RJHNorthyorks

1 hour ago, Red Ray said:

I wouldn't call those rules petty - I think it's good to see standards being upheld.

Standards?
We’ll agree to differ. 

We note there are a few petty rules on this ship. 
eg. Not allowed to eat food in Champions bar unless it is crisps or Pringles bought from the ship.

Also on the formal night after the bridge announced that the lights were visible we rushed to get changed into warm clothes to go up onto the deck to see the lights. We then tried to relocate to the the crows nest ( nearest bar) but were asked to leave as no longer in formal wear. This was despite the fact the bar was virtually empty because everyone was out looking for lights presumably. Not the fault of the staff who were merely doing as instructed. 
We have done a fair few cruises with a number of cruise companies and this is the first time we have ever been refused access to a bar. 

1 hour ago, pete14 said:

A quiet day recovering from the excitement of yesterday. We have been in Alta all day and leave about 01:00 tomorrow morning when those chasing the Northern Lights return. I hope they see them but they may not be as spectacular as last night because it is a bit cloudy. We went into Alta this morning just to stretch our legs and get some fresh air. There is little there although somehow we missed the Cathedral which I have been told is worth a visit. Maybe the very cold weather affected my thinking and vision, certainly nothing to do with the drinks package that early in the morning, 
 

We had lunch in the buffet which is quite civilised and with a wide choice of food (but no trays). The afternoon was mainly spent in our cabin reading. We are currently in the Crows Nest. If the lights appear, we will go down to our cabin as last night. It is cloudy but not quite so cold as earlier. 
 

Tomorrow is Christmas. ‘Love Actually’ in the cinema, ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ in the theatre (Oh no it isn’t) and Christmas Dinner in the evening. Christmas jumpers are encouraged (we were told prior to the cruise that we may need them). Hopefully everybody will feel like eating despite the increased wind strength and sea state. 
 

As I sign off, there is another aeroplane coming in to land. Oh the excitement!

Northern lights were amazing last night. 
We went into Alta this morning - it wasn’t as cold as yesterday only - 4.

Spent the afternoon on board doing quizzes - won one but not the 2nd. No doubt we’ll have enough stamps/ stickers to get a free pen at the end.

3 of our party went on a ships tour to the Tirpitz museum which they enjoyed and found very interesting. 
We also have a view of the airport from our balcony - great to see planes arriving and leaving in conditions that would have brought U.K. airports to a standstill. 

4 hours ago, zap99 said:

Most ports have folk giving out maps and local information.

Not here they don’t. 

1 hour ago, Gettingwarmer said:

The discount depends on what level you are on and doesn’t apply until you have used up all your OBC. 

Thank you. 

1 hour ago, pete14 said:

We requested a refund for Sunday and as I prebooked the package, it was back in my bank next morning (£14). I do believe that unless you have a dodgy device to provide channels others can’t access, that the GP was not available to us online, certainly not on Sky. Sport24 plus had it but it didn’t seem to be available to us and the picture quality for that channel in cabins is worse than dire. 
 

Thanks for your report which embellished my musings. 

Just been to guest services and they have actioned an internet refund for the day it was down but nothing for when it’s just poor. 
I’m sure I read somewhere that peninsular club members are meant to get % discounts on drinks. Do you know anything about that please Pete? 

As previously said this is only our 3rd P and O cruise chosen for the itinerary not the cruise company. Most of my travelling companions are Celebrity and Azamara fans so there is quite a bit of comparison going on. 
Having said that everyone seems to be enjoying the trip. We are all into quizzing and there are certainly plenty of quizzes. The entertainment team are good. We’ve been to a couple of shows - Roy Locke was very good although I think he left the ship yesterday.
We are mainly eating freedom style in Medina. Generally we are finding the food quite good and sometimes very good. One of our group is a vegetarian and most evenings she has had a reasonable choice. 
Out of the blue I had received an email saying this was a Christmas cruise. The decorations have gone up and the ship looks very pretty. 
 

In Andalsnes we took a ships tour to the Rodven ( stave church) and then to the Troll Wall. Interesting and good to view some of the amazing countryside whilst travelling around. The shop and visitor centre were closed although there are some information boards and the toilets were open. 
After the tour we caught the gondola from right outside the ship up the mountain.  Excellent walkways at the top and it was wheelchair friendly. The views were stunning. There is also a restaurant/ cafe at the top that we didn’t use it. 
After that we had a wander around the town but didn’t really find much to see. The railway carriage chapel seemed shut. There is a mountaineering museum next to the dock but we didn’t go in.
 

