Will P and O rotate ships on fly cruise

[topbaz]

Hi, will/should P and O rotate ships on fly cruise ? We loved ventura and love sailing from southampton, so is this the end of ventura ever sailing out of southampton again ?. Would you be disappointed if your favourite ship was based in the med for one year, or indeed was lost from southampton for good ?-----your thoughts please

[majortom10]

You never know what will happen in the future but Ventura is only based in the Med for the summer not permanently and all depends if it is a success or not. They might if it is a success do it again next year with Ventura or change for Azura (I hope not) or if not a great success put a smaller ship there i.e. Aurora or Oceana.

Edited July 31, 2013 by shilly3191

[ellie1145]

Much prefer to fly straight into the sunshine rather than face the dull skies and chilly weather to get there.

 

Potential to lose half the cruise to bad weather, though I know it CAN be lovely it can also be grim and miserable. There are no guarantees from Southampton. And yes, we HAVE sailed many times from Southampton, particularly when there was not much available directly from the Mediterranean. But now our holidays are too precious to risk British weather.

 

Think P and O are sensible to try to. Catch some of those who would never sail out of Southampton. Hope its a success.

[terrierjohn]

I doubt they will rotate the ships, after all their planners spent thousands deciding that Ventura, with its solarium covered pool suitable for cool weather cruises, was the most sensible ship to do year round hot weather cruising.

Surely you don't expect P&O management to spot their error.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[CCFC]

I hope they put another ship out there as next year Princess are cutting back on their European offerings. We flew to Venice in May and were straight in the sun and off to Rome again in October. While Southampton has its advantages like no transfer fees and flights to pay for we managed to get the flights and transfers for £210 which isn't an awful lot more than paying for CPS to park the car.

[Denarius]

I thought that Ventura was an odd ship to base in the Med for the summer season. Her covered pool is marvellous but of little benefit in a warm area with little rain in July and August. Oceana would have been ideal or, if they wanted a larger ship, Azura. Ventura and Aurora, with their covered pools, are ideal for the Baltic and fjords.

Edited August 1, 2013 by Denarius

[tom_uk]

I don't know the answer to the OP's question, but I suspect the reason for Ventura being assigned the job is financial. My guess is that the current asset value on the books for Ventura is lower than for Azura, simply because she's older. Each ship probably has to make a certain percentage return, and it will be easier to achieve this with Ventura than with Azura, because the basic value against which the revenue will be measured will be lower.

 

Just a thought....

[supered]

My thought was that Ventura is a large ship and less formal (with no Semi Formal nights) than say Azura. I think that may be the reason for tge deployment.

 

Eddie

[Denarius]

My thought was that Ventura is a large ship and less formal (with no Semi Formal nights) than say Azura. I think that may be the reason for tge deployment.

 

Eddie

But it would have been quite simple to relax Azura's dress code if that was seen as a problem. Otherwise the ships are now extremely similar except on the open decks, where Ventura's covered pool is a boon in wetter/colder climes and Azura's seascreen in warmer and drier ones.

[supered]

But it would have been quite simple to relax Azura's dress code if that was seen as a problem. Otherwise the ships are now extremely similar except on the open decks, where Ventura's covered pool is a boon in wetter/colder climes and Azura's seascreen in warmer and drier ones.

I know that Azura is seen as being aimed at "traditional" P&O cruisers, and it seems a lot of people who are experienced with P&O love it. They would not be happy with a relaxation in the dress code!

 

But I take your point about the covered pool on Ventura versus Seascreen on Azura.

 

Eddie

[Britboys]

I guess they chose Ventura on the back of the Ocean Village venture and feel that Ventura is the most relaxed ship in the fleet and perhaps is the best fit for what they feel is the average demographic for a 'fly-cruiser'.

 

I do prefer sailing out of Southampton but might think about a fly-cruise if there was an interesting Eastern Med itinerary on the likes of Aurora or Oriana. Fussy - me? :)

[Presto2]

Why did they stop Ocean Village? Seems like the same product to me. We first sailed on OV2 and loved it. Don't understand what is going on.

