Britain’s Favourite Cruise Line On The Change?

Well in the last year or so we have seen many changes happening at P&O Cruises, starting September 2017 when they announced that they were selling the much loved, small adult only ship Adonia to Azamara cruises. Her last voyage with P&O was in March this year after which she went into dry dock in Belfast for a complete revamp and is now sailing again as Azamara Pursuit.

In November came the announcement of a change to their alcohol policy and dress code. They were always known to be the most lenient cruise line with alcohol, allowing guests to bring their own alcohol on board at embarkation and during the voyage. Now only one bottle of wine or spirit is allowed per adult guest at the point of embarkation only. Anything bought during the voyage is taken away and given back at the end of the cruise. This is now in line with most other cruise lines.

At the same time they banned fancy dress (other than theme nights) and ‘offensive’ clothing.

What’s prohibited?

• Fancy dress (except for P&O Cruises’ theme nights)
• Clothing with personalised slogans and images
• Novelty clothing
• Inflatables, bar crawls, practical jokes and noisy drunken behaviour

This seems to stem from behaviour on mini cruises which attracts a lot of groups including hens and stags and was ruining the experience for some guests.

February this year brought the announcement that Aurora will go adult only in 2019. Was this to pacify guests that were missing Adonia or to sweeten the pill for another announcement later in the year??

May announced the name of the new ship for 2020, Iona. At 180000 gross tons and carrying 5200 guests she will be the largest ship ever built for the British market. With innovations like the 4 screen cinema and Skydome promised, it hasn’t gone down too well with many loyal P&O customers.

June brought the news that they are selling Oriana, a big favourite for adult cruisers and a sad loss. So this is why they are making Aurora adult only. Oriana will leave the fleet in August next year.

The same month brought the announcement that they are running a drinks package trial on Azura. This is currently happening and is priced at just under £40 per day with restrictions such as only drinks up to £6.95 and limited to 15 drinks a day. On the basis of relatively low cost of drinks on P&O ships, I don’t think this is good value. Does anyone have any feedback that has been on board during the trial?

Well the latest news is BIG NEWS!! The abolishment of gratuities!! This is MASSIVE as many Brits hate paying them and opt out which can leave the crew members very short in the pocket. This takes effect from May 2019. P&O are being very quiet about how this will affect both crew and guests. Will fares go up to incorporate them, so in fact guests are forced to pay? Or will crew members lose out. Clearly their pay will have to be reviewed as currently they depend on the tips.

So P&O seem to be changing their traditions and moving to be more like their competitors. Is this a good thing or are they ruining a traditional British Experience? The newest ship Britannia has not been well received and with 2 new super ships, Iona in 2020 and another yet to be named in 2022 it will be unrecognisable.

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Dee