DolphinWatcher

Sorry to hear this. They lost a piece of my baggage in Southampton in August. Passed around from department to department. All they have offered is a letter confirming it was lost so I can claim on my insurance. Given the item was a gift 20 years ago I have no proof, nor of contents, and cannot claim. I’m furious as it had a lot of sentimental value.

I wish you more success than I have had (& sorry not to be able to give you good news)

Hi,

Does anyone have any experience of luggage missing at Southampton? Returned from Silhouette on 18th August and a piece of my luggage never arrived off the ship (or was taken by someone but I can't honestly believe someone would do that or would make contact if they did in error). It was fully labelled, etc. I've filed a missing luggage form but no success yet so wondered if anyone else has been through this and how long it took to find, etc.

It's not valuable but has great sentimental value as received as a gift for my honeymoon many years ago!

Thanks.

Hi all.

Resurrecting this as I promised to report back. Returned today from a fabulous itinerary around Scandinavia & Russia

Our observations:

Check in & disembarkation - seamless and far better than P&O. A few niggles however such as our linked bookings hadn’t been carried through to dining. Our drinks packages were not included on our boarding cards correctly which we didn’t discover until a few days later. All issues were dealt with efficiently (including cancelling one drinks package half way through the cruise as it hadn’t been used due to their error)

Cabin - we loved the bigger bathroom & style but storage space for clothes was lacking (3 in our cabin)

Ship (Silhouette) was gorgeous. Loved the modern airy feeling, however too many high end shops. No ‘basics’ shop which thankfully we didn’t need but would have been good to have. Same old selling of tat at various points of the day.

Kids club - difficult to compare as few teenagers due to itinerary (& A level results week) so middle child didn’t have any company. Youngest child loved the freedom and mix of nationalities though and preferrred it to P&O.

Entertainment - pretty much comparable day time & evening activities. Very limited TV available (specifically comparing to Britannia last year where top new release films were available for free). Saw a couple of great acts and some that really didn’t do it for us - but everyone likes different things so to be expected and with a mix of nationalities (large US & UK contingent but people from India, Germany, Australia, Spain & numerous others) it would be difficult to please everyone.

Drinks - we had a package so didn’t affect us but prices were outrageous!

Food - this is the decider for us as pretty much everything else was comparable to Britannia at least. Great that ice cream available free during the day - big hit with the kids. Buffet - good range for most people and liked that all food is allergen labelled. MDR - very surprised at quality given most posters here consider Celebrity to be better. Very disappointed (only cruise I have ever lost weight....). We had to ask numerous times for extra veg as frequently there was none. I have specific dietary needs and was not well catered for at all compared to P&O. Even preordered meals were frequently bland at best. No gluten free crackers for cheese were available for example. I know i’m difficult to cater for and knew this would be an issue, however the rest of our party who eat almost anything felt that (apart from steaks), P&O were far superior in service and quality of food. We didn’t try the speciality restaurants as felt cover charges were way too high.

Service in general - bar service on P&O was far better. We often had to go up to the bar to be served - few waiters around and those that were seemed disinterested in actually serving. Little things were better on Celebrity - flavoured water & covered seating area on return to the ship for example, line at reception / guest services being surveyed by other staff to see if they could help without you having to wait.

All in all. A fantastic cruise & really liked the atmosphere on Celebrity, however the food would be a serious consideration if we were to return.

P&O handle special dietary requests well on Freedom dining. We only eat on Freedom dining. My wife is vegetarian and every night the head waiter comes to whatever table we are at with the vegetarian menu for the following day, and no matter what table we sit at the waiters know my wife is vegetarian. We sat once with someone with coeliac disease and likewise he had no problem getting the correct food on Freedom dining having ordered it the night before and was singing the praises of P&O on this.

That's good to know Kenhem. I've only ever done Freedom dining once before so your experience makes be a lot more comfortable!

I am rather nervous about this change. As someone with an unusual combination of dietary requirements I like having the comfort that the waiters know what I can eat and my food is pre-ordered for a particular sitting. I appreciate it's then my responsibility with Freedom to make sure I advise waiters and sit down at a fairly consistent time each evening to be fair to the galley but it would make me nervous and make me less comfortable about eating in the MDR especially as I would probably have to seek out the head waiter each evening to sort out meals for the next day. I'm sure they've thought about this, but I'm not convinced by this move.

My initial reaction to this was that it's extortionate, however I think will make sense for families like us where the soft drink package for the children is included. I drink a lot of water and prefer branded bottled stuff too so would probably purchase this as we like a few alcoholic drinks in the evenings so would add up to quite a bit.

It doesn't seem to make sense though for those with mismatched drinking habits or light drinkers but I assume it's not aimed at that market.

Thanks for all the feedback - we have booked! I will report back next August on what I think. Travelling as a family with age range 11-88 and an awkward dietary requirement so will have much to report...

Thanks all. Given me some things to consider. They have a good deal at the moment so likely to give it a try but will check Princess first as hadn’t thought of that.

Will appreciate any further thoughts from anyone if they have them.

