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We fly from Manchester which is only 25 minutes away. We applied for assistance and this is excellent in Manchester but in Tenerife it was appalling. We and others were literally abandoned. Never again. Coach to Southampton from now on. Had so many good reports.

Agree. We had this in March. You MUST have the pappadeilli carbonara in Vista. Yes you pay extra but what the hell?! Note that the restaurants have 2 menus so you need to check the dates they apply to before you book. We love everything on them. It is such a pity that we won’t be there again because you have got to fly to pick up the ship and we have given up on airports after horrendous time in Tenerife and having to trek miles in Manchester airport now. good luck

No but many thanks for your advice

Ok but will we still need the wheelchair assistance even if the luggage has been spirited away by the porters?

Thanks for your quick response. We are travelling with Eavesway. Does this make a difference?

Apologies if this has been covered before but I was wondering how it is possible to get from a coach to the check in area in Southampton cruise terminal for a cruise. I cannot stand in queues and DH cannot walk far without a wheelchair. If it requires a booking for assistance who do I arrange that with please?

We have done 4 Marella cruises all on the Explorer(which, incidentally is an old Celebrity ship!). Loved the ship, the staff are amazing, the place is clean and the food is more than acceptable PROVIDING YOU STAY OUT OF THE BUFFET which is the most boring uninspiring restaurant you can imagine serving extremely average food. Even the staff working in there look uninspired. We probably won’t do any more Marella now as they are all fly cruises and as we need assistance in the airports due to the vast distances you now have to negotiate to get from entry to the gate, we have had some really bad service at overseas airports where TUI fly into recently. So it is coach to Southampton for our next 2 cruises, and I must add that we are not the only people saying this. so if you can cope with long distances in airports, I would say look carefully at Marella but they have raised their prices somewhat and you can now get better deals on other lines.

We had a suite on Britannia in 2018. The main thing that annoyed me was that the butler used to turn up just as I was stepping out of the shower! Otherwise we did not need him . He didn’t even bring our canapés each afternoon. Waste of space.

In my humble opinion, all mdrs should have tablecloths and proper napkins.

We have done many Christmas and NY cruises on P&O. Be aware that usually (but not every time), the ship will be at sea on Christmas Day so no lying on beaches!! We always took decorations for the cabin and there is a festive atmosphere on the ship. We have done the NYE on deck till the small hours until a few years ago when we couldn’t be bothered (something about old age!!!). No more of these cruises for us though as we have got fed up with the travelling and flight delays. I am sure you will enjoy……..

I can speak to a fly cruise to the Canaries in November 2023, not on Azura but on Marella. We have done 4 of these. The Azura is always berthed in Tenerife when we have been there and as our balcony overlooked the Azura we know the situation well. Marella use TUI flights but I think P&O use Jet2. Our worst experience was flying into and out of Tenerife just a couple of weeks ago. Previously we have used Gran Canaria which was fine and also has a shorter coach transfer from airport to ship. We need wheelchair assistance and it was this in Tenerife that completely ruined our holiday this time. Help in Gran Canaria was excellent and at Manchester it is also excellent.

Hi Brummijam Thanks for your note. As you were going through Manchester airport at the end of 22, I can assure you that things have not since improved in terms of distances to be covered to and from the gates and are about to get a whole lot worse as terminal 2 is still being extended (to cater for traffic being transferred from terminal 1 which is closing. As far as we are concerned it has become a place to avoid which is a shame as we are only 25 minutes away. Once of a day it was part of the holiday experience. Not now.

We have just got home from our 4th time on Explorer round the Canaries. Excellent on the ship except for the mattress on our bed which was very thin and not a bit comfy. However, you have to fly to get to a Marella ship and that is where our relationship ends as we have to negotiate the monstrosity which is Manchester airport and then the airport at the other end. We arrange mobility assistance. This is excellent at Manchester but in the Canaries it is gross. Our experience this time was at Tenerife. I never want to see that place again. Even though we had arranged assistance, we were still made to stand for some time and at one stage we were literally abandoned in wheelchairs. This was very stressful for both of us as at one time, I did not know where my husband had been taken. Cannot be doing with that again. In future it will be coach to Soton. And we weren’t the only people saying that. What a shame as we have really enjoyed the ship.

I understand that if there is a problem on the motorways then coach drivers are in touch with each other so that they may be able to leave the motorway ahead of the problem and do a detour. For those caught in the middle of the accident it is of course a different matter. Once of a day, they could remove some of the barriers to let at least one lane go on the other side of the road. Don’t know if they can still do that with the new concrete central reservations and then of course you have the death trap “smart” motorways. Nothing is straightforward anymore. Having said that we have really fallen out of love with airports and are chancing our arm using the coaches to Soton.

