NauticalMiss

On 3/23/2024 at 7:57 AM, kermchem said:

Dined in Glass House on Azura again last night (Friday). Now on menu B this week. No chicken and chorizo on menu. Haddock and chips was “off the menu” by the time we ordered, and the sea bass baked in banana leaf was lovely but missing banana. 

Thanks for your reply. Did you have to book on Friday, or did you drop in for a drink, and then order food later? This is what we used to do, back in the early days, when we first went there. Looks like my favourite pork and chorizo dish is off the menu though; shame.  

Hi there! Going on Azura again shortly. Can anyone tell me what the Glass House is like now? Do they still do that lovely pork and chorizo dish? Also, can you still just drop by and eat, or do you have to book in advance? 

TIA 

Have just spoken with P&O. They flatly refuse to offer a full refund, or to permit me to transfer the cruise to another, free of charge. They say that if I do not wish to go on the cruise, then I must cancel it and lose 75% of the total paid. Very unhappy 😒 

14 hours ago, AnnieC said:

I would take heed of Tring's post (no. 18). She has access to expert advice on consumer matters.

I think you're right. Rovinj is not always on the itinerary, and I particularly chose this cruise because it was included. For me, Trieste and Rovinj was a dream. To have 50% of the ports replaced is a significant itinerary change. We've missed ports whilst on a cruise before, but always due to weather; you take that sort of thing on the chin because you can see the sea conditions. Going to call again today to see if we can move to another where we can visit these ports. 

5 hours ago, technoman said:

Do yourself a favour and call them at 8.30 am in the morning. I was on hold 75 mins last week. Rang on saturday at 8.30 and got through in 5 mins

Thanks - I did ring and was on hold for almost 25 minutes. Disappointingly I was told tough. I asked if I could transfer the week-long cruise to another date in October or to the spring of 2023, when they would be able to have more certainty about visiting both Trieste and Rovinj. I was told no, no transfer permitted. I have to go or lose the cruise, which technically is incorrect anyway, as if I cancelled, I would be entitled to a 25% refund under their T&Cs. However, having a refund is not what I want; I want to go to those ports. I've sent a complaint email to "Guest Services", pointing out that a client of mine doing 2 weeks on Azura was allowed to cancel her cruise because of 2 replacement ports on one of the weeks. She then booked the original first week, and took the cruise. She also booked the second itinerary for next spring. No charge and very good feedback as far as she is concerned. But apparently, I'm not allowed to. It is a lottery really. See what comes of the email...............................

4 hours ago, Orianababes said:

Just back from Azura a few days ago

 

Sindhu - partly open but fully booked before we could book on arrival day!

 

Epicurean -  Closed

Is the Glass House serving food yet?

It's such a shame. We had been having concerns about changes for a few weeks now. Our cabin is on the stern, which P&O periodically use as isolation cabins, so we have been concerned that our cabin would be changed. Also concerned that the Glass House hasn't been serving food; if anyone knows if this has now resumed, please let me know as we dine there most evenings. Unfortunately, it's been a steady erosion of the experiences that we are/were looking forward to on this cruise.

We've received notification this morning that our September cruise has replaced 2 (out of 4) ports - no longer going to Trieste and Rovinj (the reasons I booked that particular cruise) for Zadar and Sibenik. I'm sure the replacement ports will be lovely, but I wouldn't have booked the cruise on that basis. The cost of excursions will be reimbursed, so that's okay; but what can I do? I last visited Rovinj 35 years ago, and wanted lunch at the fancy hotel they've built on the site of the one I originally stayed at; and Trieste has such a fantastic history. Anyone know what my options could be before I spend the rest of the day on hold with P&O? TIA 😊

Don't need turndown service, so I won't miss it if it is taken away. Don't have it in most hotels I stay at, so don't like it on a ship either. When I get ready to go out of an evening, the room/cabin looks a bit untidy. Anticipating an "evening visitor" makes me tidy up and put things away, etc. Far too stressful, just for someone to fold my duvet in a funny fashion, and leave me a chocolate (which I don't eat). 

We're booked into B749 on Azura in September. We specifically like this cabin and booked it accordingly. However, having read this thread, I actioned a dummy booking on a Select Fare basis to identify what cabins may still be available. On Decks 10,11 and 12, all the aft cabins are "Sold Out!" Am I being overly anxious? I think this is a bad sign. We have received no notification from P&O but my instinct tells me that these cabins are not Sold Out! but are potentially the designated Q-Zone. Should I jump now and book an alternate preferred cabin? 

On 1/28/2021 at 10:39 AM, terrierjohn said:

I would hazard a guess that charter flight manifests are far more stable than scheduled flights.

I would agree; you may be right. However, I think it's the software interface that is the problem, not the manifest itself. On fly-cruises, P&O control the passenger lists (and hence the manifest), but the seats themselves are booked via the airline's portal. When booking a scheduled flight (either online or by phone), the airline controls the manifest. As I said though, this is just my own speculative opinion.

