ONT-CA

Thanks, I really enjoyed the full review. I would love take one of those Cuba cruises. Fantastic pictures [emoji106]

We sailed around Cuba aboard the Crystal during three consecutive seasons and although a cruise as apposed to a land tour is more appropriate for our age, had we been younger, a land tour would have been preferred to allow so much of what is offered to be taken in.

But I found this interesting. When on a shore excursion, a tour guide made a reference to something that prompted me to answer that I was gay. He paused for a moment searching for something to say and then asked "How long have you been gay?" I smiled and said "All my life". It took him quite some time to digest that which tells me that although being gay in Cuba is totally accepted, perhaps it is not totally understood

A picture says a thousand words

 

Sorry, try:

http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af114/Yarkerhill/Azura.%20CD.jpg

Thank you for your clarification. Reviewing the deck plans I see that while C Deck cabins has from 178 sq.ft. to 237 sq. ft., including balcony, D Deck has 317 sq. ft.

 

From other comments it would seem that the entire and larger balcony of C Deck would be immediately above the interior of the cabin below.

A picture says a thousand words

As Canadians we booked our original P&O cruise with an on line US based travel system We attempted to book the next cruise while aboard but as Canadians we were unable to. So when we returned home we booked it with the same travel system previously used which by the way assures us of the on board credits offered through direct booking.

As an addendum to the above, having booked the original cruise at what we thought to be an acceptable price, we saw that price thereafter fluctuate, primarily upwards by as much as 30% as we approached the sailing date. Whether or not that indicates favourable early booking or just original error we cannot say but our original quoted price held.

I recently arranged a booking for Canadian relatives via our regular UK TA, although I initiated the booking it was done entirely in their name and address and paid for on their credit card, all over the phone with our TA. The above answer from P&O's Q&A website is either incomplete, wrong or maybe just out of date.

As Canadians we booked our original P&O cruise with an on line US based travel system We attempted to book the next cruise while aboard but as Canadians we were unable to. So when we returned home we booked it with the same travel system previously used which by the way assures us of the on board credits offered through direct booking.

The cabins on D deck are Superior Deluxe and considerably larger than those on C deck, which are just balcony cabins.

Thank you for your clarification. Reviewing the deck plans I see that while C Deck cabins has from 178 sq.ft. to 237 sq. ft., including balcony, D Deck has 317 sq. ft.

From other comments it would seem that the entire and larger balcony of C Deck would be immediately above the interior of the cabin below.

Hi...I can only comment on balconies on Azura...I have never been on Britannia. If you chose a standard balcony on Azura make sure it is on Deck C....the balconies on that deck are double the size of standard balconies on other decks on Azura....they are really big...half in sun and half in shade. If you do decide to go on Azura and choose one on C deck make sure you make it clear...No Upgrade. Upgrades are not always a true upgrade ...you could easily end up with a smaller balcony and in a worse position. P&O seem to class an upgrade as being on a higher deck which isn't always preferable...

....

We have only sailed the Azura the once and have now booked it again requesting Deck D. We did so by looking down from our previous balcony above to note that there are two levels of balconies below that protrude out from the hull of the ship. To our understanding Deck D protrudes further out than does Deck C above it by an amount equal to a full balcony. If as you say Deck C balcony exceeds the size of Deck D then the gained space must come at the cost of the cabin size, would it not? The one given is that both Decks C and D afford more sunshine than any of the decks above them as we so learned. Any prying eyes above could only exude the envy we felt looking down on them.

My partner and I have sailed P&O only the once and on the Azura. We're definitely going to return. We wear the rainbow colours made up in a multi pointed pocket handkerchief to be worn with our formal attire. (four formal nights in 14 day cruise). Those who recognized the significance smiled and nodded those who did not, asked. We were very pleased by the reception aboard. Now there are bound to be a few passengers who do not fall into this category for they have sat across from us at the table. While they may not be friendly, they were polite enough to keep their thoughts to themselves.

A bit mixed? It's a murderous kleptocracy run by a tyrant with huge public support, rife with antigay legislation and homophobic thuggery, a government that interfered in our electoral system to promote the election of the most anti-queer Administration in many years, all in concert with a population that's overwhelmingly homophobic and a church that makes the Pope look like Armistead Maupin.

 

So what's the on-the-other-hand?

