Ardennais

Graham’s photos are making me hungry!

I have repeatedly said that I don’t expect things to be exactly as they were pre-pandemic. My expectations are different but the glossy advertising seems much the same as before. THAT is what annoys me more than anything. The overpromising and underdelivering! I also feel for those passengers who save up for one holiday a year and are disappointed. It’s all very well for some of us to list our numerous holidays - if one is lacking, then we can brush it aside because, hey, we’re going on another one in a few months and we’ll most probably have a better time. That’s not the reality for most people.

Cadiz - have you been to Jerez? We enjoyed a trip there and it’s not far. Lots of bodegas.

It’s true. Some people can’t do things which other people find reasonably simple to do. Writing a coherent sentence, accurately, being one of them.

I’m so sorry to read this and hope that you both feel better soon. Regarding the insurance, I recently had to claim from my insurers after cancelling a cruise beginning of December - not Covid related but a close relation fell ill and was hospitalized. This was a FO cruise, and the TA sent the cancellation invoice within 4 days. We had to cancel a Cunard cruise about 5 years ago, same TA and the cancellation invoice was again sent within about 3-4 days. I can’t imagine why P&O should be any different. Sorry about the parking. With the Cunard cruise, I remember we ‘paid’ for the pre-hotel stay by redeeming a free night with a booking company, but were unable to claim for that, so sort of similar to your situation. Once you have the required documents, the claims process was quite straightforward so don’t be alarmed. In my case, with Staysure, I had to upload all relevant documents but I think it’s also possible to do it by post. It then took a week (5 working days) for them to provide a settlement offer which was exactly what I was expecting.

I think it could be clearer. I would add one word to the following sentence: If you no longer want this table, please PRESS cancel. And then below, have CANCEL instead of LEAVE QUEUE. or even CANCEL TABLE.

We don’t even have a walk in centre. I can’t help thinking back to when my children were babies and I could just turn up, wait in line and someone would see them. Parents now have a huge struggle to see anyone - no wonder people’s mental health is suffering. I watch Call the Midwife and honestly, if that is really how it was then, there was a much better service 50 odd years ago. Ok, I know that medical advances have transformed the way people are treated, but the basic face to face service has just about disappeared around here.

Very true around here, sad to say.

Good advice. If someone tells me that a card payment hasn’t gone through, I always ask for the paper receipt showing the failed payment before doing it the second time.

We visited Saintes on a P&O excursion and had enough time for a leisurely lunch. Lovely place.

So sorry to hear of their misfortune. There are some nasty people about. I do hope it doesn’t put them off going again. And all this booking business if quite off-putting for many people, which is a shame.

It does make you wonder though why they don’t publish timings. I was having a look at the Celebrity website last night and they give very detailed timings.

That’s lovely Avril. Congratulations. I would love to see a photo of your wedding!!

Is there anywhere on the P&O website showing the possible excursions for each port before you book a cruise? I’ve never thought about it before, and just view the excursions for our booked cruises. They give ideas of things to do independently.

Oops, no idea how that happened!

I think that another point to consider is familiarisation. Many posters here cruise several times a year and become accustomed to the apps etc. Same with eating out and QR codes. They are useful, I use them myself and the children can use them in half the time! However, if you only cruise once a year, it could be a different story. If I were cruising on Princess this afternoon, it would take me a day or two to get used to the Medallion again, and probably longer for my husband because he doesn’t use ICT for hours on end every day as I do.

Yes, I have the latest iPhone, both of us do actually. The screenshots are useful and give us an idea of what to expect. However I notice that you sailed during term time in December 2021, and wonder how many passengers were sailing at that point during the pandemic. We will be sailing during half term - the only time we were able to squeeze in a week because of other commitments. I expect the ship to be close to full and hope that the ‘app’ works smoothly.

No, I didn’t go off track. There are two issues as I see it anyway. One - how confident/competent is the passenger in using mobile technology, and to what extent does he/she have the required hardware? Two - does the so-called app behave itself and work in all areas of the ship? Now you might not have had any problems. Good. You say that the vast majority haven’t had any problems. Good. (But we must be careful when looking at P&O’s own definition of vast majority as per Paul Ludlow’s statement following the Arvia maiden!). I will be sailing on Iona next month and I also hope that I don’t encounter any real problems with the booking system. Small niggles I can cope with, they wouldn’t spoil my holiday. I fully sympathise with the posters who are evidently worrying about the app etc. They all want to enjoy their holiday.

I’ll certainly be giving it a go on Iona next month and hoping indeed that I don’t experience any problems. I’ll report back afterwards!

Be fair! It’s very different at home, using your desktop or laptop, with a secure and reliable connection. Very different onboard when you have hotspots and notspots or when your phone doesn’t connect for some reason or another.

We choose Freedom as we don’t want to share a table. Don’t mind waiting with a pager. I remember we paid select fare (or equivalent) on our first FO cruise and requested a table for 2. We were allocated a sharing table, and they were unable or unwilling to give us a table for 2. It was only 7 nights with a few evenings in port, so we happily used the buffet. However I wouldn’t have been so happy on a longer cruise.

Do they own their own carparks? If not, it could be the case that their rents have increased.

Yes, we also used the cushions on Ventura.

And those don’t appeal to us either which is why we opted for an outside on our (we had to cancel) FO cruise before Christmas. We want a traditional balcony, nothing more, nothing less.

I think families suspend their normal eating rules on holiday and wouldn’t worry too much about junk food. Same as adults who drink far more alcohol than they would normally do at home, judging by the frequent questions here about bringing alcohol onboard etc!