winniesbestm8

I wonder if that will count as one of our 4 formal nights then? Also the ship will only be half full as the other half wont arrive until the following day.

They will certainly have to get our cases to our rooms ASAP if it is going to be a formal night!

We were on Ventura and boarded the day of the Royal wedding, they bad embarkation day a formal day because of the wedding, all our cases were sent pretty quickly :) Although this was from Southampton!

Some people don't leave until Boxing day don't forget ;)

Yes Winniesbestm8 - I'm wondering what to expect next Christmas Day - will it be a Christmas dinner on the plane going to Barbados or Christmas dinner on board in the evening? Or perhaps it will be just a cheese sandwich!

 

Has anyone else joined a ship on Christmas Day before and can tell us what to expect, please?

From what I can gather it will be a formal night on the Christmas evening on the ship still with all the trimmings :)

We are with you too on same cruise as you know.

I think it depends on the program, we went on Ventura and there was nothing, Oceana last year had a zumba class, but to be honest it was in starlights, very busy and very basic, you wouldn't have gotten a good workout from it, everyone turned up for it, and she broke it all down step by step

-Lisbon we used the Hop on Hop off buss (HOHO) which was great, we could get off where we wanted to look around and get back on.

-Rome, we have been to twice, the first time we did a ship excursion, and got to see a fair amount but the second time we just paid for Rome on your own with the ship which is a coach into Rome and met my friend who lives there to take us where we missed last time, you can get a train from the Port, but they are no good if you need a wheelchair or have a buggy.

-Monte Carlo, we have been to twice, the first time we took a trip to Nice which was nice (lol) and the second time we did our own thing, its walk-able. We looked at the casino, the museum, the teack around, the second time they were setting up for the grand prix

-Gibraltar we went to the airport and walked across the runway to Spain, and then did our own thing in Gib, I wanted to do the trip up the rock but we didn't get around to it

-Barcelona, first time we went to the Nou Camp, if you like footie, and then olympic stadium and somewhere else like a little village and then the LaFamilia (ship tour), the second time our Spanish friend picked us up and took us to Park Guell - amazing, a must see! We went to LaFamilia again, and then on Las Ramblas and had tapas in a local restaurant, oh and a visit to the market is a must too!

I waited until 8am on all cruises to go to the gym, I did wish it was open earlier, but I fully understand why with the cabins below and the noise issue, I am sure on Ventura they doors were locked until 8am anyway

We board the newly refurbished Aurora on Sunday. New Year's Eve in Madeira, that's another must do item ticked off.:):):)

 

Brian

This is on our list too, I am very envious !

I am not sure how they will work it next year, Azura has passengers getting on and off on Christmas Day next year in Barbados, we fly Christmas Day, and then the same on Boxing Day. We won't get on the ship until about 4pm, I am hoping the kids will still get to see Mr FC

P&O I find very good for vegetarians ( I am one)

Both on Ventura and Oceana, if you tell the Maitre 'D - although I am sure on Ventura (we had club dining) he already knew I need the veggie menu.

Each night they will bring it over to you and you can pick the next evenings meal, I loved every dish and it was hard to choose, they use quorn for a dish or two too :)

Thats a shame, they could have been family/friends, or paid until a certain time, but I would have thought she would have needed carers all the time.

My friend and 5 of her colleagues went for one chap, and they had a set day off with another while 3 were working and it alternated

Always paid fuel supplement and for the children when they were free from Southampton, fly cruise next year we have to pay £100 each from Manchester air add-on.

I read from April next year children won't be charged airport taxes I think it is too

We use one, have for the past 3 cruises. She knows what we like. Any queries I have I drop her and email. Sometimes I get an out of office email drop back, but she always contacts me on her return. So I definatley think she is worth it.

Same for us, she knows us well, and has helped us lots with various things :)

It has cost us £100 each to fly from Manchester next year to Barbados

Prices have definitely come down, we cruised the Caribbean pre- kids and wanted to take them back, we were looking at £7-8k for an inside cabin a few years back at Christmas, we have paid £6k for next Christmas for a balcony :D

We haven't had any issues so far, although it was last March when we were last on a P&O ship and not going until next Christmas

We have always had Club dining, second sitting and I have never yet had a problem getting a seat in the theatre on any of the ships, that is Artemis, Oriana, Azura and Arcadia so far.

Hopefully we will have a chance on Azura then :)

We have tried both, Club dining 8.30pm on Ventura (family of 4) and freedom when my mum came (5 of us), my problem with club dining, is we never got a seat in the theatre, although I wasn't overly bothered, however I would like to watch one show at some point!

Freedom was okay too, still couldn't get in the theatre, and had to queue, max about 20 minutes

I liked having the same waiter every night etc, although the waiters on freedom remembered me as I am a vegetarian and picked the next night's meal the day previous.

The only other issue with club is I felt I had to go down and tell them if we would be eating elsewhere that night too

Can I ask we have booked for next christmas (back in July this year) are we select fare?

British airways, thomson and thomas cook, depends on the departure airport

Can the seats be put back in economy? I am asking as I don't like seat to be put back and the article implies only premium seats can be adjusted

We did the same tour as above but in reverse order with p&o - loved it....we wanted to do a tour as we have been to Cadiz before

Casablanca is one of our favourite places we have ever visited. BUT we did a tour with a guide who was a local and knew the places and the people and could actually explain everything. We also weren't hasseled by anyone and got to see the "real" Casablanca - the multi-million pound homes that look like Beverly Hills, the Hassan Mosque which is incredible (but go with an empty bladder - you won't want to wee there!), the real markets where the locals buy food, plus the other popular tourist areas that you may otherwise miss. It's a very much more mixed/blended city than we expected - poverty and affluence, contemporary and traditional culture.

We did this one too - it is fantastic, so glad we did, I think if we had just got off at the port we would have been saying the same as people who did just that. So glad we got to see it for what it was :)

I concur. Our next cruise has loads of OBC but I've booked one excursion a month since we booked; got my discount at checkout. I decided to operate it like a savings plan. Now I can use my OBC for wine!!! :D

Exactly what we did and the spa :)

Despite being 5'10" I don't suit long dresses so wear just above the knee, it sounds lovely go for it

Cadiz is lovely to wonder around, lovely gardens, we went to the Camera Obscura as well, great views all around up there!

The second time we went, we did a trip to Jerez, which was good too.

Casablanca I would recommend an excursion, its a lovely place out of the port, most people we spoke to did their own thing and didn't like it, we go to view so much more, the mosque etc

Yes you still get the discount booking on your cruise personaliser.

It depends on the excursion, if it is a popular one you may not be able to book on board as it will be sold out.

Last year we had a silly amount of OBC but we still booked excursions before we went to make sure we were booked on them :)

Dont be confused. Its definitely not going to happen. Just a wee error by someone...xx

I have emailed them :)