WECRUISEUK

18 minutes ago, david63 said:

The problem with that approach is that anyone who is inconsiderate enough to leave whatever in the corridor will either remove the label or give reception a load of earache.

The next step would be,after a one time severe warning, to remove the "inconsiderate" people from the ship at the next port as they are endangering all of us by blocking gangways.Stay with your items and make sure they join you in your cabin,that way no stranger can remove the label.

On 3/15/2024 at 7:14 PM, david63 said:

Anything left in any corridor (possible exception being the cabin steward's trolleys!) should be removed and a several hundred pound fee be required to have it returned to the cabin.

A bit harsh especially if the owner is on a tight budget.My suggestion would be that when boarding with a wheelchair or buggy,you will be given a large label with your room no. and name on that MUST be displayed at all times.If it's left in the gangway or anywhere else unatended then reception can be notified and THEY will contact the owner.

2 hours ago, Vampiress88 said:

So we are a little undecided what to do about parking. 
 

we see that all the princess and p&o ships all go from the same docks more or less. 
 

usually I have cps parking in with the holiday. This time I’m on my own. 
 

I did look at going with holiday extras as I like the meet and greet parking but when I mapped that I believe it’s not at the same dock. It’s next to AB parking who we will be using but for msc and royal Caribbean. 
 

so for those who go on p&o and princess and have to do their own parking please who do you go with. It’s in August and they are wanting £270 for two weeks which is quite a lot. 

Have you considered a hotel for the night before with parking included.What sort of distance are you traveling from?Train down the day before,hotel one night and short taxi run.Like you say,it is august and the prices are on the roof.We've looked at options many times and always end up with cps,our latest one on 2nd march,2 weeks,which is £160.All i can suggest is go to CPS,get a quote and go from there.Britania,two weeks in august with cps........£243.

On 2/10/2024 at 12:28 PM, solentsam said:

HI just returned from two weeks in Canaries on Iona was hearing quite a few pax had sickness/tummy bug on board. lucky we never had it. So anyone joining today remember to wash your hands frequently.

It still amazes us that so many people out there just don't bother to wash their hands after going to the loo,or using the hand gel stations.Covid was a warning for all of us and something more severe will turn up.Whenever we're out we try not to touch anything,just remember that almost all contact is done on the palm of your hands.If you can,why not open doors with your foot,knee or elbow.Stop using your finger to operate buttons on a lift or cashpoint,use your knuckle.The palm of your hand is what transports a large majority of these various bugs.Then the other much more difficult one is keeping your distance as much as possible due to airborn germs,not an easy thing to do on a cruise ship.

15 hours ago, OccasionalSanta said:

Which explains why restaurant workers in the U.K. (and other like countries) are happy to serve tourists from the U.S.

Your right,thing is here in the u.k. workers recieve a good minimum wage which means they don't have to rely on tips.Those on cruise ships also recieve a decent wage/conditions plus a chance to see the world,lucky people.

Hello,just like your culture,we in the u.k. are not overly keen on tipping and when on board go straight to the main reception and adjust the amount to zero.Do that and then if you really feel the urge to tip for exceptional outstanding service,great.Certain cruise lines in the u.k.,P&O,M.S.C. and SAGA all have tips included.

        Is it cheaper to pay before or after?

You could always do what we do and give what you feel is justified.

4 hours ago, Fionboard said:

On Aurora last week in Force 12, water was pouring in from decks under the doors. Carpets were soaked and people on bar stools were surrounded by water. Mopping up and many towels did the trick!

 Could still get a drink?

A few major plusses with P&O compared to RCI,no gratuities,no waterslides taking up space on top deck and no added tax when you purchase a drink.As for shorts in the main dining room,why would you even want to do that?The drink package is never worth it for us as the wife hardly ever touches alcohol and there's no way we could get through at least £80 worth everyday,you have a drink on land then your paying for it twice.Obviously the imediate benefit for you is your only going to pay £80 instead of £140 per day,plus no daily tips.They all have their good and not so good points so read the smallprint.