On 1/28/2021 at 11:41 AM, joeecco said:

Out of curiosity, is it a set price to upgrade or does it differ? 

It varies; we've just paid an additional £499 each for PE seats to the Caribbean this coming November, which is the most we've ever paid in 7 years of going. A couple of years ago it was £349 each but that was from Gatwick. I don't know if it's more expensive in November as we're flying from Manchester? Forgot to ask. We couldn't fly from Gatwick as we usually do as there were no PE seats on either flight. I guess this just shows the demand for PE seats to the Caribbean is high ........

On 1/28/2021 at 11:48 AM, wowzz said:

You probably already know about the extortionate cost that BA charge to select seats in Club!

Makes TUI look parsimonious.!

You are so right! Last year, it cost £150 each to book specific seats in Club; that was just on the outbound flight. We were travelling in First on the inbound flight, where there is no additional fee to book specific seats.   

21 hours ago, wowzz said:

True! However, I still think that it should be possible for P&O to guarantee that you will be allocated 

PE seats,  even if the exact seats are not allocated.  If they just allocate the minimum number of PE seats available on any version of the 787, everyone will be happy, and spare seats can be sold nearer the actual flight tine. 

Sorry, but I'm slightly confused by your post. Do you mean P&O don't guarantee specific PE seat numbers when you book your cruise? We always book PE on fly/cruises and are guaranteed PE seats, but not seat numbers. It's a damn nuisance, but I don't think anything will change, unfortunately. I also begrudge paying extra fees to book seat numbers. 

Personally, I speculate that not being able to book specific seats is something to do with the software interface between P&O and the airline, who need a flight manifest. Many, many people cancel cruises so the flight manifest can be fluid almost to the day of flying. Once people have paid their full balances at 13 weeks out, they're pretty much committed to travelling. I must say that this is total speculation, and may sound ridiculous to some. 

On 8/28/2020 at 7:57 PM, EM35 said:

Hi everyone, hoping someone can help. I, like I'm sure many people, have a cruise booked on Iona in February. As I have only paid the deposit, the remainder of the payment is due on the 18th November because this is so soon after the restart (not that I think they will restart then) I have decided not to go. Do I need to contact P&O, which is almost impossible, or just not pay the final balance? 

 

Any help would be gratefully received. Thanks 

Hi, I spoke with P&O yesterday about our December cruise. We're to pay the final balance in a couple of weeks, although we have already decided that we are not going. P&O say that if you do not want to go, you can transfer the full deposit to another cruise next year sometime; if we don't pay the balance, and haven't transferred the deposit, we will lose out (unless of course P&O cancel the cruise). If I was you, I would wait until nearer 18th November until you decide what to do. 

I feel I must say something in defence of P&O. In early March, we decided we were not going on our 7th May cruise, for which we had paid the full balance. We were cancelling due to COVID-19 and resolved to lose 50% of the monies paid, as we didn't fancy catching it nor having to isolate for weeks on end. However, 6 days after we cancelled, P&O contacted us to say that they were placing the 50% that we had forfeited into FCC for  us, and we could spend it on any cruise up to March 2022. Very generous, we thought. I managed to speak with P&O twice yesterday and got straight through each time. Maybe I was just lucky. 

For us, BA always has the edge over Virgin, although we haven't flown in their Upper Class Suite, so we're not really comparing like for like. Their configuration is suited for the solo traveller and I really do not fancy passengers standing round the bar, being noisy especially on a night flight. Incidentally, on our next BA flight, it's not possible to pre-select meals on the outbound flight - don't know why, but it's not important as we are congregating for a family pre-Christmas lunch before the flight. Can't manage two 3-course meals in one day!

When it comes to Barbados cruise flights, I would always prefer Thomson PE over Virgin PE. Value for money is off the chart; Thomson have always been brilliant in service and choice of meal and beverages are both good. Horses for courses I guess, as we all measure service in different ways. 

1 hour ago, Harry Peterson said:

Not sure, but it's a little unfair on Butlins - can't recall seeing any reports like this about Butlins. 

 

Applies more, I think, to the Magaluf/Ibiza/Benidorm louts - though these places are already banning certain types of British tourist because of the behaviour.

 

P&O should be doing the same, but money talks.

I am loathe to veer off-topic, but why-oh-why do people insist on perpetuating the myth that the whole island of Ibiza is filled with unruly drunken tourists? Magaluf - a resort; Benidorm - a resort; Ayia Napa - a resort; Faliraki - a resort. Ibiza is an island of many resorts, and it is beautiful with an unwarranted reputation. Stay clear of San Antonio by all means, but visit Ibiza - you will be surprised. Thank you, rant over.  

