yorkshirephil

Lovely day here, very warm this morning while we were sat out. We went to a 90th birthday party this afternoon, it was the landlady from my local when I was nobbut a  lad. It was a bit weird at first as everyone was eyeballing each other to try and figure out who was who. A lot of beer was drunk and a lot of reminiscing was carried out. Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend.

3 hours ago, posford said:

Moley-If you sail next weekend, the change in policy is very last minute.

Fairer to change policy for those paying for cruises - say 12 weeks.

There will never be a good time for everyone, whenever a policy gets changed it will be last minute for someone. It isn't as if someone is going to cancel their cruise and lose the deposit because P&O stop them taking a litre of spirit aboard.

1 minute ago, enjoysailing said:

 

 

I agree the drinks menus have become restrictive, and although I moan inwardly I still find something to drink. I like a pre-dinner tipple in my cabin. But bottles can be ordered to the cabin, so not a complete dealbreaker, in my opinion.   

I am with you on this, I don't drink much these days but do have a couple of favourites which I usually take with me, however I will be neither devastated or sailing with another line because of a minor change. 

8 minutes ago, purplesea said:

If I remember correctly they were Tia Maria, Contreau and Grand Mariner.

As they are popular liqueur's I would expect them to have generic versions for making cocktails?

57 minutes ago, gsmt47471015 said:

I can see both sides to this issue , however in relation to choice , a very popular whisky ran out within three weeks of our world cruise and was never replenished , despite various port stops where it could have been , and if you don’t drink gin (I don’t ) the onboard offers were very restrictive, the only other whiskey offered was top end malts which I don’t particularly like . I took onboard one bottle of my preferred whiskey and bought another whilst on board before it ran out , however with just the one drink on the balcony pre dinner it soon ran out , and I was unable to purchase any from any bars for the remainder of the cruise. If this new policy is implemented it is to be hoped the onboard stocks are sufficient to satisfy demand 

I can see both sides too, I am surprised it hasn't happened before now as I can't think of another cruise company we have used that allows a litre of spirits per person. We usually take a couple of litres of rum but I think we will muddle through. A bit like parties when I was a youth, sup the beer and spirits first, move on to the sherry and cheap Spanish wine then attack the cupboard under the sink to see if any cleaning products have alcohol in them.

10 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

There's a strange unidentified yellow object in the sky up here in Newmarket!  Strange rumblings and exclamations of excitement from the gathered ensemble in the breakfast room mixed with trepidation as to whether this could be an early sighting of the Death Star or a forewarning from the  Emperor of his latest devious plan to bestow us with hail stones and copious amounts of freezing rain.

 

The going is officially good, the forecast is for a dry and bright morning, turning to a cloudy afternoon with sunny spells with the threat of an isolated light shower. A small miracle - could it just be I might, yes really, not need that heavy duty raincoat this afternoon?

 

 

Good luck with Dutch Decoy, I have had a tenner on at 6/1 for an interest bet so good luck to me as well.

32 minutes ago, happy v said:

Last year on Britannia. I told the DJ if he looked around the room and most people had grey hair. It was safe to assume they didn't like rap. It worked for a couple of days inside. Out on deck he happily played to himself for a fortnight 

Rap has a silent C for a reason

Dullish here with rain forecast, it is quite warm.

On the eyebrow theme; Mrs YP asked me where the best place to get her eyebrows tattooed was. In typical Yorkshire fashion I replied " just above your eyes" 

There are deals out there with most cruise lines albeit not in the numbers we have seen in the last two years, it may be that they don't suit peoples needs. If we are just looking for a cruise because we fancy a break then we wouldn't be too bothered where we went and would seek out a deal whereas if it were a bucket list cruise we would book on day one to secure our cabin. It is clear that things are getting back to where they were BC when the cruise industry was still expanding. 

A day of two halves here, it was misty and cool until lunch time then the sun broke through and it is lovely and warm now. Just right for a beer while sat in the garden. 

Cracking day here, lovely and sunny all day and very warm. Sat out for breakfast then stayed out all day. I even got the shed painted. 

Happy Birthday Avril @Adawn47 and John @Grandad John hope you both have a wonderful day.

8 hours ago, Derek5001 said:

After reading this thread, I bought 100 Carnival shares through AJ Bell.  Downloaded the Stockperks app and sent them a copy of my contract note.

 

Within a couple of days they verified my application for our cruise on Iona in August.  Unprompted, Cruise118.com, our agent sent an updated invoice showing the £60 obc credited to my account.

 

Question.  After just a few weeks my shared have gained value.  Can I sell them at a profit and still keep the OBC?

The wording on the Carnival shareholder benefit page states; "This benefit is available to shareholders holding a minimum of 100 shares of Carnival Corporation or Carnival plc" so it is not clear as to whether you actually need to hold the shares when you cruise. For a small amount of shares like this they would need to go up considerably to cover the cost of buying and selling to make a profit. I would be surprised if there was anything built into the Stocksperk app to monitor your holding until the date of your cruise? This has been discussed before but I don't remember anyone posting a definitive answer that was anything other that a best guess.

2 minutes ago, janem2 said:

We have become fans of Iona but after a few cruises on her realise now that the Headliner shows stay the same for 5 years (?) Does anyone know when they are scheduled to change? Don't want to abandon Iona forever but we will wait until those shows (and other acts showing in the theatre) change. Thanks 

We have been cruising nearly 30 years and a lot of the shows are pretty much the same now as they were back then, that is with a few lines so not just P&O. They do put in a new one every now and again. It is the same with guest acts, the cruise lines seem to draw from a pool of regulars, which is fine if you enjoy the act. 

