P&O doing Fly-Med cruises soon to attract new customers from OV?

[Single Cruiser]

I think Sue is right, but I think the fly-cruises will probably be the smaller ships like Oceana rather than Ventura/Azura. Changeover day on OV currently can be a bit hectic with just about 1000 passengers flying back. You certainly wouldn't fly them into a place like Heraklion for the amount on Ventura.

 

The fly-cruise is so much more convenient and hassle free for those more than a few hours drive from Southampton.

 

One of OVs current airport hubs is Glasgow, I wonder how many Scottish people take P&O cruises, a very long drive or have to fly down to Southampton airport?

[daiB]

The questions in the poll were nearly all aimed at med cruises, Do you really think PandO can fill all these ships Dai from Southampton every fortnight -Azura AND Ventura, plus Arcadia,Aurora, Oceana, Artemis and Oriana?

 

Yes I do pet, because that is what they have been planning for.

 

The only extra is Azura. Anyway If P&O did fly cruising they would be in competition with a whole raft of companies. As they are now they are the big fish in the pond.

 

No I feel P&O will stick to doing what they do best. It makes sense.

 

 

:):)Happy Cruising:):)

 

 

 

:cool:

 

 

Dai

[JamesOceanVillage]

If their is more money in it for P&O they will do it. Also Ncl is more family friendly due Ncls imformal dinning, lower age target and Ncls wider range of facilities. Also look at the difference in the decor.

[LibraLass41]

Then I hope you will enjoy NCL ,

[Roxally]

I have just completed a P&O questionnaire emailed to me from Nigel E, the one that offers £100 John Lewis vcrs, and is sent a couple of times a year.

 

I think they are trying to attract custom from the OV cruisers who loose their brand at the end of 2010,

 

OV cruisers like to fly-cruise from the Med.

 

OV cruisers have been sent letters and emails introducing them to the delights of Ventura

 

 

 

I understand that a few hundred P&O passengers have been sent this questionnaire Libra lass and really don't think that Nigel E sent them out personally

Past OV cruisers have been sent letters informing them of a number of different ships under the Carnival brand and not just Ventura so you may be right but there again you may not.We will all have to wait and see and then make our decisions.

[tom_uk]

Queen Victoria did a short season of Mediterranean fly cruises last year, from mid August (first fly cruise on 13 August) to late November. Does anyone have any information as to how well she did on those fly cruises?

 

Interestingly, this year she's firmly based in Southampton, from April through to early January 2010.

 

I know that QV is Cunard, but Mediterranean fly cruises are a change for them as well as for P&O, so their experience might be instructive. Especially as QV is closer to a P&O ship than QM2 is.

[A UKCRUISER]

I think its a great idea, due to work commitments i prefer 7 nighters so fly cruising would suit me fine, i have done a few 7 nighters from spton to spain and france, but its always a gamble on the weather and off couse the good old b o b!

[daiB]

I think its a great idea, due to work commitments i prefer 7 nighters so fly cruising would suit me fine, i have done a few 7 nighters from spton to spain and france, but its always a gamble on the weather and off couse the good old b o b!

 

 

Be careful what you say about BOB he has big ears. The sea gods will rise up and smote any ship you are on.

 

You have been warned:p

 

Off course he is a good friend of mine and has been very good to me.:D

 

 

:)Happy Cruising:)

 

 

 

:cool:

 

 

Dai

[tom_uk]

I think its a great idea, due to work commitments i prefer 7 nighters so fly cruising would suit me fine, i have done a few 7 nighters from spton to spain and france, but its always a gamble on the weather and off couse the good old b o b!

 

All of QV's cruises last year were 12-nighters.

 

Of course that's not necessarily any indication about what P&O would do *if* they started Med fly-cruises.... but it is the same management, ultimately.

[brillo]

Carnival are very well versed in running fly cruises in the med from GB, What have they been doing with OV for the last ten years.

I think that at the very least Ventura and one other will end up summer based in the med.

If they can fly 3000+ to the Caribbean I dont think that doing it to the med will be much problem.

 

brillo

[LibraLass41]

Brillo , then we agree and I reckon the other ship will be Oceana, which they say is a cruise ship more suited to hot weather crusing as well due to her lack of indoor space and no covered pool. Oceana also has freedom dining and has dropped semi formal nights....in readiness..:rolleyes:

[LibraLass41]

I have just completed a P&O questionnaire emailed to me from Nigel E, the one that offers £100 John Lewis vcrs, and is sent a couple of times a year.

 

I think they are trying to attract custom from the OV cruisers who loose their brand at the end of 2010,

 

OV cruisers like to fly-cruise from the Med.

