anniebea

Hi. As you've booked through a TA, you should have no problem - check with them as they are your interface with Celebrity. I made the mistake of booking personally and lost my drinks package as I booked a guarantee room so be careful of that if you do it yourself...

 

Sent from my SM-N910F using Forums mobile app

I've booked direct before so this is the first experience through a TA. We have got allocated cabins so I will check with the TA. thanks

Thanks - looked there but there is no information .I wonder if its because we booked through a travel agent.

I will contact them later when they open.

Booked a cruise with a T/A in the UK, The confirmation from them says Drinks Included. My reservation is now available through the Manage My Reservation option on Celebrity.

Should the drinks package should show up there?. Also the Manage Reservation doesn’t show flights, although those are booked with the cruise. Maybe the flights wont appear till the payment date

If anyone could confirm what I should see in manage my reservation I would appreciate

I have an option with a T/A for cabin 9171 and 9173 on the Constellation, its directly under the Oceanview café and I wondered if there is a lot of noise from above.

I know that all cabins have their issues but if anyone has experience of cabins in or around this area please. 9173 has a larger balcony so is an attractive proposition otherwise.

Thanks

Thanks for all you really useful imput

Thanks for the information its really useful.

We are looking at a Celebrity cruise from Barcelona on the 26th May which includes the Monaco Grand Prix.

I’m not interested in going to the Grand Prix but am wondering if this port of call for the F1 grand prix has any impact on the cruise, ie do a lot of the passengers go on this cruise specifically to go to/watch the grand prix, how does it affect what shore excursions you can do on the Grand Prix day and are the on board activities likely to be skewed towards motor sports?.

Any feedback from those who have been on a cruise that has included a F1 stop would be appreciated.

Thanks

Anne

It was the sea days, so 2nd (en-route for Kotor) and 5th (after passing through the Mesinna Straits). I assume they don't do them on port days as people are tired from trips, etc.

Went on this cruise in June and the formal days were on the sea days ie 2nd and 5th evening

I have also flown Titan on a couple of occassions (for ski flights).

They use the aircraft for company charters (e.g football teams) and they are good quality, leather seats and larger leg spacing.

Id agree with seats and Leg room, and the crew were very polite and helpful.

I was on a scheduled BA flight but there was some problem with the BA plane so Titan plane and crew were substituted.

Relatives of mine who live northwards, if they are coming this way when Silverstone is on have learnt to try and find alternative routes.

Not sure its the actual motorway that is the problem, more likely the roads around it.

For peace of mind would it be better for you to drive most of the way down the day before, and hotel/bb the night before, rather than worrying about it on the day.

Premier Inn in Southampton is opposite the cruise terminals, and reasonable. Other stop further out so only have a short run on the morning of travel.

you should still be ok to get in somewhere.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn just out side Winchester and drove in to Southampton in the morning, much less stressfull

Hi ive just booked a cruise for August on the oceana. Not sure what to expect after reading some bad reviews. I have sailed royal carribean a few times and carnival and thomson felt thomson was very dated it was the dream and the food was poor but i enjoyed the atmoshphere. From what ive read I think oceana will be much the same. Can anyone tell me is there ironing facilities on board, and also about the tipping can they be removed. I always tip but feel I should be able to tip whom I want too. I have removed them on other cruises but will this be frowned upon. From what I can see bar prices are quite good but they dont do the all inclusive drinks packages apart from wine. Also ive read the wifi is extortionate. I always like to be able to keep in touch with home kids etc. Thanks.

Bar prices seemed quite reasonable and the wine prices are comparable with UK restaurants. In port we sometimes did a local café for lunchtime snack and many of these had free wifi for that quick email home.

I did P&O this year having done Celebrity cruises previously - there were some pluses and some minuses. Like you I chose the cruise because of the ports it visited, the length of the cruise and the month it sailed - (ie not in the main summer holiday weeks). I wasn't disappointed in the ports and the negatives didn't stop me enjoying my holiday.

I haven't done a themed cruise so cant comment on that.

We left on the 8th June sailing and I think it was about 10pm local when we sailed, I think it was scheduled to go a little earlier around 9pm. - The sun had just about gone down the lights were all on around St Marks Square, unfortunately it was raining but that didn't spoil the experience. I just got a little wet!!!

