Adonia 7 nights July 12th 2015

Reports about cruises on Adonia

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CaroleF
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Adonia 7 nights July 12th 2015

#1

Post by CaroleF »

We booked this cruise as a sort of extra as we went on a Canaries cruise in March and were not due to go away again until September (that's now had to be postponed so just as well we had this week) and I thought well, July, be lovely to cruise in the Summer weather! How wrong could I be. The cruise itself was lovely, the weather was dreadful. Anyway we were on Adonia last September on a cruise to the Baltic and really liked her. We had a balcony cabin then but this time we booked a forward suite. We have never been right at the bow before, been at the aft lots of times, so weren't sure what it was going to be like. I found lots of photos and information about the suites at the back but little about those at the front.

We arrived at the Terminal around 11.40am - our boarding time was 12 for those interested - and there were a few cars lined up waiting for CPS to check them in but it didn't take long. We haven't been to the Mayflower Terminal since all the alterations and the difference was amazing. However, we had little time to appreciate the interior as we were directed to a check-in desk immediately as we had a suite. Then it was straight through security and on to the ship. By 12 we were in the Curzon Lounge with a glass of champagne in hand - a wonderful way to start a cruise. There was the complimentary lunch on offer - lots of variety and we enjoyed it - plus another glass of fizz. The butler came round to greet us while we were mid-lunch and said he would see us later. Just after 1pm the crew member who had checked us into the lounge came up to tell us that our suite was ready if we wanted to go up. When we got there - B deck right at the front port side - one case was in the cabin and the others were outside - amazing. Well I thought the aft suites on Oceana were large but this was even larger. As you walked in there was a WC on the left then into the main sitting part of the cabin. The door to the balcony was in front of you, on the left was a round dining table and four dining chairs then left was a three seater settee against the wall, a coffee table and two arm chairs. The TV was in a dark wooden housing and it was huge! There was also a BOSE radio/CD player plus a DVD player. Then there was an archway, with curtain across if you wanted to use it, which led into the bedroom. The super-kingsize bed had a half tester and it was placed at an angle with floor to ceiling windows on one side and on the other was a desk and chair with a round port-hole type window above. Opposite the bed was a dressing table with all the tea/coffee making stuff on, another TV above and then a door into the bathroom. On the right of the bathroom and on the wall adjacent to it were all the wardrobes - storage was no problem! This had a Jacuzzi bath with shower over - in fact it had shower heads both on the wall for using as a shower and on the taps which was very convenient so it meant if I wanted to wash my hair I didn't have to have a shower each time.

The balcony was large and had two steamer chairs, two adjustable loungers and a table and four chairs. Incidentally we got chatting with a couple who were in one of the aft suites and we did go up and look at theirs to see the difference. Their sitting area was even larger than ours, they had even more wardrobe space but I suppose the main difference was that the balcony had a wider part to it at one end which meant it was easier to place the steamer chairs side by side looking out to sea whereas on our balcony it wasn't deep enough to have them round that way.

So onto the cruise itself. Our first stop was Honfleur the next day. It was overcast but not raining. We hadn't booked a trip there. I can't walk that far so John went off in the morning on the shuttle - we docked at the mouth of the river that goes into Honfleur and had to use the shuttle bus to get in to town. Anyway he went and had a look and returned saying there were lots of restaurants within easy distance of the shuttle stop as we thought we would like to have lunch off the ship. So we both went on the shuttle and it only took about 8 or so minutes to get into town. We had a bit of a wander and then found a sea-food restaurant we liked the look of. We were sat outside but it was one of those where there's an awning that has roof and sides if you see what I mean. When the waiter came to see what we would like we asked in our best French only to feel somewhat deflated when he said, "I do speak English"! We had a lovely lunch, and not too expensive either.

Our second stop was St. Peter Port. I had wondered if we would be able to anchor as it was quite windy but we did. We've been to St. Peter Port a few times so i decided to stay on board but John went on a conducted walk to the Castle which he said was good with an excellent guide - a female who apparently kissed them all goodbye!

The weather didn't improve for our next stop of St. Mary's in the Isles of Scilly. Again we were at anchor. Here the ships are not allowed to use their own tenders. The boats from the island have to be used. These look like open topped fishing boats and they certainly rocked around a bit. I watched a few of them from our balcony and it didn't look to be the most comfortable of journeys. John went on another walk and then, after lunch went back again and hired a bike to go round the island.

After this we were supposed to have a day at sea before docking at Cobh near Cork. However, the weather was not good and the Captain, Sarah Breton, announced that she had been having discussions both with Southampton and with the authorities at Cobh and it had been decided that as there was a low depression coming towards us it made sense to get to Cobh as quickly as possible so instead of docking on Friday morning we would arrive at Thursday lunch time. This we did and the weather then went from bad to worse! It absolutely tipped it down. We had clearance to go ashore if we wished and a few brave souls did and I did feel sorry for the Security people who had to be at the bottom of the gangway, muffled up to the eyes in warm - I hope - wet weather gear.

Friday did dawn a bit brighter, some sun but still a strong wind. I had decided I would have a wander around Cobh but John wanted to explore Cork so he went on one of the open topped buses into Cork - I think he had to retreat downstairs when it started to rain. I went to the Heritage Centre which is just opposite to where the ship docks. It was interesting and had things about both the Titantic - she left from Cobh to go across the Atlantic on her fateful trip - and the Lusitania which was sunk off Ireland. There is a large memorial to those who lost their lives on the Lusitania in the town. There was quite a good gift shop in the centre where I was able to buy things for Grandchildren. I then went on into the town, which I think would be attractive on a lovely summer's day but the wind was getting stronger and I eventually went back to the ship.