 

Much as I'd like to finally visit the Hermitage, there are many other museums worldwide where I can spend my soon-to-be-rubles instead.

Not being an native, I thought your opening salvo must have pertained to the United States Of America.... even on a second read. To go to one's eternal rest without having seen the Heritage is self deprivation to the extreme. Even the Armory in the Kremlin, filled with such historical national treasures, was 'awe' personified

Hardly with the low price of in cabin spirit prices. It’s wine which is expensive not spirits.

 

 

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I was referring to mark-up not expense. A bar beverage produced for £1 and sold for £7 is, in my estimation, excessive profiteering and eventually self defeating.

What adds salt to the wound is the actual cost to the shipping line for one bottle of spirits. As duty and taxes are not applied to alcohol consumed at sea, when I have paid for my first drink aboard, I have literally paid for the whole bottle, and then some. The ever increasing prices for mixed drinks on all lines is unwarranted and they need to be reminded of the tale of the goose and the golden egg.

pre registered for Caribbean 2020 and just had confirmation come through with cabin on B deck number 711 right next to lift. Any thoughts! Is it a really poor allocation?

Viewing the location of B711, I don't think you would be bothered by passengers awaiting the lifts as you are behind the shaft. As to the sounds of the lift themselves, you are nowhere near the mechanics and therefore it would only be the sound of doors opening and closing which is negligible. With most lift trips we wonder at times if our fellow passengers are even breathing. Whenever we book we try to be as near the lifts as possible.

Don't know about Britannia, the other ships in both suites and mini suites have rather old Senseo machines which I think are useless. They have things that look like oval tea bags. You can ask your butler, steward in the case of mini suites, for the strength you prefer but I've never been able to get a good, hot cup of coffee from a Senseo machine. I've just come off Aurora where we had a mini suite and even though I warmed the cup up first the coffee still wasn't hot, especially once I'd put milk in it. Oh for a Nespresso machine - I'd even be willing to take my own pods.

Azura machine made half cup size lots so we hit the button again for full weaker quantity. But two days of that and with good hot coffee and breakfast waiting for us at the Epicurean, we put away the machine for the duration.

Translation from North American - So I go to the terminal and climb the gangway to the ship where I take a lift to Deck 5 and turn to port to find my cabin. The numbers are bigger to forward so I head aft. One of the stewards tells me that, should I want lunch, I can go up to the buffet. The luggage has not been delivered yet so I turn on the TV until I hear the ship's alarm signal of seven short and one long blast, reminding me it's time for the muster drill to find out what I should do in case of an evacuation of the vessel.

 

I want my cruises to be on ships - not floating hotels!!

WELL DONE ! Agree completely

I think that's a Royal Navy thing. A friend of mine is from a Naval family and has picked it up, he refers to any toilet anywhere as 'the heads'.

 

While I'm here another thing that annoys me is when cruise ships are referred to as 'liners'.

Wikipedia

An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. ... The category does not include ferries or other vessels engaged in short-sea trading, nor dedicated cruise ships where the voyage itself, and not transportation, is the prime purpose of the trip.

;)

 

How does one refer to someone else's Fred? ;)

To be specific one would use the full name, Fred Smith but as a family member, my brother Fred, or my neighbour Fred. However, in the example I gave regarding "our Fred", he was a family member. I wondered if this would be used if Fred was but a neighbour. I have used the expression since returning home and garnered a smile or two :D

Not so. Just because many people say it doesn’t make it correct! If the name written on the side of the ship said ‘The Aurora’ then you would refer to it as ‘The Aurora’. If the name says ‘Aurora’ (as it does) then you call it ‘Aurora’ or you might refer to it as ‘the cruise ship Aurora’, but not ‘The Aurora’. Just as, if your name is Fred, you don’t expect people to refer to you as ‘The Fred’. No idea what the correct terminology is in the US but that’s the correct use of the English language in the U.K.

While aboard Azura, I noted the use of the word "our" prior to a proper name, such as our Fred. Personally, I find the possessive reference most endearing

I call them cabins but, hey, 'whatever floats your boat'........or is that ship ?

