Why i won't be fly cruising with P&O next year

[davecttr]

I took a 14 night fly cruise on Ventura this year, Venice to Venice and I enjoyed it. The flights and transfers went smoothly and the ship was just fine, apart from the waiters in Tazzine that is :(

 

The itinery was excellent, especially for first time cruisers as it included all the 'big' destinations. Not that the ship was filled with 1st timers, we had 33% aboard.

 

A 8.40 am flight from Gatwick got me aboard the ship before noon!, much better than the long haul around Spain for those with limited holiday time.

The week 'segments' are good too as not everyone has lots of holiday time.

 

So why won't I be fly cruising with P&O next year?

 

Because the itinery is almost identical, apart from adding Monte Carlo and dropping Ajaccio. P&O should consider expanding their med fly cruises for 2016, adding another medium sized ship to accompany Oceana. The additional ship should be based in the western med and the Adriatic operation should be moved south to give more alternate itineries. I imagine two ships each offering 3 different 7 day itineries with only one sea day.

 

Expand your fly cruise business for 2016 and i might well be there :D

[kevinyork]

I'm not sure they could fill a second ship with fly cruisers given their core market who prefer UK departures however I agree re the itiniary.

 

I would like to see them include the Eastern Med (Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, Istanbul). They could alternate between Eastern and Western to attract the widest range of customers.

[Midsomer Madness]

Um, stop trying to turn them into Thomsons!

 

I think one ship in the med is enough, bearing in mind they are having problems filling Ventura this year.

 

I like the idea of fly cruising with P&O. But feel there should be a mixture of 7 and 14 days, rather than the back to back they are doing now..i'm not a big fan of 7 night back to back cruises.

 

I do agree they should change the itinierary every year though whichever ship is based there.

[simonpjd]

For us cruising is still 90% about the itinerary. Seeing new places, exploring strange new ports and countries. And, while sometimes it is unavoidable, we hate flying. So we cruise with whatever company has a trip that will suit us. I think P&O are missing a trick if they are doing basically the same trip week after week, year after year. Surely that is good for first time cruisers but for adventurous cruisers , no, that would actively make them stay away.

[Charleyben]

Um, stop trying to turn them into Thomsons!

 

I think one ship in the med is enough, bearing in mind they are having problems filling Ventura this year.

 

I like the idea of fly cruising with P&O. But feel there should be a mixture of 7 and 14 days, rather than the back to back they are doing now..i'm not a big fan of 7 night back to back cruises.

 

I do agree they should change the itinierary every year though whichever ship is based there.

 

The Ventura is not doing back to back cruises as such. The seven day cruises have two separate itineraries and the 14 day cruises do not return to their home port, mid cruise.

 

There is a mixture of 7 and 14 day cruises already. There are two embarkation and disembarkation ports which vary dependant upon dates for the 14 night cruise and for 7 night cruises, the variance is down to the itinerary you require.

[Midsomer Madness]

For us cruising is still 90% about the itinerary. Seeing new places, exploring strange new ports and countries. And, while sometimes it is unavoidable, we hate flying. So we cruise with whatever company has a trip that will suit us. I think P&O are missing a trick if they are doing basically the same trip week after week, year after year. Surely that is good for first time cruisers but for adventurous cruisers , no, that would actively make them stay away.

 

I think you summed it up there...they are looking to attract the first time cruisers!

[Midsomer Madness]

The Ventura is not doing back to back cruises as such. The seven day cruises have two separate itineraries and the 14 day cruises do not return to their home port, mid cruise.

 

There is a mixture of 7 and 14 day cruises already. There are two embarkation and disembarkation ports which vary dependant upon dates for the 14 night cruise and for 7 night cruises, the variance is down to the itinerary you require.

 

Ah, thanks for that I didn't realise..just saw lots of ports being the same, so presumed it was 7 nighters back to back!

[asda]

I think the main problem with the ventura fly cruise is its departure day being a Wednesday. And I think the oceanas cruises next year are also Wednesday. Which makes it difficult for people who work.

[jaceyar]

P&O could take a leaf from Thomson's book and make their itinerary more port intensive - on our 14 night Ventura we are only doing 10 ports including Genoa. Ok there's an overnight in Venice which is nice. There's also 2 black tie evenings each week which is excessive. Our cruise last year on Ruby Princess had a fab intinerary (inc Mykonos, Santorini) and was very port intensive. I've never fancied going from Soton cos of the time taken there and back plus the dreaded B of B!

 

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk

[tartanexile81]

We cruise with P&O because we don't want the hassle of flying so we'd be very disappointed if there were 2 ships based in the Med. The itinerary is the most important part of the cruise for us so I agree that P&O need to ensure greater variety in Ports of Call. However I read the same comment on the Princess and Celebrity forums which is why we're trying Fred Olsen for the first time, as they do really different itineraries.

 

The ship though is also a big part of our experience and we see a cruise as not just being an opportunity for sight-seeing but for complete relaxation too, so we love some sea days. We can read, sun-bathe, listen to music, listen to talks, catch up with sleep and meet up with friends. We really like the P&O ships for that and we're not sure if the FO ships are right for us being so small.

[davecttr]

I think P&O are in a dangerous situation because their operation is too much a niche market. All very well until other lines enter the same market with similar or a superior product, then they find all their eggs are in one basket and they are in danger of dropping it.

 

Look to the future, their business can't be sustained with just 'traditional' cruisers dreaming of the good old days. The cruiser of the future will have less time and money than the current batch. Seven day cruises are the answer.

 

ps - I am not trying to turn P&O into Thomson but if Thomson had modern ships P&O could forget the fly cruise market ;)

 

pps - as for not filling Ventura this year. This is not surprising, if true, for a start up project in its first season. At least 3 years of operations will be needed before they can judge the success of the project. If that happened the ships would be heading eastward, not back to southampton.

[daiB]

I think P&O are in a dangerous situation because their operation is too much a niche market. All very well until other lines enter the same market with similar or a superior product, then they find all their eggs are in one basket and they are in danger of dropping it.

 

Look to the future, their business can't be sustained with just 'traditional' cruisers dreaming of the good old days. The cruiser of the future will have less time and money than the current batch. Seven day cruises are the answer.

 

ps - I am not trying to turn P&O into Thomson but if Thomson had modern ships P&O could forget the fly cruise market ;)

 

pps - as for not filling Ventura this year. This is not surprising, if true, for a start up project in its first season. At least 3 years of operations will be needed before they can judge the success of the project. If that happened the ships would be heading eastward, not back to southampton.

 

 

A lot of the comments confirm what I have said all along.

 

1. Not core business

2. All Wednesday departures

3. Repetitive cruises

 

 

I still think they will give it up as a bad job. It will go the sane way as OV.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[daiB]

I took a 14 night fly cruise on Ventura this year, Venice to Venice and I enjoyed it. The flights and transfers went smoothly and the ship was just fine, apart from the waiters in Tazzine that is :(

 

The itinery was excellent, especially for first time cruisers as it included all the 'big' destinations. Not that the ship was filled with 1st timers, we had 33% aboard.

 

A 8.40 am flight from Gatwick got me aboard the ship before noon!, much better than the long haul around Spain for those with limited holiday time.

The week 'segments' are good too as not everyone has lots of holiday time.

 

So why won't I be fly cruising with P&O next year?

 

Because the itinery is almost identical, apart from adding Monte Carlo and dropping Ajaccio. P&O should consider expanding their med fly cruises for 2016, adding another medium sized ship to accompany Oceana. The additional ship should be based in the western med and the Adriatic operation should be moved south to give more alternate itineries. I imagine two ships each offering 3 different 7 day itineries with only one sea day.

 

Expand your fly cruise business for 2016 and i might well be there :D

 

 

Dave, the only lines which do a wide range of itineraries are the more expensive ones like Silversea etc. especially round the Med.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[davecttr]

Dave, the only lines which do a wide range of itineraries are the more expensive ones like Silversea etc. especially round the Med.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Not quite true. Thomson for instance are offering I believe 20+ different itineries with their 4 ships next summer in the med. The 4 ships home port in Palma, Corfu, Dubrovnik and Marmaris.

[littlesteelo]

I wish the big lines would introduce some diversity into their Med cruises out of Southampton. There are plenty of different ports they could visit, but they always go to the same ones.

[davecttr]

I wish the big lines would introduce some diversity into their Med cruises out of Southampton. There are plenty of different ports they could visit, but they always go to the same ones.

BTW those 20+ Thomson itineries next year include approx 80 (EIGHTY) different ports, pity their ships are not newer.

[simonpjd]

I wish the big lines would introduce some diversity into their Med cruises out of Southampton. There are plenty of different ports they could visit, but they always go to the same ones.

 

Not so easy with the massive block of flats now masquerading as ships. They cannot get into the nice small ports of call and are stuck with a 'same old' list of ports. Think of Norway and check out Adonia D511 next year. No Bergen. Yes Stavangar but the other three - I had never heard of any of them or seen any of them on the bigger vessel's itineraries. So for the more adventurous cruisers we tend to check out the smaller vessels.

[davecttr]

BTW those 20+ Thomson itineries next year include approx 80 (EIGHTY) different ports, pity their ships are not newer.

I apologise, I double counted some, plus the ones just outside the med and those in the black sea which are unlikely to be visited. The revised total is 68.

 

Having small ships is the key, the ships range from 33,930 to 55,000 tons.

[Spikey M]

If your ship was 33% full it would be business suicide to add another Med cruise!

[davecttr]

If your ship was 33% full it would be business suicide to add another Med cruise!

33% of those aboard were 1st timers ;)

[P&O SUE]

We cruise with P&O because we don't want the hassle of flying so we'd be very disappointed if there were 2 ships based in the Med. The itinerary is the most important part of the cruise for us so I agree that P&O need to ensure greater variety in Ports of Call. However I read the same comment on the Princess and Celebrity forums which is why we're trying Fred Olsen for the first time, as they do really different itineraries.

 

The ship though is also a big part of our experience and we see a cruise as not just being an opportunity for sight-seeing but for complete relaxation too, so we love some sea days. We can read, sun-bathe, listen to music, listen to talks, catch up with sleep and meet up with friends. We really like the P&O ships for that and we're not sure if the FO ships are right for us being so small.

 

I agree totally with this! I love sea days. Except I haven't booked FO - yet! But I really like their itineraries but am put off by the fixed dining and older ships.

[Spikey M]

33% of those aboard were 1st timers ;)

 

Ah, I see! :o