P & O Mini cruise... update page 2

[ansi41]

Hi everyone, just a quick question re mini cruises.
Next year we are celebrating a few big birthdays, my 50th, my mum's 80th and DS's 18th so we are looking for ways to celebrate as they are all within a 3 week period round March/April.
So I had an idea about a mini cruise, say 2 or 3 nights and I've seen that P & O do one in April from Southampton to Guernsey. Has anyone been on one of these sort of things and if so what did you think?
My mum and dad love cruising, DH is not so keen but as mum and dad aren't very mobile, I thought it might suit us all, rather than a weekend in York or something like that which may involve lots of walking around.
Any info is much appreciated, thanks

[Jan]

It sounds like a great idea to me.

[welshwiz]

I think it's a great idea!

We enjoy cruising and have been on several mini cruises from Southampton including P&O to Bruges (Winter so Christmas markets were lovely) and RCI to Guernsey (end May few years ago - really lucky with warm weather so used pools and spa etc but the tender boats to Guernsey struggled on the return as water was choppy whereas it was calm when we went ashore). If your mum and dad aren't very mobile just bear that in mind if they use tenders on your trip. On a long weekend I'd be happy to stay onboard and just enjoy the ship.

Lovely food, great company, lots to celebrate and something onboard to keep everyone happy.

[loves2plan]

Silly question, but I've thought about doing this in the past but wasn't sure if they used the proper cruise ships with all the lovely restaurants, facilities and entertainment, or if they're cross channel style ferries with cabins and limited facilities?

[ansi41]

Originally Posted by loves2plan

Silly question, but I've thought about doing this in the past but wasn't sure if they used the proper cruise ships with all the lovely restaurants, facilities and entertainment, or if they're cross channel style ferries with cabins and limited facilities?

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From what I've seen they are the normal cruise ships, I think it's the Ventura that is for this Guernsey trip. They only seem to do a few a year and maybe that's why, because they are used for longer trips throughout the year. I have also seen more ferry type trips, which are obviously cheaper but choppy water early on in the season would bother me slightly.

[welshwiz]

Originally Posted by loves2plan

Silly question, but I've thought about doing this in the past but wasn't sure if they used the proper cruise ships with all the lovely restaurants, facilities and entertainment, or if they're cross channel style ferries with cabins and limited facilities?

See more...

They tend to be taster cruises on normal cruise lines, sometimes the newest and biggest in the fleet with all the bells and whilstles and can be great value. This is for the ones that sail from Southampton not the ones that you might sometimes see from say Newcastle to Amsterdam.

[Twin mummy]

The Overnight ones from Hull to Rotterdam and Bruges are more like ferries with cabins.

[ansi41]

Thanks for the comments Spoke to mum about it this afternoon and she is really excited about it so I'll see her tomorrow and have a look online then hopefully book something this week. DH not quite so keen but there's plenty of time to talk him round x

[Echo18]

Sounds like a lovely idea but just be aware the ships frequently can't dock at Guernsey if it is windy. We've managed to dock 1 out of 3 mini cruises. That's not a problem if the itinerary isn't important or you don't mind being at sea. In contrast we've always docked on the mini cruises to Belgium. The short cruises are good fun but they are much more akin to a booze cruise than longer trips

[lesley1960]

We did the mini cruise to Guernsey on P&O Ventura and loved it , lots of very good entertainment .Its not always possible to get of at Guernsey because its a tendered port and the sea around there can be rough
We have been on several cruises , and I had heard these mini cruises referred to as ' booze cruises ' but we didnt notice any over the top behaviour.I would do one again