terrierjohn

But maybe the app will still object to someone with reserve dining joining a table of plebs?

I guess if it's a problem, you could ask them to return your old threadbare carpet!!!

Cruise lines like mainstream pubs judge what to stock by customer demand. So one can only assume that demand for malt whisky is very limited, and cruise lines prefer to ensure they use their limited storage to hold stocks of drinks in higher demand.

I think we had a medical emergency last night, got back to our starboard cabin to find we could see the coast and were sailing ENE, then pilot boat pulled alongside us to guide us into port, no idea which. By 1:00am we were still some way out, but by 4:00am we were sailing south again. Fortunately it does not seem to have delayed us, and we are cruising at 17kts and just about to round the south western tip of Portugal. A beautiful sunny day at sea today, lots of waiters bringing drinks and food orders, and deck stewards bringing round chilled face cloths to keep passengers refreshed. Service standards on Princess are certainly higher than P&O.

Very true, on our first 3 MDR meals we have enjoyed very entertaining dinner companions which is giving the cruise a positive vibe.

Quoting one specific cruise as a general price comparison is extremely faulty. I would guess that this cruise was selling very badly for whatever reason, and your price was not truly comparable to the normal pricing of Azamara cruises. In fact you state that you do a lot of homework to find special offers, which is admirable but not very prevalent among the general cruising public.

Our first 2 days have shown a lowering of standards in the breakfasts in the buffet. Too many items are just not hot enough, the english bacon is very inferior to P&Os, and there is no sign of sunny side up soft yolk fried eggs, most are too overcooked. The conserves eg marmalade, honey and the nuts and other toppings for cereals etc, are now in too smallish containers, and far too often empty, and the staff have to leave the toast machines to search for replacements. All minor 3rd world complaints but can be annoying as you struggle to balance several plates.

Well those should definitely put a stop to anyone trying to drive along New Street.

Only on the outside, inside the public decks are totally different and far more cruise shippy, rather Britannias John Lewis look.

We are on Sky Princess, so please keep any gastro bugs to yourselves!!!!😇😎

One further point we are currently cruising at 22kts which will enable us to get to Vigo in only 1 sea day, which is why we will have 7 ports on this cruise.

I doubt that calling their customers such names is likely to lead to them increasing the policing of the wash basins.

We are on Sky Princess at present so decided to post a few musings of our experiences as compared to P&O. This was our first day experience. Embarkation was far easier, apart from getting rather wet walking back from the short stay car park after leaving our car with P4C. We were blue lane and directed straight to the accessible check in, immediately met by a Princess check in agent armed with a tablet, gave her our cabin number and passports and she checked us both in in a few strokes, then sent a colleague off to get our medallions, then straight to a fairly short queue to go through security. The result was we were on board in approx 20 minutes from entering the terminal. The cabin furnishings looked pristine and no stale smells in the bathroom. The shower power was quite a bit higher than Iona in March, and the temperature was constant throughout my shower, again unlike Iona which fluctuated a bit too much for comfort. However shelf storage was a lot less, leaving sink top looking cluttered. Despite having pre booked a shared table for 18:40 in the Estrella MDR, there were lengthy first night queues, and we were not seated until after 19:00., in this procedure the P&O virtual queue system, if most passengers were to use it, is superior. However the menu had far more choice for all courses, the quality was about the same as on recent P&O cruises, although the portion size was higher. I will add my further experiences and any requests you have as the cruise progresses.

TBH if you have a drinks package, especially one like Princess Premier, then OBC becomes rather pointless.

I imagine that 3rd and 4th beds in cabins were mainly introduced to encourage families to cruise, although no cruise line is going to refuse to allow adult passengers to use these beds, although I imagine it will be rather cramped.