So I go to the terminal and climb up the ramp onto the boat where I take the elevator to the fifth floor and turn to the left side to find my room number. The numbers get bigger going to the front of the boat so I head for the back. One of the maids in the hallway tell me that should I want some lunch I can go up to the top of the boat where they are serving at the lunch counter. The suit cases are not yet delivered so I turn on the TV and watch some rerun untill I hear the whistle go seven short and one long telling me that I have to go to the safety lecture and find out where the escape boats are in case we have to get off the ship. Ya, that's it, ship .;p

...Only when a sufficient number of people stop paying and the crew revolts will P&O change. ...

 

I’m more familiar with others cruise line boards where this question has been debated ad infinitum. The conclusion I have read is that the charged tip per person is pooled. Distribution is made on the basis of employee position and level, each receiving a percentage of the pool. Canceling tips creates a smaller pool for distribution. But there is an established minimum amount the hiring agency (*) will set and provide should such cancellations create a shortage. The amount of separate tips these agency employees personally receive must be consider part of the pool in an amount calculated on the shortage. Any amount over and above that can be retained. I understand that the list of passengers who had cancel here comes into play. Individuals that withholds personal tips can be dropped by the agency.

 

(*) Staff aboard the ships are not hired by the cruise line. The line uses an agency to supply sufficiently trained and approved staff who remain the employees of the agency.

The word gratuity says it all, I think. So would we have felt better if the amounts had been identified as a "Service Charge"? Many forms of business apply a service charge. Undoubtedly there would have been some opposition but I think not to the scale and degree of the designation of "tips" .

Our first P&O was in a suite and although the brochure did say we were to be invited to a cocktail gathering, that did not happen. But our first misstep was our misunderstanding of the quality of champagne that was part of the welcome package. Assuming it was a bottle of plunk as per competitive cruise line generosity, we gave it away. We now find that the product was in fact a reasonably good champagne. Oh well, next time.

I should not be surprised if P&O keep files on passengers and what they do and treat certain types of passenger they identify, in a better or not so good way.

Regards John

I have voted no although truthfully they are included in the fare because they are on your account. A friend of ours and a management employee of a competitor of P&O told us that there is an accounting/tax reason it is done this way but truthfully his recounting of the number sealed unmarked envelopes presented as containing a tip and that were later found to be empty may have had something to do with it. He further explained that there exists a list available to staff indicating passengers who had cancelled their tips.

We have always considered the "charged" tips as part of our fare cost and have then personally offered gratuities wherever we thought it was warranted.

I take it that this was a company plan back in '09 but they've quitely shelved it?

My apologies for the confusion. The Google site did say it was the official P&O site. After scores of cruises taken over the years, the original difficulties in obtaining a booking for P&O 2018 in comparison to the ease and simplicity of that of our 2019 made us believe we had entered into a new system. And having enjoyed our first P&O cruise so much wanted to direct anyone interested in these ship sailings to the means of booking. Before doing so however, we thought to first test the waters so to speak.

Perhaps I should reiterate in saying that we as Canadians recently concluded and thoroughly enjoyed our first cruise with P&O. It was a little difficult booking the Caribbean cruise as it was presented as a cruise with flight that, in our case needed no flight included and expressed in pounds but payable in US dollars at a price dependent on the exchange rate but with no cabin assignment. Some cross check delays with the UK were required.

We arranged our own flight from Toronto direct to Barbados arriving in five hours with but one hour time change. We entered into that humungous port terminal with a mile and a half of roped off people lines, we being the only two people in the building. It certainly was different. We were unable to book a repeat for 2019 with the desk aboard but did so when we arrived home and did so in the simplest of transactions so it's now a functioning system. What prompted this thread was my telling a table of Brits that we were having a wonderful time and were anxious to tell the folks at home. More than one reply, humourous or otherwise, was "please don't".

Sorry to have included a P&O site in my thread that had booking references and as such was so removed. But I wanted to discuss this new direction P&O is taking, which is much to our liking. So I'll just cut and paste the part that I wanted to share to find some feedback on the idea of having us share your wonderful cruise line.

"For more than 170 years, Britain's favorite cruise line has dedicated its fleet to the British cruise passenger. But now, for the first time, P&O Cruises is bringing the company's unrivalled experience, innovation and professionalism to the Americas.

Residents of the U.S., Canada and Central America can now sail P&O on stylish and contemporary cruises of the Mediterranean, Caribbean, South America, Scandinavia and other destinations--even around the world.

Leave your everyday life behind...there's a world out there."