Megabear2

That's apparently not the case on every cruise though! Seems to be a cunning plan ...

In Brodies fighting for a chair for the latter! Isn't bingo in the afternoons, I'm sure I saw someone yesterday asking about it on one of the recent threads. I was going to direct him to Yorkypete but thought better of it!!!

I was very interested in this information as last year I was virtually commuting from Rome to Civitavecchia while my aunt was hospitalised. There was a severe shortage of taxi drivers/chauffeurs and prices were as I say around the €200 each way. As I am in Rome once more in August I've just checked your suggested company. They are cheaper but unfortunately prices are very much increased on your experience as the attached shows.

I'd say the complete opposite of Selbourne (sorry it's becoming a habit today). When you say flexibility you presumably mean if you aren't ready by 6.30 you can go a little later or earlier. With the flexible dining you can actually book a table for the same time in the same restaurant on your first night if its timed up to 6.30pm. Therefore if your parents wanted to dine early every day at a regular time they could and you could join them as and when. Obviously you don't all have to eat at the same time every day if you don't wish. By doing this everyone can be flexible - assuming you're all happy to be a unit. Of Britannia's three dining rooms only one is club dining nowadays so the flexibility option would in my experience offer you the easiest opportunity to drop in and out time wise. Of course your parents may prefer the club dining as they wish to dine with others, but they could also have the option to share in the freedom dining rooms when you do not wish to dine together. The staff on Britannia are in my experience very welcoming to young children in all the restaurants and will bend over backwards to help where they can.

From Civitavecchia to central Rome last year in July was €200 each way. I had to pay it following a medical emergency. Incidentally Uber charge was coming in at just under €400 in June when my pre booked transfer let me down. Luckily my t/a sourced another transfer which came in around £150 paid by her in UK. The journey depending on traffic is between 1 hour and 1 1/2 hours.

Yes, I was referring to those. The suite guests and Yacht Club etc have separate venues, including deck space etc. In my opinion far more "class" driven than Cunard who get a very bad press about separate areas. The whole of the front of Celebrity Edge open deck was handed over to Retreat guests.

Yes, it works like RCL. There's a very big upselling of the speciality restaurants though and unless you reserve a time bu buying before boarding you may well not get in the speciality restaurants. Some on Edge had dining until 10.30pm

Same for me, even on Christmas day last year. Lovely food and wine but not a spot on the years before.

ICF without wishing to sound rude your dining in Michelin starred restaurants etc is a personal choice, you pay your money and take it. Unless you cruise extremely high end like Ponant or some of those lines its totally irrelevant in this sphere. I'm sure that very many on here can boast about their high end hotels, restaurants etc but choose not too. And yes, I've dined very high end in the Middle and Far East so appreciate the cost. Re Orient Express it's great but more an experience to spend pots of money on if you want what you see on the films. There's pleb class on their and also on the trains across Australia, Canada, US etc. I shared a toilet/washbasin (no shower) for 4 days whilst travelling on one of these "luxury" trains! When I said traditional on Cunard I meant orchestras, big bands, opera singers, book festivals, board games, jigsaw puzzles, harpists, violins, lectures etc not the food. Burgh Island is great. I've stayed there three times for my birthday, the last two times in the covid Summers as I like to call them.

On the Edge class vessels there are four MDRs, these are small intimate spaces not great huge affairs. Each of these four restaurants has a different menu/food type ie Italian, steak house, Greek and French. On top of this there are 5 additional restaurants you can buy a dining package for or buy on a single basis. There is also the Dinner on the Edge which utilises the Magic Carpet and Raw on 5 which are not available as part of the package. They aren't cheap, I recall around $60pp if booked individually, but the packages work out to around $45 a meal. If you took the package the gratuity which Celebrity charge at 20% is included. However the dining package is very often given away in your booking along with OBC, wifi and the drinks package. We had this last year and have it for Christmas as well. The lead price is however far higher than P&O. Cruising with my husband or a friend I'd choose Celebrity over P&O for the food, cruising alone I'd choose P&O. That said I'd return to Cunard alone or with my husband and the food there is very good at the included level. Unlike Selbourne I've sailed with Cunard for many years and don't really rate Club Britannia for value although it remains to be seen what it offers on QA. If I was going to spend lots of money based on the dining experience it would have to br the Grills every time. You need to remember the current three Queens are dignified older ladies offering a calm and traditional experience and I have a feeling most definitely not your cup of tea.

