Megabear2

I've been given a selection in that area - they're answering the phone very quickly today! A148/150 or A151/153 £5458 plus 450 obc C154/58/60 or C151/C153 £5558 plus £450 Inc Obviously a huge saving on the select deluxe but tiny on the saver. I assume it would be right to take a select on a normal balcony because of the risk of being anywhere on a saver but assumedly the deluxe carries little risk on mid or mid forward/midaft?

Happy birthday to everyone celebrating today and over the weekend. All this birthday talk has just reminded me it would have been my dear Mum's 99th birthday on the 31st.

Thank you, that's very helpful. Do you have any views on cabin position or whether my cunning plan to book a deluxe mid rather than select is a good idea?

Thank you. I was going to book the mid as I assumed that would avoid the deck D cabins which show as rear. I will have a look for a better deck plan, the only ones I've seen are the cabin allocation ones.

I've moved on now. OH likes Aurora for the itinerary (extra port) and time of year - we usually holiday in Greece in July but after the food poisoning fiasco this year will be giving that a rest for a while! So more daft questions I'm afraid. I've priced both deluxe deck B and ordinary balcony. Reading the comments these deluxe balconies are the preferred option of most. The situation of the cabin bears consideration as the prices rise quite a lot. Select Fares deck B Fwd or rear is £6198, Mid fwd £6598, mid £6898, mid aft £6498, aft £6498 These all have £450 OBC There are 5 deluxe cabins D197 thru D205 on D deck all at £6198. Saver fare deluxe Fwd/aft £5458, mid fwd £5658, mid £5798 No OBC Question: are all these deluxe cabins same size, do balconies differ, apart from the 5 on deck D aft are there any others elsewhere? If there is little difference I was thinking of booking save mid which is £1,100 cheaper than the select fare. I don't know these ports but assume I'm not likely to spend £650 on transfers! Does anyone know if any of the ports are miles out from the centre - I'm conscious the article I posted states no ships are going to be allowed in the main area of Oslo anymore regardless of size. How do the other ports stake up, are they easily accessible or miles out. Re speciality dining, I note Selbourne mentions fewer options. What will be the choices? Thanks everyone.

Are these like QM2's sheltered balconies or totally different, ie the picture shows sun on the balcony and you appear to be able to see sitting down which you cannot do in a QM2 sheltered balcony. We use the balcony a great deal in normal circumstances although we do have a sheltered balcony on QM2 for our 35 night Caribbean in 2025 for cost reasons and also 12 seadays in the Atlantic.

Neither card had paid for the room. It was merely a card number to secure the room and Hilton admitted it should have been removed as the card securing the room had been changed to the debit card 10 days before check in. After much discussion it emerged there were actually three charges, one mistaken on the credit card and two to the debit card. The credit card one was reversed once I asked what the hell was happening and it refunded in 48 hours. The debit card was not refunded for 20 days. Hilton wrote to me stating it was their error and awarded us a number of Hilton Honors by way of apology. They admitted they frequently do not release debit card charges for a number of days in that letter of apology.

Very good but surely in the wrong place, it should be at check in and if a debit card is produced the poster should be pointed out to the person.

That is exactly what people think is happening and that's why those unfamiliar have problems. It is not correct it's the banks, it is the responsibility of the company reserving the money to release the "double" charge. People assume when they see a charge it has been taken when it hasn't. I frequently use the Millennium hotel at Chelsea FC and it is a term of booking they authorise £50 for "room damage". I check out at midday by 3.00pm the money is generally released back into my account, only once did this not happen and was delayed until the next day. On the other hand the Hampton by Hilton Gatwick holds £75 and does not release it for 14 days - I had a double charge to two different cards in March when my husband handed over his debit card to pay for his extras and they charged my credit card which was held to secure the room as well. Despite my bank and Amex pursuing them to decide which card was going to be refunded they took 20 days to put it back on the debit card. Rarely have I had a problem with any cruise line other than Cunard and P&O, probably because American cruise lines don't see many debit cards.