 

OV cruisers have been sent letters and emails introducing them to the delights of Ventura

 

 

 

I understand that a few hundred P&O passengers have been sent this questionnaire Libra lass and really don't think that Nigel E sent them out personally

Past OV cruisers have been sent letters informing them of a number of different ships under the Carnival brand and not just Ventura so you may be right but there again you may not.We will all have to wait and see and then make our decisions.

 

 

 

really? and I thought Nigel sent the questionnaire out just to me! DOH!

 

It wouldn't be much of a questionnaire if it was just sent to me would it, :rolleyes: and it was signed by Nigel E so I presume he knew something about it but as a PA myself I just suspect that his team might of sent it to me;)

[BrianI]

We were told by Capt Ian Hutley on Aurora last Dec, that one of the reasons for discontinuing OV cruises was the relative high cost of the airline flights. Ian was due to to transfer to one of the OV ships earlier this year.

Brian

[Single Cruiser]

We were told by Capt Ian Hutley on Aurora last Dec, that one of the reasons for discontinuing OV cruises was the relative high cost of the airline flights. Ian was due to to transfer to one of the OV ships earlier this year.

Brian

 

Ian is getting raving reviews on OV at the moment.

 

He did the transatlantic - here are some pics of him throwing wet sponges at someone in the stocks as part of the summer fair event.

http://www.oceanvillageblog.co.uk/

[daiB]

 

 

 

really? and I thought Nigel sent the questionnaire out just to me! DOH!

 

It wouldn't be much of a questionnaire if it was just sent to me would it, :rolleyes: and it was signed by Nigel E so I presume he knew something about it but as a PA myself I just suspect that his team might of sent it to me;)

 

 

Sue, stop winding them up.:mad: You know it is not going to happen.

 

 

 

 

:)Happy Cruising:)

 

 

 

:cool:

 

Dai

[Esprit]

Only my opinion, but I love fly cruises with a few sea days basking in the Med' sunshine not windy grey skies sailing down to the Med'.

 

I'd be interested to know the stat's of people on fly cruises compared to those that sail from a home port around the world.

[daiB]

Only my opinion, but I love fly cruises with a few sea days basking in the Med' sunshine not windy grey skies sailing down to the Med'.

 

I'd be interested to know the stat's of people on fly cruises compared to those that sail from a home port around the world.

 

 

I find that a number of cruisers I come across on P&O do not like to fly. Not particularly because of fear but because of the hassle.

 

We on the other hand just love sea days. So sailing from Southampton suits us fine.

 

 

:):)Happy Cruising:):)

 

 

 

:cool:

 

Dai

[KarenR_UK]

We on the other hand just love sea days. So sailing from Southampton suits us fine.

 

I love sailing down to the Med or Canaries - 2 or 3 days before the first port gives us time to relax after the panic of actually getting on holiday (packing, work etc) - then come the port intensive days, followed by 2 or 3 days after the last port to recover:D

 

Karen

[KenAndJulie]

I find that a number of cruisers I come across on P&O do not like to fly. Not particularly because of fear but because of the hassle.

Friends of ours would be like that, they live about half-an-hour from Southampton so it suits them ... unfortunately we have no choice but to fly, so we are quite happy to go for short, medium or long haul. Just anywhere that gets us to the sun as quickly as possible :)

[History addict]

There are a few major differences between the P and O cruisers and those from the likes of OV - this makes us all seem poles apart on these forums when actually I suspect we are people from similar backgrounds who just have totally different preferences.

 

Sweeping generalisations, I know, but the way people feel about sea days is just one of these. P and O people see it as a great opportunity to relax whereas many on OV would see it as a wasted opportunity when they could have been exploring a new port.

 

Personally I have never had more than 1 day at sea per week. I would prefer to have none whatsoever and an extra port added to the itinerary - MSC still do some with no sea days but I've never found anyone else (does anyone know of any other cruise lines as I'd love to know).

 

P and O seem to have a nice product and lovely ships. Their prices are fine too. However I only take 1 weeks holiday at a time which rules out a Southampton departure for a med cruise.

 

I'm sure there are many people like me in the UK just waiting for another mid market cruise operator operating port-rich itineraries as a fly cruise option from the UK. I'd have no problems driving from the Midlands to a London airport - the UK travel is irrelevant.

 

To me it is all about maximising destinations, which seems to be another fundamental difference. To some the cruise is the destination whereas to me it is a 4 star mode of transport. However if there were more people like me who are off the ship all day and on the balcony when they return then there would be more sun beds for those who wanted to get the most out of the ship's facilities. There is some advantage with people who want different things from their cruise sharing the ship's spaces!:)

[Single Cruiser]

I think a lot of the differences are also the target passengers of each brand.

