sam49

Oh no just booked my first Marella cruise about 20 minutes ago!

I have travelled with P & O and liked their ships but looking this year we found that lots of the cruises are very sea day heavy. Friend are going on one which is 12 full days on the ship of which 7 are sea days.

So we choose Marella as its ports we want to visit and only one day at sea in a weeks cruise.  Also liked the option of adding 3 nights in Corfu onto the end of the cruise.  Hope its okay.

Just wanted to say hi as we are also on this cruise.

Not sure if you have been able to book yet; but I found the only way to manage this was to book one show at a time then checkout after each one.

A bit time consuming but at least it worked.

Getting excited now!

Thanks both, appreciate your advice.

We are visiting Barcelona in September and have booked our own tickets to Park Guell as the ships excursion is sold out.

Obviously we will have to get a taxi from the cruise port, but I wondered how easy this is?  Are there taxis readily available with clearly displayed costs or would it be better to book one in advance.

On 10/22/2022 at 11:15 PM, wowzz said:

I think the reason is, that women have so many more options. Dresses, skirts, trousers, assorted tops etc. 

Us poor men don't have the same flexibikity. The killer is the "tie" requirement.  So, you need a shirt with a collar,  and then it all goes down hill. Dinner jacket, or lounge suit, or sports jacket etc.

My wife can throw on (hopefully she won't read this!) a sparkly tee shirt, a jacket and black tousers and she is perfectly fine for formal night.  If  I put on a pristine white tee shirt, jacket and black chinos, I will not get past the podium . Pure discrimination 😁

Don't get me wrong - I do like getting dressed up, but male options are severely limited.

Go on I dare you!  Put on that sparkly dress and see if they let you in the MDR. Apparently you can choose what sex you want to be nowadays.

Adorable children, did they come with the P & O package? 😃 

21 hours ago, latserrof said:

They don't need to, they have algorithms.

 

70+ cruises, we always book the aftmost cabin -- least amount of foot traffic,  a little motion doesn't bother us,  and the engine noise can drown out the TV next door and help us sleep.

 

Anyway,, with dynamic pricing, you pays your money and you takes your chances. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.  I'm happy I can stay in the game.

I used to work for an organisation where we said to staff 'if you do a good job the customer will tell five people; if you do a bad job they will tell 50'.

I'm not sure algorithms will be able to take into account anythingthe original poster says to friends/family/colleagues/neighbours etc.

Thanks Phil,

I knew a yorkshireman would be able to help!

Hi wondered if anyone can help.

I am due to travel on Azura two weeks today. I have filled in all of the online information and printed off luggage tags but can't find anywhere to print off the boarding passes. I have been going around the site for the last half an hour but no joy.

Anyone able to help me?

I can understand why you are annoyed I would be too, thats a lot of money.

I have travelled on RC which is mainly american cruisers and I am sure that they are allowed to rebook  if they find the same cruise at a cheaper price with RC.

It would have been nice if P & O had let you move cabins and would have generated some good customer service feedback. Instead  its made you feel like you don't want to travel with them again and you will probably talk to other people and dissuade them from P & O.

I do sometimes wonder if people in charge of these organisations ever think things through.

I am going on my first cruise with Celebrity on 3rd June and we have already said never again due to their sheer incompetence.

They ignore emails and despite hours on the phone I have never been able to speak to anyone.  They will reply on twitter but give conflicting and confusing advice and seem prepared to lie about regulations.  E.G. saying it is an italian government requirement when it is not.

If it wasnt for the trip being something I always wanted to do I would have cancelled by now.

I have just got off Britannia and the  retreat was closed for the whole cruise. Not sure if it is due to open at any time.

Just now, jamiebarnzy said:

Good morning 

 

Does anyone know if the thermal suites are open now? 
 

No unfortunately not.

