P&O Adonia

Has anyone sailed on Adonia since it returned to P&O from Fathom this year . Have sailed on her before and loved it , but been reading some reviews on other sites which aren't very favourable. Not sure if these are genuine or just from "professional moaning brigade".

The latter, we went to Iceland and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The ship itself is in fine shape, the crew are wonderful and the food was more than acceptable. It is not difficult to avail of a seat in the show lounge without bagging one an hour before the performance and seats are always easy to find around the ship. The buffet can be busy at peak times especially before 9am for breakfast of 1pm for lunch. Contrary to one review I have read, the ship was stable with little if no rolling. Just remember that the draft on the Adonia is the same as on Britannia, with much less above the water line to catch side winds. Movement if it occurs tends to be as it rides the swell, not cross waves My personal measure of rough is when the 'comfort' bags appear on the stair ends, they did not and nor were they needed.

There were stocking issues with wine and beer either being or becoming unavailable but there were plenty of alternative beverages available. Those who couldn't have their exact correct drink are, in my opinion, moaning ninnies. I understand that the availability was better than the previous cruise, i.e.it is getting better and soon will be fully stocked.

My reasoning for the moaners was the excessive number of affluent higher grade 'Portunus' passengers on the Icelandic cruise. It must be pointed out though that many of them, as we were , enjoying a half price cruise, and really should have known that there would be teething issues. Experience shows that this is exactly the group who are prone to moan about anything and everything. One example was the commodore (yes, that is how he introduced himself to passengers and crew alike) who was angry that the captain evidently was displaying the ensign incorrectly, and loudly declared the captain's discretion to one and all in the glasshouse. Another moaner was the lady who objected to being kept on a tenter whilst the crew assisted a disabled passenger ''you could have got 10 people off in the time it took to get her off''. She received no mutterings of agreement from the other passengers, just astonished looks of condemnation. As always, the huge majority of passengers are lovely, both talkative and amiable, we had a lady offer to change seats in the theatre when we arrived later than normal 'because we usually sat there'. That was not unusual, good manners outweighed poor so go ahead, enjoy your cruise and look upon the moaners as part of the entertainment.

The latter, we went to Iceland and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The ship itself is in fine shape, the crew are wonderful and the food was more than acceptable. It is not difficult to avail of a seat in the show lounge without bagging one an hour before the performance and seats are always easy to find around the ship. The buffet can be busy at peak times especially before 9am for breakfast of 1pm for lunch. Contrary to one review I have read, the ship was stable with little if no rolling. Just remember that the draft on the Adonia is the same as on Britannia, with much less above the water line to catch side winds. Movement if it occurs tends to be as it rides the swell, not cross waves My personal measure of rough is when the 'comfort' bags appear on the stair ends, they did not and nor were they needed.

There were stocking issues with wine and beer either being or becoming unavailable but there were plenty of alternative beverages available. Those who couldn't have their exact correct drink are, in my opinion, moaning ninnies. I understand that the availability was better than the previous cruise, i.e.it is getting better and soon will be fully stocked.

My reasoning for the moaners was the excessive number of affluent higher grade 'Portunus' passengers on the Icelandic cruise. It must be pointed out though that many of them, as we were , enjoying a half price cruise, and really should have known that there would be teething issues. Experience shows that this is exactly the group who are prone to moan about anything and everything. One example was the commodore (yes, that is how he introduced himself to passengers and crew alike) who was angry that the captain evidently was displaying the ensign incorrectly, and loudly declared the captain's discretion to one and all in the glasshouse. Another moaner was the lady who objected to being kept on a tenter whilst the crew assisted a disabled passenger ''you could have got 10 people off in the time it took to get her off''. She received no mutterings of agreement from the other passengers, just astonished looks of condemnation. As always, the huge majority of passengers are lovely, both talkative and amiable, we had a lady offer to change seats in the theatre when we arrived later than normal 'because we usually sat there'. That was not unusual, good manners outweighed poor so go ahead, enjoy your cruise and look upon the moaners as part of the entertainment.

I assume the bit in bold was aimed at me! Good job I am thick skinned. The only alcoholic drink my mum likes is sweet rose (white zinfandel) It is very popular and millions of people drink it. I wanted my mum to enjoy her holiday and be able to have a couple of glasses of wine with her meal. They serve it in the bars so why not the MDR? I don't get the stocking issues - it was known for months that Adonia was coming back and I can't see that stocking a small ship like this one is any harder than stocking Britannia!

One man's moaning minnie is another's constructive critciser

Obviously it is a shame if your Mother couldn't get a drink with her dinner. Did you ask for the wine waiter to get it for you? It was our experience that wine was being fetched from other bars upon request when it is not apparently available. For example, when we boarded there was no Rioja allocated to the Glasshouse (despite being on the wine list). I told them that it was my favourite tipple and was available in the Crows Nest, a waiter was sent to spread the allocation around, wonderful service and a very satisfied me.

Obviously it is a shame if your Mother couldn't get a drink with her dinner. Did you ask for the wine waiter to get it for you? It was our experience that wine was being fetched from other bars upon request when it is not apparently available. For example, when we boarded there was no Rioja allocated to the Glasshouse (despite being on the wine list). I told them that it was my favourite tipple and was available in the Crows Nest, a waiter was sent to spread the allocation around, wonderful service and a very satisfied me.

Wine waiter said just not possible but he would see if he could find her something she might like. He then served the other 5 of us and she had nothing. 10 minutes later the restaurant manager passed and asked if all good, I expressed disappointment that my mum had no drink. He found the waiter and within 5 mins they magically found the white Zinfandel. The following day I popped to the restaurant just after lunch to ask if they could sort it out. From that night we could buy bottles as needed. So they did have it. Thank you for your kind words