laslomas

I am enjoying this thread, and I am also following one on a social media site from someone who recently sailed on Princess and really missed Celebrity.

I usually sail with Celebrity but have recently booked on Princess for 2025. Last time I sailed with Princess was my first ever cruise, in 1998. I love Celebrity and only jumped ship due to the poor choice available with Celebrity from Southampton. From reading the various posts I feel the two cruiselines are on a par with each other (I hope) with most people noticing the few cuts since 2020, but still a bit more upmarket than the larger kid friendly ships. I will miss the Martini Bar but will hopefully find somewhere similar on Sky Princess.

A very helpful thread, putting aside loyalties, I think I will enjoy Princess too.

It's good to know PUP's are still being offered. But, that offer is of no use to me, and many others from across the pond, as the travel is only worth it for a much longer cruise. But then, I didn't receive the promo email, so maybe only in North America??

I always follow this thread in the hope of gaining a few more points so am happy it is being kept on the first couple of pages of the forum 😊 

14 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

The next class of ship will have a market based mix of IVs and real balconies.  I would expect them to do research on the numbers.  I believe that Icon has 27% IVs.

 

 

 

If the next class of ship of ship will have a mix of IV and regular balconies, I wonder which will sell out first?? That will show which are the most popular.

But I believe many do not realise what they are actually booking as the IV is described as a veranda / balcony cabin. A friend of mine booked one, not realising the difference.

I also wonder if the IV creates further sunbed wars. So many who would normally spend hours on their balcony have to search elsewhere to find somewhere to relax in the open air.

Oooh, I hope the answer is yes. I enjoy regular beer, wine and cocktails, but I also drink a fair whack of the zero beer which is also very enjoyable. I had already seen the one offering on the Princess bar menus of the 0% Heineken, which is one of my least favourite ones. I enjoy many of the 0% Spanish beers, and the Corona cero. 

As well as following this thread for a definitive answer, I am also considering writing to Princess to suggest they expand on their 0% options. Many are available on tap, which would be a good option too. I find the Mocktails too sweet, and would love a decent choice of 0% beers.

1 hour ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

Don't like to argue with you. But P&O also have a daily onboard charge for gratuities. The only way you can get around this is to go to the reception desk and tell them you don't want to pay gratuities that way. You can also reduce the amount that P&O set. You can of course tip individual staff as you wish. Just as you can if you take out a Plus or Premier Package with Princess. The Princess Packages have set amounts per day based on your grade of cabin.

According to P&O: "Tipping isn't needed on our ships so you can relax knowing good service and good times are all part and parcel of your P&O Cruises holiday."

It certainly makes it much easier to know all is covered. Of course we know it is really included in the price - I wish other cruise lines would do this too. 

It should be fairly straightforward to get the cruise credit. Although not as long ago as yours I recently got a credit added for my Panama Cruise in 1998 for which I recently uncovered the file including cruise number and date. I sent an email to the Captain's Circle, and after receiving a response and providing a little more information requested - it was added. Good luck. 

I have sailed with Celebrity since 2013 and it was always the offer of a free drink package that closed the deal for me. I don't think I had to actually buy one until the Covid era. I have never seen it offered as a perk for a while, and the constant price rise for the purchase is putting me off now.

9 minutes ago, Over from NZ said:

You've quoted that many people in just one post.. that nobody can work out who you're replying to and what you're trying to say.. haha

I can see each reply to each quote and know exactly what enjoysailing is saying. Not sure what you are seeing.

And I agree.

As a cruiser from the UK I would like to see a change to the ports visited on a Transatlantic cruise itinerary.

Several years ago I found one that visited a few Caribbean ports. It was lovely to have more time in the warmth of the Caribbean either before, or after the crossing. Now all itineraries seem to concentrate on European ports then straight to Florida. Or from Florida straight to European ports.

As a European this gets really boring as I have visited most of these ports many times. I assume the opposite can be said for cruisers from North America. But a few itineraries with Caribbean ports would be lovely. And as the opening poster says - more crossings through the year too!!

I cannot get past the Home page. I am glad I read this Forum, as at least I know to hang fire and hopefully get into my account later.

But surely Princess could put some kind of notification on the Home page. How many people must be tearing their hair out trying to Log onto their account.

