31 July 2008

P&O Cruises revamps shore excursions

P&O Cruises is offering holidaymakers the chance to drive a Ferrari for the day or race a private yacht if regular coach-based shore excursions no longer excite them.

P&O Cruises managing director Nigel Esdale said: Ã¢â¬ÅâœWe are attracting more new cruise passengers than ever before and these holidaymakers are looking for something a little different to do on shore than a guided coach tour.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœWe can now offer them experiences that simply would not be possible on any other type of holiday.Ã¢â¬~

Ferrari driving is available to cruisers in Italy, from the port of Livorno, while racing a private Beneteau 40 yacht can be done for those stopping off in Antigua.

Zip wiring trips through the rainforest are also available to cruisers in Jamaica, while in Grasse, near the port of Cannes, holidaymakers can create a personal fragrance with master perfumers.

Meanwhile, glaciers and ice-fields can be explored from Reykjavik.

Many of the new excursions are available now, with some offered from 2009.

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SHORE EXCURSIONS NEED CAREFUL THOUGHT...

With the best will in the world shore excursions can be a minefield for the unwary. As the world population gets older, mobility is a major factor let alone simply trying to get onto the coach - many European coaches having a steep set of steps before you even set off. Cruise lines do take this very carefully and try to grade the difficulties associated with each shore excursion BUT if the passenger carried away with the descriptive blurb then books the trip, what can be done? Rarely these days will the cruise line put one of their own people on each excursion and they increasingly rely on the local tour guide and coach driver to do their best. There is a time pressure on the trip so the coach will always get back to the ship on time even if it means cutting short the stops at each icon or landscape...What I would urge is that the levels of difficulty associated with each excursion are not only taken seriously but additional caution applied to each booking. A trip by road from the sea port Civitavecchia is a three hour trip to downtown Rome and a three hour trip back so six hours in the coach and that is before you even see a Roman artifact. In many cases (Civitavecchia being a case in point, it may be better to forget about Rome at high speed -it needs a full week anyway!) and to consider the ports of call as a destination, often overlooked in the rush for the headline city. Anyone needing further clarification is welcome to get in touch, but for me, often an empty cruise ship with the pax tearing away in a cavalcade of coaches, is the best news ever. No fights over deck loungers, dozens of attentive waiters and bar staff, empty swimming pools, cut-price spa sessions,deserted cafes, bars and dining rooms (lunch that is) and still ample time to have a coffee ashore, get the daily newspapers, look at the local museum and fruit market, buy some trinkets and still be well rested to see the florid world wearly pax returning from their bus trip...

By JULIAN BRAY MCIPR, NUJ, MMC, Equity member, Friday, August 15, 2008