Megabear2

I have looked at the video now. Obviously it shows the room with the bunks in use rather than in the folded position. I can confirm I have had one of this type of room on Azura and had the beds as a queen with no issue. Yes there was an overhang but I was able to use either side of the bed and not crawl to the end. This was room P319, in fact it remains one of my favourite rooms allocated on a saver fare and I have booked it subsequently by choice on select. Azura's inside cabins are 15m2 (165ft2) and a quick look shows Britannia's insides as 15-16m2 (165-175ft2) so I cannot see that the set up I had would not work. Incidentally the three cabins you mention in particular C316,317 etc are classed as larger insides and are the 16m2 ones. They are a different shape which gives the size difference. If I recall from one my BIL had when you enter the door the dressing table is to one side and the room opens up for the bed to be on the wall to the other side. They are a higher grade as you said.

The maritime law is correct - I've seen a similar discussion on a DIsney forum as well. If P&O have stated the matter is closed then unfortunately you have little choice. You booked a saver fare where nothing is guaranteed I'm afraid. If they say it can be done I suppose you could ask for that in writing once more and sort it onboard. If however you want certainty it would seem perhaps best to cancel and rebook while the OBC will cover your lost deposit. Short of that I guess it's see what can be done onboard. I appreciate what you say about the bed configuration only it does say very clearly "preferred" and unfortunately that is not a part of your contract but simply as it says a preference. I'm sorry I cannot be more helpful but if it was Executive Office there is nowhere left to go I'm afraid as I doubt it's something ABTA would be interested in.

Which room are they saying can be made into a queen? There may be pictures elsewhere you can look at. The real problem is that you were unaware the Queen bed configuration is just a request and is not guaranteed. Unfortunately it is not like booking a hotel room where you choose double or twin sleeping arrangements (mind you I have trouble with this on occasion too when my friend and I were presented with a queen bed in Rome because they believed we were a couple!). Is this only Britannia, if so what are they doing with Iona booking? I assume the caller is from customer services or was it actually from Executive Office? Why did they say they won't put anything in writing, that seems extremely odd? Did you write as suggested or is this a result of the social media contact?

Agree with this unless you hit a problem like today. Absolutely no trains in and out of Waterloo due to an incident outside Woking. Southampton is a difficult one to find alternatives by train although the Southern service is most direct. The rail strikes are the other problem.

It takes around 45 minutes to an hour by tube. District Line to Earl's Court, change to Piccadilly Line to Heathrow Terminal 2/3 station. It's about 5 minutes from the underground station to the bus station. For step free access (ie if you've a lot of luggage) I'd look at Victoria Line to Green Park and then swapping on to the Piccadilly Line there. I'm unsure where in Kent you travel from, but if you can access a train to get to Farringdon or Bond Street you have the Elizabeth Line option too. I regularly travel from Waterloo to Heathrow via Green Park and it is relatively easy so long as the lifts are all working. There is a fair bit of underground walking. The District Line is less stairs until you make Earl's Court.

Surely depends on the definition of "solo". On a couple of cruises, one on P&O and one on Cunard I have had "singles" on my dinner table who although adults are travelling with and sharing a cabin with their parents for cost reasons. Both of these people were men in their 30's and although technically not alone they liked to attend the solo meet ups as they didn't want to spend every hour in the company of their parents. Neither of these sets of parents required looking after, the arrangements were purely financial to take advantage of special rates on 3rd/4th passengers.

Yes it's peninsular points. If you put it in your basket and view it you will see if there is a discount before check out . Mine came up at £252 and then reduced with my percentage.

I also have £9pp per day showing. When I added it to my basket it also gave me my loyalty discount. Is that not normal then - I've never had one of these before!

So you now have confirmation of the problems as we suspected them to be. Collate and collect all the information, emails, dates of telephone calls etc and rather than relying on the social media channels put the whole lot, from beginning to end, in writing to the email address of the Executive Office emphasising that the whole lot have been a bit of a disaster for you and short of losing yet more money you really need assistance from them as you've booked in good faith on a cruise line advertising themselves very proudly to the young families demographic. In the email express in your strongest terms your disappointment with P&O's handling of the issue, your being a new mum who is finding the whole affair incredibly stressful and you are now beginning to feel P&O do not care about how all this is impacting you. Again the important thing is to stay calm but firm. Aside from the Britannia situation I assume the Iona one is less complicated and they are dealing with it? Even so it hurts nobody to put your experience into writing on that as well. Send to this address. No doubt they will respond 28 days so be prepared to wait. Executive.Correspondence@carnivalukgroup.com You do also have the cancel and rebook option for the balcony although I appreciate that is more expensive. Re drinks package it would be refunded once onboard, annoying but you do get your money refunded.

