Weekend Cruise

[BarneyCat]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm looking at booking a weekend cruise with my mum. It will be her first cruise, hence the short length, and my tenth although my first with P&O. I'm conscious that these shorter cruises don't give the full cruise experience, and an RCI bank holiday one in 2009 had rather put me off them!

 

All that said, I'd be really interested in your experiences of the P&O taster cruises. Are they full of drunken revellers? Would they give so one a good experience of what cruising's like or scare them off? Is there still a formal night if you're only on board 2-4 nights?

 

Would really welcome your feedback.

 

BarneyCat

[tom_uk]

Well, they're certainly different. We did a weekender on Arcadia on the basis of which we did a 13 night cruise on her a year or so later, and I would have to say that the ship was nowhere near as lively on the longer cruise as it was on the short one. We had a great time on the weekender, but we wouldn't normally stay up as late as that.

 

So it was a party cruise and drink was taken, but we didn't see any truly drunken bahaviour - just a lot of (young-ish) people having a good time. There seemed to be a lot of thirty-somethings on board, and there definitely weren't any on the longer cruise.

 

So the ship will obviously be the same, but the feel will be different. We've found the service on shorter cruises to be as good as on longer ones, but others have not.

 

I blogged from Arcadia on both of these cruises, and you can find my reviews and links to the posts here for the weekend cruise, and here for the longer one.

[rubydoobydoo]

I did a 2 nighter on Oceana in May for my 50th birthday with 5 friends age 55 to 62, I loved it and while it was a bit livelier and the average age was younger than a full cruise it was no way rowdy at all.

 

I didn't see any drunken behaviour and I would say it was mainly couples, and a I saw a couple of hen parties, all getting into the spirit of cruising

 

On formal night everyone dressed up

 

The only thing I found were a good deal of the staff seemed unhappy, a few were quite unhelpful a bit rude !

 

I would definitely do another short cruise

[the english lady]

As the other posters have said, more lively, younger people, but not full of drunken behaviour. We have done 2. enjoyed both. As long as mother understands that a longer cruise is quieter, and not so many young people. There will be at 1 formal night. Didn't see so many dressing up on Oceana a couple of weeks ago, but there were enough in full formal to make it seem seem special.

[BarneyCat]

Thanks everyone. I'm 30 myself so not put off by a younger crowd, although used to being the youngest on many cruises, especially when we go on Cunard. I'm not worried by people being up in the bars late, but when we did an August Bank Holiday on Independence of the Seas a few years ago it was children all day and drunks by night.

 

Sounds like it'd be busier but not something that would put my mum off.

 

Thanks so much,

 

BarneyCat

[the english lady]

If you do book something, do come back and let us know how you got on (and your mum) as it may help someone else who is considering something similar.

[annieuk]

We have done a 3 night cruise on Oriana and are doing another 3 night on Aurora at the end of this month. We found 3 nights to be long enough to feel we had a decent break. I wouldn't go on a 2 night cruise as I don't think you are on the ship long enough to get a real impression of the ship. On a 2 night cruise you are on board less than 48 hours. Say you board as early as 1pm - some people are later - on a Friday, you have Saturday on board and then are off the ship around 9am on Sunday.

 

On our 3 night trip on Oriana we didn't see any bad behaviour and it was long enough for us to see what Oriana had to offer. We then went on a week's cruise on her to the Fjords later that year.

[BarneyCat]

Well we went ahead and booked today! I agree a three brighter would be better but there wasn't anything convenient - this trip means only a Friday off work. Annoying the price went up £50 overnight but we've gone for one of the bigger balconies so hoping it's worth it!

[rubydoobydoo]

We have done a 3 night cruise on Oriana and are doing another 3 night on Aurora at the end of this month. We found 3 nights to be long enough to feel we had a decent break. I wouldn't go on a 2 night cruise as I don't think you are on the ship long enough to get a real impression of the ship. On a 2 night cruise you are on board less than 48 hours. Say you board as early as 1pm - some people are later - on a Friday, you have Saturday on board and then are off the ship around 9am on Sunday.

