molecrochip

Where Rotterdam is available, it’s a better option as those who don’t want to travel have something on their doorstep.

Not a clue. Inevitably ships will likely dock at Ijmuiden again.

I think for all the shouting, it’s the comment about wanting to build a bridge that’s key here. To make it tall enough for cruise ships to pass under is very expensive. If no cruise ships, a much lower bridge is possible.

The initial approach to the coast is consistent with a medical emergency offload. What is odd is that they then start to make their way back to sea and then change course coastwards again.

These were first rolled out at Easter, from memory, and do help manage expectations about what kids can and cannot do/go.

It often is as that a company which do satellite data coms for ships. Any maritime charges often show as Norway with a higher charge. However Telnor is also one of Norway’s biggest mobile providers. Either way you should get a text message telling you if you’re connected to local or maritime networks when first using. If in doubt, phone to airplane mode until you know the ship is docked.

Believe Iona was in Stavanger from 1pm to 6:30pm local time. Not ideal for a short day but better this missing the port.

And for that there’s Princess! I’ll be going now!

To follow up on that... standard service speeds/max: Oriana 24 kn / 27kn Ventura 23 kn / 27kn Britannia 22 kn / 24kn Iona 17kn / 22kn Ships can only operate at max speed for a limited time. It relies on all engines in use at maximum power. This greatly increases the risk of failure. Normally a ship like Iona will only operate with 3 out of 4 engines in use.

Iona currently bouncing along at 22.1kn. Currently looking like a couple of hours late into Stavanger. Not so much on the Iona - her Norway itineraries are quite tight.

Neither could offload pilot at the nab tower so Ventura went to Torbay and Iona went to Margate. These are the designated back-ups in each direction.

A lot of passengers want to P&O of old, even though they happy to pay the prices of today. You can't have both. I have sympathy for those who pay higher prices and still receive the service of today however its the same across the holiday industry. Look at Tui, as a package tour operator, a week in term time April may cost £500 but that same week in school holiday August can be £1250 (trust me, i've been looking at a specific hotel hoping for a late bargain). Nothing extra is offered. You don't have such the same extremes on cruises but still do have a seasonal increase.

I think this sums up the situation completely.

Reception are wrong. I’ve sat and watched it be set-up, used and dismantled. Two people and that’s only really to lift it on and off.l the base. As for weather, it also works on the indoor dome pool. If they insist it’s 4-5 people once fixed, remind them that UK disability legislation requires them to find that many people with reasonable notice. They deem 2hrs reasonable notice.

I agree completely.

Official recommendation is 2 hours notice but usually 30 minutes is enough. It usually only takes two people to set it up and operate unless they are taking the opportunity to train someone. They should have a spare battery so sad that they could swap it out quickly.

Sad re the pool hoist, battery should be detachable and capable of being swapped out for a spare. Sounds like someone forgot to order the spare.

See my comments above.

I would imagine that all aboard will remain at usual times - that way if wind drops earlier, an earlier departure is possible. As for Stavanger, depends on what time you finally leave. Maybe arrive a couple of hours late. I wouldn’t cross it off yet.

The rule has been there for as long as I remember however you often could get away with it being added. Post pandemic, the Company is keen that its brands only apply the credit in the correct circumstances.

I'll be the first to admit that if something is not in the way then it is not usually a problem, and won't proactively be chased - however it has a lot to do with placement, corridor width etc. It would be better if it was dealt with consistently. That said, if something is in the way, then it will be dealt with once reported. It's not great though if people are struggling to get through to reception - I can't say i've experienced the issue but do believe you.

Current estimate is Ventura departing at 23:00 Saturday and Iona at 01:00 Sunday

Yes, the two packages have different size standard wine servings.

I can shed some light on this. Firstly, the answer from P&O is correct - this appears to be what they consider a reduced rate cruise and therefore is not combinable with shareholder or other benefits. There are many types of reduced rate cruise, nett cruises are one, casino or concession (TA staff) cruises are others. For the avoidance of doubt, this also includes any discounted cruise booked by staff, their friends and family. So it really is across everything. These rules have been in place for as long as I remember but the difference is that since the pandemic, the company has been sticking to them. There are two types of cruise which a TA can buy from an operator such as P&O. A standard cruise, where they act as pure agent for the cruise line. A hotel/flight can be added to these but it is typically arranged through the cruise line. The TA gets their standard commission margin, and the passenger travels under the cruise line's ABTA and/or ATOL protections. Any problems and the claim is to the cruise line (although the agency relationship may require you use them as a conduit). There is then a nett fare. This is where a cruise line sells the TA the cruise for use as a component in the TAs own product - usually Cruise & Stay type holidays. The TA is the creator of the package (essentially the Tour Operator). They will package nett fares from hotels, cruise lines, and airlines into one bundled package. The passenger will travel under the TA's ABTA/ATOL protections - the cruise operator is purely one supplier of many in the booking. The TA takes the risk of the booking in this case and crucially, if something goes wrong your claim is against them, and they then have to claim against the individual components. The TA gets their commission from the difference between the sales price to customer and the price of the constituent parts. Wrapping back to the OP, they have not purchased a cruise from P&O - they have purchased a cruise and stay package from the TA. They are not legally P&O's customer hence why the shareholder benefit does not apply. (for clarity, the TA is the customer of P&O, the TA just nominates their customer/the OP to stay/use the booking). The way to tell the difference is when booking through a TA as agent, your booking should be with the company direct via the TA as agent. On a TA package, your booking is solely with the TA however it may then refer to the cruise line as a supplier. Finally, this is separate to some online retailers who state that they are acting as agent in relation to each and every part of the booking and hence book each part separate just on your behalf. In this case you loose a lot of your protections and have to rely on travel insurance.

I can't remember which way around however if reception is 7000 then the my holiday hotline is 7070 or vice versa. They advise going via the my holiday hotline and pressing the relevant number but you can dial direct - they just don't advertise the number as the majority of people can be resolved through the hotline.