port times

[joe grumble]

can anyone tell me why p and o do not let us know the port times for arrival and departure on the britannia caribbean cruises. saying early morning or early evening or early afternoon is no more use than a chocolate fireguard.

i have managed to find the times on a website not linked to p and o. we have therefore been able to book some private tours but also some on our cruise personilser with p and o so as to share around the costs and different choices on offer. looking forward to this cruise and am ignoring the doom mongers who like to winge about britannia. everbody else who is going this november have a great time and see you there :)

[the english lady]

can anyone tell me why p and o do not let us know the port times for arrival and departure on the britannia caribbean cruises. saying early morning or early evening or early afternoon is no more use than a chocolate fireguard.

i have managed to find the times on a website not linked to p and o. we have therefore been able to book some private tours but also some on our cruise personilser with p and o so as to share around the costs and different choices on offer. looking forward to this cruise and am ignoring the doom mongers who like to winge about britannia. everbody else who is going this november have a great time and see you there :)

 

Well me totally personally I think they don't give times even with the proviso that they may change as and O cruises moan. If pando say the ship is due in at 9am and you don't dock until 10am , people will moan and say I booked my private excursion to collect me at 9am, why haven't we docked yet...blah blah..When the above happened to us it was the wind...it kept on blowing us away from the dock...

That is totally personally my thinking.

When we book private excursions, if the company is any good they will know when the ship is due in and when it is due to sail, and will get you back in time for that. We always arrange meetup for 1/2hr after ship has docked.

You are then not trying to meet a deadline that may not be possible.

AS you have discovered there are ways and means of finding this out . However as we have shown numerous times we book excursions privately in advance with no idea of times and haven't been left behind yet.

If you are just going to a beech when you leave the ship they tell you a back onboard time and you just tell you taxi driver I need to be back on board by silly oclock.

little rant on by me....to even up all the rants with the opposite point of view that you will have.

[jody75]

You are not alone, P&O don't even tell their Captains. There have to goto http://www.cruisecal.com to know when to arrive and depart.

[terrierjohn]

Try this link for more info. P&O say half days are 5 - 7 hrs, full days are 7.5 - 11 hrs.

 

https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/on-shore/PO_port_time

[kruzseeka]

I'm afraid I'm a cynic. I believe it's to make it more difficult for you to plan independent tour which may put off some people simply because they don't know specific times or can't find ways to circumvent P&O's unhelpful stance in this respect. I just wonder why every other cruise line manages to tell their passengers when the intended port times are (well, perhaps not Cunard - I seem to remember they adopt the same strategy). Of course we have to expect timings can be subject to change due to any number of reasons which any fair minded person would be able to understand.

[CCFC]

I'm afraid I'm a cynic. I believe it's to make it more difficult for you to plan independent tour which may put off some people simply because they don't know specific times or can't find ways to circumvent P&O's unhelpful stance in this respect. I just wonder why every other cruise line manages to tell their passengers when the intended port times are (well, perhaps not Cunard - I seem to remember they adopt the same strategy). Of course we have to expect timings can be subject to change due to any number of reasons which any fair minded person would be able to understand.

 

With you on that one, funny how the times are on the internet and when you get on the ship.

[majortom10]

I'm afraid I'm a cynic. I believe it's to make it more difficult for you to plan independent tour which may put off some people simply because they don't know specific times or can't find ways to circumvent P&O's unhelpful stance in this respect. I just wonder why every other cruise line manages to tell their passengers when the intended port times are (well, perhaps not Cunard - I seem to remember they adopt the same strategy). Of course we have to expect timings can be subject to change due to any number of reasons which any fair minded person would be able to understand.

 

Princess, which like P&O/Cunard are part of Carnival, tell you the arrival time and departure times at ports with no problems at all and Americans like to arrange their own tours at ports independently and a lot do group tours and arrange tours on Roll Call. There would be uproar if Princess went down the same road as P&O/Cunard and the cynic in me agrees that the one and only reason why they do it is to stop people arranging their own tours and boost sales of there own excursions.

[The Wilkies]

Try cruisecal.com - itinerary lookup page. Gives you rough idea.

 

Must admit I'm of the view it's deliberate to stop independent tours.