Try not to get upset, it can and will be sorted. Yes I looked at the three cabins you mention and agree it is a different symbol. I thought it might be a different type of Pullman, some are wall drop (not many on Britannia) and some pull from the ceiling. No harm in checking. I cannot speak for Iona but I'd think the best thing to do is calm down and call P&O today for clarification on the three cabins we have identified as possibly not fixed twin beds. If it transpires that's the case ask if you can move to one. If they say no tell them you have a contact in the Executive Office looking at it (assumedly you have a name?). Ask the agent to contact that person while you are online, or at worse asking them to email that individual urgently. I would ask your questions about Iona whilst on the line - if they insist on not contacting Executive Office except by email use the time to give your contact time to get back to the agent you are speaking to. They aren't going to want to cause distress, particularly as you fit exactly the people they are marketing for. I suggest mentioning that in your conversations. Most important: stay calm, polite, do not get over wraught, don't get angry or raise your tone and don't call them liars. Although frustrated you will gain nothing if you allow it to over spill. Just be logical, calm and polite. Don't be afraid to be firm though and stand your ground on insisting they speak to your contact.

I went to select booking, 2 adults and 1 infant under 24 months. I just put 6 months. Booking availability came up with the following cabins for that set of people: A120, 121, 124, 125 B531, 612, 611 C316, 317, 323 D439 E344, 349, 442, 443 F426, 427 G434, 435 all of these are fixed twin beds. Yes, I can say Queen as my choice when I proceed but the fact is that configuration would be unavailable once onboard in any of the inside cabins I can book for 3 people. The same options also come up if I put in a child over 24 months. You aren't being lied to, yes there are other insides but P&O do not consider them suitable for 3 people only two. Obviously with the baby and the closet area you have slightly more of an argument as to where you place the cot (as happened with the OP) but that is something the P&O team alone will decide. On Iona it will inevitably be worse, sorry, the cabins are smaller and no open wardrobe area so not sure how that one would work.

So you have this problem on two cruises? I note Executive is now on the case so you may well get somewhere via them. They are correct the computer system is not advanced, in fact its downright ancient and on occasion impossible. IT and customer service are not unfortunately P&O's strong point. Under the circumstances with a long time to the cruises it may be worth your while waiting on the reply from Executive Office as they should be in a position to override the computer and sort it out. You may even find yourself with an upgrade to sort the matter. My experience with Executive Office is they do try to help and on occasions are quite generous by way of apology. Have they stated a timeframe?

Britannia inside rooms for 3+ people are clearly marked on the deck plan as fixed beds with Pullman beds either fold down or drop from the ceiling. The problem is the computer counts your baby as a third person and therefore looks at rooms for 3 people. It is pretty dumb but that's how the program is written. I can do a mock booking for 2 adults and it comes up with more cabins without fixed beds. However add a baby or a child and it defaults to the fixed beds/Pullmans. Did you make your initial booking on the telephone with P&O, with a travel agent or doing it on the P&O website yourself? If it was one of the first two the agent should have given you the necessary information about the cabin choice being available with only fixed beds and on that basis you have a good argument. If however you made the reservation online yourself it unfortunately is extremely difficult to say it's P&O's problem as it is for us as the booker to double and triple check what the small print is. For example I made a short notice (withing 6 weeks) booking on Britannia for a deluxe balcony cabin and ended up on deck 15 with permanent shade and huge noise issues until 1.00pm every night. This was my risk choice, no I didn't like it but I did have the benefit of £1,000 saving. Unfortunately bed configuration is confirmed only at room allocation, it isn't a firm thing on a saver fare, it simply indicates your preference. Again another confusion for the unwary.

Am I correct that this reservation is for 29 November 2024, the Friday departure? If it is I assume you have paid a deposit around £350 on the amount you mention fof the total. Having looked at that voyage it is indeed a very busy one for inside cabins. If I choose select fare and enter 2 adults and a 6 month old baby it offers me only 3 cabins all fixed beds and if I remove the little one I get only a handful more. The next day's sailing has a slightly more availability but again with the baby added the choice drops to 3 fixed bed rooms. Although you would lose your deposit of £350 you could consider possibly cancelling and rebooking a balcony cabin on a select basis, admittedly it would cost more but currently there is £340 onboard credit which would cover the loss of your deposit. There is little difference in cost between the clear and obstructed balcony cost, literally tens of pounds so you could end up with a really nice cabin - aft cabins on C deck are available for instance. For 2 plus a baby it would be £4407. Obviously I'm not aware of your finances but you would get complete peace of mind doing this. A saver balcony without the OBC is £3907 but again you would lose your deposit without the OBC to make up for it and be at the mercy of P&O's choice of cabin. One other thing, the current P&O offers end on 4 March. Generally within days they will be replaced but the prices of the cruises tend to change on an offer ending. For a few days they will rise, often quite a bit particularly if the next offer is increased onboard credit. P&O use these to "balance" their profit, ie higher OBC but higher base price, lower OBC generally a lower base price but whichever option the customer chooses they end up with the same bottom line. As the customer you play roulette and try to read the market. This cruise is selling well if it is the November one. You need to decide really if you want to enter an argument with P&O or attempt to find another solution. Unfortunately booking a cruise online if you have anything other than a basic 2 adults is a minefield. Simple advice is don't do it, use a good reputable travel agent or at the very least do a telephone booking with P&O and record every detail you discuss and answers given. Good luck whatever you choose to do.

