DavidH

And I wouldn't be surprised to see further changes to the P&O product over the next few years David. There will only be Freedom Dining on Iona (and therefore Arvia) and they will only have 1 Formal Night per week, named Gala Night. P&O have so far released very few renderings of Iona's interiors and despite her being handed over some time ago, no photos at all. The few renderings released mostly seem to show thirty-somethings dressed in jeans and t-shirts. My guess is that 6-12 months after Iona starts sailing they do away with Formal Nights altogether due to "customer feedback".

You are not alone.  Me too and I have seen the same said by a number of people on other cruise fora. Unfortunately, Carnival Corp has decided to take P&O down the 'pile it high, sell it cheap' path. As I said above, I have a cruise booked on Aurora next year but if they do sell her off before then, I doubt I will cruise with them again. I don't dislike Arcadia but wouldn't have any trust left at all with P&O as a company. It will cost me significantly more but I will move my custom to Fred Olsen who at least (currently) have 4 nice, smaller ships.

Just another one that's too big for my liking.
DavidH

It’s all to do with saving money. The shorter the name the less paint it uses 😂

I can’t say that I like the name of the new ship. In fact at first glance I read it as Arriva & then I put my specs on!😀

Just another one that's too big for my liking.
DavidH

I prefer smaller ones too, for the fans of P & O let’s hope they don’t get rid of the likes of Aurora and Arcadia when they can’t fill the big ones..

Me too David I prefer the smaller ships

Just another one that's too big for my liking.
DavidH

Hi David,
Yes, all okay with me thanks. Hopefully, once the effects of Covid are behind us fully, we will see prices for most lines start to reduce a bit. Interestingly, I see that Princess Cruises has just announced the sale of its last remaining 'R Class' ship. They haven't disclosed the buyer yet but I wonder if it could possibly be Sycamore for Azamara...

When comparing Saga with other cruse lines you must remember what the Saga price includes, 
insurance, drinks, excursions, no extra charges for using other dinning options and travel door to ship and return. Therefore sometimes the difference is not as big as you think.

Yes, the new ships look beautiful and are a lovely size David. Sadly, for me, having been built as all-balcony vessels and all-inclusive, they have priced me out of the market. I have booked an outside cabin for a 19 night cruise on Aurora in 2022 for just over £3000. On Saga, I have seen several 14 night cruises next year advertised at well over £5000 for solo pax. If you normally travel as a twosome and usually book a balcony cabin, they are reasonable value but it doesn't work well for solos or those who often book an inside cabin.

I’ve changed colour as well .... I think I was pink before 🤓

Not heard anything, but nice to see there is somebody out there.
 

Happy new year both, I’ve not heard anything either... but then we aren’t really hearing a lot about cruising....
I’m finding this new site a little odd, at least it’s still running.. 🙂

Christmas Wishes to everyone and may 2021 be a year to remember, but for all the right reasons.

good luck and happiness to all
have a good one

Best wishes to all. Hoping 2021 is much better and that we will be allowed some form of normality 😎😊

A very Merry Xmas from me, and let's hope for a Happy and Lockdown free 2021. 

Well said Countrygirl. A safe & happy Christmas to you too & to everyone on the forum & at Bolsover.🎄

Well it will be Christmas soon, after a difficult year that none of us expected we can only look forward to happier time when life will be back to some sort of normal (What ever that is).
At Easter our family were disappointed that we could not be together “ don’t worry will have a great Christmas “ I told them. Little did I know we would still be in the same position. 
So here goes-
Have a safe and Merry Christmas 🎄 and let’s look forward to a Very, Very good 2021🥂

Hi Andrew,
Apologies for the delayed response.  I've been unable to access the Forum website for the last few days for some reason.  Don't know if anyone else has experienced the same "timed out" issue?
As for the itinerary, I'm waiting until we get confirmation of the booking and our cabin allocation before considering whether or not to go ahead.  I'll check the itinerary at that point - hopefully, during the course of the next week.
Regards,
DavidH

