danielundecided

I would go to E628?? View seems a little bit better, and E706 seems to be right opposite to the opening to the stair/lift bank - not guaranteed to cause noise, but I’d say there would be a bigger chance of being disturbed by noise than on the corridor by E628

Dan

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Thanks Dan. I don’t suppose you remember any land marks where the shuttle bus dropped you off? We’d like to walk round some of the town at the top of the hill, but don’t want to walk too far - before heading down to the riviera.

Sorry for late response, I don’t remember anything really really specifically - I don’t think there was anything famous but I recall there being a structure not dissimilar to a clock tower - perhaps 3 stories high?? Even though the streets are relatively twisty and the buildings are tall, if you can remember roughly you are you should be fine, as I wouldn’t say it’s particularly easy to get lost. You can usually see where the British tourists are from a mile off anyway, so head for the clusters [emoji38]

Dan

Does anyone know where the shuttle buses drop you in Porto? We fancy doing our own walking tour, but are wondering what is realistic to include.

Last year we found the shuttle bus drove past the riviera, then went up the hill a lot and dropped us off in a relative middle of nowhere. So if you want to get to the riviera you have to go down the hill, then remember where to get the bus from; wasn’t too difficult.

Dan

2 adults and 2 teenagers here. We could (barely) survive in an outside cabin last year for a week - so the way onwards in the future, like this year, is balcony cabins upwards.

Dan

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To some people the lower price is more important than their children's education. We always try to cruise during term time but there are always a number of school age children on board unless we go on an adult only ship. The current penalty for taking a child out of school for a holiday is nowhere near enough to act as a deterrent, I believe that some councils do not expect the schools to fine any parents.

Or may it possibly be that the extra £1,000/£1,500 that P&O want for summer holiday cruises is unaffordable for some?? When we took our kids on our first cruise in 2009, what they had experienced in those two weeks, ie. visiting Pompeii, are things that very few teens their age can say they've seen. And here we are, 8 years down the line, with 2 kids doing extremely well in their studies. As ours have got older we've chosen not to take them out of term time whatsoever, but truth be told I don't think 5 days out (unless in exam season for your child) is going to be detrimental for their education in the grand scheme of things - having a break from the stress which is loaded on them daily and replacing it with a sliver of quality family time may (dare I say it) do them a world of good. And I'm assuming others have the same thoughts - which is why they're deciding not to stump up the extra £1k.

I certainly see where you're coming from, but if a child is willing to put effort into their education to catch up, a week definitely shouldn't effect them.

A bit off topic, but that's just my opinion on the issue

Dan

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Hi,

I'm a bit late on the pre-registering boat (pun definitely intended) this year, and one of the cruises we like the look of for 2019 is 12 nights to the Fjords on Aurora in July. It's quite port intensive; having 7 ports in 12 nights.

My concern before I commit to anything is that the teen atmosphere on board will be very bland and boring for a 17 year old. As far as I've read, Aurora has a higher age range of clientele while still being a family friendly ship. Bearing this in mind, with the sailing being out of main school holidays, and being 12 nights to Norway, is the atmosphere still somewhat of "family fun" or just tolerating families? We're not bothered about constant raves etc, just the atmosphere on board being "fun" and the likelihood of there being other teens on board.

The itinerary looks nice (especially Geiranger) however it has me worried that after a while, in Norway all the ports would seem to "blend" into one and we'd get bored.

Can anyone shed some light onto this? Thanks :)

Dan

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I'm booked on my first cruise in June 18. If I book for 2019 in September will I qualify for past passenger discount, or do I have to wait until after my cruise and lose access to the best prices?

 

 

 

Les.

I believe you wouldn't qualify for the fares - as you haven't cruised before P&O wouldn't have your details as one of a past cruiser's and there wouldn't be a peninsular club number.

I'm not sure if past passenger discounts are even being applied for 2019. If they are, someone please correct me!