[joe grumble]

glad someone else mentioned cruisecal.com. i didnt want to say in my post in case i got taken down :) this is were i found out the port times and have therefore arranged several private trips but also a couple with p and o as too spread my hard earned cash around. its just nice to be able to know roughly what time we sail. not for any gains on my part. could you imagine the airlines not telling you what time the flight is.we are taking 2 friends on their first cruise and they dont know the procedures and are relying on us to tell them what normally goes on.weve done celebrity.ncl and princess and had a wonderful time with them. we did a p and o to norway a few years ago and that went ok.just would be great if the cruise company was straight with the paying customers.

[helpthejuggler]

I assumed this was because they did not know.

 

When filling in their questionnaire I wrote that this had stopped me booking their tours since the could not be trusted to plan the day properly.

[the english lady]

Princess, which like P&O/Cunard are part of Carnival, tell you the arrival time and departure times at ports with no problems at all and Americans like to arrange their own tours at ports independently and a lot do group tours and arrange tours on Roll Call. There would be uproar if Princess went down the same road as P&O/Cunard and the cynic in me agrees that the one and only reason why they do it is to stop people arranging their own tours and boost sales of there own excursions.

 

Oh my goodness I wonder how we manage to arrange our private tours then. Doesn't stop us .

I am sorry but I cannot see why not knowing the exact minute you will arrive somewhere stops you arranging anything privately.

In most places there are bog standard places they all visit..ship and private tours...you may tweek your own one a little from the ship ones. Plus as I have said if its a decent tour operator /taxi driver they will know when the ship is arriving/leaving.

[kruzseeka]

Oh my goodness I wonder how we manage to arrange our private tours then. Doesn't stop us .

I am sorry but I cannot see why not knowing the exact minute you will arrive somewhere stops you arranging anything privately.

In most places there are bog standard places they all visit..ship and private tours...you may tweek your own one a little from the ship ones. Plus as I have said if its a decent tour operator /taxi driver they will know when the ship is arriving/leaving.

 

Not everyone tackling a port independently goes down the route of private tours. We often use public transport - trains and local buses and access timetables for those online. Whether a DiY excursion using trains etc is feasible does depend on knowing what time you arrive therefore which train is suitable to catch and a flexible window is no help at all with that. Knowing that you have to build in margins for getting back (we always catch at least one train earlier than the latest one to get back to the ship in time) it can make all the difference between being able to plan a trip confidently or whether the uncertainty makes it problematic. As we're not into taking risks we may in that circumstance, ie not having the relevant information, fall back on a ship's trip. Just what P&O want I suspect.

[mickey89]

.............Oh my goodness I wonder how we manage to arrange our private tours then. Doesn't stop us .

 

Why defend the indefensible. Why can't YOU admit P&O are treating their passengers with disdain.

[FAB1]

Oh my goodness I wonder how we manage to arrange our private tours then. Doesn't stop us .

I am sorry but I cannot see why not knowing the exact minute you will arrive somewhere stops you arranging anything privately.

In most places there are bog standard places they all visit..ship and private tours...you may tweek your own one a little from the ship ones. Plus as I have said if its a decent tour operator /taxi driver they will know when the ship is arriving/leaving.

 

Could you perhaps suggest what other reason there could be when other cruiselines let their passengers know the times ?

[LondonTowner]

I called P and O and asked them the port arrival and departure times and was given them. Not difficult at all.

[terrierjohn]

I called P and O and asked them the port arrival and departure times and was given them. Not difficult at all.

That sounds more promising, how long before the cruise was this?

[mickey89]

I called P and O and asked them the port arrival and departure times and was given them. Not difficult at all.

 

You must be a P&O executive or a VIP for sure.

Us mere mortals get the brush-off - YOU WILL BE ADVISED ONBOARD is the 'parrot' response from customer services - helpful as usual !

Edited October 6, 2016 by mickey89

[LondonTowner]

I can't remember exactly how long before the cruise I called for the port time, but probably about 6 to 8 weeks. It was long enough to book our local operator trips.

[happy v]

I called P and O and asked them the port arrival and departure times and was given them. Not difficult at all.

 

I think the point is, we shouldn't have to.

If P&O know the times, so should we.

[the english lady]

I don't know why p and o do not give exact timings.

I cannot defend as I do not know why

I certainly do not go along with they don't tell us so we HAVE to book their tours.

Out of 2000-3000 passengers on a ship how many are on forums/dishcloth etc. I would guess not that many.

Out of all the passengers on a ship how many are happy to get off ship when it arrives, wander around, get back on the ship, quite a lot from what we see.

