Junction2

Lovely photos. I slept right through the display here on the south coast and woke up 15 minutes ago to see all the photos from friends and family on social media.  

Last home game of the season too. 

Thank you - very helpful. 

We received an email yesterday from P and O as follows - 

Due to berthing conflicts in several ports, it has been necessary to reschedule Arcadia’s calls to Newport RI, New York and Portland.  In addition, we are no longer able to call at Bar Harbor as originally planned.  To ensure that you are able to enjoy your time ashore, we are pleased to advise that we have extended our call in St John, where you will now have an overnight in port.

The overnighter is St.John in New Brunswick not NF and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for what to do on both days. I’ve not been overly impressed with the arranged excursions so far on any of the stops and we were planning on just exploring by ourselves within St. John itself. 

 

We are also now docking in New York a day earlier than planned so will be there Wednesday morning to Friday evening. I’m a member of an online book club whose members are mainly based in North America and at least 4 of my fellow moderators of the club are planning to be in New York to coincide with my time there. I’m really hoping now that no further alterations are made as 2 of my online friends are flying long distances to be there. I’ve known these ladies nearly 12 years and although we Zoom often now, it will be the first time some of us will meet up physically. 

Thanks @TigerB - I’ve really enjoyed reading your comments. 

@Selbourne

Many thanks from me too. Your daily posts have been so enjoyable, I’m going to miss them. 
I’m on Arcadia in September doing the transatlantic cruise to North America and Canada and that will be a much longer cruise time wise than I’ve done before so reading about how you spent your sea days has been very informative. 

4 minutes ago, kalos said:

 

Yes I remember that but it worked much better if it was unused 😉

I knew I was doing something wrong 🤣🤣

Izal was ok used as tracing paper when we had to put maps into our homework books. 

I’m full of admiration for all of you who take the time to keep us all amused and informed about your cruise experiences. Your cruise has got off to a wonderful start and I’m looking forward to reading more when you are able to update again.  

So big thanks to you, Selbourne, Eddie99, Mrs Goggins etc for brightening up my days. 

That’s good news Megabear2. I hope your husband is feeling ok too. 

That was a great read. Thank you. 

I’m so pleased you enjoyed this cruise. We are doing the transatlantic to Canada and USA next year on Arcadia. Have you any tips on the best excursions in the various ports? Thank you. 

Thank you ICF I’ll take a look. 

Thank you. I’ll take a look. I always think it’s a shame P and O don’t give some examples of the excursions that might be offered at each port instead of posting the details closer to the date of the cruise and then you can only view them if you’re actually booked on said cruise. 

Pleased you enjoyed your cruise on Arcadia. Three of us have just booked to do the same cruise in June 25 although we visit Iceland first and Belfast instead of Edinburgh and Newcastle. 
I'm glad the sofa bed was comfy as that will be mine for the duration. 
Have you any recommendations for the P and O excursions in Iceland? Thank you. 

I don’t know the answer either until possibly next week when my sister is home but we booked at launch and the select costs were as follows for 3 people:

£5867x 2 

£0 x 1

Total £11734 and £260 OBC

Cancelled and rebooked yesterday on board

£5039 x 2

£199 x 1

Total £10277 and £1700 OBC

Per P&O online today

£5499 x 2

£199 x1

Total £11197 and £1100 OBC

Interesting reading regards the cancelling and rebooking whilst on board. My sister phoned me from Arvia this morning to say she had cancelled out trans Atlantic Arcadia cruise next September and rebooked it on board. 
Price of cruise reduced by just under £1500 and on board credit increased from £250 to £1700! Old deposit of just under £600 lost but I’m pleased as punch. 

I was just about to mention the zip wires in Antigua but see you’re not keen. I was early 60’s when I tried them and honestly, they were great fun. Very safety conscious too. 
I’ve only been to Antigua but probably like most of the islands the sea and beaches are the main attraction. Taxis are plentiful in St. John’s- my favourite beaches are Church Valley and Turners, both with beach catering. 

Thanks for all your comments. I spoke to an advisor yesterday and have ended up cancelling my cruise and not transferring to another. I searched but couldn't find one that suited both my budget and my time frame. [ I am a solo traveller with some caring responsibilities.]

The cruise had no flights from any London airports, the nearest was East Midlands and the cost of the return flights at the time of speaking was unknown. 

As a gesture of goodwill I have not been charged for cancelling the second cruise and my second deposit will therefore be refunded. [Acknowledgement that a refund is on the way was received from my bank this morning.]

I have never before tried to take advantage of what I thought was a better deal after booking, and, lesson learnt, I won't be doing so again!

I was slightly puzzled to be told yesterday by P and O that I could have just changed my original booking from an Early Saver to a Select Fare without having to cancel and rebook - something I wasn't advised by the first person I spoke to but what's done is done. I have a transatlantic to look forward to in 2024 with family and next year I shall just take land based holidays but making doubly sure I understand that what I think I am booking I am getting.

Thanks Megabear2. I will see what they say in the morning.

Help! I had booked a fly cruise on Azura for March 2023 on an early saver fare. Today I noticed that the same cruise A311 was being offered at the same price but as a select fare and with the bonus of £250 OBC. Great thought I and phoned P and O to cancel my previous booking and then proceeded to rebook on line. Everything went well until the confirmation message came up on my laptop after I'd paid the deposit saying "your booking does not include flights" WHAT!

I'm telling myself this is a mistake, don't panic, retrace your steps. The opening booking pages don't say anything about this being cruise only and then I spot in very small print above the cabin choices "cruise only". Nothing anywhere else until the confirmation page and the subsequent emails with the details.

I know it's my fault for not being careful enough but I don't understand how the cruise can be marketed under the same reference as both a fly cruise and a cruise only holiday. In addition the very nice lady I spoke to on the phone made no mention of this new offer being cruise only either.

I will contact P and O in the morning but I know in advance that I have lost both deposits now because I don't want to arrange my own flights and feel so stupid that I don't actually want to carry on with the cruise in any shape or form. Moral is as always if it seems to be too good to be true it flipping well is!

47 minutes ago, cruise saint said:

I feel the 10 week thing was a bit of media scaremongering.  I applied on 16 April and it Arrived 6 May - less than 3 weeks.

Well I applied for my grand daughters renewal passport on the 10th March and email has arrived today to say it’s being printed. 9 weeks all but a day and still to be delivered. It was submitted on line so I guess it’s variable case by case as to how long it takes. 

I renewed mine earlier this year and it took about 3 weeks. My grand daughter is in the process of renewing hers and it has been over 5 weeks already - the tracker says still processing. Luckily her school trip isn't until October. 

According to The Times of Malta last week the Maltese government announced that some Covid restrictions including the PLF's will no longer be necessary from May 2nd. I would add that the Maltese entry requirement websites have not been updated with this information yet so best to play safe until they are. 

Watch: Masks off from May 2 as Malta lifts most COVID-19 measures (timesofmalta.com)

It’s a shame the 2024 cruise doesn’t go to Quebec City, being an Inspector Gamache fan I would have loved that.