Billish

Just now, Bazrat said:

Of course its a bribe but would you book a cruise purely on that.

No, but Vamps has already booked the cruise. 

Just pure generosity from P&O! 

I see that Carnival have announced that they will no longer be giving out cake as a birthday "gift".

They will simply stick a candle in whatever dessert you choose for dinner in the MDR.

18 minutes ago, Bobblehat71 said:

Nothing wrong with the size of Iona or Arvia . The problem is they just don't offer anything new . They are just bigger ships with more cabins. The only difference between IONA and Ventura is that it takes you twice as long to get any where 😉 RCI and NCL pack more facilities into ships much smaller than Iona and Arvia. 😎

My point was reallly about passenger numbers. Can P&O get sufficient passengers on them, year round ?

7 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Good point about not requesting prior to final. I never thought about it before.
 

It may be that with the stock being so low for such a long time there are more stockholder requests than they anticipated or geared up for. I know my DH just bought his 300 shares so he could get his OBC for his Sept solo cabin sailing.

Why 300, or is your DH expecting an increase in the share price ?

5 minutes ago, Muffinz said:

do you put just the birthday / anniversary date in the app? (sorry - totally new to all this)

 

we will be on Majestic in March 2023 and it will be wifes birthday... she would probably be chuffed (and quite surprised) if the staff in the dining room sang happy birthday to her and gave her a cake

Yes, put it in the app. 

But, as the wait staff will sing Happy Birthday at least 10 times a night, I would give them a break.  It is really naff.

I know hindsight is a wonderful thing, but with unprecedented inflation rates, interest rates increasing, and a consequent squeeze on disposable income,  I wonder if the bosses at P&O/Carnival now wish they had ordered two Royal class ships (or at least one) rather than  both Iona and Arriva ? 

I appreciate that all business decisions are judgement calls,  but to put all your eggs into the mega cruise ship basket,  seems to be somewhat perverse. 

I struggle to see how P&O can generate profitable occupancy levels across the fleet over the next 24 months.

4 hours ago, Esprit said:

On Regal two weeks ago we received a bottle of champagne (not real of course) in an ice bucket with glasses (not to keep obviously) in our cabin. Then later in Sabatini’s to our surprise after ordering dessert we were presented with the Princess chocolate cake.

We took the bottle into Sabatini’s with no issues whatsoever.

As complimentary gifts go we were very happy and the staff were extra attentive.

 

You did better than us. Our Ruby Wedding Anniversary, we ate in the Crown Grill, and just got the cake (which admittedly was quite tasty)

However,  I think you have more "status" than us, which might explain the bottle of cheap fizz. 

To be honest,  we weren't bothered either way.

On any cruise there will be hundreds of pax with birthdays, anniversaries etc. Some people seem to think that they should be upgraded,  be given free soecuality meals etc. 

As it was our Ruby, we upgraded ourselves to a cc minisuite, and had a great time. 

2 hours ago, Muffinz said:

thanks - looks like I'm going to google some more info on this 'medallion' this weekend 😃

Nothing to do with the Medallion.

You have a screen outside the door. Just press the "Do not disturb " button, or "Service my Cabin" button. 

You are over-thinking your holiday.

2 hours ago, Muffinz said:

do princess offer a quick 'ship tour' on embarkation day?

No. 

We just systematically walk through the public areas. Not difficult,  especially as there are interactive screens throughout the ship, showing where you are.

5 hours ago, Senga said:

Is port or starboard a better choice for cruising this itinerary?

Makes no difference at all.

4 hours ago, Britboys said:

I guess that depends on whether you know what the colours mean. Whatever form this medallion takes, mine would be hidden in my pocket most of the time so few would get to know my 'status'.

The majority of cruisers either wear the Medallion on a lanyard (tacky in my opinion) or on a wrist band.

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

I usually buy a wine package for dinners so that makes quite a dent in it straight away... Mind you, for 12 nights I won't bother with that as I don't get through 3 glasses with dinner. Most of my recent P&O cruises have been 16 nights or more.

How much would you save by buying a wine package ? We normally buy the house "plonk" at around £18 a bottle. 

