dorsetdumpling

Aurora left City Terminal last Thursday (19th). Was due back to Mayflower but changed to City. Bulk Carrier @ Mayflower Berth.

Most Port Tourist Shops take Euros.

We are off on Aurora in 3 weeks to Andalsnes,Tromso,Alta & Stavanger which will be our 2nd Northern Lights Cruise.

Would recommend The Rauma Railway Trip (£84) in Andalsnes. Other Trips offered include:-

Tromso. Cathedral & Cable Car @£59. Husky Adventure £169 & Reindeer Sledging @ £189.

Alta. Husky Adventure @ £204, Igloo Hotel Visit @ £65, In Search of Northern Lights @£135.

We did the Husky adventure in Alta on our last visit. Visit to camp & kennels with a 45 minute sledge ride across a frozen lake & through the Forest, absolutely wonderful!. Trips are expensive but so is Norway £6 for a coffee & £9 for a Beer!

As a clue for Iona's destinations she is booked to visit Gibraltar in Jan & Feb 2021.

You will need to take out the insurance before you book or the deposit will not be covered & may also invalidate any claim.

Obviously still needs attention as she is due into Southampton at Midnight on Sunday Morning & not due to leave until 2000hrs.

P&O stated some weeks ago that Iona would be Freedom Dining only so this not new information. There is no evidence to say this will spread to the other Ships & remember Iona is family friendly with over 5000 passengers!.

Surely Iona will not be undertaking the full six month period to the Fjords as the Season ends early September & approx seven weeks are left until the end of October. Perhaps by then refuelling facilities will be available in Southampton. The real question where Iona will be going from late October 2020!.

In my original post should read LNG not LPG & have noted that the likes of Helsinki & Gothenburg have LNG re-fuelling facilities so Baltic Cruises may be on the schedules.

Due to limited availability of LPG Fuel Iona will probably undertake 7 Day Trips (refuel in Southampton) or Ports where the fuel is available. As more LPG fuelled ships come on stream more Ports will store the fuel.

I am confused why people should think that the Alcohol Policy will be policed @ Southampton when boarding. The "Hole in the Wall Gang" employed by AB Ports are scanning for Items prohibited under UK Law as are G4S who are responsible for searching via Security. They are not employed to administer P&O Alcohol Policy. Alcohol Policy will only be enforced when P&O do the searching@ Security as when re-boarding at Ports.

Is it me or am I the only one waiting to receive a copy of the Magazine. Two weeks after initial posting out by P&O I have not received mine having chased them twice by E-Mail. The Standard Reply is "We are sending the Magazines out in batches & you should receive yours very soon & if not received within two weeks please contact us again". I suspect the Mailing List is a shambles & at this rate the next Edition of the Magazine will be due.

The source was from a well known TA in the East Midlands. The E-Mail was obviously from P&O & listed all the Dining Venues including the info on Freedom Dining only in the 4 Main Dining Venues.The TA may have "jumped the gun" by issuing the info but it was genuine.

Well this will get the Threads buzzing. Four Freedom Dining Venues & NO Club Dining. Wait for "This is the End of the World" replies!.

P&O have learnt nothing from the Adonia Sale & then the Oriana cancelled cruise Saga . The Customer Service Dept is pretty awful with "We value your Loyalty" followed by an insulting OBC offer when rebooking & seem surprised by the reaction of the Customer!. OBC costs P&O peanuts, probably about 25% of its value to the Customer. P&O really need to get a grip of its Customer Service. £150 OBC each plus a 15% discount on a re-booked Cruise might be more acceptable.

When on board arrange to see the Head Waiter in the Dining Room you are allocated. He/She will then arrange for you to select your Meals 24hrs in advance taking into consideration you diet issues. Also if you wish to eat in the Buffet @ Lunch Time they will also arrange for a meal to be prepared & sent up for you. This can be very handy if you are on a late excursion & the Main Dining Room is closed after normal lunch times.

Dixons Travel has been on Ventura for some months so not new on refit.

Oh yes you will!.

Don't worry about 8 sea days Ventura is on her way back from Caribbean/USA & due to the weather her call into the Azores has been cancelled so she has 9 days at sea in one go!.

Free WiFi can be found in Barbados by going through the Terminal to where the buses & tours leave from. As they say follow the Crew!.

If you want specific items for your diet such as Lactofree milk/dairy free spread etc then send an E-Mail to diets.reservations@ carnivalukgroup.com who will arrange for these to be loaded onto the Ship.

I'm not sure where you get the information from "some will be boarding late evening" from. Ventura is due in just after 11am. P&O originally indicated 12noon arrival with embarkation from 4.30pm so with an earlier arrival loading should start earlier. With regards to Dining times they will probably be slightly later but the "die hards" will still be queuing for Freedom Dining @5.30!.

What was the reason stayed overnight in Southampton & didn't sail until 0639 this morning?

Due into QE2 Terminal @0645 Saturday then due to move to Mayflower Terminal @ 1800hrs

The Menus changed last year.