Eglesbrech

Cadiz has lovely places to walk, a beach, a cathedral, beautiful fish and tapas restaurants etc. You can do your own thing or has been suggested use the hop on hop off for orientation - it picks up right at the port gates.

Cartagena has some really good museums the Spanish Civil War museum in the tunnels is fascinating , hearing how people were forced to live and about the communist influences is something I never did in history. If you did want a tour then I can recommend the Segway tour (if they are still doing it) as it takes you to all the places of interest with commentry and includes a visit to this museum in the cost. Really good trip IMO, segways were great fun.

There is also the Pearl submarine / aquatic and the Roman theatre all within a few minutes of the port. Also shops etc which are nice to wander.

At peak meal times Celebrity have someone in the toilets to constantly cleaning but they also politely point out to any of the "ladies" who try to leave without washing their hands that they should do so! Amazing that someone has to tell an adult about basic hygiene.

I try to avoid the public restrooms on all ships as far as possible but you can't avoid the handrails and lift buttons etc completely, hence the personal bottle of foam. It does feel a bit paranoid but if it helps.

Have just had a hunt around the web and the ship is leaving late with embarcation delayed to allow for a deep clean. There are some moans about it but to my mind an hour late is much preferable to the potential of 48 hours stuck in a cabin feeling ill.

Yes TEL, we also always take anti viral foam, the anti bacterial does very little for a virus. I always wonder why all cruise lines don't start to use it, it may cost more but may be offset against the cost of an outbreak and reputational damage etc.

Not good news at all. It is very late in the season for Noro to hit a ship.

While it doesn't help those who suffered through it you can bet that the ship will be sanitised from top to bottom after an outbreak with as many as 127 reported cases (which usually means many more are not reported).

I am surprised they let anyone out of the affected cabins, the usual practice is a lock down in everyone which i always thought was a bit OTT. Not using self service is a sensible precaution.

Thanks for the warning, will be purchasing an additional can of anti viral foam before we go.

Yes this mall is near the port and is a quaint little place.

I should have been more clear in my reply, I meant things that a first time visitor would want to see rather than just shopping / food hence the reference to a museum and archilogical site.

Well we live and learn I had no idea about the fines (don't have any relatives with children). It would however explain something I saw at the airport.

I entirely agree that there is educational merit in taking children to see "history"' if there was not then schools would not run the trips they do. You remember so much more about things you have experienced rather than just seen in text books.

Friends of our have also used trips abroad to progress their children,s language learning. One requested that the bar and restaurant staff not to serve hers unless they asked for it Spanish! The learning curve was sharp and effective. Her some is now an expert in the vocabulary for food types if nothing else.

It will be interesting to see what P&O and other lines do re pricing if the change to schools takes away the real peak periods.

There is not much to see or do in North Shields and the port is not particularly near the town. It is a commercial ferry port and a bit out of the way.

Much more availabe in South Shields (Catherine Cookson Museum, Arbea Roman site and dig etc) however it is on the other side of the tunnel so probably not worth the risk of being stuck on the wrong side unless you are coming up from the South in a car but I presume you are not if you need to drop bags off.

Nothing comes free but air and water.

I tend to agree that all the loyalty perks come at a price which will add to costs somewhere along the line. That said I do take advantage of them on other cruise lines when they are offered.

The fact that some lines offer extra points in their loyalty schemes based on the cabin grade eg more for concierge class or suites ties in directly with the cost of you reaching a certain level more quickly and getting the perks.

Interesting point re a class system. I don't mind the perks that don't impact on others passengers but some are creeping in that annoy me (and this is not green cheese, we are entitled to some of them) eg holding sections of the theatre until 10 minutes before the show for x level / and suite passengers.

Perhaps Thomson had the right idea dropping the parties etc all these years ago.

Schools have many different holiday dates and probably more change to come once the academies are in place. Goveners could vote to scrap the traditional holidays altogether and have something different.

While I agree with TEL that it is a matter for parents to know when the holidays in their area are, P&O are perhaps sailing (parden the pun) close to the wind in terms of advertising standards unless there is small print somewhere that indicates it is school holidays say in Southampton. When you are aiming at a UK wide market it is perhaps a little unwise.

Do they actually impose fines?

You need a shuttle, the port is well outside the town. It usually drops off by the river side not car from the tourist office.

Beutiful little place with some lovely shops, restaurants and quaint cafes.

Have lost count of the number of Thomson cruises we have done and we have never had any recognition as repeat passengers in recent years.

In the early days of Thomson cruises there was actually a formal recognition scheme. You registered once onboard and there were cocktail parties and other nice little perks. They did away with this once the cruises were established and became very popular.

I listen on the plane and in spite of the fact I learn nothing new I also always attend all the boat drills (on time, latecomers who waste everyone's time annoy me as well).

Having been through it for real, my husband and I also check out all the exits and routes on the first day (we do that in hotels as well). The hallways are so congested when the drill is on that you are more likely to see and remember your routes if you do it when the corridors and stair wells are quieter. We never intrude on the crew areas but I always also know exactly where the crew stairs are should they be needed in a real emergency.

Sometimes the passengers don't take the drills seriously because the staff set the tone that it is all a lark. On some lines photographers even come along and take pictures of people in their life jacket making it a commercial enterprise rather than a serious safety drill. For 15 minutes during a drill we could all do without the cheesy jokes and dance routines that some of those in charge inflict on a captive audience.

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.