groovechick

I didn't use the cinema on Britannia, but once criticism I have seen on CC and elsewhere is that it is very difficult to see the screen unless you are on the first couple of rows.

There was quite a wide (and good, IMHO) selection of free films available in cabin. In December 2015 they included 12 Years a Slave, Philomena, Belle, Maleficent, some action films, etc. I don't have much time to go to the cinema at home, so it gave me a chance to catch up on some films I'd wanted to see.

On coming out of lifts/up the stairs I try to find a piece of artwork or similar by which I can orientate myself to find the aisle with my cabin.

Entertainment is very subjective. On our first cruise on Aurora to the fjords, we found very little to our taste and spent a lot of time reading and playing cards in the evening.

Azura the following year was much better - a couple of good singers, a very funny pianist/comedian, an excellent Freddy Mercury tribute (as a Queen fan my husband went expecting to hate it and really enjoyed it) and Elio Pace. I didn't even bother to go to the Phil Collins tribute though, because we heard his sound check and it was so deafeningly loud I couldn't bear it.

The Headliners production shows on our 2015 Christmas Britannia cruise were fantastic, absolutely stunning. Ventriloquist Gareth Oliver was very, very funny, an OK magician, an OK Beatles tribute, a not so good Freddy Mercury tribute and a poor comedian. We went to his early show and he clearly struggled to keep his act clean, he said his late show was definitely "adults only", so we didn't bother.

I suppose what I've taken a long time to say it that the standard seems to vary greatly from cruise to cruise and depending on one's personal tastes.

Hi Jerry,

No, there are three main ports that are used. Jardim do Tobaco and Santa Apolonia are nearest to the city. Alcantara is lower down river, near the Tegus Bridge and closer to the Belem district (about 5 km out of the city centre, I think).

If you dock at Jardim do Tobaco you will sail past/can see from your ship the big square with an equestrian statue and behind it the gateway to city. You would have to check with your cruise line or on the Port of Lisbon website to find out where you are scheduled to dock. HTH

This website might help clarify the locations on Malta and Gozo that were used in GoT. Apparently they moved to Croatia in the second series because of environmental concerns at some Maltese locations.

http://www.thetraveltester.com/game-thrones-locations-malta-gozo/

You would need to get a bus or taxi from Valletta to Mdina or Rabat, for example.

There is a fairly frequent and cheap bus service from Valletta to the ferry terminal at Cirkewwa at the northern end of the island for Gozo; if I recall correctly the bus journey takes about 45-60 mins. On Gozo you would probably be able to find a taxi to provide you with a tour.

Skagen watches (from Denmark) are very attractive, good value (IMHO) and in the kind of price bracket you mention. I think they sometimes have them on P&O. Hubby bought me one as a pressie a couple of years ago (not on a cruise). I particularly like them as they are not too big, a lot of watches now have very big faces. So far it's wearing well and has been admired several times. They have a website if you want an idea of the styles and prices.

And a personal plea....to all with a balcony...nice as it is to have the door open, this can really b*****r up the aircon for other cabins. It can also cause noise elsewhere. The people in the cabin next to us on one cruise left their door open every night, and we could not understand why our aircon didnt work properly - at night only ( we were too hot)- and we had this persistent noise all night long that we could not identify. After 4 or 5 days we eventually spoke to reception about it, and apparently both problems were caused by next door leaving the balcony wide open at night. As soon as reception had a word with them, they stopped doing it and our problems stopped too! Fortunately for us they were a very nice couple, apologised to us and bought us a bottle of wine!

I second this. On our 2015 Caribbean cruise on Britannia the corridor to the cabins and lift lobby was often uncomfortably warm, and we found our room was very hot at night. Mentioned it one day to the two stewards who worked our part of the corridor (they were both absolutely pouring sweat) and they said it was because of people leaving balcony doors open overnight. Apparently it also causes the ship to use more fuel (electricity working overtime? drag caused by open balconies?).

Another idea is to get up earlyish when the ships docking in Madeira as there are usually pods of dolphins on the bow. Save on the dolphin watching trip!

Oooh, thanks!

Regarding being dirty and neglected that depends on what you're saying - i can never understand why people talk about things without knowing everything. There were several strikes on the waste management sector in the last few years in the region and has nothing to do with the financial crash or recession, but politics. One in particular was in Christmas/New Year 2013/14, for about 15 days, of course, that was a big problem... probably you saw that or any other one. Lisbon is not an artificial thing for the benefit of tourists, and i hope, never will be.

I KNOW Lisbon is not the UK or US. I've visited Lisbon several times, it's a city I love. I would not want it to be a city manufactured for tourists. I was there in summer 2014 when I said it was run down, and it was. I visited places (not all touristy) that I have visited before and they were clearly suffering from lack of maintenance and investment. It was residents of Lisbon who told me that they were finding life very hard after the financial crash and the local councils/government did not have any money to spend on the city's upkeep and the public infrastructure. It was not my assumption, it is/was a fact.

