Port out

16 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I take it you don't agree that Cunard, Seabourn, HAL, and AIDA are more upmarket than P&O then?

They are just the same as P&O .. there was a time but not now, perhaps try and compare

52 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

I don't dispute that P&O isn't the same as it used to be but P&O is only a small part of Carnival which does have what I would call more upmarket lines; Cunard, Seabourn, AIDA and HAL and in a lot of peoples opinion Princess. I don't think P&O is having as great an effect on the share price as you do.

More upmarket, you are joking, not any longer.

In my opinion as shareholder for 15 years the product has gone downhill with the offer giving passengers very cheap cruises along with high obc. As a very regular cruiser with P&O over 30 years the price being charged is encouraging the cheap Butlin type of passengers so much so that folk like my wife and myself are ditching P&O in their droves to get a quality experience from the likes of Saga. P&O used to be a style above the rest but now, no thank you and no wonder the share price is so low.

On 9/20/2023 at 7:07 AM, Whiteduck1 said:

Hello, 

We have just booked our first cruise on SOA to Greece next April and because it's rather long at 22 nights have splashed on an aft suite. The Saga website says "full butler service" but doesn't really describe the services offered. I wonder is it similar to Cunard (very good service) which we have sailed in the past, if anyone can share their experience on board I'd be very grateful. 

Thank you for your help, Nick 

 

 

 

 

 

Having recently moved from P&O to Saga, we have taken the step of having a standard balcony cabin rather than what had become our norm, a suite with P&O or Cunard. To be honest our early days with a suite was wonderful, excellent butler service at the drop of a hat, always lunch with champagne where said butler would pop back and recharge the glass. Sometimes we would have dinner on the balcony with the same super service. We would always have a suite/balcony party for officers and passengers we had met during the cruise plus all the other plus's of having a butler to run round for you. OH! but how time changed with cutbacks the suite experience was purely for the size of the cabin, so when we moved to Saga we thought do we really need a large space as before and from our point of view, the standard balcony cabin suits us down to the ground as the crew on board do everything you would wish for. So I guess if the butler service with Saga is as it it used to be with P&O and Cunard then WOW go for it, however if it’s just for the extra space, ummm that’s one for you to decide.

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

It can feel very annoying when prices are lowered late on to fill up empty cabins, but often the advertised prices are only for guarantee cabins where you have no choice in cabin location, and you could end up in a very undesirable location.  We normally have to book early to ensure we obtain an accessible cabin, and can never take advantage of last minute bargains, however for several years before covid, we benefitted because prices generally increased nearer to cruise date.

In my case the offer is for specific cabins, not guaranteed 

4 hours ago, molecrochip said:

We’re in an unusual situation whereby when these cruises went on sale, there were still capacity restrictions resulting in say only 70% of cabins going on sale.

 

This restrictions are now gone, the additional capacity are on sale but this has pushed the price lower to fill cabins.

Get that but those of us who booked at launch are now finding out that our recently paid for cruise price has dropped significantly, mine by £800 and no offer to refund the difference. 

So as a regular and loyal cruiser for more than 30 years with P&O it is clear that P&O do not regard it as unfair to drop prices after final payment date without making a refund gesture of even a FCC. Oh! of course they know exactly what they are doing as it locks in those of us who have paid, silly us.

Their interest now is sell it cheap and pile it high and those of us who like and pay for quality accommodation onboard are finding the whole experience diminishing rapidly.

So if we stay with P&O and this is highly doubtful beyond the already booked cruises, I would NOT recommend booking a cruise at launch and wait until final payment date for any cruise you are interested in has passed.

With so many passengers occupying the top Loyalty Tier Ligurian it is about time that a new top tier be introduced for P&O's most travelled passengers who exceed 400 nights cruising within a 3 year period. So many well deserved special benefits could be introduced for this tier, not least free wifi, free room service, a free speciality dining experience, additional OBC and much more. When the current tiers were introduced we were told the names represented the size of the Seas, Ligurian being the smallest so with the introduction of the new tier, the name Marmara would be perfect as it is the smallest sea in the world.    

Any thoughts?

Hopefully they have stopped giving priority to the conservatory mini suites as the lounge in January was packed out with no room for proper suite passengers who turned up at their allocated time and were then assigned to the main lounge to wait until the end of the very long queue of miniers to embark. 

