Eglesbrech

All a pointless waste of time to tick a box for SOLAS.

Having been involved in a real evacuation, it was nothing like the drill!

Well Fred (who only have little ships) now leave from all over the country.Dover..Liverpool...etc...

Yes we have used Fred a couple of times where the ports have been of interest and the departure in the North. Perhaps some of the bigger lines could diversify?

Think about packing a small first aid kit.

Modern ships are really stable and you often don't feel like you are at sea however odd times the swell comes up. Think about packing travel sickness medication that you know suits you and your family (the ship does have some availabe but it may not be something that you can take).

Pop in some plasters (all that walking in port and dancing the night away) pain killers (you may be tempted to over indulge or just have a headache) etc etc.

There are hand gels in the restaurants onboard but perhaps some anti viral/ anti bacterial hand gel for when you are out and about. We always take this with us.

You will probably need none of the above but best to be prepared.

Have a wonderful cruise

Here's a curve ball, if Southamptn is now so congested perhaps some of the lines will consider leaving for somewhere with less traffic and making that their home port instead. Or just moving some ships elsewhere at the busy times of the year.

Problem solved and more choice to the customer.

Sounds perfectly logical to me :)

Do you think they use a drum roll too?

Probably not. Drum rolls will of course be reserved for select guests only.

John, that all sounds very logical. I am sure that there are black list cabins and if common sense prevails they would be the very last ones to go to anyone unless the ship was full, as presumably they wil attract more complaints and so issues for the staff.

We have gone guarantee a few times and always been happy enough with what we got, sometimes we even got the really desirable cabins in the grade (large aft facing etc) as the original bookers moved up to a suite so your other theory sounds like it has merit as well.

I have heard others on guarantee moan about what they got but common sense says that you will get what is left/expedient. The trick for me is to avoid the grades that have absolute stinkers in them.

Another theory, perhaps it is all just an algorithm on a computer?

I am currently waiting on my guarantee being allocated, it should be within the next week or so. I picked a grade where I would be happy with any of the cabins so I am not particularly concerned about what I get but it is always nice to find out.

There seems to be no definate methodology or pattern to how cabins are allocated (unless you know otherwise). In the past I have looked at the cabin numbers which are still for sale and assumed that I would be allocated one of them but got something completely different. I have given up trying to second guess it.

Does anyone have a pet theory (or better yet some factual understanding) about how guarantees are managed on P&O? Just curious.

Just a thought and apologies if this has been mentioned earlier.

Why not allocate boarding times geographically? A number of posters make the argument that they have a long distance to travel and a late check in is too risky taking into account the frequent traffic delays we all experience. One which I subscribe to myself. However a computer program which allocates boarding times taking into account your postcode may help to alleviate some of the issues. The further you have to travel the earlier boarding time you will be given.

Brilliant idea, that means we will be first on board. I have only ever come across one person on a ship who had a longer journey within the UK.

No I haven't, because I suspect that first of all the paperwork from P&O describes some of these things and I would think most people log into P&O Cruise personaliser and checks on their website>?

Spot on. We just got the paperwork from p&o a week after booking and yes it does actually say about the dining arrangements and charge for shuttles other than where they are required for health and safety in the port.

In the process the uninformed new cruiser now knows from P&O, not from the travel agent and after having paid in full that there are restrictions and costs they might not have expected for shuttles. Still no mention of the auto tips.

I did quite a bit of research before our first cruise many many years ago but still remember being shocked at how small the cabin was, I have cupboards that are bigger than the cabin on that ship. That's where forums like this are so valuable but my first cruise was before the web!

I really feel for the op as this has happened to us in years gone by and it is very annoying to see the price drop like a brick - but unfortunately one of the hazards of cruising.

More recently we have had no choice but to book very late for holidays and we have been fortunate to get some real bargains by being flexible in what we are looking for. If however we had wanted a particular itinerary or ship or cabin there is a lot less chance that we would have got it.

The one we booked recently is a deluxe guarantee, I would not have taken the standard balcony guarantee are there were some cabins I would defiantly not want in that category and as a last minute booker they are the ones you are most likely to be assigned (and that's fair enough as others have paid much more).

While I can't commit to a booking until near the sail date I do my homework in advance and keep a close eye on the pricing on the cruises I am interested in and the range of cabins left. While some come down, just as many go up if they are selling well. Watching the ebb and flow of cabins is actually quite interesting, there seems to be no rhyme nor reason to it.

I would never discuss this kind of thing on the ship as it is vulgar and just upsets others. If you come across anyone who does, just change the subject.

Don't let it spoil your cruise, have a wonderful time.

Oops. Don't know how my post above re embarkation ended up on this thread. User error.

Re tips we leave the auto ones on as with freedom dining which we usually prefer, it it easier than fiddling about to leave a tip with the servers for that evening.