Our next day was the final sea day before getting back to Southampton. So the ship herself. Many people were bemoaning the fact that Adonia is going to "fathom". Even the crew didn't seem to know what was happening. Our butler and our steward are due to go on leave in February so whether those who take over are going to go to the Caribbean with her they didn't know. We were on 2nd sitting in the Pacific Restaurant on a table of 8 and had really good table companions and we all got on really well. The food, we thought was good, hot and you only had to ask for anything additional you wanted, extra vegetables or potatoes. Those who had the Cheeseboard thought it was excellent, not the tiny pieces of cheese sometimes seen previously. We went one night to the Ocean Grill - very pleasant but not as good as Seventeen on Azura. We were also able to have breakfast each morning in the Ocean Grill as we were in a suite. This menu was the same as the breakfast menu in Seventeen, It was very good, if a little slow. I don't think they had enough staff to accommodate the number of passengers using the Grill. We didn't go to Sorrento, the Italian restaurant. One thing I mentioned in another thread was that we were told in all the pre-cruise information that there would be 1 formal night, 2 Jackets and the rest casual. There would be one themed night, 60s/70s. When we got the Horizon the night before the formal evening it stated that it would be a Black and White evening - which of course no-one knew about so it was just ignored. We had a Marco menu that night but what was odd was that the final evening we had another Gala menu with Lobster, Beef Wellington, Champagne sorbet etc. It seemed as though there should have been 2 formal evenings as that was definitely a formal evening menu.

Lunch was a mixture of the buffet and room service, or in our case butler service. I hate all buffets but I have to admit the one on Adonia isn't too bad. We never had trouble getting a seat. I just wish the choice of salad meats/fish would be a little more adventurous.

The entertainment was excellent. There are only 5 members of the Entertainment team who perform. They are amazing, they performed three musical shows and then on the final sea day a play in the afternoon. We had seen this before on Adonia but it was still good, very funny. We found we preferred the Adonia entertainment to the big show productions on the larger ships. There was a comedian who was good one evening, and a singer who mixed musicals with opera. During the two sea days there was a lecturer who was a Civil Engineer who spoke about engineering in relation to cruising and particularly P&O.

One thing I did notice on our first evening when going down to the Pacific Restaurant was a notice saying the ship was full and there was no option to change any seating in the restaurant. The other thing I remember seeing was at the entrance to the Curzon Lounge when we first embarked saying that the Complimentary lunch was for Caribbean and above loyalty levels and suite passengers and no friends could be admitted - don't remember seeing that before.

We were able to have breakfast in the Ocean Grill on our final morning before leaving the ship - you even get hot crispy toast there! It was a very enjoyable cruise even if the weather was rubbish. We will be back on Adonia next February - should have been March and ended up coming back to Southampton but our cruise was one of the ones cancelled because of "fathom" so we will have a final two week fly cruise on her. Such a shame she is going, maybe she'll be back, we hope so.

Carole

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GillD46
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Re: Adonia 7 nights July 12th 2015

#2

Post by GillD46 »

A most enjoyable read, Carole, thank you for sharing your experience.
Gill

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emjay45
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Re: Adonia 7 nights July 12th 2015

#3

Post by emjay45 »

Thanks Carole interesting review, what a shame the weather wasn't too good. We booked an aft suite on the Adonia in 2012 when we were on our first ever cruise in 2011. We were new to cruising then and had no idea about upgrading and fluid pricing and I was very annoyed when I found people were paying thousands less than us and being upgraded to the aft suites,so I cancelled the cruise. I doubt we'll experience the Adonia now.

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Gill W
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Re: Adonia 7 nights July 12th 2015

#4

Post by Gill W »

I'm pretty sure this cruise was one that we thought about doing, as we were thinking about trying Adonia, and the Scilly Isles appealed as something different.

But in the end we decided to put the money towards a longer cruise we are doing next year.

So it was good to read about your experiences, although it's a shame about the weather.

I'll probably never get a chance to go on Adonia now, unless she returns to P&O after the fathom thing, but I'm not counting on it
Gill


cruisin_duo
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Re: Adonia 7 nights July 12th 2015

#5

Post by cruisin_duo »

Enjoyed your review. Thank you for posting. Like others have said, doubt we will get the opportunity to sail on Adonia.

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Bobbie
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Location: UK

Re: Adonia 7 nights July 12th 2015

#6

Post by Bobbie »

Thank you for your interesting review. We did this cruise last September, only the other way round. We were very lucky with the weather, it was hot and sunny at each port and I have many wonderful photos. We loved all the ports, particularly St Mary's, where we hired a golf buggy and pootled all over the island. We also really loved Adonia, and are sorry she is going.

We have just returned from a cruise on the Queen Elizabeth which left two days after yours, so we overlapped a little. Our first port was Dublin on Thursday 16th, where it rained most of the day, and on Friday 17th we were supposed to be in Belfast, but at around 8am there was an announcement from the Captain to say that, due to a deep depression moving in from the west, we would not be calling at Belfast as he wanted to get ahead of it. Probably the same bad weather that caused your earlier stop in Cobh. There were a lot of very disappointed passengers as many (ourselves included) had booked private tours to the Giant's Causeway, others had booked the Titanic Exhibition online, but we could understand the Captain's decision. We were almost into Belfast, the ship turned round and came out again! Unfortunately the same thing happened up in Iceland on 20th, we also missed the port of Isafjordur, which was a tender port and the winds were too strong to launch the tenders. We soon got over the disappointment and enjoyed the rest of the cruise.

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