Maz85

Rather than take medication has anyone tried alternatives? I've seen bracelets that send electric pulses through you (I think one brand was Reliefband) and wondered if they're any good.

Good choice, have a great time.

Thank you Host Hattie. I find your frequent posts really informative and helped me to decide on what to choose.

Thank you too for posting a review of your Hamburg short break. It was really interesting. One question though - how long do you spend sailing down the Elbe to reach Hamburg.

Thanks everyone for your replies. So we decided to book the Queen Victoria!

We're all really excited as it will be our first Cunard experience. Plus one of us is celebrating a birthday on the day we embark! Do we need to tell The ship?

Plus as we don't really know the ship, we thought we would take the chance and book an outside cabin on deck 1 on a guaranteed basis. Adds to the excitement! Does anyone know when our cabin will likely be allocated?

I’m thinking of booking another Cruise, but I’m not sure which?!

Both go early January 2019.

Queen Victoria is for 4 nights (1 port of call) and P&O Oceana is for 7 nights (4 ports of call). The total cost for three of us on Queen Victoria is around £500 cheaper too.

However, I’ve always wanted to do a Cunard Ship, but don’t know if they represent good value for money.

Help please!

I’m thinking of booking another Cruise, but I’m not sure which?!

Both go early January 2019.

Queen Victoria is for 4 nights (1 port of call) and Oceana is for 7 nights (4 ports of call). The total cost for three of us on Queen Victoria is around £500 cheaper too.

However, I’ve always wanted to do a Cunard Ship, but don’t know if they represent good value for money.

Help please!

So we sail very shortly! :)

I think I know what to pack, but is there anything that anyone can suggest that I may not have thought about! (Particularly any useful tricks or cheats) For example, shall I take extra coat hangers - there will be three of us sharing a cabin.

I know many of you have been on many cruises and must have picked up some useful packing knowledge.

In addition, is there any restrictions to taking a hairdryer on board. I have very thick hair and usually any hairdryer supplied is useless.

Thanks.

I'm going on the Azura on the 29th April too! :-)

If you didn't know already, I've set up a roll call for us all.

Once useful tip we were given is never wear denim (particularly the further north you go). Denim is a magnet for the cold so if it's cold outside the denim will trap it and hold it closer to the skin, thus making you feel colder. Secondly denim is very absorbent and if it rains will stay wet for a long time.

We are just booked on our first Norweigan Fjord cruise in May.

We are extremely disappointed to find that the Flam Train Ride, which was one of our reasons for booking this cruise, is all booked out.

We are on a ship's tour wait list.

 

Is there any other way we could be confident that we will be able to do this tour on 2nd May?

The Flam train website seems to only have train rides that get back to late for us to catch the ship! We have to be back on board at 4.30pm.

 

Really hoping that someone is going to have a great idea for us!

Hi. I think we are on the same cruise as you. :) How do you know the times of when you arrive and depart, as we haven't been given any? Thanks.

We have two five-night cruises booked for this spring and both are showing as ‘5 smart casual nights’. So no formal nights at all. Seems a shame. Our 7 night cruise in December had two formal nights, so on that basis I would expect there to be one. Does it mean no Captain’s welcome cocktail party perhaps and thus they are saving money on the free drinks? Have to assume it is the bean counters doing.

 

Is this a sign of things to come? Are Fred abolishing formal nights altogether?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Hi. I noticed that on my parents cruise too. It's the first time that they're cruising with Fred Olsen, so don't really know what to expect. Which cruise are you going on? What does 'smart casual' mean on Fred ships.

Thanks.

Just paid on line for our upcoming cruise. The card payment page still showed that the credit card charge would be applied, so we changed to debit card, which was free to use.

We too have just paid the outstanding balance of our cruise. We noticed that in the P&O website they've removed the additional credit card charges on the home page and FAQ page. However, when you click to pay it states that a 1.5% charge will be applied if paying by credit card. We chose to pay by credit card anyway, mainly for the extra protection offered, and would ask for the extra cost back if charged.

However, we were NOT charged any extra for paying by credit card.

Looks like P&O haven't updated their payment page.

