TOMOGP

We went on Azura booked 9.45 train direct was at the station 9.20 people were buying tickets at the station and plenty of seats available in my carriage

How about as has been suggested elsewhere on this board.

Go to your cruise personaliser go to the port or ports your interested in look for a 6/7 hour pando tour then see the time it leaves this will give a very good idea of arrival time

That's another one to add to the list.

 

Utter rubbish.

 

 

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That's what I thought, thank you Dai

Just been told what I presume (and hope) the remour that pando are stopping the tea/coffee making facility in cabins

Anyone else heard this but with evidence please

Thanks for all the replies

Well appears to us there is still a nagging doubt about Ventura so decided to go on our favourite ship Arcadia on another itinerary

It is now a lot better than you previously experienced but still below Azura I think. The itinerary will also have an effect on how well things go.

 

Regards John

Its the Christmas one to the Canaries with NYE in Maderia

Firstly my apologies if this has been covered before

We sailed on Ventura about 2 months after its maiden voyage, we hated it the layout was poor the children (and some adults) behaviour was to be kind poor. The children dominated the main pool, my wife who is disabled was told use the adult only pool, fine but it could only be reached by descending some 12/14 steps no good for her.

Adult behaviour turning up for breakfast in night dress's including bare feet.

Now our problem is it is doing the very itinerary that we want to do next year, has the layout improved for example the venue for films was right by the main thoroughfare so continually disturbed whilst trying to watch, have the timings improved? we went to watch a talk at 9pm one evening yet the kids had the area till 8.45 were excited from that and didn't leave making the talk a waste of time.

Sorry its long winded we enjoyed Azura so has Ventura improved or not please.

My Wife is TT and always drinks these on a cruise and her favourite is the Banaberry Crush

Yes you can open them and fix them open, your steward should be able to arrange that

Forgive me if I have misunderstood

We as previously have posted were charged the full cost of our cruise £5415. The card company were very good partly because they knew about this fiasco and also because it was repaid the same day. we have not incurred any charges.

We reported to our TA but not to P & O but from the above it appears it is worth complaining to get a few pounds of obc on our next cruise.

The only thing Cruise Puss missed was it has a proper Promenade deck, we have been on 7 other ships but keep coming back to Arcadia.

Unfortunately we have had to cancel the very cruise you are are on "thanks " to illness.

Have done the itinerary before but it is a good one enjoy

Reminded me of a spectacular "thunder storm" the evening before docking at Alexandra (s) going on to the prom deck for a better view, saw 2 officers watching made the comment and they said its not a storm its Gunfire that is the coast of Libiya 3 days later they got Gaddaphi.

Went back inside quick

I read about this on here and after checking 2/3 times no problems assumed having paid in the middle of March we would be safe, our sailing friends phoned on Saturday to say they had thanks to this problem had gone overdrawn, checked mine again Tuesday even ok.

Got a letter today that I was severely overdrawn immediately got on phone and said P & O had taken £5400 odd pounds out Wed morning, this is 8 weeks after paying, but don't worry it was paid back in Wed evening and they the bank would ensure I would not have to pay any charges (yes I got her name0

The irony of this to us is that we have had to cancell this trip due to my wife having to have an operation (today) and am in the middle of the insurance claim

Hi sorry to hear this, I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer April 2013 and we had 2 cruises booked.

My surgeon provided a letter for my insurance company and they paid up with no problems.

I am 4 years down the line after a lot of treatment and clear of cancer.

I wish you and your wife well.

Strangely our insurance people insist on a 2 page form being completed by our GP. I said to them he knows nothing about this as it has moved so fast and will not accept a letter from the Hospital.

So fast diagnosed on May 11th had preop today Op will be either Thursday or Tuesday find out tomorrow.

Thank you for the good wishes etc

Regrettably we have had to cancel our Arcadia cruise on June the 18th, this is due to my wife being diagnosed with Breast cancer we only found out last Thursday and today have decided they we should not go as they want to operate in the next 2 weeks. (we were hoping they would say go have good time and then we will start early July.

Anyway has anybody else had to cancel and enter the perils of an Insurance claim, what are the pitfalls, the surgeon will do whatever is needed.

Thanks in advance

No ship is perfect. I dislike the lack of a prom deck on Britannia, the lack of a Crows Nest on Azura and Ventura, the lack of modern facilities and choices (particularly Select Dining restaurants) on the smaller ships. But I don't dislike any. As others have said, it's personal choice. For what it's worth, of the P&O ships we have cruised on so far my pecking order would be;

 

1) Britannia

2) Oriana

3) Oceana

4) Ventura

5) Azura

 

We are on Aurora for the first time on Saturday and have a cruise booked on Arcadia for next year, so will see where they slot in to the pecking order.

