Strict arrival times

[Eglesbrech]

1 minute ago, Megabear2 said:

On the hotels topic, I have bought my friends 4 nights in Torquay as a gift for end of this month. They travel by train arriving at Torquay just before noon, a nearly three hour train journey. I asked if they could check in early or leave their luggage. No can do on the luggage for security reasons, okay how about early check in? Sorry we have a large number of rooms and offer them until noon, we hope you understand we cannot offer early check in as a result even if we charged.

 

At Christmas my taxi dropped off at Gatwick very early for my overnight hotel, same response on luggage or £40 for an hour early check in.

 

It's now a brave new world in accommodation it seems, so we live with it seems the best option.

Or vote with our feet and pounds.

[zap99]

1 hour ago, tacticalbanjo said:

I think the point about airports and cruise terminals is interesting. Can you imagine being told you must turn up at the airport after 3.30pm but no later than 4pm? I can't imagine anyone would comply with that. No matter where you are travelling from, even just crossing Southampton, traffic could easily cause you to be late given such a small window. But P&O seem to think you can time arrivals that precisely. And it's all very well saying that you can go for a stroll but for people with limited mobility or families with children, it really is easier said than done. 

On Friday we arrived at Heathrow 3 hours before our BA flight. Checked in, through security fairly promptly, no silly questions. Through to departures. Where shall we have breakfast ?.A coffee perhaps ?.What to do at Southampton. Go into the shed, answer the questions that you have already answered online sit on a hard plastic chair until somebody waves a big plastic table tennis bat at you....A coffee ?. Get real

[grapau27]

18 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I respect your choice to dine select every night but myself think it is grossly unfair to do so on some P&O ships.  Arvia you can book Epicurean and Sindhu online before sailing, I cannot comment on Iona as I've not sailed on her. I dined twice in Epicurean in May once for each menu, even that made feel guilty as I watched others turned away on my second visit.  There's plenty of comments on other threads of people who wanted to try these restaurants but could not get a reservation.  

 

This current thread has mention of such an incident:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2943517-unable-to-make-dining-reservations/

 

I even met a man who had been gifted a Celebration package for his 75th birthday who could not get a booking for the whole of his cruise.  Eventually the restaurant manager at Epicurean suggested he asked for a refund of that part of his daughter's gift.  

Good to know Arvia let's you pre-book but on Iona we couldn't on our 2 cruises this year.

We eat at 6pm and it is very quiet and usually finished by 7.30pm when most people seemed to be coming in.

Personally if we were restricted in booking speciality I would just book Royal Caribbean instead.

[Megabear2]

2 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

But does it matter if one person gets 7 bookings or 7 get one if someone still can’t get any? Bit like the tree in the wood making no noise conundrum.

My conscience, not everyone's, would not allow me to book 7 nights on a 7 night cruise on a P&O ship I'd think I was just being greedy. I recall only too well my first few cruises on Azura where Seventeen as it then was something I'd like to have tried but could never get into.

 

With 5,000 people onboard it just seems fairer to me that everyone gets the same chance.

 

I'm certainly not blameless as I sit religiously at midnight when bookings open to ensure I get my one or two reservations, particularly my Christmas dinner but personally i see more and more comments from people who never even get to try and I think that's wrong.

 

If I want to book select restaurants every night I'd choose a different cruise line that offered the choice of far more speciality places and offered me a package either to buy or included.  Plenty of them available.

[AndyMichelle]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

  I often defend P&O on this board,but in all honesty their boarding procedure and customer service are quite poor.

Where is Zap and what have you done with him!!! 😂😂😂

[Happy afloat]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

Yes that is again common sense and P&O haven't learnt much of that for years. On Ventura maiden cruise in 2008 they thought they could operate the ship with same number of crew as Aurora/Arcadia which they couldn't and was the reason why there was very poor and slow service in restaurants and bars.

Is this a case of history repeating itself, re- Iona and Arvia? 

