DamianG

34 minutes ago, Purdey16 said:

Well I’m all packed up ,4 suitcases and 1 big hold all, housework done , nails and hair done so now chilling down the beach watching the air show , suns out and it’s a bit hot , hopefully the sun will shine everyday for you guys while I’m away . I will still read this thread every night because I’ve got Wi-Fi on the ship , I’m on sky princess so can’t really do a live blog on here for you but will post pictures now and again if people want .

Have a great cruise, a few photos would be great!

7 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I think yesterday was a nightmare on the trains.  Since May we've been cut to one an hour, not even a connection at Southampton as we used to be able to do.  My OH who was in London with me on Wednesday night caught the 12.20 train back to Salisbury and called told me that it was rammed and standing room only so to make sure I got to the station earlier for my train that evening.  I duly arrived at 8.30pm for the 9.20pm, bought a coffee and luckily got a seat on the forecourt.  Come 9.00pm the train from Exeter arrived (they are very distinctive as the only diesel train out of Waterloo) so I moved across towards the gate just in case.  Train cleaning over we were allowed to board 8 cars splitting along the route. Within 5 minutes of my boarding my carriage was full, 10 minutes before departure an announcement of limited seats at the front.  Pulled out on time I counted 16 people standing in my compartment.  Next stop Clapham Junction another 10 people joined and were standing.  I was shocked as for 9 years to travelled this route in and out if London 5 days a week in peak time and never seen the like.

 

I'd like to think it was a day before strike rush to get home but although not so bad I'd experienced much of the same coming home from York and Newmarket in the past couple of weeks.

 

Train travel is no longer a pleasant experience in and out of peak times in the UK.  It's very sad as I travel within Europe even between countries and yes a few delays occasionally but never rammed all day, dirty and badly planned.

 

I feel for you Damian, I couldn't do it for work anymore.

Our employer has a flexible working policy of 3 days in the office then the option to work from home the other 2 days. Thursday is also a "glue day" when most staff are expected to make the effort to be in the office (though fortunately I have a separate arrangement for my circumstances). Obviously that's just my employer but it's possible that Thursday is one of the busier days in general for working commuters (plus it is a popular day for a drink after work as I discovered yesterday).

Good luck to First Folio today @Megabear2

Execs (including Mr. Ludlow complete with man bag and with his hands in his pockets) stood around for a few minutes and one got his tape measure out. Then they left the engineers to get on with it. Get the biggest lump hammer out....

Good day working in the City (London) yesterday and an unexpected drink after work with colleagues.

The 7:03 train home was an old set with no seat reservations visible but luckily (?) when I got to my seat the kid sat next to me had dumped his bag on it. The train was standing room only and so many passengers were being asked to remove bags from seats.

The kid next to me put his hoody up and duly fell asleep on my shoulder (eventually woke up when the train jolted but never said a word).

Another passenger went to get something out of his bag on the rack above me and some water spilt on me (just a tiny bit so no big deal but still a shock!).

We were delayed just outside Wakefield as the train in front was waiting for police to attend (no more information given) then as passengers were lining the aisle ready to get off an old chap dropped his rucksack on me.

It was quite a journey but at least I got BBC iPlayer working (sort of) and could watch MasterChef. I was home an hour later than expected at 10:35pm and have just had confirmation of a 50% refund on my train ticket.

5pm and the start of the weekend can't come soon enough today!

I have a few from our recent cruise on Arvia.

We’ve had D732 & D733 on Azura & Ventura. We didn’t experience any late night noise from the Manhattan or Havana club lounges.

1 minute ago, Megabear2 said:

Ironically we had a quiet carriage "situation" yesterday when a woman started a two way conversation on loudspeaker about her client's existing medical conditions! 20 minutes in the guard came through and my husband and a lady asked if he could have s word with her if for no other reason than we didn't need to know about the customer's prostate.  He then approached her, banged on the quiet zone sign and said loudly "Sorry but them up the back are having a go about it".

 

Astonished at being singled out to the passenger the lady called him back and pointed out it could have caused friction between the passengers.  The guard replied "I'm in a hurry" and shuttles off.  We were astonished.

With my preference for quiet carriages I’ve had a few similar instances over the years and have given up trying to do anything about it. Last time I asked a guard to have a word with someone she initially couldn’t understand what I was asking and wasn’t aware that we were in the quiet carriage (or was playing dumb). 

7 minutes ago, indiana123 said:

 

 

Damian and Purplesea, forgive me and I am sure it is me being a bit thick here.🤣🤣..not difficult!!!

 

I take it these  are not the vacuum ones so how do they help.  Reviews are good so I

am feeling a bit silly  x

 

I

Not at all! They are just canvas zip wallets so nothing special really but the Mountain Warehouse versions served us well. For example, I took around a dozen shirts which all neatly folded (i.e., squashed down) into a single organiser. Michelle fitted even more of her tops into another one then you just fit each into your case like a jigsaw puzzle. 
 