[tring]

What I am thinking about is the crack in the upper deck of Ventura that appeared on a Bay of Biscay transit last year and was still visible after repair. I seem to remember something about it causing problems at a later date as well - but may be wrong there. They said it was a non structural deck, but surely not good for the use of the ship either.

 

Sounds an excellent ship to exempt from BoB crossings to me!

Edited August 3, 2013 by tring

[Brayman]

What I am thinking about is the crack in the upper deck of Ventura that appeared on a Bay of Biscay transit last year and was still visible after repair. I seem to remember something about it causing problems at a later date as well - but may be wrong there. They said it was a non structural deck, but surely not good for the use of the ship either.

 

Sounds an excellent ship to exempt from BoB crossings to me!

 

I think that argument is stretching things rather a long way IMHO.

[davecttr]

I know that Azura is seen as being aimed at "traditional" P&O cruisers, and it seems a lot of people who are experienced with P&O love it. They would not be happy with a relaxation in the dress code!

 

But I take your point about the covered pool on Ventura versus Seascreen on Azura.

 

Eddie

Spot on!

 

Relaxing Azuras dress code would cause endless moaning from the P&O traditionalists and those who like Venturas more relaxed atmosphere would moan as well.

 

I think Oceana is the most relaxed P&O ship, at least in the summer. There are basically very few venues where formal dress is required. The dining room, Cafe Jardin (posh pizza) and Magnums bar which is in a corridor. Oceana is the best fit for med fly cruises but as she is rumoured to be leaving the fleet in 2015 P&O might want to bed in Ventura instead.

 

Hopefully the fly cruise venture will be successful as we need to have a chice if whether to sail acroos the BOB etc.

[kevinyork]

I think most would agree Azura would have been a better choice. However she does seem to attract more traditional P&O passengers who generally are more attracted by no fly from Southampton therefore they may have alienated that crowd if they sent her off to the med all summer. The same passengers tend to dislike Ventura.

 

I would have concerns re deck space. With the loss of the area given to the retreat there will be added pressure on deck space on those lovely sunny med days. The covered pool area on Ventura has no way near the space of the seascreen pool on Azura with its multiple tiers for sunbeds.

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[daiB]

Spot on!

 

Relaxing Azuras dress code would cause endless moaning from the P&O traditionalists and those who like Venturas more relaxed atmosphere would moan as well.

 

I think Oceana is the most relaxed P&O ship, at least in the summer. There are basically very few venues where formal dress is required. The dining room, Cafe Jardin (posh pizza) and Magnums bar which is in a corridor. Oceana is the best fit for med fly cruises but as she is rumoured to be leaving the fleet in 2015 P&O might want to bed in Ventura instead.

 

Hopefully the fly cruise venture will be successful as we need to have a chice if whether to sail acroos the BOB etc.

 

 

No ship will leave the fleet in 2015. That is the latest from P&O. I have heard this from a Captain in a speach and seen it in a press release.

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

 

Dai

:cool:

[davecttr]

No ship will leave the fleet in 2015. That is the latest from P&O. I have heard this from a Captain in a speach and seen it in a press release.

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

 

Dai

:cool:

link to press release please

 

I for one would be happy if they kept Oceana

[daiB]

Well the captain was on Oriana a month ago and the PR about 4 month ago.

 

This has been mentioned a few times.

 

She will still be there Sep 14 as we both know.

 

April 14 will reveal all.

 

 

 

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[geecee1]

link to press release please

 

I for one would be happy if they kept Oceana

 

 

 

 

I think Oceana would be ideal in The Caribbean rather than basing both bigger ships there in the winter. Adopting a more relaxed dress code would attract a different passenger profile, taking a leaf out of Thomson's book and charging more in the process!!

She could also do 7night round trips out of Bridgetown so favoured by us ex OV pax.

[davecttr]

I wonder who P&O think Venturas rivals will be out there? Lots of cruise lines do fly cruises in the med and which sector of the market are they targetting?

 

IMO Venturas unique selling point is it is british ambience and a modern ship. Therefore their main rival is Thomson who have british ambience but old ships. I am cruising on Ventura next summer to try it out as it ticks my port boxes and the price was not significantly dearer then Thomson Majesty from Corfu.

