Mrs Tinkywinky

I did get a balcony cabin on Arcadia in June for a Baltic cruise at the late saver rate with no single supplement one week before departure. Wasn't advertised, I just did a check on the P&O website and made a dummy booking. Pure luck and the only time I've seen it. £999 for 14 nights:)

That is really good. A friend and I were on that cruise and paid for a restricted view twin cabin £1,600 each. I may well try a very late deal like that. Cannot get OH to go on a cruise but would book a solo one if I really wanted to go.:D

Has anyone left it til the last minute , say 2-3 weeks before , to book a single and would they be more likely to give you a double for the same price?

I suppose it would depend on how sales were going on each cruise? I am more of a last minute booker than a long way in advance.

We had a cabin restricted view midships in June , no smells or plumbing problems there.

Sorry forgot to say that it was on E deck:D

We had a cabin restricted view midships in June , no smells or plumbing problems there.

Cruise specific insurance is a must. How will you pay if you become ill and have to be Medivaced off the ship? Your ordinary insurance won't pay and it could cost hundreds if not thousands of pounds.

In their terms and conditions P and O insist that you have the correct insurance. It amazes me how many people are not properly covered by their insurance.

Quite agree but you come across people on all types of holiday , some don't have any insurance at all. If people don't want to pay out for cruise ,or any travel insurance , more fool them , so long as they don't complain if anything happens.

We did freedom dining on Scandinavia and Russia cruise in June on Arcadia.We left most ports by 5pm , with the exception of Copenhagen which was 9pm , so there would be time for 6:30 sitting. We had no problem being seated as we were willing to share. Also we went to the Ocean Grill and Sindhu and on one night we were tired and couldn't be bothered to go down so had room service.

We booked a Select fare in March for a June cruise this year. With that fare we got BOTH obc, nearly the amount of the extra paid for select fare and coach( which would have been about £90 if we had booked it ourselves ) , 5 shuttle buses, freedom dining , cabin choice. No brainer . Not sure if the obc and coach was a deal the travel agent was doing or P and O to get more bookings.

Sorry but ours wasn't a Caribbean cruise but a Baltic one ( should have said) and there were shuttles at every port except Kiel so that is why it was worth it for us on Select fare

We booked a Select fare in March for a June cruise this year. With that fare we got BOTH obc, nearly the amount of the extra paid for select fare and coach( which would have been about £90 if we had booked it ourselves ) , 5 shuttle buses, freedom dining , cabin choice. No brainer . Not sure if the obc and coach was a deal the travel agent was doing or P and O to get more bookings.

I will comment before it is pulled!

 

How about having a black tie code that ceases to apply outside the dining room once second sitting dinner starts. So you have your pre dinner drinkies but after 9.30 you can take your dinner jacket off without penalty.

Or not have it on in the first place :D:D:D

Thank you. As a new cruiser I had almost resigned myself to having to buy a tux after reading comments on here, but I am now planning to wear my suit which is usually only rolled out for weddings and funerals. That's a couple of hundred pounds that I can now spend enjoying my holiday, thanks again.

My hubby does exactly that and has worn a jacket and trousers as well. He also would not go out and buy a suit/dj just for a couple of nights on a cruise because he would never wear it again.

It is supposed to be a holiday and so enjoy and relax.

Yes there are much more important rules, but are you suggesting we should only follow the most important rule? If we follow that logic then we should let of a mugger because it is not as bad as murder - extreme analogy!

 

To answer your question, I, and I suspect others, do care.

So we disagree but I for one don't care what other people think about what I wear. You obviously do but would you go up to someone on a formal night and say something to them. I think not .

I agree, go to the buffet or choose a cruise company which is more appropriate

We saw a gentleman on one of our formal nights ( sat at our shared dining table ) on Arcadia in a cream coloured suit and tie and he looked very smart. To be honest , who cares. Nobody at the table passed comment and he was obviously allowed in. I can think of much more important rules on board than whether they are wearing a tux or not.

P&O have increased their seat reservation charge by 25%, increased their gratuities by 10% after I booked the cruise. These stealth charges are unacceptable, the discretionary auto tips is under my control so I am definitely considering cancelling.

Sorry don't understand.What has this to do with the original post?

I have had a glass or two :wine-glass:

Is it acceptable to give any extra tips ....cabin steward etc....in Euros?

