Malibustacey79

Oh no, what a shame 😔 The shower is not your friend on this holiday! Hope things improve quickly and thanks so much for all the information, it’s been so helpful and much appreciated.

Also a good idea, thank you! Soup (and mash 🤣) is very much a winter staple where we live, and not something we want daily on a hopefully lovely, sunny cruise in the Med! I’ll be happy with salad starters but husband won’t. We usually eat quite a lot of spicy food at home and I’ve read good things about curries in the buffet, so will be trying that. Just don’t want to spend every evening in there, and we have never done this on any previous cruises. Adaptation is key at this point I suppose!

Ohhh I never thought of that!! That would cheer us up no end. Please report back and have a lovely cruise 😊

We are due to sail next month and neither of us is a fan of mashed potato, which seems to feature extremely heavily at the moment. From the last menu posted (thank you StockJock!) I’m thinking my husband could, for example, order the prime rib of beef and the masala potatoes to go with it rather than the accompaniments it is offered with. My questions, to those who have done similar previously are a) will this be brought out as two separate plates or combined and b) will it just be too much food? Understand this is subjective but just looking for experiences. I don’t like the idea of wasting food, but I also don’t like the idea of nightly mash!! I plan on ordering a starter salad to go with my entrees where appropriate but husband is not a huge salad fan either. He loves any and all other potatoes & carbs, he’s not a fuss pot, honest! We are really looking forward to the cruise, but haven’t sailed with Celebrity since 2019. I understand and accept that the menus (and other things) have changed since then but the nightly mash dread is strong…

Great, thanks so much for that 😊

I’m sure I’m missing the obvious here but how do we view menus for current sailings? I’ve looked ahead at what they have online for my sailing (in four weeks) and have booked Tuscan Grille for the evening that looks the least appealing. Maybe I’ve been too hasty? I must admit, the apparent abundance of soups and mashed potatoes is not filling me with optimism…

Thanks for the info! That sounds good. In hindsight we should have flown in a day earlier. Or maybe just checked the transfer time properly…we live and learn. Really looking forward to it!

I must admit we are feeling a little apprehensive about the transfer. We have booked flights in a package so I’m assured that the transfers WILL get us there and back in time but we land in Venice (from the UK) about 11.30am on the sail date and fly home about 12noon. We have always done this with Med cruises; but never with a three hour transfer involved! Don’t mind the early pick up on the last day but I’m really hoping we aren’t kept waiting too long for the outward transfer - I assume it’s one of those situations where a few different flights are filling up the coach - can anyone from the UK confirm/contradict this?

The cruise we have booked for October is showing pretty much sold out. One cabin in each category has opened up today (I’m guessing maybe as final payments would have been due for everyone around now?). How ‘sold out’ does it need to be for the Move Up process not to happen? Sounds like a stupid question now I’ve typed it out…but I mean I suppose at least one cabin must be available for anyone to shuffle along? I was hoping to bid but seems like I may not get the chance! Last sailed with Celebrity in 2019 and I don’t recall getting the offer then. Thanks for any help!

Sorry I’m not sure - I’m an iced coffee girl!

Agreed…and this is what will probably stop me booking with P&O again unless an amazing offer pops up. I did know this before we booked but wanted to give it a try having always let it put me off in the past. I probably wouldn’t book with MSC either again, to be fair, although the drinks package was fab!

As you say…each to their own. There wasn’t a cocktail option for either of those drinks even if I’d paid, but collecting a Costa on the way up to the pool suited me fine. I don’t tend to have any more drinks after wine with dinner on an evening. Husband was really pleased with the selection of draft beers he could get so he was happy. But the cocktail lists didn’t compare to the other lines we’ve been on (Celebrity/Marella/MSC), included or otherwise.

We are disembarking Azura tomorrow and decided to go for the Drinks Package on Day 2. It was the best choice for us as we do like a drink on our hols, especially when without the kids, as we are on this one. It’s worked out better than I thought TBH, although I still think the ‘rules’ are often nonsensical. I’m usually a cocktail drinker and the included choices definitely aren’t great - although I did discover a little hack by getting a Fruit Cooler from Costa then ordering a peach schnapps to go in it, and same with an Iced Latte and a Baileys. A few issues with actually getting the Costa’s drinks, but those issues are non-drinks-package related! I also found that they are very generous with the wine, so only being allowed a ‘small’ with dinner isn’t really a problem as they aren’t small! Husband is a beer/wine/whiskey drinker and found it absolutely fine, it really is mainly the cocktails that let it down, together with not being allowed to pay just the difference. I would have ordered more expensive ones and paid the difference if that was allowed but hey-ho I never went thirsty. I’m not sure if we’ll sail with P&O again but if we do we would get the package again. I hope this helps someone with their decision as I really did go back and forward with it for months beforehand!

Mine isn’t showing anywhere online but I emailed and asked about it and got a reply saying: I have checked your booking and I can confirm that your booking has £100 onboard credit, and while this isn't visible to you currently, this will be deducted from your final bill onboard. So if all else fails at least I have it in writing! They were quite quick with the response too.

I’ve seen photos this week of menus with items crossed off - I was surprised too! But unless someone has gone to very elaborate measures to deceive, that’s what’s happened (on Azura). I’m not blaming P&O for my indecisiveness - that’s a lifelong affliction unfortunately 🤣 It’s more that if I find the drinks package TOO restrictive I am unlikely to book again. But we shall see!