FredChopin

Did you complain to the Food and Beverages manager about the buffet whilst on board?

We also get 5% for having an HSBC Advance current account, but we don't have to go through P&O. Our TA will honour it.

Carnival Corporation must be feeling the pinch after having to shell out so much compensation for Costa Concordia. Perhaps they need to increase fares to be able to stay afloat. Incidentally, P&O were not at the London Cruise show a couple in February, although they had a prime spot last year. It was very obvious who the popular cruise lines were. It was positively buzzing around Celebrity and Princess, also Viking River Cruises.

When you fly into St Lucia do you handle your luggage or is it at the same as when you arrive in Barbados?

I've just seen the photographs of a friend's river cruise on Avalon and was relieved to see, in the dining room that everyone was dressed smartly, as if they were going out to a restaurant at home, so it looks like overly casual wear was not the order of the evening on that ship at least. I will find out from her where the passengers were from, as I see that those championing shorts seem to be from the other side of the Pond to me.

Vive la difference!

Oh dear, is the fact that another passenger wears shorts such a disaster? Perhaps if the ladies had to dress up in stuffy clothing on a warm holiday they might be less enthusiastic about silly dress codes.

There are plenty of very lightweight full length trousers that can be worn without discomfort. As a woman, I would not dream of wearing shorts to dinner, but I would be happy to wear full length trousers for the entire evening, and have done so, even it hot weather. It's all about standards.

I might not glare, I'm too polite for that, but it would certainly be in my thoughts. I would consider it to be inconsiderate to other passengers to be so casual at dinner. We are thinking of doing a river cruise for the first time, but this has rather spoilt it for me. If my husband (I am female, despite my forum name) wore shorts to dinner I would feel insulted.

We have barely had time to do anything more than use the facilities every time we have flown home from Barbados. Last time we were held up in the bus at the side of the road, in a convoy with other busses from the ship, whist they waited for busses in front of us to clear. By the time we got through security and passport checks they were already calling our flight. I like lounges, but at Barbados I wouldn't book it in advance (but I don't know if you can pay on arrival),

Will you have to handle your luggage or will things operate in the same way as in Barbados?

Thank you

Did they weigh your hand luggage?

I don't think we're going to be worried about on board charges next year - we have a free drinks package and $500 OBC. The fare is less than P&O for an equivalent cabin, we only paid £150pp deposit, against 15%, and the balance is not payable 90 days before departure. P&O have some serious thinking to do. I say this after 35+ P&O cruises, one RCI (never again!) and now 4 Celebrity cruises with 2 more booked.

I suffer terribly with this too, and can be poorly for weeks after the cruise. That's one reason why I will only go in a balcony cabin now - I have never suffered with this since we have been able to afford this. The fresh air makes all the difference.