55 minutes ago, Britboys said:

A fair range of comments and questions have been posted including about:

 

Single supplements

More varied itineraries

Cut-backs 

Drinks Packages

The on-board 'App' 

Daytime events 

More choice of airports for Scottish pax 

Iona suitability for the Fjords 

Speciality Restaurants 

Vaccination Rules

Ballroom Dancing facilities 

IT and phone problems

 

Some, I - and all of you could answer like "Is P&O moving away from smaller and Adult-Only ships to large family ships" - err, yeah! and "Are there any plans to build a smaller adults only ship" - err, no!

 

I have posted a question about when they will reinstate evening cabin service.

 

It will be interesting to see his responses but I guess they will be all the usual non-answers couched in marketing-speak.

 

 

 

 

 

Given that the Q&A is being done by the largest booker of P&O cruises in the country, I think we can assume that nothing of substance will be asked,  or answered. 

The TA will certainly not want to ask any questions that imply that it is now better to book later rather than at launch.

Seems a strange juxtaposition.  Food banks posts, followed by photos of expensive meals.

Its going to be a long hard winter for many people.

I guess those of us on here should  be thankful that, in the main,   we will still be able to live a comfortable existence.  

7 hours ago, Muffinz said:

we won't be making any reservations until closer to the time, but we'd probably like the same table / waiters each night

You cannot guarantee that.

26 minutes ago, Muffinz said:

thanks for the replies... we still have adaptors (USA to NZ and Euro to NZ) from our cruise 2 years ago so that's all good we can use them

if there are power and or USB outlets by the bed that will be very handy as on Celebrity they were by the desk from memory.

 

one more question - what time are the shows in the theatre? 

just want to know so we can book / reserve a dining time that will fit in with the shows

Shows are normally 20:00 and 22:00. However,  most of the shows are just a single entertainer - you don't need to book a dining time. 

Wait until you are on board, see what is happening and then decide.  And you can turn up and eat without a reservation. 

A holiday is about spontaneity- why book months in advance for dinner just because some bloke is singing  yet another sing from "Cats" to a pre-recorded tape ?

37 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

We have watched all the matches the Lionesses have played in this tournament and todays superb victory was a culmination of the teamwork and the skills of Sarina Weignan in making the players believe they could win the trophy. #DoneUsProud 

Well said. Sarina made all the difference.

P&O could do with some calm, measured professional leadership. Time for Paul to step down and Sarina to take over!   

2 hours ago, gvre said:

Their pizza is the best. Crust perfect and great sauce.. We have had to wait 10-15 minutes at times and we split one pizza plenty for us We will be on Island in September and will miss Alfredo's

 

 

Absolutely- great service,  great pizza.

2 hours ago, nini said:

We waited 2 hours for our lunch.

Really ? I find that unbelievable. 

We would have left and gone to the buffet after 30 minutes.

Hawaiian Pizza ! Very popular in the UK.

4 minutes ago, cruise saint said:

How far do you have to take them? I've never actually noticed the hole in the wall before.

We were in the CPS queue, so to a certain extent it depends where your car is, but no more than 50 yards or so.

22 minutes ago, cruise saint said:

We are on Britannia in three weeks (yayy).  We've cruised on her twice before,  both times from Ocean Terminal.   We're booked in with CPS.  Do they still take your luggage for you as you leave the car, or do you have to take it to the hole in the wall yourself?  If so, are there plenty of trollies available? They took our luggage on both previous occasions,  but I seem to remember reading on here that they don't do that now.

On the positive side, we're delighted with our 2pm embarkation time - much better than the other tow which we're 3.30pm. We're in exactly the same cabin as the two previous cruises (D411), so that would appear to rule out the boarding by deck theory. 

Had to take the luggage ourselves a few weeks ago. Didn't notice any trolleys,  but to be fair, I wasn't looking for them.

10 minutes ago, Adventures ahead said:

Could this be because there is also less testing?

The UK figures are calculated using sampling methodologies,  the actual number of tests being carried  out  is irrelevant. 

31 minutes ago, Palaceman said:

This just shows how everyone is different.  We have visited Gib on 7 out of 9 cruises plus a 4 night stay at the Rock Hotel in the last 8 years. I have to say we missed not going there on our last 2 cruises. Looking forward to having an all day visit on Ventura later in the year. Horses for courses.

Out of interest, what do you find to do in Gib ? 

Been three times,  and next time we will stay on board, unless you have any recommendations. 

11 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

she seemed to dock on that side more often than not. 

Although that means nothing for future cruises. Weather,  tides, other ships in port etc will determine which direction the ship faces when in port.