davecttr

 

Canaries, never been there before:rolleyes:. Best part is 2 days in Funchal.

 

A milestone, first getaway.

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

 

Oceana, E402?

I did not want to give that impression at all. I have done getaways in the past.

Thing is if everyone wants getaway fares how is the company supposed to make a profit. Or is it a case of everyone can have a cheap holiday, and the company does not have to make any profit at all-get real.

It is slightly tiresome reading on here how everyone is going to wait for the getaway fare-or they feel done, then in the next breath people saying Pando don't do this or that.

If you want bottom of the barrel fares you cannot have all the other fluffy bits (that cost the company money)

What P&O should NOT be doing is charging a higher fare to early bookers and selling better cabins at cheaper fares to late bookers. This is the crux of the matter. The impression it gives, and the impression is more important than reality, is it is best to wait as long as you can and stand a better chance of getting a superior cabin at a price you can afford.

The perks of booking early are not really worth the extra you pay. What percentage of the passengers must have a particular cabin or a particular dining choice.

Just got off of the Fantasy, and I learned to play 3 card poker in a about 5 minutes. Ended up ahead to. It's easy to play, and when your luck is running alot of fun. If your luck go's away just lay back and ante. when you start winning, load'em up. I'm going to try my luck on the Legend soon. At least your only playing against the dealer. Much better odds than slots. They were killing me.. slowly. I quit.

Easy game to learn to play, basically raise a Queen, Six, Four or better.

If you have bad luck you can lose a lot, I have :(

Don't chase those big payouts, go and have a drink and come back another day.

First time I played I got 3 of a kind on my second hand. You should have seen the other 'expert' players faces :D

mvarcadia.com:

 

I don't suppose there's any mention of a 'Glasshouse'-type bar coming to Arcadia, is there?

A Glasshouse would have to have an adjacent galley large enough to provide the small and large plates etc etc. Is there such a place on Arcadia?

I agree, but some posters seem to think because P&O don't strip out the 15% as a seperate charge they don't impose a tip on drinks.

There is a hidden tip in drinks prices. In conversations with waiters/waitresses they said they prefer working in busy bars because they earn more?

Apparently they are rotated around all the bars so that everyone gets a go in the busy bars.

Thank you for all for your replies, much appreciated, it has opened my eyes to booking a future cruise, I wonder, if every one decided to book 6 to 8 weeks before departure, how would this affect P&O cash flow ie do we sail or do we not.

I ask another question, I booked this cruise In august at GE grade, on looking at the deck plans I see that there are only 2 cabins in this grade, so how can P&O keep selling the last cabin at a reduction of £1000

The GE grade is the lowest grade that you can occupy. Theoretically those 2 cabins would only be sold if there were no vacancies in any other grade. The ship always has a few free cabins in case one becomes unfit for occupation so they can move the occupants. It might be that those 2 GE grade cabins are always empty unless someone reserves the specific cabin number.

The problem with Vantage fares was by booking late you had a good chance of getting a superior cabin at a price much lower than someone who had booked a lesser grade early. This looked, felt and was unfair and was crazy marketing. In effect they were using the high prices charged to the early bookers to subsidise cheap prices for late bookers whilst 'punishing' those who had paid more early.

Looking at the answers or lack of them it is painfully obvious that Thomson don't want my business. Check out my signature and you can see how many potential cruises Thomson have missed out on :(

Yesterday I got an email from P&O offering me a choice of 2 short notice caribbean cruises of 14 nights for £999. No single supplements plus bargain price reductions :eek:

Plus a range of other cruises with single supplements of 25%, less than Thomson charge for an inferior cabin.

....Lets just hope that the disingenuous price promise doesn't turn into a Gerald Ratner type moment....

That certainly makes you think!

They are having difficulty filling the ships and if all the Vantage fiasco has done is make people book later in the hope of a bargain they could be in serious trouble.

Meanwhile can we all try to be civil to each other when replying to posts. I think there are more aggressive style postings which IMO is not a good development.

Just had an email from P&O. Zero % single supplements on caribbean cruises. £999 for 14 nights on Azura or Ventura. Both in early December. Plus a range of cruises with only 25% single supplement.

Methinks they are having difficulty in filling the ships ;)

Pity I already have my winter cruise paid for. It would have saved several hundred pounds to cancel and re-book :(

Sorry CCFC but she does rather look like a boring block of flats going up along the quayside........ :(

Which is exactly what a modern cruise ship is, a large flat bottomed barge type hull with a hotel built on top ;)

Actually Dai, the system used in Barbados is the same for Thomson and I think maybe even Fred Olsen, so it is not exclusive to p&o.

Thomson have been doing fly cruise whole or half ship turnarounds for years and have refined it to a slick operation. When you arrive at the ship you are shown to your cabin which is ready to occupy, no waiting to 2pm etc. They know a day or so in advance what order the passengers are arriving so each pair of stewards prepare the cabins in the correct order.

he didnt say that dave I said that

 

fraser actually said...we try not to be too prescriptive about what people are wearing....ie (in plain english) we dont enforce the dress codes

 

it was I who interpreted that as meaning....there are no dress codes (or i should have said dress codes are not enforced) you can wear whatever suits you within hygiene limitations

Ok, thanks, all clear now :)

Hello,

 

This is an interesting point Gareth. I do think this is a co-incidence.