Dan

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As the cabin isn't directly over the lounge, you should be ok. It's over an anonymous white space that is on the same side of the ship (which should be alright) but you may like to try switching to cabins G629 or G631 if they're vacant to give you a bit of piece of mind. As you've booked the select fare this change will be free. :)

Dan

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I'd like some advice please.

 

I have noted how you all say it is best to book early for the best prices and although this is totally out of character for me I am taking your advice. However I don't understand the registration system. Do you all book before you know the exact price? Also is the registration price different from the price which is published after the launch, or will I be able to book a couple of days later and still get a good deal?

First off, I'll ring my TA and get some quotes. When we've chosen a cruise we like we'll go through which cabin we'd prefer and pick a few back-up cabins, in case she can't get that particular one. TA makes notes of the cruise, select price benefit etc etc and takes my card detail for the deposit.

As she already has my card details and knows what we'd like, she can book the cruise for us through her agency's TA booking system as soon as they go on sale and uses my card details that I gave her to pay for the deposit. When the booking is confirmed she'll send me an email with all the information etc etc.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy, and the holiday's booked :)

Pre registering seems like a good idea to me, it gives me a chance to umm and aah over a holiday for a week or so and make up my mind without the chance of the cost going up/down or cabins selling out!

P.S. anyone know if the 5% deposit and the 10% off for past cruisers will be back?

Dan

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The ships can only legally have so many kids of each age range on board, i.e. X amount of 9-12s, X amounts of 13-17s etc etc. Once these limits have been filled no more children of that age bracket are allowed on the sailing.

So simply put, all the kids' places on the ship are 'sold out'.

By the looks of it, lots of people are having the same idea as us with kids of the ages around 15/16 and 17/18 - grab a cheaper holiday that's after the GCSEs/A Levels are over and before the much more expensive summer holidays!!

Dan

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We've always experienced fabulous service with attentive and friendly staff, so we've left the auto tips on. Then on top of that we tip the cabin steward as, for example, we saw them every day earlier in the year, he was always chatty and asking how we were, how they could help etc etc and couldn't be better. As we're always on freedom and have different waiters each night we use the auto tips to leave our bit for the waiters.

If we'd received bad service though, I'd possibly reduce them or take them off. To me it's all about the context of the situation - I was a waiter during uni; I've worked with the public, and I understand everyone who works with the public has off days and mistakes occasionally which (due to their job) is on show, so unless it was consistent I wouldn't do anything.

I do see the point of tipping individually - but it just seems like a bit of a hassle when you're on holiday to me.

Just my two cents :)

Dan

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I should add that the motion sensation was the same in all areas of the ship - fore, aft and midships. I have often felt that it's a bit of a myth that those in midships locations experience far less motion than those at the front and back, so I did an experiment and stood in all areas during the worst day and found it to be pretty universal. I'm sure that the laws of physics would point to a low deck, midships as best in rough weather, but in reality, as others have said, if the ship is moving about you can't really escape it and will know about it wherever you are.

In April we were in cabin E623 on Ventura - technically "midship aft" but more like aft (the cabin 2 doors down from us was considered aft). We'd found our movement in the BOB was quite noticeable, but when we'd gone to the forward stairwell, it was awful; walking up and down the stairs was like being in a (not so) fun house! Midship however the movement seemed fairly similar to what we found in our cabin, just a little bit less extreme.

It's probably still true that being midship means the least movement, but it may possibly be a bit exaggerated by the agents and companies to get more money out of us. [emoji849] However, it'll be dependent on each ship and all weather situations will be different with different effects [emoji4]

Dan

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Thanks for the update and comments. Not so sure about our aft wrap in October now [emoji53]

 

 

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Maybe the issue was exaggerated by the fact that F727 is one of the 2 cabins in the "middle" at the back of the ship - in line with the funnel. If this is the case your aft wrap should avoid the worst of it then?

