Lordwanswell

Thanks for this information. It seems like HAL and Oceania are good bets.

We have just been on a 19 day P&O cruise from Southampton to the Med and, again, the classical programme was fairly limited, but what there was was good. A classical guitarist for the sea days on the way out and a piano 4-hands duo on the way back. They both did three concerts, most of which were in the afternoon. So, given that classical music is a minority interest, I suppose I cannot complain. The evening music in the central bar (Tiffany's) was a "cocktail pianist" which I must admit I rather got to like. So I will probably stick to P&O as we rather like their British culture and reasonable booze prices.:)

Thanks all, very helpful. I am sure we can rely on our cabin steward to get what we want.

Can anyone remember what hot drink sachets are available in the rooms? Do they include decaff coffee and hot chocolate? I am assuming they do include tea bags!

Be warned by my experience. In the small print P&O state that you must book your "free" parking with CPS at least 38 days before you sail. There is nothing to indicate this in the cruise peronaliser. I missed this deadline and now have to pay £190 for parking!

Thanks for the information everyone. I will follow up your suggestions.:)

Which are the best cruises for classical music? I can't find any. We went on a two week Med cruise with P&O last year and found the entertainment very downmarket.

Thanks for all your helpful comments. We will certainly look around at more premium lines if we consider another cruise. I accept that much of my criticisms of P&O are subjective although I don't think we were just unlucky with this particular cruise, my impression was that this was normal for them. I am also a bit unusual, I accept, in that I don't like TV, films, games, sport, dancing etc, so I really don't expect any cruise line to cater for my tastes!

Regarding the aircon, I think this was exceptional not just a matter of taste. I normally run quite hot and welcome aircon, but even I was frozen in the Footlights theatre, and it was not a matter of where we sat.

This was a our first sea cruise, from which we have just returned, and I am sorry to say that overall we were disappointed. We did enjoy being at sea and visiting interesting ports, so that was fine. Oceana was clean, tidy and generally efficiently run. Our cabin was comfortable and we were well looked after by our steward.

However, we were disappointed with the entertainment, which was rather too populist for us; pub quizzes, bingo, discos and songs from the shows etc. The entertainment manager even felt he needed to apologise for playing quiet classical music (Vivaldi etc) on deck when leaving Venice, as "the city doesn't like us playing loud pop music." There was also a great emphasis on selling things; trashy artworks and jewellery.

There was a classical pianist who played 5 concerts, but they were relegated to mid-afternoon, when most people want to be outside. These concerts were in the Footlights Theatre, which brings us to, perhaps, our major criticism. The air conditioning of public areas was very poor. The front of the ship, Footlights and Yacht and Compass bar were much too cold for many people. In the theatre there was a very noisy continuous blast of cold air, which spoiled quiet passages of music and made speakers hard to hear. You might think we should have asked for this to be turned off, but in the introductory talk about the ship we were clearly told this was not possible, or too much trouble, as a ship's engineer has to to make adjustments and then has to come and turn it on again later as when the theatre is full for evening performances it would get too hot!

We had freedom dining and the range and quality of food was generally good, although we did have a few notably poor dishes and the vegetables were often rather tough. The serving staff did not seem too familiar with British protocol and often reached across one person to serve another. They also seemed rather over anxious to get rid of you and one had to specifically as for the cheese board, for example.

I am sorry to have to point out these problems, which may be specific to P&O. I feel we may have to move upmarket if we cruise again.

What a helpful bunch of cruisers! Thanks for all your well considered replies.

My wife and I are booked on P&O's Oceana for a Med cruise in September, from Genoa, via Venice and back. We have a balcony cabin booked and freedom dining. This is our first sea cruise and we would be grateful for any advice anyone may have to make sure we get the most from it. Thanks.