gillhalfpint

We are booked on E2 out of Newcastle 4 July, and that appears to be still sailing.

We booked in local TA which wa closed when balance was due, and at that time it said to wait till shops reopen to pay balance.

I emailed both the shop and the cares@thomson e-mail when the balance was due for information about paying the balance and both got returned saying unable to reply at that time.

So I have been waiting.  Now that these changes have come out, they have given phone numbers for those who have booked in a shop, but I am not even getting answered to be put on the waiting list for reply, just to try later.  

I have sent another email to say I have not cancelled this cruise and if I find out how to pay the balance it will be paid (even if it means waiting months for a refund!) 

Will have to be a refund as we don't fly and there are no ex UK next year.

Gill

20 hours ago, kevinyork said:

It’s pretty underhand by Tui.  The FCO advice is there to protect the most vulnerable.  I’m pretty disgusted they have now removed it.

I was told in TUI shop on Saturday that when balance of our Explorer 2 becomes due 11.4.20 if I want to cancel I will lose the deposit but, I can pay £50 per person and the deposit can be used for a future cruise, or I can pay the balance and wait for TUI to make a decision whether the cruise will be going ahead on 4.7.20.  I said but people are not finding out till they are going to the airport that their cruise has been cancelled.  That is not true she said.  Both P & O and CMV have been very helpful with rebooking for 2021.  We are both over 70.

Gill

TUI shop this morning said refunds and rebooking only being done on a 2 week basis.  Our cruise on Explorer 2 due out 4 July won't be considered for a refund till around 2 weeks before sail date.  Final payment due 11.4.20 and I will have option then to pay £50 pp and use the £400 deposit for a 2021 cruise or cancel and lose it, or pay the balance and keep fingers crossed that we go or get full refund if TUI decide to cancel. We are both over 70. .

12 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

That's definitely made our minds up. Thanks Harry. If P&O don't cancel,  we go on our cruise.

Applies to us as well.  I will keep up to date with that link as it is full of good advice and will be updated continually.  We are with CMV April, TUI July and P & O August and intend to do all 3 unless FCO advises against.  

We had no problem at Southampton departing 26 Sept although we did arrive early as we stayed overnight locally. Taxi dropped us off and we were straight into departure hall, welcomed and given a ticket and sat for a short time before getting called up to be registered.  Went through the cordoned area quite quickly, and the folks from the rear that were being shown through before us were, I believe, premium passengers who  think paid extra for this privilege.  Didn't take long, then security was ok too, and we were in the Market Place around 12 noon.  Maybe we were just lucky with the time we got there, but it was a similar experience as far as I remember when we travelled down on the day so arrived at the port after lunchtime.

Great to see your name up here again RR.  We too remember the IE and still have our badges.  Fond memories of the big storm on 5th November 2013 lighting up the skies.  We still cruise a lot and prefer Marella but have done a couple of the smaller P& O ships, Fred and CMV.  Looking forward to Northern Lights on Explorer 26 Sept.  Not long to go.  Enjoy your plotting and planning for your cruise.  We always do.

Gill and Ray.

Would anyone notice if the Amsterdam cost was factored unto the total cost of the cruise I wonder.

I always had problems finding the roll call so once in I saved it to bookmarks, and just hit that now when I want to check it.

Gill

Ice gives me migraine so I do have a problem trying to get a cocktail without ice. When I started cruising I used to get a lot of lovely ice free cocktails, but now they either fill the glass with ice before adding any liquid or tell me the cocktails I used to drink are now blended, so I cannot have them without ice. I have sometimes found a bar will give me the cocktail liquids in a smaller glass and I am fine with that.

Regarding branded drinks, I find very few actually pour Baileys from a Baileys bottle but from a substitute name (can't remember it now) which makes me feel cheated. Doesn't taste the same.

I have one of those multi peg airer things which hooks onto a towel rail so I use the line in the shower when things are first washed, then on the airer one on the rail to finish off before putting away. Works a treat for me,

I have contacted my insurer about these missed ports too as we really wanted to visit North Cape. Our conversation was similar to yours and read the relevant bits from the letter reception gave us and I am getting a form in 7 to 10 days, but I was told I would have cover so will see how it goes. I have never claimed anything on the insurance before for missed ports but thought I would try as cruise was so different to what we booked, The Captain did a grand job but we hope we get a chance to try to get up there another time.

Gill

We had our first glimpse of the fjords Aug 14 on Spirit Fire and Ice, so went on Fred to explore that coast March 16 doing Norway Winter. Want to go back so much we have booked Midnight Sun for June on Discovery.

Be prepared to wrap up warm and spend a lot of time on deck enjoying the scenary.

Gill

Doing Fire & Ice in July but only 3 days of the cruise are Iceland (we're really looking forward to it) - most of the cruise is the Norwegian Fjords. We are also looking forward to Sheltand as it's somewhere we would never normally go

We did Fire & Ice on Spirit in Aug 2014 and even though Stornaway was a sea day as it was too rough for the tenders, and Isafjord was a sea day as the wind was too dangerous for us to enter the port we had a great time, and the Norwegian fjords were so good we booked Norway Winter on Fred to really explore them and will be going back up there on Discovery in June this year. Have a great time

Gill

Just had a look at "What's in Port" site and she is showing at all 3 ports.