In Tromso I had booked a private tour with Tromso Arctic Reindeer - Reindeer feeding and Sami Culture. We caught the free shuttle bus from the ship which dropped us outside the Raddison Blu Hotel. The Reindeer people picked us up outside the pub next door to the Raddison Blu for a 25 minute drive with commentary to the camp. 
We really enjoyed this trip. There are 300 reindeer at the camp and a series of Sami huts each containing a roaring fire and hot drinks. We were given unlimited amounts of reindeer food and went off across the field amongst the reindeer to feed them - great fun. 

The scenery was absolutely stunning and we watched the sun going down over the mountains. It felt very cold but we were OK as we popped into the huts for hot chocolate. 
We were served a very tasty lunch of reindeer stew ( there was a veggie option) and had a 30 minute presentation about Sami culture. 
I didn’t think this trip was wheelchair friendly but there was a man in a wheelchair and the guides were very attentive and he was able to take part in everything.

On our return to Tromso we had a wander around. It’s a really pretty place and by 2 pm it was dark so everywhere was lit up. We bought gifts for grandkids , had an expensive coffee and snack and I fell over on the ice ( uninjured) before heading back to the ship for the 4pm quiz ( joint 1st but lost on the tie breaker). 

it really is treacherous under foot and good snow boots are essential. 
Last night 4 of us went to the organ recital in the Arctic Cathedral which was very enjoyable. Mr Google tells us it is not a Cathedral but a Parish Church and therefore not the most northerly Cathedral.

On our way to Alta now. Not sure what we will do there although 3 of our party are going to the Tirpitz museum which is only available through an organised tour in Winter. 

11 hours ago, pete14 said:

After the beautiful Glasshouse lunch, we had pre booked the Beach house this evening so were duty bound to go there despite not being hungry. I have to say I had the best cooked 10 ounce fillet steak whilst having the facility to keep the chips etc hot as well. Pete junior had the same (which he cooked all on his own) whilst Mrs Pete chose a sizzler with giant prawns. As Pete junior had to attend a teams meeting at 7:30, we had no choice but to sit in the Crows Nest so we didn’t disturb him. Either that or a local group from Tromso in the theatre or Mission Impossible in the cinema. No contest. 
 

For Junior’s teams meeting, he had to tether his computer to his phone because the ship’s internet seems to be down again. We have already had a day refunded because it wasn’t useable, maybe another visit to reception will be in order tomorrow. There is so much good about this cruise for the few niggles to spoil but it is frustrating that they do not seem to be able to rectify them. The internet was sold to us as being something it is not, hopefully when starlink is introduced, the problem will disappear but it shouldn’t have been advertised as a much better service before they can offer it.

 

We leave for Alta at about 1:00 am after the Northern Lights chasers get back.

Son bought a days internet to watch the GP but as it was down they also refunded him. 
I have a package so presumably need to request a refund as nothing has appeared on my account. 

On 11/20/2023 at 12:40 AM, molecrochip said:

P&O do provide port information, just not in paper form.

 

One of your pre-cruise emails will have had the link to download the document to your phone/tablet/laptop.

 

It should be available on the myholiday website soon too.

 

https://www.pocruisesguides.com

I actually research ports myself but always find ships port information talks and info additionally helpful. 
we asked at shore excursion’s and we’re told P and O no longer provide port information and we certainly haven’t come across anything on this cruise that comes close to our experience on other cruise lines. 

We’re on the same cruise as Pete. Travelling as a group of 6. Me, husband, son and partner and 2 friends. 
We’ve seen the Northern Lights both evenings but only through camera lenses. Our friend took some great pictures from a balcony on deck 9 tonight. 
We usually cruise with Celebrity and are a bit surprised that P and O do not provide any port information. 

1 hour ago, david63 said:

You might "expect" but will you get?😉

Expect is my word. The email says “ you can look forward to …..”

2 hours ago, killaypirate said:

It seems likely that at the very least they’ll be putting up decs on Aurora for Nov27 departure.

The email says to expect a full blown Christmas event - Christmas films, panto, drinks, Christmas party etc. 

3 minutes ago, Josy1953 said:

I told DH that the decs would be up and he said "don't bother taking my Christmas jumper I won't be wearing it, it is too early "

Despite the “it’s too early comments” my lot seem to be digging out the jumpers. 

4 minutes ago, pete14 said:

I am also on the Aurora Northern Lights cruise leaving next week and was also surprised to receive the email. I wasn’t expecting it to be a Christmas themed cruise. Hopefully plentiful Christmas spirit will be flowing. It does seem a little early though.

I ‘m travelling with OH, son and partner and 2 friends. I’ve emailed the TA to seek clarification - need to know whether to pack the Christmas jumpers for the party also mentioned in the email. 
We have done a Christmas cruise before but that was at Christmas. 

