Recent P&o trip experiences

[Triggertravel]

Whilst iam the happiest person alive that cruising is back up and running again I thought that it was important that I shared my recent trip experiences with you after getting off of Britannia last Saturday. We are not lovers of trips as we find them often too short and certainly overpriced as we like to explore independently , but in the current climate we was happy to book the trips as it just sempt so much easier with certain restrictions on certain islands .Madeira was fine free to roam Antigua we booked beach hoping by safari bus tour 4 hours £88 for 2  we got back to the boat 30 mins early as we were late setting off and was the last trip back. St Lucia we booked Marigot bay-pink plantation £84 for whilst waiting on the dock to goon our trip 2 families arrived to be told that there beach trip had left , and they wouldn’t be joining them although they arrived on time after getting through the massive ques??? It was chaos Our issue was that we stopped for a photo stop only in Marigot bay after the description  of the trip clearly said that you would actually go to Marigot bay to spend time there ? We were not even allowed of the bus to take the photos, we also arrived back at the boat 30 mins early st kitts was great we did the railway . If you’ve not done this I highly recommend it and finally Barbados you could only go ashore independently if you took a onboard pcr test at a cost of £25 each and worth noting Barbados have a 9pm -6am curfew meaning everybody back on board by 9pm we did the scenic Barbados and beach £108 fir 2 yet again very misleading in the wording it says you call at a botanical garden for a drink and walk the grounds totall waste of time  if you want to actually go in the garden s you have to pay $20 each but you’re only there for 30 mins anyway ?????  The beach was worth it tho Accra beach fantastic ……………just be very very careful in what you are booking as they don’t seam to be what they are selling you. I did go down and report this to them, and they did compensate us not a lot but they did …… I also get that this is all new ground fir the shire excursion team working under almost impossible restrictions but that needs to be reflective in the cost and time 

 

 

[Ardennais]

Quite a fair assessment. You recognise that the conditions are challenging, but that some clarity is needed. 

[gsmt47471015]

Quite an informed report of how things currently stand at the moment ,not a criticism but your spell check before posting would perhaps be beneficial as I had to back read three or four times to fully comprehend? We are not due in that part of the world until February/March and having been numerous times and seen most of the attractions we will probably spend a little more time on the SHIP if restrictions remain the same

[Castle25]

1 hour ago, gsmt47471015 said:

Quite an informed report of how things currently stand at the moment ,not a criticism but your spell check before posting would perhaps be beneficial as I had to back read three or four times to fully comprehend? We are not due in that part of the world until February/March and having been numerous times and seen most of the attractions we will probably spend a little more time on the SHIP if restrictions remain the same

spellcheck and punctuation ......

[jeanlyon]

Can honestly say it sounds dreadful.  What a waste of your money, but no choice 😞

[Adawn47]

9 minutes ago, Castle25 said:

spellcheck and punctuation ......

Something we can all be guilty of occasionally. We were kindly being advised of the current issues regarding P&O tours as they are at the moment, not marking an exam paper.

Avril

[wowzz]

22 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

Something we can all be guilty of occasionally. We were kindly being advised of the current issues regarding P&O tours as they are at the moment, not marking an exam paper.

Avril

In the current situation, I think we should be grateful for any sort of report, rather than nitpicking.

[jeanlyon]

Agree.  Those comments have reassured me that moving my April 22 cruise was definitely the right thing to do.  Hoping my October 22 cruise will be a lot better.

[yorkshirephil]

2 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Agree.  Those comments have reassured me that moving my April 22 cruise was definitely the right thing to do.  Hoping my October 22 cruise will be a lot better.

I am thinking the same thing every time I see these reports/comments. It is not actually getting covid that really concerns me but being removed from the ship to possibly isolate in some country thousands of miles from home.

[jeanlyon]

1 minute ago, yorkshirephil said:

I am thinking the same thing every time I see these reports/comments. It is not actually getting covid that really concerns me but being removed from the ship to possibly isolate in some country thousands of miles from home.

Yes that's exactly how I feel.  I am triple jabbed, plus flu jab, so hopefully that would mean if I caught it it would be mild.  I don't fly any more, so the thought of being quarantined in some port, and then have to fly home.  No thanks.  Have moved April 22 to April 23 and still have October 22 booked.  Really hope things will be a lot better by then.

[Adawn47]

10 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Hoping my October 22 cruise will be a lot better.

So do I Jean. I'm on the same one😁

I'm getting more and more despondent when reading through the various threads and wondering if it is all worth the hassle and stress. Cruising is supposed to be relaxing and stress free😕

Avril

Edited November 10, 2021 by Adawn47
added text

[jeanlyon]

4 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

So do I Jean. I'm on the same one😁

Avril

Oh great - we can actually meet!

