Short Cruise Questions - sorry if they have been asked a 1000 times

[chirk_on_tour]

I have booked a short two night cruise for my wife to Guernsey. We have travelled on cunard before but wanted to try something different.

 

We are looking forward to sailing on the Britannia and we are not too bothered about the negative reviews that have been posted as we are going to be escaping the kids and we just want to switch off for two nights. ( I say escaping the kids- I havent asked the granparents yet to come to our rescue.)

 

So my questions are :

1) my planner states that we have one formal night. As we will be on for two nights, do you think it will be on the second night?

 

2) is there anything to actually do in Guernsey on a Sunday?

 

3) are tenders allocated on a first come first served basis?

 

 

4) is it worth booking speciality dining? ( it's my wife's birthday on the Sunday) And if so which one?

 

5) spa packages- can you pre-book a hydro spa thingy. Ot if I buy a treatment can we use the spa and retreat all day.

 

6) three ships are leaving that day. On average how bad is the traffic?

 

And last question for now...

 

7) I have booked parking through CPS. As it is a 2 night cruise will I be self parking? If it is -is it relatively stress free.

 

Thank you in adavance for your knowledge and words of wisdom.

[Bogof1]

I believe you can pre book spa treatments via your cruise personalised. Guernsey shops are shut on a Sunday. Suggest you look at a Guernsey web site for places open on a Sunday. The castle is good! Transfer by tender is just go and get on!

[HomelessBear]

So my questions are :

 

1) my planner states that we have one formal night. As we will be on for two nights, do you think it will be on the second night?

Sorry don't know this answer.

 

2) is there anything to actually do in Guernsey on a Sunday?

Shops are generally shut on Sundays, although I believe there is discussions going on for opening them. We did an island tour on an old red double decker bus, that gave a good overview of some of the island. I'd been to Guernsey before for a holiday, but it was DH's first time, so it was worth it for him.

 

3) are tenders allocated on a first come first served basis?

If it's early, you'll either be asked to go to a meeting point (eg. Theatre or one of the main dining rooms) and will be given a numbered ticket. When your number is called, off you go to get the tender. If it's later in the day and most folks have got off, you may be directed straight to the tender.

 

4) is it worth booking speciality dining? ( it's my wife's birthday on the Sunday) And if so which one?

Not done the speciality dining on Britannia sorry. We did the Epicurian on the Ventura and had a dreadful meal and service. Sindu has good reviews and comments, if you like spices. The restaurant itself is also lovely and the staff very good there.

 

5) spa packages- can you pre-book a hydro spa thingy. Ot if I buy a treatment can we use the spa and retreat all day.

Sorry don't know.

 

6) three ships are leaving that day. On average how bad is the traffic?

Not sure what you mean?? Do you mean when you leave Southampton on the ship? Or when you arrive in Southampton? Of the latter, Southampton is used to having a number of ships leaving the same day, so you'll just need to be a bit patient in the traffic. Passengers will also be going to different berths, so you won't all be queueing for the same ship or area of the port.

 

7) I have booked parking through CPS. As it is a 2 night cruise will I be self parking? If it is -is it relatively stress free.

If I remember correctly, you drop off your luggage and your car gets taken for parking by the CPS staff (you give them your keys). So no, not self parking with P&O. If I've got this wrong, I'm sure someone will say.

 

Hope this helps. Have a great cruise.

Edited February 14, 2016 by HomelessBear

[BrianI]

For two night cruises only it is self parking. You first drop your luggage off at the terminal and then you will be directed where to park. For three nights or longer it is valet parking.

Brian

[supered]

For a special meal I would highly recommend Epicurean. The food and service we experienced were sublime. It was probably the best meal we have ever had on a cruise ship. The Chateaubriand for two was melt in the mouth.

 

On a 2 night cruise you have to park your own car, except at the QE II Terminal where it us valet parking. The car parks are only a 2 minute walk from the terminal and you can still drop off your luggage before parking.