Depends on which ship and itinerary. I monitor a lot of cruise lines for bargains as I book at short notice on a whim (always have done!) and my experience is the biggest price drops normally occur 6-8 weeks before sailing. Depending on the popularity then you can see odd decreases/increases. For instance I booked Arvia for mid May on 31/3 to ensure I received my welcome back OBC. Fares were from £849 on that date, earlier this week they dropped £50 to £799 but overnight Thursday they went back up to £849 and remain there, today advertised at over £1,100 for the last odd cabins. Over the years I've found a good way to gauge the fares is to look at the lowest prices the similar itinerary drops to, I do this for several months if I have something in mind and I also look at which cabins remain until the price drops begin, normally I do this fortnightly to judge how sales have been going. For instance once Iona/Arvia aft cabins are all sold the odds on a saver fare being deck 8 multiply at week 10 because normally the number of "decent" cabins on select fare have reduced to clusters here and there. The lowest price this year has been around £599 inside saver on 14 night Arvia cruises but as we are moving into more desirable times weather wise so £799 seems to be the near norm lowest offering. Iona 7 nights are hovering between lead price £399 and £449. The remainder of the fleet are not so easy to gauge but on the whole Britannia comes in around lead prices of £449 upwards for her 7 night fjords to £1,299 upwards on her 14 night Med and Scandinavian cruises. Ventura, Arcadia and Aurora are rules to themselves but definitely the Azura fly cruises of 14 nights are not the bargain basement offering they were last year, assumedly due to flight costs and the airports being more organised. It's not a precise measure but has stood me in good stead over the past years. I have, however, noted this year that although the headline saver fares are often hundreds and even thousands less than the select fare once you move up cabin type the bargains tend to be fewer and also the select fare cut off price drop remains the same. Using J307 as a random example a deluxe balcony saver is currently from £2,598 whilst the select is from £4,398 with £480 OBC so still a minimum £1,320 more for select. If you choose a better location the price rises accordingly with a mid balcony on a preferred floor generally rise by around £200 to £300 more. So in answer to your question, depends on how much I feel like taking a gamble on location, if it's a sudden desire to get away to anywhere and if I don't mind which ship or where it's going.

I think the extra discount is on certain restaurants, I never got it on Limelight on Britannia just my Peninsular Club discount. Booking my next batch very soon for Arvia/Iona so will see what happens there.

I understand on all but Iona and Arvia you cannot prebook apart from Britannia Limelight, certainly we couldn't on our last two Britannia cruises. I'm told not to expect any different on my August Britannia as well. Regarding Arvia all of my options apart from Keel & Cow (including two MDR) state they will be available on 30 April which is 14 days before sailing. Same on Iona. Speaking to P&O they have indicated it is to help flow and control (whatever that is!) on the two biggest ships. I'm happy either way.

Yes, Celebrity and every one especially Eden is better in my opinion! In fact the Greek and French themed included MDR ran Epicurean pretty close. Raw on 5 is the best seafood restaurant I've come across at sea although it is very much a crustacean fest. I love Epicurean and always dine there at least twice on a week cruise and specifically have my Christmas dinner there with the upgraded wines. I would however go to Eden every day if I could!

You seem offended, sorry if you think I'm being difficult. My point is anything sold years or months before can be cancelled. The excursions go on sale up to 365 days out - I've several booked with Celebrity for Christmas already - but you cannot guarantee the event/cruise will go ahead. Airlines release flights in blocks, they don't guarantee they'll definitely fly etc. It cannot be described as fraud, it can be described as inconvenient but nothing in life is positive except death and taxes. P&O are far from wonderful, anymore than any other company but it's unfair to criticise them constantly when you have stated you don't wish to do business with them. I would never fly with Ryanair because I dislike Michael O'Leary personally, I don't however go on forums saying his product is crap or arguing with those who use it just for the sake of having a dig at him. It would be fruitless and frankly downright silly to think I could change everyone to have my opinion.