 

I think its fairly safe to assume that the average P&O ship has a higher average age than the OV ships, probably 60ish P&O? and about 40-50ish on OV?

 

I know if I reach that age I'd probably prefer more relaxing rest days at sea.

 

Younger passengers have grown up in the norm of package fly holidays to Spain etc so the airport trip is the norm, far less hassle to drive to a regional airport (I drive 1hr30mins to Manchester, to drive to Southampton would be about 4-5hrs).

 

Also you have to look at onboard facilities and ents, on the older ships like those handed down to OV there is basically minimal daytime ents. I know that when I did the TransAtlantic crossing after 3 of the 5 consecutive sea days I was so bored and glad when we reached Madeira.

 

A modern ship with extra facilities - be it ten-pin bowling/crazy golf/water slides/ movies under the stars etc I could probably cope with the extra sea days.

 

Should also add of course that sea days make the cruise cheaper which I think is why OV prices often appear higher than P&O!

[History addict]

I agree, Singlecruiser. However I feel that P and O will end up with a less defined brand identity if they do start to offer fly cruise options. At the moment people understand (if they take the time to do any research) exactly what the P and O concept is. However if they do start to offer fly cruises and more casual options this may make their brand less clear - this is what has caused so much chatter on these forums.

 

If I were P and O I would keep to my brand identity and I think the parent company should utilise the OV brand if they want to offer fly cruises, as has been said previously.

 

BTW, on my last OV2 cruise in May there were a lot of pensioners onboard and I would say the average age would be around 60. However that may have just been the time of year as I avoid school holidays when I travel.

[daiB]

There are a few major differences between the P and O cruisers and those from the likes of OV - this makes us all seem poles apart on these forums when actually I suspect we are people from similar backgrounds who just have totally different preferences.

 

Sweeping generalisations, I know, but the way people feel about sea days is just one of these. P and O people see it as a great opportunity to relax whereas many on OV would see it as a wasted opportunity when they could have been exploring a new port.

 

Personally I have never had more than 1 day at sea per week. I would prefer to have none whatsoever and an extra port added to the itinerary - MSC still do some with no sea days but I've never found anyone else (does anyone know of any other cruise lines as I'd love to know).

 

P and O seem to have a nice product and lovely ships. Their prices are fine too. However I only take 1 weeks holiday at a time which rules out a Southampton departure for a med cruise.

 

I'm sure there are many people like me in the UK just waiting for another mid market cruise operator operating port-rich itineraries as a fly cruise option from the UK. I'd have no problems driving from the Midlands to a London airport - the UK travel is irrelevant.

 

To me it is all about maximising destinations, which seems to be another fundamental difference. To some the cruise is the destination whereas to me it is a 4 star mode of transport. However if there were more people like me who are off the ship all day and on the balcony when they return then there would be more sun beds for those who wanted to get the most out of the ship's facilities. There is some advantage with people who want different things from their cruise sharing the ship's spaces!:)

 

 

 

You are spot on

 

If you look at other cruise lines you will find that very few have as many sea days as P&O, except from the odd ship sailing from the UK. Sea days do not go down well with our US friends as you can tell by the pricing of some repositioning cruises.

 

P&O have a particular place in the cruise market and to my mind would do well not to change that.

 

 

:):)Happy Cruising:):)

 

 

:cool:

 

 

Dai

[Esprit]

We've only done one cruise from Southampton (Oceana) to the Med' and went on it again for Christmas/New Year 18 months later. Apart from the obvious weather difference it felt almost like being on a different ship. A lot younger and friendlier.

 

The sea days were great too with the right mix throughout the cruise. On the Southampton cruise however it felt like being on an expensive ferry coming back. The fun had gone and people were milling around on the last two days. Even the staff seemed like they had fogotten us and were preparing for the next cruise. A waste of two holiday days IMHO.

 

Last year on Emerald Princess we disembarked at Rome, had a free coach tour of the city before being taken to the airport in time for our flight home. Just brilliant.

[LibraLass41]

I agree with the comments above about coming home on the last day or two.(Expensive ferry lol)

If the weather over the bay is poor and you are unable to go out on deck it is dire.

Although coming home from the Canaries last month we were lucky to have sunny hot weather, and -unusually- the last day at sea was a sunbathing day on deck which was fine. But staff sort of 'give up 'otherwise with less indoor activities and entertainment around the ship.

We don't like flying much so its Southampton for us,