jeanlyon Posted June 10, 2013 #1 Share Posted June 10, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daiB Posted June 10, 2013 #2 Share Posted June 10, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonpjd Posted June 11, 2013 #3 Share Posted June 11, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeanlyon Posted June 11, 2013 Author #4 Share Posted June 11, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonpjd Posted June 11, 2013 #5 Share Posted June 11, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_uk Posted June 11, 2013 #6 Share Posted June 11, 2013 But wouldn't you agree that St Petersburg is a must-see destination? Once, at least? (I haven't been there yet.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeanlyon Posted June 11, 2013 Author #7 Share Posted June 11, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonpjd Posted June 11, 2013 #8 Share Posted June 11, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
English Voyager Posted June 11, 2013 #9 Share Posted June 11, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeanlyon Posted June 11, 2013 Author #10 Share Posted June 11, 2013 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daiB Posted June 12, 2013 #11 Share Posted June 12, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeanlyon Posted June 12, 2013 Author #12 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Dai, that does make a difference I'm sure. I think there will always be choice for all of us. Jean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bee-ess Posted June 12, 2013 #13 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Couldn't agree more - Caribbean is the same ports every year, used to go to USA, Panama, Amazon etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonpjd Posted June 12, 2013 #14 Share Posted June 12, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillianrose Posted August 21, 2013 #15 Share Posted August 21, 2013 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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