Summer 26

[FamilyCruiserUK]

Nothing much floated my boat tbh. Except prices, but i want more then a cheap cruise, for a cheap cruise id go MSC. 

 

I do enjoy P&O to a degree but apart from the price and some specialist resturants the ships are not that exciting for families. I know my daughter (10) has strong feelings on this, she wants more than what P&O have or offer. Slides and bigger pools for example. 

I enjoyed Arvia but found her a little unsure of her place, not fully family but not fully adult with small standing room only pools. 

P&O can easily corner the family market if they just push the boat out a bit more with future family ship designs. So much promise but again played it too safe with Arvia and Iona. 

[pete14]

31 minutes ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

Nothing much floated my boat tbh. Except prices, but i want more then a cheap cruise, for a cheap cruise id go MSC. 

 

I do enjoy P&O to a degree but apart from the price and some specialist resturants the ships are not that exciting for families. I know my daughter (10) has strong feelings on this, she wants more than what P&O have or offer. Slides and bigger pools for example. 

I enjoyed Arvia but found her a little unsure of her place, not fully family but not fully adult with small standing room only pools. 

P&O can easily corner the family market if they just push the boat out a bit more with future family ship designs. So much promise but again played it too safe with Arvia and Iona. 

I appreciate what you say, but some of us of a certain age group would also like to be considered in the future. The two adult only ships in the fleet are the smallest, which is not a problem, but they are also the oldest, most expensive to travel on and probably most likely to be taken out of service and sold. Of course the family market is important and increasingly so, but so is the adult only market. This I think is a dilemma for where P&O are and where they place themselves in an increasingly crowded market.

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, pete14 said:

I appreciate what you say, but some of us of a certain age group would also like to be considered in the future. The two adult only ships in the fleet are the smallest, which is not a problem, but they are also the oldest, most expensive to travel on and probably most likely to be taken out of service and sold. Of course the family market is important and increasingly so, but so is the adult only market. This I think is a dilemma for where P&O are and where they place themselves in an increasingly crowded market.

I think that there’s a reasonable chance that Ventura could become adult only when Aurora or Arcadia (or both) are sold in the future. I don’t think that Ventura would cut the mustard with the market that P&O is now targeting. Other adult only ships (Saga etc) are very expensive, so P&O may still see an opportunity in that arena, albeit at the (comparatively) budget end. 

[Presto2]

5 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I think that there’s a reasonable chance that Ventura could become adult only when Aurora or Arcadia (or both) are sold in the future. I don’t think that Ventura would cut the mustard with the market that P&O is now targeting. Other adult only ships (Saga etc) are very expensive, so P&O may still see an opportunity in that arena, albeit at the (comparatively) budget end. 

Sadly we didn't like Ventura for some reason.. though we loved Azura! Think we would be disappointed if this was the only adults only option. 

[Selbourne]

28 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Sadly we didn't like Ventura for some reason.. though we loved Azura! Think we would be disappointed if this was the only adults only option. 

That’s coincidental, because we’ve only been on Azura once and didn’t like her. We couldn’t put our finger on why, as we’d enjoyed Ventura the year before! We’d like to give her another go, but she only seems to do fly cruises now, which aren’t an option for us. 

[Presto2]

1 minute ago, Selbourne said:

That’s coincidental, because we’ve only been on Azura once and didn’t like her. We couldn’t put our finger on why, as we’d enjoyed Ventura the year before! We’d like to give her another go, but she only seems to do fly cruises now, which aren’t an option for us. 

We wondered if the cruise itinerary and cabin choice didn't help .. and the weather ...so we have thought of giving her another go some time. 

[FamilyCruiserUK]

2 hours ago, pete14 said:

I appreciate what you say, but some of us of a certain age group would also like to be considered in the future. The two adult only ships in the fleet are the smallest, which is not a problem, but they are also the oldest, most expensive to travel on and probably most likely to be taken out of service and sold. Of course the family market is important and increasingly so, but so is the adult only market. This I think is a dilemma for where P&O are and where they place themselves in an increasingly crowded market.

I totally agree, and thats why P&O need to diversify more for both the adult only smaller.ship and the family markets who demand more. P&O have had  relatively limited competition esp sailings from Southampton but that is changing with NCL,MSC and Royal. 

 

I hope they do build modern adult only ships, or even maybe have adult only cruises certain times of the year on Iona and Arvia.  🤔

[pete14]

19 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

 

Edited April 25 by pete14

[Presto2]

Just now, pete14 said:

January 2026?

That's Azura. :-) I'd go back to her anyway. It's her sister Ventura that doesn't float our boat ..

[pete14]

Just now, Presto2 said:

That's Azura. 🙂 I'd go back to her anyway. It's her sister Ventura that doesn't float our boat ..

You’re very quick to get in before I deleted the post because I realised I had made a mistake. 

