TigerB

We've not been, but our daughter visited Dominica in November and her comments said it all: "nice people, interesting buildings, but dirt poor and definitely no good for you, mother". I notice from one of your photos that the pavements themselves also have the drainage gulleys running from the property line to the kerbside; yet another obstacle for a wheelchair, and not exclusive to the Caribbean, previously having to contend with them in some European towns. I would certainly agree with @Fionboard about Kingstown; to the best of my recollection, the pavements were so bad that we spent most of our time on the roads. Not a pleasant experience at all. Furthermore, Kingstown itself is not at all picturesque. St Vincent is a place where you need to do a tour to experience the wider beauty of the island but, as you know, that is impossible for our better halves.

Yeah, thanks for that! By the time I had escaped I had lost almost two hours!😳

If it's the one from 1964 John, that was Leslie Ash. Thanks for querying that though; in an attempt to find the answer on t'internet I have now entered a rabbit hole of advertising nostalgia!🙄

I knew that. Like you, we like to eat early and I like to have all my ducks in a row before we join the ship, so would do as you intend and book through the Cruise Planner initially.

So, a piece of salmon, a dip, a spoon full of coleslaw, and a little bit of salad? The salmon did look nice, but I would be expected something more. Maybe, that just me though!🐷🤭 Wasn't it Patsy Kensit in that Bird's Eye pea advert?

There is a way around that, or was; they may have stopped it now but, given P&O's history with IT, possibly not. Once, a few cruises back, I was in a virtual queue for one restaurant and our lass was in a queue for another; as soon as the first one came up we cancelled the other one.

The rolling eyes emoji and the laughing emoji in the reactions from @terrierjohn, @SeaJane, and @Angel57 clearly went over your head then!🙄

Further to the above, if you want the early dining times, and they are available on the Cruise Planner, then book as soon as you are able to do so. If you wait until you are onboard, and use the My Holiday app/non-app, you may find that the times you favour are not available, or they may only have sharing tables left.

If you book via your Cruise Planner for the earlier times they will shows on the dining reservations section on the My Holiday app/non-app after you have boarded and logged on for the first time; it is on that where you have the option to cancel reservations. Yes, you can make reservations for both MDRs, subject to them being open for bookings on the Cruise Planner.

Also, you cannot get the additional OBC with a Blue Light card. You can still apply the shareholder credit at a later time.

I use Facebook; reviews on there are always impartial and balanced.......... aren't they?🙄

Me too, but I've had it about three times onboard and they've always been filleted properly.

Thanks for the report; I'm glad you found time to chill. Was that salmon on a waffle? Is so, was it a sweet waffle or a potato waffle. 🎶Birdseye potato waffles, they're waffley versatile🎶 (Sorry, I couldn't resist, but you are welcome to that ear worm!🤭) Anyway, they don't have that on Iona; nor do they have either of the desserts you both had. Jumper tomorrow?🥶

It's freedom dining on Arvia so will not make any difference; you will all be able to dine together subject to you requesting a suitable table.

Thanks for the great review; I am really glad it was better than you anticipated it would be, and that you didn't cancel. Did you ask your cabin steward for biscuits, or weren't you that bothered? When we've done that it has had the opposite effect, ending up with five or six packets a day. Unlike you, we're not that bothered about the demise of the turn down service; it's sometimes too much hassle for me to tidy up the cabin properly so it's presentable for the cabin steward.🤭 The bedding gets a full change once on a two week cruise; sometimes though the sheet and a couple of pillow cases have been changed between. Yes, the cocktails on Britannia are quite poor in comparison to Iona and Arvia. I firmly believe that they use ready-made mixes, so there is no skill required and likely the reason that they can't make others that aren't on the menu. The two larger ships are different altogether, and they appear to have properly trained mixologists, in the Amber Lounge and Anderson's at least, where they can sometimes go off menu. Good luck with your planning for next year.🙂

No good for our lass, then🙁

Thanks for the update, young man.🙂 Hopefully that bus ride had shaken that head cold out of you. San Just looks nice, and the waterfront area and squares look to be okay for a wheelchair. What is it with the old town, narrow pavements and lack of dropped kerbs?

That certainly is a tactic that can be used, and would likely prove successful almost all of the time. I suppose it's no different to what we have done before: been shown to a table that doesn't suit us, and then pointing to and asking to sit at a more suitable empty one; we never been refused, and all the escort has to do is go back to the podium to change the table assignment. We have always refused a sharer when offered one, and will continue to do so. In doing so, we have seldom been made to wait more than a few minutes; I think the restaurant hosts, seeing a woman in a wheelchair, may have felt uncomfortable about sending us away. On our Iona cruise last October I hatched a plan to try and get a a two-seater that was not in a bank of others for every night we dined in the MDR. For all but one night that worked perfectly, and I shall try the same again in a few weeks. Enjoy your chill time!🙂

Am I understanding it correctly, you cannot book on My Holiday, and neither is there an opportunity to join a virtual queue for freedom dining? It's a case of get there sharpish for a decent table, or take a pager, or take what they have? I'm with you on the apparent inequity when it comes to them dishing out two-seaters. Sometimes, I think they make it up as they go along. As for the two-seaters you have seen empty or with wine on, when you have been told there were none available, I wouldn't be surprised if they were blocked out by the waiters on those sections for their repeat guests; something that will benefit both sides: a regular 'reserved' table for the guests, and the high likelihood of a decent tip for the waiting team.

As @john watson has advised, book two tables before cruising and visit the restaurant(s) as soon as you are able to. This way you will also benefit from the 20% discount and any additional Peninsula discount.

Hopefully the sun will shine all the way to Portugal, and with you being on the starboard side you will get the benefit of it.🙂

Thanks Eddie99. What we drink during a cruise day would never justify the cost of any drinks package, and if we had one we would be drinking just for the sake of it; that is not what we go on cruises for.

Thanks for the update, @Selbourne. It's good to hear that the weather is getting better. You didn't say but, unlike last time, I hope you had the real deal with the sea bass, in a proper banana leaf. We too bemoan the dumbing down and Americanisation of the Queen's (or King's, as it is now) on the BBC, and everywhere else for that matter. No dear news reader, the year is NOT twenny twenny four!🤬

That's the thing with Glasshouse on Iona and Arvia, they have those daft three dish options and none of the mains that are available on the other ships. I really do hope they relent and start offering more choice, but I fear they won't. And in the shadows was a Bill Sykes type character making sure his charges got a good haul.🤭