22 minutes ago, Camberley said:

Yes - some people are never happy unless they have something to moan about.  Or are seeing what they can get out of it……Ie) the more vocal, attention-seeking ones who, by their presence, suggest they normally get their way in life. But thankfully these are the minority - and you can normally spot them a mile off harrumphing and showing themselves up, while spouse lurks embarrassed. Although to be fair this is sometimes good entertainment in itself 🤣

And some people, often Brits put up with poor service/poor facilities because they ‘don’t want to make a fuss’ or are embarrassed if other people look at them. 
Probably good attitude to make the best of things in the war, but not so good when you are not getting what you paid for. 

30 minutes ago, zap99 said:

We loved out 2 and will love the next one on Iona and the one after that. If it's not exactly as we want, the one after that probably will be. Things are different at the moment. We have to book for Pizza express. Nando's has closed down as has Carluccios and Cafe Rouge in our town. If folk expect every thing to be the same as it was, I have some news for you. It won't be.

No we don’t expect everything to be the same post Covid. But I am sure you would be disappointed to go to pizza express and find you had to wait an hour and a half to be seated, they only had half the usual menu and the staff just put the food on the table without a smile? 

To be fair I have found the RC customer service a bit over the top at times. However P and O staff seem to be not just reserved but miserable and unengaged. Eg no ‘good morning’ , no smiling, shrugging shoulders when you ask for anything. 
Not to be rude but I get better service in my local pound shops. 

I’m on Britannia now which is my first P and O cruise (previously gone RC and celebrity). 
I hate to say this but it’s dire. The staff are just about polite but that’s it. No friendliness or enthusiasm. Food is canteen level at best and don’t get me started on the app. You have to queue, it may be five minutes or 1.5 hours before you are summoned. So you have no idea when to queue if you have a show booked. 
 

Anyone like to create an emergency for me so I can be airlifted off? 

I'm going on my first P & O cruise on Sunday.

I thought that the main dining room had 'sittings' but I don't have any information on my booking and everyone keeps talking about booking on the app which doesn't appear to be working properly.

Any advice?

Thanks

Hi all

I am off on a staycation on Britannia next week.   I've never travelled P & O before but I found on RC that they always had the air conditioning blasting out in public areas so I was freezing in my little cocktail dresses despite the outside temperature being 30 degrees.

I am assuming the air con won't be on as travelling around UK, but can anyone who has been on a staycation give an advice?

Thanks

On 5/11/2020 at 12:49 PM, CruzrwKidz said:

Just wanted to say, very happy with Celebrity!  This was to be our first trip with them although we are not new to cruise travel.  We were to be on an Alaskan Land and Sea trip beginning July 20 from Anchorage and ending July 31 in Vancouver.  We cancelled (well, our TA cancelled for us on April 10) and on May 6, 100% of all charges were refunded to us.  Yes, we did have a refundable rate, but most of the trip was paid for so it was a fairly high balance.  We were a party of six.  I know this is a very difficult time for everyone right now, but patience was worth it.  Will hopefully book this same trip in the future, just not sure how comfortable I am with 2021 yet.  Stay safe, all and keep a positive attitude.

Its posts like this that worry me.  I cancelled on 25th March and as at 12th May no sign of a refund., so an extra 3 weeks wait and still no money They cruise was all paid for in January so there is a large balance owing.  No real communication from Celebrity other than its being processed.

Does anyone know if Celebrity have any kind of system for refunds?

31 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

I think that there may be two or three issues at play. While I think that you are probably right for the most part, don't forget that there are a lot of people who aren't working right now, so there's no money coming in. While many of us don't need the money to survive, there may well be some who do.

 

There is also a lot of discussion both in the media at large and here on CC about the financial standing of a number of cruise lines, bankruptcy often cited as a possibility. While I doubt that Celebrity will go bankrupt, there are those who feel it's a real possibility and are concerned about getting their refunds before that eventuality ever comes to pass. If you are one of those will multiple cancelled cruises and thousands of dollars in refunds that never seem to come, you too might be a tad panicky.

 

And then there are those who are simply impatient. "I want my refund and I want it NOW!"