I'm in my early 30s, but think playing/ texting/ using social media on your phone at the table is very bad manners! I was bought up to have good table manners (although I do have the odd slip up) and we always ate our meals at a table with our parents when we were younger. (Even now when I live on my own I still eat at a dining table).

However, I will admit to using my phone at the table to take a photo of the meal I'm about to eat. To me The Cruise is a special holiday and I like to record all the elements of it, including my food, so that I can capture my memories. Surely discreetly using my phone to take a picture is better than getting my larger digital camera out?!

Hi Selbourne,

You've given me so much advise before that I thought I would share some with you. :)

In late October 2016 I went on a two week Northern Light Cruise with a different Cruise Company. The Northern Lights are spectacular and we were very lucky to see them five times!

With regards to the Lights: if they are weak they will appear as a white misty cloud to the naked eye (often in an unusual direction for a cloud). However, when you take a photo of them (with a long exposure), the camera will 'interpret' them and 'colour them in'.

The best Lights we could actually see with the naked eye where brilliant green with red and purple, and danced over our heads. That was a sight I will never forget.

NOTE - unless you can see them with the naked eye you won't be able to video them.

Second point, we never went on any excursions in search of the Lights. All the displays we saw were from the ship. We felt that the excursions were expensive considering that you might see nothing at all. In fact the displays we saw from the ship were better than the ones they saw on the excursion any way!

Final question, yes you can see the Lights when at sea, especially if they are the strong ones. Our Captain turned off all the non-essential lights around the ship to enable us to get good views and pictures! :)

Hope this helps.

Thank you for posting this very interesting review, as we are doing this trip on Aurora next year.

 

I didn't get a very clear idea of the extent of what you actually saw re the Northern Lights themselves, either during the off ship tour or from the ship itself. Can you expand?

 

Also, my wife uses a wheelchair and we are fearful that she may not be able to do any of the night time tours, so were wondering if much can be seen from the ship?

 

Final question, is there any chance of seeing the Northern Lights when at sea or is there too much light pollution from the ship? We do have a balcony so if there are any announcements we can be outside very quickly!

 

Thanks

Sorry, but imho, Selfie Sticks are a menace and should be banned. Too many folks don't give a damn if they nearly poke your eye out or wallop you on the head with it. Rant over :D.

Totally agree with you in some respect. I work in tourism and selfie sticks can certainly be annoying!

I was planning on being a considerate user though and, thanks to Cruiser1955, am now considering making a time lapse video of the Fjords! :)

Thank you for your reply. Your video was really inspirational. I hadn't thought of doing time lapse videos, but I think they will be perfect in the Fjords.

I've used a "GoPro" look alike for a couple of years for taking time lapse videos. Attached it to the railings or balcony. This was Oceana going through the Gatun Locks on the Panama Canal last year - taken from the back of the ship.

I saw the latest Jane McDonald Cruising series on TV and noticed that she used a GoPro some of the time. Therefore, I was wondering if they are allowed on the ships or 'frowned upon'.

I think they would be really useful for taking selfies of us in the Fjords, or am I just being 'sad'!!! :-)

I'm sorry, but these types of posts really anger me! The title is written to be emotive, but from what I've read in this case P&O have been fair!

The cousin has not booked a suite so why should they get the benefits?!

The disabled child is NOT suffering as a result of P&O's behaviour - they will receive everything they've paid for!

I would understand if they hadn't received what they paid for - I should know as this happened to me but with a different Cruise line!

I am registered disabled, although the disability is not always visible, therefore I took a great amount of time checking that the company understood my needs and could accommodate them. They said they could so I booked. However, when the Cruise came I was refused Priority/ Assisted Embarkation (although previously agreed) as well as being prevented from eating in any of the main restaurants (despite assurances they would be able to accommodate me and the Purser sending a reminder to the restaurant whilst I was on board)!!! This is just a few of the issues I faced!

Therefore, these posts annoy and anger me! As a disabled person, all I want is to be treated fairly and equally with a few small adjustments to enable this to happen. I do NOT want special treatment or to be singled out.

I appreciate that the poster is a poppy seller/ collector and this is admirable, but it's not fair to label P&O with poor treatment!

Sorry, I've written a lot and I don't want to cause any offence - I'm just really annoyed! :-(

Just a quick update!

