips they will get, if any. One member sends all his basic earnings home and lives off his tips.

There was some speculation about the reason for this Fathom venture, some thought that it was just a conscience-appeasing deal with tax advantages for Carnival. It may also be the reason for the change of ports from Charleston and Jacksonville to Canaveral and Miami in order to allow the travel agents in Florida to come on board and become familiar with the ship. We definitely saw some of these whilst we were there.

[CaroleF]

Well I hope they get Adonia back to P&O proper as soon as possible. We've had two cruises on her so far and she'd certainly be our ship of choice - I wonder if they do reinstate the casino in the refit and she then returns to P&O in October will they bother to take the casino out? Who knows!

[qbman1]

I think she will be back with P&O this time next year - with a Glass House. Not sure about the casino, though

[Quizzical Bob]

We received a phone call this morning from our 'personal cruise representative' at P&O, which was nice

After going through my list of positives and negatives I asked about the future of the ship. At this stage there is no guarantee that she will be returning to the UK next autumn. I guess it all depends on the success (or otherwise) of this Fathom business.