[gsmt47471015]

As I stated, not a criticism ,just makes reading interesting reports easier, no exam marking papers here and not nitpicking , I know I may not be the most literate person but try my best to make anything I post easy and understandable😉 

[jeanlyon]

37 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

So do I Jean. I'm on the same one😁

I'm getting more and more despondent when reading through the various threads and wondering if it is all worth the hassle and stress. Cruising is supposed to be relaxing and stress free😕

Avril

Yes Avril, that's why we have transferred.  I know what a cruise is supposed to be like and this is not it.

[Adawn47]

14 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Yes Avril, that's why we have transferred.  I know what a cruise is supposed to be like and this is not it.

No it certainly isn't.

Avril

[gsmt47471015]

We have always been glass half full people and take whatever life throws at us , and at times it has not been kind ,I'm afraid life is to short to worry as things will always sort themselves out and your a long time dead, certainly not going to hibernate until this latest health problem is ever resolved  

[Adawn47]

23 minutes ago, gsmt47471015 said:

As I stated, not a criticism ,just makes reading interesting reports easier, no exam marking papers here and not nitpicking , I know I may not be the most literate person but try my best to make anything I post easy and understandable😉 

Then do the polite thing and just ignore it like most of us do. 

By the way, if I was insensitive I could point out your punctuation error.😉

Avril

[Ardennais]

It’s not a matter of hibernating. In our case, we’ve decided to take other types of holidays which we would do anyway pre-Covid, but more of them! We’ve had lovely breaks in this country and over the border in England this past year. I appreciate all reports of cruises taken as they help us decide if/when we’re ready to resume cruising. We haven’t got to that point yet! 

[Ardennais]

5 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

Then do the polite thing and just ignore it like most of us do. 

By the way, if I was insensitive I could point out your punctuation error.😉

Avril

Don’t you means errors Avril?! 

[JeanieC,Aston]

If everyone moves their cruises from April until October,,,,there will be no P&O in October.

[janieb1962]

I appreciate hearing about all cruise experiences and happy to overlook any spelling and grammar mistakes .. not always easy typing on a phone! Thanks for your report , they can certainly help us make up our own minds .. just be nicer if people kept their choices to them selves and not try to influence/intimidate others in thinking that they may have made the wrong choice! 

[Cruisemeister2002]

On a future cruise I although stopping at eleven ports have only booked three excursions. Over the years I have found these excursions to be a mixed bunch of good, bad and dreadful. One of my biggest gripes is where there are refreshments or a meal. Either make them a decent fare or don't have them at all. I know this would probably entail the cost being higher, but these deals that P&O obviously do for these all inclusive excursions means that they put out tenders for "Restaurants/food outlets" and whoever comes up with the cheapest deal and makes P&O the most are the one's used. Sorry if I sound cynical. Some parts of the World means that it's common sense, if you wish to see the sights, to book through the cruise company. Also where there is limited time to venture. When we went to New York we did our own thing on Day 1 and ventured out a bit further, but on Day 2 just got a taxi into the city and made sure we got back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. I appreciate that things have changed considerably due to the pandemic and as for the other ports of call we will "Play it by ear".

[Britboys]

4 minutes ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

On a future cruise I although stopping at eleven ports have only booked three excursions. Over the years I have found these excursions to be a mixed bunch of good, bad and dreadful. One of my biggest gripes is where there are refreshments or a meal. Either make them a decent fare or don't have them at all. I know this would probably entail the cost being higher, but these deals that P&O obviously do for these all inclusive excursions means that they put out tenders for "Restaurants/food outlets" and whoever comes up with the cheapest deal and makes P&O the most are the one's used. Sorry if I sound cynical. Some parts of the World means that it's common sense, if you wish to see the sights, to book through the cruise company. Also where there is limited time to venture. When we went to New York we did our own thing on Day 1 and ventured out a bit further, but on Day 2 just got a taxi into the city and made sure we got back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. I appreciate that things have changed considerably due to the pandemic and as for the other ports of call we will "Play it by ear".

It's probably worth noting that the excursions aren't actually operated directly by P&O, they in fact contract an agent or company to provide them. Thus, catering/refreshments are not directly in the control of P&O.

That doesn't make your report any less valuable. P&O need to act on feedback.

[Gettingwarmer]

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

Yes that's exactly how I feel.  I am triple jabbed, plus flu jab, so hopefully that would mean if I caught it it would be mild.  I don't fly any more, so the thought of being quarantined in some port, and then have to fly home.  No thanks.  Have moved April 22 to April 23 and still have October 22 booked.  Really hope things will be a lot better by then.

Of course any other serious  health issue would also have the cruise company debark you at the port as it would in previous times. 

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Adawn47 said:

So do I Jean. I'm on the same one😁

I'm getting more and more despondent when reading through the various threads and wondering if it is all worth the hassle and stress. Cruising is supposed to be relaxing and stress free😕

Avril

Try to think positive Avril, so far the numbers being offloaded are very small indeed, mainly less than 5 people on a cruise with 2-3000 passengers, or  about 0.2%. 

We have decide to go ahead with our Feb cruise ro the Canaries on Iona, with such a small risk of it affecting us, we think it is a risk worth taking to get back to cruising, which is our only chance of overseas sunshine.