Winter 2025/26 on-sale dates

[Dermotsgirl]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

 Also, a lot can happen in two years!

I find it quite mind boggling that a cruise can be booked almost two and a half years years in advance, although in a different life I'd have no doubt been keen to see what's available and make a booking.

 

I'm feeling differently these days, and at present only have the 'next' cruise booked. I will see how things are after that. Assuming that goes well, I will consider booking another cruise, but if I catch the unmentionable again, then I will leave it. 

[yorkshirephil]

37 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I find it quite mind boggling that a cruise can be booked almost two and a half years years in advance, although in a different life I'd have no doubt been keen to see what's available and make a booking.

 

The upside is that you can plan. We are currently ticking off things from our bucket list intermingled with what is available in the next few weeks or cruises that have a few new ports to us. 

[Dermotsgirl]

42 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

The upside is that you can plan. We are currently ticking off things from our bucket list intermingled with what is available in the next few weeks or cruises that have a few new ports to us. 

Prior to 2020 I always planned ahead, but now a year in advance is enough for me. But, on the other hand we were lucky to do most of the ‘big’ cruises that we wanted 

[gsmt47471015]

On 9/21/2023 at 11:12 PM, Cathygh said:

I am hoping that Azura will make a detour to Istanbul and maybe Haifa or Aqabba when she is in the med. I would be reluctant to go on Arcadia again but I would look at Aurora.

Good luck with Aqaba , we are on the world cruise next year and it’s been removed( a regular occurrence apparently) not happy at all about it as it’s a bucket list destination (for Petra ), we’re now going to some ( other people’s words) dump in Egypt 

[Cathygh]

1 hour ago, gsmt47471015 said:

Good luck with Aqaba , we are on the world cruise next year and it’s been removed( a regular occurrence apparently) not happy at all about it as it’s a bucket list destination (for Petra ), we’re now going to some ( other people’s words) dump in Egypt 

Thanks for the heads up, I was aiming to get to Petra from Aqaba, so it will be  a land tour instead.

[gsmt47471015]

1 hour ago, Cathygh said:

Thanks for the heads up, I was aiming to get to Petra from Aqaba, so it will be  a land tour instead.

And for us now alas 

[Son of Anarchy]

On 9/21/2023 at 8:07 PM, paulatsea said:

Just had the email as well.

I’m looking for Aurora or Arcadia 2026 - jan/feb-

something special for my 66 birthday and I’ll be an OAP!

Fancy Asia or S. America  - prepared to spend more than usual and hoping that I (and Aurora and Arcadia) will still be alive - but if not it won’t matter.

Will book early if anything looks good and I can select my cabin.

 

At the Peninsula Party on Aurora last week, the Captain said that she was in the forthcoming brochure.  Though as we know that doesn't stop them from selling the ship after taking bookings.  

[Mollag]

13 hours ago, Son of Anarchy said:

At the Peninsula Party on Aurora last week, the Captain said that she was in the forthcoming brochure.  Though as we know that doesn't stop them from selling the ship after taking bookings.  

Ludlow was aboard Aurora for a day in Reykjavik in July for a meeting with the senior management team on her and the Captain assured us he told them she’d be around for 5 years and beyond which as people may recall is what he said about Oriana a couple of moths before they got rid. 

[Megabear2]

20 minutes ago, Mollag said:

Ludlow was aboard Aurora for a day in Reykjavik in July for a meeting with the senior management team on her and the Captain assured us he told them she’d be around for 5 years and beyond which as people may recall is what he said about Oriana a couple of moths before they got rid. 

Yes but at that time there were new ships on order. After 2025 there are no ships in the pipeline so "getting rid" of anything would mean shrinking one of the brand's fleets.

[Selbourne]

8 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Yes but at that time there were new ships on order. After 2025 there are no ships in the pipeline so "getting rid" of anything would mean shrinking one of the brand's fleets.

I agree. Whilst some people happily cruise on all the ships, the adult only ships are generally catering for a different demographic to the likes of Iona and Arvia, so to lose them would see off a lot of P&O customers. That being said, without considerable investment (highly unlikely) I’m not sure how much longer P&O can continue to justify the often substantial price premiums that these ships still seem to carry, in spite of being quite dated.
 

We’ve done more cruises on Aurora than any other ship but, having experienced the far better quality cabins and facilities on the newer ships, we are struggling to convince ourselves that we are still prepared to pay the sort of premium prices still commanded for Aurora and Arcadia, especially as that bumps them into Cunard territory.
 

What P&O calls a refit is generally running mechanical repairs to meet regulations and minor interior changes, such as carpets and furnishings. I guess that the tipping point will be when either ship is approaching the need for substantial work that is deemed uneconomical. Anybody’s guess when that will be, but my hunch is that they will still be around for a few years to come. 

