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P&O Cruises UK - Adonia
Fact File - Adonia
Vessel: Adonia
Cruise Line: P&O Cruises UK
Star Rating: 4
Tonnage: 77,690
Max Passenger Capacity: 2,272
Entered Service: December 1998/May 2003
Description: Adonia was built by Italian ship-building company Fincantieri in 1998 for Princess Cruises and was modified for the British market in 2003. She is best suited to couples and singles over thirty who are attracted by the idea of a healthy and relaxing childfree cruise.
She has 975 passenger cabins, including six suites with balconies, 32 mini-suites with balconies, 372 outside cabins with balconies, 193 standard outside cabins, 372 inside cabins and 19 cabins designed for disabled passengers.
The ship has 13 bars (including a champagne and caviar bar), two main dining rooms, a self-serve daytime buffet, dinner bistro, an outdoor grill, a cafe and a patisserie.
P&O Cruises UK - Adonia
I am comfortably "laid back" on an ergonomically contoured, body-hugging chaise on board P&O Cruises' Adonia, billed as the first childfree ship to visit Australia. As she sails across the Great Australian Bight - a body of water that would test the tolerance levels of the hardiest of sea dogs - I am perfectly at ease. I am ensconced in my favourite bolt-hole - Easy Like A Sunday - which was the area dedicated to children in Adonia's previous life. I am not the least bit guilty that I don't have to share the space with the younger set. But in their defence, I have to admit "childfree" leaves me somewhat bewildered. I can't ever recall being bothered by them aboard a ship. In my experience, you see neither hide nor hair of the youngsters, so well catered for are they. And never once have I seen a child on a round-the-world passage. It was explained to me by a staffer however, that on cruises of shorter duration - the Caribbean for instance - some patrons understandably don't want kids frolicking around pool areas and adult playgrounds. And looking around Adonia's particularly attractive pool area (four pools in all), I agree that she is a sleek, sophisticated vessel, which caters to every passenger whim and fancy.
This 77,500-ton ship could have claimed second prize among the largest ships to visit Australia (after the November 2003 visit of megaliner Star Princess, which weighs in at 109,000). But due to the scheduled arrival of Sapphire Princess (116,000 tons) in January 2005, Adonia will have to be satisfied with third place.
Adonia is one of the most contemporary ships in the P&O Cruises fleet. She and her twin sister Oceana started life as Sea Princess and Ocean Princess respectively and were destined for the American market. They came from a lineage that started with Sun Princess in 1997 - the first of a whole new class of ship for Princess Cruises. With their sleek white profiles and glamorous interiors, to many nostalgia buffs they were reminiscent of the famous White Sisters of an earlier time, the legendary Strathnaver, Strathaird, Stathmore, Stratheden and Strathallan.
While Adonia and Oceana are twins in configuration and general fit-out, Oceana does offer a range of children's facilities that makes it an ideal family ship, while Adonia claims a level of sophistication unequalled by any other P&O cruise ship. Both vessels have undergone clever "life-style" modifications without compromising the integrity of their design in order to meet the more conservative needs of P&O's traditional clientele.
Among the subtle tweaks that P&O's newbuild team came up with for Adonia were a typically British sports bar (Players), the trademark cyb@study facility, 24-hour bistro-style dining at Caf Corniche and, of course, Easy Like a Sunday. The latter is civilised, stylish, impeccably fitted out in a minimalist style but without that awful clinical feel. It's a retreat where you can veg out, read heaps of magazines, enjoy a glass of bubbles, nibbles or a Barista coffee and gaze out to sea for hours on end. It's also conveniently placed next door to the outstanding Oasis spa, which offers all manner of indulgent treatments using Thalgo and Guinot products, including quite possibly the best massage I've ever had. But this is not the place to go if you want lots of animated conversation or boisterous laughter - that can be found elsewhere on board: there are no fewer than 13 bars to choose from.
