smj777

The HI Walker Ave. is perfect for a cruise/stay. Nice restaurants nearby and with a bit of luck you'll see your ship waiting for you when you wake up next morning.

A warning though, look out for the dates of the Boat Show in mid September when all the hotels will be fully booked.

CC awards for 2017 are announced. P&O hardly get a mention in any category.

Now I know that these things are subjective and there are no anti-awards for the worst, but PandO should surely be trying to up their game in the categories that can be improved - food quality etc.

We'll still do P&O because there is so much to like, convenience, kettles, own drinks allowed and so on, but are they falling behind in comparison with other lines?

Having noted on other threads that some people, particularly new cruisers, found themselves having difficulty finding their way around a ship that they hadn't been on before, I thought that I'd pass on a tip.

Before you go, get a P&O brochure. They have full deck plans of each ship in the back. Cut our the pages for your particular ship and take them with you on board. You'll soon get the hang of the layout and shouldn't get lost.

We are booked on a cruise this June, but have already decided on a cruise in June 2018.

Is it a good idea to book when we are on the ship this year? What extras do we get, OBC, discounts etc.?

Should we just register for future cruise benefit?

What is the best option?

Thanks folks. Of course I was only asking on behalf of a friend!

I have searched the threads here and the P&O website for an answer without success. Can you order a bottle of spirits in your cabin? If so is it room service or your steward that you ask?

We have just booked a cruise from Southampton starting on the 17th. September 2017.

When we went to book our usual hotel near the terminal we found out that it, and a lot of others nearby were fully booked because of the Boat Show. We've ended up in a hotel near Eastleigh which does Park & Cruise with taxi transfers.

The show starts on Friday the 15th. Sept. until the 24th. Sept., so it might be as well to be aware of the situation during that time.

Dam

Quite agree. We have had balcony smokers near us - what can you do?

They don't allow smoking in other public places like bars and hotels - come on P&O - ban smoking entirely.

Yesterday, 22nd., I asked my TA to price up a cruise next September. She said that if I waited till today, P&O were doing an offer of extra OBC.

The price is the same today but instead of £60 each OBC we have £200 each.

Cruise booked, happy me, worth using a good TA I think.

My wife is v. sensitive re her own pillow and takes it on cruises. You have that much room for extras why be uncomfortable?

The water from the taps in your bathroom is exactly the same as the water that you are served in the dining room with your meals. It is excellent quality - if you think about it, it has to be - and in my opinion makes a better cup of tea than bottled water!

My wife says that they don't serve peas in case of bad weather, green beans don't roll off the plate in stormy seas.

On Ventura in June almost every main dish included green beans.

I think that GBs are easy to defrost and serve. They don't roll about and go awol like peas.

Don't take any notice of what other people say. You've already experienced the food on board and liked it, that is as good a recommendation as you can get.

Enjoy your cruise!

I wonder if anyone else does as we do? We tip our cabin steward on the very first time he comes to our cabin.

We say something like 'I'm sure you'll look after us'. We then get excellent service (not that we probably wouldn't anyway) and then give a smaller tip at the end.

We also give tips to waiters, barstaff etc. if we have had special service. We also pay the auto tips.

Yes, the area turns into the Beach House - see the menus on the P&O site.

We think that it is the friendliest restaurant on the Ventura, not overly full, you can usually get a table by a window and the food is delish!

If you haven't booked yet it would be a good idea to do so through one of the larger, specialist cruise travel agents. They have access to cabins that aren't available on the P&O site. You will probably get some discount too.

Couldn't agree more. I also don't like the way P&O are beginning to allow people who are dressed casually into bars and restaurants that are supposed to be formal dress only.

As regards themed nights, when we were on Ventura in June we dressed for tropical night, but there was no special arrangements that night, there were no leis given out and the waiters in the MDR weren't in hawaiian shirts, although the ones in Metropolitan bar were. We won't bother next time as a lot of people never even realised that it was tropical night and we felt the odd ones out.

Copied from FAQ on P&O website.

Q. Can I order drinks to be placed in my cabin?

< Back

Yes, you can order beverages and food to your cabin 24 hours a day from our Room Service menu.

I think that P&O would have a mutiny on their hands if they stopped room sevice drinks.

A friend who has recently returned from a cruise on Aurora says that she was told that all cabins on all P&O ships are to be fitted with Minibars on a rolling programme. She didn't know if this was true, or if the standard refrigerators are to be replaced.

Anyone know anything about this?

What happens if I book a holiday and pay a deposit for, say, June 2018 and find out subsequently that I have to cancel. What is P&O's policy on returning deposits in full? Would travel insurance cover the usual risks that far in advance, even if I had travel insurance that is in force now?

Black tie doesn't apply in the Beach House on Ventura, so I would be surprised if it wasn't the same on Oceana.

We returned from our 2 week cruise on Ventura a couple of weeks ago. We didn't get the 'Something worth remembering' folder that we had on previous cruises. It contained a Cruise log and copies of our menus.

Is this another cost cutting excercise by P&O?

They also didn't give out Leis at the Tropical night.

If they want to save money perhaps they could save it on the green beans that come with every meal!

The water that comes through the taps in your cabin is the same as that in the buffet and which you are served in the main dining rooms. If you like chilled water, just fill up a large plastic bottle from the tap and keep it in your refrigerator.