Pompeyboy

For info P & O have just adjusted the sailing dates of the 2015 Arctic Circle cruises. The second ones departure date has been brought forward 2 days to ensure a better view of the solar eclipse on 20th March and the duration extended to 14 nights. The first one(which we are booked on) remains at 12 nights and departs on the 5th instead of the 7th.

Yes the dates were changed by 2 days so that Oriana will be in a better position for the solar eclipse on 20th March. They have shortened the cruise prior to ours to 10 days to accommodate the change of dates for the 2 Arctic Circle cruises.

Waiting with interest as notice cannot get into the CP at the moment which I was able to this morning. No doubt all will become clear in due course!

So looking forward to returning to P & O after sampling the delights of other lines and agree with the previous posts particulary Roobydoobydoo as I too require gluten free food and have built up agreat rapport our waiters and the MD who have always been excellent. And there is nothing like being able to make your own tea and coffee without the need to call room service and wait!:)

The eclipse is on the 20th so bringing the dates forward will put Oriana between Stavanger and Tromso instead of Southampton and Stavanger had they stuck to the original dates. It is annoying they have cancelled all the excursions as I am sure they will all still run so why they could not transfer to new dates without the hassle is beyond me no doubt mad rush when they all go back online!. I am waiting to see the post from disgruntled passengers to say their cruise has been shortened by 2 days which must appear at some stage my guess is the 17 nighter which departs on 6th Feb.

Hi Alison

We are also on this cruise and a bit frustrated at the change of dates as all holiday already booked. I suppose should be thankful it's only 2 days and that we are not losing any days, which I assume is going to happen to one of Oriana's other cruises prior to this one, to enable them to bring the cruise forward. They have also cancelled all excursions and they will have to be re-booked once the new dates are confirmed.

Still looking forward to it though

Steve

Hi:)

Well as I mentioned in my previous posts we had an excellent experience on the Brilliance. My daughter was well and truly fussed over by the waiters, the head waiter and the chef. I heard there were over 25 other people on board requiring a gluten free diet. I did meet a couple of American ladies who were celiac and they had a positive experience also. Mind you they were cheating a bit eating Kellogs cereal. With regards to the Windjammer ask to speak to the head chef? of the Windjammer. He will walk you around and point out which items are gluten free. I even sent him an book that we have here which lists ingredients and whether they are gluten free to help him and his staff identify gf foods. I am not sure if the same guy is still there. His name was Paul and he is English. I would recommend eating in the Main Dining Room as much as possible as you get to select your meal for the next night and they adapt it to gf if they can. It is a much nicer eating experience in the MDR anyway but the waiters get to know you and your needs there. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

Hi

Many thanks for the info

I do tend to stick to the MDR for eating in the evening as like you say the waiters get to know you and your likes/ dislikes. Roll on October!

I'm glad I looked at this particular thread. I have recently seen a review of the Brilliance which was none to complimentary regarding how they had been treated in relation to their food allergy( they do not mention what particular allergy they suffer with) which concerned me as I will be on her with my OH in October.

Having seen a couple of recent posts stating that they had been treated well on the Brilliance it has put my mind at ease. This will be our first cruise on RCCL so I was hoping that there would be the same good experiences as on previous cruises with Celebrity, P & O and Fred Olsen who have all catered for me extremely well.

This is an excellent thread - thankyou :):)