Neither of really thought they’d make any difference as we were packing the same amount of clothes after all, but they really do help compact everything. It felt easier unpacking too.
 

As an aside we bought some from Amazon that we sent straight back as they seemed so small & didn’t look robust. As ever there are lots of price options including some really expensive versions but we are happy with what we chose at the current sale prices.

On 8/29/2023 at 2:27 PM, Megabear2 said:

Well after the airport IT fiasco I can now report the Great British Train one!  Just walked a fruitless one and a half miles to the railway station to be told that due to IT problems all ticket offices have been unable to accept card payments since start of trains this morning.  On enquiring if I can buy a ticket for travel tomorrow I was told the machines are also affected although I could buy a ticket with cash.  Us being a near cashless society I never carry much, currently having a tenner in my purse.  The tickets though are £88.40 each (only into London) so I'm stuck. No says the nice man, there's a cash machine outside in the alcove.  Off I go to look ... sorry out of cash and awaiting a refill.  

 

So no train tickets, no idea when they'll be back on sale and a three mile roundtrip walk for nothing.  You couldn't make it up could you.

I’m currently on the 8:15am Leeds to London, sat in the supposedly “quieter” carriage. The lady sat behind me has been a nuisance having a series of loud telephone conversations non-stop for the whole journey so far. 
 

We’ve just had the ticket checks & the guard asked her why she was on this service with a 9:45am ticket! She appeared to be getting argumentative but he calmed her down & generously let her off from paying the full walk up fair £167.

As a regular on these services I know that the later options Monday to Friday after 9am are significantly cheaper & I can’t help but feel that she knew what she was doing despite her pleas of not understanding. 
 

I agree that the ticket options are far too convoluted & doubtless the guards have to deal with this sort of scenario regularly.

On 8/28/2023 at 10:34 PM, indiana123 said:

HELP ... going round Britain then down to France, Belgium and Holland (last 3 whistle stop),  with NCL.  Temperatures are going to vary greatly so am packing, and packing and packing.,, I cant stop!!!!

 

Up to 19  tops and not finished yet, then saw a half price top in Morrisons. Well you have to don't you🤣  Only up to about 10 trousers so far.  Then it might rain up at Stornaway so need rain jacket, and jersey jacket and... and ... then theirs my four walking sticks, two gold for the evening and two others, then theres.........

 

Good job I booked the Baggage people. They come on Wednesday.  He makes me laugh as when we hand them over he usually says "Say goodbye to them, you'll probably never see them again"

 

Anyway I will go back and try to cut down the stack of stuff still to be packed.  I wish I had more willpower over things.

We tried packing cubes for our recent cruise, weren’t sure if they were just a gimmick (especially Michelle) but they 

worked so well we’ve just bought another set. 
 

https://www.mountainwarehouse.com/patterned-travel-organiser-3-pack-p25427.aspx/brown/

Thank you as @Selbourne for another fascinating, thoughtful and balanced review of your cruise. We sailed on Iona in April 2022 which (despite being during school holidays) was only 2/3 full as per the restrictions at that time. It was a world away from our recent experience on Arvia, as we were able to use the My Holiday webpage for every dining booking and never waited longer than 15 minutes on any occasion. Whilst I would never sail on Arvia again, I certainly would give Iona another go, even during school holidays.

Best regards

Damian

2 hours ago, nellydean said:

My apologies for the misunderstanding - I blame the brain fog on the Covid!

No apology necessary, glad you got a great reply from @TigerB

13 hours ago, SarahHben said:

There’s a couple on YouTube called One Couples Adventure, I think they’ve been on Virtuosa & vlogged it.

The planning is almost as good as the cruise…almost 😊

Yes, we've watched a few of their YouTube vlogs. Another favourite of ours is Travel Blog Jamie, always fun and informative.

I'm hoping we may see a YouTube video or two from Rich & Sarah? 😉

On 8/24/2023 at 7:55 PM, Eglesbrech said:

Feeling just a bit down today. I have lost my 3rd cousin in 3 months so another funeral to attend.

 

I am part of quite a large family but at the (relatively) younger end of the age scale so one by one I have seen the companions of my childhood, youth, adulthood and older age go. It brings one’s own mortality into very sharp focus.

 

Enjoy life folks, eat drink and be merry. Do what you love and tell those that you love that you do each and every day. 

My condolences, what a difficult time for you. Thank you for posting such a lovely reflection at the end of your message, it certainly resonates for me.

16 hours ago, Presto2 said:

Well have finished my epistle to PO re freedom dining and our cruise in January. Its rather long ... wish me luck Megabear

Good luck with yours, I'm about to compose mine to them about Arvia! I hope that we both receive an appropriate response.