How many book private tours with 1/2 hour after docking we'll meet you..a few maybe

How many who arrange their day down to the nth detail so need to know when to meet to the minute and plan on getting back onboard within 15 mins of the end of back on board time, so must know these details months in advance...very very few.

Maybe taking all the above into account ...when they used to give times they had so many complaints along the lines of -- it said we would be off the ship by 9am, we are not...they went with early morning etc.

If people are not complaining onboard about not having exact times in advance why would they go back.

I think sometime in the dim and distant past I posted my guesses of what early morning, late afternoon matched up to. Someone posted later what pando's idea of these times were. They matched up very very well, from what I remember.

[terrierjohn]

I don't know why p and o do not give exact timings.

I cannot defend as I do not know why

I certainly do not go along with they don't tell us so we HAVE to book their tours.

Out of 2000-3000 passengers on a ship how many are on forums/dishcloth etc. I would guess not that many.

Out of all the passengers on a ship how many are happy to get off ship when it arrives, wander around, get back on the ship, quite a lot from what we see.

How many book private tours with 1/2 hour after docking we'll meet you..a few maybe

How many who arrange their day down to the nth detail so need to know when to meet to the minute and plan on getting back onboard within 15 mins of the end of back on board time, so must know these details months in advance...very very few.

Maybe taking all the above into account ...when they used to give times they had so many complaints along the lines of -- it said we would be off the ship by 9am, we are not...they went with early morning etc.

If people are not complaining onboard about not having exact times in advance why would they go back.

I think sometime in the dim and distant past I posted my guesses of what early morning, late afternoon matched up to. Someone posted later what pando's idea of these times were. They matched up very very well, from what I remember.

You are correct in all you say TEL, but that still does not explain why P&O do not publish their scheduled port timings, which they obviously know since they have to give these to the port authorities.

They could always cover themselves with a caveat that these cannot be guaranteed to limit any complaints about missed timings, which puts the onus on the passenger to ensure any private tours are flexible, which is generally the case anyway.

[LondonTowner]

Whilst I agree that P and O could just as easily print their scheduled times it's not something that particularly bothers me as it appears to do to some people.

 

You can either do as I did and ask them, or look up the Port Authority website. It's not that difficult to find out.

 

Any local tour operator will know the times anyway and tailor the tour accordingly. I can't see what the problem is.

[kruzseeka]

I agree that it's not too difficult to find out especially if P&O are willing or able to divulge that information if you phone them - although apparently some have found the information hasn't been forthcoming.

 

It would be even easier though if P&O would simply be helpful to their customers by being upfront and publishing the information.

 

I do accept that those who wish to book local tour firms wouldn't find it an issue since the tour company will coordinate with arrival/departure times in the interests of getting custom.

 

As I mentioned in a previous post though, it's passengers who wish to plan their day and need to know what time they have available if they intend to use local transport who require more specific timings. We've done the Cinque Terre, Pompeii, Pisa, Rome, Rostock, Lübeck, Piran and lots of other places independently and easily using local transport. But this involves knowing transport timetables and knowing in advance the ship's arrival/departure times to determine the advisability and practicality of tackling such excursions.

 

If you consider the port timings as indicated by the vague P&O windows, I reckon there could be a couple of hours difference between the maximum and minimum number of hours in port which could make all the difference in terms of possible travel plans being possible or sensible to attempt. No one has suggested we need to know to the exact minute but it is important to some people to have intended port times to enable them to plan their day. We all have different ideas of what we want to do in port and how we wish to do it but P&O's approach does make it difficult for some, if like us, they want to be more independent.

 

So I come back to the original question - why don't P&O provide the information? They clearly have a reason and I'd bet on the fact that it's in their interests not to do so.

[the english lady]

Well let us agree to disagree.

They do not post times for whatever reason, a few people complaining on a forum, will not make them start posting them again.

Just make sure those who need to know , that they never ever book a Fred or Saga surprise cruise. Its a magical mystery tour as to what ports you are going to, let alone what time you may get in to them!!

Now you see that appeals to me, not know where I am going, but when I get there, I would get off the ship and enjoy my day.

[LondonTowner]

Kruzseeka

 

We never take the expensive ship's excursions. So, we plan our ports around the times from the ones given to me by P and O or those I have found on the Port of Authority website.

 

We have never had a problem whether we use public transport or a local tour operator. Even armed with the time s, things happen and the ship can arrive late or be diverted to another port or cancel altogether and have another sea day. So you can only work on estimations.