 

They also need to cut down on the formality. Change East to evening casual dress code on formal nights and Metropolis as well. With fly cruising you have weight restrictions so they might consider dropping the formal code altogether. In which case you would have Ocean Village with waiter service!

[geecee1]

I wonder who P&O think Venturas rivals will be out there? Lots of cruise lines do fly cruises in the med and which sector of the market are they targetting?

 

IMO Venturas unique selling point is it is british ambience and a modern ship. Therefore their main rival is Thomson who have british ambience but old ships. I am cruising on Ventura next summer to try it out as it ticks my port boxes and the price was not significantly dearer then Thomson Majesty from Corfu.

 

They also need to cut down on the formality. Change East to evening casual dress code on formal nights and Metropolis as well. With fly cruising you have weight restrictions so they might consider dropping the formal code altogether. In which case you would have Ocean Village with waiter service!

 

 

 

 

 

Dave, could not agree more.I know amongst our wide ranging family and friends that it is the formality more than anything else that puts them off cruising. I wore a suit for 47 years and would not think of taking one on holiday. Smart casual is the preferred dress of all our family on most occasions, particularly on holiday. And I stress the word HOLIDAY!!

[spanner14]

I wonder who P&O think Venturas rivals will be out there? Lots of cruise lines do fly cruises in the med and which sector of the market are they targetting?

 

IMO Venturas unique selling point is it is british ambience and a modern ship. Therefore their main rival is Thomson who have british ambience but old ships. I am cruising on Ventura next summer to try it out as it ticks my port boxes and the price was not significantly dearer then Thomson Majesty from Corfu.

 

They also need to cut down on the formality. Change East to evening casual dress code on formal nights and Metropolis as well. With fly cruising you have weight restrictions so they might consider dropping the formal code altogether. In which case you would have Ocean Village with waiter service!

 

I hope the beds & bedlinen would be a little more luxurious though - I still remember the thin orange 1970s bedspreads on Ocean Village! :eek: Although IIRC we had actual duvets on OV2. ;)

 

Please tell me the cabin decor and bed linen on Ventura is a step up from Ocean Village! :)

 

Edited to add: In April '14 - at least during the Easter Hols - Ventura seems to be somewhat "rival free"! I struggled to find a family-friendly ship, within budget, cruising to or from Venice.

Edited October 21, 2013 by spanner14

[geecee1]

I hope the beds & bedlinen would be a little more luxurious though - I still remember the thin orange 1970s bedspreads on Ocean Village! :eek: Although IIRC we had actual duvets on OV2. ;)

 

Please tell me the cabin decor and bed linen on Ventura is a step up from Ocean Village! :)

 

Edited to add: In April '14 - at least during the Easter Hols - Ventura seems to be somewhat "rival free"! I struggled to find a family-friendly ship, within budget, cruising to or from Venice.

 

 

 

 

 

Went on Ventura Dec2010 when she was fairly and cabins were better fitted out than the older OV ships, but smaller OV = 188sq ft

[annieuk]

I would imagine that one of the reasons P&O chose Venture is because they portray her as "family friendly" and I would assume it's families who will be keen to go during the summer holiday months. P&O have spent a lot of time portraying Azura as more sophisticated, more appealing to adults.

 

I am one of those who won't be going on a Med fly cruise. We have been on several Caribbean fly cruises, even though I much prefer to sail from Southampton. I have no wish to go on Ventura and certainly not during school holiday times but there are many I'm sure who will. It will be very interesting to see how successful P&O are with their Med fly cruises. I don't think P&O will change their ethos too much with Ventura - for example I don't think they will go down the Thomson/Ocean Village route - they would lose too many older passengers. The older passengers are the ones with the money and they cannot afford to alienate them. Quite a tricky thing trying to balance the wishes of the younger cruisers with the older ones. I certainly don't think they will vary the ships in the Med. Ventura sails straight from the Caribbean to the Med at the end of the Caribbean season but then does go back to Southampton at the end of the summer.