Dan

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St Lucia!!!

St Lucia!!!

St Lucia!!!

I wrote it in another thread this morning, but I'll say it again - the zip line in St Lucia is gorgeous, beyond belief; right over a rainforest! I can't say anything for the other two but unless you see anything else you'd rather to in St Lucia, I'd wholeheartedly recommend the zip line.

(Have I made it clear that I love the zip line there?)

Dan

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St. Lucia - zip line!! Not sure which company we used, if it's still about (we went in 2008) or whereabouts in relation to the cruise terminal as we were on a fly holiday but it's an absolutely great experience if you like that kind of thing; I normally don't do that kind of activity but it really is breathtaking and a once-in-a-lifetime experience :)

Dan

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Going off topic a bit...does anyone know when Azuras next refit is due?

2020 - they're every 5 years :)

I think the 2018 refit will just be a general spruce up, i.e. bedding and soft furnishings. Ventura didn't have the newer style bedding in April but she did have the new carpets. I didn't really notice much wear at all, so I'm a bit unsure what they are exactly going to spend 3 weeks changing in the interior (if at all)!

Dan

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We take a 4 bar extension lead with us, no problems whatsoever - didn't even know they were banned.

Dan

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How many nights have you cruised? After 14 you enter the P&O loyalty club - nights on other lines (apart from Princess) don't count, I think.

Dan

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I found that I could view videos on Facebook, however they were painfully slow on sea days. I also could video chat people and send/receive photos via the Facebook messenger app :)

Almost all social medias worked; Facebook, Instagram and Twitter worked, however Snapchat isn't included in the £7.75 package. It's fairly fast for regular social media browsing.

Dan

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Travelled in April. The coach down was luxury black leather, nice toilet etc etc. The coach back however was fabric seats, not bad but not luxury either.

Dan

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I love the sea breeze and elderflower fizz myself. I've tried to make them at home but couldn't get them absolutely perfect!

Dan

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They did it on Ventura in April for 7 nights.

Dan

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Hi,

I've just been doing a little bit of noseying around the internet - I believe I have found a panoramic GCI video (more in depth than the P&O renderings) produced by AIDA about the new ship, which is of the same design as the P&O one. I suspect it may be named Gala; when you hovered over 'new ship 2020' about 4 or 5 months ago the tag that flashed up said Gala and now it has disappeared. The majority of balconies seem quite small by the looks of it!

I'm just speculating though. :)

Dan

Common sense tells you why cabins need to be vacated especially balcony ones, a medivac during the night is a perilous operation at the best of times and the safety of other guests on board is the captains priority.

Not necessarily. In April we had a medical evacuation on the first night of our cruise, the captain simply asked those with balconies to refrain from going on them and asked passengers not to use open decks until the evac was over, which was about 10 minutes. That was it.

Re. the theatre, I really cannot understand this venue choice. While very large, it can only seat around 850 passengers (I believe) while the ship carries 3,000+. And during a medical evacuation, IMO having 2,000+ passengers floating around the theatre and public areas is more interruptive of the evacuation than letting them stay and sleep in their cabins out of the way. Because most passengers were asleep at this time anyway, a quick announcement to stay off balconies and open decks would've easily sufficed. Knowing what I know currently about the situation from the information I have, I personally believe if anything, the move to evac all pax from cabins was illogical. Just my 2 cents.

Dan

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I would imagine on a ship that nothing is optional - if the Captain tells you to leave your cabin you leave. If they knock on the door to say leave you leave and go to the theatre. I'd do what they told me to do whether I liked it or not!

I definitely could've worded that better. I meant if they had asked/recommended pax to go or enforced and said that pax must go by door knocking etc.

I can see your point and agree that people should listen to the officers/captains, however if it was the former, my opposing view would be that if you stayed in your cabin with balcony doors shut, you would be just as safe as in the theatre (even more safe if in an inside cabin).

Dan

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