5 minutes ago, Bin man said:

No just checked my photos and the date we were there was Wednesday the 8th November and as I say we were not asked to take any test or we would not have gone off .You haven't got your month wrong by any chance meaning December time flies 

Your right,i apologise,it was dec. and not nov.,my mistake.Quite often i lose track of time,what day is it?

5 minutes ago, Bin man said:

That's strange we were on Iona and went off ship on the 8th November on our own and we're not asked to take any test only temperature test at gangway 

So you didn't have a test two days prior to arriving in Lisbon (6th nov.)?

13 hours ago, Gettingwarmer said:

Can anybody at present on Iona confirm if everyone on the ship was tested for covid and why this was done. 
Now found on other site that it was a company specific requirement that all passengers attend for an antigen test whilst on their way to Madeira.

This is a most worrying occurrence that they will at anytime make you take a test even if you are not going ashore and you have no symptoms. Makes travelling in new year less likely. 

Hello,two days prior to arriving in Lisbon (8th nov.) the Portugese authorities asked that all those wishing to come ashore to have a test.The wife and i,plus many others decided to stay onboard as failing the test would have meant quaranteen for the remainder of the Iona cruise.The tests at the time were £18 each and as we can now see the rules and guidelines are shifting all the time.

On IONA recently and had similar issues,asked staff at reception who reasured us they will help out.Lots of passengers in similar situation and they allocated a large area of the crows nest with lots of staff to assist in the plf form filling,plus they gave us a printout.Excellant first rate service from P&O,great ship and very helpful staff.Let us know how Britannia staff did with this situation,was the issue resolved?

On 11/10/2021 at 8:39 AM, zoe sproodle said:

Has anyone happened to notice where the smoking areas are on Iona?  We’ve booked Deck 12, starboard side aft and are curious to know if we’ll be near one.

Overheard a couple asking this very question to a crew member the other week and he said,"the engine room has it's moments"

On 12/13/2021 at 10:09 AM, kevboy said:

Sorry if this question has been asked before but what is the latest on needing to be tested before going ashore on the Christmas Canaries cruise? P&O said a couple of weeks ago that most places they visit dont require tests but has anything changed in the last 2 weeks?  My family of four going ashore at each of the 5 ports of call would cost over £350 for onboard testing. Can any recent or current cruisers in the Canaries provide any information please.

regards and thank you

kev

Hello,just returned on 11th dec. on Iona which should have been 14 nts but ended up 13 due to weather,recieved obc of £75 each as goodwill gesture,also just put in a claim on our ins.All of the spanish ports we're fine (no tests),the Lisbon stop required an antigen test to be taken two days prior to arival at a cost of £18 each.If your stopping at Lisbon or Madeira i would say the same will apply.We declined and stayed on board with many others as failing the test would have meant quaranteen.

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Iona is now south of Falmouth. I wonder if she will take shelter in Torbay to let the storm pass, before heading into Southampton overnight?

Early hours in the morning will be when they dock,around 4am.

7 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I don’t see that the two things are comparable. A plane is merely a means of transport. If your flight is delayed you still get what you paid for (i.e. getting from A to B). A cruise is an entire holiday, including food, entertainment and accommodation. If you paid for a 14 day holiday but only got a 13 day one, it seems entirely reasonable that you should get a pro rata refund for the missed day, regardless of the cause. The issue is whether that refund comes from P&O or the insurers. 

They can both pay,this is covered on our ins. in the "delay" section as i'm sure it is with others,that's job no.1 on our return.As for the "goodwill gesture",thankyou very much.

  We had a major flight delay in 2016 with Thomson,just over 24 hours and claimed off ins. and with the help of martin lewis through the c.a.a. also got a large amount from the airline.

3 hours ago, Eddie99 said:

Ha!

Never ending, isn’t it?  Or so it seems

I think I’ll relocate Oct 22 cruise to Oct 23 tomorrow 

If everything turns out fine I’ll prob be able to rebook but clearing the decks seems like a good idea

Shares have taken a hammering today, so there’s obviously plenty of jitters around …

Don't panic don't panic.

