peteukmcr

2 hours ago, brian1 said:

If it's outside the allocated sittings,booking times inbetween are very convenient.We always prebooked on Princess.

Exactly, and all lines who offer 'freedom' dining (except P&O) allow this and this is something I believe will have to offer on Iona when the whole ship is Freedom, otherwise it's likely to be organised chaos.

4 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Never really felt the need for a table for 2, we normally dine together the rest of the year, so it's a nice change to have different dinner companions every day on a cruise. As for pre booking a time and table, that just seems to negate the benefits of Freedom Dining, and if our RCI experience this summer is any guide then it's rather pointless, both pre reserved and no reservation lines had massive queues every day, resulting in dozens of laid but empty tables in the MDR.

4 hours ago, wowzz said:

I agree - surely booking a table in freedom dining is an oxymoron.

We also very rarely choose a table for two - plenty of time to eat as a couple at home - we certainly don't want to endure each others company on a cruuse as well? 

Well this is where we're all different and I believe we are part of a group that enjoy our own company and don't enjoy being forced to share with strangers. Pre booking does not negate the benefits for us because we don't like the formal times of say 6:30 or 8:00, but prefer to book as you would in the high street at a time that fits in with our daily plan, maybe one day 7:30, another 8:30 or even 09:00. We have never had an issue on RCI having rebooked, if we didn't then yes there's a line, but we plan, and just go straight to the podium for those with reservations. 

Interesting read regarding tables for 2 and the use of pagers. I can't get over how this line and others (RCI, Celebrity, Carnival) cannot organise their dining rooms with more tables for 2 on Freedom dining. The need is there, that's obvious. Moreover how this line does not (or will not) offer reservations for Freedom dining unlike others (which does negate the wait times and the need for pagers) is beyond me. I suspect as Iona will be all Freedom dining that things will have to change.

Norwegian have this cracked, never waited for a table for 2, invariably sat at a table for 4 and the extra place settings removed. When there is just 2 of us cruising, we don't and won't share unless we know our fellow diners.

Luckily when we sail Britannia we will be a party of 4 so hopefully not too much of a problem for a table. We will not be sharing, we don't cruise to eat with others, we happily socialise away from the dining room, but eating with strangers, no. 

2 hours ago, leesam said:

I really do hope you are right regarding the reservation of premium economy seats, i suppose only P&O are the ones to let me know.

Do you have any experience of time scales of the online booking of seats for the Virgin schedule flights arranged by P&O prior to your holiday?

 

I know the luggage collection Scenario is not the end of the world, i'm not having a go at P&O i'm just trying to get as close to what i paid for.

 

Unfortunately I do not have experience with flights arranged by P&O and an airline so I cannot give any advice on time scales.

I can see from the booking system we use for flights (I am a business travel agent, not leisure so no benefits with cruises unfortunately!) that there are at least 15 Premium seats available at the moment (there maybe more as airlines often don't show all those available as they have been pre-allocated for groups such as P&O).

2 hours ago, leesam said:

We have booked the TA on Britannia on 28 March 20 direct with P&O, premium economy cabin on TC as is a special occasion. 
Have  been told now Flight with Virgin which as has been said is a scheduled flight, been told by P&O that if booked premium that remains the same but if you go to book this flight Independently  via Virgins website there’s not many premium cabin seats left and the reason we paid extra originally was to be able to be in premium and sit together!!

Not looking too optimistic really especially if you also have to sort your own luggage out as well, I wonder what the options of Getting your deposit back is on this considering we had Paid upfront for the air preferences?

I would like to think that the reason only a few Premium seats showing is that they have been pre allocated and that yours are included in those. 

As for getting your deposit back (I assume for the whole cruise) you’d have to talk to P&O but the change of carrier wouldn’t appear to be a reason as things with airlines do happen and P&O may not see this as a reason to cancel. 

As for collecting your baggage, unfortunately that again is something out of P&Os control if the flight isn’t a full charter. Not too much of an issue surely? Imagine if P&O had cancelled your holiday because they couldn’t get an alternative flight for you in light of the collapse of Thomas Cook, that wasn’t within their control and they have worked really hard to find alternatives. 