I can't say I have noticed any whilst aboard, but that could be because we tend to do longer cruises so maybe us oldies are not their target audience. I have checked a few out if going on a ship for the first time to get a feel for the ship but find they tend to be a bit; me, me and breathe their own smoke. I do like Cruise Mummy as she also tends to say it as it is, plus her site has lots of handy info.

Good moaning all, its cold again, 7oC when we went to Junction 32 this morning, it isn't much warmer now. It is forecast to warm up next week so it will probably rain.

We are off to Wales tomorrow to stay with friends so looking forward to that. 

Have a good weekend peeps and for all those cruising have a good one.

3 minutes ago, watsonbeau said:

Newbie here as have cruised on Cunard but have not travelled before on P&O - looking at some good itineraries on Arcadia and Aurora ( as not too huge) for Med in 2025.  So just a few questions if anyone can help - apologies if they are stupid !

 

Contentious perhaps but are gratuities optional - Cunard add on but you can choose to remove at purser’s if you prefer to do your own.

 

Drinks - are the packages worth it ? As I’ve no idea on individual drinks prices on P&O - for two of us we’d probably each have maybe 2 coffees, plus 3 gin/tonic and 2 cocktail - so times that by two. 

Any help appreciated! Thank you.

 

 

Tips are included in the price of a P&O cruise. The drinks prices are considerably less on P&O than Cunard plus their is no added tax/tip on each drink with P&O. The example you have given for drinks may make the drinks package worthwhile especially if there is an offer on the drinks package (currently 10%), however you would need to drink that every day to make the package work for you.

14 minutes ago, Mymarina Bay said:

I've double checked the CP and it's still showing one. Is the response from PO wrong as well ! Will see, we sail Saturday with/without formal attire will decide tomorrow.

If I was a betting man I would say the P&O response is wrong, going by their website and my experience with P&O you could have three formals? Whatever you decide have a great cruise.

2 minutes ago, Mymarina Bay said:

Our cruise is 7 nights and it's usually 2 formal ie first sea day and last port day. However it was queried by a fellow cruiser and the reply from PO was only one on cruises under 11 days.

That is not what it says on the web site, however they get it wrong there sometimes.

Arvia and Iona:

2-10 nights – 1

11-14 nights – 2

15-19 nights – 3
 

Rest of fleet:

1-6 nights – 1

7-10 nights – 2

11-13 nights – 3

14-19 nights – 4

1 minute ago, Mymarina Bay said:

Presume then it must be a recent change for future cruises.

I am surprised at only one formal on an 11 night Arcadia cruise, however this seems to be the trend going forward. We had fewer than expected formal nights on our 19 night Aurora cruise last year. 

33 minutes ago, FangedRose said:

At long last I have reached he dizzying heights of Caribbean. What is the dress code for the mid cruise Loyalty Lunch? I seem to remember seeing people in suits and cocktail dresses at midday but not more recently. 

I wore chino's and smart shirt on Aurora in September. Our lunch was quite casual with a few dressed up.

1 minute ago, gmac00 said:

Too "trainery"?

You should be OK with those, staff on the MDR door don't seem to bother too much with shoes, especially as people may wear certain shoes for medical reasons. If in doubt wear the shoes that you will use with your suit, with the option of changing them after dinner

It feels more like winter today, it is dry but an icy wind. Not the sort of day for wandering about with dicky gnashers, I put mine in my pocket to keep them warm. 

Happy anniversary @purplesea, enjoy your meal out.

6 minutes ago, gmac00 said:

Hi,

My first cruise is fast approaching in July. I am sailing from Malta on Azura with my wife and daughter and this will be our first cruise. We are all excited but I am slightly stressed about the dress code.

 

We are going to a wedding in Tuscany the weekend before the cruise and I've bought a nice light linen suit for it. My wife wants me to take it on the cruise but I'm concerned it won't be allowed on the formal nights. Thoughts?

 

Secondly, it says no trainers on the casual night but I hear loads of people saying they are fine. What constitutes "acceptable" trainers? 

I know a pair of knackered New Balance you wear to the gym won't work but will a smart pair of dark trainers be OK, would smart great trainers be ok?

 

Thanks in advance for any answers

Graham

 

 

 

 

 

I wear plain black lightweight trainers on casual night sometimes, they are great for taking on fly cruises where the weight allowance is restrictive. They do not really look like trainers but are comfy.

A linen suit on formal night is fine too, enjoy your cruise.

15 minutes ago, Devon born and bred said:

I follow these threads with interest and was wondering, with all the problems/issues and negativity, why cruise with P&O.

Why indeed. In some cases it is just differences of opinion or meeting expectations, we have been cruising for nearly 30 years with various lines and I don't think it is much different now to what it was when we started. When we were new the experienced cruisers were saying things were going down hill, or prices were going up and things were not getting any better, blah blah. I see posts from new cruisers who think the cruise lark is brilliant. They may be making negative comments in years to come. 

Of course there are the people who just like to moan regardless plus those who think a good moan to the cruise line will get them some compo. At the end of the day this is a cruise forum and discussing experiences is what it is about, good or bad. I have learned lots of good things on here and other sites that I didn't need to learn the hard way; through experience.