Anyone had an Inside cabin amidships on B deck, it's the only cabin available for the October Med cruise, a picture would be amazing, but a description would be welcome.

5 minutes ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

 

To be quite honest I think it's best to wear a mask in say a packed lift and maybe the theatre as I have often found even prior to covid that coughs are rife in the theatre. Once one starts it goes around. 

Totally agree

I heard that Meghan Markle was heading over to Barbados next month, ummm that could be interesting

11 minutes ago, zap99 said:

We have been there. A couple of nice restaurants and wonderful people.

Yes, the pizza is great. Did you try buying fruit from the street traders there, when they saw you weren't Bajan the price was 4 times the norm, that said I wouldn't knock the Bajans as they were always super unless they wore a uniform. 

41 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I wonder if the good folk of Speightstown appreciate you calling it a nothing town.

Oh! it's such a wonderful resort 😜, you should try it sometime 

Really surprised that the Barbados naming ceremony for the Arvia is being held off a beach close to Speightstown which is a nothing town. Would have been far more enticing if it was to be held further south off Holetown which is the most affluent area of Barbados and not so far from the port and indeed Bridgetown the capital.

On Iona now and always wear a facemark in the lifts and other crowded places, it's just the sensible thing to do with sooo many barking and coughing folk around

27 minutes ago, tring said:

 

Just to add that on Aurora you had 15 minutes to go to the restaurant after being called on the app, so do not need to keep looking at it all the time or rush off the minute you are called.  We usually joined the queue, left the phone on the bed and went out onto the balcony with drinks, popping in to check every so often. The app gave you the number of people ahead of you in the queue, so it was easy to track what was happening and estimate how long until you will be called.  You may have to refresh the page, but not a problem.  

 

Just a case of getting used to it and you soon learn how long you will be in the queue at various times and queue lengths, so can join it at the best time.

 

Thanks for this, can you request a specific table when it becomes available I wonder

Was wondering what the situation is now on Aurora when booking a table on freedom dining, do they use the app now as per the larger ships or is it still the hand held device. Thanks 

It's a worry for those of us booked on her following her return from the Worldie. Sadly seen this a lot over the years including the Oceana's second cruise 2001 where all passengers including those of us that had just flown over to join her were taken off the ship, think Fort Lauderdale and put up in hotels for two nights while they cleaned through this brand new ship.

Wonder if anyone remembers Captain Chris Sample from the '90s on Victoria .. his announcement in the evening when the sun was setting would be, "Ladies and Gentlemen I urge you to come up on deck as there is a 85% chance to see the green flash"  The green flash was created as the sun just dropped below the horizon and occasionally would set off a green flash as it sank out of sight. Happy memories and a brilliant Captain and known by all as Captain Green Flash.

Nothing changes😃 Oh, Arcadia has somewhat

17 minutes ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

Hi everyone. I realise that sometimes I'm a bit of a devil at being a bit cheeky quite often and hope that everyone takes it in the manner it's supposed to be. A bit of fun. But I do have a serious question and that is "Does anyone know the best insurance cover for underlying health conditions" as both myself, prostate cancer . high blood pressure and high cholesterol and my wife has fibro myalgia, type 2 diabetes, irregular heart beat. Therefore it would be good to know which is the best and least expensive cover. The last two times I have taken out insurance it came to £650 each time and for one reason or another we never got to cruise.

If you were a member of the armed forces then you can obtain cover to travel for all conditions http://www.forcespensionsociety.org/

Good show

Same applied to me with a direct booking with P&O for a couple of cruises booked on Iona in 2024/25, somewhat surprised as the OBC is fairly low and I don't see anything else which represented a promotional offer.

I'm one of the old brigade having cruised for more than 30 years with P&O. Frankly things and passengers have changed so much and not all for the good imo. I fully understand the need for P&O to fill their ships but to offer out prices of cabins which represent such cheap deals and attracts folk who can't afford to live up to the standards of a quality holiday is disappointing. Unfortunately these deals impact on those of us who enjoy a good standard of dress especially in the evening and this brings the whole enjoyment of the cruise down several points which is such a shame.

33 minutes ago, Bin man said:

At the moment it isn't the case only the limelight club is bookable.The others are saying apply onboard that's the 4 mdrs and all the other restaurants .Dont know if they are trialing it or given up on it or not .

Interesting