peteukmcr

Just to say, although we have enjoyed our ‘trial’ of QM2, the dress code on this sailing has not been enforced at all in my opinion. I know that on the last evening guests may have packed all their finery, but yesterday evening there were t shirt, jeans and baseball caps in the Commodore Club, Carinthia Lounge and Champagne Bar.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And yesterday evening we did our twist on black tie

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We are on QM2 and we waited until QE sailed and then we departed.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was told that yes, you can upgrade but the fare for the stateroom you wish to change to will what it was at the time of your original booking, not the latest lower fare.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just as an update we’re on QM2 from Southampton to Hamburg although many are continuing their crossing from New York.

 

Last night dress code informal (jacket required) yet a few in the Chart Room in jeans t shirts and others with no jacket.

 

Just letting you know. Others in tuxes though, not us tonight.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good decision, have a great trip

 

 

 

 

Muster done, champagne sail away. Waiting for QE to sail away first.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Our Tattinger champagne is chilling in the fridge!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

While there is no prohibition against dressing more formally than requested, there are two problems with doing so. One, there is no formal ambience if one couple is in black tie while their table mates are in "smart casual". Two, the hosts for that night have specified "informal" and to show up in formal attire is essentially saying, "I am proper and you are not." Just my opinion.

I take your point, but then again we dress to not only to abide by dress codes, but to enjoy ourselves and we don’t plan to be exactly ‘black tie’ and we never worry what other people do or think. I’d never consider us superior to others which is what you are implying.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have been following this thread with interest as we embark on our first Cunard sailing tomorrow (albeit not a 'voyage' and so not a full representation of the line, but being used as a trial of the ship for us) and we are taking formal attire, even though there is no mention of this requirement in the CP.

 

However, it was reported on a previous short sailing on QE I believe, that one evening was designated formal optional once on board and many were disappointed as they had not brought the appropriate attire, but we will have just in case and to be honest may wear it regardless. I doubt there's any restrictions on dressing 'higher' than the published requirement. :)

 

Whatever our experience is, my question is this, if Cunard are relaxing the dress code to the point where those of you who expect the formality of what Cunard used to offer are no longer happy, which line are you going to move to?

 

I maybe wrong, but I don't know of any other cruise line that demands the formality you expect and is offered on Cunard, expect maybe P&O, but then I don't believe they offer all the other elements of enrichment and facilities provided by Cunard.

With respect, comparing the Premier Inn with the Hatbour Hotel is comparing chalk with cheese. No pool, no spa, basic rooms, no in room drinks provided, no lovely bar terrace, and the restaurants - well, impossible to compare them either.

 

We have had, and currently have, the Harbour booked for considerably less that the figure you quote also.

With respect I am not comparing Premier Inn with the Harbour Hotel in terms of facilities, I am commenting on the prices as Southampton isn’t all about cruising and leisure travellers. I am off to work soon and I can assure you that when I get the call today to book business travellers into Southampton this hotel won’t be on their lists as it’s too expensive which unfortunately isn’t what Harbour Hotels want as they don’t want to rely on the cruise passenger all the time.

For example for this evening when there’ll be few cruise passengers in Southampton (no departures tomorrow) the Harbour Hotel rate is around 60% higher than many of the major chains.

Not for the last couple of years as we have seen a very steady decline.

 

We first defected to the Hilton at the Ageas Bowl, which was good, not the other Hilton, but since it opened have now settled for the new Southampton Harbour Hotel, in Ocean Village, which is truly wonderful.

I agree that the new Southampton Harbour Hotel is good however Harbour hotels keep telling me as a business travel consultant that their rates are competitive with other properties in the area and they know their market. I beg to differ as my clients are a major food company

and have a rate cap far less than the lowest offered by this hotel and that’s why they have empty rooms and places like Premier Inn and Jurys are packed every night. They can’t rely on cruise passengers paying £285 per night when they can get a perfectly good room for £99 or less at the Premier Inn.

"I did find the wine waiter in Britannia a bit sniffy on the first night with a "you do know there is a corkage fee", but he had loosened up by the end of the cruise with me taking in a bottle every night and him seeing it wasn't cheap rubbish I was drinking."

 

Well, the waiter may have a shock when I hand him a cheap bottle of plonk! It seems ok for Cunard to dish it out [see Pol Acker thread] It would be a tad hypocritical for him to look down his nose. I'm not a wine snob if I like it I drink it. :)

I agree and they can look down their noses as much as they like but I’m not paying $45 a bottle.

