pete14

An opinion you are quite entitled to! I have no issue with early saver or saver fares - I have not used them myself although I made use of the getaway fares under the old system. All I wanted to raise was that the possibility of an upgrade is not the only benefit of select fares. I have two cruises booked for later this year. They are both on select fares because I considered all the benefits of select and decided that for each cruise, the whole package best suited my needs.

 

I think there is some confusion about upgrades. People who book select fares book a type of cabin - inside, outside, balcony etc not a category of cabin within the type. It seems as though some are being allocated cabins that are not in the lowest category of the type of cabin and are considering this as an upgrade. It is nothing of the sort. An upgrade would be in the type of cabin e.g from outside to balcony not being allocated a higher category than they expect in the type of cabin they booked. Provided P&O stick to their own rules, this should be clear to everyone and will be of great help when people are booking.

'People who book select fares book a type of cabin - inside, outside, balcony etc not a category of cabin within the type' (para 2) - Sorry, I should have written saver fares, not select in this sentence.

Tongue firmly in cheek, can I suggest that those paying select fares are given more and better chips than those paying saver fares? Straw chips could be reserved for those booking less than 2 weeks before cruise departs.

The early saver for the two of us is cheaper by £1,000. We haven't cruised before, but I do a lot of research! We have parking, with Park at my house, for £60 for the two weeks. We are doing a private tour of St Petersberg. We do intend to do some select dining, but didn't think it was worth paying an extra £1,000 for 'perks' we may not use! Just my opinion tho!

 

 

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An opinion you are quite entitled to! I have no issue with early saver or saver fares - I have not used them myself although I made use of the getaway fares under the old system. All I wanted to raise was that the possibility of an upgrade is not the only benefit of select fares. I have two cruises booked for later this year. They are both on select fares because I considered all the benefits of select and decided that for each cruise, the whole package best suited my needs.

I think there is some confusion about upgrades. People who book select fares book a type of cabin - inside, outside, balcony etc not a category of cabin within the type. It seems as though some are being allocated cabins that are not in the lowest category of the type of cabin and are considering this as an upgrade. It is nothing of the sort. An upgrade would be in the type of cabin e.g from outside to balcony not being allocated a higher category than they expect in the type of cabin they booked. Provided P&O stick to their own rules, this should be clear to everyone and will be of great help when people are booking.

If you are lucky enough to receive a upgrade please let me know.

And put if it was a select,early saver or an saver fare. So i can work out the best price structure that p&0 are selling.

Surely any analysis and judgement of the best price structure should not just be based on possible upgrades. There are many other benefits in booking select fares, first option on upgrades is just one of them. In my opinion the certainty of 15% deposit, free parking and OBC are all more attractive features than the possible chance of an upgrade. According to P&O brochure, early saver fares are available on some cruises only and they have second priority for upgrades. We are all different and have different priorities when booking a cruise. All I am saying is that if you only use the possibility of being given an upgrade in making the choice of tariff you are neglecting other criteria which for many are more important.

Good I hate the straw potatoes they serve with my steak. So I can ask for chips instead

 

 

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You can possibly have chips but don't expect more than half a dozen.

On the question of gratuities, as we only used MDR twice (once with a waiter who was incompetent and rude - hard to believe I know!) I didn't feel obliged to give them their automatic tip. As we dined elsewhere, including for breakfast, at the end of the cruise we paid gratuities to the alternatives together with the excellent cabin steward.

Just returned from Iberia cruise on Oceana and can report that not only is Sport24 shown on the screens in Winners bar it is also on the TVs in the cabins on channel 34.

How does this changing the menu work now everything is plated up?:rolleyes:

Just back from 11 days on Oceana. If my experience is anything to go by, I suspect there will be less flexibility. Starters and Sweets were as I expect but the main courses were poor. Portion sizes were much smaller than we are used to. Duck breast in a main course was 4 thin small slices; around a third of a whole breast. Roast beef main course consisted of two small, thin slices with a roast potato, a broccoli floret and a few slivers of parsnip. You can request extra potatoes etc. They have gone back to offering steak, chicken or salmon as alternatives. A lady on our table had steak which came with no potatoes and a couple of others had chicken with 5 standard frozen chips. We only ate in MDR twice! The plaza, cafe maison and grill were excellent!

We had mini suite on Oceana last year and we had lunch served in the freedom dining restaurant when we got onboard. Very civilised!

We booked a saver fare on Wednesday of this week. Our cruise is on the 25 th June and its a cabin for 4. Got our cabin number today. Same grade as we book. Very happy with position. But with it being a saver fare could we be moved ?

I think that as saver fares are not eligible for upgrades, it is extremely unlikely once your cabin is allocated that you will be moved. There would have to be an excellent reason, and not just that somebody else may prefer it.

According to P&O website, those booking select fares will be eligible for upgrades if available and those booking saver fares will not. This is just one of the ways they are trying to persuade people to book select fares rather than saver (along with OBC /M&S vouchers / free shuttle bus / guaranteed choice of dinner sittings etc). Seems fair to me but different from vantage / getaway system where it appeared as though getaway bookers were upgraded more often than vantage.