Tipping is a very personal thing so how people choose to do it is a matter for them, as long as they do it.

The select / saver thing has been around for a while and to their credit if you look at the P&O website it is very clear what you get and what you don't with each.

Before we booked recently we also looked at a couple of travel agents and eventually booked through a large company as they offered a discount. What they did not do was spell out the different fare types. It was clear that a "guarantee" meant no immediate room allocation but there was nothing about dinner or port shuttle costs or tips etc.

Is this lack of (obvious) information brewing up trouble for the staff on the ships. The detail may be available on the web sites but it is definately not crystal clear when booking and someone new to cruising would not know to look for it.

So your new cruiser books, gets onboard and is told eg that only freedom dining is available to them. Next they stop off at a port and there is a charge for the shuttle, this could mount up depending on the itinerary. Next they look at the onboard account and there is an auto tip they know nothing about.

If they are not happy with any or all or these points it is the crew onboard who are likely to hear about it, not the TA. Anyone experienced issues/ fellow passengers with issues like this?

Last time on Celebrity we selected a time band. They had lots of people with iPads in the very first reception area and if you had done everything on line and had a set sail pass you went through security and then almost straight into the ship. We went from pavement to ship in 15 minutes at 11.15 am. No cabin until 1pm but just had a spot of lunch and a wander until then, it is all very relaxed.

Those who did not have the set sail pass complete went to the normal check in area. I don't know what the timescale for that was but the queues did not look too bad at that time of the day and I did not hear any complaints onboard.

They have the advantage that many of the passengers are flying in from the states and come in on coaches in the afternoon so there is a natural stagger of people arriving.

We have never had an issue or any lengthy waits. I think that the system of self parking the cars realy helps with this, speeds everything up.

Travel agents often offer 5% off or more OBC

What the P&O web site sometimes offers is the choice of cabins that don't come up on agents systems eg the agent can only offer you a guarantee but main site has a small choice (but that only applies if you are booking very late or a very popular cruise).

As to the pricing - a crystal ball is required. Sometimes better to book early, sometimes late.

I am not loyal to any line, I travel with who will take me where I want to go at the time I want to go and for the best price for the package as a total.

The P&O loyalty scheme is poor when compared to other lines and they really annoyed me when they changed it a few years ago and moved the goal posts but added points for some of those nearing the old "gold" status but not those who just missed other levels.

That said you have to look at the whole package

Celebrity and RCI offer me snacks and a free bar in the Elite /Diamond lounge for a couple of hours a night which is nice- but they don't let me bring on a good bottle of wine or G&T to have in the cabin.

I get very nice welcome back on board gifts (not lame slippers) but I also get charged 15% on all my drinks.

There is a balance to everything and the loyalty schemes are a nice to have addition but the main point is to enjoy the cruise you are on, or at least that is my view of the world.

Well on the basis of the advice provided here and the general rule of a female wardrobes that any excuse is a good one to add something to it (and of course the shoes to go with it) I have been shopping.

Like others I like the chance to dress up and P&O appears to still provide that which is good in my opinion. New dresses now ready for packing!

On my last celebrity cruise it took less than 15 minutes from arrival to being onboard. You can disembark at 6.30 if it suits you for travel arrangements but absolutely no one is forced to do so.

We have not travelled with P&O in a while and what I am reading on this thread is not warming me to the prospect, well at least as it pertains to boarding the ship.

If the Council or the Police wanted something then they would simply enforce it - on all lines, not just P&O. Consequently this is more likely to be a P&O initiative.

From a business perspective you would think they would want passengers on board asap as that means money over the bars etc. The new system also seems to be annoying some people, not great for customer service.

I will reserve judgement until I go through the process myself.

We have booked late for the next cruise we are travelling on and it has nothing to do with price, more to do with availability of time and fitting in with other commitments. Others may be the same and have to wait to book nearer to a cruise date so cabins sell towards the end.

I can only comment on the cruise we have just booked and we could have had a choice of every grade and a good range of cabins within the grades. Either the ship is not particularly busy or as has been hypothesised there are lots of guarantees waiting to be allocated.

Cruise lines presumably have a break even point on sales and don't push as hard once they reach it.

Thanks folks, that gives me a good idea of what to pack. Much the same as previous P&O cruises, standards seem to be being maintained.

I am looking for advice please re the dress code onboard. It's been a few years since we have travelled with P&O, more recently booking with Celebrity and RCI. On formal nights there has been a mix - everything from long dresses to sparklie jeans and moon boots!

I have read the guidance but wanted some information about what actually fits in while on board. We will be on Ventura which has formal and smart casual.

For formal my husband has is easy, he just needs to pack a tux. Is ladies wear onboard for formal nights long dresses or more cocktail. I have both and actually enjoy the chance to wear long but don't want to feel out of kilter.

