AndyMichelle

Very jealous, I'm back to work this morning😒 Glad it's going well, thank you for the updates, really enjoying reading them. Andy

You can play that game we played looking for you Dai, 'Is that Selborne'. 😂 Andy Ps... I won

My razor fitted OK? Must just be the dodgy Pound shop ones that fit😂 Andy

Thank you. We had looked previously at Princess, but I think P&O just seemed simpler. British money, reasonable drinks prices, no tax on drinks etc, no tipping. I know you can get that all in a package, but what package would suit us. I would just need to do a fair bit of research. Andy

Oh that's different to ours. We had 5 normal sockets, 3 above the dressing table/kettle point and 2 under the TV, as well as a 2 pin point above the dressing table. Andy

There is a shaver socket in the bathroom, you have to lift up a flap, but it's there. There is also a socket the by the kettle, I used this to charge my razor. Andy

There will be lots of empty tables on fixed dining on most nights as your table is allocated all week. No real need to tell anyone, just possibly out of politeness if you are sharing a table so they don't wait for you. Andy

Fantastic summary Selborne, thank you. Although we really enjoyed our cruise, we wish we had booked this one. Although we had slightly more passengers, the thing that stands out is we had nearly twice as many new cruisers and what sounds like a very different demographic, but ours was only 7 nights. Glad you are having a good time, try Pulse again on their 'Rock' night, it is fantastic and hilarious in equal measures, great entertainment. Things will settle down, I'm sure the niggles will soon disappear. Andy Ps, Britannia did have a minor refit, i think it was 2019?

What a shame. On our first cruise on Britannia, our ta had not ticked the no upgrade box and we was given one of these. We feared it would be noisy so I called P&O and they allowed us to keep our original cabin as it was still available, thankfully. Doesn't seem fair you paid extra to get a worse cabin. Sleep well, Andy

Have a great cruise John, will look forward to your feedback. Andy

Have a great cruise, we will definitely have a look. Andy

So did we last week, much to the disdain of all the people waiting to join the queue... We benefitted, but it's just not a fair system. Andy

Budget is a big factor, not whether we can afford it, more of wanting value for money. If we had paid £50pppn I would have said it was great value. So, do we go cheap, knowing what to expect, or try to get exactly what we want at a much higher price? You might be lucky with the app, some ships seem to be dropping it already, although I suspect the bigger ones will keep it. Andy

It's roasted garlic. Michelle ate it, no vampires in our cabin... Andy

We took money for tips for good service, unfortunately didn't get any so saved our money. Andy

Anybody joining Iona today or Arvia tomorrow, please allow extra time as the Redbridge Causeway, a major route into Southampton from the West, is closed all weekend.. With 4 large ships in, this seems like a recipe for disaster... Good luck everyone. Andy

You obviously get deserved, special treatment Graham😊 Andy

I had 4 steaks onboard, all supposed to be medium rare, only one was close and that was in the mdr... How exciting for your birthday and anniversary, we might even join you, Cunard has to be a conversation now. Andy

Wow, I got a skinny, fatty bit of drastically overcooked sirloin... Andy

Michelle has just reminded me that the 2 chocolates we got in the Epicurean were exactly the same as we got in the mdr on formal night.... And we got the amuse buche that we didn't get in the Epicurean.. Andy

So, that went quick... Just a quick summary of what we found, good and bad. Please remember these are our experiences and we are fully aware others, even on the same cruise, would have found things different. Embarkation was extremely easy for us, but just got lucky. Arrived very early planning to go off for lunch after dropping our bags off and were waved straight through. Within 20 minutes of arrival, we were in the Glasshouse, which handily was our muster point. Muster was easy, just scan your cruise card and watch the demo on the telly in your cabin. Our cabin was very clean, and kept this way by our stealth like steward who we barely saw but would have the room spotless by the time we returned from breakfast. Clean towels were supplied whenever we wanted them. We stayed in the same cabin in 2015 and 2018 and the only real sign of deterioration was the balcony furniture, which just had some flaky paint, but was still clean and useable. We had soap but no biscuits or water. Not an issue for us, thanks to this forum, we went prepared. Flannels were available, but like a lot of things on this cruise, you now have to ask for them. The ship was spotless, cleaners were everywhere and we didn't see any evidence of tables being left dirty etc. The ship was full, but this may have been down to the very cheap prices offered just after final payments. We heard one guy bragging he and his mates paid £300 each to share a cabin for 7 nights, 'cheaper than Benidorm' was his cry!!! Two thirds of the passengers on board were first time cruisers. After a rocky first couple of days, where the atmosphere amongst the passengers was spiky, everything seemed to settle down and we all found a way of enjoying our holidays without upsetting others. By the end, the atmosphere on board was great and the constant queue at the future cruise desks seem to say lots of others will be coming back soon. The buffet was very busy, but seemed to have a good choice of food. Thanks to the excellent staff, there was always somewhere to sit. We avoided the buffet as much as possible though, solely down to other passengers lack of hygiene and respect for their fellow guests and crew. Also, I thought us Brits were good at queuing... The amount of people who just walked to the front of long queues was astonishing. The first 2 nights in the mdr were very disappointing, but the last 2 nights were good. Breakfast and lunch in the Peninsula was constantly good. The vibe has changed from previous years and the service is quite rushed, even on fixed dining 2nd sitting. We learnt that if you fight back a bit, they will let you enjoy your meal at a bit more of a leisurely pace, but you really are encouraged to get out ASAP. The theme of having to ask for everything continues, no sauces offered, no water refills, no extra bread, no coffee refills etc, unless you ask... The food was hit and miss, Michelle had 2 inedible meals on the first 2 nights, mine were fantastic. The Epicurean was a let down for us, but I know others loved it. The Glasshouse was great, but the booking system was causing arguments. The App is a bit of a sore point, you are encouraged to use it then penalised for doing so as walk ups would be given priority...Just not fair. The crew were very hard working and efficient all around the ship, polite but not overly friendly. We spoke to a waiter who we had met previously on Aurora. He said things have changed so much for the crew since lock down, they now just keep their heads down and do their jobs. Most of the entertainment was really good, although we didn't like the headliners, but others said they were great. Pulse were exceptional, a real party band with 2 great vocalists. In summary, as we have always known, P&O are far from perfect, but have always suited us. They still do, but we might need to be a bit more cautious when booking on dates and ship etc. We paid select fair, but only really got the cabin we wanted as a benefit. The massive difference in price now makes me wonder if saver is the way to go and have 3 cruises for the price we paid... Things we missed... Peroni, Raspberry creme brulee, planters punch, prawn cocktail, salmon, sundaes. We tried a lot of the gf, v, vegan, ls desserts, most of them were pretty poor compared to their traditional counterparts. Chick pea meringue and rice pudding with almond milk etc just don't compare, and don't get me started on the custard... Andy

Thanks for posting Dave. I see Meyer Werft get a mention, which could affect P&O. IMO are very stringent on approving products prior to them being used, so surprised this has been allowed to happen. Let's hope it's an isolated incident of someone taking a chance and getting caught early... I wonder if this will affect P&Os reluctance to do anything about smoking on balconies? Andy

Not at all. We didn't have too many problems with the app itself, just the way it was being implemented (or not). I know Terrierjohn has been making very good points regarding either making the app reliable and useable for everyone and insisting it is used, or don't use it at all. I have to agree, this current system is just not fair. Andy

How many of you were there? We only got 1 chocolate each and didn't get to choose like previously. Andy

So glad you are off to a good start. That was a good tip about the last 6 digits, I used it but can't remember who posted it. Whoever it was, thank you so much. Have a fantastic time. Andy