ONT-CA

The concept of payment for that which you want and order will undoubtedly be expanded to bring the cruise lines more into the hotel mode of accommodation only .  In many regards I won't mind that.  There are so many things offered aboard a ship that I have no use of but are 'charged' for in the basic fare.   If I have to pay for everything that I want but those things only, I think the prices for cruising will improve for many of us. Perhaps expanding "You get what you pay for"  to  "You don't pay for that which you don't get"?  Is that what this confounding new medallion thing is all about?

1 hour ago, DukeBlueDevil said:

Hello!

 

We have never sailed Princess before...

 

How are the activities for kids particularly 3 year olds?

Recently back from the Crown and did note the supervision of six or seven children of various ages by two young adults.  They were having pizza and hamburgers on deck at lunchtime and I must say they were very well behaved having fun during their lunch.  But as to other activity we can't say for that was the only time we saw them.

On 1/9/2019 at 6:36 PM, claudiniusmaximus said:

I suspect one of the main differences is the “Britishness” of the experience. Not just in the food served but in the overall experience.

 

Eg

 

-They fly union jacks and hand out Union Jack flags for passengers to wave at sailaways

 

-When leaving the final port they have the “Great British Sailaway” and  blare out Rule Brittania and Land of Hope and Glory etc in the final port sailaway. They love it if there’s a German ship in port so they can play it extra loud, for instance. 

 

-They tend to have a “British” themed show at some point in the theatre eg World War 2/Vera Lynn stuff or even just when having night dedicated to “Queen” songs they came on waving Union Jacks and the dancers were wearing Union Jack dresses etc. 

...

The "Great British Sailaway" was spectacular.  We we transformed into another world, another time. We usually bypass the theatre on cruises due to the deja vu of it all.  But we were unaware of the "British" themed shows and this sounds novel and interesting so we will make it a point to catch that show on our upcoming cruise.  Thanks for that.

For passengers arriving at the Barbados airport on their own, the taxi system is a bit bureaucratic .  When you advise them of your destination they will quote you a price. In the case of the dock it was $28. US.  We fortunately question if that price was per trip and they said no, per passenger.  We insisted on a full price which ended up to be $50. US.  This price is given to you in writing. The trip as indicated is about half an hour but they cannot deliver you directly to the ship and so there is a fair distance to walk to the gangway.  

6 hours ago, CruisingFox27 said:

Great info thank you. We'd always dress formally for formal nights and smart/casual on other evenings, as though we were going out to a nice restaurant of an evening. I assume this would be acceptable? We'd probably need to be more casual on the first night as the flight doesn't land until 5.30pm and we may not have our cases before dinner....

Even though we arrive mid afternoon, we still had not received our luggage until well after dinner.  However, the dining room captain was very accommodating in understanding the situation.

We had similar feelings when deciding to sail this itinerary with P&O for the first time last year.  By way of saying how we enjoyed the cruise, in a few weeks from now we will be aboard her again. Be prepared for a good cruise with lots of friendly laughter the likes of which we had not seen on other lines.

The tell tail of turkey bacon although cured and smoked is that it is assembled.  That is, when it is sliced every piece is identical to the other, so what looks like fat and lean are in the identical pattern. And as the fat content is less than pork bacon it fries noticeably different in remaining flat.

 Pork bacon is cured and smoked, has a varied lean and fat distribution and curls up when cooked

Canadian bacon is not Canadian at all. We refer to it as back bacon or peameal bacon which rather than taken from the pork belly is carved from the pork loin.  It is cured but not smoked.  

4 hours ago, Vizeman said:

Makes me laugh how people decide to book on a ship knowing what is on it. Then complain about what is on it!

If you don't like sea screen then sit/lie somewhere else or even cruise on a different ship. Everybody is different and people like different things, it's human nature. There are many things on the ship that are not my cup of tea, but I would not dream of trying to change them. Do the things that you like and respect others for what they like.

Nay or yay discussions on CC can and do bring about change.  Mandatory tipping is but one example.  If a favoured ship has an impediment and one can muster enough objection to it to have a financial affect on the owner, the chances are it will be removed.  Perhaps in this case that has already been accomplished.

4 hours ago, Lees Cruisin said:

Go somewhere else if you dont want to watch it. Simple 

Hopefully, if my luck hold out,  I won't have to watch it while being where I want to be.

On 12/3/2018 at 5:02 PM, Denarius said:

Have just received a message from P&O telling me that the screen will be out of action for my cruise beginning 11 Jan. Great news as far as I am concerned. I was not looking forward to that thing blaring out at me all day and night.

Lucky you.  Unfortunately we will not be boarding her until the latter part of the month.  Should you happen upon a small electronic part laying on deck while repairs are underway you would be doing many us a great service if you would throw it overboard.

On 12/10/2018 at 12:57 PM, jeanlyon said:

We have always tipped with an envelope and will continue to do that.