[Eglesbrech]

1 minute ago, Megabear2 said:

My conscience, not everyone's, would not allow me to book 7 nights on a 7 night cruise on a P&O ship I'd think I was just being greedy. I recall only too well my first few cruises on Azura where Seventeen as it then was something I'd like to have tried but could never get into.

 

With 5,000 people onboard it just seems fairer to me that everyone gets the same chance.

 

I'm certainly not blameless as I sit religiously at midnight when bookings open to ensure I get my one or two reservations, particularly my Christmas dinner but personally i see more and more comments from people who never even get to try and I think that's wrong.

 

If I want to book select restaurants every night I'd choose a different cruise line that offered the choice of far more speciality places and offered me a package either to buy or included.  Plenty of them available.

I take the view that P&O offer what they offer and if they thought it was an issue they would limit bookings. They don’t.

 

It’s not greedy if you are paying for the privilege, it’s business. Take that hypothesis further. You like me book numerous cruises a year. Is that greedy as you may be limiting someone else ability to book?

 

 

[Megabear2]

2 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Good to know Arvia let's you pre-book but on Iona we couldn't on our 2 cruises this year.

We eat at 6pm and it is very quiet and usually finished by 7.30pm when most people seemed to be coming in.

Personally if we were restricted in booking speciality I would just book Royal Caribbean instead.

I appreciate that, as I just mentioned if I wanted speciality every night I'd do the same and travel on another line too. I also dine at 6.00pm and can assure you that Arvia's restaurant was three quarters full at that point - the manager wouldn't even let me move from my allocated table to join others. I don't think they have the staff to turn the tables in the same way as they once did.  My introduction by my waiter was that this dining experience is designed to take 2 hours minimum, please let us know if you need it to be swifter.

[david63]

One significant difference between an hotel and a cruise ship is that if you are late the hotel will still be there!

[zap99]

5 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Where is Zap and what have you done with him!!! 😂😂😂

Once on the ship, we enjoy every moment and tend to go with the flow. If things don't go to plan, I stamp my feet, say " don't you know who I am ". Tell some senior functionary that we know Graham and Pauline.  That normally works fine and we have a great cruise...But the shed at Southampton....really?

 

.

[Megabear2]

5 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

I take the view that P&O offer what they offer and if they thought it was an issue they would limit bookings. They don’t.

 

It’s not greedy if you are paying for the privilege, it’s business. Take that hypothesis further. You like me book numerous cruises a year. Is that greedy as you may be limiting someone else ability to book?

 

 

Ss I say it's my personal view.  I would feel greedy.  Numerous, well I'm miles off what a lot on here book and generally mine are fairly late bookings.  I'd say a lot of difference comparing a 5,000 capacity ship with a couple of hundred restaurant covers but as I say it's just my opinion.

 

The topic of worrying about restaurant bookings being a reason for the rush to board early wasn't raised by me, I think it was Graham in a reply to Jean, I just suggested if it was helping to cause the must get there early brigade then restricting bookings until all are onboard might alleviate it.  

 

 

[cruising.mark.uk]

1 minute ago, zap99 said:

Once on the ship, we enjoy every moment and tend to go with the flow. If things don't go to plan, I stamp my feet, say " don't you know who I am ". Tell some senior functionary that we know Graham and Pauline.  That normally works fine and we have a great cruise...But the shed at Southampton....really?

 

.

That's why it's not a good idea to arrive 3 hours early to the terminal at Southampton.  All the bars and restaurants you need to fill in the time before boarding are in Southampton itself.  And, if my recent experience at Heathrow terminal 5 is anything to go by, it's a lot less distance to walk from a bar or restaurant in the centre of Southampton to the 'departure gate' than it is to do the same at Heathrow terminal 5 😁

[Cathygh]

9 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

 I don't think they have the staff to turn the tables in the same way as they once did.  

Veyr true, but at one point cabin stewards were redeployed to the restaurants to help with this instead of doing the turn down. I am not sure they are still doing this.

On Iona recently there were 5700 passengers and 1600-1700 staff. Iona is meant to have 1800. So a shortage of about 10% with a very full ship.

I am not sure which departments have shortages but I have seen adverts for marine engineers and chefs recently.