Hi from the UK. We are doing our first Princess cruise later this year and are really interested in the comments made by people from across the pond. Someone mentioned Marella. We like them. They include all tips even in their entry level package. We are happy about this and always give extra tips at the end of the cruise to people who have “gone the extra mile “. We in the Uk have a different attitude to those of you across the pond. Someone else mentioned MSC. We have done several trips with them but once you have been in the Yacht Club you won’t want to go ordinary unless you like Italians and screaming Italian kids!! we are looking forward to Princess and the cruise is coming in less than Marella!!

Ah, Selbourne, St Kitts. My first visit there was in 1983 and we had booked a three week holiday staying at the Ocean Terrace Inn (known locally as the OTI). We hired a car and drove all around the island as well as relaxing by the hotel pool. In those days, the sugar cane industry was still going strong and we managed to get a guided tour of the sugar factory which was very interesting. The canes were brought to the factory using the railway system that you went on during your trip. There were no cruise ships then and Port Zante had not been built to what it is now. Also no international airport but just a landing strip. We took day trip on the ferry to Nevis (which I stayed on some years later). It was all so laid back until the hurricane arrived to coincide with our journey home. Our LIAT ( also known as “Leave Island Any Time) - get it??? flight to Antigua to connect with BA’s flight home was cancelled as it was stuck on St Thomas so we had no alternative but to return to the OTI and were given our old room back. We then spent the best part of another week watching the little fishing boats being smashed up in the harbour. A Geest banana boat took refuge in the harbour and the weather was horrendous. To cap it all I got the flu and spent most of the time in bed being comforted by the hotel staff bringing hot water bottles in those old fashioned stone bottles and a not inconsiderable amount of rum! Happy memories of a very welcoming island. Stayed since and played golf at the Royal st Kitts golf club just outside Basseterre.

Hi. Don’t worry it is no downward spiral from P&O. We (and others) have made the exact same decision especially the Christmas Caribbean cruises. We are on the same Marella cruise as you (round the Canaries) and it will be our 4th!! Staff great, food great, atmosphere great, ship clean etc ( what is not to like?). Might see you on board!! Enjoy

David. You are absolutely right about other airports being vast (Dubai and Bangkok come readily to mind) but the question raised by yorkshirephil was about Manchester airport and I responded specifically to that.

We have just booked this offer. Not having been on Princess before, can you help with the definition of “unlimited casual meals” and “ocean now delivery”. Neither of these phrases appear in the blurb we have received from Princess. thanks

We are just about to go on our fourth cruise on Explorer round the Canaries. We have found their cruises are very good in every respect providing you stay away from the buffet which is pretty dire. However, we were thinking of doing the same trip again in November until DH saw an advert for Princess doing a similar trip for less cost but with all inclusive. Not been on Princess before so we shall see!!

You need to be fit to use this airport. In terminal 2 some of the distances to walk either to or from gates are vast, much more so since the ongoing refurbishment and the annoying thing is that the travelators are mainly switched off to save cost of running them. Most people I speak to now hate the place and we are actively looking to avoid flying from there now. Also the refurb work is not yet finished. I think the expected date is 2025.

This account brought back memories of our Panama Canal transit on Arcadia in, if I remember correctly February 2008. We flew to Barbados, picked up the ship and then got to the canal via the ABC islands travelling westward. There was talk then about the new extended canal but we were confined to the “old” one. We were accompanied throughout by a Chinese cargo ship. Also on Arcadia were Peter Snow and his son John Snow. Peter gave talks throughout the voyage and John was working on a project. This was before John got involved in television documentaries. The commentary we had was excellent but blow me down we had to endure it again that evening whilst on a tour of Panama City. This was a tender port and the sea was really rough and it was dark (doubt if it would have gone ahead these days). We then sailed up the west coast, stopping at Guatemala which was another experience altogether and eventually disembarking at Acapulco to fly home. We will never forget that trip. thanks Selbourne for your photos and description of the journey. Hope you are soon feeling better.

We prefer Curacao to Aruba as the latter is quite busy especially the Main Street which is dual carriageway. From memory you should be fine with the wheelchair but try to avoid the bars on the main street as they fleece you for a couple of beers. It is not at all like some of the British islands in that respect. We snorkelled off the beach with all the big hotels and I complained as it was frankly dangerous with pieces of metal poking out from the wrecks. Anyway it is another off the bucket list. thanks again for all your great blogs

9265359 . I am sorry but you just don’t get it. You are expecting passengers who have just endured a very very long and tiring day travelling to go and find a bar for a glass of water when there should be some in your cabin to welcome and refresh you.

This brings to the argument that drinking water out of the tap in your cabin bathroom is maybe not to be recommended, especially as now the provision of bottled water in your cabin on arrival from your journey has been withdrawn. This was particularly relevant when we arrived on Britannia in Barbados for our recent Christmas cruise after a very long tiring journey and all we (and many other passengers) wanted was a drink of clean water. We were told then that the provision of bottled water had been stopped as part of the cost cutting exercise currently going on on P&O ships.