simonpjd

If you have seen glaciers before then think about missing the Briksdal one. It has receded so much there really isn’t a lot to see. Don’t expect a glacier wall with that famous bluey tinge.

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If you like history then I strongly recommend doing a guided walking tour of Bergen. This includes the funicular. Bergen is one of the original Hanseatic ports and its history is fascinating, and while its a great place to explore yourself, as others have said, this is a really interesting tour if you like that sort of thing. Take a jacket. It rains 310 days a year in Bergen!

Flam. Do the Norway in a nutshell tour. Bit pricey but well worth it. Includes 2 trains and a Smorgasbord lunch.

Have a great time.

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Maybe you are tempted to try Cunard. Maybe you won’t when you see their prices. More or less double that of P&O. Especially the wine which is completely stupidly over the top prices.

So if you like a drink or three stay with P&O.

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They are right. But starboard side is best for the rest.

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Off Deception Island last November it was described by the experts as whale soup. All at the same time we had sperm whales, humpbacks and 2 killer pods. I won’t forget that couple of hours, brilliant.

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We get annual travel insurance and renew on day it expires. So we are always covered. Our annual insurance policy is cheaper than the single trip quote we were given for our Antarctic trip. This is a no brainer for us as we are doing 3 cruises a year.

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Jeanlyon

I think we all know the reason why fares for Aurora have gone north, so maybe not a fair (!) comparison this time.

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Check how many ships are in. There were only 5 when we were there in May but that was enough to make Rome like the tube in rush hour. The day before there had been 11 and even the guides said it had been challenging.

The whole visit was actually quite unpleasant, but I wish you well. BTW there isn’t really much to see inside. It’s not like Gladiator!

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We have 2 cruises booked on Aurora, both now much more expensive than our day 1 price. But I think we will be heading towards Oceania or even one of the 7 star lines. We prefer smaller ships anyway.

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Azure Ventura Britannia only.

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So when did Dorothy go and LGBT appear. It was still D a couple of years back. I wonder if Bill W will change to AA.

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We notice that the LGBT community get an hour a day for meeting up in the Commodore Club. No longer as Friends of Dorothy.

But why do they get an hour in the best bar at a prime time for themselves. Surely they are now treated just like everyone else. Or do they think they still need their own space and time.

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You will almost certainly need a yellow fever jab, you have to pay for that. Not available on NHS.

Some ships dim outside lights and ask cabin curtains to be closed - helps keep the bugs away.

The Amazon itself is not the most exciting place. Once is enough unless you are a bit of a David Bellamy. The idea of the thing is better than the reality.

But do visit the Opera House.

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Aurora looks like a ship.

Arcadia looks like a floating block of flats.

So... While both carry more or less the same number of pax, Arcadia has literally hundreds more balconies. And very good they are too. Arcadia will seem more modern, big theatre, 2 tier MDR.

Aurora is more old fashioned but none the worse for that.

If both were doing the same itinerary that we wanted to do I really don’t know which one we would choose. Possibly Arcadia just because of the cabins.

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We were on QM2 visiting Cochin in April. This was the main topic of conversation for weeks.

We paid a fortune for full visas. Turns out the evisa would have been sufficient. And yes we met a couple who got reimbursed for the full cost by Cunard. But they had kept copies of all correspondence including the one from Cunard saying they needed a visa even if not going ashore, which turned out to be untrue.

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QM2 April 18. One day visit.

Took organised trip Highlights of Rome. About 8 hours.

Saw all the old stuff then coach to Vatican. Left there to explore. Sounded great. BUT there were 5 ships in including a huge RCI job. Rome was packed mainly with cruise pax doing excursions. It was a 2 hour queue to get into St Peters basilica. Much longer to get into Sistine Chapel. And this was considered pretty much normal.

The day before there had been 11 ships in AND 10000 Liverpool fans in for the footie. The guide said it had been a ‘challenging ‘ day.

Maybe time they need to put a limit on number of ships in per day.

Not a pleasant experience.

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So how much do you think a ‘nominal amount’ is. I think of it as an amount that you don’t really notice going. Maybe 5 or 10 dollars.

Cunard obviously have a different idea.

Come along for a wine tasting session, they say. For a nominal amount. How much.

Blimey it is 120 USD.

Maybe that shows who their target passenger is. Someone for whom 120 USD is a sum they don’t even notice.

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On QM2 last month we had Sally Gunnell , good, Antony Horowitz, excellent. Then a bloke who worked in customs. Very very good. He started in the cinema but was so popular they moved him into the theatre and that was packed.

One trip we had Sue Holderness, actress from Only Fools and Horses. She was awful. A right up herself luvvy.

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We are on Aurora in September crossing the pond there and back with lots of New England and Canada ports as well. So this means around 5 sea days each way, which is a lot for P&O. So do they put on extra activities, like bridge lessons or water colour courses. Something a bit extra because of all the sea days.

Having just had 35 nights on QM2 Cunard are very good at this with all sorts of goodies. Do P&O match them.

Thank you.

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QV is a lovely ship , for us much the nicest of the 3 queens. And far better than any of POs offerings. That said, unless you are thinking of going with Cunard and it’s formality, I would stick with P&O. There isn’t that much difference. Certainly not as much as some Cunard snobs would have you believe.

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Be prepared to queue. 2 hours to get into St Peter Basilica. 3 for Sistine Chapel. Mainly cruise passengers. This was with 5 ships in. The day before there were 11 so goodness knows how long people had to queue. Guides just said it had been a ‘difficult ‘ day.

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This may be a load of cobblers but maybe not.

Let’s take an average cruise ship.

2000 pax.

1000 crew of which , a guess here but probably not far off, 350 get a slice of the auto gratuity payments.

Now do the sums.

P&O would love everyone to pay the £7 a day.

So that would be £14000 a day.

Shared by 350 crew is £40 a day or £280 a week or c£14000 a year. Plus the P&O wages (unknown)

According to my Google search the average pay in Manilla is 550USD a month.

So even if only 50% of pax pay up the tipping dosh comes to a lot more than average pay in the Philippines.

Makes me wonder what their official wage is. And, of course, that is one thing all the companies keep very very quiet about.

Just a few thoughts...

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Just back after 35 nights Singapore to Southampton. Great ship. Wonderful service and staff seemed a lot happier than P&O. MDR food excellent, the quality of ingredients first class. Great itinerary with Mpetra being a brilliant destination. Amazing trip.

But some guests, mainly all the wayers, were just so rude to the staff. You got the feeling some are so well off and pampered they do not know how to behave in a civil manner anymore and we were shocked by their rudeness. But I honestly believe that have no idea that their behaviour would not be tolerated in everyday society.

Maybe I am wrong, being 15 years younger than most. But to watch someone braying BOY across the Commodore Club to call a waiter was not a pleasant thing to see. And I could give a lot more examples.

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Anyone else think that all the alternative dining are very overpriced. We tried them all once, never again. Food no better than MDR but larger portions. Another rip off.

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Specialist cruise TA every time. Always cheaper than going direct to the company itself. And they also deal with things like the shareholder benefit where trying to contact Cunard or P&O can be a long tedious business.

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