12 hours ago, MuffinW said:

 

Agreed - it would be nice to have additional non-alcoholic options. Heineken 0.0 is pretty good, but there are some really nice N/A IPAs and other beers out there. Princess could also consider offering some of the pre-mixed cocktails (De Soi, Fauxmosa, etc.) rather than going so heavy on the mocktails involving Sprite. A couple of hop waters would be welcome. 🙂 

I am looking forward to trying the Strawberries on Fire!

I totally agree, more 0% lagers and beers on the menu would be good to have. Corona Cero is pretty good, and there are some good Spanish ones out there too. I enjoy cocktails, but it may just be my taste, but I find most mocktails way too sweet. 

37 minutes ago, leck57 said:

 

They are always fixed in my experience.

Thanks.

I have not sailed Princess for many years. All my recent cruises on Celebrity have had a hairdryer that can be plugged in anywhere, hence my query. 

Just a quick related question. Is the hair dryer fixed / attached to the drawer area, or can you plug in elsewhere if preferable? Thanks.

It's a bit disappointing for anyone wanting to sail south from the UK. I spotted three itineraries to the Mediterranean - all in UK school holiday times, which is something I avoid if possible. Most others are around the British Isles, or sailing north, except a few to the Canaries.

It may just be me, but when living in the UK, I like to holiday in warmer places. If I have missed any please let me know.

Just reading the thread entitled 'Britannia today, any questions?' and saw this in #100:

"To let you know we had an email this morning to say only a bottle of wine or champagne is allowed to be brought on board, but no vodka, or spirits.

It seems our cruise next week on Britannia is the first to do this."

So not a 'scam'.

On 4/14/2024 at 11:33 AM, Cathygh said:

I agree wholeheartedly. I had forgotten you could watch the muster drill online before hand, and just scan your card at the Muster point.

Or maybe not.

I'm currently on the Arvia, and we had to do a Full muster. That's a good 50 minutes I won't get back. 🤨. Sadly not everyone listens to the announcements and It took a long time to get everyone to turn up and checked off, before the Captain's announcement, the chat and then a demonstration. It seems that Maritime Law demands this at regular intervals, I think it hadn't been done for several months. Just unlucky if you catch one.

3 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

You do not appear to understand the effect that having timed labels has on the way the luggage hall empties from front to back, rather than the haphazard way it empties when passengers disembark by deck. This leads to the hall emptying in progression rather than passengers swarming all over creating chaos and slowing down the queues.

In addition most cruise lines using this system do not request you attend a venue, but they make regular announcements calling for the next coloured group to disembark, and strangely this seems to reduce the crowding that is always apparent with P&O.

Totally agree. My last several cruises have been on Celebrity. The system is as you state. No need to have a gathering point to wait. The baggage is loaded into place in the baggage hall by time. In fact with this method there is no benefit to 'jump the queue' and disembark early as your luggage will not be there. Never had a problem with this. I hate being asked to congregate in a certain venue that is not big enough for the passengers, and nowhere to sit.

13 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

P&O are really hot now on who books a fully accessible cabin.

 

Whilst you may get occasional last minute upgrades/purchases, this is very uncommon.

 

Some people require specific beds or pieces of furniture for their wellbeing and accessible cabins are the only ones that fit. Doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t walk.

 

The most common scenario are people needing an electric scooter to use in ports but can slowly walk around the ship. They need the cabin purely for the scooter.

 

There is nowhere near enough cabins for actual demand and this is why you’re finding they are sold out - not because they are regularly being mis-sold.

Surely an option in this instance would be for P&O to offer storage facilities for electric scooters / wheelchairs and get them out for port days. The passengers could then book into any class of cabin and get about the ship with the help of sticks or folding walking aids if required on board. Does anything like this happen?

3 hours ago, Mike.S said:

Sadly we can read into that, no, we won't put a second ship in Southampton, we'll have more ships repeating the same intineries in the Caribbean. And as for future upgrades to M class ships, no chance.

I was looking forward to listening to the Q&A. You are right - just waffle, not answers. I ask the same question every chance I get - any more Southampton sailings?

A second ship from Southampton would be great, my preference would be an M or S Class. One ship all year round would be great too. But currently just one ship for 6 months is simply not good enough. There are many potential cruisers in UK who do not, or cannot fly to join a cruise. Canaries, North Africa etc are lovely through the winter months. If I want a cruise between mid-October and mid-April my only choice is to sail on another cruise line.

