JDB78

Just checking if there is any way of checking your on board bill once you return home? I was keeping one eye on the myholiday.pocruises.com site but just wanted to double check as never got a final statement or anything like that.

Same as me, a bit of a croaky voice, bit of a headache one day but nothing major. Both wife and I have been getting several pings from covid app saying I've been in close contact with someone with covid. All tests negative however. 1st 9-10 days cruise I didn't really see many wearing masks. After the captain made the request, did see a lot more, did make me think, we've all been on board in relatively close contact for over a week, are a few more people wearing masks for a few days going to make much difference now. Was only asked to wear a mask once - think it was Lisbon. Nothing getting off, but asked wear a mask going through security getting back on in the terminal building. Regarding testing, as far as I read it correctly, kids aged between 6-12 should have been tested at the terminal, but this wasn't done. No idea if it was a general change in policy or just the fact it was so busy. Think there were 450 kids on board. If say 200 of them were in the 6-12 age range, add on parents and siblings. Normally they say wait 15 to be sure the test doesn't throw up a 2nd line, plus time to do the test itself. Not sure P&O really wanted 300-400 people to be waiting round for an extra half hour when they had up to 3000 people to get through. Regarding the speciality restaurants, I didn't use them, but the Beach House and Sindhu both looked open. Didn't see any comms saying about places being closed.

Returned home yesterday after 2 weeks on board Ventura and I must say we had a great time. It was by no means perfect and had some ups and downs, but to be honest it went far better than we expected and would definitely sail with P&O again - good job as we'd already booked on Arvia next June. So pre cruise we were worried having never sailed with P&O before and only really having sailed with RC on the Independence. Our main concerns were the lack of activities or facilities on board Ventura compared to the RC ships, the age of Ventura and also we were unsure of exactly what the general ambience would be like onboard. I'd always thought of P&O was being quite formal and dare I say stuffy? In contrast to this were reports that Ventura could be Butlins at sea at times. Sailing with 2 kids 6 &16 so quite a big age gap, our main concern was would they get bored? Our 6 year old daughter we were less worried about as we knew she would make at least some use out of the kids club. Our 16 year old son we knew wouldn't bother with the club and we thought would have to make do with the sports court. Parking with CPS was a bit of a pain compared to ABP. Was asked to wait in a queue for about 30-40 mins in blazing hot heat whilst they checked everyone's car, took pics etc. I get it but ABP was literally show your paperwork, park at the next available bay then they take the luggage from you. 1st impressions of Ventura were mixed, we quickly realised that the sports court was tiny and unusable if more than 1 or 2 others were already in there. The gym was functional but quite dated and small compared to the Indy. First morning on board, struggled for sunbeds anywhere - eventually finding some up on about deck 17/18 - not great for kids wanting to use the pool. We found the layout on Ventura was quite quirky, for kids club it was walk through the 1st buffet area then up a floor, for Bay Tree restaurant it was down to 7 walk across then down again. For those familiar with the Indy, everything is very open plan and built around the Royal Promenade and we were surprised Ventura didn't have something similar - well apart from the mid-ship Atrium - just made navigating the ship that bit more difficult especially in the 1st few days. Few days in settled into a good routine, up early, got beds by the main pool no problem. Used the buffet for breakfast, which did get very busy, but food was ok, with a decent selection. The pool side snacks were ok for the kids, the buffet restaurant although quite limited in choice, was great for a quick bite for lunch. We used the mdr for dinner and again the choice was quite limited but always managed to find something and quality was generally good - seemed to be quite a lot variation in the cooking of steak however. Son ordered sirloin quite a few times, always medium - result was different always every time - no big deal however. Sun had been shining pretty much since day 1, all was going well, cabin was inside, was small but functional. We prefer to spend as least as we can on the price of the cruise, so gives us that bit more to spend on other things. We don't tend to spend much time in the cabin so not something we worry about. Got to the Canaries and the captain mentioned about high winds due to 2 weather fronts meeting. He said we would have done an alternative port but where we were the weather conditions were going to be the same so ploughed on. In port weather conditions were absolutely fine out at sea, was quite rough. Having paid the early saver unfortunately we were placed right at the front. For 2 nights straight we got no sleep due to the motions, loud bangs - literally like explosions or some smashing metal containers together. There also seemed to be machinery near to us so could hear a lot of whirring off and on. Spoke to reception to see if anything they could do and were lucky enough to get a move so cant praise them highly enough for resolving that for us. As soon as we made our way back north the weather conditions couldn't have been better. The ocean up to and over the bay of biscay was as flat as a board. The shows were great, a decent choice although some acts were on twice, so if they weren't your thing, tough. P&O seem to excel at the evening entertainment so if one venue doesn't suit, the chances are a different one will. Game shows, singers, horse racing, magicians etc. From memory with RC they really pushed the main show, but little other options. Overall there were only a few negatives really. The general facilities on board. If P&O want to compete with other brands for the family market they really do need to build ships with more varied facilities. Gangs of youths - when I say gangs, not exactly inner city gangs. They all seemed very well turned out in appearance and quite well spoken (most of the time) but still several groups of around 10-15 mid teen boys and girls is quite off-putting and maybe intimidating for some. Couple of other small gripes - people talking when shows were going on - witnessed 2 occasions were a guest turned round and gave them an earful - wasn't kids / young adults doing the talking either. Son was left stood at the glass house bar for 10 mins after ordering a drink, was annoying he seemed to be forgotten about and they didn't think to speak to him again after making his order - but these things happen. Sorry for such a long post - had every intention of keeping it short. Overall a great family holiday, good mix of people, good weather, good entertainment - little bits that could have been better, but for price we paid - not to mention the fact of no cruising for 4 years, we were so glad we booked.

