New adult only ship for P&O Cruises

[CASPALL]

I don't think that's the case at all. I am definitely not newly wed or nearly dead. However, when I cruise, I have to cruise outside school holidays, because having 700 kids on board a reasonably small space is not my idea of fun.

Azura this year was crowded enough that I would not travel on her again and there were not many children on board. Goodness knows what it would have been like with 700 kids.

 

 

I agree 100% with you Jean!

Caryl

 

__________________

[rosiebon]

We will be very pleased as we are possibly planning the world cruise in 2012. Whilst we love children, we would prefer them not to be present on our cruise!

 

:)

 

P&O Official release:

 

 

Changes to Oriana from November 2011

 

When Artemis leaves the fleet next May the number of exclusively for adults holidays available within the P&O Cruises programme will be effectively reduced as Adonia, her replacement, is a smaller ship. We therefore wish to add a third ship to offer this type of holiday. We are able to do this as Azura, the most recent ship to be added to our fleet provides additional holidays for families. Therefore, when Oriana comes out of her refit in November 2011 she will become a ship exclusively for adults.

 

P&O Cruises has seven ships in our fleet and after November 30th 2011 four will continue to welcome families (Aurora, Azura, Oceana and Ventura) and three, (Adonia, Arcadia and Oriana) will be “exclusively for adults”. We are totally committed to satisfying the holiday needs of both families and those travelling without children.

 

There are 5 cruises (X119, X120, X121, X122 and X201) that are currently on sale which will now become “exclusive for adults” we are communicating to passengers booked on these sailings as follows -

 

Passengers booked without children

All passengers are being sent a letter (via their agent as appropriate) which explains the changes to Oriana.

 

Passengers booked with children

All passengers are being contacted (via their agent as appropriate) by the Customer Service Team to discuss the changes and offer alternatives. If a suitable alternative cannot be found we will offer a full refund and protect agent commission.

 

We look forward to sharing with you our plans for Oriana. Full details will be included in our 2012/13 brochure but we will also make reference to the change in the 4th edition 2011 brochure which will be published on 1st December this year.

[jeanlyon]

Ha ha, I think P&O has it right! Two big blocks of flats for adults with kids, three ships adult only and one other. Perfect

[sludger]

Are these adult-only cruises P&O's idea of holidays for the newly wed and the nearly dead.

 

Surely nowadays these ships are large enough to cater for everyone, what a sad state of affairs it is coming to when you can't go on a ship that holds over 2000 and in some cases more if you have children and that they might upset someone waiting for the wooden overcoat.

Are the people that frequent these cruises so old and grumpy that they can't bear to see young children enjoying themselves?

As I am led to believe there is always a limit to the amount of children allowed on anyway.

 

Very sad!

 

I am actually nearly in the waiting for the wooden overcoat brigade but I have actually got two boys aged 14 & 10.

 

I know P&O watch these sites and the real answer is to:

A) limit the amount of 4 berth/ family cabins and

B) Have a very much lower ratio of kids to Pax.

 

We live in Aus and have cruised on P&O UK, P&O Australia and Royal Caribbean

The worst of these for packing people on the ships being P&O Australia (never again). We had over 500 kids on a cruise for 1900 Pax it was terrible. There were kids everywhere running up and down. Ours are very well behaved kids and did not enjoy it either.

 

Having said that I really don't think for us an adult only cruise would be the way to go at any time. The opportunity for three or maybe four generations to have a holiday together is fantastic.

 

We are on the Azura next year and hopefully there won't be that many feral kids.

 

All the best,

Paul

[jeanlyon]

Paul I think there were about 40 children on our cruise on Azura and we hardly saw them at all. My problem with Azura is just that she is too crowded. Sunbeds hardly an inch apart and I'm not exagerrating. Also on colder days, I found the ship very crowded inside. Enjoyed the evenings, but not the daytime.

[garfield747]

Stupid question, but what's their definition of "adult?" It could be 18 in some places, 21 for others. Just curious what they're using, since I didn't see it in the announcement.

