FarlitMorcha

A quick look suggests you can get a bottle of carling for under 3 pounds (330 ml) and a number of beers for between 3 and 4 based on the current menus they have on their website.

The autogratuity itself can be removed. As to whether it is ridiculous or not, and for arguments on whether you should or should not remove it, there are multiple long threads on this, a couple quite recently, that might provide insight into other peoples thoughts, although a breif summation might be that the general thought is the staff rely on tips to get up to a reasonable wage so many people consider tipping part of the cost of cruising. Quite a few people argue that it would, however, be better to add these to the upfront cost of the cruise.

I'm not a lawyer so can't comment on legalities, but it doesn't surprise me at all that your prevoius cabin had already been assigned. They would be sorting upgrades when they (probably a computer programme rather than a person) are assigning cabins and they are less likely to upgrade people without some poeple ready to be assigned to your prevoius cabin. As people have said in this, and other threads, clicking the upgrade option seems to be considered acceptance of any free upgrade by PnO and they consider cabin location as well as type for this, with midship generally being considered to be better than aft.

All of that said, I'm glad that you got back the cabin you preferred and hope you enjoy your cruise. We're going on our second cruise in about a month, and someone we're cruising with has already been 'upgraded' to a cabin more midship. We also clicked the upgrade option but would much prefer if it were an option to only be upgraded to a higher type of cabin, as some have mentioned does exist, as we picked our cabin quite carefully on both the cruises we've been on.

Thanks, we'll do our best!!

Thanks everyone for the advice. We're both staring to really look forward to the cruise. It does seem like a great set of ports, quite a few places that we have wanted to visit for a while.

Another question, if I may. I've read the dress codes, and a lot of the topics on that. We have the formal nights sorted (the fiancee has enjoyed the opportunity to buy new dresses), but I was wondering about the smart casual ones. Whilst the dress code seems quite clear, how common is it for gentlemen to wear jackets to them. I'm wondering if I should pack a suit to give myself the option.

Many thanks again

Many thanks for the advice both

Thanks for the quick response, so I assume you can see through the lower part of the balcony?

The better half and I are going on our first cruise on the Oceana (Genoa to Genoa) in just over two weeks for our honeymoon.

I've read quite a few of the posts on both this board and a couple of other boards here, but I had a few questions if I may. Many thanks in advance for any answers.

We’re on a scheduled BA flight from Gatwick. Does anyone know what the transfer is like at the Genoa end? Is there likely to be time to buy anything like a bottle of prosecco/wine or similar in Italy, or should we try and pick anything we want up after security at the airport? There are a lot of ports so we’re not expecting to spend too much time in the cabin, but we have a balcony so it would be nice to sip something on it now and again.

With regards to the balcony, I saw on a post (a while back) that on the Oceana they are metal rather than glass, but the ‘3d’ cabin viewer on the P&O website seems to show a glass one. Is this likely to just be shown from another ship?

The better half likes to drink quite a bit of squash. I know that we can’t take our own alcohol out of the cabin (without paying corkage ofc), but if we were to fill up a bottle of pre-made squash and take this around, is this likely to be an issue?

We’ve got an overnight in Venice, and whilst we booked P&O excursions for most ports (partly to make sure we didn’t miss the departure!) we’re planning on doing our own thing there. Does anyone have any suggestions about what’s best to see?

Lastly, is there any advice that people would give for first time cruisers on P&O (that might not be obvious from a random sampling of posts here)?

Many thanks again