They must be getting more confident ... https://cruise.blog/2024/02/carnival-new-ship-order

Green beans are relatively easy to prepare which may have some relevance. Funnily the only time i saw green beans on Britannia on my last two cruises on her were when our dining companions asked for extra vegetables. These were the same every night a mixture of green beans, carrots and broccoli. On Arvia I asked for green beans in Epicurean and was told there were none onboard but they had broad beans. When they arrived they were actually sliced runner beans.

I see Gettingwarmer beat me to it. Could you also give us details of the cruise, ie ship date etc and also the cabin number ?

Joe, I've just checked Tiger's thread and post number 5 shows photographs and details on his current cabin. For some reason my link won't work but you'll find it here: TigerB (not at all) live from Iona (G404 - Portugal, Spain, and Canaries)

Might I suggest you pop over to TigerB's current thread from Iona as he and his wife use these cabins with her a full time wheelchair user. He has measurements etc for these types of cabin and can direct you to photos etc on threads he has made. Lots of useful information and if i need info I'd consider him extremely reliable. I hope that will help you. He is excellent on detail.

Britannia being in the Caribbean has her "official" NY Eve party on deck and as such a lot of the passengers have eaten in the buffet and taken their seats long before midnight. There is a mix of formal and non formal dressers as a result so perhaps the video mentioned reflected that. However my experience on Britannia is that there are several venues where people gather to celebrate at midnight and the indoor venues do reflect the formal dress.

Azithromycin was one of the antibiotics given to me in Barbados. Apparently it is often prescribed for people with repeat chest infections. My GP confirmed this when I arrived home and said it is quite strong. Certainly it helped me to reduce coughing and sore throat to get me home, although it really only last week that I could say I felt almost completely better. Hopefully the Azithromycin may at least give relief till you get home.

It's a shame you only saw the immediate area around the cruise port as Antigua is a beautiful island filled with fascinating history. Even some of the beautiful beaches hold amazing stories. Galleons Beach in particular is fascinating with skeletons appearing after a hurricane in 2010 and then even more surfacing after the catastrophic 2017 hurricanes which made Barbuda uninhabitable. After the first bones were recovered it was assumed these people were captured slaves being sent to English Harbour for sale onto the British. However testing of the bones showed they were of European descent and caucasian. They also contained extremely high levels of lead which totally bemused the investigators. Fast forward to 2017 when the sand had moved even more. The skeleton numbers rose enormously from the 7 original ones until 258 had been discovered, all clearly not slaves. They were at first thought to be victims of Yellow Fever or other tropical diseases, however again they were full of lead. It transpired from records held at English Harbour that the British Navy were purchasing huge numbers of barrels of local rum as rum was considered to be good for health- daily tot of rum ration etc. Unfortunately it transpired that these local distilleries had pipework with extremely high levels of lead and the poor hapless individuals onboard the ships actually died from lead poisoning. The disposal of the high numbers involved was carried out on Galleons Beach and it is actually a graveyard. Unfortunately due to Antigua relying for its income from tourism the digs have stopped. The 2017 hurricanes solved the mystery but the huge losses to the twin nations of that devastation and then the pandemic has meant a plunging income and economy only just being rebuilt and recovered. Most tourists sitting on the beach have no idea what they might ge sitting on! Antigua remains in the Commonwealth but received little aid in 2017 from the UK apart from the initial few months of aftermath help. They intend to have a referendum on becoming a republic after Barbados' success.

I love the Del Monte - did you see the man who says yes, or is it straight from the tin?

Selbourne I note the recommendation for the Villa Maria Seaspray at lunch time. Purely as a matter of interest coukd you check if it's anywhere else you visit and if so is it covered by either drinks package. Just being nosey as there was some debate we witnessed in Limelight on Britannia when it was the only Sauvignon Blanc on sale there and some people we met were quite upset as it was extremely pricey. Thank you.

The flights are looking expensive at present. I'm looking at Tokyo to Seattle May 2025 and Cunard are £2,000. A quick check via my t/a retells me currently if I bought today for tte same time May 2024, ie relatively soon, the cost today is around £1600. I'm waiting.