newbie cruissy

1. Don't know as we are booked on our first ever cruise in July 

2, 3, 4 & 5 - ditto

All of the above sounds great though 

Just now, tinkercat said:

I did this also, very strange

I've just looked at booking the cruise we are on in July, £800 cheaper 😳

22 hours ago, newbie cruissy said:

Dilemma time - we are booked on our first cruise ever on Iona in July. We've paid the deposit only at the moment, but payment in full is due 12 Feb. We didn't take out travel insurance at the time of booking as usually do this nearer the time of travel, now reading that travel insurance taken out now will NOT cover any issues caused by the "C" word. 

 

We are a young, heathy family with no underlying health issues and would, at the moment, be happy to go on the cruise if it departs as advertised (especially with the extra £400 OBC provided 😉) 

 

To pay or not to pay, that is the question 

Seems this decision will be taken out of our hands. FCO advise to avoid all but essential travel to Norway, so travel insurance would be void anyway. Unless that changes in the next 4 weeks will have to cancel,  take deposit as FCC and maybe rebook nearer the time if the situation improves. 

4 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Oh and you will need insurance before you pay the final amount otherwise you won't be covered for cancellation.

Goes without saying, yes

39 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

If you book a cruise or other holiday you should always take out travel insurance at the time.  If you have no insurance, I would wait.  I don't think you mean 12th Feb?

 

Actually, how are you going to cruise without insurance?

12 April sorry... We'll still be able to get insurance, it just won't cover anything Coronavirus related. Lesson learnt though

35 minutes ago, Burgmeister said:

If payment date was 12th February then surely you have already missed the deadline?

12 April... Will edit now 😂

Dilemma time - we are booked on our first cruise ever on Iona in July. We've paid the deposit only at the moment, but payment in full is due 12 Feb. We didn't take out travel insurance at the time of booking as usually do this nearer the time of travel, now reading that travel insurance taken out now will NOT cover any issues caused by the "C" word. 

We are a young, heathy family with no underlying health issues and would, at the moment, be happy to go on the cruise if it departs as advertised (especially with the extra £400 OBC provided 😉) 

To pay or not to pay, that is the question 

Dilemma time - we are booked on our first cruise ever on Iona in July. We've paid the deposit only at the moment, but payment in full is due 12 Feb. We didn't take out travel insurance at the time of booking as usually do this nearer the time of travel, now reading that travel insurance taken out now will NOT cover any issues caused by the "C" word. 

We are a young, heathy family with no underlying health issues and would, at the moment, be happy to go on the cruise if it departs as advertised (especially with the extra £400 OBC provided 😉) 

To pay or not to pay, that is the question 

On 2/23/2020 at 11:14 PM, peteukmcr said:

Yes it is

No longer relevant, £400 extra OBC offered so drinks package no longer worth considering for us 😉

3 hours ago, silversurf said:

now see that Norway is refusing passengers disembarking in Bergen and Stavanger, so that rules out all next years sailings on Iona anyway.

I don't think that's a permanent decision is it? Once the peak of the virus is over they'll reopen the ports won't they? We're on Iona in July 🙄

Sorry, my mistake, I thought the limit for drinks in the package was £5.95 😞

I know it doesn't make a big difference, but your £6.45 cocktail is not included in the drinks package. 

3 hours ago, peteukmcr said:

Well I will try again and post my breakdown, but as it was reported by someone before on another thread, no doubt it'll go "poof" again.

 

I have guessed at only 2 prices (coffee and digestif).

 

I know what everyone says about port days, but the maximum saving for us on a port day would be the Peroni and 1 soda (Diet Pepsi or such) which amounts to £6.35. Still making a daily total of £44.75. The rest would still be consumed, special coffee in the morning, 1 bottle of water going off the ship, another in the evening before bed, soft drink when getting back on board or when I've been to the gym.