There are other venues other than Cafe Jardin. You can go to the buffet in the Plaza or alternatively one of the restaurants on deck 5 or 6. This has waiter service and you will order from the menu, I usually have the P and O breakfast although there is plenty of choice.

and that's what I did.

Just got back home yesterday, after Baltic cruise on Azura. On the first formal night. On a table of 8, I was the only man on the table wearing a tux. One guy made the effort with dark suit and tie. The other two made no effort at all. Not even a suit, light sports jackets coloured shirts and ties. Another formal night a guy was sat at the bar in glass house in jeans and crew neck T-shirt. The stories I have heard about managers refusing entry is a nonesense. You can wear what you want. It is true that over 90% adhere to dress code, but it is not enforced

 

Anyway another fantastic cruise, can't wait for next

As with other P&O policies (eg no reservation of sunbeds) if they don't enforce them, there is little point in having them.

Only did breakfast in Le Jardin one day and it wasn't brilliant so went back to main dining room or the Plaza for breakfast or lunch on a sea day.

Not sure if there are any other places to eat in addition to Le Jardin, if there are I didn't find them.

I also have a feeling its like tonic and not free

I am finding on more recent cruises that there are more people who simply cannot accept a different viewpoint to theirs, even if they ask YOU what you thought. I don't know what the cause of it is. Fortunately they are still in a minority and most of the passengers are really nice people, but for the first time ever on my most recent cruise I had to complain to Customer Services about aggression and bullying behaviour from another passenger which made me afraid to meet said person around the ship. it's never happened before and I sincerely hope it was a one-off!

Why cannot some people tolerate different views any more?

That's horrid when actually what you want to do is enjoy a holiday. I have met some, fortunately not quite as intimidating and as you say they are a minority

We did a Genoa to Genoa cruise in May. We didn't land until just after 2pm and our luggage was delivered to our cabin about 3.30 I think. I did hear someone saying that the early flights got their luggage delivered at the same time as ours so I assume that the lorry carrying the luggage only did one trip which would account for the wait.

I think you are right, just a bit annoying when you get on board so early and then are rushing to get ready for our early sitting dinning

Much prefer not having to take life jackets. Always found them waiting in the room for us on Celebrity and RCI. It makes the mass departure from muster stations a bit easier if everyone is not carrying their life jacket, especially in the lifts. Also muster on P&O seems to take twice as long as on Celebrity. Covers all the same info but with less padding in the announcements.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I had the opposite experience - it was chaotic on Celebrity with people ambling along and turning up late with only a video being shown during the muster. The P&O one on Oceana seemed better organised.

Seem to remember that the muster on Celebrity was in a number of languages which may have dragged it out more.

I did think the tender familiarisation on P&O was good for people with mobility issues or perhaps not that confident with Tender embarkation.

My Brother in Law bought a bottle of gin in Corfu on our last cruise and there was no problem bringing it back on board.

There are a couple of Freddie tributes doing the rounds on P&O. The one we saw on Azura in 2013 looked like him, moved like him, talked like him and most importantly, sounded like him. DH is a big Queen fan, saw them live back in the day and even he was impressed by the tribute (went resolutely expecting not to).

 

The tribute on Britannia at Christmas, OTOH, was barely worthy of the name. He got a massive standing ovation, DH and I remained seated because we didn't think he deserved a standing ovation. On our way out of the theatre a lady who had been seated near us made some remarks that were meant to be overheard about "snobs" and "must be deaf" and a couple of other unpleasant remarks, clearly directed at us because we hadn't responded in the same way as the majority of the audience.

 

At dinner the next night a couple seated across from us who had been behind us in the theatre, made some remarks about how good the Freddie tribute had been. When they asked our opinion we said, honestly, that in our opinion he wasn't as good as the one we'd seen on Azura 2 years previously. They seemed to take this as a personal affront and didn't speak to us for the rest of the cruise.

I make up my own mind like you and don't feel I have to stand because everyone else does. Shame that people don't seem to respect other people may have a different opinion to them. Agree these tribute acts do vary, some are very good and some mediocre.

This was my first cruise with my boyfriend after cruising many times (on P&O, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean) with my family. He was a little dubious, but I convinced him and I have a feeling he will never look back!