[jeanlyon]

I think it's 18.

[Single Cruiser]

Ha ha, I think P&O has it right! Two big blocks of flats for adults with kids, three ships adult only and one other. Perfect

 

Well if there is any truth in all these rumours that they are selling Oceana in 2012 that will be the case. Adult only or vent/azura

[maritime mick]

Personally, I enjoy a bit of peace and quiet whilst I am cruising so a child free ship definitely appeals to me. However - irrespective of your feelings toward kids there is more room to move on a child free ship. Not only do kids usually use the third and fourth bunks in a cabin, thus increasing the overall number of passengers aboard the ship, but space is allocated to the kids clubs.

Anyone who has cruised on both Oceana and the old Adonia (now Sea Princess) knows exactly what this means. Although the overall design of both ships are identical, Adonia not only felt less crowded than Oceana but it had a nice bar in the aft end of the ship (Easy on a Sunday) where one of the kids clubs is situated on Oceana. It also had what I can only describe as a sort of small conservatory - futon type beds and a water feature - ideal for just relaxing and reading a book, again in an area used for a kids club on Oceana.

I have cruised on Oriana three times, always well away from school holiday periods. It's not the absence of kids in the future that concerns me, but the thought of how P&O intends to refit the ship and use the space that is currently allocated to kids.

Best scenario in my opinion would be the addition of another alternative dining venue and a snug bar attached (bit like Orchid on Arcadia). Worse scenario would be to use the space to provide additional cabins, thus adding nothing to the overall cruise experience. Nightmare scenario would be to couple the above with an "Arcadia Job" on the aft end, "squaring off" those lovely crescent decks to provide lucrative rear facing balconies and maximising passenger numbers.

 

Happy Cruising - Mick

[shoreham01]

I think its a good idea to have adults only ships. Unfortunately, these days there are just too many parents who think its perfectly acceptable to let their children scream for no reason, run around in cafes and dining rooms playing chase whilst we try and eat, use bad language and generally misbehave. I am not a child hater, I just hate the parents who let their children behave worse than wild animals. There are of course perfectly behaved children who are a joy to be with, just wish there were more like this.

[jeanlyon]

Couldn't agree more. Had a woman at my office today with her two kids, one screamed the whole time she was with us and the other one kept taking stuff off the table and throwing it on the floor. Lovely! My mother would have taken me outside, slapped my bum and I wouldn't have been allowed back. Not rocket science is it?

[trfccruiser]

I've said it before kids that behave terribly are a real pain but in my experience are in the minority and generally for me help make a cruise not detract from it.The very worst behaviour I've seen on cruise ships has been from adults drunk- or just a real pain.Children have youth or poor parenting as their potential reasons, what reasons do adults have?

Most narky/badly behaved kids grow out of it, or actually 5 minutes later are almost a different species i.e. as nice as pie,is that true of narky adults??!!

I'm pleased I'll be on the Oriana when it still welcomes children in June and my 9 year old daughter is so excited and will love it.She's been lucky to have been on a few cruises already and as well as making the cruise for us, lots of "older" people we've met on the cruises, have loved her company too.

[lancashire_cruisers]

I've said it before kids that behave terribly are a real pain but in my experience are in the minority and generally for me help make a cruise not detract from it.The very worst behaviour I've seen on cruise ships has been from adults drunk- or just a real pain.Children have youth or poor parenting as their potential reasons, what reasons do adults have?

Most narky/badly behaved kids grow out of it, or actually 5 minutes later are almost a different species i.e. as nice as pie,is that true of narky adults??!!

I'm pleased I'll be on the Oriana when it still welcomes children in June and my 9 year old daughter is so excited and will love it.She's been lucky to have been on a few cruises already and as well as making the cruise for us, lots of "older" people we've met on the cruises, have loved her company too.

 

I couldn't agree more Phil and add to that the disgraceful attitude that some of the elderly of the species display towards the crew and staff, well it just beggars belief:eek:.

 

Even my 11 year old DD has commented how rude some of them are.

