Tinytinkmom

1 hour ago, Abby323 said:

So after 3 1/2 hours tonight working with our TA, RCCL considers the change a "refare" so they want to charge me what the price would have been for both rooms in February with my original booking instead of what it is today since I am past final payment- cruise is a little less than 2 months away.  That amount is a few hundred dollars more and at this point I was very frustrated and just decided to keep things the same for now.  Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.  If I can muster up the patience to try for an interior room instead at a different time I may do that.

Sorry that you weren’t able to make the change at the current pricing…. While two rooms would be nice, one is 100% doable!  We’re a family of four (two girls that are 18 and 12), and have been on 16 cruises as a family (with 3 more in the next year) - all in one room together.  We rarely hang out in the room during the day (especially all together), so if you’re just using the room to sleep, it’s not a big deal.  Have a fun trip!

We are excited to be going on our first P&O Cruise this Saturday on Brittania.  I’ll be traveling with my husband, our 15 and 9 year old girls and my mum.  When we have sailed with Disney, Princess and Holland America, they all had apps that allowed you to text other passengers for free, making it easy to make/change plans and keep in contact.  It doesn’t appear that P&O offers anything like that, so do you have any tips for how you handle staying in contact?  I’ll be with my husband most of the time, and know we’ll need to check our 9 year old in and out of the kids’ area, so they won’t be a problem....  But I’m thinking the 15 year might have plans that change on a whim...  And my mum’s cabin is at the complete opposite end of the ship from ours.  Likely a silly question, but I’d appreciate any tips!

Thank you for the information!  We plan on taking the public bus, so I will try the email you provided.

We are from America, and true chip and PIN cards are uncommon here - not very many banks issue them...  So unfortunately, we don’t have one.

We are planning on catching the bus from the port in Olden over to 

Briksdal Glacier when we cruise next month...  Can anyone confirm whether they accept credit cards for payment on the bus?  We have a chip card with no PIN (chip & signature), if that matters.  I tried emailing through the website, and haven’t gotten a response.  Thank you!

When we disembark the Britannia next month, we are being picked up by West Quay cars at 9:30am.  We have never sailed P&O before - what time should we start the process of disembarking to meet the car at that time?  I understand that guests are given a specific time to disembark - if that ends up being too late for us, can we switch it with guest services?

Thank you!

Hello - Our family of 4 will be traveling from the US in mid-July, to spend time in England, Ireland and do a Norwegian Fjords cruise on Britannia.  We'll be traveling a total of two and a half weeks, and are trying not to take too much, as we'll be moving around.  I would appreciate any advice you might have regarding packing for the fjords (and England/Ireland!) in July.  Are any heavier layers necessary, or can we get by with layering a sweatshirt and waterproof jacket?  For excursions, we'll be doing Briksdal Glacier, a Fjord Safari in Flam, and then just walking around in Stavanger and Bergen.

Given the length of our trip, I don't know that we will pack any formal night attire, due to space issues - I'm assuming we can dine at the buffet those nights without a problem, in our casual clothes?

Finally, have you found it necessary to have cash in Norway, or were you able to pay for everything with credit card without a problem (including street vendors)?

Thank you for any advice you have!!

We are first time cruisers on P&O, and will be sailing on the Britannia July 20th.  We will be staying in Bradford-on-Avon, and taking the train to Southampton the day of the cruise.  What time does the port open, and when should we plan on arriving?   Thank you!

Thank you for all of the helpful recommendations!

We are sailing on the Britannia this July, and are booked on a 1pm flight from the Bournemouth airport the day we disembark.  We have not sailed with P&O before - is there an “express” disembarkation option, if we carry off our own luggage?  If so, what time can you typically disembark?  And I would appreciate any recommendations on transportation to Bournemouth airport - we are considering the train, Uber or pre-booking a taxi/shuttle.  Any suggestions would be appreciated!  Thank you!

On 3/25/2019 at 9:24 PM, cheezenip said:

 

I will be on the same ship in approx. 4 weeks and this is my 1st time on HAL. Care to provide any insights / recommendations / tips for someone new?

Congrats on your upcoming trip!  We have cruised extensively (this was our 18th) but, as mentioned, this was our first time with HAL.  The Nieuw Statendam was lovely!  Favorite hangout spots for us were Explorations Central, the Grand Dutch Cafe (enjoyed the Bossche Bollen and pea soup...  as well as the pancakes!), and all of the music venues.  Don’t miss the productions by the dance troupe at the World Stage.  We really, really liked the Lido Buffet - especially the freshly prepared to order stir fry at dinner!   Have a fabulous time!!