Yes but it could depend on where you are going. As we went to the Baltic and had 5 different currencies but paid mainly on shore with credit cards , extra tips tended to be in £s

All we had were a couple of cokes and water mid cruise, so no excuse for not putting them through the onboard account earlier, it must just be down to the cabin steward. In fact we were never given any slips to sign.

 

There isn't much in the fridge, maybe 6 cans and 2 bottles of water, a bottle of wine would have been nice, would have tried our best to drink that!

No I didn't sign anything , they just left a "in cabin beverage" stating what we had taken out of the fridge. It was then itemised separately on my credit card statement. It was not part of my on board credit card bill. Not sure why they do that. Perhaps it is because we don't sign for it.

What I wonder about is if you share a cabin with a friend and have different credit cards - who pays? how does the cruise line know who had what?

 

Regards John

Hi John

I had a couple of bottles of water. As it happened I was charged on my credit card as I was the lead name on the booking. If my friend had got the water or anything else , it would still have been charged to me. I was left a receipt in the cabin a couple of days after I had taken them ; it wasn't right at the end of the holiday so seems like they check every couple of days.

It isn't a rumour 'my marina bay' - this process has definitely been in place for the official coaches ever since they introduced the new tightened up embarkation system. :)

When was the new embarkation system introduced?:)

I have found this thread quite enlightening, my final comments on the subjects are:

 

There are some people who don't like the idea of not being one of the first on so get there early and cause more problems and then complain about P & O not dealing with the boarding problems that THEY (the passengers) have caused, all for a few hours.

 

Unfortunately there will always be some who will board earlier than others such is life.

 

Get over it or pay for a suite!!

 

I don't agree with taking food from the breakfast buffet for sandwiches I do think it is crass - my point of view.

 

Maybe some people can justify it, I really don't think they can, but if they don't want to buy a meal at the place they visit that is up to them.

 

I thank goodness that cruising for me is a rarity and I will do as I am told and not whinge and moan about it.

I couldn't agree more. Well put......

And in answer to the fact that people take the food for medical reasons , there is no problem. But there are those who definitely take it for later in the day . Sorry it should be stopped.

It happens in hotels as well. I would have no sympathy if these people get food poisoning.

I am not sure what the chaos is? Personally I like structure and I just can't get my head around why some people want to attempt to get on early.

 

As I said sometimes, maybe some people get to the terminal early because the roads are clearer than anticipated but even so they shouldn't expect to board early.

 

As far as I can see if too many people get there too early they are causing the problem as surely a staggered boarding is best.

 

Maybe the next time I will feel differently as we will be driving not using the coach but it seems those who purposely get there much earlier than their allotted time in the hope they get boarded early are the ones who cause the problems.

 

I can't get my head around believing it is anything else - unless I am missing something.

Agree. Why should you expect to be able to board early just because you have got there early.

Yes what I mean is that because people arrive 2hrs too early and may well want to get on early , then it will probably be chaotic. Not saying that that was the cruzadict's intention but I'm sure it would be some peoples'.

On our Ventura cruise earlier this year we were given a boarding time of 3.30. We arrived at 1.30 and sat in terminal until 3.25. Won't get there earlier again, it was chaos.

Sorry if the boarding time is 3:30 then where's the problem if you arrive two hours early?

Getting off Oceana one year I remember seeing a couple with a whole watermelon in their sports bag, where they got it from lord only knows.

Perhaps they had secreted it about their person since Southampton:rolleyes::D:p

I asked this in another thread. I think with some people ( not saying they are on this board ) have the mentality of "'I've paid for this so I'm damn well going to get it " Just like people who raid the buffet on a tour day and make sandwiches to take out. This of course doesn't just happen on cruises. I've seen it in hotels.

I also can't see what the rush is. I am on holiday for goodness sake. It isn't a race.

I went on my first cruise last month , booked because of the itiniary. However on the sea days I didn't know where to start!. Ended up making a list of what to do at the beginning of those days , had room service for breakfast and on one day , didn't have time for lunch.

Perhaps it was the novelty of it all Needed a holiday when I got back. I would avoid the buffet (if there is one). It was packed on Sea days.

Enjoy and relax , the opposite of what I didn't do.........

Do you think it might just be a 'french letter'?:)

Zut alors 😊I reported it as well.