19 minutes ago, paulatsea said:

My cruise is Dec 1st Auroa - email yesterday says full on Christmas - big tree , decorations everywhere. 

Hope so.

 

Have been on P&O November cruises before and not seen any decorations - only some preparations late November as I remember.

 

 

That’s the email we had as well. 

We are on the Aurora Northern Lights cruise leaving the U.K. on 15 November 23 and yesterday received an email saying it is Christmas themed and to pack your Christmas jumpers! 
This is the first we have heard of this and the cruise isn’t being marketed as a Christmas cruise on their website. 
Do they really start Christmas this early? 

17 hours ago, 65Mommy said:

If yes, are the tours still available?

 

We were originally looking at going to Bethlehem for Christmas.

It’s a war zone so no. 

On 10/12/2023 at 9:05 PM, kathy49 said:

interesting replies here...not sure most are watching the news. This will not be short term...the actions taken above by NCL will be followed by all cruise lines. Israel off the program for 2023 and many are also cancelling Egypt, This could be a regional war as things get going. Lots of moving pieces and Israel has not even unleashed the massacre they promise. I would not consider an itinerary in this area for quite some time and sure to be daily itinerary changes.

I agree. The region is very volatile at the best of times. 
We were due to visit Israel, Egypt and Jordan next April but spoke to TA this afternoon about cancelling. 

Sorry last question. 
We are planning on doing a private tour which leaves from near the Radisson Blu hotel. 
Does the shuttle service drop off anywhere near there? 
Thank you. 

Thank you everyone. 
 

We are doing the Northern Lights cruise in November on Aurora and wondered if anyone has been to Tromso on this ship and can recall where they docked. 
There are apparently 2 docks but we are assuming the ship is too big for the city centre dock. 
We’ve asked P and O but they say they don’t know. 

We were prevented from boarding our cruise in Sydney because we had flown from the U.K. via Hong Kong.

We found out about this on Feb 2nd 3 days before we were due to board. Our TA submitted our flight information and requested the refund RCI was promising in its statements. They immediately refunded the onboard WiFi package we had purchased but nothing more.
Our 2 week cruise was the first part of a 6 week holiday so we had no option but to book 2 weeks accommodation and find funding to cover 2 weeks living expenses to cover the missing cruise. 
RCI tried to fob us off with a future cruise credit which we refused and 2 weeks ago they agreed to make a full refund.
The problem is that they have not done this and refuse to say when they will. Our TA is struggling to communicate with them and my efforts go unanswered. 
Does anyone have any experience of getting them to answer a simple question?? 

5 minutes ago, mochuck said:

You could probably try a journalist here. abc.net.au

Good idea 

3 minutes ago, mochuck said:

You will probably have to wait until you get home to sort it out. Do you you have a consumer's rights dept that can assist you?

I really don’t think that is a solution. They have publicly announced a policy. They need to enact it 

Dreadful experience with RCI - trying to change refund policy.

Think I have posted about this before but our situation is getting worse. 
We flew from the U.K. to Sydney with a 2 night break in Hong Kong. We were due to board Voyager of the Seas on 5 February for a 14 night cruise to Fiji. The cruise was the first part of a 6 week holiday in Australia.

As we were preparing to leave Hong Kong we were sent a message by a friend to say she had seen a press report to say we would not be allowed to board. We contacted our TA in the USA - she had not received notification but called RCI who confirmed it was true and that she Said had started the refund process. We had to supply our flight details which we have done and they have been passed to RCI. 

This morning I have heard from the TA that RCI are trying to issue future cruise vouchers and not refunds. This is totally unacceptable to us for a number of reasons.

- they have told our TA that we would receive a full refund

- their press release ( see below) assures people that they will get a full refund 

- I have a Twitter communication with RCI in which they said as soon as our travel details were confirmed they would issue a full refund. 
- we have an enforced 2 week land holiday in Australia that we had not anticipated. We need the refund to cover the cost of staying in one of the most expensive cities in the world ( although it is lovely.)
- our travel plans for the next 2 years are arranged and do not include RCI. Why would we want to leave 5000 USD with them on account. It makes no sense.

I have Tried to speak with RCI myself but first they denied all knowledge of the booking, then asked who had said we would get a refund ( I said they did and sent them copies of documents) and finally they claimed we had not been denied boarding. 
What a shambles and frankly very distressing. 
 

Their poor communication of the decision to deny boarding and their subsequent obstructive behaviour is making a bad situation worse.
They have lessons to learn about customer service. 

Their press release is attached 

https://presscenter.rclcorporate.com/press-release/48/coronavirus-update/