Received an email from HAL in the early hours of this morning giving us an update on our planned cruise of Japan and Russia, scheduled for April 2021.  Bear in mind that this trip was a already a re-booking of our cancelled April 2020 cruise.
Referring to the recently released Framework for Conditional Sailing from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this is what they had to tell us:- 
"As we continue to prepare and develop our plans, we have made the decision to extend our pause in cruise operations for all departures through March 31, 2021, cruises of eight days or longer that call at a U.S. port through November 1, 2021, and select longer cruise itineraries departing this spring. As a result, your upcoming voyage has been affected. 
You will be automatically re-booked on the below voyage with your cruise fare and promotions protected, in the same (or equivalent) stateroom category. As a gesture of our appreciation, an Onboard Credit (OBC) will be applied to your new booking of USD $150 per person (up to USD $300 per stateroom).
Noordam (Voyage N123), Monday, April 11, 2022, 14-day Japan and Russia."   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
Can't say as I'm surprised and at least we've been given plenty of notice.  We've been advised that the re-booking confirmation will be sent to us by 8 December 2020 and, at that point, we can raise any queries or "consider an alternate sailing" either via our Agent or direct with their Southampton office.
In the current climate, I thought members might find it helpful to know the thinking from across the pond.
DavidH
 

Received an email from HAL in the early hours of this morning giving us an update on our planned cruise of Japan and Russia, scheduled for April 2021.  Bear in mind that this trip was a already a re-booking of our cancelled April 2020 cruise.
Referring to the recently released Framework for Conditional Sailing from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this is what they had to tell us:- 
"As we continue to prepare and develop our plans, we have made the decision to extend our pause in cruise operations for all departures through March 31, 2021, cruises of eight days or longer that call at a U.S. port through November 1, 2021, and select longer cruise itineraries departing this spring. As a result, your upcoming voyage has been affected. 
You will be automatically re-booked on the below voyage with your cruise fare and promotions protected, in the same (or equivalent) stateroom category. As a gesture of our appreciation, an Onboard Credit (OBC) will be applied to your new booking of USD $150 per person (up to USD $300 per stateroom).
Noordam (Voyage N123), Monday, April 11, 2022, 14-day Japan and Russia."   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
Can't say as I'm surprised and at least we've been given plenty of notice.  We've been advised that the re-booking confirmation will be sent to us by 8 December 2020 and, at that point, we can raise any queries or "consider an alternate sailing" either via our Agent or direct with their Southampton office.
In the current climate, I thought members might find it helpful to know the thinking from across the pond.
DavidH
 

Received an email from HAL in the early hours of this morning giving us an update on our planned cruise of Japan and Russia, scheduled for April 2021.  Bear in mind that this trip was a already a re-booking of our cancelled April 2020 cruise.
Referring to the recently released Framework for Conditional Sailing from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this is what they had to tell us:- 
"As we continue to prepare and develop our plans, we have made the decision to extend our pause in cruise operations for all departures through March 31, 2021, cruises of eight days or longer that call at a U.S. port through November 1, 2021, and select longer cruise itineraries departing this spring. As a result, your upcoming voyage has been affected. 
You will be automatically re-booked on the below voyage with your cruise fare and promotions protected, in the same (or equivalent) stateroom category. As a gesture of our appreciation, an Onboard Credit (OBC) will be applied to your new booking of USD $150 per person (up to USD $300 per stateroom).
Noordam (Voyage N123), Monday, April 11, 2022, 14-day Japan and Russia."   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
Can't say as I'm surprised and at least we've been given plenty of notice.  We've been advised that the re-booking confirmation will be sent to us by 8 December 2020 and, at that point, we can raise any queries or "consider an alternate sailing" either via our Agent or direct with their Southampton office.
In the current climate, I thought members might find it helpful to know the thinking from across the pond.
DavidH