GSPG

Vesselfinder suggests you are on your way to Olden, if not there already? Have a good one, Olden has been my favourite place on two Fjord cruises.

There are 4 formal nights on this two week cruise. The 21st May is our last port of call re-arranged to be Copenhagen - Evening Casual. 22nd May Sea Day - Evening Casual. 23rd May - Sea Day - Black Tie. 24th May - Disembarkation. Does this make sense having a black tie on the same evening most passengers are packing their cases ready to put outside their cabin doors before a set time? I would have thought black tie could have been done on the sea day on the 22nd. I believe before the itinerary changes the black tie evening was still going to be on the 23rd?

Britannia now on the move.

Due to an earlier Copenhagen departure, while I’m pleased our cancelled trip to Tivoli has been replaced by an earlier excursion, it feels how can I say it nicely very cheeky by P&O to increase the price from £58 to £65. I have also heard another revised excursion has gone up £15pp from something like £64 to £79? Two Points For Improvement 1. Wouldn’t it have been good if P&O had offered these cancelled and revised trips to those who booked the originals in the first instance, rather than open them out to everyone. 2. Why have these revised excursions increased in price. Have any others actually decreased in price from the original pricing?

As I say, we were on on 9th July, so hopefully by then ‘issues’ may have been addressed, there perhaps were less kids around? Those bloggers did seem picky, though just my opinion the food, the decor on most of the modern medium band quality lines and ships anyway seem to be much the same, all very good.

I believe there was at the time. On our last night before we docked back at Southampton, we bumped into a senior officer along our cabin corridor and we had quite a chat. He was aware of the problems and said 1,000 kids were expected the following week. I said there was just no security presence about, nothing to make those ‘playing up’ think about getting into trouble with their behaviour, and that they were being watched. If it’s not an issue this summer that’s a great thing!

We were on Arvia on July 9th last year for two weeks in the Med. We expected kids, but thinking the schools wouldn’t have broken up then did not think there would be too many. There were 800 as the schools had already broken up in Scotland, Ireland and Wales, and there were those who had left school early because of exams, college or Uni. The truth was there was not enough to do for the kids. Towards the end of the first week we noticed they were forming groups of up to twenty, and hanging out in an area next to Sindhu, and in the buffet after midnight. As time went on, lifts were being littered with food, drinks were being left in corridors, there were set two’s between parents and altercations around the pools as some families were ‘camped out’ around these and were intimidating other guests. Families had parents who were drunk most of the time, and the kids were just allowed to get on and do what they wanted to do. There was no security, they had the run of the ship. If things don’t look too good and anything like above, if your wallet of purse permits once you are onboard, my advice would be book the retreat if you can. Instead of buffets, use waiter served dining. Forget the pools. Too small for the amount of people.

If they could, but sounds like they wouldn’t wait in the first instance.

Even though we live down south in Essex, we always travel down to the Southampton area the afternoon or evening before. Heard too many instances on the M25 of people being stuck for god knows how many hours, and just would not risk it. The stress, and worry of travelling there on departure day is too much for us, it would feel like ‘running the gauntlet’! Thanks for these posts as I wondered what happened to those stuck on coaches and what the captain would do. So it seems even booking a coach through the company is not bullet proof on missing the ship! Makes me wonder, once on a cruise and taking a P&O excursion to somewhere remote and for whatever reason the people on it are going to be very late back to the ship talking six hours or so, would the ship still wait?

It was a ship tour. Apart from Stockholm, we have booked ship tours at every other port, but it’s a big shame as we were really looking forward to this particular one.

We have an excursion booked to Tivoli world in Copenhagen for 4.15pm arriving back at 8.15pm. With the ship now due to leave at 6pm, that trip looks scuppered!

Looks like changes between Day 10 and Day 12 compared to the original. Now stopping at Visby, Sweden on Day 10, then at sea, then Copenhagen on Day 12, then set sail for Southampton. Skagen has been dropped. I will be new to this area of the world, but from what I can see Visby maybe an improved stop than Skagen?

For the hull and underwater areas, I wonder if that episode in Majorca last year when she broke away from her moorings during that storm is showing any signs of wear?

Thanks. Hope you had a good holiday. Must feel ‘a bit weird’ berthing up at Southampton today, only to be allowed off tomorrow when it moves to it’s usual berth? Looking at your sail history, appears you last docked on the 26th March what with not being able to dock at Ponta Delgado. How has everyone got on being at sea for 8-9 days?

Is this it’s last cruise before it’s refurb? Anyone know where it is heading for this, and exactly what they are going to do? I’m interested as I’m on the Baltic cruise next month.