tinsoldier

Ah, I see!  ok - sorry I couldn't help

We had this same issue as we booked through Plant Cruise rather than direct with TUI.  I thought that meant that we couldn't use the TUI online excursions system however after lots of googling and asking around I discovered the following site which gave us access to all the available excursions and enabled us to book them if we wanted: https://www.marellaexcursionspassenger.tui.co.uk/login

Hi

My wife and I have been on a number of P&O cruises in recent years and are generally happy with the P&O offering.  We are currently considering a Celebration cruise from Dubrovnik in August this year.  We are aware of the size of the ship which is about half the size of the smallest P&O ship that we have been on.

Has anyone been on P&O and Celebration and can offer some comparisons?  Also does anyone have a link to a copy of Marella's onboard newspaper detailing the daily events (the equivalent of P&O's Horizon newspaper) so we can get an idea of life on board?

Finally I have read that the actual on board drinks menu (as part of basic A.I.) is likely to differ from the menu advertised online.  Can anyone expand on what these differences are and provide some examples if possible?

Thanks   

Does anyone have any experience or photos of LF grade outside cabins on D deck of Oceana? Considering this grade for Christmas 2018 cruise but wondering whether the cabins get noise from the theatre or if they are positioned more over the prom deck rather than the theatre itself. Other option is LF grade on F deck but hoping someone has experience that they can share.

Thanks

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I will post in this the review section but thought readers of this forum might be interested in the following (in depth) review of Azura A731A on 20th October 2017:

This is a review of A731A which was Azura’s transatlantic repositioning cruise leaving Southampton on 20th October. The original itinerary was changed following the hurricanes in the Caribbean and the itinerary was to change again due to storm Brian which had been battering the UK.

Our taxi was booked for 11am on Friday 20th October to take us from Bristol to Ocean Terminal in Southampton where we would join Azura for the next 15 nights as she transitioned to the Caribbean. The taxi was nice and early and we were already on the M4 by 11am. Our check in time was 3:30 however we wanted to allow cursives plenty of time in case of any hold ups etc. As it happened traffic was clear and we were at the Ocean Terminal by shortly after 1pm. We pretty much walked into the terminal, got our embarkation cards which were then called immediately, we collected our cruise cards and went through security. We were onboard and in our cabin by 1:30 - fantastic! We were on C deck forward in a balcony cabin unfortunately however neither of our cruise cards would open our cabin door. A steward let us in but informed us we would need to go to reception to sort out the cards. After a quick look around the cabin we went to reception and were promptly issued two new cruise cards.

On the journey to Southampton we received a text telling us that due to storm Brian we would not be sailing until the following night, meaning that we would be spending the next 24 hours or so on board in Southampton. We were also informed that this delay would impact our later itinerary but that the impact was not yet known. Needless to say this prompted much gossiping and rumour mongering amongst the passengers! We then went for lunch in the buffet where we saw both Aurora and Independence of the Seas, then off to muster and then had a little snooze!

As a little bit of background to this cruise my wife and I booked this in Feb 2017 when I was undergoing a course of chemotherapy so needless to say we had both been looking forward to this holiday for quite some time. During my treatment my wife bought me a bottle of whiskey and we decided that we wouldn’t open it until we were onboard. So finally the time had come to open the bottle in our cabin before dinner. It was perhaps the best whiskey I have ever tested!

We were on freedom dining (we had chosen freedom as we booked a select price fare) and were allocated to the Peninsular restaurant. We each had crab pasties for starters and roast pork, both of which were delicious. We both commented on how friendly the waiting staff were. We have previously cruised on Ventura and Britannia and felt that Azura was probably the friendliest so far. Before retiring we went to the Blue Bar for a whisky flight and a G&T for my wife. We liked the blue bar but couldn’t work out if the chairs were broken or were meant to wobble - each chair we tried did the same thing!!