3 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

That’s an intriguing comment, John. I’m reliably informed by someone sitting across the room that OBC can only be used on Radley bags.

They sound expensive,my mrs won't spend that sort of money,normally in and out of charity shops (farmers daughter) which works to my advantage.Plus,she hardly ever drinks alcohol,mostly coffee or water.So this means i could end up with my own drinks package.

3 hours ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

I don't know whether anyone else has notice this with regards to onboard credit. When you get onboard credit this will be used for drinks, goods and maybe  speciality dining. If it costs you say for instance £150 per day for your cruise. If P&O then gave you £150 onboard credit it wouldn't be like giving you a £150 refund as the items you purchase will have a 50% or more mark up on them. So your £150 credit is only actually worth £75 or less.

It all depends where you choose to spend your OBC,your right if you decide buy things in the shops as there's quite a markup.If you use it to buy your drinks (beer/wine) then the prices are very similar to what you spend on land.Most expensive pint we nearly bought this year was £6.15,i just looked at the barmaid,the wife laughed and we both walked away.

All this is new to us  just like it is for many others on here.When we we're first offered the FCC back in early 2020 we thought that was a generous offer and snatched there hand off.Thing is this,shortly afterwards they raised it from the 10% that we took,up to 25%.We complained,but to late as,"you've excepted the offer".What i think there going to do is offer varying amounts to each of us based on our cabin price and you can except or decline,this will happen perhaps when you board or when your in your cabin on day one.Each of us will have an amount that's going to be exceptable and will decide when the number arrives.

Just checked our ins. and for "delays" they pay,£50 for first 12 hours then £10 for each full 12 hours.

2 minutes ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

I don't know whether anyone else has notice this with regards to onboard credit. When you get onboard credit this will be used for drinks, goods and maybe  speciality dining. If it costs you say for instance £150 per day for your cruise. If P&O then gave you £150 onboard credit it wouldn't be like giving you a £150 refund as the items you purchase will have a 50% or more mark up on them. So your £150 credit is only actually worth £75 or less.

£150 each sounds reasonable to me,plus i'm going to check our ins. to see what's in the small print.

3 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Agree it's pretty rubbish for the more expensive grades.  Luckily my lot have not had to pay out on their hotel as it was cancellable and they're able to stay with us tomorrow. Not sure how their car parking will work though, do the car parks adjust it or what?

Just phoned CPS parking and told to turn up on sunday with original paperwork,no need to reprint or anything.

8 minutes ago, daveoc said:

According to a post by P&O on their Twitter account we will get £75pp for delay.

Not sure if that is good or not.

Will that be for each person irrespective of what they have paid as some rooms could have cost nearly double to others.Not only are you losing one day but it looks like your also going to be losing the Vigo stop,which means three days straight down to Gib.

21 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Is the credit generous?  I've just acquired 4 members of my immediate family for overnight Saturday as their hotel cant accommodate them.

Never experianced this before and for those that have,in your experiance is there a standard amount given to the obc,plus do you think it looks likely that Vigo will have to be missed?Just seen the weather report,sunday does look a lot more calmer and slightly warmer.

17 hours ago, majortom10 said:

Honestly dont think it makes a lot of difference as long as you have LFT code and is accepted. We had problems filling ours in prior to our Cunard cruise on 1st Nov and rang government freephone helpline and the person answered didnt have a clue and he kept on saying do this and I kept saying it wont accept that and after about 20 minutes was put through to a supervisor who didnt know much better. When we got to the port to check in was asked have we filled out PLF and said yes she ticked a box and never checked anything and there was no body at all be it border control or customs at  Southampton on our return.

From what your saying i'm glad we found the online help as phoening the helpline was going to be our next move today.Whoever put the questions together has made a lot of assumptions,even their staff don't fully understand.A big learning curve for all of us i suppose and one that can only improve in time.