Thank you. Yes I saw the deluxe ones are expensive- I could have an aft corner suite on the Britannia one for more or less the same price. There is a considerable price difference for Aurora but it is longer with an extra port. Its a hard decision.

Thank you. B deck has no standard balcony cabins left. I can have C, A or the Lido deck in a standard or go deluxe for a B. Are the deluxe very much worth it? What is a "better balcon", please? With deluxe I can have B deck or one of four cabins starboard side aft 197 to 205?

I have just had disappointing news from Cunard regarding a cruise on QM2 which was calling overnight in Oslo that I had a booking for next year. The complete itinerary has been rewritten and is now a "normal" fjords cruise and unfortunately we do not wish to do that as Oslo was the reason we booked. I have therefore moved to an alternative non Norway cruise. As a result I have looked to see if P&O are able to offer me an alternative and it would appear there are two options but not until 2025. I have Aurora (R512) departing 10 July 2025 or Britannia (B521) departing 29 August 2025. On this occasion I will be sailing with my husband - it's him who wishes to see Oslo - so it will be a balcony cabin for 2. Obviously I know Britannia very well, Aurora not at all. The Britannia cruise has appeal as it will take in what will be our 45th wedding anniversary but would it be a risk being later that fog and goodness knows what other weather might seriously impact the pleasure. Also as I've mentioned we like to swim every day. I understand Aurora has some sort of covered swimming pool which would help in that regard, am I correct? The itineraries seem very similar with Aurora being slightly longer. Any opinions on these destinations all of which will be new to us ? I am very adverse to cold weather due to my husband's health conditions which come with strict instructions to not get cold or hungry, but I'm realistic enough to know anything can happen. My one foray many years ago to Norway on Queen VIctoria on July 1st brought glorious sunshine, waterfalls and a flurry of rain in Bergen. If I can repeat that, tremendous! It has been indicated QM2 may have been "bumped" from Oslo for reasons in this article. That raises a concern for me about age of the ship, my much loved queen going into the more elderly bracket and therefore assumedly Aurora would as well. I assume that being some time away the port situation will have been considered and sorted - opinions please? https://www.newsinenglish.no/2023/07/03/cruise-crackdown-gets-underway/ So which one do you think will be most likely to suit us and definitely go ahead? If Aurora is chosen, any advice on a good cabin please, particularly for viewing sail ins etc., indeed for Britannia too. Thank you.

Unfortunately he may find an application difficult if the debit card debacle is causing his direct debits and payments to be refused as his credit rating will suffer. Clearly P&O need to up their game in this case and ensure they release the charges ASAP. No doubt he is also now going to be hit with substantial charges for refused direct debits and unofficial overdraft fees (most banks charge 49%). This is a prime example of the difficulties organisations place individuals in by being allowed to hold on to money they already have at the expense of an individual - it's not just cruise lines doing this. For those of us who have available funds and lines of credit this is not a problem, however there are many who can afford their holiday, budget very well on their spending and then find themselves dropped into debt by the system, this despite them doing nothing wrong. As to controlling their spend the person may well have done that but cannot afford to cover it twice for up to a month.

The seventh item down could have interesting consequences!

If these meals are to be specially prepared rather than plated those on shared tables may encounter some interesting experiences. Normally out of politeness people wait for all to be served. With supposed personal preparation the people eating the normal menu assumedly will get served at the same time as those ordering the special. I'd be interested to hear from Ventura how that is being handled. Obviously those in twos and with their own group won't be affected.

Meant to add Santa Claus and his helpers come on Christmas Eve. Weather permitting there will be a deck appearance and party hosted by the entertainment team. Keep your eye out, particularly high up near the funnel ... Usually happens early evening, 6.00pm or thereabouts out where we are so if you are planning to book any speciality restaurants you might want to keep that time free if you want to join in. Satellite permitting the big screen will link to the other ships so you can see how it's going in the Caribbean, Norway etc. Christmas Eve is a big day onboard.

