CarlaMarie

@Interestedcruisefan (and for anyone else who is unable to view the video) - About 4/5 days ago, Gareth and his partner were leaving their cabin and bumped into the occupants of the cabin next door. The cabin occupants were three women which he would describe being around his mothers age. Since then, each time Gareth and his partner were using their balcony the women next door (obviously aware that Gareth and his partner were outside) subjected them to constant verbal abuse, including singing Changes by David Bowie. He tried to ignore it the first time, but after 3 days of hearing it relentlessly his partner went round to the cabin to politely ask them to stop and they did. He felt as a man he himself could not approach the three women. Yesterday he released a video detailing the experience and as a means to bring awareness to the fact if we stand up to bullying then we can make it stop.

I have just seen it. I do not understand the mindset of people who think it is acceptable to behave like that. It is disgusting and nobody deserves to be subjected to it. I can understand why Gareth himself did not want to confront the three women and instead his partner felt she had to as it was relentless, but it should have also been reported to the ship. I'm not sure if you have read in the comments section that two popular cruise bloggers are also on Arvia, Ben and David. They have left a comment for Gareth that they too have been subjected to homophobic verbal abuse and foul language being shouted at them. A fellow passenger in reply has mentioned a fight in the casino and some other unacceptable behaviour that has occurred during this cruise.

Hello Everyone, Has anybody heard if the Aurora R322 cruise departing Nov 27th, 4 nights to Amsterdam (overnight) has now changed to Rotterdam? Somebody has posted it has been changed (on the other popular social media sight), however my parents who are booked on this haven't heard anything. They only booked about a week ago, and this change would be quite significant for them and others.

Really enjoying your posts Selbourne. Hope you are having a lovely time in Lisbon today. Sorry to hear you missed your excursion! Do they still deliver the excursion tickets to your cabin or has that changed now? The butter dish is unacceptable. There is no excuse for that at all.

Hope you are having a good time (despite the fabulous weather!) @TigerB. Sorry to read you have had shuttle issues!

Same forecast for us here Jean, and I'm overlooking Portland Harbour.

Thank you for posting @Son of Anarchy.

Regarding the scattering of ashes at sea, I just had a quick search as I didn't know what the procedures actually were and although I couldn't seem to find anything on the P&O website, I did come across an article in the Times newspaper from 2019: "A ship must be in international waters for anything to be thrown overboard, which means at least 12 miles from shore — and there are many parts of the world where nothing is allowed overboard, including Antarctica and Alaska. So which lines have these ceremonies? Cunard, Princess and P&O Cruises, all part of the giant Carnival Corporation, allow ashes to be dispersed if the request is made in advance and the itinerary includes a day at sea. You’ll need to bring a cremation certificate, too. Carnival Cruise Line has a similar policy, although a death certificate is also required. Royal Caribbean requires both death and cremation certificates and a third one confirming that the urn is biodegradable. Other lines include Norwegian and Celebrity. Star Clippers will, depending on the route, allow ashes to be disposed of under officer supervision, if you ask in advance. Fred Olsen, touchingly, says it may even alter a vessel’s speed and course to help ensure an appropriate send-off." I've also found a thread on here that posters have said you must have the cremation certificate: https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2233107-scattering-of-ashes-at-sea/ I do hope that lady is able to speak to somebody else and be able to help her.

Thank you for the updates. Enjoy your day today and looking forward to hearing about the rest of your cruise.

Yes. Arcadia is quite tall and slim for her size, which is why she gets more affected than say a smaller ship. I had a cruise to nowhere on her a few years ago. It was meant to be a 2 night Christmas market cruise but we couldn't reach Bruges as the 5 tugs they had on standby couldn't reach us nor the pilot boat. The storm was already in the channel the day before we set sail and here on the Dorset coast we were getting battered and thought the cruise would be cancelled. When we got onboard the Captain said he would go for it and try and get ahead, but it wasn't possible. Also, a Captain once told us that if a ship creaks it shows she was built well and can withstand what the ocean throws at her.