The current M&S promotion is not for later bookers. Nor was the OBC one it has replaced. It is available for selected cruises well into next year and is only for select fares and not saver ones. Who knows how low prices will go as cruises get nearer. Advice to book early or late if choice of cabin etc is not important to you is the best you will get.

Presumably because there are bookings made with Vantage fares that they would have to honour with OBC if they dropped the price. You can bet they won't be automatically giving the M&S vouchers to those Vantage bookings.

These bookings are for select prices which have replaced vantage so the price promise does not apply. Just checked 2 cruises I booked last month and the OBC offer last month for each is better than the M&S voucher offer although both offers are quite generous.

So sad to see such negativity about a ship that is a year away from it's maiden cruise and based on limited images and video, all taken from plans and not actuality. Maybe the pessimists will be proved to be correct but why not wait until next year when passengers can tell us first hand of their experiences? Don't forget, travelling on Britannia is not compulsory.

I started the first thread for the maiden cruise on the newly created Britannia roll call yesterday. See you there!

I'm looking to cruise again this summer, my last 4 cruises were with carnival. I have heard mixed reviews about P&O with respect to food and service. I would like to try the independence - royal Caribbean. Would this be a better ship than say the Ventura? Any advice would be really appreciated. P.s I'm 35 yrs old and travelling with my husband, no children

OP is travelling without children so maybe one of P&Os adult only ships would be worth considering.

I have heard of stewards confiscating multi socket extensions until the end of a cruise to prevent overloading of the system. Suggesting people take them is not good advice, especially bearing in mind the overheating of one on Azura recently. On Oceana last year, we had two sockets in a mini suite. Using kettle in one, battery charger in the other with TV on, tripped the fuse to the cabin.

I have just taken out an annual policy through http://www.southdownsinsurance.co.uk. The policy is with AXA. Found them through a search on Google and an insurance comparison site. We have 5 medical declarations between us, but both under 60. Premium was less than half renewal premium from existing insurer for similar cover.

I have been impressed when I have cruised on Arcadia. She is a nice ship, big enough to have decent facilities and amenities but not so huge as to be crowded and impersonal. Balconies on the aft of the ship are larger than those on the sides and have the advantage of being able to see on both sides of the ship, especially preferable if on a fjords cruise to Norway where there are often things to see on both sides. Adult only is a bonus.

I agree with you Jean, its not called a maiden cruise for nothing, it will be the first time for everything as far as the hotel staff are concerned, and no matter how experienced they are on other ships this will be their first time on this one.

A definite recipe for disaster, far better to wait until they iron out all the problems and start to work as a professional team.

Probably best if you and Jean don't pre register for it then.

If it is true that TAs cannot pre register their clients, and I believe that it is, I cannot understand why some on here are risking missing out on a Britannia cruise such as the maiden one just because they prefer to use an agent. On less popular cruises and for the more plentiful cabin grades, booking with an agent to show loyalty to them for great service in previous bookings would seem to be OK but to possibly jeopardise a booking by using an agent seems a little silly. Some will no doubt be successful but it seems that some won't. Even if the system seems unfair, it is the system P&O have decided to use and if people want to book popular Britannia cruises, it is best to follow their system. They will fill the ship for the maiden regardless and it matters little to them who they fill it with. Brutal but true.

Travelled in a mini suite at back of Oceana last year. Bathroom was large with separate toilet from basin, bath and shower. Cabin itself was excellent and balcony larger than normal due to fact it was on the back with a suite next door. I just wish I could afford mini suite on every cruise.

There are some grades of cabin that P@O are no longer taking pre registration for because all cabins within the grade (or the allocation within that grade that are available for pre registration) have been sold. Cabins will be allocated towards the end of March to those who have pre registered and paid their deposit. What is unclear is whether all cabins have been made available for pre registration or just a proportion of them. If it is the former, there may be few left when they go on general sale on March 27. It is also unclear whether agents can pre register their clients with P&O in the same way as booking directly. If not, there may be a lot of disappointed people who use an agent come March 27.

Doesn't matter if you rand David Dingle, cabins don't go on sale until 26th march!!

Pre registration and payment of deposit will guarantee a cabin within grade booked. This seems to be the best way of securing a cabin on maiden cruise.

I have booked the maiden voyage by pre registering and paying a deposit. I consider £110 per day for a balcony cabin on this cruise to be good value. There is still pre registration availability on many grades including balconies. The free for all starts on Mar 26 for high peninsular club levels and then on Mar 27 for everybody else, presumably including agents who I guess cannot pre register on behalf of clients. My cabin grade is guaranteed, once everything is booked up on Mar 27, not even agents will be able to book further cabins. The only way to be guaranteed a cabin is to pre register, not rely on an agent. Of course, it is possible that prices will rise before Mar 27 - the pre registration price I have paid is about 5% less than that showing on the P@O website and we also have free parking as part of the package.

According to P&O website, Lean De Ste Croix is currently on Oceana until Sept 1st. Good news for all of us who sail on her this month. Best CD I have come across although Christine Noble is at least very visible around the ship.