One of my favourite parts of a cruise holiday is the first morning breakfast in the MDR. It wasn’t quite the same as we were still in Southampton but that was a minor detail. Later that morning we had a facebook/Cruise Critic group meet up in the Planet bar where about 30 people showed up. It was lovely to meet people that we had spoken to online over the previous months. After so much social interaction we obviously needed refuelling so it was up to the buffet for lunch.

One of my most enjoyable aspects of a cruise is attending guest speakers. In many ways if doesn’t matter about the content if the speaker is engaging. With this in mind I attended the talk entitled “the wonderful world of Carry On” in the theatre. I’m not a big fan of the films but thought it might be interesting. Unfortunately the speaker basically gave a powerpoint display starting with the first film and ending with the last. He had had no personal involvement in the series so was really just reading info that could be obtained from Wikipedia. His style of delivery wasn’t engaging either so I made a point not to attend any more of his lectures.

We finally got underway at about 6pm. We had a sailaway drink on the balcony as the cabin told us to prepare for bad weather this evening. We again dined in the peninsular and noticed that at the end of the evening the staff were wrapping salt/pepper pots and sugar bowls in cling film due to the expected drought seas over night. On our way to the theatre to see a comedian we noticed the motion discomfort bags had been distributed across the ship.

We awoke the following morning after a bumpy but not dreadful night and promptly headed for breakfast in the MDR. This felt like the first ‘proper’ morning as we were now at sea. I attended a camera basics class this morning and then went to a guest speaker who was a retired policeman. He had been involved in protecting a witness against the Kray twins amongst many other high profile cases in his career. He was an excellent speaker and his lectures soon became the daily event that everything else was scheduled around! I thoroughly enjoyed his style of delivery and the content of his lectures. Given the ever increasing number of people in the audience it was clear that many other people shared this viewpoint.

Following a music quiz hosted by DJ Danny in Malabar it was time for fishcakes in Verona buffet then onto the epicurean, sindhu and glass house to book our specialty dining evenings and then a quick drink in the glass house. The Captain announced that itinerary will now definitely contain one less Caribbean port but we don’t yet know which that will be. Dinner was again in the peninsular restaurant and although the sea is starting to calm there was still noticeable movement when we went to the planet bar for a night cap.

Next morning was much calmer and the sun was out. We had a lie in this morning and had a buffet breakfast. I went for a run on the promenade deck before breakfast which was lovely, warm and sunny. Captain has announced new itinerary. First island is St Kitts, then Antigua then St Lucia and finally Barbados. So we are missing out Grenada. We were in St Lucia last year but it was only for embarkation to Britannia so we never got to see the Pitons so we are both very pleased that we will get to see them this time. This afternoon consisted of the music quiz, guest lecture and sitting on the balcony. Captain said it was 19c but it felt much warmer.

Tonight is our first black tie evening and captains gala reception. We decided to have a photo taken with the captain so we got dressed and headed down to the atrium nice and early. Unsurprisingly there were already a few people queuing for a photo so we joined the queue. The captain was due to arrive at about 7:30. Whilst we were queuing the captain arrived at about 7:25 and did the oddest thing. He came over and said hello to the photographer at which point we thought he would have a chat with the people in the queue but no, he literally went and hid behind a pillar in one of the shops. He was on his own and was hiding for a full 5 minutes. We could see staff giving him odd looks as he stood there on his own, hiding!! At 7:30 he emerged from the pillar and we had our photo taken with him. Clearly customer relations is not his strong point.

The following morning I attended a talk on P&O’s 180 year history which was very interesting, even if the entertainment director was simply reading from a powerpoint. This was followed by Ian Brown’s (the ex-policeman) lecture which as usual was excellent. Today it was in the Manhattan bar which was far too small for the number of people that wanted to attend, they were rammed on and spilling out into the corridors. We followed this with a personal best in the music quiz followed by lunch, sunbathing and our first holiday swim in the terrace pool - which was a bit chilly but was fine once you got used to it. Dinner this evening was in Sindhu. The food was excellent and we both had a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

The next day was our first port of call which was Funchal in Madeira. I had been here many years ago but it was the first time my wife had been here. We took the P&O shuttle bus from the port into town which took about 5 mins. We walked up to the cable car station and got a combined return trip ticket for the cable car and hop on hop off bus. Walked around at top of cable car then came back down and did a full circle on open top bus. We had a lovely lunch in the marina overlooking Azura before popping into spar to get some water and beer before joining the shuttle bus to come back to azura. It was fantastic weather and a very enjoyable first port of call

Although tonight was a black tie evening we were both really tired and didn’t fancy getting dressed up so instead we just went to the buffet, watched a film in the cabin and had an early night. Clocks go back one hour tonight so that gives us an extra hour in bed too. Lovely!!