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

Only if you compare like with like.  Boarding 5000+ pax every week / fortnight throughout the season / year.  Not many other cruise lines do that at Southampton.  Not Celebrity or RCL.  MSC Virtuosa - yes, but a fair few of her pax board at other ports.  

Apparently Virtuosa now only boards passengers at Southampton.

[Eglesbrech]

3 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Ss I say it's my personal view.  I would feel greedy.  Numerous, well I'm miles off what a lot on here book and generally mine are fairly late bookings.  I'd say a lot of difference comparing a 5,000 capacity ship with a couple of hundred restaurant covers but as I say it's just my opinion.

 

The topic of worrying about restaurant bookings being a reason for the rush to board early wasn't raised by me, I think it was Graham in a reply to Jean, I just suggested if it was helping to cause the must get there early brigade then restricting bookings until all are onboard might alleviate it.  

 

 

I like exploring these kind of issues so it was not personal in any way.
 

Have you every read the Elizabeth Dalhousie books which focus on moral philosophy. They are a good read.

 

Whose morals are “wrong” here the individual passenger who books and pays for what is offered or the company that lets them. The company has a duty to share holders to make as much profit as possible so if they restrict bookings and then have half empty restaurants are they wrong? In the U.K. generally the market decides.

 

I do think this may contribute to people trying to board early.

[cruising.mark.uk]

5 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Apparently Virtuosa now only boards passengers at Southampton.

If so, it seems someone forgot to tell MSC that https://www.msccruises.co.uk/Search Result?departureDateFrom=15%2F06%2F2023&departureDateTo=31%2F08%2F2023&passengers=2|0|0|0&ships=VI

[daiB]

7 hours ago, david63 said:

It is not always a "choice" to not follow the policy. Many (most?) passengers have long distances to travel by any number of means and cannot arrange a precise arrival time.

 

I wish I had a pound for every time I have read this excuse. usually followed by well I am just going to turn up when I want. It is not hard just to park off siteb and wait then come at your allocated time. 

[Jennizor]

43 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

No you can't Tom.

I tried every day from 14 nights from embarcation.

In the last year we have been  on Ventura

Azura.

Britannia 

Iona twice.

We could not book on line.

I booked a full cruise dining package though online on Royal Caribbean Oasis of the seas for our January 2023 cruise.

I booked a 2 night Speciality dining package on MSC Virtuoso for our April 2023 cruise.

Graham, 

I booked the Limelight Club x2, the Chefs Table and Sindhu two weeks before we went on our March cruise on Iona. I have just checked my booking on My P&O cruises as it says I can book the restaurants I want 2 weeks before our July Iona cruise.
 

 

[grapau27]

16 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

My conscience, not everyone's, would not allow me to book 7 nights on a 7 night cruise on a P&O ship I'd think I was just being greedy. I recall only too well my first few cruises on Azura where Seventeen as it then was something I'd like to have tried but could never get into.

 

With 5,000 people onboard it just seems fairer to me that everyone gets the same chance.

 

I'm certainly not blameless as I sit religiously at midnight when bookings open to ensure I get my one or two reservations, particularly my Christmas dinner but personally i see more and more comments from people who never even get to try and I think that's wrong.

 

If I want to book select restaurants every night I'd choose a different cruise line that offered the choice of far more speciality places and offered me a package either to buy or included.  Plenty of them available.

Everyone is entitled to choose what they want to do.

We went into Peninsular restaurant 1 lunchtime at 12 noon just it was opening and told to stand and wait 10 plus minutes for a 2 table.

I said I was partially disabled so she huffily gave us a table and said 

You Will Not Like This Table.

Really!!!

We waited 45 minutes for our soup starter which was poor.

While other tables around us had their mains.

My main looked horrible so I ended up going to Lido grill for a hot dog bun and chips.

All of our meals and service in Epicurean and Sindhu was fantastic.

I actually emailed Mr Ludlow praising our waiters in Epicurean and Sindhu and he kindly replied thanking me and said he would forward my email to the relevant people on board.