6 hours ago, pete14 said:

For me, the problem of the account is that it doesn’t give enough information. I think there will be fewer issues and challenges if, as well as telling you where a purchase was made (usually one of the bars), it told you what was purchased. I have challenged my account onboard several times and each time, the account is correct. Had the actual purchase been listed, there would be no need to challenge.

I have never had any extra charges deducted later, erroneous or not, so perhaps I have been fortunate.

Your purchase is itemised on your receipt, so you can know exactly what you have paid for. We always check the receipt total against your printed on-board account and we know exactly what we have bought, and how much it cost. We do this every cruise. Mistakes happen, especially when you consider the amount of transactions occurring on any given ship across the fleet. We've never had an erroneous charge on a P&O cruise (14+), but have on a Celebrity cruise (just 2, to date). So, according to my stats, P&O = never wrong vs Celebrity, wrong 50% of the time. 😉  

On 5/14/2019 at 4:07 PM, marcc said:

Hi

 

We were on Oceana We are thinking of taking a cruise on the Oceana and were wondering about the rigidity of the formal nights dress code.

North American based cruise lines are moving away from formal nights but I understand that P & O has kept up traditions and formal nights are "dressy".

I don't like wasting luggage space on a suit that I will wear for a total of 8 hours. I prefer to travel with a blazer, tie and flannels. It permits more flexibility as the components can be combined in different ways.

 

Is that acceptable dress for formal night or do they actually insist on a suit?

 

Thanks

 

Marc C.

 

 

We were on Oceana at the beginning of May, cruising the Adriatic. There was an exceptionally high presence of dark suits/tuxedos on board. I do not recall seeing many (if any) chaps in "plain clothes". Everyone made an effort to adhere to the dress code of the evening, not just in the designated bars/restaurants. We dined in the Beach House on one formal evening, and many chaps were in DJs, including my hubby. As I see it, most ladies on a cruise love to dress up and not only on formal nights. If their husbands/partners can make an effort on just 2 formal nights, it scores highly with the ladies. Can I suggest, if you don't want to adhere to the dress code, get room service. 

18 hours ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I am also on a cruise next Sunday, although not with P&O

 

I intend to record Line of Duty, and watch it when I get back. For the duration of the holiday I will stay off all social media, just in case I accidentally find out what happens.

 

This is what we've decided to do. We've never watched TV in the cabin & have decided it's not that important anyway.  We can watch it when we get back to the UK. Thanks; enjoy your cruise. 

Hi, we have never watched TV whilst on a cruise - well on any holiday - but I've just found out that the conclusion of the current series of Line of Duty is on next Sunday whilst we're on Oceana. Can anyone tell me if BBC1 is available in the Greek Islands area? And what the time difference is likely to be?

TIA 😊 

We always think it's worth it; we just consider it as part and parcel of the total holiday cost. We are flying to Malta in May also, albeit with Thomas Cook and we have paid an extra £100 to ensure we sit together in extra leg room seats. Totally worth it. Only you can decide what is best for you. 

On 2/24/2019 at 2:31 PM, 27clint said:

Hi,

I am Maltese and thus can help you if you need any information.

 

The ships dock at the Valletta waterfront which is lined with restaurants. They don't all open during the day but I checked the opening hours of the ones I like best. These are the websites of some which I know open for sure:

 

http://www.bistro516malta.com/

https://www.hardrock.com/cafes/malta-bar-(valletta)/

https://www.browns.com.mt/

http://www.wasabisushimalta.com/ (for sushi)

http://marinaclubvw.com/

 

All the above serve good food, I've been to all 🙂 You can have a look at the menus on the websites above.

 

These restaurants are right next to the ship so minimal walking is required. If you want to visit the city of Valletta itself (10 min walk and accessible by the Barrakka lift) there are numerous other restaurants which are open all day.

 

I wish you a great stay in beautiful Malta. Feel free to ask if you need help.

 

 

Your post has proved particularly useful, vis-a-vis the proximity of the ship to the restaurants you mention. One of our party has sustained a serious knee injury and will not be able to walk too far. Now, to narrow down the choice..................

Except for one occasion when I had to insist on better service, I have never had a problem with amending bookings - albeit of my own making. They have always been really accommodating. As this is of P&O's own making, surely they should be more helpful to you? Incidentally, my brother-in-law is taking his school-age family on a cruise out of Southampton on the Celebrity Silhouette, late July. Is this something you may find a suitable alternative?

15 hours ago, ann141 said:

Can you go to the Canary Islands on Ventura in April (ask for at least a large inside because of price difference) and see if they will transfer the August cruise to a med cruise on Britannia (including Gibraltar)

I was going to suggest similar. Ventura with children in April is a better option than Azura, due to the roof over the pool. April's weather can be unpredictable so as least Ventura's pool can be used in April if it's raining or windy.