Any thoughts on room 1038?  That’s the one we have on hold, as it appears to be between the casino and BB King’s.  Right now, we pretty much have our pick of category J rooms, so I want to make sure I choose a good one & can change it, if need be!

We just returned from our first Holland America cruise on the Nieuw Statendam (LOVED it!!!), and are in the process of booking a July 2020 cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  We typically stay in ocean view cabins (though we have also done inside and verandahs over the years), but I really like the size and layout of the inside J rooms, especially as there will be 4 of us in the cabin for 12 nights!  However, I see that there are a few potential noisemakers on the deck above - BB King, the casino, etc.  Any suggestions for particular J category staterooms that are quiet?  Thank you!

We are leaving the kiddos with grandma and sailing on the Nieuw Statendam March 3rd.   Is there a phone number to leave with people back home, in the event that they need to reach you on the ship?  We’re just looking to provide grandma with an “in case of emergency” number, as we won’t have cell/internet service most of the trip.  Thank you!

Thanks for all of the great responses!  Relieved to hear that it’s okay to get there earlier than our suggested time...  When we go on a cruise, we like to be onboard as early as we can, to get the vacation started!!!

We are going to be sailing on the Nieuw Statendam out of Ft Lauderdale on March 3rd.  This is our first Holland cruise, so please excuse the rookie question!!  We received an email today, indicating that our port arrival time should be based on the deck that our stateroom is on.  It starts at 1pm, and is staggered until 3:30pm, which is the scheduled time for our deck (1st deck).  With the other cruise lines we've sailed on, we've always been able to get on the ship around noon, so this was a bit of a shock.  In your experience, do we actually need to wait until our scheduled 3:30pm time slot, or do they allow passengers to board earlier than that?  If we can't board earlier than that, I'm not sure what we're going to do with ourselves (and our bags) all day!  Thanks!

We are going to be sailing on the Nieuw Statendam out of Ft Lauderdale on March 3rd.  This is our first Holland cruise, so please excuse the rookie question!!  We received an email today, indicating that our port arrival time should be based on the deck that our stateroom is on.  It starts at 1pm, and is staggered until 3:30pm, which is the scheduled time for our deck (1st deck).  With the other cruise lines we've sailed on, we've always been able to get on the ship around noon, so this was a bit of a shock.  In your experience, do we actually need to wait until our scheduled 3:30pm time slot, or do they allow passengers to board earlier than that?  If we can't board earlier than that, I'm not sure what we're going to do with ourselves (and our bags) all day!  Thanks!

Thank you for all of the great advice!  One follow up question - can future cruise deposits purchased onboard be combined with something like a casino % discount (if you’re lucky enough to qualify)?

My husband and I are taking our first Holland cruise at the beginning of March - we’re on the Nieuw Statendam, and are super excited about it!  We are already planning Holland cruise #2 - a 12-night Med on the Nieuw Amsterdam in July 2020 with our two girls.  Not being familiar with Holland, I’m wondering if we should book the Med cruise now, or if we should wait and book onboard in March...  I’ve gotten some nice quotes from online travel agents (with non-refundable deposits), but don’t know if we’d be “missing out” on anything by not just waiting to book onboard.  Thank you for any thoughts or opinions!

We are planning on booking a Med cruise for July 2020, and love the itinerary of the Constellation 9-night on July 11th.  We have two girls, who will be 10 and 16 at that time.  The main idea of the trip is the ports, but it would certainly be a bonus if there are other kids/teens around the ship for them to hang out with.  Are the typically very many kids/teens on the Celebrity summer European cruises?

We are planning on booking a Med cruise for July 2020, and love the itinerary of the Nieuw Amsterdam 12-night on July 21st.  We have two girls, who will be 10 and 16 at that time.  The main idea of the trip is the ports, but it would certainly be a bonus if there are other kids/teens around the ship for them to hang out with.  Are the typically very many kids/teens on the Holland summer European cruises?

We are considering booking a 2020 cruise on the Legend....  We cruised on Carnival about 15 years ago, but have cruised other lines since, so we aren’t really familiar with the Carnival room options, ship layouts, etc.  We were planning on booking an ocean view room, but then I came across the 4K interior rooms, which are about $250 cheaper for our trip.  Any thoughts on the deck 4 location versus deck 1?  And the 4K rooms I’m looking at are 4194 and 4195 (we’re a family of 4, and those are the only quad rooms that appear to be between life boats)...  4195 looks like it is above the Odyssey Lounge - would that be a noisy room location?

Thanks for any insights!