11th Gijon 10.00 to 19.00.

12th Bilbao 09.00 to 18.00

13th Saint-Nazaire 09.00 to 18.00

Gill

We did Hidden Treasures of Europe on Celebration last year, and had a sea day instead of Brent, and La Havre instead of Cherburg, but all the others were fine. Did worry about what was going to happen for the missing ports for a while though as information is slow to come through. I ended up looking at the What's in Port site to see where we were booked in.

Gill

I recently came back from our first P & O cruise on Aurora, and was surprised at how few gel stands there are for folk to use, and also it seems to be left to passengers to use them or not. On Thomson there is usually someone at both buffet and main dining room entries who actually squirt your hands for you as you enter.

I use a paper towel to open loo doors after washing hands then use gel when I find a stand.

Thank you for the replies and price list for the cabin. I never saw one of those on our 29 Oct Aurora cruise, but can see our steward now when we go back on her 6 Dec. I won't try carrying bottles to the ship in luggage anyway as it is a struggle with the cases on the train without worrying about bottles in them. Just fancied a bottle for the cabin as we get ready for the evening.

Gill

Wow. I started reading this thread then found there were 23 pages after I had got through about 7.

Just had our first P & O cruise - thoroughly enjoyed it - but travelling by train we didn't even think about taking bottles thinking we ould buy on board. There was an offer on and we were going to buy a couple of bottles for the cabin to be told it would be held till the last day, and we had been told the same at the shop on board. Some are saying on here though that we can buy bottles from the steward for the cabin. How does that work please? Seems weird that you can buy off the steward to drink in the cabin but have it confiscated if bought from the shop. We didn't want to risk it so had nothing to drink in the cabin.

Gill

We are on Dream on 12 January for our first Thomson’s cruise.We have paid to select our seats as we hate any stress about not being allocated seats together.

When I access the booking online the option to select seats is not live.

Does anyone have a number to call to sort it out?

 

 

Thanks

The select your seat booking doesn't come live until 90 days before your return flight so if you are away for 2 weeks it won't be open yet. I think it is around 22 Oct for 1 week and 29 Oct for 2 weeks if you go 12 Jan.

Gill

Gill, your husband only needs a jacket and he's dressed for formal night and you can go where you like! He doesn't need a dickie bow etc for smart casual, unless that's what he's comfortable in of course! :)

Thank you. He hasn't got a jacket now but we may see if we can get a lightweight one for him as we both have arthritis and don't want to have to buy bigger cases to cope with on the train journey to Southampton if we can manage with the ones we have. He has 2 walking sticks so I have to cope with the cases. Looking forward to our first P & O though. As long as we can be fed and get into a bar or lounge for the evening we will be fine.

Gill

Well I read the subject and thought this is something we need to know about as my husband has no suit or jacket, and we are booked on our first P & O cruise on Aurora at the end of October. It has been an interesting 6 pages to read I must admit. I did worry that he would not be allowed in a bar for a drink but now feel happy that there will be places we can choose to eat and drink in on the black tie formal nights. He is OK with smart casual in his good trousers, white shirt and dickie bow tie so we can now look forward to our cruise with no worries about having nowhere to go. Thank you folks.

Gill

We always go up to the muster early so my husband can use the lifts and agree it is bad to be kept waiting while folk unpack or finish a meal before ambling up for the muster. We have seen elderly collapse waiting in the sun sometimes nearly an hour till the checking in is complete. They should do the drill at the stated time with the ones who attend, and call those who failed to reception to get cards re-activated and a safety lecture. Lifts are always going to be a problem. My husband needs to use them, but I am happy to walk up a floor or down a couple if a full one comes along.

Depends which ship you are travelling on. No fridges in some cabins on Majesty and Spirit and, with just the odd exception, not in anything below deluxe balcony cabins on the Discoveries.

We were in lower deck inside cabin on Discovery 1 and Celebration without a fridge. Cannot remember having a fridge since our early Dream cruises.

Gill

I find it hard to believe some do not attend muster on purpose as this keeps those who do attend waiting in the masses. My husband cannot use the stairs so we always find where our muster is and go up to it with the jackets so get stood in the masses quite early by the crew. I have seen people faint in the heat while waiting for the crew to call all the cabin numbers and never thought folk could be so inconsiderate to others.

W liked the Mall idea on Magellan. A corridor with seating down one side of the ship with the bars, library casino etc branching off it. One of the bars was a nightclub type in Dec 15 but in Dec 16 it had been changed into a bar with an English pub feel to it even a dartboard, On our 3 night cruise there was no live entertainment in there, only lightly played background 60's music which made it a great place to sit and chat, something Thomson's could do with.

Gill