Is This P and O`s Biggest Mistake ?

The few weeks have been a nightmare. We`ve had hurricanes, terrorist attacks, typhoons , the collapse of Monarch Airlines and the dreadful shootings in Las Vegas. As I sit writing this I am listening to events unfolding near the Natural History Museum in London.

On a much lesser scale, but still a disaster for some people, has been the news that P&O are to sell their smallest, and much loved ship Adonia to Azamara cruises. She returned to the fleet just over a year ago and was greeted with great excitement by many loyal P&O customers. A small ship, Adonia is only 30,000 tons and carries around 710 guests. Her itineraries took in many new and interesting ports, many of them much smaller than are accessible to the huge cruise liners of today.

Her final cruise will be a Caribbean sailing on 23rd February departing from Barbados. Anyone booked on her after that ? Sorry your cruise is cancelled ! Just like that.

Of course a few weeks ago P&O announced that they will be building a new ship. She will arrive in 2020 and guess what, she will be Britain’s largest cruise ship yet. Her name is yet to be announced. To quote P&O ” At 180,000 tons this ship will offer more choice of accommodation, more places to dine in style, more spaces to relax, more entertainment and more freedom to make your holiday your own – wherever you are in the world” That will make her about a quarter bigger than Britannia, who I personally really like, but a lot of traditional P&O clients hate because she`s too big.

So why get rid of the favourite and bring in something that potentially your customers will not be over keen on? It has to be down to cost and nothing else. If not surely way to go would be to build a new small ship, or 2 and make the itineraries different and therefore more interesting.

Cruising in the Mediterranean in the summer has to be more than Barcelona, Rome, Nice and Palma which every cruise line in the world visits, Lovely destinations but half the world and his wife have already been there. The smaller ports are no good for large ships.

Adonia will be perfect for Azamara, small ships, different destinations. Very like an English Country House Hotel at sea. As for P&O it remains to be seen, but I suspect there may just be another ship sailing round with empty cabins on many of their cruises.