The following morning was the first of 5 days at sea as we crossed the atlantic headed for the Caribbean. Today we had room service breakfast after a short jog on the promenade deck. We were both impressed with room service breakfast - this was the first time we had experienced it since P&O changed the menu. Weather was quite changeable this morning and started to rain about 11.30 so we came inside. After lunch we went to Brodie’s to review their beer menu. I was pleased to see that they have a wide selection (probably about 30) of U.K. bottled beers and they do beer flights. Read kindle and had a couple of beers then back to room for a snooze before dinner. Always surprises me how tiring cruising can be…..!! This evening we went to the playhouse for our first headliners show. Needless to say, it was awful! Electric avenue it was called. So, so bad on so many levels!! As we left we heard other passengers saying either that they hated it or they loved it so I guess there is no pleasing everyone. Based on a number of headliners shows on Ventura, Britannia and now Azura my wife and I can confidently say that they are not for us and we wont be trying any more of them in the future.

Black tie this evening and we have the Epicurean booked for 8pm. Caught half of the show of a harpist in Malabar lounge before heading to Epicurean. Food and service were both excellent as you would expect. Starter of smoked salmon aged in 21 year old whisky. Main course of beef brisket and lobster tail. I couldn’t decide between two desserts so had both!! A Jaffa cake and trio of berry desserts and my wife had apple crumble. A thoroughly enjoyable evening completed by a comedian in manhattan. And to top it all off we get another extra hour in bed tonight as the clocks go back again.

Next day we had breakfast In peninsular restaurant followed by the Man Utd v spurs game in Brodie’s (9:30 kick off). Went to Ian brown talk at midday then we sunbathed on balcony. Then upto the pool for a swim (and some pizza) before returning to cabin to get ready for our wine pairing evening at Glass House. We had Salmon and caviar starter, beef brisket, cheeseboard and dessert, each accompanied by a different wine. Very pleasant evening finished off with a walk on deck and a drink in Planet Bar listening to Shore Sound Duo.

As the days start to roll into one another we decided to try Breakfast in the Oriental restaurant this morning, just for a change. The Oriental restaurant is a Club Dining (set times) restaurant in the evening but is open to anyone at Breakfast. It seemed as though the oriental is a bit nicer than the peninsular and even the staff seemed friendlier and more attentive. Unfortunately my iPhone set itself back an hour as was on U.K. time zone but I had already put it back meaning that I woke up thinking it was 7 when actually it was 8.

After the Ian Brown talk we went to the oriental restaurant for champagne tasting and talk which consisted of 90 mins tutored tasting and 4 different Lanson champagnes. Very Informative and of course the champagne was lovely. We followed this with a wine flight and a bite to eat in glass house as we watched the thunder and lightning closing in....whilst we discussed the possibility of a transatlantic next October on Britannia…..

Tonight was our final black tie night. We ate in peninsular and had lobster for main course. Couldn’t decide between ice cream or chocolate mousse cake for dessert....so had both. Went to Manhattan to see comedian. Was ok but not great. Early night watching the lightning from our balcony.

Our first Caribbean port of call was St Kitts (first time for us) and we got a taxi to Carambola beach in South Friars which was fantastic. Lovely sand, beautiful weather and warm sea. As the beach started to get busy and (very) hot we returned to Port Zante at about 1pm but sadly couldn’t find anywhere that looked nice for lunch so we retuned to the ship. Tonight was Tropical Night onboard and we saw a comedian in Manhattan. He was OK but some of this tricks didn’t really work, still it was a fun evening.

