Select v Saver

[LW71]

Hi

We did a couple of Marella Med cruises several years ago and are considering a Caribbean P&O cruise November / December, probably on Arvia.

Looking at the Saver v Select price it's around £600 per cabin more for Select (with £360 OBC).

We aren't too fussed what time we eat (later is better) but would only want a table for 2. 

Just a couple of questions please:

1) How easy is it to get a table for 2 if we go for the Saver option?

2) How difficult is it to get into the 'pay' restaurants?

3) What's it like getting on and off ship?  We've never been on one this size.

Many thanks for your help.

[Selbourne]

In terms of getting a table for 2, it will make no difference whatsoever whether you booked a Select fare or Saver, as Arvia is 100% Freedom dining. 
 

The extra cost restaurants will open for booking 14 days before the cruise. If you pre-book them you should be fine. Reports indicate that some of the restaurants are sold out if you leave it until you are on board. 
 

P&O are now enforcing boarding times at Southampton, which can result in long queues for those who arrive early, but if this is a fly cruise you won’t be affected by that. 
 

Personally, as the net difference after OBC is only £240, I would book Select so that you can choose your cabin and avoid those that may be affected by noise disturbance. Also, the relatively small price difference may also get you some other benefits.

[9265359]

1 hour ago, LW71 said:

Just a couple of questions please:

1) How easy is it to get a table for 2 if we go for the Saver option?

2) How difficult is it to get into the 'pay' restaurants?

3) What's it like getting on and off ship?  We've never been on one this size.

All Freedom Dining on Arvia and asking for a table for two is likely to lead to longer waits in the queue, but if you eat late (9pm or so) then they will want you in before they close the doors at 9.30pm.
 

But be aware that an awful lot of the tables for two are in rows with banquette seating and close together, and there are too many people who don’t understand that although you are seated close by you don’t want to engage in conversation with strangers - that’s why you asked for a table for two!
 

Pay restaurants - frequently booked up quickly in advance so it normally isn’t possible to decide on the spur of the moment to eat there that evening or tomorrow evening (or even that week…).

 

As they frequently only have a couple of gangplanks open the same as smaller ships, then re-boarding at ports of call may have lengthy queues or not depending on times (e.g. lunchtime) and whether you are unfortunate to arrive at the same time as tours returning.

 

[david63]

8 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

be aware that an awful lot of the tables for two are in rows with banquette seating

And in my experience the waiters treat it as a table of eight/ten/twelve meaning that you have to wait for the slowest to finish one course before you can have your next course!

[sandancer]

The one thing that would stop us booking a Saver fare (balcony) is that we might end up on Deck 8. Def a no no. If you are not fussed about choosing your own cabin location then Saver fare would do it. We have done both but now we prefer to choose our cabin. 

[zap99]

Just now, sandancer said:

The one thing that would stop us booking a Saver fare (balcony) is that we might end up on Deck 8. Def a no no. If you are not fussed about choosing your own cabin location then Saver fare would do it. We have done both but now we prefer to choose our cabin. 

I wouldn't have a problem with a deck 8 conservatory suite. No problem at all. My fear would be a deck 5 balcony.

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, 9265359 said:

All Freedom Dining on Arvia and asking for a table for two is likely to lead to longer waits in the queue, but if you eat late (9pm or so) then they will want you in before they close the doors at 9.30pm.
 

But be aware that an awful lot of the tables for two are in rows with banquette seating and close together, and there are too many people who don’t understand that although you are seated close by you don’t want to engage in conversation with strangers - that’s why you asked for a table for two!
 

Pay restaurants - frequently booked up quickly in advance so it normally isn’t possible to decide on the spur of the moment to eat there that evening or tomorrow evening (or even that week…).

 

As they frequently only have a couple of gangplanks open the same as smaller ships, then re-boarding at ports of call may have lengthy queues or not depending on times (e.g. lunchtime) and whether you are unfortunate to arrive at the same time as tours returning.

 

Do the MDRs on Arvia have banquette seating, I dont recall any banquette seating in the 2 main ones on Iona?

[Gettingwarmer]

10 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Do the MDRs on Arvia have banquette seating, I dont recall any banquette seating in the 2 main ones on Iona?

We sat at some banquette seating on Iona but it was a table for four next to a table for two. This happened twice. There did not seem to be long banquette seating. However separate table and chairs for two were still positioned close together. If you do not want to talk to the people adjacent then make your position clear. 

Edited June 25, 2023 by Gettingwarmer
Iona

[LW71]

Thanks for all your responses so far - much appreciated

 

[9265359]

18 hours ago, Gettingwarmer said:

However separate table and chairs for two were still positioned close together. If you do not want to talk to the people adjacent then make your position clear. 

 

Making your position clear to some would require walking away, as they appear to be incapable of understanding that you are not sharing the same table.

[Bazrat]

19 hours ago, zap99 said:

I wouldn't have a problem with a deck 8 conservatory suite. No problem at all. My fear would be a deck 5 balcony.

A balcony wish I could afford a balcony, us in steerage are lucky we get to share a porthole between a hundred of us.

[Gettingwarmer]

10 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

 

Making your position clear to some would require walking away, as they appear to be incapable of understanding that you are not sharing the same table.

We make our first answer to a question short and turn our head away. It usually works and they turn to the other table. 

[AndyMichelle]

16 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

 

Making your position clear to some would require walking away, as they appear to be incapable of understanding that you are not sharing the same table.