1 hour ago, tring said:

 

B428, which you said you have been allocated appears to be an inside cabin.  So presuming that is what you have booked, it is possible that the majority of inside cabins would not work with a cot in the cabin.  There is often very little room to move around cruise cabins (particularly insides) without any additions, so may well be why the only way it could be done is with twin beds and the cot between them.  That would also explain why your bed configuration changed when you requested a cot.  There are loads of U-Tube videos of cruise cabins, so you may be able to find one similar to your, so you can assess the size of them.

 

The poster stated that B428 is the Cruise number - not the cabin number. The cabin is C539.

1 hour ago, funinhounslow said:

 

As there are increasing numbers of non drinkers around I wish P&O would cater to us more, in particular stocking the AF Guinness - on my last cruise I had the choice of Koppaberg (not bad but a bit sweet), mocktails, or soda water!

 

I contacted P&O on this subject as I noticed there is only one 0% Lager available on board. I suggested they could increase the choice of beers and other alcohol free adult drinks on board. I simply do not like cola and other fizzy drinks, but love alcohol free beers. Corona make a reasonable  0% Mexican beer that could prove popular. This was their response: 

"Hi, we are unable to guarantee that we will be introducing similar beverages however we take on all guests feedback for review"

Maybe more cruisers need to pass on their thoughts to P&O for things to change. They say they review feedback.

I even suggested to them that it could help cut back on some of the anti-social behaviour I have read about in some recent reviews.

3 hours ago, Josy1953 said:

I am just watching the news and I was shocked to see the queue outside a dentist waiting to register with an NHS dentist.  I know that there are dental practices who are refusing to take new NHS patients but what I don't understand is why so many people are not already registered with a dentist.

Is it that some dentists are switching from the NHS and dumping previous regular patients?

Not sure how this morphed into - dentists, but I will add my experience of this. I had been registered with an NHS dentist for 10 years. When I last called to make my regular appointment I was told the last NHS dentist (my dentist) had left the practice so the only choice was to book with a private one. I didn't. There are none available in my area now.

On Celebrity you can use OBC before sailing. When making a purchase prior to sailing you are offered a choice of paying with OBC or credit/debit card. Hopefully it would be the same as this if P&O went that same route.

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

The infirm , disabled , wheelchairs aren't made to stand in queue, everyone else says those that  qualified for assistance are let in. Just a red herring to justify turning up at wrong time.

 

 

 

There are many people who are not actually infirm, disabled, or in a wheelchair, that struggle to stand around for long periods. I didn't realise this until it finally hit me as I got older. I do not use a stick, or any mobility aid, but as the years go by I find many things a problem that never were a few years ago. I would not turn up early and expect to jump the queue, but I know that if I arrived on time and there was a hold up for any reason I would really struggle to be standing around more than 20 minutes, or so.  Hopefully it all goes smoothly for my next check-in.

But this situation is not always understood until it hits you. I never thought I would become 'old'. The suggestion of walking around to waste a few hours would be my worst nightmare. 

I would not qualify, nor would I ask for, or expect 'assistance' because I don't need it in most situations. So I would be in the queue outside.  

1 hour ago, david63 said:

I have said this before and I will say it again.

 

90% of the arrival time problems could be cured if P&O, like other cruise lines, allowed passengers on a first come basis to choose their own arrival times to suit their travel arrangements. Currently there is nothing factored in with the allotted arrival times for those travelling by coach which effectively means that some (or in some cases many) passengers have two arrival times one of which is unused and thus depriving others of that time.

51 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I think they need to start embarkation sooner, the same way as do al the other cruise lines. 

If they can start sometime between 10:00 and 11:00, there is no reason at all that P&O cannot. 

That would go 99% of the way to solving the problems.  As Paul Ludlow might say.

Totally agree that offering a choice of arrival times to passengers works well. I have sailed numerous times with Celebrity and choose the time that suits me best and that I can adhere to. I have never had to queue more than a minute or two, and only once had to sit for a short time, indoors, after check in, to wait to be called onto the ship.

I think the suggestion to start embarkation earlier at 10:00 or thereabouts will just mean being 'kicked off' even earlier so not something I would be keen on.