Adonia - May 2014 - tells you something

[jeanlyon]

There is a cruise on Adonia for 16 nights in May 2014. The big difference is the ports. Staying a night in a couple of ports, going up the river to Bordeaux and somewhere else. I can't even get a quote, they are already talking guarantee cabins. P&O should learn from this - a different itinerary and the cruise will sell like hot cakes.

 

Stop these boring samey ports and you won't need Getaway fares.

 

jean

[daiB]

There is a cruise on Adonia for 16 nights in May 2014. The big difference is the ports. Staying a night in a couple of ports, going up the river to Bordeaux and somewhere else. I can't even get a quote, they are already talking guarantee cabins. P&O should learn from this - a different itinerary and the cruise will sell like hot cakes.

 

Stop these boring samey ports and you won't need Getaway fares.

 

jean

 

Just were are these ports to go to. I hear this all the time but where are they. Will the ports have the infrastructure to deal with 2000 people.

 

Have you not noticed that the other cruise lines generally go to the same ports as well.

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

[simonpjd]

This is the Adonia. Only 700 or so passengers. Much smaller vessel can get into these smaller ports and less local infrastructure needed. For those of us who are more interested in seeing new places and exploring, this is why we prefer the smaller ships with more interesting itineraries.

Have you seen one of Fred's is going into the Gulf of Finland soon as part of a Baltic cruise. Destinations completely new to a British cruise line. Well done to them and I hope they get a sell out.

[jeanlyon]

Yes exactly - that's why the smaller ships and the smaller ports are so popular. The same old ports will be for the mega-monsters. Someone said to me the other day that there will no longer be small ships. I don't think they are right. It's just a different market.

 

Dai, that's why I don't want to sail with 2000 people on board. Good luck to those that do.

[simonpjd]

I was in St Petersburg last August and the Hermitage was bursting at the seems. There were 23 cruise ships in that day. That is a lot of people.

[tom_uk]

But wouldn't you agree that St Petersburg is a must-see destination? Once, at least? (I haven't been there yet.)

[jeanlyon]

We have done the Baltic on a very small ship. Although I enjoyed the cruise, i did not enjoy the weather and I found St Petersburg very grey and dour. Yes we enjoyed the Hermitage and I'm glad I have seen it, but I wouldn't do it again. I enjoyed Tallin the best out of all the ports we did.

 

Just noticed Simon that you have also done Athena and the Van Gogh. Both tiny ships compared to the P&O fleet. I enjoyed them thoroughly.

[simonpjd]

Both small ships indeed - but both larger than anything I sailed on during my 10 years in the Merchant Navy except for a quick 3 months on a supertanker. So they don't seem so small to me. I recall sailing through typhoons in the far east on a general cargo vessel 434 ft length and under 7000 tons deadweight. Those were the days.

[English Voyager]

St.Petersburg is one of our favourite cities.

Having been there on three occasions, luckily with gorgeous weather, we still feel that we have only just scratched the surface of the city.

The Peterhof Palace, and gardens, and the Catherine Palace, are stunning.

[jeanlyon]

Simon, they didn't feel small to me either. In fact when we came back, we booked our first P&O cruise on Artemis. Somebody on this forum said to me "you will find Artemis very small". ha ha - we found her enormous after the Athena! We have sailed on small yachts for 20 years, so anything seems big!

[daiB]

Simon, they didn't feel small to me either. In fact when we came back, we booked our first P&O cruise on Artemis. Somebody on this forum said to me "you will find Artemis very small". ha ha - we found her enormous after the Athena! We have sailed on small yachts for 20 years, so anything seems big!

 

Yes but Jean I use a scooter so small ship are not good especially for getting on and off.

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

[jeanlyon]

Dai, that does make a difference I'm sure. I think there will always be choice for all of us.

 

Jean

[bee-ess]

Couldn't agree more - Caribbean is the same ports every year, used to go to USA, Panama, Amazon etc.

[simonpjd]

There is no doubt that a cruise is a very attractive proposal for those who struggle to get around. Being able to use a scooter on the larger ships gives almost complete freedom for them. They have their disadvantages too - Dai and I have jousted on this one before - but overall the larger cruise vessels offer a fantastic holiday experience.

The older , smaller vessels cannot cope with these scooters and many lines are imposing restrictions on them.

[gillianrose]

The older , smaller vessels cannot cope with these scooters and many lines are imposing restrictions on them.

 

Wheelchairs, pushed by your significant other, work quite well on smaller ships. Is that a possibility for you?