I think you have to assume that if a table for 2 has been requested and often a longer wait, that people do not want to interact. 

There is no need to be rude though, a polite 'good evening' to the people around you, then carry on with your own conversations will not encourage or offend anyone. 

Andy 

[9265359]

14 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

We make our first answer to a question short and turn our head away. It usually works and they turn to the other table. 

 

Likewise, but as you say "usually" then as I am sure you have also experienced, unfortunately some are unwilling to take the hint.

[Gettingwarmer]

17 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

 

Likewise, but as you say "usually" then as I am sure you have also experienced, unfortunately some are unwilling to take the hint.

You then have to be brutal and advise that if they wanted to talk to people they should have booked a larger table. You wanted a table for two and would not be participating. Nicely. 

[daveoc]

22 hours ago, 9265359 said:

and there are too many people who don’t understand that although you are seated close by you don’t want to engage in conversation with strangers - that’s why you asked for a table for two!
 

I'm with you---why ask for a table for two and then immediately try to engage in conversation with those around you. Surely they should ask to go on a larger table.

 

[zap99]

2 hours ago, Gettingwarmer said:

You then have to be brutal and advise that if they wanted to talk to people they should have booked a larger table. You wanted a table for two and would not be participating. Nicely. 

Or point to your ear and say, very loudly...WHAT...DW can then say .what did you say ?...Turn it up...WHAT.🤣

[9265359]

45 minutes ago, daveoc said:

I'm with you---why ask for a table for two and then immediately try to engage in conversation with those around you. Surely they should ask to go on a larger table.

 

On a cruise last year I had a club dining table for two where there were seven tables for two in the section, and they were staggered so not immediately next to each other. It was a nice place to be.

 

However there was one couple sat in the middle and one of them was obviously desperate to talk to the people around them - but all the other couples on the tables around them were of the same mindset of 'we asked for tables for two because we didn't want to'.

 

Over the course of the two weeks you could see them getting more and more frustrated, but it you want to talk to strangers go and ask for a sharing table.

[Ardennais]

Not a problem for us as we speak another language! 

[zap99]

18 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

Not a problem for us as we speak another language! 

So do we.  English.🤣

[Cruisemeister2002]

On 6/25/2023 at 9:27 AM, LW71 said:

Hi

We did a couple of Marella Med cruises several years ago and are considering a Caribbean P&O cruise November / December, probably on Arvia.

Looking at the Saver v Select price it's around £600 per cabin more for Select (with £360 OBC).

We aren't too fussed what time we eat (later is better) but would only want a table for 2. 

Just a couple of questions please:

1) How easy is it to get a table for 2 if we go for the Saver option?

2) How difficult is it to get into the 'pay' restaurants?

3) What's it like getting on and off ship?  We've never been on one this size.

Many thanks for your help.

Truthfully it's an individual decision. Personally have never gone for a Saver fare I like to choose my cabin, have the onboard credit, dine at a set time and not have to pay for shuttle buses if I haven't booked a tour. I know it will probably be pointed out to me that the new ships are both freedom dining, therefore I would have to book onboard, but you still, according to P&O get priority over saver fares although I doubt this would impact too much. Priorit boarding depends on which tier you have achieved and not on whether you book Saver or Select. As for pay restuarants normally you can go onto P&O website, work out when you want to use one and book and pay for it there and then.

[Harryjacobs]

On 6/25/2023 at 11:43 AM, sandancer said:

The one thing that would stop us booking a Saver fare (balcony) is that we might end up on Deck 8. Def a no no. If you are not fussed about choosing your own cabin location then Saver fare would do it. We have done both but now we prefer to choose our cabin. 

Just done a deck 8 balcony trip and actually the room wasnt as bad as you think, I actually enjoyed it wouldnt mind having it again.

[Splice the mainbrace]

We have always booked select, or whatever each cruise line calls it, but apart from being able to choose our cabin the other benefits seem to be diminishing. The price difference doesn’t cover the obc or free parking etc, the last few cruises there haven’t been ports of call where we had to pay for the shuttle bus and on a late sitting there were always vacant tables for 2. Sometimes there is a big price difference making saver more attractive yet on another cruise the difference is much less and the obc can vary tremendously making select more attractive. We like to choose our own cabin so will stick with select but that’s just about the only reason.

[Bazrat]

On 6/26/2023 at 10:27 AM, zap99 said:

Or point to your ear and say, very loudly...WHAT...DW can then say .what did you say ?...Turn it up...WHAT.🤣

Just do what I do pick my plate up and start licking it, for some unknown reason people stop talking to me.

 

[zap99]

1 hour ago, kalos said:

 

We did two Atlantic crossings on her and never noticed any smells apart from one day in port

and that was as we got off the ship ,which only lasted a minute . Maybe they were clearing out

the tanks ?

Our cabins were B deck mid ship and never had vibration issues either. We have had other

cabins near aft that vibrated when docking but that was down to the thrusters when docking .

For vibration that award ,for us has to go to the Thomson Majesty, that was something else!

As you walked towards the aft you really felt and heard it .

Ships creak and wobble a bit. Airplane wings bend and my car don't like the speed bumps. Trains go clickety, clickety, click. The drains out side of our local Morrisons pong. In the hospital nurses wake you up every few hours to check your temperature. Some folk don't like the sounds and smells of life. I stubbed my toe on that pesky coffee table on Iona, but don't keep going on about it.🤣🤣