[jh1809]

On 4/16/2024 at 8:00 PM, jh1809 said:

I couldn't resist booking Aurora's 24-day Med cruise in Sep-Oct 2026. Quite a few intriguing ports that I've not been to before. 

I booked this cruise on P&O's website on the 16th, opting for the Select fare. I'm sure I asked for Club dining, but on the confirmation email that arrived the same day I've noticed that it says Freedom dining. I can't see anywhere on my cruise personaliser that would allow me to change it (even though I could change my bed configuration from queen to twin if I wanted to). Am I missing something, or will I have to undergo the palaver of ringing up P&O? Or, as it's hardly urgent at this stage, would emailing them get them to change it for me? If so, which email address should I use?

 

I did wonder if perhaps they are planning to phase out Club dining on Aurora at some point before summer 2026 and if that might explain it. Has anyone heard any rumours?

[Selbourne]

12 minutes ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

I hope they do build modern adult only ships, or even maybe have adult only cruises certain times of the year on Iona and Arvia.  🤔

So would I, but I can’t see it happening. The adult only ships are mostly filled with retirees on presumably very good pensions. Sadly, that market is diminishing as the vast majority of those entering the world of retirement going forward won’t have anywhere near the same level of pension income, and those that do will have different expectations and want a more upmarket experience than P&O offers. Plus, of course, there’s the economies of scale issue that massively favours the big ships. The market direction that P&O is going in is the polar opposite of upmarket small ships. Having spent 65 nights on Aurora recently she’s looking and feeling a little unloved, which probably tells us all we need to know about the direction of travel. 

[Selbourne]

6 minutes ago, jh1809 said:

I booked this cruise on P&O's website on the 16th, opting for the Select fare. I'm sure I asked for Club dining, but on the confirmation email that arrived the same day I've noticed that it says Freedom dining. I can't see anywhere on my cruise personaliser that would allow me to change it (even though I could change my bed configuration from queen to twin if I wanted to). Am I missing something, or will I have to undergo the palaver of ringing up P&O? Or, as it's hardly urgent at this stage, would emailing them get them to change it for me? If so, which email address should I use?

 

I did wonder if perhaps they are planning to phase out Club dining on Aurora at some point before summer 2026 and if that might explain it. Has anyone heard any rumours?

I suspect it’s just an error. There is no way to change it via the Cruise Personaliser I’m afraid. If you booked via a TA, a 2 minute call to them will sort it. If you booked direct I’m afraid you’ll have to phone them and endure the wait. I don’t think there’s an email address for this, but others may be able to help. 
 

I’d be surprised if P&O dispense with Club dining on Aurora, especially as a lot of us who have used Freedom from the start have been switching back to Club due to the problems that seem to have crept in to Freedom dining. I certainly didn’t hear any rumours when we were on her recently.

[jh1809]

18 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I suspect it’s just an error. There is no way to change it via the Cruise Personaliser I’m afraid. If you booked via a TA, a 2 minute call to them will sort it. If you booked direct I’m afraid you’ll have to phone them and endure the wait. I don’t think there’s an email address for this, but others may be able to help. 
 

I’d be surprised if P&O dispense with Club dining on Aurora, especially as a lot of us who have used Freedom from the start have been switching back to Club due to the problems that seem to have crept in to Freedom dining. I certainly didn’t hear any rumours when we were on her recently.

Thanks. As I said, I booked on-line on P&O's website, rather than using a TA, mainly because I'm something of a phone-phobic who hates using the phone. 

[sweep2907]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

So would I, but I can’t see it happening. The adult only ships are mostly filled with retirees on presumably very good pensions. Sadly, that market is diminishing as the vast majority of those entering the world of retirement going forward won’t have anywhere near the same level of pension income, and those that do will have different expectations and want a more upmarket experience than P&O offers. Plus, of course, there’s the economies of scale issue that massively favours the big ships. The market direction that P&O is going in is the polar opposite of upmarket small ships. Having spent 65 nights on Aurora recently she’s looking and feeling a little unloved, which probably tells us all we need to know about the direction of travel. 

I get your point Selbourne but not diminishing as much as you think. We now have the huge market of those inheriting parents properties which made lots of money in 80s and 90s booms. I am public sector pension and maybe around 10 years left, although it was not as good as those before me, it is not that much worse and will see me comfortably cruising several times a year. I presume Ventura and Azura will probably become adult ships only once Aurora and Arcadia are retired.  I do agree on different expectations though as I was P&O through and through until I tried other lines and then I am hooked on them now as once you compare to P&O, in most cases there is only one winner. That being said I still love P&O for a lot of reasons and will continue to use them as suits.

[Presto2]

3 hours ago, pete14 said:

You’re very quick to get in before I deleted the post because I realised I had made a mistake. 

I'm retired .. have more time 😉

[doog442]

7 hours ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

 

P&O can easily corner the family market if they just push the boat out a bit more with future family ship designs. So much promise but again played it too safe with Arvia and Iona. 

