Strawberry field

Just out of curiosity when is the latest time you can remove auto gratuities? I never have and never will but curious as I've never seen long lines of people at customer services doing it?

My wife bought a few Pandora pieces on Aurora and they were around £8 cheaper per item.

It rains 300 days a year in Bergen. Just saying.

 

 

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Not when I'm there it doesn't.........so far ;)

thank you - yep sorry inside the ship- that's helpful - what did you wear for the casual dining night??

I wear smart trousers, normal shirt and I prefer to wear a jacket but that's just me. Jackets are no longer required on casual evenings. Formal evenings I wear the normal formal wear.

My wife on casual evenings wears a smart pretty dress and normally carries a cardigan. On formal evenings either a long dress with a bolero or a cocktail dress.

Good question. How warm is it inside the ship? Is a t-shirt enough or is a cardigan needed?

My wife takes a cardigan but tends to carry it unless she's sat under one of the air con units. She then drapes it over her shoulders. The interior of the ship will be pleasantly warm in my experience which is limited as I've only cruised twice but that's soon to be three times:D

hi its the middle of march about this time next year xx

thanks i thought probably ski jackets etc for outside but not sure indoors

If indoors you mean inside the ship then wear what you would normally wear on a cruise. Up on deck will be windy so wrap up warm but nothing over the top just normal decent winter clothing. The inside of the ship will be nice and toasty so no worries on that score.

On port visits make sure you have rainwear just in case but other than that normal winter clothes especially layers. I normally wear what I wear in the uk but I always have a nice warm wool hat. First time we went Stavanger in April it was quite warm and sunny but a year later it was minus 16 with the wind chill. Now that was cold but my normal winter clothes dealt with it.

We have been the last two years at the end of April and both times there were people swimming in the pools. Not many probably only about three to be honest. I assume they are heated I wouldn't know as I was going nowhere near them whilst wrapped up against the wind and cold. The only reason I went up there was because it was a short cut to the buffet ;)

Edit sorry just noticed.......Britannia pools are outside

I'm 68 years old and had Flu twice in all those years, once as a 12 year old and again 20 years ago. Both times I was so ill that I couldn't get out of bed and if I had to go to the bathroom I crawled. Now nasty colds on the other hand have come and gone numerous times and yes I've felt poorly but never ever called it Flu as it isn't.

As for it being down to poor hygiene on ships that is complete rubbish as it's an airborne problem.

On our first cruise we never booked the Limelight club until we were on board but very lucky to get places. For our upcoming cruise we have not taken a chance and booked it.

We have only done Britannia and Aurora to the Fjords and for us the Britannia made the cruise. Sorry never been on Azura.

While reviews can be useful at times if I had taken notice of Britannia and Aurora reviews I would never have booked a cruise at all and missed out on wonderful holidays. I believe Ventura is having a bit of a refit next month. My brother has sailed on both Azura and Ventura and loved them both.

Yes, you are right there. It is an anachronism from when the very poor were serving the very rich. Can't see new cruisers paying it if they can avoid it and for a family of 4 it is £400 on a 2 week holiday. It is accepted in the US culture but not so in the UK.

I consider myself a 'new cruiser' only having done two with another one booked. I have always paid the gratuity and will continue doing it as I budget for this before I book. Yes £400 for a family of four is a lot I agree but in relation to the cruise prices of other lines it's reasonable for good service. However if I don't get good service or I find rudeness amongst those serving us I would remove the auto tips and tip accordingly but this has never happened up to now.

That is exactly the problem I have, Glenn. We pay the gratuities and frequently give extra too, but every year now for the last 4 years, P&O have increased the gratuities after a lot of people have booked in the first flush when the itineraries are announced, so they can secure the cruise/cabins they want. If they're going to increase the prices, announce it when the new brochures come out, so people know where they are and what they have to budget for from the start.

Sums it up for me ;)

Same email received overnight about our April cruise. Whilst I will leave gratuities on it leaves a sour taste.

Well said. The poster is from North Carolina so probably has a totally different take on tipping to some posters on this thread. I could not understand why she was posting on a UK thread when she is US based and looking at her profile seems to have never cruised with P&O.

Just going to post the same thing after looking at the profile. As they said 'who cares now' well perhaps the uk members do? :(

Okay, they don’t differentiate on age though do they?

Nothing like that at all. It was just membership of an over 50s internet site. It was almost a throwaway comment that's not important

Oh thank goodness I thought I was being completely stupid. What was it all about then?

Only about extra OBC that's all and being over 50 to get it. I guess it broke the forum rules but no idea if that's right. It wasn't that important.

Isn’t everybody what? I feel I am being silly as no idea what.

Just looked and posts are missing from the thread since yesterday which means it makes no sense at all now.

I haven't looked recently but it was on the website when I booked in September and given it with no problem by P&O. Perhaps it's been taken off?

Isn't everybody? LOL

Seems like it doesn't it ;)

Relaxing, good service, nice people and plenty of things to do. Our holiday is being onboard and not particularly the destinations. Put simply we enjoy it.

Been twice and docked around 7.30am f I remember correctly.

On an upcoming cruise my auto tips work out at 5.8% of the total cost of the cruise. A taxi from my home to and from Southampton docks works out at 8.3% of the total cruise price..........but I'm not catching the bus!

I always leave tips on and always will as I treat it as part of the holiday cost same as I do taxis and my wife getting a new frock. I then forget about it all and have a damn good holiday without worrying about auto tips or the cost of the taxi home. Having said all that I make use of everything that's in with the cruise price and get my money's worth ;)

Last Week in April year before last was Sunny, dry and reasonably warm in Stavangar. Last April was very cold with high winds and a windchill factor of minus 16 degrees in Stavangar. We took warm wet weather gear both times but only used them last year. Next April we are taking them again but hope not to use them.

Being prepared makes the difference to having a good day or not. I know you mentioned you will be going in May but it can't be that much difference to the last week in April when we went. You will love the Fjords :)

As a Southampton person born and bred I would say the best way to do it would be to book four nights in a good Southampton hotel and travel to London on day visits on National express coaches. Most of the attractions in London are all within a mile and a half of each other and well worth seeing but you would miss so much not being in Southampton. For instance a short ferry trip to the Isle of Wight would see you at Osbourne House the home of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and where Queen Victoria spent most of her time after Albert died. It's open to the public and and well worth seeing. Other attractions are Portsmouth historic dockyard and Winchester which are both very interesting and very 'English' if that's what you are looking for.

Whatever you do you should stay in Southampton the night before you embark on Cunard as the traffic in Southampton on cruise days can be horrendous and just one accident on the M3 can cause serious hold ups getting from London to Southampton docks. Above all whatever you do enjoy yourselves and welcome to the U.K.