 

 

[grapau27]

35 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

I take the view that P&O offer what they offer and if they thought it was an issue they would limit bookings. They don’t.

 

It’s not greedy if you are paying for the privilege, it’s business. Take that hypothesis further. You like me book numerous cruises a year. Is that greedy as you may be limiting someone else ability to book?

 

 

Thank you @Eglesbrech.

I absolutely agree with you.

[Guest ccpm]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

Simple solution then: limit bookings to 1 or 2 until the ship sails and then open them on the app or at the restaurants.  There are posts on the boards from people who have commented they haven't been able to try in particular Epicurean and Sindhu, if the boarding early issue is causing aggro why not make it fair to all rather than first come first served.

Sadly for me that would mean I didn't cruise. I only eat in Epicurean usually and book every day. After a really nasty incident with a set of passengers in the MDR I would never go in there again it scarred me for life how nasty they were to me. I buy Epicurean to ensure I keep myself to myself. Everyone has the same opportunity to buy in advance they can always cancel it they decide against it, although I do appreciate many will want to use their OBC.

[grapau27]

33 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Ss I say it's my personal view.  I would feel greedy.  Numerous, well I'm miles off what a lot on here book and generally mine are fairly late bookings.  I'd say a lot of difference comparing a 5,000 capacity ship with a couple of hundred restaurant covers but as I say it's just my opinion.

 

The topic of worrying about restaurant bookings being a reason for the rush to board early wasn't raised by me, I think it was Graham in a reply to Jean, I just suggested if it was helping to cause the must get there early brigade then restricting bookings until all are onboard might alleviate it.  

 

 

Fortunately to date we have not had a problem booking Epicurean on board and often staff have moved from another ships Epicurean and recognise us.

When you could pre book online people could book as many as they wanted before sailing so when you got on board the restaurants had limited availability left which is obviously what is happening with Arvia at the moment.

 

[Guest ccpm]

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

No you can't Tom.

I tried every day from 14 nights from embarcation.

In the last year we have been  on Ventura

Azura.

Britannia 

Iona twice.

We could not book on line.

I booked a full cruise dining package though online on Royal Caribbean Oasis of the seas for our January 2023 cruise.

I booked a 2 night Speciality dining package on MSC Virtuoso for our April 2023 cruise.

That has not been the case for me Grappau. Every cruise on Iona from Dec 2022 (4) I have booked on line before departure. Recently returned from Ventura ($ weeks ago) I booked on line too. 

[daiB]

1 hour ago, Babybooface said:

But when I arrive at a hotel before my check in. I will be able to sit in the lobby get a drink and use the toilets. They don’t say go wait outside till your time .P&O are expecting people to queue outside in all weathers without shelter or a seat and no access to the toilets . I know it’s me who is arriving early due to relying on public transport. Not everyone has the luxury of a car and timing their arrival to an exact time. I don’t expect to get on early but somewhere comfortable to wait wouldn’t be too much to ask. Considering it’s to get really hot over the next few weeks and the terminal has seats upstairs that are lying empty . 

So those in hotels could relax in the lounge and get a drink and use the loos. But people constantly say we get chucked out at 10 or 11. which is tripe.

[Guest ccpm]

57 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

My conscience, not everyone's, would not allow me to book 7 nights on a 7 night cruise on a P&O ship I'd think I was just being greedy. I recall only too well my first few cruises on Azura where Seventeen as it then was something I'd like to have tried but could never get into.

 

With 5,000 people onboard it just seems fairer to me that everyone gets the same chance.

 

I'm certainly not blameless as I sit religiously at midnight when bookings open to ensure I get my one or two reservations, particularly my Christmas dinner but personally i see more and more comments from people who never even get to try and I think that's wrong.

 

If I want to book select restaurants every night I'd choose a different cruise line that offered the choice of far more speciality places and offered me a package either to buy or included.  Plenty of them available.

I have to disagree. I book and pay my money job done. Now I also book my cruise ahead pay a premium select price yet travel with folks who have often paid 1/3rd of what I did. Do I care? It may twitch a bit but no I made my choices. They can too - book ahead once booking opens use OBC for something else...