 

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

[Nikkipink]

I have been on a few 2 night cruises on P&O ships and on some of these the formal night has been the first night and on some it has been the second night. As soon as you board check the ship's paper in your cabin and you will know then and can then plan your evenings accordingly.

 

I was on Britannia for one of the 2 night cruises last year to Guernsey and had already decided to stay on board and have a relaxing day looking around a new ship. I heard some people say they got off early and had a great day and others said they had waited ages for a tender and some had even given up waiting for the tender due to the length of time they were advised it would be before getting ashore.

 

I have also been on cruises where it is has not been possible to tender in Guernsey due to bad weather so be prepared for a sea day.

 

It is definitely self parking for 2 nights - you will be shown where to park, take your keys with you and then try and remember where you parked when you come back.

 

Have a lovely time whatever you choose to do!

[partrick]

We did a 2 night Brittania to Guernsey in September and loved it. It a lovely ship, and we had no complaints other than the wait for tables for dinner with freedom dining. We dropped our lugage off and parked the car 2 mins away. The formal dinner was the second night I just wore a dark suit. The restaurant food was very good, we didn't bother with a speciality dinner. Just go down to the tender when you are ready. We left it till later so the trips had gone. The shops are shut on a Sunday, but there was a street market when we were there. Theres nice seafood restaurant in the yatch harbour. Take a taxi ride round the island and not too late for the tender back, as the trips arrived back for the last 2 tenders and it was heaving!

 

Have fun

[Scriv]

Good news for you is that Guernsey has now begun Sunday trading, so you have more chance of finding some shops open. :) :)

 

See : http://www.itv.com/news/channel/update/2015-12-13/guernsey-begins-sunday-trading/

 

 

And re when the Formal Night is, all my 2 night cruises have been the first night - so I think the answer is, you will not know until on board!

Edited February 15, 2016 by Scriv

[chirk_on_tour]

Thanks for all your answers. I appreciate it.

 

Regards

 

Chirk on tour

[FluffyFiFi]

We have done a couple of of the two day cruises to Guernsey, the first time we couldn't dock due to poor conditions. The second time was successful and we got the tender ashore, we had to collect cloakroom style tickets and wait for our number to be called. It seemed to take a long time but we weren't in a hurry so spent the time sunbathing on the deck. The tender ride was fun and took about 15/20 minutes to get ashore. The shops were lovely, very quaint and the jewellery particularly reasonable. We spent a couple of hours wandering around and planned on going for a drink but as everywhere seemed heaving we went back to the ship. The queue to get the tender back wasn't too bad, I think we waited about 20 minutes for the tender to fill up before setting off. Having done several 2 day cruises we have always had the black tie evening on the first night but they might have changed this recently. With the short cruises it can be annoying if they allocate you a late boarding time as your first day might not start until 4pm. If you have early dining this can be a bit of a rush. The first night's entertainment has always been a Headliners show which we have always enjoyed. The second night has been a tribute act, Badness is our favourite and I think we have seen them 3 times now and a really good show if you are of a certain age 😉

We have used CPS at least 4 times and it is really easy, turn up at the terminal and you are directed where to park. It is just next to the ship and it is about a 2 or 3 minute walk to either drop your cases off with a porter or we take ours on board with us as it means we can unpack as soon as we get into our cabin - on a two day trip our cases are not that big.

 

On these cruises be prepared for several stag and hen parties, they can be rowdy and spoil the ambience in the dining room but you can usually find places to get away from them and on a positive note they make great people watching.

 

If you don't want to rush on your trip, order room service breakfast, we have juices and pastries with tea or coffee. Spend time on our balcony reading and chatting before going for a late breakfast in the buffet, by this time the buffet is not so busy and it is easy to find a table.

 

Hope you have a great trip.

 

Fiona

[FluffyFiFi]

Forgot to mention about speciality dining, we have found the food and service excellent in the main dining room. We prefer freedom dining so we can turn up when we want and have a table for two. We have eaten in the Glass House and would recommend that for a late lunch but you can check the menus out on board and decide then. On all the short cruises we have done non of the extra payment venues were full, in fact the waiters came round during the day touting for business.