It was definitely a tender port when we visited on MSC Fantasia and we boarded the dhows straight off the ship.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for information, it says on itinerary it's a tender port but guess we will find out on day. We have booked the Dolphin Khasab tour for the morning and will look at the other suggestions.

 

 

 

It was definitely a tender port when we visited on MSC Fantasia and we boarded the dhows straight off the ship.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Returned today from the May 10 crossing. I was honestly shocked at how many men didn’t wear jackets on informal nights(like 5 percent but still), and saw quite a few get turned away on formal nights for not wearing ties.

So ahocked that maybe 5% of male passengers were not wearing jackets, so that’s what maybe 70 men out of an average of 1350 gentlemen, assuming a 50% split of nearly a 2695 maximum total capacity?

 

Wow, I’d be more concerned if it were 50% non compliance.

I must get some new glasses, the last time I looked at this thread it quite distinctly said P & O cruises. So why has it suddenly been changed to RCI and Celebrity thread?

 

Oh I see this post belongs in another section because it has nothing to do with P & O cruises.

 

If we are paying their wages through AG, PO tell us that removing it, as such, does not change what staff receive. So to give them a real tip on top of wages one has to remove AG and give them cash, which can be kept by the person it is given to.

It hasn't changed to another lines thread. But as I stated earlier, I will continue to provide a comparison of the charges other lines make regarding to gratuities/service to broaden the horizons of P&O cruisers who think they are being 'ripped off' by the line.

 

There are several people like me who sail on other lines as well as P&O so they may be interested. If you sail exclusively on P&O then my information lets you know that you are not that hard done to with regard the £7 pppd which most are complaining about.

Last time we were in Orlando I left $2 tip daily with a note saying thank you for the chambermaid.

 

Sent from my FIG-LX1 using Forums mobile app

I agree and usually near the ‘name tag’ left usually near the telephone introducing themselves . We leave the tip as we check out which is an amount multiplied by the number of days stay. E.g at Disney 3 weeks ago $10 for a 3 night stay

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It amuses me every time this subject comes up on CC. If I was staying in a hotel for a week or month would I have additional costs (Gratuities) placed on my bill? NO. Although the same person has cleaned my room every day they are not expecting a tip.

Although you may not have gratuities added to your bill, in a lot of hotels there will be a little note letting you know the name of your room attendant and therefore, that’s a subtle way of asking for a tip. Happens all the time to us in the US.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just a minute, are we paying all their wages in AG? Or is this a tip for good service? I got paid for doing my job, never saw a tip however well I did it. If we are paying their wages then it is not a gratuity and you make it sound as though we are paying their wages and not giving something for good service.

Well with RCI and Celebrity and can say that when pre paying, it shows on your invoice as On Board Service Charge, and has for years, so it is a payment for service.

Well all I can say is that if the comments on here (and other threads on this Cunard board) are anything to go by, then I am seriously concerned over the quality of anything provided as part of my cruise fare and delivered by Cunard for my forthcoming trial of the line. And that is exactly what it is in my view, a trial of what the line can offer me as a discerning cruiser of 6 different lines and 28 cruises over 14 years. So by no means a ‘newbie’ to this kind of leisure activity.

Oh dear, it's so easy. We tip our Cabin Steward on the penultimate night - they are always around then. As to the waiters, they are also there on the last night. As to taking cash, I draw the cash from Reception 2 days before we get home. There is no extra charge on my credit card for drawing cash. Lastly, if the cabin steward isn't around, you simply leave an envelope on the bed with his name on it. That's what my friend does who travels alone.

 

If tips were included in the upfront cost, wouldn't you still give a little tip. We would.

Oh dear, its even easier to leave the auto gratuity on too. No messing about with getting cash however collected, no filling envelopes, no hunting down staff. How much time of your holiday are you wasting in line at reception to get cash (isn’t it in £s on P&O anyway, I was referring to exchanging currency into $), dividing up the cash, putting it into the envelopes, carrying them around? But then again some people love the drama of handing over an envelope, however discretely to a worker. I don’t, I find it very embarrassing for myself and the recipient, so once again I stand my decision to keep auto gratuities in place.

