gillybean1974

I was hesitant to book Britannia for our 2 week Med cruise due to its large capacity and being summer holidays. We're used to much smaller ships (1500ish passengers). I was surprised though that I rarely felt crowded at all compared to previous cruises. Embarkation days was busy by the lifts, top deck sunbathing on sea days and the last day around the shopping area were the only times the ship ever felt busy to me. Apart from those times the amount of people were a non issue, could always get a seat wherever I wanted, never had to wait longer than 5 minutes for a table for 2 at dinner, the buffet area was also huge so always had a choice of seats. When I look back on previous cruises on much smaller ships those things were more of an issue.  Only issue would be sunbeds (but I don't sunbathe so non issue for me).

My favourite moments on Britannia were getting up early in the morning to go up on top deck to grab a coffee and watch the sunrise, there were times it felt that I had the ship to myself as it was so peaceful. So while I was initially hesitant to book on such a large ship, I had no hesitation for booking on Iona due to my experiences on Britannia

I'm booked on this cruise, I did enquire about changing cruise dates but our category cabin was not available on the other dates we could make (unless we paid todays prices to upgrade). Have zero interest in Ionafest, hopefully we can find somewhere quiet to relax on the first night lol. 

Yes we saved money on todays prices, paid just over 850 for a standard balcony but most people who book on opening tend to save.

2 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Stavenger is nice, but nowhere near as good as some of the other Fjord ports. 

Being onboard for the naming ceremony would be quite special so I would think carefully before cancelling. 

Whatever you decide, have a great cruise. 

Andy 

Thank you, that's very helpful!! We have until 29th November to decide but may not cancel is Stavanger is the lesser of the ports. 

I booked the July 4th cruise when bookings first opened. Have since made other plans for the rest of the summer so can't easily transfer to another cruise. I'm not too happy about missing Stavanger, not sure how I feel about being onboard for the naming ceremony.

Now have to look at transferring or cancelling the cruise., which is annoying as I had planned this summer out and picked out the cabin we wanted (whereas now we're going to be stuck with whatever is left over).

For those who have been to Norway before, would you cancel a cruise that missed Stavanger? Or are the other 2 ports enough for a Norway cruise?

I booked a cruise on Iona for July 2020. I received 5% of the select fare price that was shown on the booking screen. I contacted P&O as on their booking website it states the 10% discount should have been applied at checkout. The told me the same as everyone else, that 5% had already been applied.

If this was the way they wanted to run the promotion, they should have stated clearly that the prices had already been reduced by 5%, and not a 5% or 10% discount would be applied at checkout.

Its no different to going into a retail store advertising a % off sale and going to the checkout and being told the price is already reduced. Obviously that's against trading standards.

I don't think it was P&O's intention to deceive but they should have had their legal team word the promotion a little better. I'm still happy to have booked my cruise and with the price paid regardless

Just a word of warning, I'd have stayed with G deck. "Upgrades" to A Deck often put you under the Pool or buffet area which is okay if you're an early riser but not so good if you like your zzzzzz's after 6.30am.

I figured it would be a noisy cabin, good thing I like to get up early on holiday :) And my son can sleep through anything lol. I think I probably got the upgrade as I booked Select

Got an email from P&O today saying they had given us a cabin upgrade, from G227 to A503. Really happy with this as its now a sheltered balcony so can sit out there all day now :)

I would say that the chance of swapping to club from freedom and getting a table for 2 is pretty low since there are a limited number of them on every ship. We always book select and book early but we now request freedom dining because we have had a few occasions when we have been assigned a 6 or 8 top tables in club when we have requested a table for 2.

We actually prefer freedom now for the flexibility it allows us.

Thanks for the info, I thought as much. Will stick to freedom then :)

Seriously? Are we going to have to do a walk of shame after signing our receipts too ;p

What are the chances of switching from freedom to club but only for a table for two? Booked select and picked freedom but only as my son is too shy to share a table and they couldn't guarantee a table for two.

I've finally seen the light lol. Having worked for tips on ships and at home, I've always believed its important to pay the AG/Service charge. However having read many posts regarding how P&O handles the AG I've decided that its not only in my best interests to remove the charge but the staff also,

My only dilemma is being that we have chosen freedom dining, I can't simply hand over and envelope at the end of the cruise as likely we will be served by different waitstaff. So we'll be setting aside £5 a day for the CS and £5 for dinner (if that means boarding with a wad of £5's so be it). That leaves a little bit extra for room service and the breakfast and lunches we have in dining room. I can't really think of a better way of doing it so if anyone does have a fair way of working it out let me know. I've always tipped well but I'm not paying into the cruiselines wage bill, at least cash tips will be appreciated by staff.

As an aside, just because P&O structure their AG this way doesn't mean that all cruiselines do so. When I started working on celebrity (casino) I didn't seem to make much in tips, as soon as RC took over my tips earned doubled and all that they did was remove management from the tip pool.

We were on Britannia during her maiden Christmas in the Caribbean and there were no children at the Serenity Pool during the various times we were there (although lots on board) and the loungers were not too tightly packed, at least compared to other parts of the ship, so the OP may just have been unlucky. I've never used the Retreat myself, but spoke to a couple of pax who had, who said they felt P&O tried to get away with providing the bare minimum of "perks" advertised and that it was not really exclusive at all. On Aurora last summer (summer holidays) there were two members of the Ents team on duty as lifeguards around the pool at all times and they would calm kids down and ask them to stop running/jumping etc. if they got too boisterous.

Thanks for the reply. Might not be that bad then, my son just turned 18 and is looking forward to using the adult pool too :)

Thanks for the review. We're taking our first P&O cruise on Britannia in August. And thanks for the heads up about the serenity pool area, I was anticipating spending lots of time in the pool, maybe not lol. Really hoping that's not the case though as we have to go in school summer holidays so it may be full of kids. Think I'll pay extra for the retreat depending on how much it is.