It does. My uncle was a fisherman and he always says he swore by port, brandy and fruit cake.

Gosh!

Enjoy your cruise @TigerB, and I look forward to reading your review when you get back.

Have a wonderful time! Looking forward to reading all about it.

We have been on a 5 night and a couple of 2 night cruises. As Selbourne mentioned you will find large and smaller groups travelling together as shorter cruises always do attract these parties, but they are not always solely younger people. If I was comparing the 2 nighters to the 5, I would definitely say that the 2 nighter attracted more younger groups. However none of these groups were that noticeable until late into the evenings. I also think it is important to factor in the ship as well, Aurora for example isn't likely to attract the same group of passengers which say Ventura would. Plus also take into consideration when she sails - more groups will be attracted to a cruise that falls over a weekend as compared to a midweek one.

I am sorry that he has been caught out by this. As others have said, after several days the hold amount will get dropped off and the available balance on his account will return to what it should be. Hopefully this will happen soon for him. A few years ago my mum and dad noticed this on their bank account after paying via a debit card, so ever since then they have followed the advice on these boards to get a credit card to register against their onboard account when cruising (they don't use it any other time). As soon as they get back they pay the sum off. Might be something for him to think about for the future.

Hello @Canberra forever ! Have these charges been made in error, or do the charges relate to the Onboard account? P&O put a hold on your bank account of what you have spent per day, then on the last morning they deduct the total for the cruise as a separate transaction from your bank. Hope that makes sense. If it is the latter, this is very common and takes several days for the amount on 'hold' to rectify itself. Many passengers get caught out by this, as on the account it looks like they have taken the money twice. Do get back to us and let us know.

I saw this reported on a few cruise sites yesterday so it does seem correct. I expect, like you said, it is being done in response to cruisers not booking as early.

I was about to ask the same question! What is a net rate discount and how would a passenger know they've been given one? Refusal of shareholder benefit has cropped up a few times now.

I agree. I think the OP is being unfairly criticized and there has been no mention of the medical teams being the bad guys either. A member of my family experienced a "reaction to food" on one of the ships (you can't call it food poisoning as you can never be 100% sure it was that, but some sort of reaction occurred after eating fish in the buffet and naturally food poisoning did spring to mind fairly quickly), plus also Noro on another. It is a difficult and unpleasant situation to be in and I do sympathise with the OP. In our case regarding the food reaction, it was the last day before we disembarked at Southampton. We let the medical team know, they went through a list of questions over the phone, visited the cabin etc... The family member was confined to the cabin (to be honest, they didn't want to be anywhere else!), and the medical team liased with the assistance team for disembarkation and the following morning they remained in the cabin until being called and were the last to leave the ship so that they could disembark quickly and avoiding other passengers. I hope the OP recovers soon.

As I posted above, on Arcadia the Officers, entertainments, shore excursions team etc... have always used the buffet in the evenings. They are allowed to eat there, so there isn't any actual issue with their dining arrangements (I know this as friends/family have worked onboard). The buffet isn't usually that busy in the evenings, so I do not think you will be inconvenienced. If it had been a big problem over the years for passengers then I am sure it would have been spoken about before now. I hope you have a wonderful time!

I think this has always been the case on Arcadia. There has always been Officer's (and the entertainments team) dining in the buffet in the evenings when I have sailed on her and they've only had the one side open. There was always plenty of tables so I wouldn't think it would effect any passenger.

I'm sorry to hear you didn't enjoy your cruise. The food was a slight issue when my Mum and Dad were onboard Britannia in May, but others have since found it better. Was the food and air conditioning the main two issues, or did other things affect your enjoyment?

Good luck @Megabear2 and @Presto2!

@Cash123 Here is a list of selected suites that mobility scooters are accepted. It is on the website, but Arvia is not listed (nor Iona). Might be worth asking them to provide you with an upto date list. This email address is listed if you have any queries: accessibility@carnivalukgroup.com Suites and Mini Suites in which mobility scooters are permitted (not accessible cabins).pdf