The longer this goes on the more likely that some, if not a lot of holiday companies will go bust. So I personally would like my money back, not wait for almost seven weeks with little or no communication from Celebrity. and no sign of a refund.

The other point to bear in mind is that certainly in the UK (not sure if it is the same in the US) is that we can apply for a chargeback through our credit card company.  However in order to do so you have to provide evidence that you have actively tried to get your money back from the company concerned. This would include copies of emails, phone calls etc.  Just sitting there saying oh I thought they would because people on a forum said be patient wouldn't really work.

Can someone advise me if this is the same in the US?  Or could this be why Celebrity are dragging their heels in refunding UK cruisers?

21 hours ago, Denny01 said:

Does anyone really expect that making numerous calls and waiting extended times on hold and sending numerous emails is going to somehow speed up getting a refund? The calls/emails from all of us, US and UK, are and will in the future get the same response of ‘the refund is in process/being worked/will be sent.....etc, etc, etc’ until they actually send the refund. So why are so many making these calls and getting upset over something you have no control over and your efforts make no change to the situation. All it does is get you more upset and suspicious of getting a refund that others are reporting they are getting, including me.

 

Den 

Well it would help if they had some decent communication.  I cancelled via a link in their email but didn't have a confirmation email, so had to try and contact them to check that they had received it.

The initial email said a refund in 30 days.  I waited 30 days but no refund so tried to contact again.  They then said 40 days for refund, but yes you've guessed no refund after 40 days.  No further communication no answering of phones.  Yet some people have received a refund in 2 - 3 weeks according to these boards including some people who cancelled after me.

Can you really not see why people are worried/suspicious?  Presumably you are not worried because you have received your refund.

On 3/16/2020 at 7:15 PM, Ontario Cruiser said:

 Please stop phoning Celebrity to follow up after you have requested your  booking to be cancelled. Patience is a virtue

Ontario Cruiser

Patience might be a virtue but it doesn't pay the bills when you have been made redundant. Seven weeks and waiting

2 minutes ago, omeinv said:

Nonsense.  The refunds are happening, they're slower than expected due to volume, not lack of funds. 

 

Here in the US phones are answered (I spoke to someone last night and this morning), emails are responded to (I sent an email Thursday after hours and had a response Friday morning), and refunds are happening (mine was requested March 15 and received by my credit card April 19). 

 

Harris

Denver, CO

So it appears that preference is given to cruisers from the USA despite the fact that British cruisers have to pay more for their cruises.

I have tried to phone (a premium rate number) 15 times, hanging on for hours no reply.  No reply to emails or twitter. 

So you had your refund 20 days ago and I am still waiting.  It appears we have very different experiences

18 hours ago, Denny01 said:

All this happened over a month ago, and the OP is now saying Celebrity put out a news flash stating their cruise was canceled but Celebrity didn’t actually cancel it until 12 hrs later?? that doesn’t track. then the OP tries to clarify with another post that doesn’t track saying the ‘news flash’ stated customers would get a full refund if they canceled ‘now’ or a FCC plus 25% if they waited??? Waited for what or until when?? None of this is making sense. Neither post tracks with what is actually going on. 

 

From actual experience and reading tons of threads on the same subject (over and over again), Most All cruise lines including Celebrity are offering a full refund or a FCC +25% for a canceled cruise. The customer get to chose which. And cruise lines are offering a FCC (no extras but no penalties) for customers who wish to cancel cruises on their own that are to depart up to a set date, which varies with each Line, but no refund. 

 

The OP canceled a cruise before it was canceled and therefore gets a FCC, no refund and no extra 25%. Unlike the ‘norm’ which was if you canceled a cruise so close to a departure date, you’d lose a good deal of your money, or if over a month away, you’d normally lose $100 out of your deposit.

 

All of this is Around the Bend!

 

Den 

 

 

Sorry but I think you have this wrong.  They SAY you can have a 100% refund but are not actually paying out. Phone calls and emails go unanswered and no money returned. I think they are in bigger trouble than they like to admit.