They'd nail it if they followed Norwegians design on the Prima...a go kart circuit dominating the ship and drop slides but lets not give them any ideas eh 🤣...we just stared in disbelief.

 

Yet they stick a Norway and Iceland itinerary from the UK for the summer.....? 

 

'Here kids we're going to Norway and Iceland for your summer holiday but you have a race track to keep you busy'. 

[Lee Jones Jnr]

So is the general feeling here that Ocean Village were just a little ahead of their time?

[jh1809]

15 hours ago, Selbourne said:

I suspect it’s just an error. There is no way to change it via the Cruise Personaliser I’m afraid. If you booked via a TA, a 2 minute call to them will sort it. If you booked direct I’m afraid you’ll have to phone them and endure the wait. I don’t think there’s an email address for this, but others may be able to help. 
 

I’d be surprised if P&O dispense with Club dining on Aurora, especially as a lot of us who have used Freedom from the start have been switching back to Club due to the problems that seem to have crept in to Freedom dining. I certainly didn’t hear any rumours when we were on her recently.

Thanks. I rang P&O this morning, and you were right that my dining choice appearing as Freedom was just an error on the booking confirmation. The P&O person told me it was correctly shown as Club on the system, and send me another (correct) booking confirmation. Since I had booked online direct with P&O, it's hard to see how the original incorrect confirmation could have been sent out, given that the process is wholly automated. That's 15 minutes or so of hanging on the phone that I'll never get back.

[FamilyCruiserUK]

15 hours ago, doog442 said:

They'd nail it if they followed Norwegians design on the Prima...a go kart circuit dominating the ship and drop slides but lets not give them any ideas eh 🤣...we just stared in disbelief.

 

Yet they stick a Norway and Iceland itinerary from the UK for the summer.....? 

 

'Here kids we're going to Norway and Iceland for your summer holiday but you have a race track to keep you busy'. 

Ha i wouldnt go go-karting far, but certainly what should family friendly kids ships have. A bigger pool to start, not the small ones like arvia and iona, the inside pool area is poorly designed and closed late afternoons to set up for the evening shows. Waterslides is the new must have for children as well. We just come of MSC world Europa and the pool area and waterslides a massive hit. Even had adult only pools at the back and they were slightly bigger than arvias pools. Even MSC Virtuosa had much better pools then Arvia and Iona, and they are roughly same size ship.

But yeah norway although gorgeous is not really a summer holiday destination, kids want sunshine and beaches and then parents can also chill whilst kids go play nicely.

[majortom10]

On 4/23/2024 at 4:02 PM, Bin man said:

Hi Majortom 10 did you get anything extra and what deposit was it ?On her in 4 weeks holding on for anything extra hopefully 

Sorry have not responded but had no internet onboard only in ports. No great deal just £100 per cabin and free parking for a 14nt Medical Cruise on Arvia. Think you get more OBC if you don't have parking and deposit was £100pp.

[Mollag]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

Sorry have not responded but had no internet onboard only in ports. No great deal just £100 per cabin and free parking for a 14nt Medical Cruise on Arvia. Think you get more OBC if you don't have parking and deposit was £100pp.

Can’t beat a medical cruise

[Denarius]

On 4/26/2024 at 12:23 AM, Lee Jones Jnr said:

So is the general feeling here that Ocean Village were just a little ahead of their time?

I think that they were. In context, you have to remember that at the time Ocean Village were launched the cruise business was radically different than it is today. Fixed time (ie, club) dining was usually the only option at dinner; the buffet was only open for lunch and breakfast. A three tier dress code applied in the evening throughout the ship; casual (ie smart casual) informal (jackets and ties for men) and formal (black tie). Against this background, a cruise line which offered flexible dining with no formal dress code was a radical departure. Nowadays of course, it does not appear as radical as most cruise lines have adopted parts of the Ocean Village modus operandum.

Edited April 28 by Denarius

[Bin man]

Thanks for reply Majortom 10 just the normal. At least that's a bit more if prices hold for the next  4 weeks fingers crossed .Did you have a good cruise?

[purplesea]

25 minutes ago, Denarius said:

I think that they were. In context, you have to remember that at the time Ocean Village were launched the cruise business was radically different than it is today. Fixed time (ie, club) dining was usually the only option at dinner; the buffet was only open for lunch and breakfast. A three tier dress code applied in the evening throughout the ship; casual (ie smart casual) informal (jackets and ties for men) and formal (black tie). Against this background, a cruise line which offered flexible dining with no formal dress code was a radical departure. Nowadays of course, it does not appear as radical as most cruise lines have adopted parts of the Ocean Village modus operandum.

Our first cruise was with Ocen Village. We took my parents for their 50th wedding anniversay and it was chosen as my father wouldn't entertain getting dressed up for dinner.

One of there tag lines was "there's a place for the dinner jacket - at home in the wardrobe".