 

I actually think the driver behind this was the merger with Island Cruises. Since we merged with Island Cruises we've seen a lot more of their passengers trying Thomson Cruises and vice versa. But we've always been at the more informal end of classic cruising, and we try not to be too prescriptive about what people are wearing. Ultimately I don't think a guests' clothes impact on the standard of the cruise. And those that do want to dress up will always find room for their evening wear in their luggage. I manage with hand luggage.

 

Cheers,

 

Fraser

-------------------------------

Yep ok Fraser :cool:

 

Stevie

Yes, but nowhere does it say there are no dress codes. I am still confused, exactly where does it state that there is no dress code except for hygiene reasons. Having no dress code means that you can wear evening casual for formal night in the main dining room just like any other evening.

I can't find any reference to dress codes in the QA :confused:

I wonder why the new officer cabins are deemed to be in a noisy area? The disco is hardly going to count with the average number of passengers in there being 4 ;)

That looks like a painful way of cleaning your bottom :eek:

there are only 2 cabins of this grade on Ventura so you would have a good chance of ending up in something higher.

the cabins are probably there as extra optional accomodation for large families occupying the suites. Or sleeping quarters for the servant

We never take any notic of boarding times and turn up early, never had a problem.

 

Jacket will be required on the smart jacket required evenings in the main restaurants and certain bars...you can always eat in the buffet if you don't want to adhere to the dress code,

Plus the cover charge Horizon Grill.

I found the Plaza buffet on formal nights to be quiet and rather pleasant, not at all a bun fight.

We're booked on Oceana for 11 nights on 8th Dec.

This will be our first cruise with P & O, the suggested dress code is 3 black tie, 3 smart (Jacket) 5 casual. While we really enjoy Formal dress, on most of our previous cruises on the other nights I usually wear "very smart" long sleeve open neck shirts and smart trousers.

"my Question" How strict are P and O regarding the 3 smart (jacket) nights?.

 

Unlike our other cruises, P and O seem to operate a staggered boarding system. We have been given a very late in the day boarding time which does not tie in very well with our travelling and car park schedules, and would mean that we would be hanging around the port area for hours,

Do you think that we would be allowed to board sooner?.

 

Regards

 

Pete & Christine

Strict, at least I have found this.

IIRC on Oceana the evening dress code applies to the main dining rooms, Cafe Jardin posh pizza and Magnums bar. Everywhere else evening casual is welcome so all the entertainment venues and main bars, casino etc are available. In winter season Oceana has the 3 dress codes including the redundant smart-jacket required evenings. In summer she only has 2 codes, no smart-jacket.

Just turn up at the terminal when you want. I usually arrive just after 11am even with a 3pm boarding time. I am always on the ship around noon!

ps - you could wear a donkey jacket or golfing jacket if you wanted. P&O don't actually say what a jacket is. It would certainly cause a sensation :D

That is exactly what is it, it reminds me of a wedding reception or another large event, but other lines do the mass catering far better in my opinion so why can't P and O, it comes down to the quality of the food and the menu not necessarily the way it is cooked, the chefs are working to a budget per meal and I don't think that budget is high enough

I have this feeling that increasing the budget per meal by £1 per person would significantly increase the food quality and variety. On a 3000 passenger ship that is over £12000 extra budget. On the other hand they keep the mdr cost and quality down to 'encourage' people to use the pay restaurants. You can be sure the cost of the pay restaurant is not spent on the food.

I am sure that there are many other equally valid reasons for passengers not being in the MDR on the last night of the cruise.

 

Some passengers may well have taken an earlier meal in the buffet because they have an early start the following morning. Some passengers may have booked an alternative dining venue.

Indeed, now what about those who don't have that excuse?

I can't see what is wrong with including the tip in the price of the cruise. some cruise lines do it and are still in business. I don't think itemising the cost in the bill is a good idea as some people will just argue about and try and get it removed even if it is mandatory.

Thomson do it a better way. The tip is buried in the fare but not itemised so no arguments about how much it is etc. You can tip in cash as well and many do as the crews are so helpful and happy. Maybe one of the reasons the crews are so happy is they have their guaranteed tips plus extras ;)

P&O might find that if they did the same it would be a marketing plus.

I was on Ventura in October and had steak in the mdr twice, medium rare, nice and tasty :)

there was a selection of cheeses every day in the buffet as well.

I don't think you can have a steak every day as an alternative. That is now either salmon or chicken?

It is puzzling why some people say the food on a particular ship is awful. The menus are the same across the fleet and the food is sourced centrally so the only difference can be how they cook it. Given a corporate desire to have a consistant standard on all ships any dodgy chefs etc would soon be leaving the ship!. Remember, it is mass catering we are talking about here, not gourmet dining.

Hope this does not turn into a fiasco. Apparently the number of cruise ships using the Venice port is to be cut by 20% from next April. As Ventura is using the port as a turn around berth I presume she will be still going there. If not it will complicate matters somewhat :eek: Plus irritate the hell out of me as I chose Venice to fly to because she docked in the port.

The big ship ban is from next November so no Ventura, Azura or Brittania. This means P&O will have to rethink their fly cruise arrangements for 2015. The only 'small' ship they have suitable is Oceana and she is allegedly going to australia.

That must be the forum i don't visit anymore because i got fed up with the constant bickering and a group of members who were always trying to score points off each other.

I wonder how many of that group got a free cruise

At least here the moderators will be down on you like a ton of bricks if you try anything dodgy!.