10 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Since most of the Virgin flights will be charter then P&O will determine everything, quality of meals, who gets free drinks and who pays, and how much you pay for premium cabin and seat booking fees.  So comparing the standard with Virgin scheduled flights seems a bit pointless.

I disagree because as I mentioned earlier not all the flights for P&O with Virgin will be full charters, and that's according to a P&O rep. So it's important for some who are not on a exclusive Virgin P&O charter to understand the difference and therefore, the seating policy and in those cases the fact that bags may have to be collected upon arrival and will not be automatically transferred to ship which is what many are used to with full P&O charters. 

On 11/3/2019 at 5:19 PM, newbie cruissy said:

We are on Iona to the fjords in July. From what I can tell from the itinerary even on port days we'll return to the ship for lunch, so prob works for us. 2 port days are in little villages, and the other 2 port days the ship docks in the middle of town. 

And the price of alcohol (and soft drinks) in Norway are extortionate so you need to drink (and eat) on the ship. 

Thanks for the menus. The drinks package will save us money. Before coffees and water I estimate my daily bill would be £36.25, now put a couple of soft drinks in there, plus a coffee and a bottle of water, I’ll have cracked £39.95 no problem. Port days don’t influence my decision as I rarely drink in port and only consume alcohol once back onboard. IMHO £5.90 for a single measure of Bombay Sapphire and a Schweppes slim line tonic isn’t reasonable, I pay less than that in a city centre bar. 

4 minutes ago, CCFC said:

Flew to Miami with Virgin in July, excellent food and the staff were great. Flew back with Westjet and it was appalling. Bear in mind its going to be chartered so the menu and seat reservations are up to P&O not Virgin.

That's if it is fully chartered. Those flying to Barbados for next years Britannia TA in March have been told that the flight is not a charter and so they will have to collect their bags when they arrive in Barbados and clear customs.

The P&O rep I spoke to last week at a presentation in Salford advised that they are still not sure if full charters with Virgin are possible for all TC replacement flights. Some in the near future are full charters, but as my example above for those travelling to Barbados in March, these aren't.

1 hour ago, Jennizor said:

Today we received details of our flight to the Caribbean in February. Instead of Thomas Cook we are now flying with Virgin. We have never flown with them before so it would be great to hear about others’ experiences with them. 

Virgin Atlantic is our airline of choice. Admittedly we fly Premium Economy when we can, but always find the staff excellent and helpful.

41 minutes ago, Rob1966 said:

I am now flying with Virgin, I've flown a few times with Virgin and never had any issues, I am very pleased.

I am flying in 7 weeks, I have just rang P&O asking about seat reservations as the flight details are now listed in my cruise personaliser, I was told I will receive an email in due course with flight a booking reference, I can then reserve the seats online via the Virgin site - I was also told the aircraft had been chartered, I was wondering if the passengers from the TC flight would be split up and put on different flights.

Virgin do not usually charge to reserve seats, I am hoping this is the case.

I am also pleased my return flight is late (20:05) as I will get plenty of time in Barbados on the final day.

 

With regard to Virgin charging to select seats in advance, it depends on which fare has been purchased. If it is Economy 'Light' then seat selection is only free when online check in is available which is 24 hours prior to departure. Otherwise the cost for Economy 'Light' preselection in excess of 24 hours prior to departure is £30 each way for standard seats or £35 each way for standard seats on the upper deck of some 747 aircraft. Extra legroom seats are not available to Economy 'Light' fares.

If the fare is Economy 'Classic' then Standard seats can be selected for free more than 24 hours to departure, and £35 each way for standard seats on the upper deck. Exit row seats are available for a fee of £59 - £89 each way depending on the route. Exit rows with reduced leg room are available to Economy 'Classic' fares for £49 each way.

See this link for full details and see the 'Choosing your seats in advance' section

https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/gb/en/prepare-to-fly/extras-and-upgrades.html

I've just bought a Burgundy tuxedo for our next TA on Britannia, so that's a black one, 'red one' and a black & silver one (as in profile pic). He'll be fine with any.