Yes I was thinking the same as you, just covering themselves in case people thought they could just turn up. Still not sure why kids aged 5-11 need to be tested twice, everyone else once?

We have received the following text regarding travelling on Ventura tomorrow *Correction. We can't wait to welcome you on board. On the day of your holiday, please head straight to your ship's departure terminal at the time stated on your boarding pass. Don't forget to bring your most up-to-date NHS COVID-19 Pass or valid vaccination certificates issued by your local health authority including the booster where applicable (The record card that is given out at the time of vaccination will not be accepted) and your negative lateral flow/antigen test certificates taken within one day prior to embarkation (NHS tests will not be accepted). Please note, there are no testing facilities at the cruise terminal. Please ignore any previous SMS message, thanks. We are travelling with a 6 year old and was expecting to have to do a 2nd test in Southampton is this now not the case? Anyone who if there has been a change? @molecrochip

Exactly what I did as well

NHS tests may have been free in terms not paying directly for them, but they're not actually free are they? Very unfair to expect tax payers to pay for people to go on holiday? In my opinion the only reason for testing is the cruise companies desperate to re-build confidence in cruising. Obviously the scenes on TV of the Diamond Princess were hugely damaging and the fear or Covid spreading rapidly will put people off. Add to that the fact that cruising has always attracted generally older passengers who are in higher risk categories - it's a PR nightmare. By cruise companies saying everyone is vaccinated, everyone is tested is their way of saying come back cruising, it's perfectly safe. Call me naive but I personally don't think its anything to do with shares in testing companies. Of course we all know that the testing procedure is flawed, but to someone who doesn't really question these things, I would imagine they will feel fairly safe to cruise once again.

You wouldn't think holidays are the 1st to go seeing the carnage at airports on the news at the moment. Easyjet simply can't keep up with capacity they want to run at - Although I appreciate that many of these holidays will have been booked quite some time ago. I guess we are in a unique situation at the minute where many people are itching to get away after maybe not travelling abroad for the past 2 or 3 years. Possibly the travel industry will see a hit this time next year? Not sure if there have been any past studies on holidays sales and financially difficult times? Me personally, I take the attitude of look after the pennies so the pounds look after themselves. I guess others might continue to eat out regularly, new clothes etc and cut the holidays? It always amazes me just how resilient people seem to be. Doom and gloom on the news, no-one has any money, yet go to a shopping centre at the weekend and you can't get a parking spaces it's that busy. I remember in the last crash, in 2007-08 the big winners were shops like £1 shops, Aldi and Lidl. People still seem to spend, just make changes to their weekly spend. Definitely worrying times, but I don't think its time write the company just yet - although the next 12-18 months might massive for the company. Fill the ships and they might just be ok? Hopefully anyway.

I've booked some shows on Ventura for a couple weeks time. The same artists appeared to be on twice - on different days. Is this normal? Only sailed with RC before and never had the same show twice - unless on the same day?

If I can do it onboard then may as well do that. I had to call them on Friday to ask a question about child registration to the kids club, took about 90 mins to get through. Phone call was done in 2-3 mins after that 🤷🏻‍♂️

I think you're right. Noone could recommend buying Carnival shares at the minute. Maybe a few quarters down the line when things are clearer who knows. There is a possibility that the price they are now is a good investment, but as like you say only as a punt. There are people who only buy shares when the price is low, but I guess low is relative. Yes the shares are low historically speaking, but low to where they might be in 6 months time? Me personally I'd still consider buying more shares, I'd like to think that if Carnival can get through next 12 months or so then things might look a lot different? Got to speculate to accumulate didn't someone once say?

Unfortunately still the same. Obviously a set up issue. Neither me or my wife drink much, so point in us getting a package. The add to basket is not highlighted unless all guests have added a package to the account

I'll try again now but when I logged in the other day the site literally wouldn't let me add the 2 children's drinks packages to the account unless I used the drop down box on the 2 adults and selected a package for those as well.

We are travelling on Ventura in a couple of weeks and wanted to book 2 children's drinks packages before we travelled. The online booking won't let us add to the basket unless we book a drinks package for all guests (2 adults 2 children). I knew you couldn't just book 1 children's package - has to be for every child in a party, but no mention of not being able to book a children's package if the adults don't want one? Anyone any experience in booking children's drinks package before sailing? Anyone confirm if the kids can have a package if the adults don't?