52 minutes ago, nellydean said:

Welcome home DamianG, I have only just finished the thread (excellent), what with a sick dog to tend, a trip to visit family - and Covid!

 

We are sailing on Ventura soon, but we are on Arvia next March, and I wondered if it was possible to tell me what sort of prices are charged by the paid-for restaurants, as you seem to have used them a fair bit? Failing that, can anyone point me in the right direction where I can get a prices list.

 

It's been five years since we last cruised, and speciality dining appears to have increased greatly. In all the cruises we've been doing since 1999, I can't recall ever using one of them! But, seeing as the free dining venues seem to have shrunk considerably in number, I wanted to get an idea of how much extra to budget for on our forthcoming cruises. We do have some onboard credit for both.

 

We are just going to wander around Ventura and see where we can get in to eat, but I'd like to be a bit more organised for Arvia.

 

Glad you had a safe trip home.

 

Helen

Thanks Helen, we didn’t actually use any of the restaurants where you need to pay a supplement so I’ve no information on prices unfortunately. I’m sure that someone in here will have a better idea though. 
 

Enjoy your cruises, I’m sure they’ll be worth the wait!

Damian

4 hours ago, SarahHben said:

We really enjoyed Cadiz too. We're very happy that Cadiiz is on our 2025 itinerary, and after reading what I've read so far, I'm quite glad we picked Britannia not the Arvia cruise when we we choosing 😂

We love Cadiz and would love to have a land based holiday there one day. It doesn’t appear to be too easy to get there from the UK but that is probably why it isn’t swamped with tourists and is therefore even more appealing. 

3 hours ago, SarahHben said:

A great blog as always Damian, thank you so much. When is your next cruise? 

MSC Virtuosa next July, our first non-P&O cruise since 2003. Back to a standard balcony cabin but with premium drinks package included and significantly cheaper than P&O for a similar itinerary as this year plus 2 more ports.

After much negotiation MSC have also matched our P&O loyalty status straight away despite this being our first voyage with them. 
 

We’re already excited and are lapping up any YouTube videos about the ship that we can find. 
 

Belated Happy Anniversary @grapau27 hope you're having a lovely day.

5 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Yes Damian, they do at least read emails to this address! You should get an acknowledgement in a couple of days saying 28 days to investigate.  My experience day 27 they will call you to discuss.  

 

The ladies and gents there are very helpful and more to the point trained in customer relations.

 

 

Thank you and the same to @SeaJane @Josy1953

24 P&O cruises and the first time I've felt the need for sending in a formal complaint.

On 8/21/2023 at 11:56 AM, Megabear2 said:

If you've got the will to live send the details of it all to this email.  Emphasise you want a reply from the Executive Office not it pushed back to "normal" customer service who have to date given yourself and others three different versions - I will do the same.

 

Executive.Correspondence@carnivalukgroup.com 

 

 

Hi MB

I intend to write to P&O about some of our experiences on Arvia last 2 weeks. I've never written a letter or email of complaint to P&O previously so would you suggest this email address for that purpose?

Thanks

Damian

Balcony furniture scraping noises were also a constant feature of our cruise though I didn't mention them (plenty of other things to grumble about as it was).

Mum and sister had a really noisy family not directly above their cabin (one across) which their cabin neighbour (directly beneath the racket) said ruined their cruise experience. 

We took our time getting off in Valencia but could see the queue for the shuttle buses from our balcony. It was all very orderly until the crew released the next 50 or so from the single file line and it then turned into a sprint to get to the bus and push on first! It probably wasn't like that all the time but another example of poor manners.

In Britannia's maiden season at the Peninsular Club lunch on our cruise several of our table guests complained that P&O were "pushing passengers away from the sea" without a promenade deck and limited sea views from the Atrium. I honestly feel that this was a factor in the design of the atriums on Iona and Arvia which have gone completely the opposite way. 

I do like the sea views from the Atrium but the window frame structures around them are not the prettiest. It can also get incredibly loud with some of the entertainment that they put on in there, way over the occasional ball room dancing or bands that they put on in the Atrium on some of the older ships. 

5/10 for me, mainly because of the sea views. I'm sure they could do better.

2 hours ago, kalos said:

Today I think we could do with the help of P&O cruise Laundry expert @DamianG😉

 

We called by at our Granddaughters home (the eldest who is with child)

She is in the last weeks and massive and in a lot of pain even more so trying to bend 

to do the washer .

Nan being Nan ,to the rescue has brought it all to ours so our washer will be earning it's

keep today .

They tell me the baby is almost engaged (not into all this maternity jargon ) 

I wanted to know who the boyfriend was and had they chose the ring yet .🤣

 

Hope you all have a good day take care .

Just need to let my boss know that there's a family emergency and I'll be on my way down. 

We are all family on here, right?