What about the smart casual, what are the current onboard trends for that. Do men tend to wear a jacket or just a smart shirt. Are ladies summer dreses and smart trousers and tops?

We are flying so baggage weight is more limited, hence the need to get it right with the mix of clothes we take. Any advice appreciated.

That is definately too small to call a balcony. I like the window box description!

We have been looking at a cruise on Brittania and generally go for a balcony cabin so we can enjoy some private outdoor space but based on the pictures/comments this is not worth the extra cost.

You can't even do that as they confiscate bottles. We were not trying to bring any on for the room, just bottles of whisky we bought at the distillary to take back home. Was not best pleased at handing over a £250 bottle of limited cask but it did come back to us in good order.

You do get a discount of 50 percent on premium brands, wine and cocktails which makes a difference.

To be honest the house brands were fine when mixed. The beers are good, Stella etc.

Sorry, I dont know for certain.

We left after the first show for dinner and it appeared that the majority of people moved out for second sitting. When we went back at around 10.15 the place was busy but there were still fairly decent seats available, we always got a seat.

Hope that helps.

We are just off Boudicca and the show times for second dinner were at 7.15 pm on most nights other than formal/cocktails nights.

On the nights of the 7.15 show there was a second show in the Neptune show lounge at 10.30 pm for both seatings and this was extremely popular and full. Great to have the choice of 2 shows in one night.

The 7.15 start time meant that 2nd seating were out at around 8pm so little to no congestion with those leaving first dinner.

We enjoyed the timings and the additional entertainment though I appreciate that it will not suit everyone.

With all due respect to the opinions expressed above I do not agree and I have been on other ships where they have most definitely not comedered all the tenders for tours and left everyone else to wait. They usually do one and one or two and one splits to get coach groups out together and still allow other people off.

This is by way of information for anyone planning to do the islands tour another time.

Kirkwall was along side as advertised but well out of the town so the port offered a shuttle which there was a fairly short wait for. We managed to get in, spend a bit of time and back in time for a Pm tour. (Lovely place to visit)

Lerwick was advertised and confirmed in the booking as along side but was at tender when we arrived, this was around 15 to 20 minute turnaround but dropped off in the middle of the town. Mull was a similar time and again right in the town.

Stornaway and Portree were about 45 minute turnarounds so the tendering process was extremely slow at both. For those who are less able Portree town is up a hill from the harbour and the the FO tours drop off up the hill so you need to walk back down.

The queue for tender tickets got earlier / longer each day but it was better to spend 30 minutes in the queue to get tender 1 or 2 than 2 hours in a lounge waiting to get off on a later tender.

There were a lot of unhappy people due to the long waits, some mornings the independant slots were well after 10 am when arrival was just after 7 am. The knock on meant that many people could not out to visit and get back onboard for lunch so full board became DBB which was an issues for some (we just enjoyed local restaurants, the sea food was amazing).

Imo they should have put down another tender to cope with the demand or fill the boats to (tendering) capacity which they only did towards the end of the cruise and after many,many complaints.

If you book your own tours, make them after 11.30 to ensure you actually have a chance to get off on time for them.

What actually amused me was that my comment made in jest about an uprising was not far off the mark. There was an elderly gentleman up on the prom deck doing what I can only describe as "rabble rousing" about the lack of tender spaces for those not on tour, he was advocating a visit en masse to reception - I did not stay long enough to find out what happened. As they say many a true word said in jest!!!

In spite of all the annoyances this was still a trip that was well worth while, the scenery was stunning, the people friendly and the places to visit and things to see and do made a most enjoyable trip.

I don't expect to be treated specially, I just expect to be treated equally and I and many other independent travellers are being treated as second class. Today the trips have all the tenders from arrival until 10 am so the rest of us will not even have a chance to get off until after that time.

On other ships in my experience some of the tenders are used for ship tours and others for independents at the same time, not tours first and independent second (hence the factual second class comment).

Those on ship tours have paid for a trip yes but everyone else has paid for a cruise. If this is FO policy then it should be made clear, in advance. (The tender trips were about 15 minutes including docking). If I had known this was the case in advance I would have made other arrangements. I did a ships tour in Kirkwall and it was excellent however they are not offering what I have planned over the next few days so I could not book with the ship even had I wished to do so.

I am very good at maths and I agree that on a small ship the process should move quickly but it did not. The tender we were on had many spare seats which did seem strange to me give the number of people waiting.

Yes the uprising crack was extreme, it was meant to be ironic. There were however a lot of very unhappy people complaining and we have 3 more days to go of this. Let's hope it gets better.

Nice calm sailing at least which is great.

I will do a review of the ship with the mainly positive experience to date on my return.