 

Flights and Embarkation/Disembarkation:

I have never had such a smooth process. We were sat in the departure lounge at Gatwick airport within 30mins of arrival; there was no queue for the check-in desk or security. We arrived in Venice and had to collect our bags (as this was a scheduled rather than a charter flight), but only walked about 10 steps through the arrivals gate when our luggage was taken by porters for us to see it again at the cabin! After a short transfer and no queue at the check-in, we were onboard within an hour of arriving in Venice.

 

Similarly, on the journey home our bags were taken from our rooms at 11pm and we saw them again at Gatwick. With flights at 12:45, we were initially surprised at our transfer from the ship being at 11:00, however once we arrived at the airport (Genoa) we realised that it would not be an issue. We had received boarding cards whilst still on board the ship, and there was a P&O only queue at security, meaning a very quick process yet again! Hugely impressed.

 

Cabin:

Booked a guaranteed inside cabin, allocated A316, very far forward but cabins above and beneath so very quiet. Ideal location, rarely needed to use the lifts. Marx our cabin steward was a star.

 

Dining:

We were allocated 8:30 club dining, what we had hoped for, and were seated with two other (lovely) couples in the Adriatic restaurant. The food was great, lots of different choices and well presented. We never had an issue with taste or cooking of the food. We weren't expecting 5* star cuisine so it lived up to our expectations.

 

We also ate in the Beach House one night. Unfortunately it was raining so we had to eat inside. It was nice to eat something different, however we felt the food in the MDR was better quality.

 

Entertainment:

The Headliners were outstanding in all the shows we saw. Very impressed, as I have been disappointed by the main production company on other lines. Other acts included:

The Octaves - average, but often out of tune and tried to crack unfunny jokes.

Illusionist (can't remember the name) - very good, professional and engaging show.

 

The entertainment team (headed by Liam Jay) were engaged and seemed to enjoy their roles. We found the party sailaways hilarious - but can see they certainly wouldn't be for everyone. It was always indicated that if you preferred a quiet spot to choose the other pool.

 

The band Next Step were good, when performing. However on more than one occasion they spent over 30mins sound checking, very loudly, through the sound system - highly irritating.

 

Do feel the other acts could be improved.

 

Itinerary:

I have actually sailed this cruise before, on Ventura, and returned because I enjoyed the ports so much. We didn't do any ship excursions, just explored on our own. The highlight was Kotor. Make sure you are on deck to watch the sailaway, it is honestly one of the most amazing things I have experienced. We paid the €3 to climb the 1,350 steps to the Fortress overlooking the valley, if you are reasonably fit you should be able to do it. It took us about 45mins to get up and the views are sublime. Other ports were Corfu, Civitavecchia and Ajaccio.

 

Overall:

We felt we got what we paid for, and a little more! If I had to fault I would agree that the ship will benefit from a refit, and perhaps the staff in some places could have been a little more friendly.

 

Loved the holiday. Will definitely sail P&O again.

Was on the same cruise, The ports were really good, and the reason I chose this cruise, the weather could have been a tad better but it didn't spoil it.

Out of interest, did you have any issues with luggage delivery to your Cabin?. We were on board at around 11.30 but didn't get our bags till after 5:30. We were on a Manchester flight so not sure if it was just our flight or a general problem with transfers of them from the airport.

I agree the illusionist was very professional but also very engaging with his audience. I must admit I thought the rest could be improved, I didn't do sail aways and I tried to find a quiet spot to watch that. I did miss the lawn area on the top deck that you get on Celebrity ships as that's a really great quiet spot to enjoy the sail away.

Our Cabin staff and in the Adriatic Dining Room were great, some of the others round the ship seemed a bit sullen.

We had on-board credit for the cruise we have just been on booked earlier this year of £150pp – I notice now that the current offer is only £50pp. Could it be the TA didn’t check what the current offer was?

I think the comedians seem to be stuck in a kind of time warp. They are very pleasant and gentlemanly, but do seem to be 'old school' . Our recent one made me laugh, but there were lots of references of meaning to older generations and their kind of humour that I didn't quite get it a lot of the time.

Roy Walker was one act on our cruise - very much stuck in the 1970s, he must be in his 70s. he kept referring to the Comedians show on the TV which I can just about remember, but not sure how relevant it was to the audience in general