[Danamis]

On 9/22/2023 at 1:56 PM, Selbourne said:

Yes I agree. £50 deposit is a no brainier. Easy to cancel and re-book if prices do fall. Also, a lot can happen in two years!

Whilst on Aurora in August we booked a cruise for later this month. We were surprised to find that the deposit had gone up to £100 each! I have no idea if this is across all the ships though.

Edited October 7, 2023 by Danamis
missing info

[mercury7289]

14 minutes ago, Danamis said:

Whilst on Aurora in August we booked a cruise for later this month. We were surprised to find that the deposit had gone up to £100 each! I have no idea if this is across all the ships though.

On the Aurora Baltic cruise in May, we booked 3 cruises for 2024 all needed £150pp deposit.

2x16 day and 1x19 day cruise

[Selbourne]

12 minutes ago, Danamis said:

Whilst on Aurora in August we booked a cruise for later this month. We were surprised to find that the deposit had gone up to £100 each! I have no idea if this is across all the ships though.

I think I’ve read that the £50 deposit onboard offer is no more, but would be grateful if someone can confirm. Failing that, we are on Ventura in a few weeks so will check then, although I rarely if ever visit the future cruise desks, as they seem to be open very short hours and when they are open there always seems to be queues - and I don’t do queues 😂.
 

Even £100 pp is pretty good though, as I’d be happy to write that off if our circumstances changed. My wife has a worsening disability and it’s quite a gamble for us to book 2 years out, but as we need an accessible balcony cabin we sometimes have to do so. Also, with just £200 down it would be easy to cancel and re-book if the price drops. The days of launch prices never being beaten thereafter seem to have ended. 

[Selbourne]

3 minutes ago, mercury7289 said:

On the Aurora Baltic cruise in May, we booked 3 cruises for 2024 all needed £150pp deposit.

2x16 day and 1x19 day cruise

Greetings! I can’t recall whether or not you need an accessible cabin, but I have a funny feeling that the one time that we enquired about some cruises onboard they weren’t able to confirm availability of accessible cabins. Do you happen to know? Maybe that’s changed as it was some years ago?

[Danamis]

21 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I think I’ve read that the £50 deposit onboard offer is no more, but would be grateful if someone can confirm. Failing that, we are on Ventura in a few weeks so will check then, although I rarely if ever visit the future cruise desks, as they seem to be open very short hours and when they are open there always seems to be queues - and I don’t do queues 😂.
 

Even £100 pp is pretty good though, as I’d be happy to write that off if our circumstances changed. My wife has a worsening disability and it’s quite a gamble for us to book 2 years out, but as we need an accessible balcony cabin we sometimes have to do so. Also, with just £200 down it would be easy to cancel and re-book if the price drops. The days of launch prices never being beaten thereafter seem to have ended. 

When are you on Ventura? We go on 28th. Looking forward to it!

[Bill Y]

21 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I think I’ve read that the £50 deposit onboard offer is no more, but would be grateful if someone can confirm. Failing that, we are on Ventura in a few weeks so will check then, although I rarely if ever visit the future cruise desks, as they seem to be open very short hours and when they are open there always seems to be queues - and I don’t do queues 😂.
 

Even £100 pp is pretty good though, as I’d be happy to write that off if our circumstances changed. My wife has a worsening disability and it’s quite a gamble for us to book 2 years out, but as we need an accessible balcony cabin we sometimes have to do so. Also, with just £200 down it would be easy to cancel and re-book if the price drops. The days of launch prices never being beaten thereafter seem to have ended. 

Four months ago the £50 offer although promoted was only for the shorter cruises, there was a £100 deposit for the intermediate length ones and we were charged £150 each for a 21 night cruise, I imagine that was across the fleet, we were on Ventura. The segments of world cruises and grand adventures have always been excluded form low deposits offers for years,

[Son of Anarchy]

2 hours ago, Mollag said:

Ludlow was aboard Aurora for a day in Reykjavik in July for a meeting with the senior management team on her and the Captain assured us he told them she’d be around for 5 years and beyond which as people may recall is what he said about Oriana a couple of moths before they got rid. 

Interesting.  

 

A few years back was at one of those Captain's interview events with Andy Carr?.  At the Q & A he was asked what the life kspanof a cruise ship was.  He said that an accountant's answer would be 30 years, and a Captain's answer was 25 years. 

 

Another 5 years would take Aurora close to the accountant's answer.

 

As Megabear and Selbourne have pointed out, no new builds on order (as far as we know), and of course Aurora and Arcadia serve a different audience to the rest of the fleet

 

Personally, I thought Aurora could have done with a spruce up - some of the arms on chairs in the buffet were worn through.  Only saw one coffee machine out of order, bit of a glitch with a lift one day, Blimey, not bad for someone over half way through their life cycle.  Oh and the TVs in Champions could have been bigger. First world problems...

 

Hopefully both Aurora and Arcadia can be cost-effectively maintained and continue beyond the accounts estimate.