As no one else has given you an idea of what happens over Christmas, I'll give an idea. I cannot speak for Azura in the Canaries but I go to the Caribbean for Christmas. There will be shows in the evening, on Britannia there have always been two fitted in around the dining times. The dinner does generally take around 2 hours as it is an extended menu. During the day there will normally be a pantomime - this is generally in the afternoon and occurs several times during the voyage. Azura was the second ship in the Caribbean until the pandemic and I have had several Christmas cruises on her. The crew tried very hard to maintain her reputation as the fun party ship, certainly some of our cruises on her are some of our best Christmas memories. Obviously her role in the fleet is now different but I would think the fun and games will be the same. Overall Christmas Day is generally relaxing and treated as such. I'm sure you'll have a great time. Hope that helps.

I thought they already had an arrangement but the costs are unreasonably high and mobility scooter users found themselves with large motorised wheelchairs instead of their small machines? If I recall there is a family who have been refused their child's motorised chair recently and P&O suggested the hire option. If I believe they upgraded to a full suite where their own aid could be used or something like that. I believe they are on a fly cruise and have been split from their friends on to different flights as well so no one to assist them without their electric mobility aid.

I am sorry you have so many troubles and in no way wished to denigrate your situation. The use I referred to started following a Prom stunt in Manchester which 10m people watched on social media. There then followed a spate of young people using the machines for transport. There were a couple of high profile court cases where charges had to be dropped as mobility scooters are not vehicles and therefore the drunken passengers were charged under laws covering horse and carts and still couldn't stick. I've never been to Benidorm and was unaware of the trade you mentioned, I do however remember the young lady from Essex on the local news when I was up there proudly showing off her scooter bedecked with horns and sparkles.

Assumedly yours is not a mobility aid as in the legal term, ie powered wheelchair. I've had a fascinating afternoon looking at all the laws, not P&O rules and mobility scooters are apparently a different class of "vehicle" and not actually classed as a disability aid. Hence the special rules I mentioned which local councils and fire brigades work to.

You are assumedly talking about the fire in Great Notley. The fire brigade stated it was accidental and the investigation is ongoing, no mention of them being untested lithium batteries and "cheap" is relative, many of the models they sell are way over £1,500. As an example of "cheap" Argos for instance has scooters from £600 so in fairness the company who had the fire are not "cheap". The distinction that needs to be made in any discussion is between powered wheelchairs which are mobility aids covered by law and mobility scooters which anyone can go out and purchase, mobility impaired or not. A few years back the tabloid press were scattered with stories of young able bodied people using these types of scooter to go down the pub and get drunk so they could ride back! We have members here on the forum who were refused use of their foldaway mobility scooters and had to hire a motorised wheelchair from the company P&O has an agreement with. Some have commented that people are suggesting "wheelchair" users are being spoken about in this thread, that is not the case, those people are safely covered by law and assumedly this is why P&O insist accessible cabins are the only place any mobility aids are allowed.

Fascinating subject this one, I'm not on either side here, just did some research out of interest in a spare 20 minutes. I had no idea that all local authorities have stringent rules and regulations on mobility scooters (not motorised wheelchairs which are acknowledged as a medical aid). The fire risk on older models as opposed to newer lithium models has been under discussion since the mid 2000's. Basically specific rules are in place covering in particular blocks of flats, care homes and shared home environments. The important point is the speed of combustion and prevention of blockage of corridors - certainly a major consideration for cruise ships. Sadly there are various fire brigade documents showing fatalities from mobility scooter fires. The attached has many interesting points including the speed of a fire developing and the smoke inhalation risk. 09062018_NFCC_Mobility_Scooter_Guidance_Final.pdf.pdf

Now I know what my "P" stands for, pauper is just about right with the new solo fares!

The essentials package works best on email, Internet and small jobs. It's not designed for large uploads and downloads and WhatsApp tends to be photo uploads etc. Obviously it should be able to handle small jobs depending on how many are using it. Aurora being smaller you won't have the volume of users one of the big ships has but you will have the build problem.

Is that good? Will it improve in cabin connectivity?