Well I haven't booked anything for 2025 as decided to wait until I'm onboard Iona and hopefully I might be able to book something there. However at the rate I'm going on OBC P&O will be paying me to travel on my 14 May Arvia cruise! I paid parr of this with the apology money they sent me after a complaint so the 14 day cruise cost me £749, they then upgraded me as well. With that original booking came £140 OBC as part of the current offer. This was followed by £100 welcome back OBC and now I've just been emailed a loyalty one of £50. All this generosity has still not prompted me to part with £4,004 for 18 nights on Aurora though ...

Was it extra OBC for booking onboard still or just the basic, it look quite mean forv 2025 at this stage.

Bless your resilience but what happened to only watching? Actually on this point I had an extremely expensive VIP ticket for Coldplay at Wembley last year, purchased in advance months before. Unfortunately the tube drivers announced a strike on the day I was due there. Three days before the concert it was cancelled and moved due to the London Mayor's office not granting a safety certificate. For large scale events such as this and Glastonbury apparently safety certificates are issued maximum 72 hours before an event as being planned months and even years in advance circumstances can and do change (as has happened with Palma). I received a refund, took 48 hours and then I had to join the bunfight for a ticket at Manchester or Cardiff for this year. Not fraudulent at all?

I agree with him on that, but I don't go to the Highlands to buy it! Tesco do a very nice one for £5.00 each and its locally sourced for here, well Hampshire but not far.

Got stopped randomly at Gatwick years ago after an Orlando holiday where all three suitcases were virtually dismantled by customs officials. We had random purchases not much above the legal allowances but also three pairs of Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses bought on our previous trip a few months before. As we couldn't prove the sunglasses were not new purchases we were taxed on everything we had bought plus them. They even taxed a WWF doll my then 7 year old niece was carrying and the tshirts on our backs. Most definitely not something I'd want to go through again and also we had to pay tax on tye tax as it was import plus VAT.

Heston Blumenthal did a television programme in 2010 for the BBC where he sought out the best cuts of meat for a Sunday roast. When it came to the chicken he bought it in France stating it was the only way to guarantee good quality. Factoring the flight, transport either end and the actual bird it worked out that the chicken lunch (which you were meant to cook at home) was over £120 a person. At the time he was just starting his relationship with Waitrose where a family sized chicken was on sale for £5.00, needless to say they weren't happy!

I have spoken direct to the people operating the Soller train excursions on my cruise - I had the details after doing a tour with them last year when in Majorca off Celebrity Edge. They have informed me that they cannot accommodate me on certain time trains as they have contracts with MSC, Celebrity and P&O on those trains. They have said I am welcome to book other services but looking at the timetable I'd not get as much time in Soller as I'd like so I did not book. This would seem to prove that P&O and the other lines do currently have the excursions to sell so it is not fraudulent.

Did you find if you try to book the double room, the price shown goes up by several multiples?

You mention swimming a few times. Which pools are you using and are they all useable and comfortable warmth wise? You've been blessed with what looks like wonderful weather which I assume means more people using the outside space. How do you think this would be affected if it was raining, ie is there enough space and things to do inside on seadays if the weather is inclement, do you think there would be queues forming? Did you by any chance see the excursion programme at the beginning of the cruise and if so were the trips mostly sold out before boarding, ie if anyone booked onboard with their OBC would they have a good choice? I have family members onboard with you and they are very enthusiastic so I understand it's going well for you all greatly aided by the beautiful spring weather. Loving the pictures of the girls, how about a nice family group picture of you all together.

I love QM2 single cabins, did my world cruise in 2018 in a deck 2 one. I have never sailed on Aurora as every time I book her something befalls me - perhaps someone is trying to tell me something! I'm quite content to pass on the adult only ships if I get quoted silly prices. Have 3 bargain basements to look forward at present Iona inside for single occupancy 7 nights Norway fjords 29 April £589 Arvia booked 14 May for 2 weeks inside for £749 but upgraded to a balcony on deck 9 Britannia Med 4 nights single balcony for £1200 Cant fault any of them at those prices! Trouble is I'm not very keen on fly cruise at present but I love Italian ports which are few and far between on ex Southampton cruises. My QE fly cruise is a birthday treat and is going to Naples and Rome among other favourites. She also comes back via the place where my mum's ashes are scattered and Cunard will sound the horn for me when we pass over her