We did until such time as we were advised that many sealed envelopes when opened contained nothing.  To those mingy passengers, better to have bypassed the ritual altogether.  So how to bridge that sometimes embarrassing moment in presenting crass cash?  The French have an expression for it, "pourboire" for a drink.  If as I often do spend  £10 for a drink for myself, why then not also buy one for those employees who have helped make your cruise more enjoyable , passing the folded bill to them saying "thank you, have a drink on me".

On 12/19/2018 at 12:31 PM, BrianI said:

You can order either way. If ordering separately you can specify what you want and how many of each item.

Link to breakfast menu - same on all ships

https://carnivaluk.metafaq.com/resources/carnivaluk/life-on-board/PO_MDR_Breakfast.pdf

Brian

Thank you for this most informative menu.  I suppose one would wonder how we sailed on the Azura last year and remain ignorant of the "Full English Breakfast".  But as we were in a suite we were directed to the Epicurean restaurant each morning and their menu was very specifically different.

This upcoming sailing we will be in a balcony cabin.  So digging out our copies the Horizon we now see a list of restaurants none of which are identified as the MDR but the English Breakfast is listed in more than one.  We prefer to be seated for breakfast so what would be the best location to be served the best of the English Breakfast?  Thanks for any advice. 

A side issue if I may.  The razor outlet is fine for use of the green night light that allows you to see within the room without turning on the bright lights and disturbing anyone else in the cabin.  Available at Dollar Stores

I am truly looking forward to trying real black pudding (although here we do mostly refer to it as blood pudding)  Many a Brit has told us that what we think is black pudding is really not and so we look forward to the taste of the real thing.  

Thanks for this clarification of the fried bread aka GT.  Does one order a "full English breakfast" and that will include the GT or are all the components ordered separately?

One wonders at the rational of not including something as inexpensive and as readily available as bottled water in the Soda & More Package .  In our town this week a retailer is offering 18 bottles of spring water, 500ml each, for the total price of 88 cents (CDN)

37 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Let's not fall out about silver service ---- just our observations from first cruise. It just doesn't feel as special. I do understand the changes but they are changes non the less.

 

Have thought of another loss though since writing the last post ....... alcohol policy changes ........

 

Compared to many of you we haven't been cruising that long but just look at the things we have listed in a relatively short time ..

Our first cruise with P&O was last year having found that we could sail out of Barbados.  We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise and are returning again in January.  But reading your postings made me feel like a Johnny come lately in having missed so much now gone.  You are right about the Carnival fixation on squeezing return for we have been witnessing it for decades and wonder in so doing, how they are going to maintain there passenger loyalty requirement.  While on a recent Princess sailing a fellow passenger noted that there was an inordinate number of new employees aboard of Chinese nationality.  To wit I replied, "Elementary my dear Watson"

Should the original posting have any validity, when a gratuity is offered to a bar person for having delivered an ordered drink, the result is more attention to needs as well as preferential repeat service.  Could then a cabin steward be similarly enticed into additional service?  After all, tip charges previously but not longer collected are now at our disposal.

This photo was recently taken aboard the Crown.  We are not familiar with these receptacals but do believe there are two ports intended for the small earphone jacks.  The change and upgrade of the TV model now eliminates the possibility of using the RCA connectors for external input.  

Hope this helps

Whose tongue soe'er speaks false,
Not truly speaks; who speaks not truly, lies.
(William Shakespeare, "")

ONE SIZE FITS ALL

Heresy apart, could someone please advise this ignorant Canuck as to just what fried bread is comprised.  Reference has been made to having bread used as a substitute for bread. Further, comparative reference is made to hash brown or fried potatoes.  Confusion reigns as we await our Azura sailing in but six weeks.   

2 hours ago, Grumpy69 said:

What ship is this and how far back on the ship is the location of your stateroom?

This was the Crown Princess and we were in D703 which is aft/starbourd.  It is located directly below the protruding windows of the Skywalker. 

While our initial thoughts went to soot we realized it was not for it was wet and runny. As I say, nobody knew what it was and everyone we spoke to said they had never before seen such a thing.  I was wondering if anyone here would have any idea what happened to cause this

When we were telephoned and advised by our cabin neighbour immediately above us to take a look out our balcony window, we had one thought in mind.  Soot!.  The previous postings about soot migration was of interest but as never experienced, we we’re not sure what we were looking at.

Advising the front desk, which took some time and the odd use of the English language, we achieved having supervisory people look into the mess.  No one could tells what it was and no one ventured out onto the balcony to so determine.  No one had any idea as to it’s origin but we all shared the same facial concerns as to the worst scenario.

The clean-up crew working into the night cleaning the whole area and presumably those adjacent if also contaminated.

And as a picture says a 1,000 words….

For those who arrive in Barbados from Canada for the P&O sailings, by booking the first day in port you give yourself one day's grace should you be negatively affected by weather. Should you not arrive for the first day but can reach the ship for the second you do not miss your cruise.  But even with this , as Canadians we book a hotel for an arrival one day earlier as  extra protection. 

On 11/12/2018 at 5:55 AM, MissP22 said:

Like they'll know the difference. 

If you check out the design of glasses use in the bars and those found in the cabins I think you will find a difference.  Even when walking about with a purchased bar drink I noted occasional eye movement checks