 

On our 3 night trip on Oriana we didn't see any bad behaviour and it was long enough for us to see what Oriana had to offer. We then went on a week's cruise on her to the Fjords later that year.

 

I can see what you are saying but our 2 nights in July seemed much longer, I really felt like we had been away, my 5 friends all first time cruisers felt the same, we packed a lot in during our 2 days.

[wilson2579]

Just returned yesterday from a 4 night break on Oceana. Had a great time and loved the ship. Lots of people in party moods but nothing like I was expecting.

[chimaer]

We did a 3 nighter on Ventura for our honeymoon last summer and had a great time. We have 3 young children so can't leave them with family longer than that. It didn't seem like a party cruise to me. Didn't see drunk people and everyone dressed up for formal night. Doing another 3 nighter on independence of the seas in October for hubby's 30th birthday, although you've got me worried now. Thinking of doing a 2 nighter with my SIL next year as she's never been on a cruise

[BarneyCat]

Well, we're back...

 

We loved it! I'd been worried as you know, and a friend had been on Ventura on the summer and to,d me horror stories about lack of service etc. but we really enjoyed ourselves.

 

I'll post a full review in the next few days, but if anyone finds this thread in the future, a few thoughts (and as a point of reference, I've been on Independence and Liberty (Royal Carribbean), Eclipse and Silhouette (Celebrity) and Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth (Cunard) before. This was my first P&O.):

 

Two nights isn't really enough. We got to Zeebrugge on Saturday morning and when we got back to the room, we had to start packing again... We both said we'd have liked a sea day or another stop before coming back to Southampton

 

Getting a deluxe balcony was definitely worth it. Ok, it added £50 on to the price, but sitting on the balcony with a bottle of champagne and chocs, and having the extra space was a great introduction to cruising for my Mum

 

The ship was really attractive. I spoke to some of the staff who said not much had been updated while it was in dry dock. The boat was launched in2008, the same year as Independence of the Seas, but is much nicer in my opinion. Not as special as the new Celebrity ships, but very clean and some lovely rooms like the Tamarind Lounge, and some nice concepts like Metropolis and the Glasshouse.

 

Don't think you can get off the ship late and still get to Bruges for the day. We were quite happy in the rain to just have a walk around Zeebrugge (I've been before), but there was a group on our shuttle bus who thought they could get a train at midday and somehow get a full day in Bruges before the train leaves at five. You have to get the train back from Bruges at half three to get back in time, so if you get there for the ten past twelve train, you have about two hours there... They went straight back to the ship...

 

There were lots of hen do parties. None of them particularly badly behaved, but lots of head boppers and sashes. I only noticed one stag group, dressed in Lycra bodysuits round the pool on formal night. People were certainly enjoying themselves, but it didn't interrupt our evening.

 

In short we had a really good break. Plenty of rest and relaxation but also a chance to let my mum see what the pull of cruising is. She's already talking about when to book a next cruise with my Dad, and I'm looking at booking a second P&O sometime soon.

[wilson2579]

Glad you had a great time. I have sailed twice on the Ventura and really enjoyed it.:cool:

[kersh]

Great. Thanks for posting. This bodes well for our cruise on Ventura in 2 weeks.

 

Sue

[wilson2579]

Great. Thanks for posting. This bodes well for our cruise on Ventura in 2 weeks.

 

Sue

 

Lucky you. Enjoy:)

[minicook]

Hi

Also just back from the Ventura and had a fantastic time entertainment was brilliant loved the Madness tribute band met some lovely people at dinner and breakfast , was initially worried about sharing a table with people we didn't know, but this turned out to be a lot of fun had an inside cabin down on deck 5 and for 2 nights it was grand if I was to go for longer would go for a higher deck as we had long waits for the lifts at peak times and all those stairs nearly killed me ! didn't see anyone badly behaved just having a great time , got to go now more Belgian chocolate to eat :cool: