po ship tour worth £30 plus return coach?

[darkarbiter]

I am a newbie for cruise holidays. I noticed that there was some po ships tour on their website. In tour package, 'you will enjoy a 3 course lunch and afternoon tea'. my question is that whether i should go for a 3-day cruise or should i pay 30ppp and return coach travel for a taste.

 

any suggestions?

[kruzseeka]

I am a newbie for cruise holidays. I noticed that there was some po ships tour on their website. In tour package, 'you will enjoy a 3 course lunch and afternoon tea'. my question is that whether i should go for a 3-day cruise or should i pay 30ppp and return coach travel for a taste.

 

any suggestions?

 

A few of years ago we did a tour of the Aurora. I think that was £25 at that time plus a refund if you subsequently booked a cruise within a stated period. (Not sure that's being offered now though - if it was you'd have little to lose by doing the visit then booking the mini cruise afterwards. Sadly I don't think it's an option now.)

 

We enjoyed our visit - it allowed us to see around the ship and get a feel of whether it would appeal to us - and it did as we especially like the Aurora. But, we had travelled on several different ships so knew what cruising was like and were just assessing if the ship would suit our priorities. For a new cruiser although it will provide you with information about what's available on the ship, accommodation options, a taster of the food and the opportunity to ask questions, these tours are done on a change-over day so it's not very typical of what the experience on board is like once the ship is full of other passengers - for example the ambience or the feel of different venues when things are happening (that can be stimulating and enjoyable but occasionally frustrating too - and varies from ship to ship depending on your personal preferences). It certainly opens your eyes to what might be but I don't think that visit would have given me a real taste of cruising.

 

But it's a good information gathering opportunity and you can enjoy a nice meal and at least it would help you visualise what the ship is like. As for a cruise I think it's a great deal more than that which is impossible to convey on a relatively empty ship over the course of a few hours.

 

If you're interested and don't begrudge the cost, I'd say go for the visit - but if you're keen to try a cruise and feel the cost of the visit would go towards that then I'd say just try the mini cruise although they aren't altogether representative of what a longer cruise is like. But be prepared - it can be very addictive!

[Big Foot]

I am a newbie for cruise holidays. I noticed that there was some po ships tour on their website. In tour package, 'you will enjoy a 3 course lunch and afternoon tea'. my question is that whether i should go for a 3-day cruise or should i pay 30ppp and return coach travel for a taste.

 

any suggestions?

 

Hello,

 

I'd be interested to see a link to the tour package you describe as the only one I can find on the P&O website refers to the cost being £25pp & whilst it does include a 3 course lunch there is no afternoon tea mentioned. You do get tea & coffee (& indeed wine!) with your lunch.

 

I did a tour of Britannia in May & there certainly was no afternoon tea as you had to disembark the ship by approx 2 - 2.30pm.

 

Our day started at approx 10am when we had to meet at the cruise terminal & we were allowed on board the ship at approx 10.45am.

 

You will find the tour involves a lot of walking & is at a fairly quick pace. You are normally part of a group of between 6 - 12 people & have to stay together with your tour guide. You cannot tour the ship by yourself.

 

You get to view most of the public rooms (we didn't get to see the kids areas) & hopefully a selection of staterooms (cabins).

 

If you are new to cruising & would like to get an idea of what a cruise ship has to offer then I'd say yes it's worth it,

 

That said, depending on the cost of your coach & the timings (remember you will need to be at the terminal for approx 10am) together with how far you need to travel to reach Southampton you might be better off booking a short 3 -4 night cruise.

 

We started with a 4 night cruise on Aurora in 2002 & have been cruising since; it's very addictive :D

 

Alternatively, as you have suggested book a 3 - 4 night cruise as this will give you a better idea of what to expect on a longer cruise.

 

Whilst the 2 night ones are OK, you'll find you've only just got on board & the cruise is over.

 

Also, whilst it has never bothered me & I've done a couple of 2 night cruises you will find you get a lot of Stag & Hen Parties on board.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Joan

[Scriv]

We did a ship's tour of Oriana before our very first cruise and it was very useful. We had a very pleasant lunch on board and a very informative guide. I had been a bit worried that I would find a ship claustrophobic etc so this really helped me.

 

I have also done a 2 night cruise and whereas I agree that it does seem to go very fast, we only Hen Party on board and these girls were very well behaved and non intrusive.

Edited June 16, 2015 by Scriv

[AstyPasty]

I have done two £25 tours of P&O ships, one on the Ventura and one on the Oceana. I really enjoyed them both and gave us a great insight into cruising and especially the different cabins.

 

On the Ventura we had afternoon tea and we had lunch included on the Oceana tour.

 

We found both tours really informative and both times the person who took us around (in a small group of 8 people) really friendly and helpful. :)

[louthebowler]

Although I haven't done a mini cruise, I don't think it would give you a real taste for cruising as a lot of stag and hen parties tend to use them.

A 7 day would be better in my opinion