 

Let’s face it, whatever I say or do, you always, and I mean always have an answer on any thread where you like to try and rebuke me. So, you continue to remove your gratuities and reward those you feel deserve it in whatever way you feel is appropriate. I’ll continue to express my views and preferences that auto or pre paid is my preference, and that the amount on P&O is one of the lowest in the industry and I do not object to those on the other lines I sail on. Basically those who sail on P&O should stop moaning about £7 pppd as it’s nothing compared to other lines, but I happily pay it. What I get from reading the comments on here is that people object to the cost of £7 pppd. They think it’s expensive and that it has increased a lot over recent times. Maybe it has, but it’s still less expensive than on other lines.

 

I am making comparisons which I am fully entitled to do to ensure a more informed picture is given and I stand behind my comments that it’s low on P&O and good value compared to other lines.

Sailing with two kids on RCI and Celebrity costs us an additional $812 in grats. That's over $400 to clean our cabin. Not a bad craic for cleaning a cabin for a fortnight. :o

But that’s a cabin with 4 persons, so that’s 4 lots of bedding, 4 lots of towels etc. Just because they are children does not reduce the amount of linens for a cabin of 4. People seem to think that you shouldn’t pay for children, but they still sleep in a bed using bedding, they still use a bathroom using towels and toiletries, they still discard rubbish. To me that’s why cruise lines consider a stateroom as having a number of berths, regardless of the ages of those inhabiting it.

This info was posted on another thread and works!!

Log in. Go to settings. Add your gender. Save. Log out. Then log in again. All your points and cruises magically reappear

I feel sorry for people who don't know about cruise critic. They must be in hysterical panics

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

Cheers, I'm set back from gender neutral to Male and woo hoo, points and status now shows, thanks!

Our on board statement for our April cruise on Azura shows £98 for each of us, so £7 pppn applied on 14th April (first sea day after leaving Southampton). It looks like P&O are being as inconsistent as usual :mad:.

Well seems like a bargain to me for a 14 night sailing, we’ve just had £153.79 pp (£307.58 for both of us) added to an upcoming 14 night sailing on RCI, which equates to £10.99 pppd. That’s up from £10.62 pppd. So £196 for 2 people seems a bargain to me.

 

 

The same amounts apply to Celebrity too.

 

And I don’t begrudge the staff one penny of that and reward others during the cruise as and when they deserve if.

 

Shortly sailing on Cunard and $11.50 pppd will be added, so that’s approximately £8.52 pppd. Again these will be added automatically and I wouldn’t dream of removing them.

 

We started cruising when envelopes were the only way of distributing gratuities and we hated it.

 

Firstly, having to have that amount of cash (especially exchanging £s to $) available was a pain, secondly having to track down your servers on the last night (they are busy enough to stop and chat imho), especially if not dining in the MDR on the last night was a tiresome exercise, and thirdly, waiting for your stateroom attendant on the last evening to be able to reward them personally and saying thanks (leaving an enevlope on the dresser is far too impersonal for us) impacts on our final night on board.

 

So any process of auto or pre paid gratuity is welcomed by us. Interestingly NCL now include gratuity in their ‘Inclusive’ fares and we don’t find them any more expensive when you add in those for RCI or Celebrity for a comparable cruise.

 

We’ve never experienced sub standard service that would warrant removal of a gratuity over 14 years of cruising, 28 sailings, 6 cruise lines (RCI, Celebrity, MSC, NCL, Carnival & P&O) except for P&O, but that was a weekend sailing and so I’ll reserve judgement until our next one. Although the poor service on that sailing was from bar staff, dining room hosts (not the wait staff), and guest services and of course they are not included in the gratuity being discussed here.

 

The purpose of this post is to try and provide some sort of comparison in the cost of gratuities on P&O compared to other lines.

Thanks. that's very useful to know. At this moment, our flights are out of range but will check with SeatGuru when they become available.

A word of warning though, if the aircraft is not full, Emirates will keep the economy seats immediately in front of the upper deck business class cabin empty and will not make them available for pre selection so that the business class passengers are not disturbed by us lesser mortals. I kid you not, I have that on authority from our Emirates rep.

 

This was the case on our last Emirates flight, but after a quiet word with a senior cabin attendant about the row of 4 unsupervised children immediately behind us who were taking great delight in kicking the backs of our seats (even before we took off), she got one of her colleagues to escort us to the empty section which for an hour or so we had completely to ourselves.