[mercury7289]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Greetings! I can’t recall whether or not you need an accessible cabin, but I have a funny feeling that the one time that we enquired about some cruises onboard they weren’t able to confirm availability of accessible cabins. Do you happen to know? Maybe that’s changed as it was some years ago?

Hello to you.

We just about manage with a standard or deluxe balcony cabin,so have not enquired on board about accessible availability, An accessible cabin would make life a lot easier for us, but there are others that have a greater need.

[tring]

1 hour ago, Bill Y said:

Four months ago the £50 offer although promoted was only for the shorter cruises, there was a £100 deposit for the intermediate length ones and we were charged £150 each for a 21 night cruise, I imagine that was across the fleet, we were on Ventura. The segments of world cruises and grand adventures have always been excluded form low deposits offers for years,

 

Yes that is the current situation when we booked a cruise on Aurora a couple of weeks back.  I think it is up to one week £50pp and up to two weeks £100pp.  Our 19 night cruise was £150pp, but still not bad considering the big onboard spend which we got with the onboard deal.  We will be keeping an eye prices and may re book if it looks worthwhile, but want a specific date range really for a big occasion.

 

[Spike11]

1 hour ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Interesting.  

 

A few years back was at one of those Captain's interview events with Andy Carr?.  At the Q & A he was asked what the life kspanof a cruise ship was.  He said that an accountant's answer would be 30 years, and a Captain's answer was 25 years. 

 

Another 5 years would take Aurora close to the accountant's answer.

 

Interesting that a cruise ship’s life is deemed to be so short. We have just come back from a DFDS “mini-cruise” from Newcastle to Amsterdam (IJMuiden). The ship was built in 1987 and is having another refit early next year. It was all in very good nick - the public areas were very modern - and the cabins were in excellent condition.

[Selbourne]

2 hours ago, Danamis said:

When are you on Ventura? We go on 28th. Looking forward to it!

Yep, same one as you. Also looking forward to it. Haven’t been on Ventura since 2017. Just hoping that the MDR food is better than some of the reviews are suggesting. We certainly had no complaints with the MDR food on Britannia or Iona this year. 

[Selbourne]

17 minutes ago, tring said:

 

Yes that is the current situation when we booked a cruise on Aurora a couple of weeks back.  I think it is up to one week £50pp and up to two weeks £100pp.  Our 19 night cruise was £150pp, but still not bad considering the big onboard spend which we got with the onboard deal.  We will be keeping an eye prices and may re book if it looks worthwhile, but want a specific date range really for a big occasion.

 

There were some pretty big OBC deals recently. If you booked on board, did you get more again?

[tring]

4 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Yes but at that time there were new ships on order. After 2025 there are no ships in the pipeline so "getting rid" of anything would mean shrinking one of the brand's fleets.

 

I do though remember Molecrochip saying that they may transfer a Grand class ship from Princess to P&O, since Princess do have new ships planned for their fleet.  

 

I do agree with another poster's comment that the lack of what are now the P&O smaller ships will be a loss of certain customers, hence becoming another cruise line's gain.  That loss will include us, though we may still do the occasional cruise on the Grand class ships if we can secure a deck C balcony cabin.  It all boils down to whether P&O can return a reasonable profit on those smaller ships though IMO, as they will not keep them going otherwise.  There do seem to be a number of new to cruising passengers on the ships recently, which may well suffice to keep the other ships profitable, especially as a lower passenger occupancy can still turn a profit on the bigger ships.

 

[Selbourne]

17 minutes ago, Spike11 said:

Interesting that a cruise ship’s life is deemed to be so short. We have just come back from a DFDS “mini-cruise” from Newcastle to Amsterdam (IJMuiden). The ship was built in 1987 and is having another refit early next year. It was all in very good nick - the public areas were very modern - and the cabins were in excellent condition.

I suspect that the 25/30 year timeframe relates to how long P&O would keep a ship. As you say, many other lines don’t even take them on until they are about that age!

[tring]

12 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

There were some pretty big OBC deals recently. If you booked on board, did you get more again?

 

Yes £530pp for an outside cabin on Aurora sailing 26th April next year and that is after we chose CPS parking rather than the extra OBS.  We would have got another £65pp if we have not taken the parking option.  No idea what we will spend it on after we also claim the share benefit, but it is for our gold wedding anniversary, so hitting the jeweller's sounds a very good idea to me 🙂   We were looking at a rather nice tanzanite necklace on our recent cruise, but stopped thinking of that after we booked the April/May cruise.

 

We would have preferred a balcony cabin, but the only availability was for a forward guarantee cabin which is a non starter for us, so were thinking we may be able to upgrade once balance payment stage has passed, though balcony cabins were about double the price, so maybe not as there always seems to be space on quieter open decks on Aurora.

 

 

Edited October 7, 2023 by tring