Next day was Antigua and we got a taxi to Valley Church beach which comes highly recommended. This afternoon was the Great British sail away which is very definitely not our ‘thing’ so we stayed on our balcony but could hear the ‘fun’ from the top decks. In fairness some great tunes were played in amongst the rather nationalistic nonsense and of course the painfully embarrassing god save the queen. A few people waving union flags but there were far more on their balconies watching the fantastic scenery. This evening we ate in the Meridien restaurant and we have concluded that both the Oriental and Meridien have better, more friendly and attentive staff than the Peninsular. Next stop St Lucia

Watched Adonia berth behind us from our balcony before breakfast. Today was our first P&O excursion - a catamaran to the Pitons. Whilst the scenery was stunning and the weather gorgeous this sadly couldn’t detract from the fact that P&O had oversold (in my opinion) this trip - there were simply too many people on board. Many people (us included) were unable to sit in the shade and were force to sit on the netting area at the from of the catamaran which is fine if thats what you want but not great when you have no choice and are unable to sit for long periods in the sun. We complained to the staff at the excursion desk when back on board and had expected some form of apology or note in our cabin but other than a couple of ‘thanks for your comments’ from the member of staff at the desk we heard nothing more.

After the catamaran we got the water taxi over to Pointe Seraphine and went to the rum bar called Rum Therapy. Had a great afternoon and got the last water taxi back at 4 ready for sailaway at 5.

Next day saw us in Barbados where we got a taxi to a beach recommended by the driver (I don’t think his brother worked there!). Anyway it was much better than the Boatyard (in our opinion) and although the weather clouded over with some rain we had a lovely morning before our driver collected us and returned us to the ship. We had another P&O excursion this evening - the sunset catamaran cruise which we have done before and both enjoyed. It is a lovely tour around the island with some fizzy wine, beer and nibbles - a lovely way to end the holiday.

The following morning we were out of the cabin by 8 and had to wait until 9:30 before we could get into our day use inside cabin. This was the first time we had booked a day use cabin and were both very pleased we did. It enabled us to sunbathe and swim on deck and then still have our own space to shower and get dressed before being called for our flight back to Gatwick.

All in all, we had a fantastic cruise. We both love sea days so a transatlantic really appeals to us. Yes it was a shame about the change of itinerary but nothing we could do about that. The entertainment on board is variable to say the least. One guest speaker was awful, the other excellent. Headliners were appalling but some comedians and singers were very good. We particularly enjoyed DJ Danny’s music quiz each day!

The food was generally very good with some parts being excellent, particularly the speciality restaurants. We were a little confused by the difference in attentiveness and friendliness in the Peninsular restaurant compared to the Oriental and Meridien. Needless to say if we return on Azura we wouldn’t choose to dine in the Peninsular. It felt almost as though it was used as a staff training ground and once they became proficient they were moved to one of the other restaurants.

Before leaving for our flight we visited future cruise sales desk and took advantage of the £50 pp onboard deposit for……next years Transatlantic on Azura!!

Ooops! I forgot the "b"

Or even libellous...

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We have a coach pre-booked for our short cruise to Bruges in December. We have agreed (but will pay on the day) a return fare if 100 euro for 5 people. The P&O coach drop off is a 20 min walk to the centre of Bruges which is no good for some of our group hence the taxi

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That’s great. Thanks Dai. And hope you had a good cruise

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The P&O website states that suit carriers should be placed in main luggage. Do most people do this or do you add a luggage tag and hand them to a porter (on ex Southampton cruises?)

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Hi Dai. Hope you had a great cruise. Did you manage to get a photo of the in cabin spirits menu?