The focal point of Adonia is its grand, four-storey atrium with Hollywood-style staircase - the hallmark of many a ship these days. This tiered staircase would be hard to beat and is perfect for that special entrance. For more modest folk, its tiered levels provide vantage points to watch the activities below, or there's always the glass elevator. This area is like a communal meeting place - it's always buzzing with lively chatter, which is no doubt given impetus by the various competitions and ballroom dancing classes held here. (I did overhear a little grizzle from one or two passengers that they felt the space was "too exposed" for dancing classes, and would have preferred a venue with four walls).
Radiating out from the atrium are six restaurants, a cabaret lounge, theatre, casino and cinema. Adonia has her own resident troupe of performers, which delivers first-class entertainment in an endless parade of beaded and "boa-ed" costumes. Must say, my favourite entertainment escape was the fabulous New-York-style live music bar, All That Jazz, especially for pre-dinner or post-show drinks.
There are numerous dining options on board, starting with the traditional first and second sittings in the main restaurants Rigoletto and Traviata. Not surprisingly, the decorative theme for these restaurants is Italian, but the colourful murals depict happier endings than the libretti of these two Verdi operas.
There would be many a P&O loyalist who would insist that you could only measure the quality of the victuals by subjecting the kippers, curry and kedgeree to a taste test - or indeed by establishing whether they were even on the menu. They were, and with a nod and a wink from the Goanese waiter, I gave them the thumbs up. Old traditions die hard on P&O liners.
Reinforcing the trend toward "free-style" dining, ie. dining options other than the traditional ship restaurant, Adonia offers plenty of choice. There is the al fresco Horizons, where you can eat under the stars, and the Pavilion Bistro that offers outstanding contemporary cuisine, its own dedicated area, an la carte menu and absolutely spiffing service. Both the Horizon and Pavilion Bistro charge a small supplement and reservations are necessary. The beauty of these alternatives is that you can dine at leisure and they are much more conducive to dining deux, cosy conversation and maybe that touch of romance. By day, the Pavilion is a large dining area that serves buffet breakfast, lunch and afternoon teas. In the interests of food hygiene, all guests eating from self-service buffets are required to apply a precautionary antiseptic gel to their hands, which quickly evaporates without leaving any residue. Over 70 percent of cabins are outside and more than 400 have balconies - a great spot for room-service breakfast, though my personal preference is always for the la carte dining room.
Throughout Adonia, all accommodation offers a high level of comfort, though space comes at a premium depending on whether you opt for a suite or standard room. All have television, radio, safe, hairdryer, fridge, and tea- and coffee-making facilities. If you're lucky enough to be able to afford a grand suite, it will come with 24-hour butler service, complimentary champagne and in-room dining for private dinner parties. Grand suites also offer enough wardrobe space to satisfy even the most sartorially snobbish client, and the mini suites are pretty good too. (On a world cruise - approximately 100 days long - you'll need a few costume changes!)
Adonia's daily news bulletin helpfully publishes the code for the evening: formal - black tie; casual - open-neck shirts for gentlemen (jackets not required); and informal - suits, jackets with ties or blazers without tie but with appropriate shirt. For ladies, evening dress can be interpreted as a cocktail dress or elegant pants and top.
By day, life's activities saunter along at a relaxed pace with such sedentary pastimes as lounging by the pool, bridge, bingo, cake-decorating, ice-carving and art auctions. Seriously energetic types can work out in the state-of-the-art gym with a personal trainer, polish up their golf swing on the golf simulator or even play cricket! With the majority of passengers being septuagenarians, I didn't see a lot of cricket - but there was plenty of vigorous striding along the promenade deck - gotta keep in shape for the next voyage! And it won't worry me one iota if there are kids afloat. It's my guess that most of Adonia's patrons have grandchildren or even great grandchildren. Perhaps therein lies the rub!
Written by Maggy Oehlbeck - 16 Winter 2004