 

Debbie:)

[jeanlyon]

I agree and am delighted to tell you that I told one person their fortune on Artemis. The way this person spoke to a young crew member was unreal and I said so. The crew member actually had to look away, because she was laughing. LOL

[Presto2]

Well if there is any truth in all these rumours that they are selling Oceana in 2012 that will be the case. Adult only or vent/azura

 

Selling Oceana - where's that rumour come from - am really disappointed as we did our first P&0 cruise on Oceana last August and fell in love with this beautiful ship. Where is she going ???? :(

[Presto2]

I couldn't agree more Phil and add to that the disgraceful attitude that some of the elderly of the species display towards the crew and staff, well it just beggars belief:eek:.

 

Even my 11 year old DD has commented how rude some of them are.

 

Debbie:)

 

Must admit, the problem is that it is far easier to pick up an annoying child and throw him / her over board ----------------- offensive adults are much heavier and put up more of a fight ------------- (not that we've tried of course)

 

:):):)

[cclarke12]

I couldn't agree more Phil and add to that the disgraceful attitude that some of the elderly of the species display towards the crew and staff, well it just beggars belief:eek:.

 

Even my 11 year old DD has commented how rude some of them are.

 

Debbie:)

 

What's also interesting in my experience is that children are far better at washing their hands after using the toilet and using the hand gel in the buffet, than some of the much older guests on board. I have to admit my own grandfather(aged 89) is of the generation that seem to think that if poor food hygiene habits haven't killed them so far it isn't going to, so he is unlikely to change his habits. Luckily he is also too tight to pay to go on a cruise, or any other holiday for that matter.

[lancashire_cruisers]

Must admit, the problem is that it is far easier to pick up an annoying child and throw him / her over board ----------------- offensive adults are much heavier and put up more of a fight ------------- (not that we've tried of course)

 

:):):)

 

Oh I don't know Presto. Use the right manual handling technique and its amazing how easily you can slide one over the rail - theoretically of course:cool:.

 

Debbie:)

[LibraLass41]

What's also interesting in my experience is that children are far better at washing their hands after using the toilet and using the hand gel in the buffet, than some of the much older guests on board. I have to admit my own grandfather(aged 89) is of the generation that seem to think that if poor food hygiene habits haven't killed them so far it isn't going to, so he is unlikely to change his habits. Luckily he is also too tight to pay to go on a cruise, or any other holiday for that matter.

 

 

mmm,not so sure about that. I think I read somewhere that there are more cases of norovirus on Family ships than child-free ones.... Very rarely do you read of Arcadia or Artemis having it,its usually Aurora or Oriana etc....

 

Makes me laugh how they always blame the passengers as well, why couldn't it be one or two of the young 1000 or so crew onboard ? I'm reading a 'below the decks' cruise book at the moment, about life as a crew member, (on a Carnival ship )and it mentions the disgusting state of the crew toilets,never pulling the flush etc.... so who knows where it starts, but I think its all too easy to blame passengers when young adults are below stairs, most away from home for the first time...

[Presto2]

Oh I don't know Presto. Use the right manual handling technique and its amazing how easily you can slide one over the rail - theoretically of course:cool:.

 

Debbie:)

 

Will go away and do some research ready for our next cruise ------- ;)

[lancashire_cruisers]

What's also interesting in my experience is that children are far better at washing their hands after using the toilet and using the hand gel in the buffet, than some of the much older guests on board. I have to admit my own grandfather(aged 89) is of the generation that seem to think that if poor food hygiene habits haven't killed them so far it isn't going to, so he is unlikely to change his habits. Luckily he is also too tight to pay to go on a cruise, or any other holiday for that matter.

 

I've also observed that on our cruises too. It's strange but the only cruises we've experienced noro is where there's been an older demographic.

 

The last one was our 5 week cruise on Oriana last year. The number of children on board........12!

 

Debbie:)

[jeanlyon]

It can't possible make any difference at all what the age demographic is. It only takes one person to bring it on board and pass it around. It would only take one waiter to put a knife on the table.