 

Britannia is currently in top spot due to cabin facilities (fresh and modern, excellent interactive large screen TV's with HD quality, glass shower doors), space (plenty to explore and feels no busier than the smaller ships) and Select Dining Restaurants (we have found Epicurean, Sindhu and Beach House to be better than the versions on other P&O ships). She is a true flagship and those who dismiss her without trying her are missing a treat.

Up to a point agree with you but the bathrooms are so small, I am 6ft and had to stand outside the bathroom to get properly dried but as stated previously tiny balconies no Prom deck and no Crows Nest far outweigh the better tvs etc.

Another point when we were on 2/3 evenings if we went to the theatre for the early show we would miss something that started halfway through at the other end of the ship.

FWIW the only pando ships we have not been on are Adonia and Oceana

1 Acardia

2 Azura

3 Oriana

4 Aurora

5 Ventura

I was brought up as were my children that the 2 most important words are Please and thank you (alright 3 words) but always said in a polite manner

Many thanks for your helpful replies. Was it your perception that you were on board quicker than had you not used assistance? And did you get on board earlier than your allocated time?

Difficult to answer - it depends how many need assistance judging on the 2 examples I gave Azura definitely earlier and quicker

Brttannia quicker and slightly earlier.

For example 1 staff member takes you through with you fellow passenger ( the rules allow up to 2 accompanying Though have seen 3 on occasion) to your cabin and return takes at a guess 25 mins so depends on number of staff and your position on ship we are normally B or C deck but Brittania A deck

Unlike BMT in some 14 cruises with pando each time using assistance we have always been treated with courtesy and good humour every time both embarking and disembarking - but then we are always polite with them

Thanks for your reply - very helpful. Quick question. What's the process for check-in for those requiring assistance? Do you check-in straight away when you arrive and then return to the assistance area to wait for someone to board you? Or do you have to wait until you are told you can check-in and then wait again for the assistance? Thanks.

No just to the assistance then when your assistance arrives they take you to check in then security(including passing anybody queuing for security) through security then straight to your cabin.

They are very patient on one occasion my wife including her crutches went through security fine I didn't went through all my pockets etc belt of machine still going, assistance guy suggested I took my shoes of bingo apparent there was metal in the soles and showed up going through machine we thought it was funny anyway.

As a side issue we always drop them £5 as appreciate the help and assistance.

Selbourne

Providing you have registered that you need assistance on boarding, your name will be on the list and you do not take any card you will sit right there by the blue coated man/woman if there is no one there you will go on straightaway (as we did for Azura) if there are say 10/12 people there you could be 30 to 45 minutes (again as we were on Brittania) they do not appear to take any notice of the check in time.

We have a check in time of 2.40 in a few weeks time will arrive at the port about 1 pm by the time we have got through CPS and in the terminal about 1.30 and see what happens.

Disembarking is great we are on Arcadia in a few weks we will go to the pub and then you get called in order (apart from anyone on the coaches) we always grab a porter so 3 people find the luggage straight to car if there is a queue for the car keys my wife gets in the queue with the spare get I get the luggage loaded with the porter by that time usually they are back with the other key and of we go.

Hope that helps

We are the Arcadia to the Baltic next month with friends and have just agreed what trips we are going to do.

To try and make it easy we agreed that one would book them and then we sort out the money ourselves BUT the cruise personaliser only allows me to book for 2 not four does that mean we have to book separately on the CP

Are you on Arcadia during Kiel week?

If so we have decided not to do trips as there will be plenty going on.

If not , I really like Hamburg , been a couple of times , and Lubeck.

Don't know if there is a shuttle bus.

Yes we are our favourite ship and presume will be very crowded

Unfortunately my wife has problems walking so don't tend to do it yourself but were looking at the trip to Hamburg.

Calling there on our Baltic cruise in June, using the collective wisdom of CC can some please tell me

Is there a shuttle bus ?

Suggested trips

thanks in advance

Selbourne- we to have in 14 years of cruising have only used CPS, and my wife holds a blue badge.

We state this on booking and confirm on arrival, they put a white disabled badge on the dash and of we go, on return it is always as near as they can to where we get the car keys back.

The best is the QE2 terminal where they are parked 50/60 yards from the terminal door