Firstly, I wanted to say a MASSIVE Thank you to everyone who contributed. Your replies were very useful.

Unfortunately, there was a problem with the suite we booked (I think it may have been double booked), which is why there has been such a delay with replying. In the end, The option we chose was to 'downgrade' to a Superior Deluxe Balcony cabin with a discount.

We were very disappointed not to have a suite, especially as this would be our first time, but hopefully there will be no more issues and we will have a fantastic cruise!

Hi Selbourne.

Thank you for your detailed reply. It was most helpful.

Welcome to the forum. To take your questions in turn;

 

1) The most popular operator (and most convenient) is CPS (Cruise and Pasenger Services). Most passengers use them as they get the parking free as part of the booking with P&O, but work on around £10 a day if not.

 

2) As a suite passenger, you will be able to check in from around 1115 (the earliest you can drop a car with CPS), wait in a dedicated priority boarders area with free tea, coffee and cakes, and will board at around 1215 (you will be first on board). Personally, I would only stay overnight if you live more than around 4 hours from Southampton. If you timed your journey to arrive at around 11am, you have still got around 5 hours contingency time should you encounter a major incident. Others who use hotels can advise of the best ones.

 

3) For us, the main advantages of a Suite are priority embarkation and disembarkation, priority tender passes, the extra space of a suite (bigger living area, bigger bathroom and bigger balcony) and having access to one of the Select Dining Restaurants for breakfast - a nice civilised way to start the day.

 

4) We find the Butlers to be superfluous and, at times, a slight irritation. We ask them to provide the next days main dining room menus (lunch and dinner) and they bring the (poor) canapés each evening. They are covered by the automatic service charge of £6 per passenger per day (as is your cabin steward and all waiters in the main dining rooms and buffet), but we find it difficult not to tip in addition, but do so once, at the end of the cruise. We tend to give them around a third of what we give the cabin steward as the latter is the one who does the real work.

 

5) There are always 2 formal nights on a 7 night cruise. The first will always be the first sea day, which in your cruise will be the day after embarkation. The first and last nights are always casual, so your 2nd formal night will be the last but one evening.

 

Finally, I would say that a 7 night Fjords cruise is the best choice for your first cruise. Shorter cruises can be a bit hit and miss from a service and entertainment perspective. but a 7 day one is a proper cruise with normal service levels and entertainment. You will also have great views in the Fjords from your aft suite. Be warned, you will get hooked and your first cruise is always your best! Enjoy.

Hi.

I have the choice of cabin E731 on Azura or a Suite on the Riveria deck.

Does anyone have any opinions on either cabins. Pictures would be great too!

Many Thanks.

Hi John.

Thanks for your quick reply.

I will certainly look into the options you've suggested.

Maybe it's a stupid question, but what do butlers do?

Thanks again.

Sam.

Parking you could use CPS parking for parking only. Hotel stay one night pre-cruise Holiday Inn Herbert Walker Avenue. They do a Park and Cruise option if you stay a night pre-cruise. That is an alternative for the parking. If a queue is at the quayside to park with CPS, it normally clears quickly but if you do Park and Cruise you are in a taxi and not queuing. Suite guests get priority embarkation within the terminal so waiting around is minimised.

 

I should tip the butler once otherwise you are going to be messing about a lot. Find out what butlers do! They will pack and unpack your cases if requested for example.

 

P&O have number of Formal Nights and any theme nights on their website. You download your ship and date and can view what is on your programme. Whilst they give numbers of each type of night they do not tell you thw days they are occurring.

 

Bon Voyage.

 

John

Hi. I'm new to the forum, so please bear with me if some of these questions have been asked already.

Next year I will be travelling with my parents to the Norwegian Fjords on Azura in a B4 (Aft) Suite! It is the first time we have been in a suite and the first time with P&O. Therefore, I wondered if I could get some asneers to a few questions I have. :D

1. Where is the best place to park in Southampton?

2. Where would you stay overnight?

3. What is included in the cost of the suite? What are the advantages?

4. Do you 'tip' the butler each time you see/ use their services or only at the end?

5. How many formal nights are on a 7 day cruise?

Thanks for reading!