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As josy1953 said, how would you police this? As many others have said not all mobility issues are visible or are you suggesting that there should be a dedicated lift purely for those using mobility scooters/wheelchairs? Neither seems workable to me. If there is to be a dedicated lift for those with mobility issues then there has to be some form of qualification criteria, so does that mean having to show a certificate of some sort if you’re not visibly disabled? Such a system is simply unworkable never mind degrading for those involved

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So sorry to hear that you have been forced to cancel. My wife and I had to cancel a cruise earlier this year due to treatment following a cancer diagnosis. I understand how disappointing it will be but hope that the thought of being able to book another cruise following treatment will be some comfort to you.

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I had persistent AF for about 6 months and was treated with cardioversion. I informed by insurance pretty soon after diagnosis and although the premium increased the important thing was that they were prepared to cover the condition. If they attempt to exclude that condition from your cover then I would cancel and go elsewhere. There are lots of insurance companies that will offer full cover for AF.

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Yes. The flight was booked as part of the P&O cruise package. How and when do P&O do the remaining seat allocation for the flight?

Even though it was booked through P&O it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is a scheduled flight. Where are you flying from? you will get a note in your cabin a few days before your flight home giving you flight info.

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Are you on a chartered flight? If so the usual Thomson arrangements are irrelevant as P&O will effectively be in charge of the flight and they will assign seats if not pre-booked

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After spending 40 MINUTES on hold to P&O help line to ask a few questions (reckon it's because I selected "booked with a travel agent on the phone options!), I also asked how to book the Retreat for a day or two (before sailing) for me and my Mum - they told me I could do it on line in "treats" they thought.

 

 

 

I have just spent an age searching and cannot anywhere to book it before hand.

 

 

 

Don't want to phone them again to ask so can anyone guide me please? Not amused!

Sorry to say but I think you have been given incorrect information. Unless booked as part of a (very expensive) spa package the retreat can only be booked onboard and in the case of day tickets only on the day in question

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Great - thanks. Hope you have a lovely cruise

Does anyone have a photo of the new in cabin spirits menu that they could share? According to p&o website the new in cabin menu was updated at the same time as the new chargeable room service menu but I can't find a copy of it anywhere. Mostly I'm interested to know what whiskey they have and cost.

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You might be able to cancel your cruises but the chance of getting your deposit back with the excuse that they have put up alcohol since you booked and that is why you chose P&O due to drinks prices will not be successful even if you wanted to do this. Have been cruising for over 20yrs and every year they tinkle with services they offer with no recourse of those booked prior can cancel with full reimbursement. Within the next fortnight P&O will be releasing cruises for Summer 2019 and if you think that if you book P&O will not make any changes is fanciful.

The last post wasn't about cancelling because of drinks prices, it clearly stated the reason as due to a change in drinks policy.

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Are you on Azura or Britannia? We are on the Azura TA in oct this year, first TA for both my wife and I. We're hoping to get lots of sunbathing done!

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My wife and I did a one week Caribbean fly cruise for the first time last December. Our flight was from Gatwick early on the Saturday morning so we got the coach from Bristol on Friday afternoon. The coach took 5 hours! Then overnight at Gatwick before 9 hour flight. Coming back we arrived at about 6 am and then waited for coach at 9am. No way would we want to drive after that flight. Home by about 2pm. As much as we both really enjoyed the time away it felt like two days travelling to get there and another two days to get back. We both said we wouldn't go again unless for at least two weeks. The flights consisted of lots of films, music and reading for us! Yes it's boring but that's the 'price' for good weather I guess !

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slightly off topic I know but why do people always assume it's the IT departments fault? yes they are in charge of the website but they only publish the information that the business gives them. It's not the role of IT to verify the content. and yes I do work in IT...!! :-)

Not for a731a. When you click on it it says 'early evening'

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Glad to hear you enjoyed your first cruise and thanks for taking the time to write about your experiences. It's always nice to hear when people go with an open mind and enjoy themselves.

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I guess it depends on your definition of evening! We are on the transatlantic on Azura in October. P&O customer services emailed me departure times a few weeks ago, all of which were 17:30 back on board time yet the website now shows the half moon/evening symbol for every port. Are p&o really claiming that 17:30 is 'early evening'? I can't find any mention on the website that defines evening as 9pm as suggested by an earlier post.

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