We are booked on Arvia next June and noticed the price had gone down. I called P&O, only to be told that as we had agreed to pay the original price when we booked they wouldn't do anything. Ended up cancelling and rebooking but lost around £150 deposit. Was originally ok with that if that's the rule, but now to read this, I'm not too impressed. I guess would need further info as to what cruises are affected or if its a general rule

I dont think you will find anyone who is suggesting Carnival is in a great position right now. Personally, I believe everyone just has to make their own choice. The OBC factor comes into play more now the shares are a lot lower. Previously you may have had to pay 3-4k just to get the £150 obc. Now it's less than 1,000 so very attractive as long as the company stays afloat and keeps the benefits as they are. People also can get quite attached to companies like P&O so owning shares in them may also feel a bit more personal than owning shares in an oil company or investment fund or something like that. Feel really sorry for people who have lost a lot of money, but at the end of the day, the company is still going and hopefully things will change over time

I've only sailed with RC before (well apart from one with Airtours but the less said about that one the better). If I remember correctly we had the choice of leaving the cases out the night before and then leaving at the allocated time or leave whenever you like bit you have to take your cases yourself. Is this the same process with P&O or is it leave cases out & allocated time only?

I've been viewing these boards for quite some time prior to actually joining and this reminds me of the topless bathers debate quite some time ago. Which deck again is the topless one? - Just want to make sure I avoid it 😉 https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2139421-latest-azura-cruise-had-topless-sunbathing/page/4/

We went on a RC cruise when our daughter was only about 8-9 months old. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Must admit dinner times were probably the most difficult as no 'baby' food is provided - who goes on holiday with 24-36 jars of baby food? We got by - macaroni and cheese pretty much every night for her. Lunch and breakfast were a lot easier and less stressful as we went to the buffet rather than the mdr so a bit more relaxed atmosphere. Our daughter is 6 now and we are on Ventura in July. No guarantee at all that she'll want to go to the kids club + obviously there are covid restrictions and cohort rules so reduced hours. At the end of the day, it is what it is. Sometimes in the past even on RC which may be seen as little more relaxed and younger audience, you are made to feel like kids shouldn't be onboard - mainly its just glaring looks from some elderly guests. Me personally, I think if you go on a cruise with children especially young ones, then you have to accept that they are going to be there a lot of the time. I think it's great getting the kids dressed up in smart clothes for dinner + for them to be a part of the whole experience. If I remember rightly the kids club doesn't stay open that late either, we used to watch the main show at the theatre but often had to leave early to get up to the kids club (to pick up my son) before it closed at 10? Obviously the kids clubs are great for a temporary break, but in general, I'd say if you take kids on a ship, expect that they are going to be with you for the vast majority of the time.

Doesn't sound great, but I suppose many businesses are in a similar situation. Surely the fact they have made it this far and things are getting back to normal-ish then hopefully the situation will slowly improve? I always remember chancellor George Osborne saying about mending the roof while the sun is shining. The amount of debt even pre Covid suggests Carnival maybe weren't doing that. I bought shares recently around the £10 mark. I try not to look at it too much as I know it's only going one way at the moment. We've got a cruise booked for July and next year as well. Possibly will book another so I figured the obc will balance any losses and don't think my outlook on that has changed. If things improve, it will be a bonus rather than me expecting it to at the moment.

I tried 1st of all with a picture of my portfolio as not yet had my 1st statement. That didn't work, but followed up with what I believe is called a "market buy contract note". Basically on your activity click the transaction where you've bought the shares and comes up with the contract note. Guess it's a type of receipt. That seemed to do the trick as within a couple of days, I received an updated booking confirmation and then a confirmation email as well.

Sorry for jumping on the conversation, but in general how can you find out in advance if there are any theme nights on a particular cruise? Thanks

Good idea, although what happens if you test positive 😬. Is anyone going to get someone else to do their test for them and pass it off as their own 🤔 Must admit I have done a test run with the Randox test. The point is that being able to get on board hinges on you sending a photo of a test then waiting for someone to review the photo and email you a certificate. What happens if the certificate hadn't have come through for 24 hours or not at all. I certainly was a bit apprehensive about relying on an app to go on a holiday that I've been waiting for, for 4 years now 😭. Having done the test run however I do feel a lot more confident as my certificate came through very quickly. Just hope the system holds up when potentially thousands of people are all requesting certificates at the same time. Anyone know what time you can do your test from? I know they say 24 hours - 3-4pm onwards? Think the working hours of Randox is up to about 8pm? Certainly would be a bit of an uncomfortable wait sending off the test and then not getting the certificate by they close for the evening

Thanks Brian I'm sure I'll hear something soon.

When you've emailed in the past has it taken long for a response? Received an instant auto response to say email received but then nothing. Emailed quite late on Wednesday but just presumed would have heard something yesterday or today?