You cannot have a compulsory charge advertised with less prominence than the fare. Which means the cruise companies would have no option but to include it in the fare (what benefit would there be otherwise anyway).

When I lived in Canada and booked cruises, there would be a charge for the cruise fare and then there was an extra charge for taxes and port fees added on top (ie. not included in the cruise fare). As its not legal to do that in the UK, they have to include those taxes and port fees in the fare. Wonder why then they can't just add the service charge then the same way in which the port fees are

gillybean1974 - Not sure exactly what your point is. As long as this thread is, nobody seems to have come up with a figure as to what a typical cabin steward or restaurant waiter actually earns over a year.

 

You feel they are being exploited, perhaps but, compared with their prospects and likely pay back 'home' they probably feel they are the lucky ones.

 

I am sure they do get paid less than a low paid worker in the UK but once they return home their money goes a long way.

 

One could argue that a typical UK worker is being exploited because their salary is so much lower than an equivalent Norwegian worker. Anyone who has done a cruise that includes Norway will know just how expensive the cost of living is there. It's like comparing chalk and cheese.

 

The bottom line is are these crew being paid at least a living wage commensurate with their country of origin and where they will almost certainly return to once their stint on the cruise ships is over. If you answer 'no' then please explain why any of them would willingly sign up to work on cruise ships (P&O or any other) rather than remain in their country of birth and where they are likely to have family ties.

Not trying to get into any disagreements. Only point I was really trying to make is that they do fully deserve their daily service charge/ auto grat whether or not its a separate charge or incorporated into the cruise fare. not trying to defend anyone, just wanted to put my opinion out there.

And my point about UK workers really was to emphasise the fact that generally in the UK people don't tip and see P&O ships sailing from the UK as being a part of the UK. And it's not as the crew aren't paid even close to what a UK worker is.

Yes they do earn a good wage for their countries they come from but they deserve it for all the hard work they do :)

So do you think it acceptable that P&O abuses its employees by exploiting them in this manner?

No I don't think it's acceptable at all.

I've never spoken to any member of staff who receives $2000 a month !!!!

 

And what about the 3 months training they have to fund themselves before they can even attempt to get a job on the ships. And then there is the multi hundred $ fee they have to pay to an Agency - just to get on their books and finally try to get a job.

Even if they did earn $2000 a month, they would still be earning far less than a UK/ EU worker working 60 hour weeks and earning minimum wage. Yes its a lot of money in third world countries but they're not working there.

Having worked myself on ships many years ago, I wouldn't dream of not paying the auto grat/ service charge as I know how tough those hours are..

Yes P&O is a UK cruise company and sails out of the UK so I can understand first time cruisers being somewhat reluctant to have to supplement the cabin stewards and waiters wages with a daily charge. The reality though is its not the UK and those workers are not paid as much as UK workers and do not have the same rights and benefits as a UK worker does. And is P&O was to treat all workers by UK employment standards, it would cost a lot more that £7 per passenger a day.

Sure they get free room and board. Try living in a tiny 4 bed inside cabin for 8 months, plus many of the crew have families back home and are still paying for their housing costs so not much of a saving there.

Free medical and dental cover is typical to holiday insurance type cover. All cruise line employees undergo a rigorous medical exam (X rays, blood tests etc), any illness or injury and you're not hired. If you have an accident then of course the cruise lines insurance would cover your hospital stay, flights home etc Its not equivalent to NHS cover.

Holiday pay for those that do get it is a token amount. No days off (or 1 every 2 weeks or so). No sick pay. No bank holidays. No time and a half/ double time for working Sundays or excess hours. No union rep to support you. Insufficient breaks especially on sea days. No employee pension.

I do think P&O should raise the cruise price to incorporate the daily charge. That way at least the crew would be getting a fair wage. Any boycott would only hurt the crew and not P&O and they deserve so much more than that.

Hi we had G226 last year same cabin opposite side,

 

No obstruction a great cabin in a great location,

 

Have a good cruise.

Thanks for the info! Happy cruising to you too! :)

Thank you, this was just what I was hoping! Really looking forward to my cruise now :)

After a 3 year cruising hiatus, I just booked our first P and O cruise. I booked an obstructed view balcony cabin on Britannia G227, looking at the deck plans there doesn't seem to be any lifeboats in front of this cabin so hopefully it will not be too obstructed ( I usually book inside/outside anyway so no big deal if its bad). Anyone stayed in this cabin area and can comment on the obstructions??

There were a few seats left on the boat, so probably max 24? There was lots of room though, and of course when stopped looking at whales we could go out on from and back deck areas.

We paid $100 for the tour. It was a short tour though, 3 hours total (2 on water) but that is what we wanted. There was a longer tour available at pier also.

I guess it all depends on luck though with whales.... We spend a lot of time with one pod of humpbacks, but no orcas

We booked a whale watching tour with an agent at the dock this June. It seemed all the agents were booking with the same tours, same prices etc. Our tour was with Dolphin jet boat. Although we were just whale watching, others on our tour went to the glacier afterwards as part of their tour.

Just wanted to add, there were several options and times available for us. There were 20 people on the boat, so everyone got a good view of the humpbacks. The captain and naturalist were excellent

Thank you for this information.

Do you recall the colour/desgn of the new carpet?

It was red and white patterned

I just got off the Volendam today, the explorers lounge was closed for the first couple of days. There is new carpet there now replacing the wood floors, the rest of the furnishing looked the same. Sorry I didn't get a picture as there were people sitting in there at the time.

We did! We were moved from our original purchase of an M GTY to a DD outside! :D

Wow, great upgrade! :D