Jennizor

We had two cruises cancelled by P&O so I assumed that’s what they meant by us being affected and hence the offer as per Eddie99.

We had the same cruise cancelled very late on in 2020 and the flight time was around 14.30. I had booked the Aspire Lounge too, but got a refund. You are quite right Tring, however, this time it was our agent that gave approximate times based on previous cruises.

Eddie, I got the same email and am considering whether to book something. We have already got 3 booked so not sure yet, although it’s very tempting 

Don’t let this issue make you judge P&O before you have even joined the ship. The airport issues currently should be resolved by the time you fly and you would more than likely be on board by early evening. We are on Azura from Malta in September, we were given approximate flight times soon after we booked. P&O are not perfect but we have enjoyed every cruise with have been on with them10+). The last two were affected by the pandemic but every cruise line has been affected. Azura is our favourite ship and we are really looking forward to being on her again. I’m sure once you are on her you will have a lovely cruise.

46 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Maybe it’s just me then. I cannot drink chilled red wine 🤢 Personally, I prefer them even warmer than room temperature 😉 

I am with you Selbourne. For me, chilled red wine has less flavour and spoils a good one.

Chatting to another grandma at school pick up today,  I told her we had booked another P & O cruise. She said she wouldn’t book with them ever again. When I asked why, she said it was because of  how badly they had treated the ferries employees. When I told her that they were two entirely different companies she was quite disbelieving. Despite all that has been in the public domain about this, not everyone has got the message. Not good for P &O  

cruises. 

11 minutes ago, Peanut006 said:

We are on 13 nights flying from Manchester 15 March

Michelle

We are flying on 24th Feb, flying back on the 9th. Sorry to miss you.

Beautiful morning here in Bolton. Very cold however with frost on the lawn. Really lovely to see the cows out for the first time after winter.

48 minutes ago, Peanut006 said:

Have a lovely evening tonight with a nice bottle of wine.

We have a cruise on Azura booked for March 2024, like you say ages away but looking forward to it 

Michelle

 

Thanks Michelle, glad you have got your 2024 cruise booked. Where are you going?

It has been a very mixed day here in Bolton. Cold but sunny this morning then we had light snow showers. Very dark sky up to half an hour ago now very sunny again.

This morning I booked a cruise on Azura for the end of Feb/March 2024 going to the Canaries. It’s the first time we have flown to a cruise in the Canaries as we usually go from Southampton, as we are for our Iona cruise next Feb. I booked through our usual TA and got a cabin on C deck which is our favourite. I also got a discount on the P&O price and an additional £100 OBC. Even though it is a long way off, still very pleased to have it booked.

Off to a lovely restaurant in neighbouring Horwich tonight. My daughter-in-law gave us a nice gift voucher for it for Christmas so really forward to it. Having a taxi so we can share a bottle of wine. Pre-Covid we used to dine out quite regularly and we have had a few lunches out but this is our fist evening one. 
 

I had an email from my TA earlier which shows the 2024 cruises and you are offered numbered cabins to choose from. I might ring them tomorrow to confirm that. There is obviously something wrong with the email however as it shows the cruise cost as £140,000!

If I remember rightly, lots of the cocktails were not included in the package and other drinks over £6.95. You could only get a small glass of wine but you can have another after 15 minutes.

We have had the drinks package a couple of times, we had a chunk of OBC and our 7.5% loyalty discount so it was a good deal for us. You can only purchase it on your first or second day and you can’t book it for just part of your cruise. As you say you don’t drink much at all, I don’t think it would be worth it for you. We won’t book it again as there are too many of our drinks of choice not covered by the package. 

We were on Britannia twice last year and I also don’t remember a seascreen. Azura does though. We have sailed on Britannia quite a few times now and I really like her but Azura is my favourite (not because of the sea screen which I don’t personally like).

1 hour ago, purplesea said:

Morning everyone.

Dull down here this morning although the sun is trying to get out.

I also need to get insurance sorted, but I am waiting for the result of my last MRI. 

Daughter has borrowed my car today so I won't be venturing far.

Hope you all have a good day and take care.

 

Sunny spells here in Bolton. I have put some washing out but I suspect after today I will be back to the tumble dryer as temperatures plummet and snow forecast. Over the past week I have managed to get my new cat used to the cat flap and she has been very adventurous. She has had a couple of scraps with next door’s cat but I suspect she might not like want to go out in snow..