Hi.

After many years on P&O we are considering Celebrity next year as they do Baltics sailings in school holidays which P&O don’t.

Anyone any opinions (positive or negative) on Celebrity vs P&O?

The ship we are looking at is Celebrity Silhouette if that makes any difference.

Thanks.

Always watching for dolphins, whales, turtles and anything else that comes along Selbourne! Hubby knows better than to talk to me when we're sailing out of Gib - in fact usually joins me in staring out at the sea these days. Take a pair of binoculars specifically for that purpose :D

My review of this cruise has now been published. Link below. As with all reviews, these are my personal experiences and views which will differ from the experiences and opinions of others.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=588197&et_cid=2974649&et_rid=134107201&et_referrer=Boards

Thanks for this Selbourne. We were on this cruise too & agree the entertainment was extremely poor. The lecturer was actually very good but I agree they didn't sell it very well. Shame you didn't like Marseilles -we were pleasantly surprised by it!

I agree it was an average cruise - really let down by the entertainment (or lack of!) in our opinion.

Hi.

The drinks package applies to the pump drinks only - which for "cola" is currently Pepsi / Diet Pepsi. Coke brand is in bottles (at an extortionate £2 something (?2.95) for a small bottle)

The pump drinks can be somewhat questionable in taste so I would personally recommend buying mixers to take with you if, like me, you have to have the right mixer with your drink.

Hi.

We did this trip last year. I would recommend it. I had a 15 year old and 9 year old with me too and they both enjoyed it.

Thank you!

I didn't get the e-mail re Cagliari! Are they changing shore excursions and do you know if it's an am or pm stop now?

If you intend to do any washing (highly likely with a little one!) take some washing tablets for the machines - the stuff sold on board is rubbish & expensive. I also take a fold out hanger for the shower so you can hang any washing or swimming stuff out. Also take shoe hangers to save space in the cupboard.

I personally always take a medicine bag too with everything you would normally have at home for small people - Calpol, blister plasters, antiseptic cream, etc. Thankfully haven't needed it much the last couple of years, but definitely useful when they were younger (& when I broke my toe a couple of years ago!) Seeing the doctor on board is expensive so best to be prepared, although bear in mind that in the unfortunate event one of you gets ill, pharmacies in mainland Europe (including Gib) can prescribe antibiotics over the counter. I'm sure you won't need that though!

Hi Presto2. If you have kids, I thoroughly recommend the aquarium. We did it last year and wouldn't hesitate to go back. There's also a nice beach just across the road from the aquarium too.

Thanks for your advice. I'm tempted to see if they will match the higher one given I now have a confirmation that states the OBC! Not trying to be greedy but don't want to miss out on something I'm entitled to as part of the deal.

Hi.

Did anyone else book last week during the extra OBC deal? I made a booking and have 2 different OBC's for identical cabins so wondered if any others booked or agents out there that would be willing to message me what the deal was as not sure whether to query or not in case the higher one gets reduced!

Thanks.

Regarding the name - Canberra seems very popular on Facebook! ;)

I think I read on here that the name Olympia was registered at the same time as Britannia. Might be just rumour though.

Hi. We always link accounts / cabins on one credit card and the OBC has always been pooled (apart from once about 7/8 years ago) I'll double check my statement from Ventura last week to make sure, but am pretty certain it was pooled.

I checked my statement & the OBC was definitely netted across all accounts, in fact my youngest wasn't eligible for OBC as 3rd passenger in the cabin and a charge on her account has been taken off the pooled OBC. It's definitely been this way for several years for us.

Hope this helps.

Hi. We always link accounts / cabins on one credit card and the OBC has always been pooled (apart from once about 7/8 years ago) I'll double check my statement from Ventura last week to make sure, but am pretty certain it was pooled.

I saw one service dog last year (possibly the year before) which I gave a wide berth as have a serious animal fur allergy. The problem with animal fur is that it's the dander (skin) that causes the asthmatic reaction and this can stick to carpets, walls, curtains, clothes..anything! In small concentrations in a large space it's usually fine but obviously you cannot see it so can come across it unwittingly. The smokers are at least visible and you can avoid the area.

Thankfully hasn't been an issue with the rarity of dogs on P&O, but I would think twice reading this thread about travelling on an American line !

Thanks Presto2 and Florry for the responses, I'm like a sponge soaking up as much info as I can!!! I've read quite a few reviews and got bits of advice about how things work so I feel as though I'm just about prepared, if I ever will be!. Like I said, I'm going with an open mind. My main concern is will there be enough to keep a 15 year old entertained whilst on the ship?!?

Other than that I am sure we will have a brilliant time, I am already planning where I want to go next! :)

Don't worry. You will barely see the 15 year old as the kids clubs are great. I threatened mine with a land holiday next year and nearly got thrown overboard!

Britannia is a lovely ship, would go on her again tomorrow if I could. Have a lovely cruise.

Raymondo111. You are right, the rule is changing from this April. £5k will be exempt and anything after taxed at your highest income tax band (but different rate than income tax)