Interesting, but having seen a presentation regarding Iona last Saturday by P&O reps I'm not surprised in the reduction of formal nights on Iona with the vast array of alternative dining venues, especially in the Sky Dome area. All appear to be less formal than the main dining rooms. It will be interesting to see what venues are out of bounds on formal evening if you're not dressed accordingly.

With Iona's sister ship due in 2022 (expected to be designed more for warmer climes - according to P&O) you can only expect a reduction in formal dress codes. 

RCI are the latest to abandon formal night on some ships (no doubt to be fleet wide eventually), now known as 'Wear your Best'. As with 'Evening Chic' on Celebrity and 'Norwegian Night Out' on NCL, this does not prevent you from wearing formal wear, and people still do, it's just not mandatory. Of course none of those lines ever restricted you from using venues you've paid for if you weren't dressed formally which is my bugbear with P&O even though I intend to adhere to the dress code on our upcoming Britannia TA (just bought another tux yesterday).

Following an invitation from a major TA, I attended a presentation given by 2 P&O representatives from Southampton on Saturday in Manchester. The major push was with regard to the overnight stays being offered and of course Iona. The next new ship to join the fleet in 2022 was mentioned and although all indications are that she will be similar in terms of size as Iona, the layout will be different to give more variety as it was suggested P&O don't want too many ships the same.

1 hour ago, philsuarez said:

Accessing it from your smartphone is just so much more convenient though. Always have phone on me but always forget to pick up the daily paper

I agree, both NCL and RCI have apps that work pretty well too, especially when around and about the ship.

This is the latest video courtesy of Patrick of this great cruise

https://youtu.be/Wsn8ZGqCE4g

When we boarded Escape in September, when I went to order our Rebellious Fish the bar tender advised that tax would be charged. The tax was $1.07 per cocktail.

7 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Just a quick note....off of Breakaway last week.  CD on board mentioned that 85% of the passengers had the dining package.  So, a la carte pricing does not apply to the vast amount of NCL  passengers.

I agree, but we only had a 3 dinner package and had enjoyed that at La Cucina, Le Bristro and Teppanyaki. We used obc for Cagney’s, but my point is that if you were to pay, it isn’t worth it in our opinion. 

Although we think the ‘special’ in cruise ships steak houses as been diminished over the years as the charges have increased, after our latest experience at Cagney’s on Escape and Chops 3 weeks earlier on Independence, I’ll vote for Chops. Neither are stunning, but the al a carté pricing at Cagney’s is a joke. Chops was $39 per person, so $78 for 2 of us. 

Cagney’s would have been $168 for the 2 of us and it wasn’t worth that. 

We had the Colossal Shrimp to start at $13 per person, a Wedge and Caesar Salad at $7 each and a 9oz Filet Mignon each at $35 per person, 3 sides (mashed potato, mushrooms and onion rings) at $6 per serving and 2 desserts also $6 each. A total of $168 including 20% gratuity. As our steak orders were mixed up in terms of cooking, (which was not apparent until we had each eaten some), we were not charged for the sides or desserts, so the final charge was $110 plus 20%, a total of $132. We still consider this too high for a cruise ship steakhouse. 

9 hours ago, Deeliteful said:

All fair points peteukmcr except imo the disembarkation on my Breakaway cruise in June was an absolute nightmare. Quite the worst of any cruise line I’ve been  on , just chaotic.

Embarkation was the complete opposite! Smooth, well organised and really easy.

Such a shame, our disembarkation off Breakaway in April was a breeze, it was just finding the car rental shuttle that was a mess. Just off Escape in NYC was a little slow as the terminal was obviously not built for the number of guests on a Breakaway plus ship, so we were held outside the terminal once off the ship, but only for a short while and immigration was brilliant as NCL and the US officials are testing facial recognition, and we just got a green light and walked through. 

In both cases, must say check in and boarding was easy, a little longer in NYC, but again I think that's because of the capacity of the terminal. But not stressful in either Miami or NYC.