Like you Purplesea, my daughter has just been down to borrow my car. Over the past two years she has used it more than me.

Thanks Presto. We bought this house 16 years ago, not for the house, which was a doer upper, but for the outlook. How long this will last we don’t know as Peel Holdings now own the extensive former Hulton Estate. Planning permission for a golf course is an ongoing but  it looks like it will be rejected. That means they will build houses on the land. In the meantime the farmer who rents the land is continuing to carry on as normal. The cows should be back out soon, always lovely to see.

A lovely day here in Bolton. Like most of the country temperatures are much higher than expected for this time of year. We spent most of the day tidying up in the garden and then I went up the road to my daughters to sit with her two youngest boys while her and and my son-in-law took their eldest boy to see Animal Farm at the Lowry in Manchester. They said it was amazing. I have just taken this photo of my dwarf magnolia. I bought it 5 years ago after my lovely next door neighbour Audrey died. Although she was 20 years older than me we had a lovely relationship. She had an amazing magnolia and gave me so many gardening tips and cuttings. This is the first year it has looked so good.
 

I’m sure you will Bobstheboy. We are on Azura in September, flying to Malta to join the ship then off to the Eastern Med.

9 hours ago, Billish said:

Excellent answer. 

Can I just ask what other ships you have been on ? 

Why, for  example, is it better than Britannia or Sky Princess ?

We have been on Oriana (our first P&O cruise), Ventura, Acadia, Britannia, Crown Princess and Ruby Princess. We enjoyed them all for various reasons, destinations mostly. We prefer the larger ships. We have sailed on Britannia several times, always enjoyed the cruises but the layout of Azura, for us, is better, particularly the Atrium. We also like the deeper balconies on C and D decks on Azura.

7 hours ago, mercury7289 said:

That is the reason that we hated it! We had a lovely cruise, and met some wonderful table companions,

The Blue bar with those horrible seats, and the open atrium with the dance class music, vying with the different music in the glass house, at lunchtime, truly horrific. Not an age thing, more an intolerance of being subjected to Butlins on sea. Not directly a P&O problem, more down to the performers over exuberance and lack of guidance on the necessity for everyone one to say Hi d Hi! to be happy! Would not sail on her again.

 

Each to their own view. We had some lovely times in the Blue Bar. We met lots of lovely people there, became very friendly with the staff. Having been to Butlins as a child I couldn’t see the comparison. Our favourite memory was listening to the passenger choir singing on the steps towards the end of the cruise. We also enjoyed the pianist and quizzes there.  For us a very sociable space.

Azura is our favourite ship. We love the atrium with the Blue Bar overlooking it. Perfect to watch (in the past) various entertainments. We always go for sun beds away from the main pool areas as they are much quieter. We are on her in September going to the Eastern Med, hoping things have not changed too much since we were on her in 2019.

6 hours ago, grapau27 said:

910 steps to walk the circumference of deck 8 promenade deck.

That’s good to know Graham, thank you. I love a promenade deck, there is something uplifting about it, particularly when at sea. I try to walk about 5000 steps a day at home but not if it’s raining or very cold (not expecting any of that on our Canaries cruise on  Iona next year).

We saw Gareth Gates on Britannia last September, he was excellent. Apart from a great show, he really engaged with the audience. It was a lovely evening. 

One of my old school friends was on Iona a couple of weeks ago. From getting off the coach to embarkation was three hours. She really enjoyed the cruise but felt it was too big for her. We are on Iona next February, we just wanted to have the experience of the latest P &O ship. My favourite is Azura and we are on her in September. We were on Arcadia 3 years ago. The cruise to the Fjords was brilliant but I felt very claustrophobic on Arcadia. That’s just me, I struggle in packed enclosed spaces. I don’t mind the walking round the ship, as someone else said it’s good to walk off all the calories.

We were on Britannia in December. You get straight off the plane onto a coach. You don’t go into the airport at all. We waited in the coach queue for about 20 minutes. The journey to the ship was around an hour or maybe even less, depending on local traffic. Once through the shed where we had our photos taken and given our passes we boarded the ship. It didn’t take too long as they are well organised. Once on the ship we were taken to see where our muster station was but then told to go to our cabin and you watch the drill on the TV. We arrived on Saturday and  as II recall, we sailed early evening so no time to go into Barbados. If you are flying out on Friday I can see no reason why you couldn’t get off the ship. Perhaps someone else can advise on that. Have a great cruise.