I KNOW Belem is part of the main city but, from a cruiser's point of view, it is further afield than the Alfama and other areas close to where the ships dock, and requires a taxi or public transport to get there.

If you dock at the Jardim da Tabacao it's very easy to do a walking tour on your own. From the port gates you just walk parallel to the port for 5-10 minutes, then you arrive at a big square which leads on to an area with several museums, shops, the elevator, etc. etc. Strike off through the narrow side streets to the right and you are in the Alfama, the medieval old town, where you can walk up to the Castle and to the cathedral.

Other popular attractions such as the monuments at Belem are too far out to walk, you need to catch a tram or taxi, I think.

Thank you all. Lots of great ideas here. :)

Another major saving you can make is to go to Southampton and watch the ships departing on various cruises. I have calculated you can save up to £2,000 or £3,000 a person and if you don't go on a world cruise in a suite...

 

Regards John

LOL. Sun tends to be in short supply though!

Thank you all for your replies, especially the advice about Funchal's cable car and the toboggan.

I would happily just wander around places looking at churches, cathedrals, markets, museums... DS will put up with so much culture, but then likes something a bit more active. None of us are massive sun worshippers but we do try to fit in time at a beach every holiday. If there are shops then DD is happy.

Thank you all so far.

Dan, I think I read on the Ports of Call section that Siam Park - the water park, right? - is indeed brilliant, but on the other side of the island and too far to DIY on a cruise stop, but I will double check.

We would only do a ship's excursion if something really, really appealed and timings meant it would be the safest option.

Mandy the Segways do indeed sound fun, would greatly appeal to DS, I think.

When we stopped at Vigo on our first cruise, we took the ship's tour to Santiago and in the cathedral they lit and swung the huge censer for us, but I thought I had read somewhere they will no longer do this. Is this so? Shame, because it left a lasting impression and would love for the children to see it (plus I love the architecture etc. there anyway).

John, thank you for the tip re Viator.

Very happy that we are cruising again this summer on my fave ship so far, Aurora. In fact the itinerary is almost identical to the one for our first cruise, many years ago, which got us hooked!

I've had a look on the Ports of Call board, but there doesn't seem to be much info about what to do in the above ports, especially the first two, so I'd welcome suggestions. We're reasonably fit, mid 50s with a 22 yr old and 16 yr old. Happy to wander round on our own, interested in most things, on a limited budget.

I know in Tenerife you can do Mt Teide National Park etc - any other suggestions?

Can anyone suggest a beach with a few facilities (food/drinks/toilets) near the port, or easily accessible from the port, on La Palma, for example.

And is the toboggan ride on Madeira worth the money?

Thank you.

It was such a disappointment, but I would be interested to hear of others experience.

Left out

I agree with mummsie that you were unlucky. I've attended ballroom dancing sessions on Azura and Britannia. I have some dance experience, but none at all where ballroom is concerned, a couple of times I've gone with my daughter and last time with my husband, who has no dance experience at all. Our experience was as kruzseeka described on Oriana last year - the instructors started with the basics, built it up gradually, demonstrated the step, got us to try it and went round helping and correcting individual couples, all done with patience, tact and humour. They encouraged people to go to the evening dance sessions, although it was mainly the more experienced dancers who took them up.

We had a standard inside on C deck (C522), PB grade, slightly aft of midships, and found it hard to beat in terms of location. No noise, close to midships lifts, laundrette further down the corridor (but far enough way to not be a problem) and not too far to walk to aft lifts and stairs.

Easy to get up to the buffet and pool deck, and down to restaurants and atrium area.

Despite booking Select we didn't pick it, it was given to us as a guarantee cabin, but we were very happy with it. It was adequate for two of us; if we'd been sharing with our children as in the past I think we'd have found it cramped.

Haven't been on Ventura, but have been on her sister ship Azura. Ventura and Azura are identical in layout etc, the only difference is that Ventura's main pool can be covered over and Azura has the SeaScreen.

There are actually lots of similarities between Britannia and Azura/Ventura, they are more or less the same layout, just Britannia is a bit bigger.

Personally I found Britannia rather soulless, I found most of the décor (especially the inside cabins) dingy and I didn't like the fact that there is no outside space apart from the top pool and sports decks. Azura/Ventura may not have a wrap-around prom deck but at least you can stroll most of the length of one side. I'd happily sail on Azura again, I'm meh about Britannia. if it was the right itinerary/price then I'd go for it, but it would have to be really good.

When we went on an Iberian cruise a couple of years ago, we were told that we could use photocopies of the photo page of our passports and these would usually be accepted as proof of identity. We were advised NOT to carry our passports around because of the risk of theft, loss, etc.

The only place we had to take our passports with us was Barcelona, the Spanish police absolutely insisted and would not let passengers off the ship if they could not display a passport. I saw people having to return to the ship from the security clearance area to collect passports from their cabins because the Spanish police would not let them through.