I only have a few food 'porn' photos. 2 are from Le Bistro (scallop starter and pork tenderloin main) and 2 from O'Sheehan's (nachos and cheeseburger). All excellent btw

We've sailed 21 times on RCI (Diamond +) but have now moved to NCL. Don't get me wrong, we still have 3 RCI sailings in the pipeline but that's basically because of the ships we want to sail on (Anthem, Allure) and itineraries (Transatlantic and South Pacific). We have now completed 4 NCL sailings over the past few years, 3 since 2018 (Epic TA November 2018, Breakaway April 2019 and just off Escape in September this year).

However, there are many similarities as they are both mass market cruise lines and both have great entertainment in terms of broadway shows on the bigger ships (RCI with Hairspray, Mamma Mia, Grease, Saturday Night Fever etc and NCL with Priscilla, Rock of Ages, After Midnight, Choir of Man).

What has become a big plus for us is the Freestyle Dining options, the sheer number of speciality restaurants, and the variety and number of complimentary dining venues. The 24 hour opening of table service venues such as O'Sheehans gives something RCI just does not offer. The lack of pressure to share tables when there's only 2 of you and in most cases on NCL, where you are given a table for 4 and 2 place settings removed, and the tables are not crammed in next to the next table for 2 which is tiresome on RCI as you might as well be sharing a table for 4 or even 6 with 2 couples on either side of you!

On the Breakaway and Breakaway Plus ships, the Waterfront is fantastic in our opinion with bars and restaurants having outdoor areas in addition to the numerous seating areas designated as quiet zones.

There are so many nice touches in the cabins too. Coffee maker provided as standard, pool towels in the room, no need to 'check out' towels on the pool deck, toiletries in the bathroom and separate shampoo and body wash dispensers in the shower and hand washer over the basin. Robes provided without asking and even for us as relatively new NCL cruisers. Complementary bottle of sparkling wine for all returning guests in your cabin, regardless of loyalty level.

As for food, although I've mentioned the number of speciality restaurants, we enjoy the complimentary food, and definitely the burgers in the buffet and O'Sheehans beat RCI's pathetic offerings hands down. We think the buffet food to be of a better quality as in our opinion RCI's Windjammer offerings have declined over the years with the desserts awful. NCL's are far superior. Although to be fair, food is so subjective it should not be the only thing to convince someone to sail NCL.

The disembarkation process is also so uncomplicated at the end of the sailing. If you want NCL to transfer your bags to the terminal, you decide on the time and go and pick the appropriate luggage tags, they are not decided for you like on RCI (and then you have to go and change them!). You can stay in your cabin for longer on NCL than has been the case on RCI. Table service breakfast is also available on NCL but you're not forced to share a table like on RCI on that final morning which is something we detest!

There are only a couple of things we don't like, such as the $15 per bottle corkage charge for taking bottles of wine/champagne onboard during initial embarkation even if you are consuming them in your cabin (to be fair I've only been charged on 1 occasion over 4 sailings though). The beverage packages don't include bottled water nor speciality coffees.

There also seems to be far fewer announcements on NCL compared to what seems to be continuous advertising of Bingo, Art Auctions, $10 sales and Pool games on RCI which seem to interrupt your relaxing time during the day.

I have 2 reviews from our recent NCL cruises, the latest of which is here

https://highseasescapades.co.uk/ncl-escape-from-new-york-to-new-england-and-canada/

Here’s another instalment of our fantastic sailing on Escape courtesy of Patrick 

Just off Escape (22nd September). Booked speciality in advance but had no problem booking Choir of Man onboard during the week, but if you can do it day 1, I’d recommend it. The show is fantastic. 

Not sure if it would help but just published my review 

https://highseasescapades.co.uk/ncl-escape-from-new-york-to-new-england-and-canada/

2 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

Madonna is the obvious one for girls, or Bananarama. 

Big hair and big shoulder pads would suffice. 

Adam Ant or Freddie Mercury would be my choice, always fancied myself as a 'Dandy Highwayman'

I haven't seen many passengers dress up on these nights, perhaps the odd deely bopper and fluorescent wrist band but not much else. 

Andy

 

Perhaps I should bring this along. Used for another cruise line’s 80s night