 

I know we could make sure we drink the ship water (not on port days), so that would save £3.50, that's still £47.60.

 

I know we could bring a litre of spirit on board at embarkation or purchase a bottle from the room service menu, but that means drinking in the cabin and we'd rather go to a venue (we'd still have to purchase mixers).

 

At the end of the day, we like to enjoy ourselves, and not worry about the amount we spend each day so we believe a package will work for us.

 

I know some maybe shocked about our drinking habits, but please try and refrain from being judgmental, we're all different. We don't judge those who don't drink alcohol and I can assure you were are never 'wasted' as my US friends would say. 

 

Oh as a comparison to P&O being like pub prices we went out for a pub dinner last night to meet up with friends and we spent £60 on drinks between us (2 G&Ts, 2 Jack and diets and 6 glasses of wine - the wine alone cost £35). This was not in the city centre either. 

 

"A couple of them have my details as they are seeking employment elsewhere and I will vouch for them in their interviews." 

I don't see that as being relevant to an interview situation, what are you going to say? "oh yes I met John on a recent cruise I was on, they were really miserable and I hated the whole experience" 

Hello, 

We are on Iona to Norway in July and just considering options in the Fjords. The option at Olden seems to be to go and see what's left of the glacier. Is it really worth about £200 (4 of us) to go and see it? Is there much left to see even? And is there anything else to do there? 

I tried to do this and ended up calling them. The website can't handle 2 cabins on the same booking. They did it over the phone and linked them. 

1 hour ago, DamianG said:

 

I would actually be impressed if it was someone as "current" as Mark Ronson!

In a magazine article I read Mark Ronson is going to be resident on the new Virgin Cruise Ship, don't think P& O would get him

My cousin is called Allision.. Oh, wait... 

34 minutes ago, daiB said:

No there are 4 entrances so that’s 8 sinks.

Ah I see, was envisioning 2 sinks for hundreds of people at the same time, and as grapau says, the buffet open all day. 

19 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

No.

The buffet is open all day.

Only takes 20 seconds to wash your hands.

Ah OK, so this only goes for the buffet? Not other set sitting restaurants? 

15 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Just got off Grand Princess and there are 2 wash basins at every entrance to the Horizon Court buffet.

There was a crew member at each entrance asking people to wash their hands but quite a few just walked in.

Crew always thanked us for washing our hands and said they can't force passengers to wash their hands.

 

Trying to get my head round the logistics of this. If everybody stopped to wash their hands wouldn't there just be a massive queue? 

Of course if you get the drinks package that started off the thread you can have as much bottled water as you like ;) 

11 minutes ago, jaydee6969 said:

 

In the full terms and conditions it notes the following:- Ordering a double shot or a large glass of wine is not permitted under the programme as it counts as two drinks.

Well spotted, that was neatly hidden away!

2 hours ago, mickrory said:

The 4 of us all enjoy copious amounts of wine but the £6.95 price excludes all 250cl glasses except house wine

I don't think  that's right mickrory - a look at the t&c's says any drinks under £6.95, and excludes double spirits, but I can't see anywhere that it excludes 250ml wines, of which there are several available under the £6.95 cap:

What is Included •  The Ultimate drinks package is £39.95 per person, per day and includes an incredible array of beers, spirits, cocktails, liqueurs and wines by the glass retailing up to £6.95 per serving as listed on our menus, subject to availability.  Spirits will be served in single measures only with a draught soda or long life juice mixer.

Exclusions and Limitations •  The Ultimate drinks package excludes any drinks retailing above £6.95, all bottles of wine, large bottles of water (750ml/1.5L), canned or bottled premium soft drinks or juices and smoothies.

11 minutes ago, brian1 said:

Well that's gonna be a bummer for a ship that's bigging up it's Norway maiden season.Flam is one of the biggies,surely.

We are on Iona next year - Flam is not on the schedule. Route is Stavanger - Olden - Geiranger - Bergen