I found this attitude to be rather ironic given Barcelona's reputation for pickpockets. We spent several hours on the Metro, at Sagrada Famiglia, walking down La Rambla and in the Boqueria market and felt absolutely safe. The only time we were a bit suspicious was on coming out of the Boqueria - there was a group jostling people at the pedestrian crossing and we saw the locals taking a tighter hold on their handbags and wallets, so we did the same. :)

Thanks everybody for the replies... I understand we can just get a taxi to the beach but was thinking more of the excursions that combine something else with a trip to a beach included. I'd want to know which beach before I could decide if it was an attractive option. I'd be a little wary of booking a tour with a private company as on my last Caribbean cruise we had 2 schedule changes.

Depends which islands you are going to, but on Jamaica we did a tour with Courtney Taylor Tours which include river tubing, time at a beach, lunch at an authentic restaurant and shopping. They are very flexible though and will adjust the options and the length of time spent on each to what you want, for instance you can visit Dunn's River Falls instead of the tubing, or the Blue Hole, go horse riding on the beach, etc. etc. Posh air-con SUV, supply of cold drinks (for a small charge), fantastic fun, knowledgeable driver (Carlton).

On Antigua we used Scenic Tours, which offer an island tour (Shirley Heights, Nelson's Dockyard, rainforest etc.) to which you can add a beach break (we didn't). Again smart, clean, air con SUV and wonderful driver (Hudson).

St Maarten - Twin Island Tours - tour of Dutch and French sides, all the sites, shopping/lunch in Marigot, beach stop at Orient Beach.

I think they are used to cruise ships changing itineraries. IIRC we just had to pay a small deposit for Scenic and Twin Island, balance paid in cash to driver. Very reasonable and much cheaper than ship's tours. Maybe you could get together with some people from your roll call to keep the price down.

For our Caribbean cruise we found Insurance With to be very helpful and they came out significantly cheaper than anyone else.

Why is everyone focussing on the fact that this happened on Ventura and thinking of boycotting her?

We've never sailed on Ventura but have sailed on her sister ship Azura and, apart from the fact they are family ships, I see nothing in either that would particularly attract undesirable passengers. This could happen on any family cruise ship from any company.

When the passenger makes the booking the cruise company rep or TA has no way of knowing that he/she/the family is going to be trouble.

If they turn out to be so, it is up to P&O to take swift and decisive action, which they signally failed to do in this case. I am really sorry for the pax who had to put up with this, it must have been a nightmare.

The only alternative is for P&O to stop pricing its product so cheaply, but then that hits those of us who are polite, considerate cruisers but don't have the disposable income to cruise frequently or with more "upmarket" lines.

Many thanks for the responses. It's not so much the dressing part, but son thinks will feel very awkward- he also has a learning disability and can get very stressed at times, which clearly I'm keen to avoid.

 

It's good to know we have other options available. Thank you

CaraLark, on our last cruise (2015) my teen son was at an age (and height) where he could no longer get away with a black school trousers, shirt and tie on formal nights. He was very anti suit or dinner jacket but agreed to one of each (we had 4 formal nights), especially as he could recycle one or the other for his school prom. In the end he actually quite liked wearing them and has worn them of his own volition when representing his school (he's in 6th form now, so no uniform), so you never know.

Also, if your son goes to the children's club, once he's there he can take off the jacket and tie and be comfortable.

Hope you enjoy your mini cruise. If you haven't cruised before beware, it could be the start of a very expensive, addictive hobby!

Thanks for that information. Does it get busy when there are three ships in?

We have been at Fort Lauderdale when there were 5 or 6 ships in and there were no problems, I'm hoping it will be the same in Southampton, but with maybe less porters diving onto our luggage for the tips!!

In my experience porters don't help with luggage at Southampton, or maybe they don't bother with us because we are that bit younger than many and don't have any mobility issues. All the luggage is removed from the ship to a massive shed (baggage hall). It is supposedly grouped by deck, but items do end up in the wrong place. You just look for your cases, grab them and march off to the little office where you hand over your car parking receipt (this is if you've parked with CPS), who then return your keys and direct you to your car (usually parked fairly nearby).

Our visit to Malta is the middle Saturday on a 2 week fly cruise, so we arrive early morning and don't sail again until late evening, so we have around 12 hours on the island. That will give us plenty of time to do the bus tour, and also explore Valletta. We will probably do the south tour which goes to a pretty fishing village on the south coast, and the Blue Grotto. In the time we have, we should be able to spend a couple of hours at each of those places, and still get back to Valetta to explore, or even do the noddy train.

 

Brian

The fishing village is probably Marsaxlokk, lots of very good fish restaurants, pretty boats and usually a quayside market selling Maltese lace, embroidered goods and other crafts. The Blue Grotto is lovely, but please be aware that if the sea is choppy/there is a big swell the boats may not go out. They are just little boats with outboard motors and the cliffs/rocks around the grotto are scary. We did this trip when we were staying on the island, our boat did go out in rough conditions but struggled and it got quite hairy. Boats that set off after us were equipping their passengers with life jackets - not for us! It was an adrenaline-filled trip - I have an enduring memory of my little boy sitting in the prow and laughing his head off as the waves came up and drenched him!